The Mixed Waste Management Facility (MWMF) is a national demonstration test bed that will be used to evaluate, at pilot scale, emerging technologies for the effective treatment of low-level radioactive, organic mixed wastes. The treatment technologies will be selected from candidates of advanced processes that have been sufficiently demonstrated in laboratory and bench-scale tests, and most closely meet suitable criteria for demonstration. The primary and initial goal will be to demonstrate technologies that have the potential to effectively treat a selection of organic-based mixed waste streams, currently in storage within the DOE, that list incineration as the best demonstrated available technology (BDAT). In future operations, the facility may also be used to demonstrate technology that addresses a broader range of government, university, medical, and industry needs. The primary objective of the MWMF is to demonstrate integrated mixed-waste processing technologies. While primary treatment processes are an essential component of integrated treatment trains, they are only a part of a fully integrated demonstration.

One of the drawbacks of standard volume rendering techniques is that is it often difficult to comprehend the three-dimensional structure of the volume from a single frame; this is especially true in cases where there is no solid surface. Generally, several frames must be generated and viewed sequentially, using motion parallax to relay depth. Another option is to generate a single spectroscopic pair, resulting in clear and unambiguous depth information in both static and moving images. Methods have been developed which take advantage of the coherence between the two halves of a stereo pair for polygon rendering and ray-tracing, generating the second half of the pair in significantly less time than that required to completely render a single image. This paper reports the results of implementing these techniques with parallel ray-traced volume rendering. In tests with different data types, the time savings is in the range of 70--80%.

A novel DRAM cell technology consisting of an access transistor and a bootstrapped storage capacitor with an integrated breakdown diode is proposed. This design offers considerable resistance to single event cell hits. The information change packet is shielded from an SE hit by placing the vulnerable node in a self-compensating standby state. The proposed cell is comparable in size to a conventional DRAM cell, but simulations show an improvement in critical charge of two orders of magnitude.

The statistical mechanics of collections of closed self avoiding vortex loops on a lattice are studied. The system is related to the vortex form of the three dimensional XY model and to lattice vortex equilibrium models of turbulence. The system exhibits vortex connectivity and screening effects, and models in vorticity variables the superfluid transition. The equilibrium states of the system are simulated by a grand canonical Monte Carlo method. A set of geometric transformations for self-avoiding loops is developed. The numerical method employs histogram sampling techniques and utilizes a modification to the Metropolis flow which enhances efficiency. Results are given for a region in the temperature-chemical potential plane, where the chemical potential is related to the vortex fugacity. A line of second order transitions is identified at low temperature. The transition is shown to be a percolation threshold at which connected vortex loops of infinite size appear in the system. The nature of the transition supports the assumption that the lambda transition in bulk superfluid helium is driven by vortices. An asymptotic analysis is performed for the energy and entropy scaling of the system as functions of the system size and the lattice spacing. These estimates indicate that the infinite …

This report discusses high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter systems that which are contaminated with radionuclides are part of the nuclear fuel processing systems conducted by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and require replacement and safe and efficient disposal for plant safety. Two K-3 HEPA filters were removed from service, placed burial boxes, buried, and safely and efficiently stabilized remotely which reduced radiation exposure to personnel and the environment.

Results were shown on transverse momentum distributions of {pi}, k and p from Fermilab experiment E735. This experiment, related to the search for quark gluon plasma, was run at the Fermilab Tevatron collider with {bar p}p collisions at {radical}s = 1800 GeV. Dependence of particle ratios on transverse momentum and center of mass energies was shown. Results were also shown on Bose Einstein correlations between pairs of identical pions and a measure of size and lifetime of the source.

We report on the effectiveness of proximity caps and PECVD Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}caps during annealing of implanted ZnSe films. OMVPE ZnSe films were grown using diisopropylselenide (DIPSe) and diethylzinc (DEZn) precursors, then ion-implanted with 1 {times} 10{sup 14} cm{sup {minus}2} N (33 keV) or Ne (45 keV) at room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature, and rapid thermal annealed at temperatures between 200C and 850C. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry in the channeling orientation was used to investigate damage recovery, and photoluminescence spectroscopy was used to investigate crystal quality and the formation of point defects. Low temperature implants were found to have better luminescence properties than room temperature implants, and results show that annealing, time and temperature may be more important than capping material in determining the optical properties. Effects of various caps, implant and annealing temperature are discussed in terms of photoluminescence spectra.

