Modular fixturing kits are precisely machined sets of components used for flexible, short-turnaround construction of fixtures for a variety of manufacturing purposes. A modular vise is a parallel-jaw vise, where each jaw is a modular fixture plate with a regular grid of precisely positioned holes. A modular vise can be used to locate and hold parts for machining, assembly, and inspection tasks. To fixture a part, one places pins in some of the holes so that when the vise is closed, the part is reliably located and completely constrained. The modular vise concept can be adapted easily to the design of modular parallel-jaw grippers for robots. By attaching a grid plate to each jaw of a parallel-jaw gripper, the authors gain the ability to easily construct high-quality grasps for a wide variety of parts from a standard set of hardware. Wallack and Canny developed a previous algorithm for planning planar grasp configurations for the modular vise. In this paper, the authors expand this work to produce a 3-d fixture/gripper design tool. They describe several analyses added to the planar algorithm to improve its utility, including a three-dimensional grasp quality metric based on geometric and force information, three-dimensional geometric loading analysis, …

Low energy (E{sub k}=100 keV) Mott scattering polarimeters are ill- suited to support operations foreseen for the polarized electron injector at Jefferson Lab. One solution is to measure the polarization at 5 MeV where multiple and plural scattering are unimportant and precision beam monitoring is straightforward. The higher injector beam current offsets the lower cross-sections. Recent improvements in the CEBAF injector polarimeter scattering chamber have improved signal to noise.

The proceedings contain 35 papers arranged under the following topical sections: Government`s partnership role for hydrogen technology development; Government/industry partnerships -- Demonstrations; Entering the market -- Partnerships in transportation; Hydrogen -- The aerospace fuel; Codes and Standards; Advanced technologies; and Opportunities for partnerships in the utility market. Of the three markets identified (transportation, power production, and village power) papers are presented dealing with the first two. Three parts of the transportation market were covered: cars, trucks, and buses. Progress was reported in both fuel cell and internal combustion engine vehicle propulsion systems. Selected papers have been indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

A significant reduction in 60 hz beam motion has been achieved in the UV storage ring. From the wide band harmonic beam motion signal, 60 hz signal is extracted by tuned bandpass filter. This signal is processed by the phase and amplitude adjustment circuits and then, it is fed into the harmonic orbit generation circuits. Several harmonics, near the tune, were canceled by employing one circuit for each harmonic. The design and description of this experiment is given in this paper. The results showing reduction in beam motion at 60 hz are also provided.

The paper details the 1996 design effort for the IFMIF HEBT. Following a brief overview, it lists the primary requirements for the beam at the target, describes the design approach and design tools used, introduces the beamline modules, gives the results achieved with the design at this stage, points out possible improvements and gives the names and computer locations of the TRACE3-D and PARMILA files that sum up the design work. The design does not fully meet specifications in regards to the flatness of the distribution at the target. With further work, including if necessary some backup options, the flatness specifications may be realized. It is not proposed that the specifications, namely flatness to {+-}5% and higher-intensity ridges that are no more than 15% above average, be changed at this time. The design also does not meet the requirement that the modules of all beamlines should operate at the same settings. However, the goal of using identical components and operational procedures has been met and only minor returning is needed to produce very similar beam distributions from all beamlines. Significant further work is required in the following areas: TRACE3-D designs and PARMILA runs must be made for the beams coming …

The program objective was to develop and test technologies which improve the Northrop Grumman electric powertrain and lead to the volume production of an electric powertrain with the power, smoothness, and cost of an internal combustion engine. Accomplishments for this program are summarized in the following six topic areas and selected figures are shown: (1) The 100 hp powertrain was commercialized; (2) The Chrysler EPIC minivan was commercialized; (3) The 230 hp powertrain was commercialized; (4) The Blue Bird electric school and commercial buses were commercialized; (5) Related developments were initiated for DoD and energy systems applications; and (6) Several key powertrain technologies were researched and advanced.

The M3D (Multi-level 3D) tokamak simulation project aims at the simulation of tokamak plasmas using a multi-level tokamak code package. Several current applications using MHD and Extended-MHD models are presented; high-{beta} disruption studies in reversed shear plasmas using the MHD level MH3D code, {omega}{sub *i} stabilization and nonlinear island rotation studies using the two-fluid level MH3D-T code, studies of nonlinear saturation of TAE modes using the hybrid particle/MHD level MH3D-K code, and unstructured mesh MH3D{sup ++} code studies. In particular, three internal mode disruption mechanisms are identified from simulation results which agree well with experimental data.

