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We present a new preliminary measurement of the parity-violation parameter A{sub b} using a self-calibrating vertex-charge technique. In the SLD experiment we observe hadronic decays of Z{sup 0} bosons produced in collisions between longitudinally polarized electrons and unpolarized positrons at the SLAC Linear Collider. A sample of b{bar b} events is selected using the topologically reconstructed mass of B hadrons. From our 1996-1998 data sample of approximately 400,000 hadronic Z{sup 0} decays, we obtain A{sub b} = 0.897 {+-} 0.027(stat){sub -0.034}{sup +0.036}(syst).

Vibrating wire stressmeters were installed in the Spent Fuel Facility at the Nevada Test Site. These stressmeters will measure the changes in in situ stress during the five-year spent fuel test. Before installation, laboratory tests were conducted to study reproducibility of placement and to develop a program hopefully to reduce corrosion of the stressmeters while in place at the Spent Fuel Facility. These laboratory tests are discussed along with the installation of the stressmeters at the Spent Fuel Facility.

Large-scale EE programs would modestly increase tariffs but reduce consumers' electricity bills significantly. However, the primary benefit of EE programs is a significant reduction in power shortages, which might make these programs politically acceptable even if tariffs increase. To increase political support, utilities could pursue programs that would result in minimal tariff increases. This can be achieved in four ways: (a) focus only on low-cost programs (such as replacing electric water heaters with gas water heaters); (b) sell power conserved through the EE program to the market at a price higher than the cost of peak power purchase; (c) focus on programs where a partial utility subsidy of incremental capital cost might work and (d) increase the number of participant consumers by offering a basket of EE programs to fit all consumer subcategories and tariff tiers. Large scale EE programs can result in consistently negative cash flows and significantly erode the utility's overall profitability. In case the utility is facing shortages, the cash flow is very sensitive to the marginal tariff of the unmet demand. This will have an important bearing on the choice of EE programs in Indian states where low-paying rural and agricultural consumers form the majority of …

Implementation of the proposed seismometers turned out to be much more challenging than anticipated. The noise levels achieved are indeed well below those ever featured by any electrochemical sensor and just very nearly miss reaching the original objectives. However, while noise-wise the instruments could still prove their usefulness, especially considering their robustness and no-maintenance operation, the implementation of the proposed noise-reduction concept resulted in much larger and heavier devices than originally expected. Moreover, these large dimensions relate only to single-component vertical sensors. While building similar horizontal component is possible, the resulting three-component instrument would be way too large and heavy to be of any practical use. The prototype instruments developed and built retained the inherent advantages of the electrochemical seismometers: no maintenance operation; ability to perform with large installation tilts; and, unfortunately, to a much lesser extent in terms of robustness.

To compensate the large tune shift and tune spread generated by the head-on beam-beam interactions in polarized proton operation in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), a low energy electron beam with proper Gaussian transverse profiles was proposed to collide head-on with the proton beam. In this article, using a modified version of SixTrack [1], we investigate stability of the single particle in the presence of head-on beam-beam compensation. The Lyapunov exponent and action diffusion are calculated and compared between the cases without and with beam-beam compensation for two different working points and various bunch intensities. Using the action diffusion results the emittance growth rate and lifetime of the proton beam is also estimated for the different scenarios.

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The authors report on a search for B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -} and B{sub d}{sup 0} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -} decays in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV using 171 pb{sup -1} of data collected by the CDF II experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The decay rates of these rare processes are sensitive to contributions from physics beyond the Standard Model. One event survives all the selection requirements, consistent with the background expectation. They derive branching ratio limits of {Beta}(B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -}) < 5.8 x 10{sup -7} and {Beta}(B{sub d}{sup 0} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -}) < 1.5 x 10{sup -7} at 90% confidence level.

This SSDR establishes the performance, design, development and test requirements for the Final Optic Assembly (FOA). The FOA (WBS 1.8.7) as part of the Target Experimental System (1.8) includes vacuum windows, frequency conversion crystals, focus lens, debris shields and supporting mechanical equipment.

During the period of October 2 and 3, 2007, the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) performed confirmatory radiological survey activities which included gamma surface scans within Area B1S/B2S and the collection of soil samples from these areas.

