This report describes the development of a miniature mobile microrobot device and several microsystems needed to create a miniature microsensor delivery platform. This work was funded under LDRD No.10785, entitled, ''Integrated Microsensors for Autonomous Microrobots''. The approach adopted in this project was to develop a mobile platform, to which would be attached wireless RF remote control and data acquisition in addition to various microsensors. A modular approach was used to produce a versatile microrobot platform and reduce power consumption and physical size.

The final goal of this project was the development of a system that is capable of controlling an industrial process effectively through the integration of information obtained through intelligent sensor fusion and intelligent control technologies. The industry of interest in this project was the metal casting industry as represented by cupola iron-melting furnaces. However, the developed technology is of generic type and hence applicable to several other industries. The system was divided into the following four major interacting components: 1. An object oriented generic architecture to integrate the developed software and hardware components @. Generic algorithms for intelligent signal analysis and sensor and model fusion 3. Development of supervisory structure for integration of intelligent sensor fusion data into the controller 4. Hardware implementation of intelligent signal analysis and fusion algorithms

In order to meet the need for protective fish screening, the Walla Walla County Conservation District (WWCCD) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) formed a partnership to implement the WDFW Cooperative Compliance Review and Cost-Share Program. The program provides technical and financial assistance to irrigators in order to bring existing surface water diversions into compliance with state and federal juvenile fish screen criteria. The Walla Walla basin has two priority salmonid species currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, the Bull Trout and Mid-Columbia Basin Steelhead. Other partners in this effort include the Washington Department of Ecology, National Marine Fisheries Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Walla Walla Community College Irrigation Department. A Screening Oversight Committee of representatives from these agencies sets policy and resolves issues.

The Mark 1 Cryostat requires a cryogenic shroud that must be retracted immediately before firing the NIF laser. This paper evaluates a pneumatic cylinder that has been chosen to open and close the shroud. After a variety of motion control and vacuum compatibility experiments, we concluded that the Bimba feedback control cylinder may be used to retract the shroud with certain modifications to its control system and additional rod seals.

Advancement of our polymerized crystalline colloidal array chemical sensing technology. They have dramatically advanced their polymerized crystalline colloidal array chemical sensing technology. They fabricated nonselective sensors for determining pH and ionic strength. They also developed selective sensors for glucose and organophosphorus mimics of nerve gas agents. They developed a trace sensor for cations in water which utilized a novel crosslinking sensing motif. In all of these cases they have been able to theoretically model their sensor response by extending hydrogel volume phase transition theory. They also developed transient sampling methods to allow their ion sensing methods to operate at high ionic strengths. They also developed a novel optrode to provide for simple sampling.

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An analytical capability is being developed that can be used to predict the effect of corrosion on the performance of electrical circuits and systems. The availability of this ''toolset'' will dramatically improve our ability to influence device and circuit design, address and remediate field occurrences, and determine real limits for circuit service life. In pursuit of this objective, we have defined and adopted an iterative, statistical-based, top-down approach that will permit very formidable and real obstacles related to both the development and use of the toolset to be resolved as effectively as possible. An important component of this approach is the direct incorporation of expert opinion. Some of the complicating factors to be addressed involve the code/model complexity, the existence of large number of possible degradation processes, and an incompatibility between the length scales associated with device dimensions and the corrosion processes. Two of the key aspects of the desired predictive toolset are (1) a direct linkage of an electrical-system performance model with mechanistic-based, deterministic corrosion models, and (2) the explicit incorporation of a computational framework to quantify the effects of non-deterministic parameters (uncertainty). The selected approach and key elements of the toolset are first described in this paper. These …

This Energy Commission staff draft report presents preliminary levelized cost estimates for several generic central-station electricity generation technologies. California has traditionally adopted energy policies that balance the goals of supporting economic development, improving environmental quality and promoting resource diversity. In order to be effective, such policies must be based on comprehensive and timely gathering of information. With this goal in mind, the purpose of the report is to provide comparative levelized cost estimates for a set of renewable (e.g., solar) and nonrenewable (e.g., natural gas-fired) central-station electricity generation resources, based on each technology's operation and capital cost. Decision-makers and others can use this information to compare the generic cost to build specific technology. These costs are not site specific. If a developer builds a specific power plant at a specific location, the cost of siting that plant at that specific location must be considered. The Energy Commission staff also identifies the type of fuel used by each technology and a description of the manner in which the technology operates in the generation system. The target audiences of this report are both policy-makers and anyone wishing to understand some of the fundamental attributes that are generally considered when evaluating the cost …

