This project includes measurements of the kinetics, fluorescence spectra and thermochemistry of alkoxy radicals which are important species in the combustion of hydrocarbons. RO radicals were produced by the laser photolysis of RONO.

This report details the disposition of canisters and the canistered waste forms produced during the DWPF Startup Test Program. The six melter campaigns (DWPF Startup Tests FA-13, WP-14, WP-15, WP-16, WP-17, and FA-18) will produce 126 canistered waste forms. In addition, up to 20 additional canistered waste forms may be produced from glass poured during the transition between campaigns. In particular, this canister disposition plan (1) assigns (by alpha-numeric code) a specific canister to each location in the six campaign sequences, (2) describes the method of access for glass sampling on each canistered waste form, (3) describes the nature of the specific tests which will be carried out, (4) details which tests will be carried out on each canistered waste form, (5) provides the sequence of these tests for each canistered waste form, and (6) assigns a storage location for each canistered waste form. The tests are designed to provide evidence, as detailed in the Waste Form Compliance Plan (WCP{sup 1}), that the DWPF product will comply with the Waste Acceptance Product Specifications (WAPS{sup 2}). The WAPS must be met before the canistered waste form is accepted by DOE for ultimate disposal at the Federal Repository. The results of these …

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at Savannah River Site (SRS) will produce canisters of high-level radioactive waste glass, which will be acceptable for disposal in a Federal Repository. The repository acceptance requirements, in the Waste Acceptance Preliminary Specifications (WAPS), prohibit the presence of foreign materials which could compromise waste disposal. In this paper, the DWPF strategy for complying with the WAPS is presented along with results of experiments on prototypically filled, simulated canistered waste forms. In particular, the gas occupying the free volume region of the canisters was characterized by mass spectrometry. The internal gas pressure and dew point of the gas within the free volume were also determined. Thermogravimetric analyses of simulated waste glass samples removed from the canistered waste forms were carried out to determine if foreign materials are released when the temperature of the glass reaches the glass transition temperature. The results of calculations on the generation of radiogenic gases over time are presented. Finally, administrative controls and physical barriers used to exclude foreign materials from the canistered waste forms during production are discussed.

Project management controls are utilized to enhance the probability that a project will be successful. The control system used by a project manager can take many forms and can be applied at different times to varying degrees on a given project depending upon its complexity. The Consolidated Incineration Facility (CIF) is one project of many at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The United States Department of Energy Order 4700.1 is a project management system that is applied on a site-wide basis, thus including the CIF. The control system required by this order is proceduralized to ensure that it is applied in a consistent manner and will produce reliable results. These results provide the project manager with a correlation of both costs and schedule within the defined scope to adequately asses the status of the project. This is an iterative process and can be simply stated: plan, actual, variance, corrective action, prediction, and revision. This paper presents the basis for the project management controls applied at the Savannah River Site.

A gamma ray scanning gauge was simulated with Monte Carlo to study the properties of gamma scanning gauges and to resolve the counts coming from a {sup 235}U source from those coming from a contaminant ({sup 232}U) whose daughters emit high energy gamma rays. The simulation has been used to infer the amount of the {sup 232}U contaminant in a {sup 235}U source to select the best size for the NaI(Tl) detector crystal to minimize the effect of the contaminant. The results demonstrate that Monte Carlo simulation provides a systematic tool for designing a gauge with desired properties and for estimating properties of the gamma source from measured count rates.

Our research effort funded by this grant primarily focused on development of suitable fluorescent dyes for DNA sequencing studies. Prior to our efforts, the dyes being sued in commercial DNA sequencers were various versions of fluorescein dyes for the shorter wavelengths and of rhodamine dyes for the longer wavelengths. Our initial goal was to synthesize a set of four dyes that could all be excited by the 488 and 514 nm line of the argon laser lines and that have emission spectra that minimize spectral overlap. The specific result sought was higher fluorescent intensity, particularly of the longest wavelength dyes than was available using existing dyes. Another important property of the desired set of dyes was uniform ionic charge in order to have minimum interference on the electrophoretic mobility during the sequencing. During the period of this grant we prepared and characterized four types of dyes: fluorescent bifluorophores, derivatives of rhodamine dyes, derivatives of rhodol dyes and derivatives of boron dipyrromethene difluoride (BODIPY{trademark}) dyes.

An brushless DC permanent magnet motor is provided for driving an autonomous underwater vehicle. In one embodiment, the motor comprises four substantially flat stators disposed in stacked relationship, with pairs of the stators being axially spaced and each of the stators comprising a tape-wound stator coil; and a first and second substantially flat rotors disposed between the spaced pairs of stators. Each of the rotors includes an annular array of permanent magnets embedded therein. A first shaft is connected to the first rotor and a second, concentric shaft is connected to the second rotor, and drive unit causes rotation of the two shafts in opposite directions. The second shaft comprises a hollow tube having a central bore therein in which the first shaft is disposed. Two different sets of bearings support the first and second shAfts. In another embodiment, the motor comprises two ironless stators and pairs and rotors mounted no opposite sides of the stators and driven by counterrotating shafts.

