Bimonthly newsletter of the Texas Advisory Commission on State Emergency Communications discussing news and activities of the organization as well as other information related to 9-1-1 services and other emergency communication within Texas.

This document describes methodologies and procedures for conducting soil washing treatability tests in accordance with the 100 Area Soil Washing Treatability Test Plan (DOE-RL 1992, Draft A). The objective of this treatability study is to evaluate the use of physical separation systems and chemical extraction methods as a means of separating chemically and radioactively contaminated soil fractions from uncontaminated soil fractions. These data will be primarily used for determining feasibility of the individual unit operations and defining the requirements for a system, or systems, for pilot-scale testing.

This document describes methodologies and procedures for conducting soil washing treatability tests in accordance with the 100 Area Soil Washing Treatability Test Plan (DOE-RL 1992, Draft A). The objective of this treatability study is to evaluate the use of physical separation systems and chemical extraction methods as a means of separating chemically and radioactively contaminated soil fractions from uncontaminated soil fractions. These data will be primarily used for determining feasibility of the individual unit operations and defining the requirements for a system, or systems, for pilot-scale testing.

The Intermediate Level Tritium Vault No. 1, 662-E, Cell No. 1 contains 140 waste silos. Each silo is approximately 25 feet deep, 30 inches in diameter at the top and covered by a reinforced concrete plug. Two No. 4 reinforcing bars project from the top of each plug for lifting. During lifting operations, the 1.5 inch concrete cover over the lifting bars spelled off 16% of the silo plugs. The No. 4 reinforcing bars were also distorted on many of the silo plugs. Thirteen of the plugs have been repaired to date. The existing silo plug lifting bars have a safe working load of 480 pounds per plug, which is less than 1/3 of the dead weight of the silo plug. The safe working load was calculated using the minimum design factor of 3 based on the yield strength or 5 based on the ultimate strength of the material, as per the Savannah River Site Hoisting and Rigging Manual. The existing design calculations were reviewed, and the following items are noted: (1) Adequate concrete cover was not provided over the horizontal portion of the lifting bars. (2) The lifting bars were allowed to yield in bending, which violates the requirements …

This report describes a task of documenting a base case'' and performing a feasibility analysis for a national residential energy efficiency program for new homes, The principal objective of the task wasto estimate the energy consumption of typical homes built in 1980 and then to identify and assess the feasibility of methods to reduce that consumption by 50%. The goal of the program by the year 2000 is to reduce heating and cooling energy use in new homes built under the program to one-half of the energy use in typical new homes built in 1980. The task also calls for determining whether the program goal should be revised, based on the analysis.

This report describes a task of documenting a ``base case`` and performing a feasibility analysis for a national residential energy efficiency program for new homes, The principal objective of the task wasto estimate the energy consumption of typical homes built in 1980 and then to identify and assess the feasibility of methods to reduce that consumption by 50%. The goal of the program by the year 2000 is to reduce heating and cooling energy use in new homes built under the program to one-half of the energy use in typical new homes built in 1980. The task also calls for determining whether the program goal should be revised, based on the analysis.

This report is a compilation of data on emergency and hazardous chemicals stored at the Hanford Reservation. The report lists name or chemical description, physical and health hazards, inventories and storage location.

The interaction of subpicosecond 1.06 mm laser light at intensities up to 10{sup 18} W/cm{sup 2} with dense performed plasmas is investigated by measurements of the absorption of the laser light in the plasma and by measurements of the production of bremsstrahlung x-rays. Absorption measurements are made by collecting the scattered light in an Ulbricht sphere. Light scattered in the backward and specular directions is collected separately. Measurements are presented for both high and low Z targets. X-ray production is measured using a nine channel filter/scintillator spectrometer.

As the result of a thorough literature search and consultation with manufacturers of compressors, a specimen testing program is proposed to simulate specific contacts in components of compressors. Specimen testing will be conducted using a high pressure tribometer. Specific components to be simulated, with their approximate operating and environmental conditions, are identified. A list of references, related to compressors lubrication, friction and wear, is given in the Appendix.