The Surtsey Facility at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is used to perform scaled experiments that simulate hypothetical high-pressure melt ejection (HPME) accidents in a nuclear power plant (NPP). These experiments are designed to investigate the effect of specific phenomena associated with direct containment heating (DCH) on the containment load, such as the effect of physical scale, prototypic subcompartment structures, water in the cavity, and hydrogen generation and combustion. In the Integral Effects Test (IET) series, 1:10 linear scale models of the Zion NPP structures were constructed in the Surtsey vessel. The RPV was modeled with a steel pressure vessel that had a hemispherical bottom head, which had a 4-cm hole in the bottom head that simulated the final ablated hole that would be formed by ejection of an instrument guide tube in a severe NPP accident. Iron/alumina/chromium thermite was used to simulate molten corium that would accumulate on the bottom head of an actual RPV. The chemically reactive melt simulant was ejected by high-pressure steam from the RPV model into the scaled reactor cavity. Debris was then entrained through the instrument tunnel into the subcompartment structures and the upper dome of the simulated reactor containment building. The results of the …

Kinetic data for elimination of silylene supports formation of a ``tighter`` transition state, indicating a silacyclopropene intermediate. This extends the silacyclopropene mechanism to the cyclicdialkyne system and validates the consistency of the mechanism for silylakynes, in general. Investigation into the other possible silacyclopropene product established the instability of the product. The work with silylketenes proved that an inherent difference exists between reactivity of monosilyl-substituted ketenes and polysilyl-substituted ketenes. Although the mechanism for thermal decomposition of bis(silyl)ketenes can be modified to account for the unexpected silylene elimination products, reasons for the difference are limited to speculation. The photochemistry of silylketenes has not been previously studied, so a model system does not exist for comparison with our polysilylketene work. The photochemical experimentation suggests that the photochemistry and thermochemistry of polysilylketenes is not the same. A more extensive study of the mechanism of the systems covered in this research as well as with monosilyl-substituted systems is needed.

A theme which emerges from our simple considerations is that some well-planned early parametric and sensitivity studies, using current-generation coupled Earth system model components, along with simplistic proxy models of terrestrial biospheric and biogeochemical processes, could furnish valuable information to help guide the development of a longer-term plan for research supporting ESM development. This theme is rooted in the premise that the importance of various ESM component processes can be fully assessed only from the perspective of a complete coupling of that process into the ESM context. That is, the question, ``How well must a given process be modelled``? Cannot be answered in isolation, but rather requires a careful blend of process research and coupled model studies.

The ultimate economic feasibility of biomass depends on its cost of production and on the cost of competing fuels. The purpose of this research project is to evaluate the production costs of several combinations of species and management systems for producing herbaceous biomass for energy use in Iowa. Herbaceous biomass production systems have costs similar to other crop production systems, such as corn, soybean, and forages. Thus, the factors influencing the costs of producing dedicated biomass energy crops include technological factors such as the cultivation system, species, treatments, soil type, and site and economic factors such as input prices and use of fixed resources. In order to investigate how these production alternatives are influenced by soil resources, and climate conditions, two locations in Iowa, Ames and Chariton, with different soil types and slightly different weather patterns were selected for both the agronomic and economic analyses. Nine crops in thirteen cropping systems were grown at the two sites for five years, from 1988 to 1992. Some of the systems had multiple cropping or interplanting, using combinations of cool-season species and warm-season species, in order to meet multiple objectives of maximum biomass, minimal soil loss, reduced nitrogen fertilization or diminished pesticide inputs. …

The relative high cost of energy derived from biomass is a major deterrent to greater use of biomass for energy production One of the most important methods of lowering the cost of dedicated biomass production is to increase the yield per unit of land area so that fixed costs can be applied to more tons of forage. For this study, the authors selected grass and legume crops with potential for high biomass yields and those that offer protection from soil erosion. The research reported here was conducted to identify those species and cultural practices that would result in high biomass yields for various land capabilities with acceptable and soil erosion potential. They also conducted research to determine if intercropping sorghum into alfalfa or reed canarygrass could increase biomass yields over alfalfa or reed canarygrass grown alone and still have the advantage for limiting soil erosion.

