Colloidal transport may increase the amount of contaminant material than that which could be transported by water flow alone. The role of colloids in groundwater contaminant transport is complicated and may involve many different processes, including sorption of elements onto colloidal particles, coagulation/dissolution, adsorption onto solid surfaces, filtration, and migration. Bacteria are known to concentrate minerals and influence the transport of compounds in aqueous environments and may also serve as organic colloids, thereby influencing subsurface transport of radionuclides and other contaminants. The initial phase of the project consisted of assembling a list of bacteria capable of sequestering or facilitating mineral transport. The development and optimization of the PCR amplification assay for the detection of the organisms of interest, and the examination of regional groundwaters for those organisms, are presented for subsequent research.

The objective of this research program was to continue developing, editing, maintaining, utilizing and making publicly available the Oil and Gas Well History file portion of the Natural Resources Information System (NRIS) for the State of Oklahoma, with a special emphasis on the Osage County records through the Osage Tribal council. The NRIS Well history file contains historical and recent completion records for oil and gas wells reported to the Oklahoma Corporation commission on Form 1002-A, and for wells in Osage County that have been reported to the Osage Tribal Council. At the start of this grant, the Well History file contained 378,243 records, providing historical coverage for all of Oklahoma except Osage County. During this grant period, the well record count increased by 33,301, to a new total of 411,544 records. Coverage is now completed for all Oklahoma counties. Through NRIS, the Oklahoma Geological survey (OGS) and the University of Oklahoma (OU) have developed a system with demonstrated value as a data resource for industry exploration and development, policy considerations, scientific research, conservation and other related issues. Because of the ongoing support of the US Department of Energy, the initial development phase of the NRIS Well History has been …

Vitrification has been identified as a viable choice in the disposition of actinide materials such as americium (Am), curium (Cm), neptunium (Np), and plutonium (Pu). At the Westinghouse Savannah River Company near Aiken, South Carolina, a process is being developed to safely vitrify all of the highly radioactive americium/curium material and a portion of the other fissile actinide materials stored on site. This vitrification will allow safe transportation of the Am/Cm as well as easy storage at their final destination of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This Am/Cm glass has been designed to be extremely durable in aqueous environments and can be selectively attacked by nitric acid to allow recovery of the valuable Am and Cm isotopes. A similar glass composition could allow for temporary or permanent storage of surplus plutonium. This paper will present results from a durability study on the actinide glass, Am/Cm Target, that will be used to vitrify the americium/curium material. The time, temperature, and compositional dependence of the Am/Cm Target durability will be discussed. All results show that the Am/Cm Target Glass is extremely durable and stable in aqueous systems, which is quite suitable for vitrification of americium/curium and possibly other actinides

We demonstrate large giant magnetoresistance (GMR) values of Co/Cu multilayers (MLs) sputtered on combined Co18{angstrom}/Cu48{angstrom} buffer layer. GMR values at room temperature reach 62% at the first antiferromagnetically (AF) coupling peak and 33% at the 2nd AF coupled peak, which are very close to those found in Co/Cu MLs sputtered on a Fe buffer layer. The large GMR effect is attributed to the superior superlattice structure of these samples, as evidenced by the x-ray reflectivity data as well as the TEM micrographs. In particular, the role of thin Co initial layer deposited beneath the Cu buffer layer on improved ML structure has been clarified from cross-sectional micrographs of high-resolution TEM.

A computational model for the ablation of tooth enamel by ultra-short laser pulses is presented. The role of simulations using this model in designing and understanding laser drilling systems is discussed. Pulses of duration 300 fsec and intensity greater than 10{sup 12} W/cm{sup 2} are considered. Laser absorption proceeds via multi-photon initiated plasma mechanism. The hydrodynamic response is calculated with a finite difference method, using an equation of state constructed from thermodynamic functions including electronic, ion motion, and chemical binding terms. Results for the ablation efficiency are presented. An analytic model describing the ablation threshold and ablation depth is presented. Thermal coupling to the remaining tissue and long-time thermal conduction are calculated. Simulation results are compared to experimental measurements of the ablation efficiency. Desired improvements in the model are presented.

This report relates to fabrication of roll bar support structures and steam surface condenser seal plugs for power plants.