As the result of a thorough literature search and consultation with manufacturers of compressors, a specimen testing program is proposed to simulate specific contacts in components of compressors. Specimen testing will be conducted using a high pressure tribometer. Specific components to be simulated, with their approximate operating and environmental conditions, are identified. A list of references, related to compressors lubrication, friction and wear, is given in the Appendix.

The Accelerator Research Studies program at the University of Maryland, sponsored by the Department of Energy under grant number DE-FG05-91ER40642, is currently in the second year of a three-year funding cycle. The program consists of the following three tasks: TASK A, ``Study of Transport and Longitudinal Compression of Intense, High-Brightness Beams,`` (P.I., M. Reiser); TASK B, ``Study of Collective Ion Acceleration by Intense Electron Beams and Pseudospark Produced High Brightness Electron Beams,`` (Co-P.I.`s, W.W. Destler, M. Reiser, M.J. Rhee, and C.D. Striffler); TASK C, ``Study of a Gyroklystron High-Power Microwave Source for Linear Colliders,`` (Co-P.I.`s, V.L. Granatstein, W. Lawson, M. Reiser, and C.D. Striffler). In this report we document the progress that has been made during the past year for each of the three tasks.

ACHRO is a very simple 2000-line. FORTRAN code that provides help for the designer of the achromatic bend. Given a beam momentum, the program calculates the required drift lengths and dipole parameters which it will apply to any one of several different types of achromats. The types of achromats that the code helps to design include the Enge dual-270,`` the Brown 2-dipole, the Leboutet 3-dipole, and the Enge 4-dipole, as well as the periodic systems which can be designed to any order in symmetric, nonsymmetric and stair-step varieties. Given the dimensions into which a bend must fit, ACHRO will calculate the geometrical parameters in an X-Y plane for a single or multiple achromat, and for achromatic ``S-bend`` configurations where possible. ACHRO makes it very easy to optimize a bend with respect to drift lengths and magnet parameters by allowing the user to change parameter values and see the resulting calculation. Used in conjunction with a beam-transport code, ACHRO makes it possible for a designer to consider various types of achromatic bends in the same beamline layout in order to compare important bend characteristics such as dispersion, Isochronicity, sensitivity, geometric and chromatic aberrations, aperture requirements, space for diagnostics, etc., all of …

To help reduce US dependence on imported petroleum, Congress passed the Energy Security Act of 1980 (public Law 96-294). This legislation authorized the US Department of Energy (DOE) to promote expansion of the fuel alcohol industry through, among other measures, its Alcohol Fuels Loan Guarantee Program. Under this program, selected proposals for the conversion of plant biomass into fuel-grade ethanol would be granted loan guarantees. of 57 applications submitted for loan guarantees to build and operate ethanol fuel projects under this program, 11 were considered by DOE to have the greatest potential for satisfying DOE`s requirements and goals. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), DOE evaluated the potential impacts of proceeding with the Loan Guarantee Program in a programmatic environmental assessment (DOE 1981) that resulted in a finding of no significant impact (FANCY) (47 Federal Register 34, p. 7483). The following year, DOE conducted site-specific environmental assessments (EAs) for 10 of the proposed projects. These F-As predicted no significant environmental impacts from these projects. Eventually, three ethanol fuel projects received loan guarantees and were actually built: the Tennol Energy Company (Tennol; DOE 1982a) facility near Jasper in southeastern Tennessee; the Agrifuels Refining Corporation (Agrifuels; DOE 1985) facility …

A study to determine the acute and chronic toxicity of uranyl nitrate, hydrogen uranyl phosphate, and uranium dioxide to the organism Ceriodaphnia dubia was conducted. The toxicity tests were conducted by two independent environmental consulting laboratories. Part of the emphasis for this determination was based on concerns expressed by SCDHEC, which was concerned that a safety factor of 100 must be applied to the previous 1986 acute toxicity result of 0.22 mg/L for Daphnia pulex, This would have resulted in the LETF release limits being based on an instream concentration of 0.0022 mg/L uranium. The NPDES Permit renewal application to SCDHEC utilized the results of this study and recommended that the LETF release limit for uranium be based an instream concentration of 0.004 mg/L uranium. This is based on the fact that the uranium releases from the M-Area LETF will be in the hydrogen uranyl phosphate form, or a uranyl phosphate complex at the pH (6--10) of the Liquid Effluent Treatment Facility effluent stream, and at the pH of the receiving stream (5.5 to 7.0). Based on the chronic toxicity of hydrogen uranyl phosphate, a lower uranium concentration limit for the Liquid Effluent Treatment Facility outfall vs. the existing NPDES …

