The Z-accelerator facility at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, performs critical experiments on the physics of matter at extremely high energy density as part of the Department of Energy's nuclear weapons Stockpile Stewardship Program. In order to augment and enhance the value of experiments performed at this facility, the construction of a new x-ray backlighting diagnostic system is required. New information would be obtained by recording images and/or spectra of x-ray radiation transmitted through target materials as they evolve during Z-accelerator-driven experiments (or ''shots''). In this application, we generally think of the diagnostic x-rays as illumination produced behind the target materials and detected after passing through the Z-target. Hence the x-ray source is commonly called a ''backlighter.'' The methodology is a specific implementation of the general science known as x-ray radiography and/or x-ray spectroscopy. X-ray backlighter experiments have been performed in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) facilities in many countries. On Nova, experience with backlighters has been obtained since about 1986. An intense source of x-rays is produced by focusing one of its beams on a backlighter target nearby, while the other beams are used to create the high-energy-density conditions to be studied in the experiment. This conceptual …

Augmentation of the internal software of a commercial X-ray fluorescence gauge is shown to enable the instrument to extend its continuous on-line real-time measurements of a galvanneal coating's total elemental content to encompass similar measurements of the relative thickness of the coating's three principal metallurgical phases. The mathematical structure of this software augmentation is derived from the theory of neural networks. The performance of the augmented gauge is validated by comparing the gauge implied real-time phase distribution with the phase distribution independently measured off-line on between the gauge and laboratory measurements and to suggest preferred approaches to be followed in future application of the augmented gauge.

We report on a comprehensive examination of the exotic superconductors (the materials so-labelled by Uemura and co-workers), to determine as far as possible the true systematics among their many anomalous features. In the crystal-chemistry aspects as well as in the electronic properties, we find features which appear to be universal for these materials, and also features which are clearly not universal but which are common enough to be considered typical for these materials. A number of implications are presented. It appears that all of these materials are sharing some ''new'' pairing mechanism, usually in addition to the conventional phonon mechanism.

The DOE grant supported the theoretical particle astrophysics group , and is coordinated by the Principal Investigator. Participants include faculty members Marc Davis, Lawrence Hall and Hitoshi Murayama, together with several postdoctoral fellows. During the previous and current funding period (1996--1998), several important results have been obtained that are briefly summarized in this report, including: dark matter; cosmic microwave background; and early universe and structure formation.

This project developed and tested advanced Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) instruments for process monitoring of black liquor recovery boilers. The state-of-the-art FT-IR instruments successfully operated in the harsh environment of a black liquor recovery boiler and provided a wealth of real-time process information. Concentrations of multiple gas species were simultaneously monitored in-situ across the combustion flow of the boiler and extractively at the stack. Sensitivity to changes of particulate fume and carryover levels in the process flow were also demonstrated. Boiler set-up and operation is a complex balance of conditions that influence the chemical and physical processes in the combustion flow. Operating parameters include black liquor flow rate, liquor temperature, nozzle pressure, primary air, secondary air, tertiary air, boiler excess oxygen and others. The in-process information provided by the FT-IR monitors can be used as a boiler control tool since species indicative of combustion efficiency (carbon monoxide, methane) and pollutant emissions (sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid and fume) were monitored in real-time and observed to fluctuate as operating conditions were varied. A high priority need of the U.S. industrial boiler market is improved measurement and control technology. The sensor technology demonstrated in this project is applicable to the need of industry.

The programming and website for the advanced Technology Information System (TIS) have been completed. Over and above the LSDDP-TIS, the new system provides information on DOE's baseline technologies, technology data contained in DOE's databases, technologies assessed at FIU-HCET Technology Assessment Program (TAP), as well as links to other selected D&D sites with valuable technology information. The new name for the website is Gateway for Environmental Technology (GET). A super-vacuum type blasting system was tested for decontamination of 12-in pipe internal surfaces. The system operates on compressed air and propels grit media at high speed at wall surfaces. It is equipped with a vacuum system for collecting grit, dust, and debris. This technology was selected for further development. The electret ion chamber (EIC) system for measurement of alpha contamination on surfaces has been calibrated and is ready for demonstration and deployment. FIU-HCET is working with representatives from Fernald, Oak Ridge, Rocky Flats, and Savannah River to procure a demonstration and deployment site. Final arrangements are ongoing for the mock-up design for the glove box and tank size reduction technology assessments, including designing of support bases for tanks, a piping support system, and a mobilization plan for glove boxes and tanks from …

