This fact sheet provides an overview of the purpose, benefit, and features of the newly updated National Solar Radiation Database.

In 2006, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory conducted a nationwide quality survey of pure biodiesel (B100) intended to be used as a blendstock. The study collected random samples throughout the United States and analyzed them for quality against the current and proposed ASTM D6751 fuel quality specifications.

The purpose of this report is to provide a concise but comprehensive overview of Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Climate Research Facility instrumentation status. The report is divided into four sections: (1) new instrumentation in the process of being acquired and deployed, (2) existing instrumentation and progress on improvements or upgrades, (3) proposed future instrumentation, and (4) Small Business Innovation Research instrument development.

The purpose of this report is to provide a concise but comprehensive overview of Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Climate Research Facility instrumentation status. The report is divided into four sections: (1) new instrumentation in the process of being acquired and deployed, (2) existing instrumentation and progress on improvements or upgrades, (3) proposed future instrumentation, and (4) Small Business Innovation Research instrument development.

The Department of Energy is documenting the selection of an alternative for the TAN-607 Hot Shop Area using a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act non-time-critical removal action (NTCRA). The scope of the removal action is limited to TAN-607 Hot Shop Area. An engineering evaluation/cost analysis (EE/CA) has assisted the Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office in identifuomg the most effective method for performing the decommissioning of this structure whose mission has ended. TAN-607 Hot Shop Area is located at Test Area North Technical Support Facility within the Idaho National Laboratory Site. The selected alternative consists of demolishing the TAN-607 aboveground structures and components, removing belowground noninert components (e.g. wood products), and removing the radiologically contaminated debris that does not meet remedial action objectives (RAOs), as defined in the Record of Decision Amendment for the V-Tanks and Explanation of Significant Differences for the PM-2A Tanks at Test Area North, Operable Unit 1-10.

This document, which makes changes to Groundwater Flow Model of Corrective Action Units 101 and 102: Central and Western Pahute Mesa, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada, S-N/99205--076, Revision 0 (June 2006) was prepared to address review comments of this final document by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) in a letter dated July 19, 2006. The document includes revised pages that address NDEP review comments and comments from other document users. Change bars are included on these pages to identify where the text was revised. In addition to the revised pages, the following clarifications are made: • On Plate 1 (inserted in the back of the document), the ET Unit legend has been revised. The revised Plate 1 is included and replaces the original Plate 1. • Some of the Appendix D perturbation sensitivity analysis plots included on the CD for Sections D.3.1 and D.3.2 were not properly aligned. A revised CD is provided with all plots properly aligned.

This document, which makes changes to Phase I Hydrologic Data for the Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport Model of Corrective Action Unit 97: Yucca Flat/Climax Mine, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada, S-N/99205--077, Revision 0 (June 2006), was prepared to address review comments on this final document provided by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) in a letter dated August 4, 2006. The document includes revised pages that address NDEP review comments and comments from other document users. Change bars are included on these pages to identify where the text was revised. In addition to the revised pages, the following clarifications are made for the two plates inserted in the back of the document: • Plate 4: Disregard the repeat of legend text ‘Drill Hole Name’ and ‘Drill Hole Location’ in the lower left corner of the map. • Plate 6: The symbol at the ER-16-1 location (white dot on the lower left side of the map) is not color-coded because no water level has been determined. The well location is included for reference. • Plate 6: The symbol at the ER-12-1 location (upper left corner of the map), a yellow dot, represents the lower water level elevation. The …

This document, which makes changes to Phase II Groundwater Flow Model of Corrective Action Unit 98: Frenchman Flat, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada, S-N/99205--074, Revision 0 (May 2006) was prepared to address review comments on this final document provided by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) in a letter dated June 20, 2006. The document includes revised pages that address NDEP review comments and comments from other document users. Change bars are included on these pages to identify where the text was revised. In addition to the revised pages, the following clarifications are made: • Section 6.0 Conceptual Model Uncertainty Analyses. Please note that in this section figures showing the observed versus simulated well head (Figures 6-1, 6-5, 6-7, 6-16, 6-28, 6-30, 6-32, 6-34, 6-37, 6-42, 6-47, 6-52, 6-57, 6-62, 6-71, and 6-86) have a vertical break in scale on the y axis. • Section 7.0 Parameter Sensitivity Analysis. In Section 7.2, the parameter perturbation analysis defines two components of the objective function PHI. These two components include the WELL component that represents the head portion of the objective function as measured in wells and the FLUX component that represents the lateral boundary flux portion of the objective …

