Simulant testing of a full-scale thin-film evaporator system was conducted in 2011 for technology development at the Hanford tank farms. Test results met objectives of water removal rate, effluent quality, and operational evaluation. Dilute tank waste simulant, representing a typical double-shell tank supernatant liquid layer, was concentrated from a 1.1 specific gravity to approximately 1.5 using a 4.6 m{sup 2} (50 ft{sup 2}) heated transfer area Rototherm{reg_sign} evaporator from Artisan Industries. The condensed evaporator vapor stream was collected and sampled validating efficient separation of the water. An overall decontamination factor of 1.2E+06 was achieved demonstrating excellent retention of key radioactive species within the concentrated liquid stream. The evaporator system was supported by a modular steam supply, chiller, and control computer systems which would be typically implemented at the tank farms. Operation of these support systems demonstrated successful integration while identifying areas for efficiency improvement. Overall testing effort increased the maturation of this technology to support final deployment design and continued project implementation.

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This report discusses the status of European Union (EU) enlargement and its implications for both the EU itself and U.S.-EU relations. It includes a history of the European Union, the process of enlargement, overviews of current EU candidates, prospects for future enlargements, and U.S. perspectives.

This report gives an overview of the federal debt limit, its history, and recent increases

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We have studied through analytical and numerical methods the use of a relativistic electron bunch to drive a metallic beam pipe with small corrugations for the purpose of generating terahertz radiation. For the case of a pipe with dimensions that do not change along its length, we have shown that - with reasonable parameters - one can generate a narrow-band radiation pulse with frequency {approx}1 THz, and total energy of a few milli-Joules. The pulse length tends to be on the order of tens of picoseconds. We have also shown that, if the pipe radius is tapered along its length, the generated pulse will end up with a frequency chirp; if the pulse is then made to pass through a compressor, its final length can be reduced to a few picoseconds and its peak power increased to 1 GW. We have also shown that wall losses tend to be significant and need to be included in the structure design.

This report details the chemical and radionuclide contaminant results for the characterization of the 2012 Third Quarter sampling of Tank 50 for the Saltstone Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC). Information from this characterization will be used by Waste Solidification Engineering (WSE) to support the transfer of low-level aqueous waste from Tank 50 to the Salt Feed Tank in the Saltstone Facility in Z-Area, where the waste will be immobilized. This information is also used to update the Tank 50 Waste Characterization System.

This report gives an overview of tax reform issues. The President and leading members of Congress have stated that fundamental tax reform is a major policy objective for the 112th Congress. Some Members have said that fundamental tax reform is needed in order to raise a large amount of additional revenue, which is necessary to reduce high forecast budget deficits and the sharply rising national debt. Congressional interest has been expressed in both a major overhaul of the U.S. tax system and the feasibility of levying a consumption tax.

In this report, we summarize our current collobarative efforts, involving three national laboratories: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Los Alamos National Laboatory (LANL), to develop a computational framework for homogenous and heterogenous nucleation mechanisms into the generic phase-field model. During the studies, the Fe-Cr system was chosen as a model system due to its simplicity and availability of reliable thermodynamic and kinetic data, as well as the range of applications of low-chromium ferritic steels in nuclear reactors. For homogenous nucleation, the relavant parameters determined from atomistic studies were used directly to determine the energy functional and parameters in the phase-field model. Interfacial energy, critical nucleus size, nucleation rate, and coarsening kinetics were systematically examined in two- and three- dimensional models. For the heteregoneous nucleation mechanism, we studied the nucleation and growth behavior of chromium precipitates due to the presence of dislocations. The results demonstrate that both nucleation schemes can be introduced to a phase-field modeling algorithm with the desired accuracy and computational efficiency.

This report looks at how the debate over family planning within the U.S. is spilling over to U.S.-funded family planning programs abroad.

This report discusses the changing energy and economic landscape, as well as the roughly 25 bills introduced by the 112th Congress regarding hydropower (the use of flowing water to produce electricity). Congress is examining numerous energy sources to determine their contribution to the nation's energy portfolio and the federal role in supporting these sources, including hydropower.

A fusion pilot plant study was initiated to clarify the development needs in moving from ITER to a first of a kind fusion power plant. The mission of the pilot plant was set to encompass component test and fusion nuclear science missions yet produce net electricity with high availability in a device designed to be prototypical of the commercial device. The objective of the study was to evaluate three different magnetic configuration options, the advanced tokamak (AT), spherical tokamak (ST) and compact stellarator (CS) in an effort to establish component characteristics, maintenance features and the general arrangement of each candidate device. With the move to look beyond ITER the fusion community is now beginning to embark on DEMO reactor studies with an emphasis on defining configuration arrangements that can meet a high availability goal. This paper reviews the AT pilot plant design, detailing the selected maintenance approach, the device arrangement and sizing of the in-vessel components. Details of interfacing auxiliary systems and services that impact the ability to achieve high availability operations will also be discussed.