This report addresses a Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) proposal to build a pulsed neutron source for simulating nuclear-weapons effects. A point design for the pulsed neutron facility was initiated early in FY94 after hosting a Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) panel review and after subsequently visiting several potential clients and users. The technical and facility designs contained herein fulfill the Statement of Work (SOW) agreed upon by LANL and DNA. However, our point designs and parametric studies identify a unique, cost-effective, above-ground capability for neutron nuclear-weapons-effects studies at threat levels. This capability builds on existing capital installations and infrastructure at LANL. We believe that it is appropriate for us, together with the DNA, to return to the user community and ask for their comments and critiques. We also realize that the requirements of last year have changed significantly. Therefore, the present report is a `working document` that may be revised where feasible as we learn more about the most recent Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Energy (DOE) needs.

'A major obstacle to the development of hydrothermal technology for treating DOE wastes has been a lack of scientific knowledge of solution chemistry, thermodynamics and transport phenomena. The progress over the last year is highlighted in the following four abstracts from manuscripts which have been submitted to journals. The authors also have made considerable progress on a spectroscopic study of the acid-base equilibria of Cr(VI). They have utilized novel spectroscopic indicators to study acid-base equilibria up to 380 C. Until now, very few systems have been studied at such high temperatures, although this information is vital for hydrothermal processing of wastes. The pH values of aqueous solutions of boric acid and KOH were measured with the optical indicator 2-naphthol at temperatures from 300 to 380 C. The equilibrium constant Kb-l for the reaction B(OH)3 + OH{sup -} = B(OH){sup -4} was determined from the pH measurements and correlated with a modified Born model. The titration curve for the addition of HCl to sodium borate exhibits strong acid-strong base behavior even at 350 C and 24.1 MPa. At these conditions, aqueous solutions of sodium borate buffer the pH at 9.6 t 0.25. submitted to Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. Acetic Acid and …

A fatigue test of a wind turbine blade was conducted at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the fall of 1994. Acoustic emission monitoring of the test was performed, starting with the second loading level. The acoustic emission data indicated that this load exceeded the strength of the blade. From the first cycle at the new load, an oil can type of deformation occurred in two areas of the upper skin of the blade. One of these was near the blade root and the other was about the middle of the tested portion of the blade. The emission monitoring indicated that no damage was taking place in the area near the root, but in the deforming area near the middle of the blade, damage occurred from the first cycles at the higher load. The test was stopped after approximately one day and the blade was declared destroyed, although no gross damage had occurred. Several weeks later the test was resumed, to be continued until gross damage occurred. The upper skin tore approximately one half hour after the cycling was restarted.

'Acoustic probes have shown promise to be quite effective in determining the solid content in solid-liquid suspensions. However, the presence of small amounts of gas in the waste slurries stored in tanks across the DOE complex prevents straightforward application for characterization of these slurries. The proposed research will develop an acoustic probe for monitoring particle size and volume fraction in slurries in the absence and the presence of gas bubbles. Theoretical Analysis Accomplished: Attenuation of sound waves depends on the size distribution of the solids and the volume fraction of solids. These can in principle be calculated from attenuation measured over a range of frequencies. However, small amounts of bubbles distort the measured attenuation. A typical result from theoretical analysis for the attenuation of solid- gas-liquid systems is given in Figure 1. The total attenuation of a sound wave v(o) equals the sum of contributions by a large number of ''bins'' of particle sizes. This notion yields the following equation for the (hitherto) unknown number density of solid particles as a function of particle radius N(a): j k(o,a)N(a)da = v(o), where the kernel k(o,a) is obtained from analysis. If N(a) is given, the above equation is used to calculate the …

'The goal of this research is the development of a treatment system for the separation of contaminants in low-organic Hanford tank wastes into sub-groups that can subsequently be processed and appropriately disposed of. Since many of the contaminants of concern are associated with solids, initial experimental work has focused on characterizing the particulate matter in Hanford waste and understanding the filterability of this waste through membranes. Removal of some of the soluble contaminants by adsorption has been studied as well. The experimental work conducted to date can be divided into four categories: speciation calculations; solid/aqueous phase partitioning; membrane filtration experiments; and sorption experiments. The work was conducted using two simulated Hanford wastes (SHWs), one that contained strong complexing agents (citrate and EDTA) and one that did not.'

The Advanced Driver and Vehicle Advisory Navigation ConcEpt (ADVANCE) was an invehicle advanced traveler information system (ATIS) that operated in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. It was designed to provide origin-destination shortest-time route guidance to a vehicle based on (a) an on-board static (fixed) data base of average network link travel times by time of day, combined as available and appropriate with (b) dynamic (real-time) information on traffic conditions provided by radio frequency (RF) communications to and from a traffic information center (TIC). Originally conceived in 1990 as a major project that would have installed 3,000 to 5,000 route guidance units in privately owned vehicles throughout the test area, ADVANCE was restructured in 1995 as a {open_quotes}targeted deployment,{close_quotes} in which approximately 80 vehicles were to be equipped with the guidance units - Mobile Navigation Assistants (MNAs) - to be in full communication with the TIC while driving the ADVANCE test area road system. Volume one consists of the evaluation managers overview report, and several appendices containing test results.