The recent record-setting performance of the Fermilab Tevatron is the culmination of a long series of efforts to optimize the many parameters that go into generating integrated luminosity for the colliding beams experiments. The instantaneous luminosity is a function of the number of particles of each particle species, the physical extent at the collision point of the transverse and longitudinal particle distributions, and the bunch collision frequency. Meanwhile, the integrated luminosity also depends upon the rate at which particles are lost due to collisions or other means, as well as the rate at which the initial store luminosity can be restored after the end - intentional or otherwise - of the previous store. While many numerical computer models already exist that are used to help optimize the performance of the Tevatron complex, here we take an analytical approach in an attempt to illustrate the most fundamental aspects of integrating luminosity in the Tevatron. We find that the essential features, including recent values of the weekly integrated luminosity, can be understood in a transparent way from basic operational parameters such as antiproton stacking rate and beam emittance growth rate in the Tevatron.

This report--the first in what is envisioned to be an ongoing annual series--attempts to fill this need by providing a detailed overview of developments and trends in the U.S. wind power market, with a particular focus on 2006.

This report describes the Regulatory Developments and Issues related to Arsenic in Drinking Water.

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is conducting pilot scale evaluations of the performance and cost of innovative water treatment technologies aimed at meeting the recently revised arsenic maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water. The standard of 10 {micro}g/L (10 ppb) is effective as of January 2006. The first pilot tests have been conducted in New Mexico where over 90 sites that exceed the new MCL have been identified by the New Mexico Environment Department. The pilot test described in this report was conducted in Socorro New Mexico between January 2005 and July 2005. The pilot demonstration is a project of the Arsenic Water Technology Partnership program, a partnership between the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF), SNL and WERC (A Consortium for Environmental Education and Technology Development). The Sandia National Laboratories pilot demonstration at the Socorro Springs site obtained arsenic removal performance data for five different adsorptive media under constant ambient flow conditions. Well water at Socorro Springs has approximately 42 ppb arsenic in the oxidized (arsenate-As(V)) redox state with moderate amounts of silica, low concentrations of iron and manganese and a slightly alkaline pH (8). The study provides estimates of the capacity (bed volumes until breakthrough at 10 …

Narasimhan Consulting Services, Inc. (NCS), under a contract with the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), designed and operated pilot scale evaluations of the adsorption and coagulation/filtration treatment technologies aimed at meeting the recently revised arsenic maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water. The standard of 10 {micro}g/L (10 ppb) is effective as of January 2006. The pilot demonstration is a project of the Arsenic Water Technology Partnership program, a partnership between the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF), SNL and WERC (A Consortium for Environmental Education and Technology Development). The pilot evaluation was conducted at Well 30 of the City of Weatherford, OK, which supplies drinking water to a population of more than 10,400. Well water contained arsenic in the range of 16 to 29 ppb during the study. Four commercially available adsorption media were evaluated side by side for a period of three months. Both adsorption and coagulation/filtration effectively reduced arsenic from Well No.30. A preliminary economic analysis indicated that adsorption using an iron oxide media was more cost effective than the coagulation/ filtration technology.

Current work on the Integrated Stockpile Evaluation (ISE) project is evidence of Sandia's commitment to maintaining the integrity of the nuclear weapons stockpile. In this report, we undertake a key element in that process: development of an analytical framework for determining the reliability of the stockpile in a realistic environment of time-variance, inherent uncertainty, and sparse available information. This framework is probabilistic in nature and is founded on a novel combination of classical and computational Bayesian analysis, Bayesian networks, and polynomial chaos expansions. We note that, while the focus of the effort is stockpile-related, it is applicable to any reasonably-structured hierarchical system, including systems with feedback.

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This tutorial is aimed at guiding a user through the process of performing a cable SGEMP simulation. The tutorial starts with processing a differential photon spectrum obtained from a Monte Carlo code such as ITS into a discrete (multi-group) spectrum used in CEPXS and CEPTRE. Guidance is given in the creation of a nite element mesh of the cable geometry. The set-up of a CEPTRE simulation is detailed. Users are instructed in evaluating the quality of the CEPTRE radiation transport results. The post-processing of CEPTRE results using Exostrip is detailed. And finally, an EMPHASIS/CABANA simulation is detailed including the interpretation of the output.

