A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a county auditor may require the county attorney to prepare and submit, for inclusion in the county budget, a projection of revenues and expenditures for the county attorney hot-check fund for the following fiscal year and related questions (RQ-791)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether service by delivery to the premises under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 742a constitutes valid service of citation in a suit for rent joined with a suit for forcible detainer

An evaluation was made of the technical feasibility, cost, and schedule for converting the existing unused Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Facility (BNFP) into a Mixed Oxide (MOX) CANDU fuel fabrication plant for disposition of excess weapons plutonium. This MOX fuel would be transported to Ontario where it would generate electricity in the Bruce CANDU reactors. Because CANDU MOX fuel operates at lower thermal load than natural uranium fuel, the MOX program can be licensed by AECB within 4.5 years, and actual Pu disposition in the Bruce reactors can begin in 2001. Ontario Hydro will have to be involved in the entire program. Cost is compared between BNFP and FMEF at Hanford for converting to a CANDU MOX facility.

This report presents reference information contained in the Yucca Mountain Project Automated Technical Data Tracking System. The Department of Energy is seeking to design and maintain a geologic repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes. However, before this repository can be built, the DOE must first do a comprehensive site evaluation. This evaluation is subject to many regulations. This report fulfills the reporting requirements of the Site-Specific Procedural Agreement for Geologic Repository to develop and maintain a catalog of data which will be updated and provided to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on a quarterly basis. This catalog contains: description of data; time, place, and method of acquisition; and where data may be examined.

Research continued on carbon-ion fuel cells. This period, the project is proceeding with the construction of an apparatus to create a solid electrolyte in the form of castings, or highly pressed and sintered pellets of CeC{sub 2} and LaC{sub 2} and to test the castings or pellets for the ionic conduction of carbon-ions across the electrolyte.

This report describes the design of a pyrotechnic cutter for use in downhole operations in the petroleum industry. The redesign and pressure tests of nozzle seals are specifically addressed.

The purpose of this audit was to review the Department`s acquisition and use of support service contractors and subcontractors. The audit objectives were to determine if the Department (1) paid fees to both support service contractors and subcontractors for services exclusively performed by subcontractors, (2) used support service contractors to perform inherent government functions, and (3) rolled over unearned award fees to subsequent evaluation periods and had adequate management controls to ensure that contractor performance would be evaluated. The Department did not always obtain support services in the most economical and effective manner. The Department negotiated and paid four of six support service contractors an estimated $5.1 million in fees for services exclusively provided by subcontractors because the Department did not have a policy which addressed the inclusion, at the pre-award phase, of subcontract labor in the support service contractors` fee determinations. Furthermore, while the authors found no instances where support service contractors performed inherent government functions, they did note that the Department maintained minimal administration over major portions of contracted-for services on three of six support service contracts. This occurred because contractors subcontracted extensively for support services. Consequently, the Department may have decreased their ability to control cost growth …

The work on this project was initiated on September 1, 1991. The project consisted of two different tasks: (1) Development of a model to compute viscosities of coal derived liquids, and (2) Investigate new models for estimation of thermodynamic properties of solid and liquid compounds of the type that exist in coal, or are encountered during coal processing. As for task 1, a model for viscosity computation of coal model compound liquids and coal derived liquids has been developed. The detailed model is presented in this report. Two papers, the first describing the pure liquid model and the second one discussing the application to coal derived liquids, are expected to be published in Energy & Fuels shortly. Marginal progress is reported on task 2. Literature review for this work included compilation of a number of data sets, critical investigation of data measurement techniques available in the literature, investigation of models for liquid and solid phase thermodynamic computations. During the preliminary stages it was discovered that for development of a liquid or solid state equation of state, accurate predictive models for a number of saturation properties, such as, liquid and solid vapor pressures, saturated liquid and solid volumes, heat capacities of …