The objective of this project is to improve the productivity and lower the expense of existing vacuum blasting technology. This technology is used to remove radioactive contamination, PCBs, and lead-based paint and provides worker protection by continuously recycling the material and dust for the decontamination tasks. The proposed work would increase the cleaning rate and provide safe and cost-effective decontamination of the DOE sites. This work focuses on redesigning and improving existing vacuum blasting technology including blast head nozzles, ergonomic handling of the blast head by reducing its weight; brush-ring design, vacuum level regulator, efficiency of the dust separator, and operational control sensors. The redesign is expected to enhance the productivity and economy of the vacuum blasting system by at least 50% over current vacuum blasting systems. There are three phases in the project. Phase I consists of developing and testing mathematical models. Phase II consists of pre-prototype design and fabrication and pre-prototype unit testing. Phase III consists of prototype design and field verification testing. In phase I, mathematical models are developed and analyzed for the nozzle, blast head, wind curtain, and dust separator, first as individual devices and then combined as an integrated model. This allows study of respective …

The Overture framework is an object-oriented environment for solving partial differential equations in two and three space dimensions. It is a collection of C++ libraries that enables the use of finite difference and finite volume methods at a level that hides the details of the associated data structures. Overture can be used to solve problems in complicated, moving geometries using the method of overlapping grids. It has support for grid generation, difference operators, boundary conditions, data-base access and graphics. Short sample code segments are presented to show the power of this approach.

The novelty/innovation of the proposed work is as follows. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO {sub 2})-based extrusion and molding technology can be used to produce significantly improved (in terms of strength/unit weight, durability, hardness and chemical resistance) cement-based products. SC-CO{sub 2} can rapidly convert the calcium hydroxide in cured cement to calcium carbonate, which increases the density and unconfined compressive strength in the treated region. In cured concrete, this treated region is typically a several-mm thick layer (generally <{approx}5mm, unless treatment time is excessive). However, we have found that by treating the entire cement matrix with SC-CO{sub 2} as part of the curing process, we can carbonate it rapidly, regardless of the thickness. By ''rapidly'' we mean simultaneous carbonation/curing in < 5 ks even for large cement forms, compared to typical carbonation times of several days or even years at low pressures. Carbonation changes the pH in the treated region from {approx}13 to {approx}8, almost exactly compatible with seawater. Therefore the leaching rates from these cements is reduced. These cement improvements are directed to the development of strong but thin artificial reefs, to which can be attached microalgae used for the enhanced fixation of CO{sub 2}. It is shown below that …

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Your Genes, Your Choices provides accurate information about the ethical, legal, and social implications of the Human Genome Project and genetic research in an easy-to-read style and format. Each chapter in the book begins with a brief vignette, which introduces an issue within a human story, and raises a question for the reader to think about as the basic science and information are presented in the rest of the chapter.

Engineering evaluations and economic comparisons of two hot-gas desulfurization (HGD) processes with elemental sulfur recovery, being developed by Research Triangle Institute, are presented. In the first process, known as the Direct Sulfur Recovery Process (DSRP), the SO{sub 2} tail gas from air regeneration of zinc-based HGD sorbent is catalytically reduced to elemental sulfur with high selectivity using a small slipstream of coal gas. DSRP is a highly efficient first-generation process, promising sulfur recoveries as high as 99% in a single reaction stage. In the second process, known as the Advanced Hot Gas Process (AHGP), the zinc-based HGD sorbent is modified with iron so that the iron portion of the sorbent can be regenerated using SO{sub 2} . This is followed by air regeneration to fully regenerate the sorbent and provide the required SO{sub 2} for iron regeneration. This second-generation process uses less coal gas than DSRP. Commercial embodiments of both processes were developed. Process simulations with mass and energy balances were conducted using ASPEN Plus. Results show that AHGP is a more complex process to operate and may require more labor cost than the DSRP. Also capital costs for the AHGP are higher than those for the DSRP. However, annual …