Annealed type 316LN stainless steel in the (1) carburized and the (2) carburized plus nitrided conditions was evaluated for cavitation-erosion resistance in ambient temperature mercury using a vibratory horn method. The results indicated that, relative to the specimens receiving only the carburizing treatment, the specimens that received both surface treatments exhibited substantially greater weight loss, general thinning, and profile development as a function of sonication time - with all observed degradation limited to the nitrided layer. Further, the nitride layer was observed to be susceptible to extensive cracking (occasionally leading to spallation), but the cracking was never observed to penetrate into the carburized layer. These screening test results suggest there is no improvement in cavitation-erosion resistance associated with augmentation of the carburizing treatment with plasma nitriding.

This report provides information about the Congressional Oversight Manual. Congressional Oversight of the executive is designed to fulfill a number of purposes like ensuring executive compliance with legislative intent etc.

This report provides information about the Consideration of the Budget Resolution.

Since sensitivity to contamination is one of the verities of solid state joining, there is a need for assessing contamination of the part(s) to be joined, preferably nondestructively while it can be remedied. As the surfaces that are joined in pinch welds are inaccessible and thus provide a greater challenge, most of the discussion is of the search for the origin and effect of contamination on pinch welding and ways to detect and mitigate it. An example of contamination and the investigation and remediation of such a system is presented. Suggestions are made for techniques for nondestructive evaluation of contamination of surfaces for other solid state welds as well as for pinch welds. Surfaces that have good visual access are amenable to inspection by diffuse reflection infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy. Although other techniques are useful for specific classes of contaminants (such as hydrocarbons), DRIFT can be used most classes of contaminants. Surfaces such as the interior of open tubes or stems that are to be pinch welded can be inspected using infrared reflection spectroscopy. It must be demonstrated whether or not this tool can detect graphite based contamination, which has been seen in stems. For tubes with one closed …

One in a series of tip sheets to help manufacturers optimize their industrial pumping systems

This report provides a side-by-side comparison of several bills in the 110th Congress addressing passenger vehicle fuel economy in general and the CAFE program specifically.The report covers CAFE- related Senate and House bills.

The combination of high oil costs, concerns about oil security and availability, and air quality issues related to vehicle emissions are driving interest in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). PHEVs are similar to conventional hybrid electric vehicles, but feature a larger battery and plug-in charger that allows electricity from the grid to replace a portion of the petroleum-fueled drive energy. PHEVs may derive a substantial fraction of their miles from grid-derived electricity, but without the range restrictions of pure battery electric vehicles. As of early 2007, production of PHEVs is essentially limited to demonstration vehicles and prototypes. However, the technology has received considerable attention from the media, national security interests, environmental organizations, and the electric power industry. The use of PHEVs would represent a significant potential shift in the use of electricity and the operation of electric power systems. Electrification of the transportation sector could increase generation capacity and transmission and distribution (T&D) requirements, especially if vehicles are charged during periods of high demand. This study is designed to evaluate several of these PHEV-charging impacts on utility system operations within the Xcel Energy Colorado service territory.

A standard approach to cross-language information retrieval (CLIR) uses Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) in conjunction with a multilingual parallel aligned corpus. This approach has been shown to be successful in identifying similar documents across languages - or more precisely, retrieving the most similar document in one language to a query in another language. However, the approach has severe drawbacks when applied to a related task, that of clustering documents 'language-independently', so that documents about similar topics end up closest to one another in the semantic space regardless of their language. The problem is that documents are generally more similar to other documents in the same language than they are to documents in a different language, but on the same topic. As a result, when using multilingual LSA, documents will in practice cluster by language, not by topic. We propose a novel application of PARAFAC2 (which is a variant of PARAFAC, a multi-way generalization of the singular value decomposition [SVD]) to overcome this problem. Instead of forming a single multilingual term-by-document matrix which, under LSA, is subjected to SVD, we form an irregular three-way array, each slice of which is a separate term-by-document matrix for a single language in the parallel …