The primary objective of this research is to identify the age strengthening mechanism in gray and ductile cast iron, and to quantify the parameters that control it. It is also to contribute to a new predictive model for gray and ductile iron strength and hardness. This work shows that age strengthening occurs on a sigmoidal-logarithmic scale in gray and ductile cast irons, to a statistically significant extent. This is similar to Avrami-Johnson-Mehl kinetics for phase transformations in metals. It occurs in both cupola-melted iron and induction melted iron. However, it does not happen in all compositions. We have developed some understanding of the process. Data suggests that nitrogen and nitride-forming trace elements have a significant role in the process, but that is yet not fully characterized. Also, the time dependence of the bulk hardness and strength increase, the nano-scale precipitation evidence from neutron scattering, differential scanning calorimetry results and matrix micro-hardness increase in ferrite all indicate that age strengthening occurs by a precipitation or pre-precipitate cluster formation mechanism.

The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is a low aspect ratio (R/a approximately equal to 1.3) device with auxiliary heating from neutral beam injection (NBI) and high harmonic fast wave (HHFW) heating. Typical NSTX parameters are R(sub)0 = 85 cm, a = 67 cm, I(sub)p less than or equal to 1.5 MA, B(sub)T = 0.3-0.6 T. Three co-directed deuterium neutral beam sources have injected P(sub)NB less than or equal to 6.2 MW at energies E(sub)b less than or equal to 100 keV. HHFW heating has delivered up to P(sub)RF approximately equal to 6 MW to deuterium and helium plasmas.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether nitrated organic compounds could be formed during operation of the Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction (CSSX) process, and whether such compounds would present a safety concern. The CSSX process was developed to remove cesium from alkaline high-level salt waste stored at the US Department of Energy Savannah River Site (SRS). The solvent is composed of the cesium extractant calix[4]arene-bis-(4-tert-octylbenzo-crown-6) (BOBCalixC6), a fluorinated alcohol phase modifier, tri-n-octylamine (TOA), and an isoparaffinic diluent (Iospar{reg_sign}). During the CSSX process, the solvent is expected to be exposed to high concentrations of nitrate and nitrite dissolved in the alkaline waste feed. The solvent will also be exposed to dilute (50 mM) nitric acid solutions containing low concentrations of nitrite during scrubbing, followed by stripping with 1 mM nitric acid. The solvent is expected to last for one year of plant operation, and the temperatures the solvent may experience during the process could range from as low as 15 C to as high as 35 C. Excursions from standard process conditions could result in the solvent experiencing higher temperatures, as well as concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, and most importantly nitric acid, that exceed normal operating conditions. Accordingly, conditions may …

The Fuel Retrieval System (FRS) Process Validation Procedure (Stegen 2000) requires that a specified quantity of fuel processed through the Primary Cleaning Machine (PCM) be inspected for cleanliness during initial operational and process validation testing. Specifically these inspections are performed to confirm that the PCM adequately cleans the fuel elements of canister sludge. The results of these inspections will be used to demonstrate that residual quantities of canister particulate on fuel elements loaded into Multi-Canister Overpacks (MCOs) are within projected levels used to establish safety basis limits (Sloughter 2000). The fuel inspections performed as part of the validation process will be conducted during the Hot Operations portion of the Phased Startup Initiative (PSI) of the Fuel Retrieval and Integrated Water Treatment Systems (Pajunen 2000). Hot Operations testing constitutes Phases 3 and 4 of PSI. The fuel assemblies in all candidate canisters will be thoroughly inspected during these test phases (highly degraded fuel assemblies that qualify as scrap are exempt from inspection). During subsequent production operation of the FRS, only periodic inspections for cleanliness will be performed and documented. This document describes the specific processes and techniques that will be applied in performing the cleanliness inspections, and the methodology used to …

This report discusses the current political and social climate of Iraq, specifically in regards to the influence of the U.S. military presence over recent years. It addresses planned and possible future efforts under the Obama Administration, including the scheduled gradual troops withdrawal; some U.S. officials believe that a U.S. military presence is needed beyond the scheduled August 31, 2010 date. This report also discusses the continued tensions between various Iraqi sociocultural groups.