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With the increased use of public key cryptography, faster modular multiplication has become an important cryptographic issue. Almost all public key cryptography, including most elliptic curve systems, use modular multiplication. Modular multiplication, particularly for the large public key modulii, is very slow. Increasing the speed of modular multiplication is almost synonymous with increasing the speed of public key cryptography. There are two parts to modular multiplication: multiplication and modular reduction. Though there are fast methods for multiplying and fast methods for doing modular reduction, they do not mix well. Most fast techniques require integers to be in a special form. These special forms are not related and converting from one form to another is more costly than using the standard techniques. To this date it has been better to use the fast modular reduction technique coupled with standard multiplication. Standard modular reduction is much more costly than standard multiplication. Fast modular reduction (Montgomery`s method) reduces the reduction cost to approximately that of a standard multiply. Of the fast multiplication techniques, the redundant number system technique (RNS) is one of the most popular. It is simple, converting a large convolution (multiply) into many smaller independent ones. Not only do redundant number …

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are environmental pollutants that are present in air, food, and water. While PAH compounds are chemically inert and are sparingly soluble in aqueous solutions, in living cells they are metabolized to a variety of oxygenated derivatives, including the high mutagenic and tumorigenic diol epoxide derivatives. The diol epoxides of the sterically hindered fjord region compound benzo[c]phenanthrene (B[c]PhDE) are among the most powerful tumorigenic compounds in animal model test systems. In this project, site-specifically modified oligonucleotides containing single B[c]PhDE-N{sup 6}-dA lesions derived from the reactions of the 1S,2R,3R,4S and 1R,2S,3S,4R diol epoxides of B[c]PhDE with dA residues were synthesized. The replication of DNA catalyzed by a prokaryotic DNA polymerase (the exonuclease-free Klenow fragment E. Coli Po1 I) in the vicinity of the lesion at base-specific sites on B[c]PhDE-modified template strands was investigated in detail. The Michaelis-Menten parameters for the insertion of single deoxynucleotide triphosphates into growing DNA (primer) strands using the modified dA* and the bases just before and after the dA* residue as templates, depend markedly on the stereochemistry of the B[c]PhDE-modified dA residues. These observations provide novel insights into the mechanisms by which bulky PAH-DNA adducts affect normal DNA replication.

The objective of this quarter of study was to prepare fuel pellets containing PVC, newspaper and plastics to be co-fired with coal in the AFBC combustor. The Western Kentucky University atmospheric fluidized bed combustion system requires the fuel to fall from a bunker into a lock-hopper, and from there into a mixing box where the fuel is auger-fed under pressure into the bottom of the fluidized bed. The fuel must flow freely out of the bunker and through the lock- hopper for proper feeding into the combustor. In order for the fuel to continuously fall through these units and into the mixing box during combustion, the density of the fuel and the size of the particles must meet certain requirements. The particles must be no larger than 3/8 inches in diameter and must have a density approaching that of coal. Loose materials such as sawdust, shredded paper products and most shredded plastics do not feed properly in the WKU AFBC system. Bridging and blockage of feed chutes result, even with constant vibration of parts of the feed mechanism. It is not possible to run the AFBC system powered solely by these loose materials.

Gas core reactors can form the basis for advanced nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) systems capable of providing specific impulse levels of more than 2,000 sec., but containment of the hot uranium plasma is a major problem. The initial phase of an experimental study of hydrodynamic confinement of the fuel cloud in a gas core fission reactor by means of an innovative application of a base injection stabilized recirculation bubble is presented. The development of the experimental facility, a simulated thrust chamber approximately 0.4 m in diameter and 1 m long, is described. The flow rate of propellant simulant (air) can be varied up to about 2 kg/sec and that of fuel simulant (air, air-sulfur hexafluoride) up to about 0.2 kg/sec. This scale leads to chamber Reynolds numbers on the same order of magnitude as those anticipated in a full-scale nuclear rocket engine. The experimental program introduced here is focused on determining the size, geometry, and stability of the recirculation region as a function of the bleed ratio, i.e. the ratio of the injected mass flux to the free stream mass flux. A concurrent CFD study is being carried out to aid in demonstrating that the proposed technique is practical.