Passive solar heating was used in a still in which a packed column packed with popped popcorn separates the alcohol and water vapors. The still's performance was not satisfactory, and it is concluded that passive solar heating could have been better used to preheat makeup water for the fermentation process and to maintain proper fermentation temperatures during the winter. (LEW)

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Automatic control of fine coal cleaning circuits has traditionally been limited by the lack of sensors for on-line ash analysis. Although several nuclear-based analyzers are available, none have seen widespread acceptance. This is largely due to the fact that nuclear sensors are expensive and tend to be influenced by changes in seam type and pyrite content. Recently, researchers at VPI and SU have developed an optical sensor for phosphate analysis. The sensor uses image processing technology to analyze video images of phosphate ore. It is currently being used by Texasgulf for off-line analysis of dry flotation concentrates. The primary advantages of optical sensors over nuclear sensors are that they are significantly cheaper, are not subject to measurement variations due to changes in high atomic number minerals, are inherently safer and require no special radiation permitting. The purpose of this work is to apply the knowledge gained in the development of an optical phosphate analyzer to the development of an on-line ash analyzer for fine coal slurries. During the past quarter, a study was conducted to determine if monochromatic illumination could be used as a means of enhancing the differences observed between coal and mineral matter under reflected light. After extensive …

China has been, is, and will continue to be a coal-powered economy. The rapid growth of coal demand since 2001 has created deepening strains and bottlenecks that raise questions about supply security. Although China's coal is 'plentiful,' published academic and policy analyses indicate that peak production will likely occur between 2016 and 2029. Given the current economic growth trajectory, domestic production constraints will lead to a coal gap that is not likely to be filled with imports. Urbanization, heavy industry growth, and increasing per-capita consumption are the primary drivers of rising coal usage. In 2006, the power sector, iron and steel, and cement accounted for 71% of coal consumption. Power generation is becoming more efficient, but even extensive roll-out of the highest efficiency units could save only 14% of projected 2025 coal demand. If China follows Japan, steel production would peak by 2015; cement is likely to follow a similar trajectory. A fourth wedge of future coal consumption is likely to come from the burgeoning coal-liquefaction and chemicals industries. New demand from coal-to-liquids and coal-to-chemicals may add 450 million tonnes of coal demand by 2025. Efficient growth among these drivers indicates that China's annual coal demand will reach 4.2 to …

Advances in Electron Microscopy and single-particle reconstruction have led to results at increasingly high resolutions. This has opened up the possibility of complete automation of single particle reconstruction. Main bottleneck in automation of single particle reconstruction is manual selection of particles in the micrograph. This paper describes a simple but efficient approach for segmentation of particle projections in the micrographs obtained using cryo-electron microscope. Changing the shape of objects to facilitate segmentation from the cluster and reconstructing its actual shape after isolation is successfully attempted. Both low-level and high-level processing techniques are used and the whole process is made automatic. Over 90 percent success in automatic particle picking is achieved. Several areas for improvement and future research directions are discussed.

The standard cosmological model posits a spatially flat universe of infinite extent. However, no observation, even in principle, could verify that the matter extends to infinity. In this work we model the universe as a finite spherical ball of dust and dark energy, and obtain a lower limit estimate of its mass and present size: the mass is at least 5 x 10{sup 23}M{sub {circle_dot}} and the present radius is at least 50 Gly. If we are not too far from the dust-ball edge we might expect to see a cold spot in the cosmic microwave background, and there might be suppression of the low multipoles in the angular power spectrum. Thus the model may be testable, at least in principle. We also obtain and discuss the geometry exterior to the dust ball; it is Schwarzschild-de Sitter with a naked singularity, and provides an interesting picture of cosmogenesis. Finally we briefly sketch how radiation and inflation eras may be incorporated into the model.

This plan describes the activities to be performed and controls to be applied to the process of specifying, obtaining, and qualifying the control and data acquisition software for the Light Duty Utility Arm (LDUA) System. It serves the purpose of a software quality assurance plan, a verification and validation plan, and a configuration management plan. This plan applies to all software that is an integral part of the LDUA control and data acquisition system, that is, software that is installed in the computers that are part of the LDUA system as it is deployed in the field. This plan applies to the entire development process, including: requirements; design; implementation; and operations and maintenance. This plan does not apply to any software that is not integral with the LDUA system. This plan has-been prepared in accordance with WHC-CM-6-1 Engineering Practices, EP-2.1; WHC-CM-3-10 Software Practices; and WHC-CM-4-2, QR 19.0, Software Quality Assurance Requirements.

System curves for each portion of the C Area Water Plant were obtained from referenced work and are presented in figures. Field test data, corroborating the calculated curves, are presented as singular points on the same graphs. Present maxima capacity of the C Area Filter Plant was 121,000 gpm with 118,000 gpm available for use as primary reactor coolant. Modifications to the filter effluent piping would increase this available flow to about 180,000 gpm. Of the 118,000 gpm available for C Reactor use, 10,000 to 12,000 gpm was demanded by B Area through the 183 BC intertie. The maximum flow that the intertie line could handle, without reducing the filter capacity of the C Area filters, is about 21,000 gpm.