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Measurement error modeling is a statistical approach to the estimation of unknown model parameters which takes into account the measurement errors in all of the data. Approaches which ignore the measurement errors in so-called independent variables may yield inferior estimates of unknown model parameters. At the same time, experiment-wide variables (such as physical constants) are often treated as known without error, when in fact they were produced from prior experiments. Realistic assessments of the associated uncertainties in the experiment-wide variables can be utilized to improve the estimation of unknown model parameters. A maximum likelihood approach to incorporate measurements of experiment-wide variables and their associated uncertainties is presented here. An iterative algorithm is presented which yields estimates of unknown model parameters and their estimated covariance matrix. Further, the algorithm can be used to assess the sensitivity of the estimates and their estimated covariance matrix to the given experiment-wide variables and their associated uncertainties.

The authors examined the optical bandgap, particle size distribution, photoluminescence spectra, and cathodoluminescent response of fifteen phosphors that contain transition-metal and main-group sensitizers. They determined luminance versus applied voltage curves for electron energies from 5 to 1000 eV. Seven phosphors exhibit threshold voltages less than 110V. Y{sub 1.96} Eu{sub 0.04} O{sub 3} exhibits a threshold voltage of 13 V and, at 300 V, displays a luminance of 25 fL and a luminous efficiency of 0.02 lm/W.

This report summarizes the basis for the commercial disposal of Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) mixed low-level waste (MLLW) debris and the associated activities. Mixed waste is radioactive waste plus hazardous waste as defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The critical factors for this project were DOE 5820.2A exemption, contracting mechanism, NEPA documentation, sampling and analysis, time limitation and transportation of waste. This report also will provide a guide or a starting place for future use of Envirocare of Utah or other private sector disposal/treatment facilities, and the lessons learned during this project.

The USA consumes almost 94 quads of energy (1 quad = 10{sup 15} BTU or 1.05 {times} 10{sup 15} KJ). The utilities account for about 30 quads of fossil energy where coal is predominantly used as energy source. The coal is ground to finer size and fired into the boiler as dense suspension. Under dense conditions, the particles burn at slower rate due to deficient oxygen within the interparticle spacing. Thus interactions exist amongst the particles for dense clouds. While the earlier literature dealt with combustion processes of isolated particles, the recent research focusses upon the interactive combustion. The interactive combustion studies include arrays consisting of a finite number of particles, and streams and clouds of a large number of particles. Particularly stream combustion models assume cylindrical geometry and predict the ignition and combustion characteristics. The models show that the ignition starts homogeneously for dense streams of coal particles and the ignition time show a minimum as the stream denseness is increased, and during combustion, there appears to be an inner flame within the stream and an outer flame outside the stream for a short period of time. The present experimental investigation is an attempt to verify the model predictions. …

Previous work on isosynthesis (conversion of synthesis gas to isobutane and isobutylene) was performed at very low conversions or extreme process conditions. The objectives of this research were (1) determine the optimum process conditions for isosynthesis; (2) determine the optimum catalyst preparation method and catalyst composition/properties for isosynthesis; (3) determine the kinetics for the best catalyst; (4) develop reactor models for trickle bed, slurry, and fixed bed reactors; and (5) simulate the performance of fixed bed trickle flow reactors, slurry flow reactors, and fixed bed gas phase reactors for isosynthesis. More improvement in catalyst activity and selectivity is needed before isosynthesis can become a commercially feasible (stand-alone) process. Catalysts prepared by the precipitation method show the most promise for future development as compared with those prepared hydrothermally, by calcining zirconyl nitrate, or by a modified sol-gel method. For current catalysts the high temperatures (>673 K) required for activity also cause the production of methane (because of thermodynamics). A catalyst with higher activity at lower temperatures would magnify the unique selectivity of zirconia for isobutylene. Perhaps with a more active catalyst and acidification, oxygenate production could be limited at lower temperatures. Pressures above 50 atm cause an undesirable shift in product …

