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Argonne National Laboratory is developing a glass bonded ceramic waste form for encapsulating the fission products and transuranics from the conditioning of metallic reactor fuel. This waste form is currently being scaled to the multi-kilogram size for encapsulation of actual high level waste. This paper will present characterization and durability testing of the ceramic waste form. An emphasis on results from application of glass durability tests such as the Product Consistency Test and characterization methods such as X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The information presented is based on a suite of tests utilized for assessing product quality during scale-up and parametric testing.

The Congressional Budget Act (CBA) of 1974 (P.L. 93-344), as amended, establishes the congressional budget process, which coordinates the legislative activities on the budget resolution, appropriations bills, reconciliation legislation, revenue measures, and other budgetary legislation. Section 300 of this act provides a timetable (see Table 1) so that Congress may complete its work on the budget by the start of the fiscal year on October 1.

A laser system to generate sodium-layer guide stars has been designed, built and delivered to the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. The system uses frequency doubled YAG lasers to pump liquid dye lasers and produces 20 W of average power. The design and performance results of this laser system are presented.

SrCeO{sub 3}- and BaCeO{sub 3}-based proton conductors have been prepared and their transport properties have been investigated by impedance spectroscopy in conjunction with open circuit voltage and water vapor evolution measurements. BaCe{sub 0.8}Y{sub 0.2}O{sub 3-{delta}} exhibits the highest conductivity in a hydrogen-containing atmosphere; however, its electronic conductivity is not adequate for hydrogen separation in a nongalvanic mode. In an effort to enhance ambipolar conductivity and improve interfacial catalytic properties, BaCe{sub 0.8}Y{sub 0.2}O{sub 3-{delta}} cermets have been fabricated into membranes. The effects of ambipolar conductivity, membrane thickness, and interfacial resistance on permeation rates have been investigated. In particular, the significance of interfacial resistance is emphasized.

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A facility effluent monitoring plan is required by the US Department of Energy in DOE Order 5400.1 for any operations that involve hazardous materials and radioactive substances that could impact employee or public safety or the environment. This document is prepared using the specific guidelines identified in A Guide for Preparing Hanford Site Facility Effluent Monitoring Plans, WHC-EP-0438. This facility effluent monitoring plan assesses effluent monitoring systems and evaluates whether they are adequate to ensure the public health and safety as specified in applicable federal, state, and local requirements.

A computational fluid dynamic (CFD) code has been developed for fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) riser flow simulation. Depending on the application of interest, a specific kinetic model is needed for the FCC flow simulation. This paper describes a method to determine a kinetic model based on limited pilot-scale test data. The kinetic model can then be used with the CFD code as a tool to investigate optimum operating condition ranges for a specific FCC unit.

Grouting of an open cone penetrometer (CP) borehole is done to construct a barrier that prevents the vertical migration of fluids and contaminants between geologic units and aquifers intersected by the boring. Whether to grout, the types of grout, and the method of deployment are functions of the site-specific conditions. This report recommends the strategy that should be followed both before and during HTI [Hanford Tanks Initiative] CP deployment to decide specific borehole grouting needs at Hanford SST farms. Topics discussed in this report that bear on this strategy include: Regulatory guidance, hydrogeologic conditions, operational factors, specific CP grouting deployment recommendations.

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This report discusses the worsening political tensions in Indonesia that emerged as a result of discontent with policies enacted by President Suharto and his government, and the effects that these tensions have on US policy. The report cites the shooting of students by riot police, as well as rioting in Jakarta in May 1998 as another factor for the political unrest and uncertainty.

A study of irradiation creep in vanadium-base alloys is underway with experiments in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) in the US. Test specimens are thin-wall sealed tubes with internal pressure loading. The results from the initial ATR irradiation at low temperature (200-300 C) to a neutron damage level of 4.7 dpa show creep rates ranging from {approx}0 to 1.2 x 10{sup {minus}5}/dpa/MPa for a 500-kg heat of V-4Cr-4Ti alloy. These rates were generally lower than reported from a previous experiment in BR-10. Because both the attained neutron damage levels and the creep strains were low in the present study, however, these creep rates should be regarded as only preliminary. Substantially more testing is required before a data base on irradiation creep of vanadium alloys can be developed and used with confidence.

