Project Objective: The objectives of this study are to develop an accurate and stable on-line sensor system to monitor color and composition on-line in polymer melts, to develop a scheme for using the output to control extruders to eliminate the energy, material and operational costs of off-specification product, and to combine or eliminate some extrusion processes. Background: Polymer extrusion processes are difficult to control because the quality achieved in the final product is complexly affected by the properties of the extruder screw, speed of extrusion, temperature, polymer composition, strength and dispersion properties of additives, and feeder system properties. Extruder systems are engineered to be highly reproducible so that when the correct settings to produce a particular product are found, that product can be reliably produced time after time. However market conditions often require changes in the final product, different products or grades may be processed in the same equipment, and feed materials vary from lot to lot. All of these changes require empirical adjustment of extruder settings to produce a product meeting specifications. Optical sensor systems that can continuously monitor the composition and color of the extruded polymer could detect process upsets, drift, blending oscillations, and changes in dispersion of …

Oak Ridge Associated Universities/Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORAU/ORISE) has completed the independent verification survey of the Central Campus and Southeast Lab Complex Building Slabs. The results of this effort are provided. The objective of this verification survey was to provide independent review and field assessment of remediation actions conducted by SEC, and to independently assess whether the final radiological condition of the slabs met the release guidelines.

Stratocumulus and shallow cumulus clouds in subtropical oceanic regions (e.g., Southeast Pacific) cover thousands of square kilometers and play a key role in regulating global climate (e.g., Klein and Hartmann, 1993). Numerical modeling is an essential tool to study these clouds in regional and global systems, but the current generation of climate and weather models has difficulties in representing them in a realistic way (e.g., Siebesma et al., 2004; Stevens et al., 2007; Teixeira et al., 2011). While numerical models resolve the large-scale flow, subgrid-scale parameterizations are needed to estimate small-scale properties (e.g. boundary layer turbulence and convection, clouds, radiation), which have significant influence on the resolved scale due to the complex nonlinear nature of the atmosphere. To represent the contribution of these fine-scale processes to the resolved scale, climate models use various parameterizations, which are the main pieces in the model that contribute to the low clouds dynamics and therefore are the major sources of errors or approximations in their representation. In this project, we aim to 1) improve our understanding of the physical processes in thermal circulation and cloud formation, 2) examine the performance and sensitivity of various parameterizations in the regional weather model (Weather Research and Forecasting …

Determination of the phase diagrams for the nanocrystalline forms of materials is crucial for our understanding of nanostructures and the design of functional materials using nanoscale building blocks. The ability to study such transformations in nanomaterials with controlled shape offers further insight into transition mechanisms and the influence of particular facets. Here we present an investigation of the size-dependent, temperature-induced solid-solid phase transition in copper sulfide nanorods from low- to high-chalcocite. We find the transition temperature to be substantially reduced, with the high chalcocite phase appearing in the smallest nanocrystals at temperatures so low that they are typical of photovoltaic operation. Size dependence in phase trans- formations suggests the possibility of accessing morphologies that are not found in bulk solids at ambient conditions. These other- wise-inaccessible crystal phases could enable higher-performing materials in a range of applications, including sensing, switching, lighting, and photovoltaics.

Progresses towards the calculation and the understanding of NLO/NLL contributions to Deep Inelastic Scattering at low x with gluon saturation are being reviewed.

Niobium coatings on copper cavities have been considered as a cost-efficient replacement of bulk niobium RF cavities, however, coatings made by magnetron sputtering have not quite lived up to high expectations due to Q-slope and other issues. High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) is a promising emerging coatings technology which combines magnetron sputtering with a pulsed power approach. The magnetron is turned into a metal plasma source by using very high peak power density of ~ 1 kW/cm{sup 2}. In this contribution, the cavity coatings concept with HIPIMS is explained. A system with two cylindrical, movable magnetrons was set up with custom magnetrons small enough to be inserted into 1.3 GHz cavities. Preliminary data on niobium HIPIMS plasma and the resulting coatings are presented. The HIPIMS approach has the potential to be extended to film systems beyond niobium, including other superconducting materials and/or multilayer systems.