The ADVANCE familiar driver test provided a small sample of drivers familiar with their local road network and patterns of recurring congestion with an opportunity to drive a vehicle equipped with the ADVANCE dynamic route guidance system for a period of two weeks of normal use. On the basis of this test experience, drivers were asked to evaluate the ADVANCE system and to assess the value of features for future in-vehicle route guidance systems. This test involved 80 volunteer households living in the ADVANCE test area in northwest suburban Chicago; 110 drivers from these households used the ADVANCE vehicle and responded to both baseline (pre-test) and post-test surveys. Thirty two of these drivers participated in focus groups. Drivers also maintained written logs describing their rerouting experiences with the ADVANCE system.

ADVANCE [Advanced Driver and Vehicle Advisory Navigation ConcEpt] was a public/private partnership conceived and developed by four founding parties. The founding parties include the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University operating together under the auspices of the Illinois Universities Transportation Research Consortium (IUTRC), and Motorola, Inc. The major responsibilities of each party are fully described in the Project agreement. Subsequently, these four were joined on the Steering Committee by the American Automobile Association (AAA). This unique blending of public sector, private sector and university interests, augmented by more than two dozen other private sector participants, provided a strong set of resources for ADVANCE. The ADVANCE test area covered over 300 square miles including portions of the City of Chicago and 40 northwest suburban communities. The Project encompasses the high growth areas adjacent to O`Hare International Airport, the Schaumbura/Hoffman Estates office and retail complexes, and the Lake-Cook Road development corridor. It also includes major sports and entertainment complexes such as the Arlington International Racecourse and the Rosemont Horizon. The population in the area is more than 750,000. This volume provides a summary of the insights and achievements made …

The team of Arthur D. Little, Tufts University and Engelhard Corporation are conducting Phase 1 of a four and a half year, two-phase effort to develop and scale-up an advanced byproduct recovery technology that is a direct, single-stage, catalytic process for converting sulfur dioxide to elemental sulfur. This catalytic process reduces SO{sub 2} over a fluorite-type oxide (such as ceria and zirconia). The catalytic activity can be significantly promoted by active transition metals, such as copper. More than 95% elemental sulfur yield, corresponding to almost complete sulfur dioxide conversion, was obtained over a Cu-Ce-O oxide catalyst as part of an on-going DOE-sponsored, University Coal Research Program. This type of mixed metal oxide catalyst has stable activity, high selectivity for sulfur production, and is resistant to water and carbon dioxide poisoning. Tests with CO and CH{sub 4} reducing gases indicate that the catalyst has the potential for flexibility with regard to the composition of the reducing gas, making it attractive for utility use. The performance of the catalyst is consistently good over a range of SO{sub 2} inlet concentration (0.1 to 10%) indicating its flexibility in treating SO{sub 2} tail gases as well as high concentration streams.

An overview of the design parameters of the compact, high gradient, high luminosity X-band (8.568 GHz) photoinjector facility currently being developed as a collaborative effort between LLNL and UC Davis, is followed by a more detailed description of each of its major subsystems : X-band rf gun, GHz repetition rate synchronously modelocked AlGaAs quantum well laser oscillator, and 8-pass Ti: Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} chirped pulse laser amplifier. The photoinjector uses a high quantum efficiency ({approx}5%) Cs{sub 2}Te photocathode, and will be capable of producing high charge (> 1 nC), relativistic (5 MeV), ultrashort (< 1 ps) electron bunches at 2.142 GHz repetition rate in burst mode (100 photoelectron bunches). Design studies indicate that a normalized rms transverse emittance {epsilon}{sub n} = 0.75 {pi} mm-mrad is possible at 0.1 nC charge, while 2.5 {pi} mm-mrad can be obtained at 1 nC. A complete status report of our progress in the development and implementation of the design discussed herein is then given, together with initial experimental data concerning the performance of the 15 MW SLAC X-band klystron amplifier. Finally, the phase noise and jitter characteristics of the laser and rf systems of the high gradient X-band photoinjector have been measured experimentally. In …

Quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry has been evaluated for its potential use in vehicle emissions measurements in vehicle test facilities as an analyzer for the top 15 compounds contributing to smog generation. A variety of ionization methods were explored including ion trap in situ chemical ionization, atmospheric sampling glow discharge ionization, and nitric oxide chemical ionization in a glow discharge ionization source coupled with anion trap mass spectrometer. Emphasis was placed on the determination of hydrocarbons and oxygenated hydrocarbons at parts per million to parts per billion levels. Ion trap in situ water chemical ionization and atmospheric sampling glow discharge ionization were both shown to be amendable to the analysis of arenes, alcohols, aldehydes and, to some degree, alkenes. Atmospheric sampling glow discharge also generated molecular ions of methy-t-butyl ether (MTBE). Neither of these ionization methods, however, were found to generate diagnostic ions for the alkanes. Nitric oxide chemical ionization, on the other hand, was found to yield diagnostic ions for alkanes, alkenes, arenes, alcohols, aldehydes, and MTBE. The ability to measure a variety of hydrocarbons present at roughly 15 parts per billion at measurement rates of 3 Hz was demonstrated. All of the ions with potential to serve as …

High purity hydrogen is a critical component for at least two major industrial processes: 1) the refining of conventional steels and raw pig iron into low carbon steels and high purity iron used for high performance magnets in motors, generators, alternators, transformers, and etc.; and 2) refining metallurgical grade silicon to the high- purity, polycrystalline silicon used in fabricating single crystal silicon wafers for semiconductor manufacturing. In the process of producing low carbon iron products, CO and CO2 impurities prevent efficient removal of the carbon already in the raw iron. In the refining of metallurgical grade silicon, the presence of any impurity above the part-per- million level prevents the ultimate fabrication of the large scale single crystals that are essential to the semiconductor device. In a lesser magnitude role, high quality hydrogen is used in a variety of other processes, including specialty metals refining (e.g., iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, and ruthenium) and R{ampersand}D in areas such as organic synthesis and development of certain types of fuel cells. In all of these applications, a high-temperature hydrogen membrane can provide a method for achieving a very high purity level of hydrogen in a manner that is more economical and/or more rugged than …

This report contains the following information on the Brookhaven AGS Accelerator complex: FY 1996 AGS schedule as run; FY 1997 AGS schedule (working copy); AGS beams 1997; AGS experimental area FY 1994 physics program; AGS experimental area FY 1995 physics program; AGS experimental area FY 1996 physics program; AGS experimental area FY 1997 physics program (in progress); a listing of experiments by number; two-phage summaries of each experiment begin here, also ordered by number; listing of publications of AGS experiments begins here; and listing of AGS experimenters begins here.

A 450-KeV Mobile Real Time Radiography (RTR) System was delivered to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in January 1996. It was purchased to inspect containers of radioactive waste produced at (LANL). Since its delivery it has been used to radiograph greater than 600 drums of radioactive waste at various LANL sites. It has the capability of inspecting waste containers of various sizes. It has three independent X-Ray acquisition formats. The primary system used is a 12 in. image intensifier, the second is a 36 in. linear diode array (LDA) and the last is an open system. It is fully self contained with on board generator, HVAC and a fire suppression system. It is on a 53 ft long X 8 ft. wide X 14 ft. high trailer that can be moved over any highway requiring only a easily obtainable overweight permit because it weighs approximately 38 tons. It was built to conform to industry standards for a cabinet system which does not require an exclusion zone. The fact that this unit is mobile has allowed us to operate where the waste is stored, rather than having to move the waste to a fixed facility.

The National Teacher Enhancement program (NTEP) is a three-year, multi-laboratory effort funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy to improve elementary school science programs. The Los Alamos National Laboratory targets teachers in northern New Mexico. FY96, the third year of the program, involved 11 teams of elementary school teachers (grades 4-6) in a three-week summer session, four two-day workshops during the school year and an on-going planning and implementation process. The teams included twenty-one teachers from 11 schools. Participants earned a possible six semester hours of graduate credit for the summer institute and two hours for the academic year workshops from the University of New Mexico. The Laboratory expertise in the earth and environmental science provided the tie between the Laboratory initiatives and program content, and allowed for the design of real world problems.

The Quality Management Group (QMG) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory provides expert support to the Laboratory`s diverse programs, projects and facilities. Organized as an internal consulting group, the QMG furnishes comprehensive quality management services to requesting organizations throughout the Laboratory. Based upon the needs and expectations of the requester, these services range from classical quality control to regulatory compliance to process characterization and improvement, customer relationship management, information gathering and metrics. In September 1995 the Laboratory Director announced a downsizing effort targeted to reduce the Laboratory`s cost of doing business and thereby improve its competitiveness. The downsizing effort was targeted on support organizations--laboratory divisions, groups, programs, and projects chartered with operating the administrative infrastructure within which Los Alamos` technical programs function. This report discusses the downsizing, its aftermath, strategies for solutions to lower morale, initiatives, and results.

This report summarizes the environmental status of Ames Laboratory for calendar year 1995. It includes descriptions of the Laboratory site, its mission, the status of its compliance with applicable environmental regulations, its planning and activities to maintain compliance, and a comprehensive review of its environmental protection, surveillance and monitoring programs.