This report describes a Berkeley Lab effort to model the economics and operation of small-scale (<500 kW) on-site electricity generators based on real-world installations at several example customer sites. This work builds upon the previous development of the Distributed Energy Resource Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM), a tool designed to find the optimal combination of installed equipment, and idealized operating schedule, that would minimize the site's energy bills, given performance and cost data on available DER technologies, utility tariffs, and site electrical and thermal loads over a historic test period, usually a recent year. This study offered the first opportunity to apply DER-CAM in a real-world setting and evaluate its modeling results. DER-CAM has three possible applications: first, it can be used to guide choices of equipment at specific sites, or provide general solutions for example sites and propose good choices for sites with similar circumstances; second, it can additionally provide the basis for the operations of installed on-site generation; and third, it can be used to assess the market potential of technologies by anticipating which kinds of customers might find various technologies attractive. A list of approximately 90 DER candidate sites was compiled and each site's DER characteristics and their …

The objective of this project is to design, construct and field demonstrate a membrane system to recover natural gas liquids (NGL) and remove water from raw natural gas. An extended field test to demonstrate system performance under real-world conditions would convince industry users of the efficiency and reliability of the process. The system has been designed and fabricated by Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) and will be installed and operated at British Petroleum (BP)-Amoco's Pascagoula, MS plant. The Gas Research Institute will partially support the field demonstration and BP-Amoco will help install the unit and provide onsite operators and utilities. The gas processed by the membrane system will meet pipeline specifications for dewpoint and Btu value and can be delivered without further treatment to the pipeline. Based on data from prior membrane module tests, the process is likely to be significantly less expensive than glycol dehydration followed by propane refrigeration, the principal competitive technology. At the end of this demonstration project the process will be ready for commercialization. The route to commercialization will be developed during this project and may involve collaboration with other companies already servicing the natural gas processing industry.

The U.S. Department of Energy and ADA Environmental Solutions are engaged in a project to develop commercial flue gas conditioning additives. The objective is to develop conditioning agents that can help improve particulate control performance of smaller or under-sized electrostatic precipitators on utility coal-fired boilers. The new chemicals will be used to control both the electrical resistivity and the adhesion or cohesivity of the fly ash. There is a need to provide cost-effective and safer alternatives to traditional flue gas conditioning with SO{sub 3} and ammonia. During this reporting quarter, two cohesivity-specific additive formulations, ADA-44C and ADA-51, were evaluated in a full-scale trial at the American Electric Power Conesville plant. Ammonia conditioning was also evaluated for comparison. ADA-51 and ammonia conditioning significantly reduced rapping and non-rapped particulate re-entrainment based on stack opacity monitor data. Based on the successful tests to date, ADA-51 will be evaluated in a long-term test.

Light Water reactor (LWR) fuel performance is currently limited by thermal, chemical and mechanical constraints associated with the design, fabrication, and operation of the fuel in incore operation. Corrosion of the zirconium based (Zircaloy-4) alloy cladding of the fuel is a primary limiting factor. Recent success at the University of Florida in developing thin ceramic films with great adhesive properties for metal substrates offers an innovative breakthrough for eliminating a major weakness of the Zircaloy clad. ?The University of Florida proposes to coat the existing Zircaloy clad tubes with a ceramic coating for corrosion protection. An added bonus of this approach would be the implementation of a boron-containing burnable poison outer layer will also be demonstrated as part of the ceramic coating development. In this proposed effort, emphasis will be on the ceramic coating with only demonstration of feasibility on the burnable outer coating approach. This proposed program i s expected to give a step change (approximately a doubling) in clad lifetime before failure due to corrosion. In the development of ceramic coatings for Zircaloy-4 clad, silicon carbide and zirconium carbide coatings will first be applied to Zircaloy-4 coupons and cladding samples by thermal assisted chemical vapor deposition, plasma assisted …

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Application of two electrical resistivity methods at the Hanford Site Mock Tank during 2002, indicate the viability of the methods as possible leak-detection tools for SST retrieval operations. Electrical Resistivity Tomography and High-Resolution Resistivity were used over a 109-day period to detect leakage of a waste simulant beneath the tank. The results of the test indicate that both of these two methods, and subset methods may be applicable to SST leak detection.

The objective of the Clean Cast Steel Technology Program was to improve casting product quality by removing or minimizing oxide defects and to allow the production of higher integrity castings for high speed machining lines. Previous research has concentrated on macro-inclusions that break, chip, or crack machine tool cutters and drills and cause immediate shutdown of the machining lines. The overall goal of the project is to reduce the amount of surface macro-inclusions and improve the machinability of steel castings. Macro-inclusions and improve the machinability of steel castings. Macro-inclusions have been identified by industrial sponsors as a major barrier to improving the quality and marketability of steel castings.