Addressing the urgent need to develop LCOE competitive renewable energy solutions for US energy security and to replace fossil-fuel generation with the associated benefits to environment impacts including a reduction in CO2 emissions, this Project focused on the advantages of using hydraulic energy transfer (HET) in large-scale Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) systems for harvesting off-shore tidal energy in US waters. A recent DOE resource assessment, identifies water power resources have a potential to meet 15% of the US electric supply by 2030, with MHK technologies being a major component. The work covered a TRL-4 laboratory proof-in-concept demonstration plus modeling of a 15MW full scale system based on an approach patented by NASA-JPL, in which submerged high-ratio gearboxes and electrical generators in conventional MHK turbine systems are replaced by a submerged hydraulic radial pump coupled to on-shore hydraulic motors driving a generator. The advantages are; first, the mean-time-between-failure (MTBF), or maintenance, can be extended from approximately 1 to 5 years and second, the range of tidal flow speeds which can be efficiently harvested can be extended beyond that of a conventional submerged generator. The approach uses scalable, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components, facilitating scale-up and commercialization. All the objectives of the Project have been …

Toroidal precession is commonly understood as the orbit-averaged toroidal drift of guiding centers in axisymmetric and quasisymmetric configurations. We give a new, more natural description of precession as a geometric phase effect. In particular, we show that the precession angle arises as the holonomy of a guiding center's poloidal trajectory relative to a principal connection. The fact that this description is physically appropriate is borne out with new, manifestly coordinate-independent expressions for the precession angle that apply to all types of orbits in tokamaks and quasisymmetric stellarators alike. We then describe how these expressions may be fruitfully employed in numerical calculations of precession.

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The unique combination of magnetic properties and structural transitions exhibited by many members of the R{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4} family (R = rare earths, 0 ≤ x ≤ 1) presents numerous opportunities for these materials in advanced energy transformation applications. Past research has proven that the crystal structure and magnetic ordering of the R{sub 5(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4} compounds can be altered by temperature, magnetic field, pressure and the Si/Ge ratio. Results of this thesis study on the crystal structure of the Er{sub 5}Si{sub 4} compound have for the first time shown that the application of mechanical forces (i.e. shear stress introduced during the mechanical grinding) can also result in a structural transition from Gd{sub 5}Si{sub 4}-type orthorhombic to Gd{sub 5}Si{sub 2}Ge{sub 2}-type monoclinic. This structural transition is reversible, moving in the opposite direction when the material is subjected to low-temperature annealing at 500 ˚C. Successful future utilization of the R{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4} family in novel devices depends on a fundamental understanding of the structure-property interplay on the nanoscale level, which makes a complete understanding of the microstructure of this family especially important. Past scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation has shown that nanometer-thin plates exist in every …

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Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment for veterans (VR&E) is an entitlement program that provides job training and related services to veterans with service-connected disabilities. In cases where a disabled veteran is not able to work, the VR&E program provides independent living services to help the veteran achieve the highest possible quality of life. The VR&E program is administered by the Veterans Benefit Administration, part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In FY2012, the VA estimates that VR&E benefits will cost $516 million, subsistence allowances for eligible veterans will be an additional $433 million, and administrative costs will total $204 million.

This report gives an analysis of the unconditional most-favored-nation (MFN) status, or in U.S. statutory parlance, normal trade relations (NTR) status, which is a fundamental principle of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This conflicts with the U.S. laws under Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 that limits trade status with several nations undergoing accession into the WTO. On June 12, 2012, Sen. Max Baucus introduced a bill with bipartisan co-sponsorship to authorize PNTR for Russia. The report includes information about MFN status and the WTO, the Jackson-Vanik Amendment restricting trade, the case of China, and prospective WTO accessions.

Combining contemporary cytogenetic methods with DNA CGH microarray technology and chromosome flow-sorting increases substantially the ability to resolve exchange breakpoints associated with interstitial deletions and translocations, allowing the consequences of radiation damage to be directly measured at low doses, while also providing valuable insights into molecular mechanisms of misrepair processes that, in turn, identify appropriate biophysical models of risk at low doses. Specific aims apply to cells recovered from 3D tissue constructs of human skin and, for the purpose of comparison, the same cells irradiated in traditional 2D cultures. The project includes research complementary to NASA/HRP space radiation project.

This document supersedes DOE/NV/25946--801, 'Nevada Test Site Radiological Control Manual,' Revision 1 issued in February 2010. Brief Description of Revision: A complete revision to reflect a recent change in name for the NTS; changes in name for some tenant organizations; and to update references to current DOE policies, orders, and guidance documents. Article 237.2 was deleted. Appendix 3B was updated. Article 411.2 was modified. Article 422 was re-written to reflect the wording of DOE O 458.1. Article 431.6.d was modified. The glossary was updated. This manual contains the radiological control requirements to be used for all radiological activities conducted by programs under the purview of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO). Compliance with these requirements will ensure compliance with Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 835, 'Occupational Radiation Protection.' Programs covered by this manual are located at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS); Nellis Air Force Base and North Las Vegas, Nevada; Santa Barbara and Livermore, California; and Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. In addition, fieldwork by NNSA/NSO at other locations is covered by this manual. Current activities at NNSS include operating low-level radioactive …

This report is one in the series of 'POINT' reports that over the years have presented temperature dependent cross sections for the then current version of ENDF/B [R1]. In each case I have used my personal computer at home and publicly available data and codes: (1) publicly available nuclear data (the current ENDF/B data, available on-line at the National Nuclear Data Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/) and, (2) publicly available computer codes (the current PREPRO codes, available on-line at the Nuclear Data Section, IAEA, Vienna, Austria, http://www-nds.iaea.or.at/ndspub/endf/prepro/) and, (3) My own personal computer located in my home. I have used these in combination to produce the temperature dependent cross sections used in applications and described in this report. I should mention that today anyone with a personal computer can produce these results: by its very nature I consider this data to be born in the public domain.

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