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The traveler collaborated with M.J.M. Leask, J.M. Baker, B. Bleaney, and others at the Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, to Study Tetragonal rare-earth phosphates and vanadates by optical and magnetic spectroscopy. This work is related to similar studies that have been performed at ORNL by the Synthesis and Properties of Novel Materials Group in the Solid State Division.

In May 1985, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit was issued for the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. As a condition of the permit, a Biologicai Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed to demonstrate that the effluent limitations established for the Y-12 Plant protect the classified uses of the receiving stream (East Fork Poplar Creek; EFPC), in particular, the growth and propagation of aquatic life (Lear et al. 1989). A second objective of the BMAP is to document the ecological effects resulting from the implementation of a water pollution control program designed to eliminate direct discharges of wastewaters to EFPC and to minimize the inadvertent release of pollutants to the environment. Because of the compiex nature of the discharges to EFPC and the temporal and spatial variability in the composition of the discharges, a comprehensive, integrated approach to biological monitoring was developed. A new permit was issued to the Y-12 Plant on April 28, 1995 and became effective on July 1, 1995. Biological monitoring continues to be required under the new permit. The BMAP consists of four major tasks that reflect different but complementary approaches to evaluating the effects of the Y-12 Plant discharges on the aquatic integrity …

This report summarizes the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory internal assessment of Laboratory operational and administrative performance in key support functions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003. The report provides documentation of ongoing performance-based management and oversight processes required by the Department of Energy (DOE) to monitor, measure, and evaluate Berkeley Lab work.

This report summarizes results of a sensitivity analysis that predicts which features of the waste form and barrier system will have the greatest impact on dose to man.

The objective of this project is to increase oil production and reserves in the Uinta Basin by demonstrating improved completion techniques. Low productivity of Uinta Basin wells is caused by gross production intervals of several thousand feet that contain perforated thief zones and water-bearing zones, and unperforated oil-bearing intervals. Geologic and engineering characterization and computer simulation of the Green River and Wasatch Formations in the Bluebell field will determine reservoir heterogeneities related to fractures and depositional trends. This will be followed by drilling and recompletion of several wells to demonstrate improved completion techniques based on the reservoir characterization. Transfer of the project results will be an ongoing component of the project.

An experimental program was initiated io determine the extent of fast neutron and gamma ray streaming through the SRL Mark II control and safety rods and to evaluate the adequacy of the shielding provided in these control and safety rods. The methods and procedures used to evaluate these problems are routine and proven for determining gamma-ray and fast neutron dosages using radiation sensitive films and gold foils. The final experimental results indicated that no excessive streaming of either gamma rays or fast neutrons is present above or around the SHE Mark II control and safety rods. The analytical attenuation methods used to calculate the fast neutron and gamma-ray streaming dose rates gave results that compared favorably with the experimental data. Even ihough the agreement was favorable, it cannot be concluded that these analyical methods would be equally valid for other annular geometries. Additional experimental work will be necessary in order to establish the validity for performing similar analysis, but the favorable agreement encourages the use of such methods until other methods are determined. (auth)

This paper has presented the investigation of the mechanism of geopressure occurrence, the transition of elastic properties from the hydrostatic pressured formation to the geopressured formation, and finally, a novel seismic amplitude analysis technique to map the top-of-geopresure surface. The successful application of our new technique to the Pleistocene, offshore Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico has again demonstrated that seismic attributes analyses are of importantance in the hydrocarbon exploration. There are three parts in this paper corresponding to the above discussed topics: Part I discusses mechanisms of geopressuring, and the effects of changing porosity, pressure, and fluid saturation on the elastic properties; Part II investigates the controlling factors in the geopressure transition zone, their seismic responses, and theoretical derivations of our new prediction method; and Part III demonstrates the application of the proposed method to the Pleistocene, Offshore Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico, the prediction discrpepancy between the seismic predicted top-of-geopressure and that dericed from 145 well logs, and finally, the importance of this hydrodynamic surface.

This final report details results, conclusions, and opportunities for future effort derived from the study. The work involved combining the molecular engineering of photoactive Ti-alkoxide systems and the optical excitation of hydrolysis and condensation reactions to influence the development of the metal-oxygen-metal network at the onset of material formation. Selective excitation of the heteroleptic alkoxides, coupled with control of alkoxide local chemical environment, enabled network connectivity to be influenced and formed the basis for direct deposition and patterning of Ti-oxide-based materials. The research provided new insights into the intrinsic photoresponse and assembly of these complex, alkoxide molecules. Using a suite of electronic, vibrational, and nuclear spectroscopic probes, coupled with quantum chemical computation, the excitation wavelength and fluence dependence of molecular photoresponse and the nature of subsequent hydrolysis and condensation processes were probed in pyridine-carbinol-based Ti-alkoxides with varied counter ligand groups. Several methods for the patterning of oxide material formation were demonstrated, including the integration of this photoprocessing approach with conventional, dip-coating methodologies.