This report discusses Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM), and "Project Impact," a FEMA pilot program. It provides an overview of PDM, legislative history, funding and mitigation studies related to Hurricane Katrina, issues for Congress, and overall observations.

Washability analysis is the basis for nearly all coal preparation plant separations. Unfortunately, there are no on- line techniques for determining this most fundamental of all coal cleaning information. In light of recent successes at the University of Utah, it now appears possible to determine coal washability on-line through the use of x-ray computed tomography (CT) analysis. The successful development of such a device is critical to the establishment of process control and automated coal blending systems. In this regard, Virginia Tech, Terra Tek Inc., and U.S. coal producers have joined with the University of Utah and to undertake the development of an X-ray CT-based on- line coal washability analyzer with financial assistance from DOE. Each project participant brought special expertise to the project in order to create a new dimension in coal cleaning technology. The project involves development of appropriate software and extensive testing/evaluation of well-characterized coal samples from operating coal preparation plants. Data collected to date suggest that this new technology is capable of serving as a universal analyzer that can not only provide washability analysis, but also particle size distribution analysis, ash analysis, and perhaps pyritic sulfur analysis.

This report reviews all potentially available Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) data in the Technical Data Management System and compiles all relevant qualified data, including data qualified by this report, on elastic properties, Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus, into a single summary Data Tracking Number (DTN) MO0304DQRIRPPR.002. Since DTN MO0304DQRIRPPR.002 was compiled from both qualified and unqualified sources, this report qualifies the DTN in accordance with AP-SIII.2Q. This report also summarizes the individual test results in MO0304DQRIRPPR.002 and provides summary values using descriptive statistics for Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus in a Reference Information Base Data Item. This report found that test conditions such as temperature, saturation, and sample size could influence test results. The largest influence, however, is the lithologic variation within the tuffs themselves. Even though the summary DTN divided the results by lithostratigrahic units within each formation, there was still substantial variation in elastic properties within individual units. This variation was attributed primarily to the presence or absence of lithophysae, fractures, alteration, pumice fragments, and other lithic clasts within the test specimens as well as changes in porosity within the units. As a secondary cause, substantial variations can also be attributed to test conditions such as the type …

The primary objective of the Monitored Geologic Repository Project Description Document (PDD) is to allocate the functions, requirements, and assumptions to the systems at Level 5 of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System (CRWMS) architecture identified in Section 4. It provides traceability of the requirements to those contained in Section 3 of the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Requirements Document (YMP RD) (YMP 2001a) and other higher-level requirements documents. In addition, the PDD allocates design related assumptions to work products of non-design organizations. The document provides Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) technical requirements in support of design and performance assessment in preparing for the Site Recommendation (SR) and License Application (LA) milestones. The technical requirements documented in the PDD are to be captured in the System Description Documents (SDDs) which address each of the systems at Level 5 of the CRWMS architecture. The design engineers obtain the technical requirements from the SDDs and by reference from the SDDs to the PDD. The design organizations and other organizations will obtain design related assumptions directly from the PDD. These organizations may establish additional assumptions for their individual activities, but such assumptions are not to conflict with the assumptions in the PDD. The PDD …

In this semi-annual progress report, we describe research results from an ongoing study of fossil hydrogen energy systems with CO{sub 2} sequestration. This work was performed under NETL Award No. DE-FC26-02NT41623, during the six-month period September 2002 through March 2003. The primary objective of the study is to better understand system design issues and economics for a large-scale fossil energy system co-producing H{sub 2} and electricity with CO{sub 2} sequestration. This is accomplished by developing analytic and simulation methods for studying the entire system in an integrated way. We examine the relationships among the different parts of a hydrogen energy system, and attempt to identify which variables are the most important in determining both the disposal cost of CO{sub 2} and the delivered cost of H{sub 2}. A second objective is to examine possible transition strategies from today's energy system toward one based on fossil-derived H{sub 2} and electricity with CO{sub 2} sequestration. We are carrying out a geographically specific case study of development of a fossil H{sub 2} system with CO{sub 2} sequestration, for the Midwestern United States, where there is presently substantial coal conversion capacity in place, coal resources are plentiful and potential sequestration sites in deep saline …

