This document contains the status report for the Naturally Fractured Tight Gas-Gas Reservoir Detection Optimization project for the contract period 9/30/93 to 3/31/97. Data from seismic surveys are analyzed for structural imaging of reflector units. The data were stacked using the new, improved statics and normal moveout velocities. The 3-D basin modeling effort is continuing with code development. The main activities of this quarter were analysis of fluid pressure data, improved sedimentary history, lithologic unit geometry reconstruction algorithm and computer module, and further improvement, verification, and debugging of the basin stress and multi-phase reaction transport module.

The purpose of this report is to summarize results of relevant data (tank farm and laboratory) and analysis related to potential chemical vulnerabilities of the Hanford Site waste tanks. Potential chemical safety vulnerabilities examined include spontaneous runaway reactions, condensed phase waste combustibility, and tank headspace flammability. The major conclusions of the report are the following: Spontaneous runaway reactions are not credible; condensed phase combustion is not likely; and periodic releases of flammable gas can be mitigated by interim stabilization.

This BCR compares the Project W-058 Functional Design Criteria with the Project W-058 Preliminary Design Requirements Document,and identifies the differences between the two documents in the mission definition, project requirements, system functions, and interfaces. Impacts these differences have on current project design are also discussed.

This program is being conducted as a cooperative agreement between the Consortium for Coal Water Mixture Technology and the U.S. Department of Energy. Activities this reporting period are summarized by phase. Phase I is nearly completed. During this reporting period, coal beneficiation/preparation studies, engineering designs and economics for retrofitting the Crane, Indiana boiler to fire coal-based fuels, and a 1,000-hour demonstration of dry, micronized coal were completed. In addition, a demonstration-scale micronized-coal water mixture (MCWM) preparation circuit was constructed and a 1,000-hour demonstration firing MCWM began. Work in Phase II focused on emissions reductions, coal beneficiation/preparation studies, and economic analyses of coal use. Emissions reductions investigations involved literature surveys of NO{sub x}, SO{sub 2}, trace metals, volatile organic compounds, and fine particulate matter capture. In addition, vendors and engineering firms were contacted to identify the appropriate emissions technologies for the installation of commercial NO{sub x} and SO{sub 2} removal systems on the demonstration boiler. Information from the literature surveys and engineering firms will be used to identify, design, and install a control system(s). Work continued on the refinement and optimization of coal grinding and MCWM preparation procedures, and on the development of advanced processes for beneficiating high ash, high sulfur …

This semiannual progress report contains the following appendices: description of the 1,000 lb steam/h watertube research boiler; the Pennsylvania CGE model; Phase II, subtask 3.9 coal market analysis; the CGE model; and sector definition.

The purpose of this analysis is to define the spatial requirements of the area (pad) for storage of muck removed from the tunnel area during the construction of the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF). This analysis uses the estimate for the amount of material to be removed and determines the required area of the storage pad. Two different areas, Areas 1 and 2, considered as primarily suitable areas, will be analyzed (see Attachment I). An Optional Muck Storage Area, to be located to the east of the ESF pad, will also be analyzed for available volume, with an option of raising the stockpile of muck to 49 feet (see Attachments II and III).

Narcisse is a graphics package developed by our French colleagues at Centre d`Etudes de Limeil Valenton of the Commissariat d`Energie Atomique. Narcisse is quite comprehensive; it can do two-, three-, and four-dimensional plots (the latter meaning that the surface is colored according to the values of an arbitrary function). One can open and send plots to a Narcisse window on a distant machine. Narcisse has a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) which, once a graph has appeared, allows the user to change its characteristics interactively. This enables one to find the best appearance for a particular plot without having to graph it repeatedly from the user program. Previously created files in various formats can also be imported directly into the Narcisse GUI and manipulated from there. Narcisse runs independently, as a graphics server. The user program communicates with Narcisse via Unix sockets. This communication is quite low level and very complex. The appearance of a plot is controlled by nearly 150 parameters for determining such things as the color palette, type of shading, axis scales, curve and surface labels, titles, angle and distance of view (for three- and four-dimensional graphs), hidden line removal, etc. Most end users do not wish …

A traffic congestion forecasting model (ATOP), developed in the present investigation, is described briefly. Several macroscopic models, based on the solution of the partial differential equation of conservation of vehicles by the finite difference method, were tested using actual traffic data. The functional form, as well as the parameters, of the equation of state which describes the relation between traffic speed and traffic density, were determined for a section of the Long Island Expressway. The Lax method and the forward difference technique were applied. The results of extensive tests showed that the Lax method, in addition to giving very good agreement with the traffic data, produces stable solutions.