The amorphous to crystalline transformations of Ge in Al/Ge thin film couples has been studied using glancing angle EXAFS, x-ray reflectivity and diffraction. It was found that crystallization occurs at a much lower temperature (118--150{degrees}C) than for bulk Ge, and initiates at the Al/Ge interface. X-ray diffraction studies were made at 152{degrees}C to study the kinetics of the reaction. After an initial period we find good agreement with a square root dependence of the time, characteristic of a diffusion limited reaction.

Specialized miniature low cost video equipment has been effectively used in a number of remote, radioactive, and contaminated environments at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The equipment and related techniques have reduced the potential for personnel exposure to both radiation and physical hazards. The valuable process information thus provided would not have otherwise been available for use in improving the quality of operation at SRS.

The objective of the subscale test program were designed to provide sorbent and additive selection guidance, and, in so doing, supply answers to the questions posed in the preceding section. The objectives are: Identify the best commercial hydrate sorbent and the best enhanced hydrate sorbent from a list of nine types, based upon S0{sub 2} removal at Ca/S=2. Determine the relative effectiveness of sodium sesquicarbonate versus sodium bicarbonate for S0{sub 2} and NO{sub x} control over the temperature range of 200{degrees}F--400{degrees}F. Identify the best NO{sub 2} suppressing additive among the group of ammonia, urea, and activated carbon.

Slagging combustors with injected lime or limestone are being considered as replacements for conventional coal burners. They have advantages in that they can be staged to reduce NO{sub x} and SO{sub x} emissions. Iron oxide, as an alternative to lime or limestone may be effective not only as a desulfurizing agent, but under the right conditions of oxygen potential and after combination with sulfur, the reaction products of coal gases with iron oxide can act as a flux to produce a fluid phase. The thermodynamic conditions for determining the most effective operating conditions of the first stage of a combustor are calculated for several Illinois coals. These conditions include contact of the gas with the phase combinations: CaO/CaSO{sub 4}, CaO/CaS, and Fe/FeO/liquid for the temperature range 950{degree} to 1300{degree}C. In the latter system, the minimum dosage of iron required at equilibrium and the calculated maximum percent sulfur removal are reported. Also given are the expected pounds of SO{sub 2} per million Btu of heat evolution calculated for complete combustion. The calculations indicate that for the Fe-O-S system, higher temperatures give better results approaching 96 percent sulfur removal from a coal containing 4.2% sulfur. For this example, the stack gas emerging …

Slagging combustors with injected lime or limestone are being considered as replacements for conventional coal burners. They have advantages in that they can be staged to reduce NO{sub x} and SO{sub x} emissions. Iron oxide, as an alternative to lime or limestone may be effective not only as a desulfurizing agent, but, under the right conditions of oxygen potential, it can act as a flux to produce a glassy slag. This glassy slag should be dense and environmentally inert. In this reporting period, the thermodynamic conditions are determined for the operation of the first stage of a combustor which would have as its feed six types of coals. The calculations are made for the four phase equilibrium: FeO(wustite)/Fe/Liquid/Gas over the temperature range 950{degrees} to 1300{degrees}C. The minimum dosage of iron oxide required at equilibrium an the calculated maximum percent sulfur removal are reported. Also given are the expected pounds of S0{sub 2} per million Btu of heat evolution calculated for complete combustion. These preliminary results indicate in the Fe-O-S system that higher temperatures give better results approaching 96 percent sulfur removal from a coal containing (on a dry basis) 3.29% by weight sulfur. In the prior reporting period, a comparison …

There are four primary modes of radioactive decay. All can be measured using various types of detectors and are the basis of many analytical techniques and much of what we know about the nucleus and its structure. Alpha particle emission occurs mostly in heavy nuclei of atomic number, Z, greater than 82 like Po, Ra, Th, and U, etc. Beta particles are simply electrons. They are emitted from the nucleus with a distribution of energies ranging from 0--3 MeV. Gamma-rays are photons with energies ranging from a few keV to 10 MeV or more. They usually follow alpha or beta decay, and depending on their energy, can have considerable range in matter. Neutrons are emitted in fission processes and also from a few of the highly excited fission product nuclei. Fission neutrons typically have energies of 1--2 MeV. Like gamma-rays, they have long ranges. The energies involved in nuclear decay processes are much higher than anything encountered in, say, chemical reactions. They are at the very top of the electromagnetic spectrum -- about a million times more energetic than visible light. As a result, these particles always produce ionization, either directly or indirectly, as they pass through matter. It is …

Accountability and nuclear safety concerns arising from uncertainties in Pu-239 loadings of a number of waste containers at SRS were investigated by in situ neutron and gamma-ray measurements and an assessment of risk stemming from past waste analysis and packaging practices. The neutron and gamma measurements largely confirmed the correctness of original waste analysis and accountability, while the risk assessment and measurement implications suggested no present or foreseeable nuclear safety problems.