In response to DOE's Solicitation for Grant Applications DE-PS36-03GO93007, 'Hydrogen Production and Delivery Research', SRI International (SRI) proposed to conduct work under Technical Topic Area 5, Advanced Electrolysis Systems; Sub-Topic 5B, High-Temperature Steam Electrolysis. We proposed to develop a prototype of a modular industrial system for low-cost generation of H{sub 2} (<$2/kg) by steam electrolysis with anodic depolarization by CO. Water will be decomposed electrochemically into H{sub 2} and O{sub 2} on the cathode side of a high-temperature electrolyzer. Oxygen ions will migrate through an oxygen-ion-conductive solid oxide electrolyte. Gas mixtures on the cathode side (H{sub 2} + H{sub 2}O) and on the anode side (CO + CO{sub 2}) will be reliably separated by the solid electrolyte. Depolarization of the anodic process will decrease the electrolysis voltage, and thus the electricity required for H{sub 2} generation and the cost of produced H{sub 2}. The process is expected to be at least 10 times more energy-efficient than low-temperature electrolysis and will generate H{sub 2} at a cost of approximately $1-$1.5/kg. The operating economics of the system can be made even more attractive by deploying it at locations where waste heat is available; using waste heat would reduce the electricity required for …

Incomplete or sparse information on types of data such as geologic or formation characteristics introduces a high level of risk for oil exploration and development projects. ''Expert'' systems developed and used in several disciplines and industries have demonstrated beneficial results. A state-of-the-art exploration ''expert'' tool, relying on a computerized database and computer maps generated by neural networks, is being developed through the use of ''fuzzy'' logic, a relatively new mathematical treatment of imprecise or non-explicit parameters and values. Oil prospecting risk can be reduced with the use of a properly developed and validated ''Fuzzy Expert Exploration (FEE) Tool.'' This FEE Tool can be beneficial in many regions of the U.S. by enabling risk reduction in oil and gas prospecting as well as decreased prospecting and development costs. In the 1998-1999 oil industry environment, many smaller exploration companies lacked the resources of a pool of expert exploration personnel. Downsizing, low oil prices, and scarcity of exploration funds have also affected larger companies, and will, with time, affect the end users of oil industry products in the U.S. as reserves are depleted. The FEE Tool will benefit a diverse group in the U.S., leading to a more efficient use of scarce funds, …

Samples capsules containing buttons of materials of interest for SNAP fuel elements were held at temperatures up to 1600°F , in hydrogen, under a 20-tsi load for 200+ hours.

The US Department of Energy Environmental and Waste Management Tanks Focus Area selected as a strategic initiative the need to identify and develop technologies for remediation of tanks that are known or are suspected to leak. This investigation identified and evaluated technical options for single-shell tank waste retrieval applicable to retrieve waste from potentially leaking tanks. Technologies that minimize leakage use minimal water, and dry retrieval technologies were evaluated. Safety, cost, authorization basis, and schedule risks were identified for each technology to provide River Protection Program with information to evaluate technical and programmatic risk. A workshop was held to identify technology needs and solutions. These approaches grouped into five categories: those related to waste dislodging, waste conveyance, both waste dislodging and conveyance, the deployment platform, and technologies related to leak detection, monitoring, and mitigation. Based on the ranking, six technologies were selected as potential candidates for further evaluation. These items were prioritized into four technologies to recommend for further evaluation 1) Air assisted TORE(R). The TORE(R) produces a precessing vortex core with the ability to convey solids at pre-determined slurry concentrations over great distances. The dry TORE(R) concept uses air to develop the vortex to fluidize dry solids. The TORE(R)the …

This project developed software tools for the automation of grid computing. In particular, the project focused in visualization and imaging tools (VTK, ParaView and ITK); i.e., we developed tools to automatically create Grid services from C++ programs implemented using the open-source VTK visualization and ITK segmentation and registration systems. This approach helps non-Grid experts to create applications using tools with which they are familiar, ultimately producing Grid services for visualization and image analysis by invocation of an automatic process.