Inverse and forward kinematic models were derived to analyze the performance of a parallel-chain hexapod machine. Analytical models were constructed for both ideal and real structures. Performance assessment and enhancement algorithms were developed to determine the strut lengths for both ideal and real structures. The strut lengths determined from both cases can be used to analyze the effect of structural imperfections on machine performance. In an open-architecture control environment, strut length errors can be fed back to the controller to compensate for the displacement errors and thus improve the machine's accuracy in production.

Mechanical properties and microstructural characteristics of laser and electron-beam welds of a 500-kg heat of V4Cr4Ti were investigated in as-welded condition and after postwelding heat treatment by impact testing, microhardness measurement, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Ductile-brittle transition temperatures of the laser and electron-beam welds were significantly higher than that of the base metal. However, excellent impact properties could be restored in both types of welds by postwelding annealing at 1000 C for 1 h in vacuum. Analysis by TEM revealed that annealed weld zones were characterized by extensive networks of fine V(C,O,N) precipitates, which clean away O, C, and N interstitial from the grain matrices. This process is accompanied by simultaneous annealing-out of the dense dislocations present in the weld zone. This finding could be useful in identifying an optimal welding procedure by controlling and adjusting the cooling rate of the weld zone by an innovative method to maximize the precipitation of V(C,O,N).

Demonstration of Argonne National Laboratory's electrometallurgical treatment of spent nuclear fuel is currently being conducted on irradiated, metallic driver fuel and blanket fuel elements from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) in Idaho. The residual metallic material from the electrometallurgical treatment process is consolidated into an ingot, the metal waste form (MWF), by employing an induction furnace in a hot cell. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and chemical analyses have been performed on irradiated cladding hulls from the driver fuel, and on samples from the alloy ingots. This paper presents the microstructures of the radioactive ingots and compares them with observations on simulated waste forms prepared using non-irradiated material. These simulated waste forms have the baseline composition of stainless steel - 15 wt % zirconium (SS-15Zr). Additions of noble metal elements, which serve as surrogates for fission products, and actinides are made to that baseline composition. The partitioning of noble metal and actinide elements into alloy phases and the role of zirconium for incorporating these elements is discussed in this paper.

The Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS) at Argonne National Laboratory is a spallation neutron source dedicated to materials research. Its three cryogenic methane moderators provide twelve neutron beams to fourteen neutron scattering instruments and test facilities. The moderators at IPNS are of cryogenic methane (CH{sub 4}); one of liquid methane at 100 K, and two of solid methane at 30 K. These moderators produce intense beams of both cold and thermal neutrons. The moderators are each of a different physical configuration in order to tailor their performance for the instruments and facilities that operate on the neutron beams. As part of the ongoing operation of IPNS, as well as new enhancements to the target, moderator, and reflector systems, we have performed experiments characterizing the energy and time distribution of neutrons in the various beams. These measurements provide absolutely normalized energy spectra using foil activation techniques joined with time-of-flight measurements, and energy-dependent time distributions using a time-focused crystal analyzer. The IPNS accelerator system delivers 14 {micro}A of 450 MeV protons, in 100 ns pulses at 30 Hz, to a target composed of water-cooled depleted uranium disks. The solid methane ''H'' moderator is 100 by 100 by 45 mm in size, centerline …

A series of tests is being conducted in the DIII-D tokamak to determine the effects of environmental exposure on a V-4Cr-4Ti vanadium alloy. These tests are part of the effort to build and install a water-cooled vanadium alloy structure in the DIII-D radiative diverter upgrade. Data from the test series indicate that the performance of the V-4Cr4Ti alloy would not be significantly affected by environmental exposure. Interstitial absorption by the material appears to be limited to the surface, and neither the tensile nor the impact properties of the material appear to be affected by the exposure.