Boron nitride powder with less than or equal to the oxygen content of starting powder (down to 0.5% or less) is hot isostatically pressed in a refractory metal container to produce hexagonal boron nitride with a bulk density greater than 2.0 g/cc. The refractory metal container is formed of tantalum, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum or alloys thereof in the form of a cansister or alternatively plasma sprayed or chemical vapor deposited onto a powder compact. Hot isostatic pressing at 1800{degrees}C and 30 KSI (206.8 MPa) argon pressure for four hours produces a bulk density of 2.21 g/cc. Complex shapes can be made.

A number of concrete culverts used to retrievably store drummed, dry, radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site (SRS), were suspected of containing ambiguous quantities of transuranic (TRU) nuclides. These culverts were assayed in place for Pu-239 content using thermal and fast neutron counting techniques. High resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy on 17 culverts, having neutron emission rates several times higher than expected, showed characteristic gamma-ray signatures of neutron emitters other than Pu-239 (e.g., Pu-238, Pu/Be, or Am/Be neutron sources). This study confirmed the Pu-239 content of the culverts with anomalous neutron rates and established limits on the Pu-239 mass in each of the 17 suspect culverts by in-field, non-intrusive gamma-ray measurements.

Alloys such as U-6Nb are prepared by forming a stacked sandwich array of uranium sheets and niobium powder disposed in layers between the sheets, heating the array in a vacuum induction melting furnace to a temperature such as to melt the uranium, holding the resulting mixture at a temperature above the melting point of uranium until the niobium dissolves in the uranium, and casting the uranium-niobium solution. Compositional uniformity in the alloy product is enabled by use of the sandwich structure of uranium sheets and niobium powder.

Manual tank calibrations often have variabilities of both a random and systematic nature that often affect the quality of the data collected for determining accurate calibration equations. When performing the calibration run, data omissions and transcriptions often occur (forgetting to tare weigh the prover vessel or miswriting a displayed value). A computer can be used to minimize these errors associated with the logging of data. This paper describes a IBM compatible, portable computer based system, developed at the Savannah River Site (SRS), that was used to calibrate three tanks in the second quarter 1990. It received data directly from instrumentation such as Ruska differential pressure sensors and electronic balances, while prompting the technicians to perform the various steps in the calibration procedure. This automated system greatly improved the quality of data for calculating the calibration equation for each of these tanks over previous calibration runs.

A major problem in evaluating the health risk posed by airborne radon progeny in indoor atmospheres is the lack of available information on the activity-weighted size distributions that occur in the domestic environment. With an automated, semicontinuous, graded screen array system, we made a series of measurements of activity-weighted size distributions in several houses in the northeastern United States. Measurements were made in an unoccupied house, in which human aerosol-generating activities were simulated. The time evolution of the aerosol size distribution was measured in each situation. Results of these measurements are presented.

Recent investigations of radon decay products in indoor air have shown that what has been called the unattached'' fraction is in fact an ultrafine size aerosol with diameters in the range of 0.5 to 10 nm. There are a number of difficulties in characterizing particles in this size range. Classical diffusion batteries using screens with high mesh numbers do not have the resolution to give detailed information for the ultra fine range. The use of single screens of differing mesh numbers (Graded Screen Arrays) either in parallel or in a stack configuration can be used to provide these results. However, accurately measuring the activity directly attached to the screens is difficult because of the attachment of some activity to the back side of the screen and the distribution of activity around the individual screen wires. A continuous monitoring system that provides information on both the size and charge distributions on these important size range particles has been constructed and its behavior characterized in the laboratory. It has now been field tested and employed in several field studies to determine the exposure of individuals to radon progeny in the indoor environment. 22 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab.

The invention is a process for selectively extracting strontium and technetium values from aqueous nitric acid waste solutions containing these and other fission product values. The extractant is a macrocyclic polyether in a diluent which is insoluble in water, but which will itself dissolve a small amount of water. The process will extract strontium and technetium values from nitric acid solutions which are up to 6 molar in nitric acid.

Helium ``ash`` accumulation is a key issue relative to our ability to achieve a steady-state ignited tokamak. 1-D transport simulations using the BALDUR code have been used to examine the correlation between the global helium particle confinement time and the edge exhaust (or recycling) efficiency. This provides a way to benchmark the widely used 0-D model. In this paper, burn conditions for an ITER-like plasma with various helium edge recycling coefficients are examined.

Ash accumulation is a key issue relative to our ability to achieve D-{sup 3}He ARIES III burn conditions. 1-1/2-d transport simulations using the BALDUR code have been used to examine the correlation between the global ash particle confinement time and the edge exhaust (or recycling) efficiency. This provides a way to benchmark the widely used 0-D model. The burn conditions for an ARIES-III plasma with various ash edge recycling coefficients are examined.

Ongoing work includes the characterization of coal pyrites, the floatability evaluation typical US coal samples, the flotation behavior of coal pyrites, the electrochemical measurement of the surface properties of coal pyrites, and the characterization of species produced at pyrite surfaces.