During the fourth quarter of 1990, steady-state performance testing at the Nucla Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) resumed under sponsorship of the US Department of Energy. Co-sponsorship of the Demonstration Test Program by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) was completed on June 15, 1990. From October through December, 1990, Colorado-Ute Electric Association (CUEA) completed a total of 23 steady-state performance tests, 4 dynamic tests, and set operating records during November and December as the result of improved unit operating reliability. Highlight events and achievements during this period of operation are presented.

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The primary objective of the project was to assemble, analyze and make use of those data that could help to clearly identify, optimize and confirm the technical and economic advantages that the new high gravity centrifugal dryer technology can provide to the coal industry and to end users. Other objectives were: to confirm the feasibility of the dryer for drying coals from a number of different seams; to use the data base for optimizing the dryer's systems, and: to produce projected technical and economic comparisons with thermal dryers as applied to an existing coal processing plant flow sheet. (JL)

The objective of this study is to develop technology that permits the practical and economic preparation, storage, handling, and transportation of coal pellets, which can be formulated into Coal-Water Fuels (CWFs) suitable for firing in small- and medium-size commercial and industrial boilers, furnaces, and engines.

Spin physics is playing an increasingly important role in high energy experiments and theory. This review looks at selected topics in high energy spin physics that were discussed at the 9th International Symposium on High Energy Spin Physics at Bonn in September 1990.

The objective of this study is to develop technology that permits the practical and economic preparation, storage, handling, and transportation of coal pellets, which can be reslurried into Coal water fuels (CWF) suitable for firing in small- and medium-size commercial and industrial boilers, furnaces, and engines. The project includes preparing coal pellets and capsules from wet filter cake that can be economically stored, handled, transported, and reslurried into a CWF that can be suitably atomized and fired at the user site. The wet cakes studied were prepared from ultra-fine (95% -325 mesh) coal beneficiated by advanced froth-flotation techniques. The coals studied included two eastern bituminous coals, one from Virginia (Elkhorn) and one from Illinois (Illinois No. 6) and one western bituminous coal from Utah (Sky Line coal).

Atmospheric transport and diffusion models have been developed for real-time calculations of the location and concentration of toxic or radioactive materials during a accidental release at the Savannah River Site (SRS). These models are have been incorporated into an automated menu-driven computer based system called the WIND (Weather INformation and Display) system. In an effort to establish more formal quality assurance procedures for the WIND system atmospheric codes, a software evaluation protocol is being developed. An evaluation protocol is necessary to determine how well they may perform in emergency response (real-time) situations. The evaluation of high-impact software must be conducted in accordance with WSRC QA Manual, 1Q, QAP 20-1. This report will describe the method that will be used to evaluate the atmospheric models. The evaluation will determine the effectiveness of the atmospheric models in emergency response situations, which is not necessarily the same procedure used for research purposes. The format of the evaluation plan will provide guidance for the evaluation of atmospheric models that may be added to the WIND system in the future. The evaluation plan is designed to provide the user with information about the WIND system atmospheric models that is necessary for emergency response situations.

A study of the spectroscopy of chromyl chloride (CrO{sub 2}Cl{sub 2} ) in dilute solutions has been initiated. A discussion is given of its spectra and emission bands. 17 refs, 5 figs, 1 tab. (DLC)

Specification 1.2 of the repository program's Waste Acceptance Preliminary Specifications requires that the DWPF estimate the radionuclide inventory, and provide the error of the estimate, for each waste type (assumed to be each sludge batch). The inventory of any radionuclide is directly proportional to the number of canisters produced from that sludge batch. Thus, estimating the number of canisters to be produced from each sludge batch is an important part of complying with this specification. In this report, the number of canisters to be produced from each batch of sludge is estimated. This leads to the conclusion that approximately 5200 canisters will be produced by the DWPF through the year 2010. Thereafter, it is conservatively estimated that up to 124 canisters will be produced each year. The errors in these estimates are also discussed.

Although eastward propagation is usually regarded as an essential feature of the low-frequency Madden-Julian oscillation'' observed in the tropical atmosphere, many observations indicate that there is an important stationary or quasi-stationary component of the oscillation. Yasunari (1979), for example, investigated the stationary 30--60 day variation in upper tropospheric cloudiness in the Asian summer monsoon region. In a case study of the 30--60 day oscillation. Hsu et al. (1990) found a strong stationary oscillation of the divergence, outgoing longwave mdiadon and other fields. A recent observational study by Weickmann and Khalsa (1990) offers further evidence that the Madden-Julian oscillation has an important stationary component. In this paper, we present evidence that intraseasonal oscillations can be produced by local radiative and convective processes. This suggests that the observed propagating Madden-Julian wave is produced by interactions between these local processes and the large scale motion field, and is not essential for the existence of the observed oscillation.

