The primary objective of the research project during the first funding period was to develop an acoustic probe to measure volume percent solids in solid-liquid slurries in the presence of small amounts of gas bubbles. This problem was addressed because of the great need for a non-invasive, accurate and reliable method for solids monitoring in liquid slurries in the presence of radiolytically generated gases throughout the DOE complex. These measurements are necessary during mobilization of salts and sediments in tanks, transport of these slurries in transfer lines to processing facilities across a site, and, in some instances, during high level waste processing. Although acoustic probes have been commonly used for monitoring flows in single-phase fluids (McLeod, 1967), their application to monitor two-phase mixtures has not yet fully realized its potential. A number of investigators in recent years have therefore been involved in developing probes for measuring the volume fractions in liquid solid suspensions (Atkinson and Kytomaa, 1993; Greenwood et al., 1993; Martin et al., 1995) and in liquid-liquid suspensions (Bonnet and Tavlarides, 1987; Tavlarides and Bonnet, 1988, Yi and Tavlarides, 1990; Tsouris and Tavlarides, 1993, Tsouris et al., 1995). In particular, Atkinson and Kytomaa (1993) showed that the acoustic technique …

Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Alvin, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

The current project is a continuation of an effort to develop ultrashallow seismic imaging as a cost-effective method potentially applicable to DOE facilities. The objective of the present research is to develop and demonstrate the use of a cost-effective, automated method of conducting shallow seismic surveys, an approach that represents a significant departure from conventional seismic-survey field procedures. Initial testing of a mechanical geophone-planting device suggests that large numbers of geophones can be placed both quickly and automatically. The development of such a device could make the application of SSR considerably more efficient and less expensive. The imaging results obtained using automated seismic methods will be compared with results obtained using classical seismic techniques. Although this research falls primarily into the field of seismology, for comparison and quality-control purposes, some GPR data will be collected as well. In the final year of th e research, demonstration surveys at one or more DOE facilities will be performed. An automated geophone-planting device of the type under development would not necessarily be limited to the use of shallow seismic reflection methods; it also would be capable of collecting data for seismic-refraction and possibly for surface-wave studies. Another element of our research plan involves …

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Newspaper clipping from the Desert Sun, "She set the bar for all pilots: Jackie Cochran had more flight records than anyone and became part of valley history" by Mary Anne Pinkston. The story continues from the front page to page E5 and discusses her flying accomplishments and trophies, as well as her marriage to Floyd Odlum and their life together.

Contaminants have leaked into the vadose zone at the USDOE Hanford reservation. It is important to understand the fate and transport of these contaminants to design remediation strategies and long-term waste management plans at the Hanford reservation. Colloids may play an important role in fate and transport of strongly sorbing contaminants, such as Cs or Pu. This project seeks to improve the basic understanding of colloid and colloid-facilitated transport of contaminants in the vadose zone. The specific objectives addressed are: (1) Determine the structure, composition, and surface charge characteristics of colloidal particles formed under conditions similar to those occurring during leakage of waste typical of Hanford tank supernatants into soils and sediments surrounding the tanks. (2) Characterize the mutual interactions between colloids, contaminant, and soil matrix in batch experiments under various ionic strength and pH conditions. We will investigate the nature of the solid-liquid interactions and the kinetics of the reactions. (3) Evaluate mobility of colloids through soil under different degrees of water saturation and solution chemistry (ionic strength and pH). (4) Determine the potential of colloids to act as carriers to transport the contaminant through the vadose zone and verify the results through comparison with field samples collected under …