High temperature alkali corrosion has been known to cause premature failure of ceramic components used in advanced high temperature coal combustion systems such as coal gasification and clean-up, coal fired gas turbines, and high efficiency heat engines. Non-oxide ceramics, such as SiC and Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}, are applied in HITAF systems for their well-known and desirable high temperature thermal and mechanical properties. However, these materials are prone to rapid corrosion under some types of high temperature coal combustion conditions. The objective of this research is to apply CMZP and Mg-stabilized Al{sub 2}TiO{sub 5} as coatings to SiC and Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} to improve the corrosion resistance under coal combustion atmospheres as well as to improve high temperature mechanical properties. The research will not only develop and characterize CMZP and Mg-Al{sub 2}TiO{sub 5} coatings but will also strive to expand the existing knowledge of the mechanism of coal combustion corrosion of SiC and Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} in the temperature range of 1000-1400{degrees}C.

Advanced reservoir characterization techniques are being applied to selected reservoirs in the Frio Fluvial-Deltaic Sandstone (Vicksburg Fault Zone) trend of South Texas in order to maximize the economic producibility of resources in this mature oil play. More than half of the reservoirs in this depositionally complex play have already been abandoned, and large volumes of oil may remain unproduced unless advanced characterization techniques are applied to define untapped, incompletely drained, and new pool reservoirs as suitable targets for near-term recovery methods. This project is developing interwell-scale geological facies models and assessing engineering attributes of Frio fluvial-deltaic reservoirs in selected fields in order to characterize reservoir architecture, flow unit boundaries, and the controls that these characteristics exert on the location and volume of unrecovered mobile and residual oil. The results of these studies will lead directly to the identification of specific opportunities to exploit these heterogeneous reservoirs for incremental recovery by recompletion and strategic infill drilling. Project work during the second quarter of 1995 consisted of (1) documentation of Phase II tasks associated with the delineation of untapped and incompletely drained reservoir compartments and new pool reservoirs in selected Frio fluvial-deltaic sandstone intervals in Rincon and Tijerina-Canales-Blucher (T-C-B) fields, as well …

Apart from their intrinsic interest, plasma physics processes are important because they affect the coupling of the laser energy into laser-irradiated targets. Recently, new gas-filled targets have been developed to create large mm-size plasmas for the study of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). We present x-ray images and x-ray spectra to characterize these targets, which show that the plasmas are homogeneous, have electron densities of {approximately}10{sup 21} cm{sup {minus}3}, and attain electron temperatures of {approximately}3 keV. We also present SBS measurements to demonstrate how systematic studies of physical phenomena can be performed using these targets.

With the publication of a Request for Recommendations and Advance Notice of Intent in the November 10, 1994 Federal Register, the Department of Energy initiated a program to assess alternative strategies for the long-term management or use of depleted uranium hexafluoride. This Request was made to help ensure that, by seeking as many recommendations as possible, Department management considers reasonable options in the long-range management strategy. The Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Management Program consists of three major program elements: Engineering Analysis, Cost Analysis, and an Environmental Impact Statement. This Technology Assessment Report is the first part of the Engineering Analysis Project, and assesses recommendations from interested persons, industry, and Government agencies for potential uses for the depleted uranium hexafluoride stored at the gaseous diffusion plants in Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio, and at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. Technologies that could facilitate the long-term management of this material are also assessed. The purpose of the Technology Assessment Report is to present the results of the evaluation of these recommendations. Department management will decide which recommendations will receive further study and evaluation. These Appendices contain the Federal Register Notice, comments on evaluation factors, independent technical reviewers resumes, independent technical reviewers manual, …

With the publication of a Request for Recommendations and Advance Notice of Intent in the November 10, 1994 Federal Register, the Department of Energy initiated a program to assess alternative strategies for the long-term management or use of depleted uranium hexafluoride. This Request was made to help ensure that, by seeking as many recommendations as possible, Department management considers reasonable options in the long-range management strategy. The Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Management Program consists of three major program elements: Engineering Analysis, Cost Analysis, and an Environmental Impact Statement. This Technology Assessment Report is the first part of the Engineering Analysis Project, and assesses recommendations from interested persons, industry, and Government agencies for potential uses for the depleted uranium hexafluoride stored at the gaseous diffusion plants in Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio, and at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. Technologies that could facilitate the long-term management of this material are also assessed. The purpose of the Technology Assessment Report is to present the results of the evaluation of these recommendations. Department management will decide which recommendations will receive further study and evaluation.