A discrete ordinate response matrix method is formulated for the solution of neutron transport problems on massively parallel computers. The response matrix formulation eliminates iteration on the scattering source. The nodal matrices which result from the diamond-differenced equations are utilized in a factored form which minimizes memory requirements and significantly reduces the required number of algorithm utilizes massive parallelism by assigning each spatial node to a processor. The algorithm is accelerated effectively by a synthetic method in which the low-order diffusion equations are also solved by massively parallel red/black iterations. The method has been implemented on a 16k Connection Machine-2, and S[sub 8] and S[sub 16] solutions have been obtained for fixed-source benchmark problems in X--Y geometry.

An improved method and device to prevent erosion of slurry transport devices is disclosed which uses liquid injection to prevent contact by the slurry composition with the inner surface of the walls of the transport system. A non-abrasive liquid is injected into the slurry transport system and maintains intimate contact with the entire inner surface of the transport system, thereby creating a fluid barrier between the nonabrasive liquid and the inner surface of the transport system which thereby prevents erosion.

The pyrolysis of tetralin under static reactor conditions at 450{degrees}C at 1--3 torr leads to hydrogen loss products (75%), C2 loss products (12%), and neophyl radical rearrangement products (12%). Tetramethylbutane initiated the reaction and the product distribution was unchanged. The rate of reaction is near first order in tetralin accelerated to. The rate is approximately 1/2 order in tetramethybutane. A mechanistic scheme is proposed which involves relatively fast hydrogen atom loss from the 1- or 2-tetralyl radical followed by slow hydrogen atom abstraction or hydrogen atom addition to tetralin, and formation of ring contracted product by reversible neophyl rearrangement of the 2-tetralyl radical followed by rate determining (in that pathway) hydrogen abstraction from tetralin. In the absence of external initiator, initiation by tetralin and termination by hydrogen atom recombination dependent on total pressure, rationalizes the first order behavior. Liquid phase pyrolysis of tatralln at much higher concentrations (ca 20000x) occurs with a rate only three times faster and 1-methylindan is the major product.

Progress for the reporting period is summarized on the following: analyzing multiwell pressure data for a composite reservoir with a circular discontinuity, adsorption theory from the point of view of numerical simulation, effects adsorption/desorption on reinjection and tracer analysis, and estimation of adsorption parameters from experimental and field data. (MHR)

Columbia Gas and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) have successfully completed field work on a horizontally drilled Devonian shale well located in Martin County, Kentucky. The objective of this cofunded project is to assess the effectiveness and economic feasibility of applying horizontal drilling and hydraulically fracturing stimulation techniques to enhance the extraction of natural gas from the Devonian shale. The well is comprised of three segments: a conventional vertical section, an angle build section and a horizontal section. The well reached a measured depth (MD) of 6263 feet, 3810 feet true vertical depth (TVD), with a horizontal displacement of 2812 feet achieved in the desired direction of N10{degrees}W. Both air and foam were used as drilling fluids. The vertical, lateral and tangent sections were drilled using conventional rotary drilling methods. Downhole motors were used to build angle. A total combined final open flow of 3.1 MMcfd was measured from all zones. Total well expenditures are approximately $1,460,000. Of this amount, $700,000 is directly related to the research and learning curve experience aspects. It is projected that the same horizontal well could be drilled with existing technology for $700,000. If advanced can be made in MWD systems for air …

The overall goal of our research remains to investigate the mutagenic and clastogenic effects of exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation to human lymphocytes. Principally, we are studying hospital patients referred to a nuclear medicine department for diagnostic cardiac imaging and nuclear medicine technologies who administer radionuclides. Emphasis in the first year, as described in the first progress report, was on optimization of the hprt mutation assay, measurement of mutant frequencies in patients imaged with thallium-201, and measurement of mutant frequencies in controls. Emphasis in the second year has been on measurements of (1) chromosome aberrations in patients imaged with thallium-201, (2) mutant frequencies in patients imaged with technetium-99, (3) mutant frequencies in nuclear medicine technicians and physical therapists, (4) mutant frequencies in patients treated for Hodgkins disease with radiotherapy. The progress in these areas is described.

Work on process design and LNS Burner design was deferred during this period, pending a reassessment of the project by TransAlta prior to commencement of Budget Period II, and only limited Balance of Plant engineering work was done.

BIR Inc. is a small company out of the Chicago area which sells equipment for producing images by tomography. They have built a relatively large instrument, called ACTIS, for NASA at the Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama and still gave access to this instrument. BIR has a grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to determine the utility of computed tomography (CT) for characterization of nuclear and hazardous waste within the DOE complex. As part of this effort, the potential of this technique for obtaining images of canistered waste forms has been investigated. Funding for data acquisition was provided through this grant.