The successful disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is one of the most serious challenges to the successful completion of the nuclear fuel cycle and the future of nuclear power generation. In the United States, 21 percent of the electricity is generated by 107 commercial nuclear power plants (NPP), each of which generates 20 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel annually. In 1996, the total accumulation of spent nuclear fuel was 33,700 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) stored at 70 sites around the country. The end-of-life projection for current nuclear power plants (NPP) is approximately 86,000 MTHM. In the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain over 95% of the radioactivity originates from spent nuclear fuel. World-wide in 1998, approximately 130,000 MTHM of SNF have accumulated, most of it located at 236 NPP in 36 countries. Annual production of SNF is approximately 10,000 MTHM, containing about 100 tons of ''reactor grade'' plutonium. Any reasonable increase in the proportion of energy production by NPP, i.e., as a substitute for hydrocarbon-based sources of energy, will significantly increase spent nuclear fuel production. Spent nuclear fuel is essentially UO{sub 2} with approximately 4-5 atomic percent actinides and fission product elements. A number of …

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

This is the final report for the grant ''Fundamental Studies of Fluid Mechanics: Stability in Porous Media''. This work has been concerned with theoretical, computational and experimental studies of a variety of flow and transport problems that are of generic interest and applicability in energy-related and energy-intensive processes. These include the follow: (1) Problems associated with oil recovery--the global economy continues to be dependent on the stable and predictable supply of oil and fossil fuels. This wil remain the case for the near term, as current estimates are that world production of oil will peak between 2025 and 2100, depending on assumptions regarding growth. Most of these resources reside in porous rocks and other naturally occurring media. Studies of flow-induced instabilities are relevant to the areas of secondary and enhanced oil recovery. (2) Small scale and Stokes flows--flows in microgeometries and involving interfaces and surfactants are of interest in a myriad of energy-related contexts. These include: pore-level modeling of the fundamental processes by which oil held in porous materials is mobilized and produced; heating and cooling energy cycles involving significant expenditure of energy in conditioning of human environments, heat pipes, and compact heat exchangers; and energy efficiency in large scale …

While numerous techniques exist for remediation of contaminant plumes in groundwater or near the soil surface, remediation methods in the deep vadose zone are less established due to complex transport dynamics and sparse microbial populations. Yet pollution in the vadose zone poses a serious threat to the groundwater resources lying deeper in the sediment. While the contaminant may be slowly degraded by native microbial communities; microbial degradation rates rarely keep pace with the spread of the pollutant. Hydrologic and microbiological properties of the zone, and their interactions, are fundamentally different from the saturated zone: the vadose zone has an additional phase (air), higher levels of oxygen, and contaminant transport and water movement is predominantly perpendicular to geologic strata and occurs in water films. In addition, microbial populations in the vadose zone are sparse and spatially discontinuous, especially in arid climates. At the Department of Energy's Hanford site in Richland, WA, numerous recalcitrant organic compounds were disposed of in the vadose zone, and now are continual sources of groundwater pollution. Among the most problematic of these is a plume of carbon tetrachloride (CT), a common solvent, the majority of which still resides in the vadose zone despite the presence of microbes …

Semiweekly newspaper from Levelland, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Semiweekly newspaper from Carthage, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

This research involves a combined experimental modeling study that builds on our previous DOE-sponsored work in understanding how KMnO4 can be used with in situ cleanups of contaminated sites. The specific objectives of this study are (1) to describe how solid forms of KMnO4 behave in saturated media, (2) to undertake flow tank studies that examine the hydraulic impact of reaction products (especially MnO2) on the flux of water through the zone of contamination, and (3) to represent process understanding in flow and transport models. We have made excellent progress in addressing these issues through a variety of different laboratory and theoretical investigations, as well as work that summarizes the state of the science. In the space available for this report, we can only summarize the key findings of the study. Readers interested in additional details can refer to the papers that are listed at end of this report. There has been significant industrial interest in the use of KMnO4 schemes for the in situ destruction of various chlorinated solvents. Given our previous work that emphasized some of the problems associated with field applications of the method, we were invited to contribute to a special edition of Environmental & Engineering …

Semi-weekly newspaper from Livingston, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Sapulpa, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Semi-weekly newspaper from Seminole, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.

Church bulletin listing the order of worship for the 7:30 and 11:00 Sunday morning services at the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, as well as various notes about upcoming events, congregational news, and other information of relevance to church members.