Path planning has to be fast to support real-time robot programming. Unfortunately, current planning techniques are still too slow to be effective, as they often require several minutes, if not hours of computation. To alleviate this problem, we present a learning algorithm that uses past experience to enhance future performance. The algorithm relies on an existing path planner to provide solutions to difficult tasks. From these solutions, an evolving sparse network of useful subgoals is learned to support faster planning. The algorithm is suitable for both stationary and incrementally-changing environments. To analyze our algorithm, we use a previously developed stochastic model that quantifies experience utility. Using this model, we characterize the situations in which the adaptive planner is useful, and provide quantitative bounds to predict its behavior. The results are demonstrated with problems in manipulator planning. Our algorithm and analysis are sufficiently general that they may also be applied to task planning or other planning domains in which experience is useful.

About sixteen years ago, Bengt Carlson introduced a method for discretizing the neutral particle transport equation to achieve a positive solution while at the same time retaining much of the accuracy of the diamond differencing method. About six years later Russian researchers applied this work to their problems and extended it somewhat to enhance the flexibility of the method to incorporate monotonic properties of the solution. This latter work came to the attention of US researchers in late 1991 where it verified much of Carlson`s conclusions in theory and in test problems. This method, called the adaptive weighted diamond (AWDD) method, is based upon a weighted diamond discretization of the transport equation with the weights chosen from a diamond difference prediction of the solution so as to correct it for positively and monotonicity. This work re-examines the method and extends it to three-dimensional XYZ geometry and demonstrates its potential for solving such problems accurately while achieving a much smoother solution than diamond with set-to-zero fixup and is as effective as the theta-weighted fixup method 3 while theoretically and operationally more satisfying.

There are many well developed codes available for beamline design and analysis. A significant fraction of each of these codes is devoted to processing its own unique input language for describing the problem. None of these large, complex, and powerful codes does everything. Adding a new bit of specialized physics can be a difficult task whose successful completion makes the code even larger and more complex. This paper describes an attempt to move in the opposite direction, toward a family of small, simple, single purpose physics and utility modules, linked by an open, portable, public domain database framework. These small specialized physics codes begin with the beamline parameters already loaded in the database, and accessible via the handful of subroutines that constitute ADLIB. Such codes are easier to write, and inherently organized in a manner suitable for incorporation in model based control system algorithms. Examples include programs for analyzing beamline misalignment sensitivities, for simulating and fitting beam steering data, and for translating among MARYLIE, TRANSPORT, and TRACE3D formats.

The development and utilization of advanced computing and communications technologies are accelerating rapidly, particularly under the influence of the recently initiated Federal High Performance Computing and Communications Program. The nuclear power industry has traditionally been on the forefront of such advanced computing technologies. This paper will illustrate several of the developments and future opportunities for utilization of these technologies for addressing grand challenges of the nuclear power industry. The specific capabilities of evolving scientific workstations, network based computing and parallel processing will be illustrated.

A computerized control system has been developed for the remotely-operated fuel pin processor used in the Integral Fast Reactor Program, Fuel Cycle Facility (FCF). The pin processor remotely shears cast EBR- reactor fuel pins to length, inspects them for diameter, straightness, length, and weight, and then inserts acceptable pins into new sodium-loaded stainless-steel fuel element jackets. Two main components comprise the control system: (1) a programmable logic controller (PLC), together with various input/output modules and associated relay ladder-logic associated computer software. The PLC system controls the remote operation of the machine as directed by the OCS, and also monitors the machine operation to make operational data available to the OCS. The OCS allows operator control of the machine, provides nearly real-time viewing of the operational data, allows on-line changes of machine operational parameters, and records the collected data for each acceptable pin on a central data archiving computer. The two main components of the control system provide the operator with various levels of control ranging from manual operation to completely automatic operation by means of a graphic touch screen interface.