The objectives of this project are to develop a new catalyst; the kinetics for this catalyst; reactor models for trickle bed, slurry and fixed bed reactors; and to simulate the performance of fixed bed trickle flow reactors, slurry flow reactors, and fixed bed gas phase reactors for conversion of a hydrogen lean synthesis gas to isobutylene. A hydrogen-lean synthesis gas with a ratio of H{sub 2}/CO of 0.5 to 1.0 is produced from the gasification of coal, lignite, or biomass. Isobutylene is a key reactant in the synthesis of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and of isooctanes. MTBE and isooctanes are high octane fuels used to blend with low octane gasolines to raise the octane number required for modern automobiles. The production of these two key octane boosters is limited by the supply of isobutylene. MTBE, when used as an octane enhancer, also decreases the amount of pollutants emitted from the exhaust of an automobile engine.

This task involves the feasibility of high-power pulsed, high- efficiency, millimeter-wave free electron lasers (FEL) for ecr of thermonuclear plasmas. The research undertaken is to develop high average power FEL at voltage below IMV allowing for smaller and less costly power supplies. Linear amplification experiments employing a No. 56 period untapered wiggler have been conducted, and substantial small signal gain was observed at 95 GHz over a wide range of experimental conditions consistent with the prediction of one-dimensional numerical simulation. Progress is also reported on theoretical studies relating to the development of high-power gryotron and the ability to predict and improve the performance of various cavity designs.

The NTS (Nevada Test Site) Ground Motion Data Base is composed of strong motion data recorded during the normal execution of the US underground test program. It contains surface, subsurface, and structure motion data as digitized waveforms. Currently the data base contains information from 148 underground explosions. This represents about 4,200 measurements and nearly 12,000 individual digitized waveforms. Most of the data was acquired by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in connection with LANL sponsored underground tests. Some was acquired by Los Alamos on tests conducted by the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and there are some measurements that were acquired by the other test sponsors on their events and provided for inclusion in this data base. Data acquisition, creation of the data base, and development of the data base retrieval program (ntsgm) are the result of work in support of the Los Alamos Field Test Office and the Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control.

The goal of this project was to determine if acclimation of spring chinook smolts in ambient temperature surface water prior to release will increase survival (smolt-to-adult) compared to smolts raised only in constant temperature sprint water.

The growing interest in battery systems has led to major advances in high-energy and/or high-power-density lithium batteries. Potential applications for lithium batteries include radio transceivers, portable electronic instrumentation, emergency locator transmitters, night vision devices, human implantable devices, as well as uses in the aerospace and defense programs. With this new technology comes the use of new solvent and electrolyte systems in the research, development, and production of lithium batteries. The goal is to enhance lithium battery technology with the use of non-hazardous materials. Therefore, the toxicity and health hazards associated with exposure to the solvents and electrolytes used in current lithium battery research and development is evaluated and described.

The figures and tables in this report represent a capsule view of the routine environmental monitoring and surveillance programs at the Savannah River Site. An attempt has been made to include all available data from environmental research programs. The first section of the book is a collection of maps of radiological and nonradiological sampling locations. Also included are general radiological and nonradiological sampling and analysis schedules; a list of the media sampled, along with sample sizes and representative aliquots; a list of the lower limits of detection for radiological detection instruments; the minimum detectable concentrations for gamma analysis of water and air samples; and the minimum detectable concentrations for gamma analysis of soil, food, fish and wildlife, and vegetation samples. Following the first section are data tables containing radiological and nonradiological effluent monitoring results, radiological and nonradiological environmental surveillance results, dose estimates, quality assurance activities, and results of nonroutine occurrences and special surveys.