None

The farmgate cost and available supply of biomass often exhibit considerable variation within a State. This variation, combined with the relatively high cost of transporting bulky biomass material, produces a wide range of expected delivered feedstock costs across a State. As a consequence, both production and transportation costs must be well-modeled when analyzing potential locations for conversion facilities. The Regional Integrated Biomass Assessment system consists of two phases. The descriptive phase characterizes a farmgate cost and supply surface for switchgrass production over a given State. These results are passed to the analytical phase, where a transportation model is used to compute the marginal cost of supplying an ethanol plant at a prescribed level of demand. The model generates a marginal cost surface that illustrates the most promising areas for locating an ethanol plant. Next, a sequential location model simulates the commercial development of ethanol production facilities. This model considers every road network node as a potential site and generates a sequence of likely plant locations. Results from the RIBA analysis demonstrate that the cost of switchgrass can increase dramatically from one location to another. This variation will seriously effect the economics of conversion in the proper sizing and locating of …

Microwave sintering studies with boron carbide (B{sub 4}C) are being evaluated to compare properties of unidirectionally pressed and sintered microwaved pellets with gelcasting of B{sub 4}C. The particle blend is a 50/50 blend of 1-{micro}m and 0.1-{micro}m using 5 wt% carbon (Thermax{reg_sign}) addition. The large, dual-frequency microwave furnace was used to determine that scaleup of a large number of parts can be processed simultaneously using a microwave furnace. Microwave heat treatment of commercial silicon carbide (SiC) resulted in minimal densification, which is thought to result from the exclusion of liquid-phase eutectic, producing sintering aids.

Salary information was collected for July 1996 for personnel working as nuclear engineers and health physicists. The salary information includes personnel at the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. levels with zero, one, three, four to seven, and eight to ten years of professional work experience. Information is provided for utilities and non-utilities. Non-utilities include private sector organizations and U.S. Department of Energy contractor-operated facilities. Government agencies, the military, academic organizations, and medical facilities are excluded. In previous years the salary data have been collected for October. In 1996, the data were collected for July; thus, some caution must be exercised in making annual salary trend comparisons.

The main objectives of the project were to investigate the fundamental aspects of particle-liquid interaction in fine coal dewatering, to conduct laboratory and pilot plant studies on the applicability of hyperbaric filter systems and to develop process conditions for dewatering of fine clean coal to less than 20% moisture. The program consisted of three phases, namely Phase 1 -- Model Development, Phase 2 -- Laboratory Studies, Phase 3 -- Pilot Plant Testing. The Pennsylvania State University led efforts in Phase 1, the University of Kentucky in Phase 2, and CONSOL Inc. in Phase 3 of the program. All three organizations were involved in all the three phases of the program. The Pennsylvania State University developed a theoretical model for hyperbaric filtration systems, whereas the University of Kentucky conducted experimental studies to investigate fundamental aspects of particle-liquid interaction and application of high pressure filter in fine coal dewatering. The optimum filtration conditions identified in Phase 1 and 2 were tested in two of the CONSOL Inc. coal preparation plants using an Andritz Ruthner portable hyperbaric filtration unit.

This report describes the application of distributed-memory parallel programming techniques to a compositional simulator called UTCHEM. The University of Texas Chemical Flooding reservoir simulator (UTCHEM) is a general-purpose vectorized chemical flooding simulator that models the transport of chemical species in three-dimensional, multiphase flow through permeable media. The parallel version of UTCHEM addresses solving large-scale problems by reducing the amount of time that is required to obtain the solution as well as providing a flexible and portable programming environment. In this work, the original parallel version of UTCHEM was modified and ported to CRAY T3D and CRAY T3E, distributed-memory, multiprocessor computers using CRAY-PVM as the interprocessor communication library. Also, the data communication routines were modified such that the portability of the original code across different computer architectures was mad possible.

The Light Duty Utility Arm (LDUA) is a remotely operated manipulator used to enter into underground waste tanks through one of the tank risers. The LDUA must be carefully aligned with the tank riser during the installation process. The Optical Alignment Scope (OAS) is used to determine when optimum alignment has been achieved between the LDUA and the riser. Calibration,grooming and alignment (CG{ampersand}A) is performed on the OAS to assure that the instrumentation and equipment comprising the OAS is properly adjusted in order to achieve its intended functions successfully. This document contains the results, conclusions and recommendations arrived at by the CG{ampersand}A tests performed on the OAS in accordance with WHC-SD-WM- TC-070.

Experiments were performed to study the rates of endocytosis, intracellular routing, and metabolic degradation of radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies targeting tumor-associated antigens on human leukemia and lymphoma cells. An attempt was made to examine in vivo the effects of lysosomotropic amines and thioamides on the retention of radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies by tumor cells. Experiments also examined the impact of newer radioiodination techniques on the metabolic degradation of radioiodinated antibodies, and on the radioimmunoscintigraphy and radioimmunotherapy of neoplasms. The endocytosis, intracellular routing, and degradation of radioimmunoconjugates prepared with I-131, In-111, and Y-90 were compared. The utility of radioimmunoconjugates targeting oncogene products for the radioimmunotherapy and radioimmunoscintigraphy of cancer was investigated.