The pyrolysis of octylbenzene (OB) at various temperatures, 400{degrees}C, 425{degrees}C and 450{degrees}C, has been studied. This work represents a continuous effort in the study of the effects of alkylbenzenes in the high temperature thermal degradation of jet fuels, following up the detailed study of the behavior of four isomers of butylbenzenes (1). There are some general similarities in the reactions of OB and butylbenzenes. For example, both produce a large amount of smaller alkylbenzenes during pyrolysis. Reaction kinetics of OB have been calculated based on the temperature range mentioned above, and the major chemical process in its thermal reactions have been analyzed. As expected, temperature plays the most significant role in the degradation process, as shown in Figure 1. The reaction shows only a moderate rate at 400{degrees}C, 8.18 mol% of OB remaining after 16 hours of stressing. At 450{degrees}C, however, there is virtually no OB left after 8 hours of stressing. Rough comparison of the yields (wt%) of gaseous, liquid and solid products formed (Figures 2, 3 and 4) shows a uniform change in this temperature range. For example, a steady increase of the yields (wt%) of gas and solid formation can be observed in Figures 2 and 3. …

The Allison Gas Turbine Division (Allison) of General Motors Corporation conducted the Advanced Turbine Systems (ATS) program feasibility study (Phase I) in accordance with the Morgantown Energy Technology Center`s (METC`s) contract DE-AC21-86MC23165 A028. This feasibility study was to define and describe a natural gas-fired reference system which would meet the objective of {ge}60% overall efficiency, produce nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}) emissions 10% less than the state-of-the-art without post combustion controls, and cost of electricity of the N{sup th} system to be approximately 10% below that of the current systems. In addition, the selected natural gas-fired reference system was expected to be adaptable to coal. The Allison proposed reference system feasibility study incorporated Allison`s long-term experience from advanced aerospace and military technology programs. This experience base is pertinent and crucial to the success of the ATS program. The existing aeroderivative technology base includes high temperature hot section design capability, single crystal technology, advanced cooling techniques, high temperature ceramics, ultrahigh turbomachinery components design, advanced cycles, and sophisticated computer codes.

This report summarizes work performed by Garrett Auxiliary Power Division (GAPD), a unit of Allied-Signal Aerospace Company, during calendar year 1992, toward development and demonstration of structural ceramic technology for automotive gas turbine engines. This work was performed for the US Department of Energy (DOE) under National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Contract DEN3-335, Advanced Turbine Technology Applications Project (ATTAP). GAPD utilized the AGT101 regenerated gas turbine engine developed under the previous DOE/NASA Advanced Gas Turbine (AGT) program as the ATTAP test bed for ceramic engine technology demonstration. ATTAP focussed on improving AGT101 test bed reliability, development of ceramic design methodologies, and improvement of fabrication and materials processing technology by domestic US ceramics fabricators. A series of durability tests was conducted to verify technology advancements. This is the fifth in a series of technical summary reports published annually over the course of the five-year contract.

This paper describes several large-scale computational models developed at Argonne National Laboratory for the simulation and analysis of thermal-hydraulic and neutronic events in nuclear reactors and nuclear power plants. The impact of advanced parallel computing technologies on these computational models is emphasized.

Most commercial buildings designed today will use more energy and cost more to operate and maintain than necessary. If energy performance were considered early in building design, 30% to 60% of the energy now used in new commercial buildings could be saved cost-effectively. However, most building design teams do not adequately consider the energy impacts of design decisions to achieve these savings; the tools for doing so simply do not yet exist. Computer technology can help design teams consider energy performance as an integral part of the design process. This technology could enable designers to produce much more energy-efficient buildings without increasing the costs of building design. Recognizing this, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated the Advanced Energy Design and Operation Technologies (AEDOT) project, led by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). The aim of the project is to develop advanced computer-based technologies that will help designers take advantage of these potentially large energy savings. The success of the AEDOT project depends largely on the ability to develop energy design-support tools that can be integrated into comprehensive building design environments so that all parts of the design process willbe supported. Energy, just one consideration among many in building design, must …