The United States and Japan are closely tied economically. Japan ranks second only to Canada as the largest U.S. export market. Japan is the leading market for American agricultural exports, such as corn and meat; for U.S. crude materials such as wood; and for U.S.-produced aircraft. Japan is also the second largest supplier of U.S. imports. These include cars, consumer electronics, telecommunications equipment, and computers. The United States ranks as Japan's number one export market and import supplier.

In this Quarter, the research was focused continually on the two general tasks: Task 1, molecular organometallic catalysts for hydrogenation and Task 2, organic base catalysts for arene hydrogenation and the hydrotreating of the coal liquids. With regards to Task 1, the [1,5-HDRhCl]{sub 2}/buffer catalyst system was investigated to improve its performance, especially catalyst`s stability. Although the addition of a phase transfer agent will usually reduce the catalyst`s activity as described in the last report, a small amount of some surfactant molecules can improve the catalyst`s stability without apparently affecting the catalytic activity. Task 2 was continually focused on the hydrotreating of coal liquid (VSOH) catalyzed by Catalyst 2 and Catalyst 5. The dependence of temperature and hydrogenation pressure on the hydrotreating of VSOH was investigated systematically. The coal liquid hydrotreated at 300{degrees}C has an H/C ratio of 1.53 while that treated at 100{degrees}C has an H/C ratio of only 1.43. We found that 1000 psig of hydrogen pressure was needed for the reaction to proceed completely. Other catalytic alkali metal bis(trimethylsilyl)amides were also investigated to hydrotreat the same coal liquid. Potassium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide was more active than lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide and sodium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Safeguards and Security (S and S) Assurance Program (AP) is designed to ensure the adequacy and effectiveness of the LANL S and S program. The Assurance Program provides a mechanism for discovering deficiencies, determining causes, conducting risk assessments, implementing corrective actions, and documenting the assessment process. Selection of organizations for self assessments is based on the criteria established in the LANL S and S Assurance Program. For FY 1995, 12 organizations were selected for self assessments, these organizations are identified fin the schedule at Appendix A. The S and S topical areas selected for review in each organization varied depending on their security interests and included: Program Planning and Management (PPM); Protection Program Operations (PPO); Material Control and Accountability (MC and A); Computer and Communications Security (COMPSEC and COMSEC); Information Security (INFOSEC); Personnel Security (PERSEC); and Operational Security (OPSEC). The objective was to ascertain the effectiveness of S and S programs in each organization, its formality of operations, and its integration with the overall Laboratory S and S program. The goal was to meet both the DOE self-assessment requirements and the UC performance criteria and document the results.

The objective of this project is to demonstrate that detailed reservoir characterization of slope and basin clastic reservoirs in sandstones of the Delaware Mountain Group in the Delaware Basin of West Texas and New mexico is a cost-effective way to recover a higher percentage of the original oil in place through strategic placement of infill wells and geologically based field development. Project objectives are divided into two major phases. The objectives of the reservoir characterization phase of the project are to provide a detailed understanding of the architecture and heterogeneity of two fields, the Ford Geraldine Unit and Ford West field, which produce from the Bell Canyon and Cherry Canyon Formations, respectively, of the Delaware Mountain Group and to compare Bell Canyon and Cherry Canyon reservoirs. Reservoir characterization will utilize 3-D seismic data, high-resolution sequence stratigraphy, subsurface field studies, outcrop characterization, and other techniques. Once the reservoir characterization study of both fields is completed, a pilot area of approximately 1 mi{sup 2} in one of the fields will be chosen for reservoir simulation. The objectives of the implementation phase of the project are to (1) apply the knowledge gained from reservoir characterization and simulation studies to increase recovery from the …