Explicit goals of acceptable risk for natural phenomena hazards (earthquake, extreme wind, and flood) have been established by the Department of Energy (DOE) 1994. Closely associated to the earthquake risk is the issue of seismically-induced liquefaction. Because deterministic methods currently available to answer the question to whether a site is liquefiable or not are incapable of providing a clue as to the likelihood or risk of liquefaction, the application of the criteria to a given facility requires that alternative evaluation techniques be formulated. This paper describes the application to a nuclear facility of a newly developed probabilistic methodology which rigorously accounts for geotechnical and seismologic uncertainties. The results of the analyses are compared with the acceptable levels of risk presented by DOE. This comparison is used to emphasize the power of the methodology as a tool in the decision-making processes.

In preparation for fulfilling our responsibilities under the Government Management Reform Act of 1994, we planned to conduct an audit of the Department of Energy`s FY 1995 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. As discussed in the accompanying reports, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) could not express an opinion on the reasonableness of the value of assets and liabilities of the Department because of matters outside the control of the auditors that restricted the scope of their work. Although the OIG could not express an opinion, the audit disclosed reportable conditions in the Department`s internal control structure that adversely affected its ability to manage and account for its assets and liabilities. Corrective management actions on these reportable conditions should help the Department in preparing its Fiscal Year (FY) 1996 Statement of Financial Position.

A computational model for the ablation of tooth enamel by ultra-short laser pulses is presented. The role of simulations using this model in designing and understanding laser drilling systems is discussed. Pulses of duration 300 sec and intensity greater than 10{sup 12} W/cm{sup 2} are considered. Laser absorption proceeds via multi-photon initiated plasma mechanism. The hydrodynamic response is calculated with a finite difference method, using an equation of state constructed from thermodynamic functions including electronic, ion motion, and chemical binding terms. Results for the ablation efficiency are presented. An analytic model describing the ablation threshold and ablation depth is presented. Thermal coupling to the remaining tissue and long-time thermal conduction are calculated. Simulation results are compared to experimental measurements of the ablation efficiency. Desired improvements in the model are presented.

The goal of this project is to investigate the conditions in which volatiles will burn within both the dense and freeboard regions of fluidized beds. Experiments using a fluidized bed operated at incipient fluidization are being conducted to characterize the effect of particle surface area, initial fuel concentration, and particle type on the inhibition of volatiles within a fluidized bed. A review of the work conducted under this grant is presented in this Final Technical Report. Both experimental and theoretical work have been conducted to examine the inhibition of the combustion by the fluidized bed material, sand. It has been shown that particulate phase at incipient fluidization inhibits the combustion of propane by free radical destruction at the surface of sand particles within the particulate phase. The implications of these findings is that at bed temperatures lower than the critical temperatures, gas combustion can only occur in the bubble phase or at the top surface of a bubbling fluidized bed. In modeling fluidized bed combustion this inhibition by the particulate phase should be included.

We have fabricated a novel GMR ML flux sensor that is designed to operate in the CPP mode. The GMR sensor is a 0.4 {mu}m diameter, 0.09 {mu}m high Cu-Co ML pedestal. The sensors are patterned using electron beam lithography. The Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-TiC substrate is coated with a sputter deposited Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} film that is polished to <0.2 nm RMS roughness. Contact to the bottom of the GMR sensor is made by depositing the Cu-Co multilayers onto a smooth 0.45 {mu}m thick Mo-Si ML stack. The top contact is self-aligned to the GMR sensor. This is accomplished, in part, by CMP. The top and bottom contact layers are electrically isolated by a PECVD Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} film. The configuration of the contacts allows four point probe resistance measurements. The GMR response of these 0.4 {mu}m diameter sensors is 12%.