Biosurfactants enhance hydrocarbon biodegradation by increasing apparent aqueous solubility or affecting the association of the cell with poorly soluble hydrocarbon. Here, we show that a lipopeptide biosurfactant produced by Bacillus mojavensis strain JF-2 mobilized substantial amounts of residual hydrocarbon from sand-packed columns when a viscosifying agent and a low molecular weight alcohol were present. The amount of residual hydrocarbon mobilized depended on the biosurfactant concentration. One pore volume of cell-free culture fluid with 900 mg/l of the biosurfactant, 10 mM 2,3-butanediol and 1000 mg/l of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide polymer mobilized 82% of the residual hydrocarbon. Consistent with the high residual oil recoveries, we found that the bio-surfactant lowered the interfacial tension (IFT) between oil and water by nearly 2 orders of magnitude compared to typical IFT values of 28-29 mN/m. Increasing the salinity increased the IFT with or without 2,3-butanediol present. The lowest interfacial tension observed was 0.1 mN/m. The lipopeptide biosurfactant system may be effective in removing hydrocarbon contamination sources in soils and aquifers and for the recovery of entrapped oil from low production oil reservoirs. Previously, we reported that Proteose peptone was necessary for anaerobic growth and biosurfactant production by B. mojavensis JF-2. The data gathered from crude …

The Assembly Transfer System (ATS) receives, cools, and opens rail and truck transportation casks from the Carrier/Cask Handling System (CCHS). The system unloads transportation casks consisting of bare Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) assemblies, single element canisters, and Dual Purpose Canisters (DPCs). For casks containing DPCs, the system opens the DPCs and unloads the SNF. The system stages the assemblies, transfer assemblies to and from fuel-blending inventory pools, loads them into Disposal Containers (DCs), temporarily seals and inerts the DC, decontaminates the DC and transfers it to the Disposal Container Handling System. The system also prepares empty casks and DPCs for off-site shipment. Two identical Assembly Transfer System lines are provided in the Waste Handling Building (WHB). Each line operates independently to handle the waste transfer throughput and to support maintenance operations. Each system line primarily consists of wet and dry handling areas. The wet handling area includes a cask transport system, cask and DPC preparation system, and a wet assembly handling system. The basket transport system forms the transition between the wet and dry handling areas. The dry handling area includes the dry assembly handling system, assembly drying system, DC preparation system, and DC transport system. Both the wet and …

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is a public-private partnership intended to attract and rapidly disburse new resources in developing countries for the struggle against infectious disease. Approximately $4.6 billion has been pledged to the Fund, while about $1.5 billion has been received or was in process as of June 13, 2004. A May 2003 report by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) praised the Global Fund for "noteworthy progress in establishing essential governance and other supporting structures" but noted that the Fund's ability to finance additional grants was threatened by a lack of resources.

This report reviews policy proposals and interim contracts, analyzes the positions of various Iraqi political actors, and discusses potential implications for U.S. foreign policy goals in Iraq.

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This report discusses the changing role and finance of sea-based systems in U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD). Decisions that Congress reaches on this issue could affect U.S. BMD capabilities and funding requirements; the size, capabilities, and operational patterns of the Navy and the other services; and the shipbuilding industrial base.

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Since 1992, the United States has provided more than $28 billion in assistance to the 12 states of the former Soviet Union (FSU). It continues to provide nearly $2 billion annually. This report describes the broad framework of U.S. assistance programs and policies in the region and then focuses on the FREEDOM Support Act (FSA) account under the foreign operations budget which, encompassing all U.S. objectives in the region, has often been the means by which Congress has expressed its views and sought to influence policy.

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This report provides information about the Constitutional Principles and Federal Statutes on Child Pornography. Child pornography is material that visually depicts sexual conduct by children.

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This report focuses on the India-U.S. relations.

This report provides information about the Debt-Limit Legislation in the Congressional Budget Process. The gross federal debt consists of the debt held by the public plus the debt held by government accounts.