1991 was continued rapid growth for the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) as it broadened its interdisciplinary research into the organization, evolution and operation of complex systems and sought deeply the principles underlying their dynamic behavior. Research on complex systems--the focus of work at SFI--involves an extraordinary range of topics normally studied in seemingly disparate fields. Natural systems displaying complex behavior range upwards from proteins and DNA through cells and evolutionary systems to human societies. Research models exhibiting complexity include nonlinear equations, spin glasses, cellular automata, genetic algorithms, classifier systems, and an array of other computational models. Some of the major questions facing complex systems researchers are: (1) explaining how complexity arises from the nonlinear interaction of simples components, (2) describing the mechanisms underlying high-level aggregate behavior of complex systems (such as the overt behavior of an organism, the flow of energy in an ecology, the GNP of an economy), and (3) creating a theoretical framework to enable predictions about the likely behavior of such systems in various conditions. The importance of understanding such systems in enormous: many of the most serious challenges facing humanity--e.g., environmental sustainability, economic stability, the control of disease--as well as many of the hardest scientific questions--e.g., …

The noble metals often thought of as unreactive solids,react strongly with nearly 40% of the elements in the periodictable: group IIIB-VB transition metals, lanthanides, theactinides, and group IIIA-IVA non-transition metals. These strong reactions arise from increased bonding/electron transfer fromnonbonding electrons d electron pairs on the noble metal tovacant orbitals on V, etc. This effect is a generalized Lewis acid-base interaction. The partial Gibbs energy of V in the noblemetals has been measured as a function of concentration at a temperature near 1000C. Thermodynamics of the intermetallics are determined by ternary oxide equilibria, ternary carbide equilibria, and the high-temperature galvanic cell technique. These experimental methods use equilibrated solid composite mixtures in which grains of V oxides or of V carbides are interspersed with grains of V-NM(noble-metal) alloys. In equilibrium the activity of V in the oxide or the carbide equals the activity in the alloy. Consequently, the thermodynamics available in the literature for the V oxides and V carbides are reviewed. Test runs on the galvanic cell were attempted. The V oxide electrode reacts with CaF[sub 2], ThO[sub 2], YDT(0.85ThO[sub 2]-0.15YO[sub 1.5]), and LDT(0.85ThO[sub 2]- 0.15LaO[sub 1.5]) to interfere with the measured data observed toward the beginning of a galvanic cell …

NMR relaxation and shift reagents are being deposited on the surface of coals. The dipolar coupling of the unpaired electron spin of the relaxation agent and the carbon atom should significantly shorten the carbon T, which should broaden it away. We propose to record the NMR spectrum of a coal before and after deposition and subtract the spectra. The difference spectra will arise from the functionalities within approximately one nanometer of the surface and reveal the surface composition of the coal. In order to determine the surface concentration of the dysprosium in the coal, we are using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) also known as electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). XPS is a surface technique that can be used for the elucidation of chemical structure. The binding energy for each electron in each element is unique. The measurement of the binding energy in XPS allows the identification of the element and its oxidation state. The relative atomic concentrations of each element can also be determined using XPS spectra.

A database of vegetation, soil, and air tritium concentrations at gridded coordinate locations following nine accidental atmospheric releases is described. While none of the releases caused a significant dose to the public, the data collected is valuable for comparison with the results of tritium transport models used for risk assessment. The largest, potential, individual off-site dose from any of the releases was calculated to be 1.6 mrem. The population dose from this same release was 46 person-rem which represents 0.04% of the natural background radiation dose to the population in the path of the release.

The purpose of this report is to characterize the seeps identified at the Shiprock UMTRA Project site during the prelicensing custodial care inspection conducted in December of 1990, to evaluate the relationship between the seeps and uranium processing activities or tailings disposal, and to evaluate the risk posed by the seep water to human health and the environment. The report provides a brief description of the geology, groundwater hydrology, and surface water hydrology. The locations of the seeps and monitor wells are identified, and the water quality of the seeps and groundwater is discussed in the context of past activities at the site. The water quality records for the site are presented in tables and appendices; this information was used in the risk assessment of seep water.

High brightness beams with sub-micron dimensions are needed to produce a high luminosity for electron-positron collisions in the Next Linear Collider (NLC). To generate these small beam sizes, a large number of issues dealing with intense beams have to be resolved. Over the past few years many have been successfully addressed but most need experimental verification. Some of these issues are beam dynamics, emittance control, instrumentation, collimation, and beam-beam interactions. Recently, the Stanford Linear Collider (SLC) has proven the viability of linear collider technology and is an excellent test facility for future linear collider studies.