Heat transfer calculations were performed with the aid of the IBM 7090 to determine whether or not feasible graphite channel coring patterns could be adopted at the five older Hanford Reactors. The purpose of front and rear process channel coring is to significantly reduce or eliminate net expansion of the fringe graphite by raising the operating temperature above the annealing temperature of 300{degree}C. The results of the study show that such coring patterns are possible. Also, it was found to be possible, and indeed desirable, to standardize the patterns into one front face coring pattern and one rear face coring pattern for all five of the reactors: B, D, F, DR, and H. The resulting coring patterns are presented. These coring patterns will significantly reduce the net rate of expansion in the filler blocks and consequently reduce the inlet and outlet humps in the process channels. This will allow standard 8-inch fuel elements to be charged in all tubes. The afore-mentioned coring patterns will limit the pile gas atmosphere to a range of between 90% He - 10% CO{sub 2} and 100% He. If a greater percentage of CO{sub 2} were used following the adoption of the coring patterns, the …

The design and operation of a recirculating flow reactor designed to convert isotopically enriched silane to polycrystalline Si with high efficiency and chemical purity is described. The starting material is SiF{sub 4}, which is enriched in the desired isotope by a centrifuge method and subsequently converted to silane. In the reactor, the silane is decomposed to silicon on the surface of a graphite starter rod (3 mm diameter) heated to 700-750 C. Flow and gas composition (0.3-0.5% silane in hydrogen) are chosen to minimize the generation of particles by homogeneous nucleation of silane and to attain uniform deposition along the length of the rod. Growth rates are 5 {micro}m/min, and the conversion efficiency is greater than 95%. A typical run produces 35 gm of polycrystalline Si deposited along a 150 mm length of the rod. After removal of the starter rod, dislocation-free single crystals are formed by the floating zone method. Crystals enriched in all 3 stable isotopes of Si have been made: {sup 28}Si (99.92%), {sup 29}Si (91.37%), and {sup 30}Si (88.25%). Concentrations of electrically active impurities (P and B) are as low as mid-10{sup 13} cm{sup -3}. Concentrations of C and O lie below 10{sup 16} and 10{sup …

The Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA) is a proposed accelerator for the low energy nuclear physics community. Its goal is to understand the natural abundances of the elements heavier than iron, explore the nuclear force in systems far from stability, and study symmetry violation and fundamental physics in nuclei. To achieve these scientific goals, RIA promises to produce isotopes far from stability in sufficient quantities to allow experiments. It would also produce near stability isotopes at never before seen production rates, as much as 10{sup 12} pps. Included in these isotopes are many that are important to stockpile stewardship, such as {sup 87}Y, {sup 146-50}Eu, and {sup 231}Th. Given the expected production rates at RIA and a reasonably intense neutron source, one can expect to make {approx} 10 {micro}g targets of nuclei with a half-life of {approx}1 day. Thus, it will be possible at RIA to obtain experimental information on the neutron cross section for isotopes that have to date only been determined by theory. There are two methods to perform neutron cross-section measurements, prompt and delayed. The prompt method tries to measure each reaction as it happens. The exact technique employed will depend on the reaction of interest, (n,2n), (n,{gamma}), …

One of the tasks of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission-sponsored project titled "Reliability of Nondestructive Examination (NDE) for Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Inservice Examination (ISI)" is to provide collaborative assistance to Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA) in France through theoretical predictions of ultrasonic scattering by grains of cast stainless steels (CASS) components. More specifically, a mathematical treatment of ultrasonic scattering in media having duplex micro¬structure is sought because cast stainless steel components often contains larger-scale macrograins that are composed of sub-grains/colonies. In this report, we present formal mathematical theories for ultrasonic wave propagation in polycrystalline aggregates having both simple (composed of grains only) and complex microstructures (having macrograins and sub-grains/colonies). Computations based on these theories are then carried out for ultrasonic backscatter power, attenuation due to scattering, and phase velocity dispersions. Specifically, numerical results are presented for backscatter coefficient for plane longitudinal wave propagating in duplex steel containing macrograins and colonies. Furthermore, the expected propagation characteristics (attenuation coefficient and phase velocity) are computed and described in this report for plane longitudinal waves propagating in (1) steels composed of randomly oriented grains, (2) [001] aligned grains encountered in austenitic stainless steel welds and casts, and (3) duplex steels.

CQ Inc. and its team members (ALSTOM Power Inc., Bliss Industries, McFadden Machine Company, and industry advisors from coal-burning utilities, equipment manufacturers, and the pellet fuels industry) addressed the objectives of the Department of Energy and industry to produce economical, new solid fuels from coal, biomass, and waste materials that reduce emissions from coal-fired boilers. This project builds on the team's commercial experience in composite fuels for energy production. The electric utility industry is interested in the use of biomass and wastes as fuel to reduce both emissions and fuel costs. In addition to these benefits, utilities also recognize the business advantage of consuming the waste byproducts of customers both to retain customers and to improve the public image of the industry. Unfortunately, biomass and waste byproducts can be troublesome fuels because of low bulk density, high moisture content, variable composition, handling and feeding problems, and inadequate information about combustion and emissions characteristics. Current methods of co-firing biomass and wastes either use a separate fuel receiving, storage, and boiler feed system, or mass burn the biomass by simply mixing it with coal on the storage pile. For biomass or biomass-containing composite fuels to be extensively used in the U.S., especially …