The primary objective of the Advanced Emissions Control Development Program (AECDP) is to develop practical, cost-effective strategies for reducing the emissions of air toxics from coal-fired boilers. Ideally, the project aim is to effectively control air toxic emissions through the use of conventional flue gas cleanup equipment such as electrostatic precipitators (ESPs), fabric filters (baghouses), and wet flue gas desulfurization. B&W`s Clean Environment Development Facility (CEDF) and the AECDP equipment combined to form a state-of-the-art facility for integrated evaluation of combustion and post-combustion emissions control options. Phase I activities were primarily directed at providing a reliable, representative test facility for conducting air toxic emission control development work later in the project. This report summarizes the AECDP Phase I activities which consisted of the design, installation, shakedown, verification, and air toxics benchmarking of the AECDP facility. The AECDP facility consists of an ESP, pulse-jet baghouse, and wet scrubber. All verification and air toxic tests were conducted with a high sulfur, bituminous Ohio coal. In order to successfully apply the results of the program to utility systems, the relationship between the performance of the CEDF/AECDP test equipment and commercial units had to be established. The first step in the verification process was …

The objectives for this quarter of study on the co-firing of high sulfur coals with refuse derived fuels were two-fold. First, the effects of different experimental parameters such as temperature, flow rates and reaction times on the formation of chlorinated organic compounds were studied using the tubular furnace as a reactor followed by GC/MS analysis. Secondly, the effect of fuel/air ratio on the flue gas composition and combustion efficiency were studied with the AFBC system.

The primary objective of the Advanced Emissions Control Development Program (AECDP) is to develop practical, cost-effective strategies for reducing the emissions of air toxics from coal-fired boilers. Ideally, the project aim is to effectively control air toxic emissions through the use of conventional flue gas cleanup equipment such as electrostatic precipitators (ESP`s), fabric filters (baghouse), and wet flue gas desulfurization. B&W`s Clean Environment Development Facility (CEDF) and the AECDP equipment combined to form a state-of-the-art facility for integrated evaluation of combustion and post-combustion emissions control options. Phase 1 activities were primarily aimed at providing a reliable, representative test facility for conducting air toxic emissions control development work later in the project. This report summarizes the AECDP Phase I activities which consisted of the design, installation, shakedown, verification, and air toxics benchmarking of the AECDP facility. All verification and air toxic tests were conducted with a high sulfur, bituminous Ohio coal.

The report contains three appendices from the Phase 1 final report. Appendix A contains wet scrubber sampling and analysis schedules, DBA/lime chemical analysis, and limestone forced oxidation chemical analysis. Appendix B consists of data on air toxic benchmarking baghouse conditions, ESP conditions, and wet scrubber conditions. Appendix C contains the quality assurance results. The primary objective of this project is to develop practical, cost-effective strategies for reducing the emissions of air toxics from coal-fired boilers. Phase 1 was aimed at providing a reliable test facility for conducting air toxic emissions control development work and is described more fully in the main report (OCDO--96013945).

The focus of this project is on toxic metal removal by sorbent injection in the upper furnace and economizer sections of a coal- fired boiler. Selenium was chosen as the candidate heavy metal to be studied because of its high volatility and associated difficulties in removal. A thorough mechanistic investigation of the SeO{sub 2}-Ca(OH){sub 2} interaction at both medium and high temperatures has been conducted in this project. Experiments were performed in the two temperature ranges in the presence and absence of O{sub 2}; desorption studies were conducted to characterize the nature of interaction; and XRD/XPS and Ion Chromatography studies were performed for species identification. It was inferred from these findings that the selenium capture was significantly more in the medium temperature range (450-650{degrees}C) than in high temperature range (800-1000{degrees}C) and the captured selenium species in the medium temperature range is in the form of calcium selenite (CaSeO{sub 3}) and a reaction scheme was proposed for the CaO/SeO{sub 2} interaction: CaO (s) + SeO{sub 2} (g) = CaSeO{sub 3} (s). This reaction process does not require the participation of oxygen, as was confirmed by various analytical techniques and supported by the experimental evidence. Results of the high-temperature studies indicate much …

This document provides a plan to comply with the seismic monitoring provisions of US DOE Order 5480.28, Natural Phenomena Hazards.

This document serves as the final report for Tank 241-BX-112. The auger samples were taken on Nov. 16 and 17, 1995. The report is broken into 2 parts; the nd part consists of the original 45-day safety screening report (including the DSC and TGA raw data). Prior to auger sampling, the vapor space of tank BX-112 was screened for flammability issues; the vapor space was found to be far below the lower explosive limit. The auger samples were taken to fully satisfy the DQO.