Task 1: The technical paper, `Assessment of Foam Properties and Effectiveness in Mobility Reduction for C0{sub 2} Foam Floods,` was prepared and presented at the 1997 SPE International Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry. The paper covers five surfactants tested earlier for their foam properties. Work is progressing on evaluating surfactants and their foam properties under high pressure conditions by using a foam durability apparatus. Two surfactants, Witcolate 1259 and Witcolate 1276, were tested in this quarter and the new data were added into our existing database for correlation between foam properties in the bulk phase and in porous media. The new data support the earlier conclusion that foam stability and interfacial tension correlate with selective mobility reduction. Task 2: The changing permeability of the core during a series of foam tests is a significant factor in determining foam coreflood test parameters. A series of tests often requires hundreds of pore volumes of fluids to pass through the core. During this quarter, a new core was developed that should eliminate this problem and provide a constant base line. We ran a series of tests, which showed that this core has a constant permeability, as anticipated. We continued to examine procedures for history-matching …

An experiment has been proposed to investigate a photopumped x-ray laser approach using a novel, high-density, laser heated supersonic gas jet plasma to prepare the lasant plasma. The scheme uses the He- like sodium 1.10027 nm line to pump the He-like neon 1s-4p transition at 1.10003 nm with the lasing transitions between the n=4 to n=2,3 states and the n=3 to n=2 state at 5.8 nm, 23.0 nm, and 8.2 nm, respectively. The experiment had been proposed in 1990 and funding began Jan. 1991; however circumstances made it impossible to pursue the research over the past 5 years, and it was decided not to pursue the research any further.

An experiment had been proposed to investigate a photopumped x-ray laser approach using a novel, high-density, laser heated supersonic gas jet plasma to prepare the lasant plasma. The scheme to be investigated uses the he-like sodium 1.10027 nm line to pump the He-like neon 1s-4p transition at 1.10003 nm with the lasing transitions between the n = 4 to n = 2,3 states and the n = 3 to n = 2 state at 5.8 nm, 23.0 nm, and 8.2 nm, respectively. The experiment had been proposed in 1990 and funding began in January 1991. After extensive preparations to perform the experiment on the GDL laser, a series of circumstances made it impossible to pursue the research over the past 5 years. These were (1) lack of access to the GDL laser and its eventual closing, (2) the inability to identify an alternate laser system with which to perform the experiment, and (3) the lack of problem relevancy after 5 years of delays. As a consequence, it has been decided not to pursue the research any further.

The objectives for this quarter of study on the co-firing of high sulfur coal with refuse derived fuels project were two-fold. First, the organic compounds tentatively identified as combustion products in the previous report were confirmed by comparing retention times with pure samples. Secondly, a reduced amount of unburned carbon in the fly ash and an oxygen concentration at about 3--6% in the flue gases were achieved by the addition of removable heat exchange tubes in the AFBC system.

TPX is PMP or poly(4-methyl-1-pentene). It has several commercially important characteristics such as high optical transparency, high crystalline melting point, etc., leading to numerous applications including infrared windows, lenses, membranes, food packaging. The life components fabricated from this material may be limited by thermal oxidative and radiation-induced degradation. A preliminary review of the scientific literature was conducted to obtain relevant information on the effects of oxygen, moisture elevated temperature, and radiation on the chemical, thermodynamic, mechanical, and electrical properties of this material. Refs, figs, tabs.

Advances in ICF experiments and modeling have led to improved understanding of the growth of instabilities during capsule implosion and the effects on capsule performance. This has led to more refined specifications on the characteristics of igniting capsules, all of which have solid D-T fuel layers. These specifications involve a trade-off between the interior ice surface structure, outer capsule surface structure, and time-dependent drive asymmetry.