The evaluation of purity and thermal conductivity at liquid Helium temperatures of the Niobium to be used in the fabrication of superconducting RF cavities is normally done by measuring the Residual Resistivity Ratio (RRR) of a sample of the material. The relationship between the thermal and the electrical conductivity (Wiedemann-Franz Law) simplifies the task by leading to the measurement of electrical instead of thermal resistance. The RRR is the ratio between the resistances of the sample at room temperature and at the operating temperature of the cavity. A more precise definition is discussed later. The conductivity at low temperatures depends on lattice defects and impurities. Impurities are also important for cavities in a direct way as affecting the RF properties of its surface when exposed by chemical etching. The following describes the experimental apparatus for RRR measurements developed at Fermilab's Beams Division. Part 2 contains a description of the sample-holder and measurement hardware. Part 3 contains a discussion on definition, measurements and errors. Part 4 gives a step-by-step description of the measurement procedure. Finally, Part 5 gives an example of results obtained recently on a Niobium sample for CKM cavities.

The objectives of this project were to further develop and scale-up a novel technology for reuse of scrap tire rubber, to identify and develop end uses for the technology (products), and to characterize the technology's energy savings and environmental impact.

This standard establishes requirements that, when coupled with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL's) Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS) methods and other Work Smart Standards for assuring worker safety, assure that the impacts of nonnuclear operations authorized in LLNL facilities are well understood and controlled in a manner that protects the health of workers, the public, and the environment. All LLNL facilities shall be classified based on potential for adverse impact of operations to the health of co-located (i.e., nearby) workers and the public in accordance with this standard, Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 830, Subpart B, and Department of Energy Order (DOE O) 420.2A. This standard provides information on: Objectives; Applicability; Safety analysis requirements; Control selection and maintenance; Documentation requirements; Safety basis review, approval, and renewal; and Safety basis implementation.

Anastamosing, low gradient distributary channels produce {approx}30 gravity, paraffinic oils from the Middle Member of the lacustrine Eocene Green River Formation in the south-central portion of the Uinta Basin. This localized depocenter was situated along the fluctuating southern shoreline of Lake Uinta, where complex deposits of marginal-lacustrine to lower delta plain accumulations are especially characteristic. The Middle Member contains several fining-upward parasequences that can be recognized in outcrop, core, and downhole logs. Each parasequence is about 60 to 120 feet thick and consists of strata deposited during multiple lake level fluctuations that approach 30 to 35 feet in individual thickness. Such parasequences represent 300,000-year cycles based on limited absolute age dating. The subaerial to subaqueous channels commonly possess an erosional base and exhibit a fining upward character. Accordingly, bedding features commonly range from large-scale trough and planar cross bedding or lamination at the base, to a nonreservoir, climbing ripple assemblage near the uppermost reservoir boundary. The best reservoir quality occurs within the laminated to cross-stratified portions, and the climbing ripple phase usually possesses more deleterious micas and/or detrital clays. Diagenesis also exerts a major control on reservoir quality. Certain sandstones were cemented by an early, iron-poor calcite cement, which can …

ITN Energy Systems is developing next-generation solar cells based on the concepts of an optical rectenna. ITN's optical rectenna consists of two key elements: (1) an optical antenna to efficiently absorb the incident solar radiation, and (2) a high-frequency metal-insulator-metal (MIM) tunneling diode that rectifies the AC field across the antenna, providing DC power to an external load. The combination of a rectifying diode at the feedpoints of a receiving antenna is often referred to as a rectenna. Rectennas were originally proposed in the 1960s for power transmission by radio waves for remote powering of aircraft for surveillance or communications platforms. Conversion efficiencies greater than 85% have been demonstrated at radio frequencies (efficiency defined as DC power generated divided by RF power incident on the device). Later, concepts were proposed to extend the rectennas into the IR and optical region of the electromagnetic spectrum for use as energy collection devices (optical rectennas).

This report gives information about the following four objectives: OBJECTIVE 1--Gather scientific baseline information for monitoring purposes and to assist in the development of management plans for Pine Creek Ranch; OBJECTIVE 2--Complete and implement management plans; OBJECTIVE 3--Protect, manage and enhance the assets and resources of Pine Creek Ranch; and OBJECTIVE 4--Deliverables.

This document describes an evaluation of the baseline and two alternative disposition paths for the final disposition of the calcine wastes stored at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The pathways are evaluated against a prescribed set of criteria and a recommendation is made for the path forward.

This document describes an evaluation of the baseline and two alternative disposition paths for the final disposition of the calcine wastes stored at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The pathways are evaluated against a prescribed set of criteria and a recommendation is made for the path forward.

Environmental Surveillance of the Hanford Site and surrounding areas is conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Document contains CY03 schedules for the routine collection of samples for the Surface Environmental Surveillance Project (SESP) and Drinking Water Monitoring Project.