Savannah River Site personnel are planning a two phase program in order to significantly reduce the amount of dissolved chlorinated solvents that are being transported to the McQueen branch Aquifer via the wellbore and gravel pack zones of the A/M Area production well system. In Phase I of the program a commercially available inflatable packer and check valve assembly will be installed inside the casing at the altitude of the McQueen Branch Confining Unit. This immediate, short term solution will eliminate the majority of the contaminant mass that is moving downward through the wellbore of the A/M Area production wells. During the packer installation process several pre- and post- testing activities are planned to aid SRS investigators in understanding the dynamics of the flow conditions and effectiveness of the installed assembly.The second phase of the program will address the small amount of contaminant mass that is moving downward through the continuous gravel pack of the production wells. The investigative data obtained during Phase I of this program will be beneficial for developing plans and appropriate actions for the Phase II activities. Site personnel are currently evaluating various options, i.e. casing perforation with grout injection or partial well abandonment, to eliminate …

Ultra-thin oxynitride films were grown on Si by direct rapid thermal processing (RTP) oxynitridation in NO/O{sub 2} ambients with NO concentrations from 5% to 50%. During oxynitridation, nitrogen accumulated at the Si/dielectric interface and the average concentration of in N through the resulting films ranged from 0.3 to 3.0 atomic percent. The average concentration of N in the films increased with increasing NO in the ambient gas, but decreased with longer RTP times. The maximum N concentration remained relatively constant for all RTP times and a given NO/O{sub 2} ambient. Re-oxidation following oxynitridation altered L the N profile and improved the electrical characteristics, with an optimal NO/O{sub 2} mixture in the range of 10% to 25% NO. Re-oxidation by RTP improves the electrical characteristics with respect to the films that were not re-oxidized and produces only slight changes in the N distribution or maximum concentration. The electrical results also indicate that oxynitride films are superior to comparably grown oxide films.

The Department of Energy has over 200 different fuel types which will be placed in a geologic repository for ultimate disposal. At the present time, DOE EM is responsible for assuring safe existing conditions, achieving interim storage, and preparing for final disposition. Each task is governed by regulations which dictate a certain degree of knowledge regarding the contents and condition of the fuel. This knowledge and other associated characteristics are referred to as data needs. It is the stance of DOE EM, that personnel and economic resources are not available to obtain the necessary data to characterize such individual fuel type for final disposal documentation purposes. In addition, it is beyond the need of DOE to do so. This report describes the effort to classify the 200+ fuel types into a subset of fuel types for the purpose of non-destructive analysis (NDA) measurement system development and demonstration testing in support of the DOE National Spent Nuclear Fuel (NSNFP) Program. The fuel types have been grouped into 37 groups based on fuel composition, fuel form, assembly size, enrichment, and other characteristics which affect NDA measurements (e.g., neutron poisons).

In the US, there are two sets of key decommissioning records clearly identified -- those that are essential for planning the D and D of a facility and then those that are the result of the decommissioning process itself. In some cases, the regulatory authorities require and in others advise the licensees of the records that may be useful or which are required to be kept from the decommissioning. In the remainder of the paper, the author attempts to highlight some important aspects of decommissioning recordkeeping.

This program is part of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Related Inventions Program (ERIP). The purpose of ERIP is to promote and facilitate the development of energy saving technologies that may not otherwise be developed solely by commercial enterprises. The program has been highly successful in achieving its mission. The aim of this project is to determine and provide technical and economic data to a commercial end user of the alloy so that a full-scale alloy qualification program can be defined and implemented. The object of this project is to define the compositional range for a new alloy that is suitable for evaluation and qualification by a commercial enterprise. Alloy properties that will need to be determined include weldability, oxidation resistance, creep strength, resistance to thermo-mechanical fatigue, microstructure stability, and cost. Test results will be used to finalize the compositional range of an alloy that will undergo a rigorous qualification process.

Several concepts (and assumptions) from the literature for porous metals and ceramics have been synthesized into a consistent model that predicts an admissibility limit on a material's porous yield surface. To ensure positive plastic work, the rate at which a yield surface can collapse as pores grow in tension must be constrained.