Three cores from tank 241-S-107 were received by the 222-S Laboratory and underwent analyses to meet the requirements of the Tank Safety Screening Data Quality Objective and Historical Model Evaluation Data Requirements.

This safety assessment (SA) addresses each of the required elements associated with the installation, operation, and removal of a rotary-mode core sampling (RMCS) device in flammable-gas single-shell tanks (SSTs). The RMCS operations are needed in order to retrieve waste samples from SSTs with hard layers of waste for which push-mode sampling is not adequate for sampling. In this SA, potential hazards associated with the proposed action were identified and evaluated systematically. Several potential accident cases that could result in radiological or toxicological gas releases were identified and analyzed and their consequences assessed. Administrative controls, procedures and design changes required to eliminate or reduce the potential of hazards were identified. The accidents were analyzed under nine categories, four of which were burn scenarios. In SSTS, burn accidents result in unacceptable consequences because of a potential dome collapse. The accidents in which an aboveground burn propagates into the dome space were shown to be in the ``beyond extremely unlikely`` frequency category. Given the unknown nature of the gas-release behavior in the SSTS, a number of design changes and administrative controls were implemented to achieve these low frequencies. Likewise, drill string fires and dome space fires were shown to be very low frequency …

This plan outlines the functional criteria requirements and the management plan required to develop computer software to calculate the radionuclide and chemical content of the LLCE waste packages. The software will use the calculated radionuclide and chemical content to prepare waste characterization support data in support of LLCE waste characterization and shipment.

The new camera FXI was investigated. Spatial resolution, or its Fourier transform, the modulation transfer function (MTF), is critical for quantitative interpretation of recent hydrodynamic instability data taken on the Nova laser. We have taken data corresponding to backlit straight edges, pinholes, and grids, both on the bench and {ital in}{ital situ} on Nova. For both the pinhole and edge data, the MTF at all wavelengths of interest can be deduced from a single image. Grids are of more limited usefulness, giving the MTF value only at the spatial period of the grid. These different techniques for characterizing the MTF of gated x-ray pinhole cameras are discussed, with results specific to the FXI presented.

Topping the list of WHC Safety recognition during this reporting period is a commendation received from the National Safety Council (NSC). The NSC bestowed their Award of Honor upon WHC for significant reduction of incidence rates during CY 1995. The award is based upon a reduction of 48 % or greater in cases involving days away from work, a 30 % or greater reduction in the number of days away, and a 15% or greater reduction in the total number of occupational injuries and illnesses. (page 2-1). A DOE-HQ review team representing the Office of Envirorunent, Safety and Health (EH), visited the Hanford Site during several weeks of the quarter. Ile 40-member Safety Management Evaluation Team (SMET) assessed WHC in the areas of management responsibility, comprehensive requirements, and competence commensurate with responsibility. As part of their new approach to oversight, they focused on the existence of management systems and programs (comparable approach to VPP). Plant/project areas selected for review within WHC were PFP, B Plant/WESF, Tank Farms, and K-Basins (page 2-2). Effective safety meetings, prejob safety meetings, etc., are a cornerstone of any successful safety program. In an effort to improve the reporting of safety meetings, the Safety/Security Meeting Report …

This report describes the thermal hydraulic analysis performed using the GOTH computer code to evaluate the potential and consequences of steam bumps in high heat waste tanks. The analysis was performed for three different sludge volumes that correspond to the current sludge volume in tank AZ-101, combined sludge volumes of tank AZ-101 and tank AZ-102 and the projected consolidated sludge volume of tank C-106 and tank AY-102. For each case, the steam bump potential was evaluated starting the simulation with a realistic best estimate initial temperature distribution as well as with a conservative potentially possible axial temperature distribution in the sludge. To include further conservatism in estimating the consequent release of radioactive material, steam bump analyses were also performed suppressing steam condensation with subcooled liquid in waste. In addition,calculations were performed with in leakage flow paths corresponding to open risers and pump and sluice pit cover blocks as well as with normal in leakage flow paths due to drain pipes and infiltration paths. Therefore, the report presents the steam bump evaluations encompassing from an extremely conservative case of initiating a steam bump with local saturation temperature throughout the sludge with condensation suppressed and open risers to a realistic potential case …

A recent source term analysis has shown a discrepancy between ORIGEN2 transuranic isotopic production estimates and those produced with the WIMS-E lattice physics code. Excellent agreement between relevant experimental measurements and WIMS-E was shown, thus exposing an error in the cross section library used by ORIGEN2.

This paper discusses the regulatory exemptions for shipping packages that contain limited amounts of fissile material and concerns that have arisen over the adequacy of these regulations. The results of an ongoing review of these exemptions by the various regulatory agencies will be presented in the session.