Progress in particle and nuclear physics has been closely connected to the progress in accelerator technologies - a connection that is highly beneficial to both fields. This paper presents a review of the present and future facilities and accelerator technologies that will push the frontiers of high-energy particle interactions and high intensity secondary particle beams.

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This is a policy statement on environmental principles from the EPA in order to involve indigenous peoples in EPA decisions that impact health and the environment.

This report discusses the U.S. export control system and initiatives to reform the export control system. Topics covered include the dual-use system, military export controls, nuclear controls, and President Obama's export control initiative.

This report provides information on environmental damage and restoration activities related to the Deepwater Horizon spill. An overview of how the RESTORE Act is being implemented and a discussion of multiple funding sources and plans to recover and restore the Gulf Coast environment are discussed. Further, potential issues for Congress related to this restoration initiative are presented.

This report first reviews the basics of international tax rules. It then discusses the various action items organized into Action Item 1, which relates to the digital economy and proposes standards only with respect to VATS; Action Items 2-5, 7, and 8-10, items related primarily to profit shifting; Action Item 5, which relates to harmful tax practices; Action Item 6, regarding tax treaties; and Action Items 11-15, which are primarily administrative in nature.

This report analyzes U.S. and international sanctions against Iran and provides some examples, based on open sources, of companies and countries that conduct business with Iran.

This report provides a summary and analysis of the current state of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) in the United States and current legislation and funding related to the CCS process and the regulation of air pollution and greenhouse gases.

This report examines the current political state of Afghanistan at length, discussing the political background, security policy, and regional relations.

This report discusses the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which is a nonreciprocal trade preference program that provides duty-free treatment to U.S. imports of certain products from eligible sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.

This report provides background information about the private health insurance market, including market segments and regulation. It then describes each Affordable Care Act (ACA) market reform.

This report provides summaries of each provision of the Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act of 2017 (ORRA).

This report first provides a brief overview of Senate rules as they pertain to committee actions. The report then provides tables that summarize selected, key features of each committee's rules in regard to meeting day, hearing and meeting notice requirements, scheduling of witnesses, hearing quorum, business quorum, amendment filing requirements, proxy voting, polling, nominations, investigations, and subpoenas. In addition, the report looks at selected unique provisions some committees have included in their rules in the miscellaneous category. The tables represent only a portion of each committee's rules, and provisions of the rules that are substantially similar to or essentially restatements of the Senate's Standing Rules are not included. This report will be not be updated further during the 115th Congress.

This report provides a brief overview of the history of the negotiations regarding reunification of the island of Cyprus and a description of some of the issues involved in those talks.

This report discusses a potential negotiated end to the conflict in Afghanistan, prompted by Afghan government negotiations with the Taliban, the June 2018 ceasefire, and possible U.S.-Taliban talks.

This report discusses the use of chemical weapons (CW). Despite being banned under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), has become a growing international concern in the past several years.

This report provides an overview of mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) in general and a sketch of the terms of the U.S.-Russia MLAT in particular.

We report investigations of the synthesis, structure, and properties of new materials for spintronic applications integrated onto silicon substrates. Our primary focus is materials with very high, negative, intrinsic spin polarization of the density of states at the Fermi level. We have developed a new synthesis method for Fe3O4 thin films through selective oxidation of Fe, resulting in smooth, low-defect density films. We have synthesized Fe4N films and shown that they preferentially oxidize to Fe3O4. When integrated into magnetic tunnel junctions consisting of Fe4N / AlOx / Fe, oxidation at the Fe4N / AlOx interface creates Fe3O4, leading to negative tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR). Oxidation of Fe in nominally symmetric CoFe / AlOx / CoFe also produces Fe3O4 and negative TMR under selected oxidation conditions.