Several models have been formed for investigating the maximum electromagnetic loading and magnetic field levels associated with the Tokamak Physics eXperiment (TPX) superconducting Poloidal Field (PF) coils. The analyses have been performed to support the design of the individual fourteen hoop coils forming the PF system. The coils have been sub-divided into three coil systems consisting of the central solenoid (CS), PF5 coils, and the larger radius PF6 and PF7 coils. Various electromagnetic analyses have been performed to determine the electromagnetic loadings that the coils will experience during normal operating conditions, plasma disruptions, and fault conditions. The loadings are presented as net body forces acting individual coils, spatial variations throughout the coil cross section, and force variations along the path of the conductor due to interactions with the TF coils. Three refined electromagnetic models of the PF coil system that include a turn-by-turn description of the fields and forces during a worst case event are presented in this report. A global model including both the TF and PF system was formed to obtain the force variations along the path of the PF conductors resulting from interactions with the TF currents. In addition to spatial variations, the loadings are further subdivided …

FeAl, like NiAl, crystallizes in the CsCl structure. Consequently the (110) planes contain equal amounts of Fe and Al distributed as interlocking rectangles. Unlike the NiAI(110) surface, which retains the (1{times}l) in-plane symmetry of the bulk, FeAl(l10) reconstructs to form an ordered, incommensurate overlayer. The reconstructed layer introduces x-ray diffraction rods at half-order positions along the [1{bar 1}0] direction, and displaced {plus_minus}0.2905 from integer positions along the [001] direction. Peak widths reveal excellent long range order. Specular reflectivity measurements above and below the Fe K{alpha} edge can be reproduced using a model containing a single reconstructed overlayer with an Fe:Al ratio of 1:2, consistent with FeA{sub I}2.

The objective of this project is to develop a model for solid-liquid equilibria and a model for viscosities of the products of coal liquefaction processes. The same characterization procedure and representation by continuous distributions as used in previous work on vapor-liquid equilibria and excess enthalpies of coal liquids will be used. Models when fully developed win give the solid-liquid phase equilibrium properties and viscosities as factors of temperature and pressure for known molecular weight distribution and structural characterization of the coal liquid. To accomplish this well, the project requires three tasks: (1) Solid-Liquid phase equilibrium model development; (2) Experimental Viscosity Measurements; and (3) Viscosity Model Development. A model for viscosity computation of coal model compound liquids and coal derived liquids has been developed. Literature review for this work included compilation of a number of data sets, critical investigation of data measurement techniques available in the literature, and investigation of models for liquid and solid phase thermodynamic computations. During the preliminary stages it was discovered that for development of a liquid or solid state equation of state, accurate predictive models for a number of saturation properties, such as, liquid and solid vapor pressures, saturated liquid and solid volumes, heat capacities of …

This compact modulator has demonstated its ability to efficiently and accurately drive a laser diode array. The addition of the crowbar protection circuit is an invaluable addition to the integrated system and is capable of protecting the laser diode array against severe damage. We showed that the correlation between measured data and simulation indicates that our modulator model is valid and can be used as a tool in the design of future systems. The spectrometer measurements that we conducted underline the imprtance of current regulation to stable laser operation.

Battelle Memorial Institute`s nuclear research facilities are currently being maintained in a surveillance and maintenance (S&M) mode with continual decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) activities being conducted under Department of Energy (DOE) Contract W-7405-ENG-92. These activities are referred to under the Contract as the Battelle Columbus Laboratories Decommissioning Project (BCLDP). Operations referenced in this report are performed in support of S&M and D&D activities. Battelle`s King Avenue facility is not considered in this report to the extent that the West Jefferson facility is. The source term at the King Avenue site is a small fraction of the source term at the West Jefferson site. Off site levels of radionuclides that could be attributed to the west Jefferson and King Avenue nuclear operations wereindistinguishable from background levels at specific locations where air, water, and direct radiation measurements were performed. Environmental monitoring continued to demonstrate compliance by Battelle with federal, state and local regulations. Routine, nonradiological activities performed include monitoring liquid effluents and monitoring the ground water system for the West Jefferson North site. Samples of various environmental media including air, water, grass, fish, field and garden crops, sediment and soil were collected from the region surrounding the two sites and analyzed.