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This report gives a brief summary of work at Battelle in support of Savannah River reactor fuel elements. Barrier effectiveness tests show that 0.2 mil nickel is a minimum for diffusion barrier application. Successful bonds by roll cladding with an electrodeposited nickel bond layer have been produced without deformation of 1 inch x 1 inch x 0.180 inch cores. Deformation of core versus pack has been established for several conditions of core dimension and rolling schedule. Apparatus for a critical extrusion test is being machined. The experiment is planned for late October. Beryllium additions to the AlSi bath suppress drossing, but they have negligible effect on intermetallic compound formation. Corrosion test failures of soldered ribs sprayed with zinc took place in 6 days regardless of solder used. The same ribs sprayed with aluminum are still intact after two weeks. Solder bonding with a flash coating of copper on both core and sheath has been satisfactorily completed with aluminum and uranium.

ABS>A hypothetical reactor core is presented in which right cylindrical fuel regions sre positioned at the core corners of equilateral, space-filling, parallelograms. The average gamma heating rate density in each of a set of concentric annular regions, centered on a fuel cylinder, is presented for three different fuel cylinder separation distances. The fuel cylinder radius, fuel composition, and moderator composition are held constant. The calculation was done using the Monte Carlo method. (auth)

During the performance of contract DE-FC26-00-NT40998, entitled ''Affordable Window Insulation with R-10/inch Value'', research was conducted at Aspen Aerogels, Inc. to develop new transparent aerogel materials suitable for window insulation applications. The project requirements were to develop a formulation or multiple formulations that have high transparency (85-90%) in the visible region, are hydrophobic (will not opacify with exposure to water vapor or liquid), and have at least 2% resiliency (interpreted as recoverable 2% strain and better than 5% strain to failure in compression). Results from an unrelated project showed that silica aerogels covalently bonded to organic polymers exhibit excellent mechanical properties. At the outset of this project, we believed that such a route is the best to improve mechanical properties. We have applied Design of Experiment (DOE) techniques to optimize formulations including both silica aerogels and organically modified silica aerogels (''Ormosils''). We used these DOE results to optimize formulations around the local/global optimization points. This report documents that we succeeded in developing a number of formulations that meet all of the stated criteria. We successfully developed formulations utilizing a two-step approach where the first step involves acid catalyzed hydrolysis and the second step involves base catalyzed condensation to make the …

The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Martin Marietta Energy Systems` Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been unable to ship its spent fuel to Savannah River Site (SRS) for reprocessing since 1985. The HFIR storage pools are expected to fill up in the February 1994 to February 1995 time frame. If a management altemative to existing HFIR pool storage is not identified and implemented before the HFIR pools are full, the HFIR will be forced to shut down. This study investigated several alternatives for managing the HFIR spent fuel, attempting to identify options that could be implemented before the HFIR pools are full. The options investigated were: installing a dedicated dry cask storage facility at ORNL, increasing HFIR pool storage capacity by clearing the HFIR pools of debris and either close-packing or stacking the spent fuel elements, storing the spent fuel at another ORNL pool, storing the spent fuel in one or more hot cells at ORNL, and shipping the spent fuel offsite for reprocessing or storage elsewhere.

The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Martin Marietta Energy Systems' Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been unable to ship its spent fuel to Savannah River Site (SRS) for reprocessing since 1985. The HFIR storage pools are expected to fill up in the February 1994 to February 1995 time frame. If a management altemative to existing HFIR pool storage is not identified and implemented before the HFIR pools are full, the HFIR will be forced to shut down. This study investigated several alternatives for managing the HFIR spent fuel, attempting to identify options that could be implemented before the HFIR pools are full. The options investigated were: installing a dedicated dry cask storage facility at ORNL, increasing HFIR pool storage capacity by clearing the HFIR pools of debris and either close-packing or stacking the spent fuel elements, storing the spent fuel at another ORNL pool, storing the spent fuel in one or more hot cells at ORNL, and shipping the spent fuel offsite for reprocessing or storage elsewhere.

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This review covers the various approaches that have utilized the reversed-field concept. Its possible use in a working reactor is discussed. (MOW)

Studies were made on the feasibility of effecting diffusion bonding in U, using pure Au as a catalyst, and by solid state diffusion without the use of a catalyst. It was found that the Au appeared to have promising characteristics for catalyzing the diffusion bonding reaction in joining uranium to itself. Phase diagrams are given U-Au, U--Cr, U--Co, U--Cu, U--Fe, U--Mn, and U--Ni alloys. (P.C.H.)

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