The weakly coupled vacuum of E{sub 8} {circle_times} E{sub 8} heterotic string theory remains an attractive scenario for phenomenology and cosmology. The particle spectrum is reviewed and the issues of gauge coupling unification, dilaton stabilization and modular cosmology are discussed. A specific model for condensation and supersymmetry breaking, that respects known constraints from string theory and is phenomenologically viable, is described.

This is a multiyear experimental research program focused on improving relevant material properties of high-T{sub c} superconductors and on development of fabrication methods that can be transferred to industry for production of commercial conductors. The development of teaming relationships through agreements with industrial partners is a key element of this program. Recent work on microstructural development and current distribution in Bi-2223 powder-in-tube (PIT) tapes, grain-boundary studies, and a novel application for high-temperature (high-T{sub c}) superconductors are discussed.

Computational analysis demonstrates that the penetration of a shaped charge jet can be enhanced by at least 25% by imploding the liner in a high pressure light gas atmosphere. The gas pressure helps confine the jet on the axis of penetration in the latter stages of formation. A light gas, such as helium or hydrogen, is required in order to keep the gas density low enough so as not to inhibit liner collapse.

Most of the laws establishing the federal government's revenue sources are permanent and continue year after year without any additional legislative action. Congress, however, typically enacts revenue legislation, changing some portion of the existing tax system, every year. Revenue legislation may include changes to individual and corporate income taxes, social insurance taxes, excise taxes, or tariffs and duties. Congressional consideration of revenue legislation is governed by various constitutional provisions and procedural rules.

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Evidence is presented for stable octupole deformation in neutron-rich nuclei, bounded by Z = 54-58 and N = 85-92. To either side of this region negative parity bands built on more vibrational type octupole modes are observed in {sup 140}Ba and {sup 152,154}Nd. The largest stable octupole deformation ({beta}{sub s} {approximately} 0.1) is found in {sup 144}Ba{sub as}. The theoretically predicted quenching ({beta}{sub s} {approximately} 0) of stable octupole deformation at higher spins is found in {sup 140}Ba. There is good agreement between theory and experiment for the strongly varying electric dipole moments as a function of mass for {sup 142-141}Ba. In odd-A {sup 142}Ba and odd-Z {sup 140}La, we observe parity doublets, two pairs of positive and negative parity bands with opposite spins. In {sup 145}La a strong coupled ground band with symmetric shape coexists with the asymmetric octupole shape which stabilizes above about spin 19/2. In {sup 145,147}La a strong reduction in E2 strength around 25/2 from band crossing is observed. The isotope {sup 109}Mo was identified and a new region of stable uctpole deformation is identified in {sup 107,108}Mo centered around N = 64-66 as earlier predicted. This is the first case of stable uctpole deformation involving …

Mixed-conducting ceramic oxides have potential uses in high-temperature electrochemical applications such as solid oxide fuel cells, advanced batteries, sensors, and oxygen-permeable membranes. The Sr-Fe-Co-O system combines high electronic/ionic conductivity with appreciable oxygen permeability at elevated temperatures. Dense ceramic membranes made of this material can be used to separate high-purity oxygen from air without the need for external electrical circuitry, or to partially oxidize methane to produce syngas. Samples of Sr{sub 2}Fe{sub 3{minus}x}Co{sub x}O{sub y} (with x = 0, 0.6, 1.0, and 1.4) were prepared by solid-state reaction in atmospheres with various oxygen partial pressures (pO{sub 2}) and were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electrical conductivity measurements. Phase components of the samples are dependent on cobalt concentration and synthesis pO{sub 2}. Total conductivity increases with increasing temperature and cobalt content in the material. Higher ionic transference numbers have been observed in samples with lower cobalt contents. Current-voltage characteristics determined in a gas-tight cell indicate that a bulk effect, rather than a surface exchange effect, is the main limiting factor for oxygen permeation through membranes made of Sr{sub 2}Fe{sub 2}CoO{sub y}. Oxygen permeability measurements at various temperatures showed that oxygen permeability increases with increasing temperature, as expected. At 900 …