The primary objective of this pre-feasibility evaluation is to examine the economic and technical feasibility of replacing distillate fuel with local waste biomass in the village of Verkhni-Ozerski, Arkhangelsk Region, Russia. This village is evaluated as a pilot location representing the off-grid villages in the Russian Northern Territories. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has agreed to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Fuel and Energy (MFE). MFE has identified the Northern Territories as a priority area requiring NREL`s assistance. The program initially affects about 900 off-grid villages. Biomass and wind energy, and to a lesser extent small hydro (depending on resource availability) are expected to play the dominant role in the program, Geothermal energy may also have a role in the Russian Far East. The Arkhangelsk, Kariela, and Krasnoyarsk Regions, all in the Russian Northern Territories, have abundant forest resources and forest products industries, making them strong candidates for implementation of small-scale waste biomass-to-energy projects. The 900 or so villages included in the renewable energy program span nine administrative regions and autonomous republics. The regional authorities in the Northern Territories proposed these villages to MFE for consideration in the renewable energy program according to the following selection criteria: …

DUPoly, depleted uranium (DU) powder microencapsulated in a low-density polyethylene binder, has been demonstrated as an innovative and efficient recycle product, a very durable high density material with significant commercial appeal. DUPoly was successfully prepared using uranium tetrafluoride (UF{sub 4}) ''green salt'' obtained from Fluor Daniel-Fernald, a U.S. Department of Energy reprocessing facility near Cincinnati, Ohio. Samples containing up to 90 wt% UF{sub 4} were produced using a single screw plastics extruder, with sample densities of up to 3.97 {+-} 0.08 g/cm{sup 3} measured. Compressive strength of as-prepared samples (50-90 wt% UF4 ) ranged from 1682 {+-} 116 psi (11.6 {+-} 0.8 MPa) to 3145 {+-} 57 psi (21.7 {+-} 0.4 MPa). Water immersion testing for a period of 90 days produced no visible degradation of the samples. Leach rates were low, ranging from 0.02 % (2.74 x 10{sup {minus}6} gm/gm/d) for 50 wt% UF{sub 4} samples to 0.72 % (7.98 x 10{sup {minus}5} gm/gm/d) for 90 wt% samples. Sample strength was not compromised by water immersion. DUPoly samples containing uranium trioxide (UO{sub 3}), a DU reprocessing byproduct material stockpiled at the Savannah River Site, were gamma irradiated to 1 x 10{sup 9} rad with no visible deterioration. Compressive strength …

The proposed Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) for East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, as described, will be conducted for the duration of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued for the Y-12 Plant on April 28, 1995, and which became effective July 1, 1995. The basic approach to biological monitoring used in this program was developed by the staff in the Environmental Sciences Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of Y-12 Plant personnel. The proposed BMAP plan is based on results of biological monitoring conducted since 1985. Details of the specific procedures used in the current routine monitoring program are provided, but experimental designs for future studies are described in less detail. The overall strategy used in developing this plan was, and continues to be, to use the results obtained from each task to define the scope of future monitoring efforts. Such efforts may require more intensive sampling than initially proposed in some areas or a reduction in sampling intensity in others. By using the results of previous monitoring efforts to define the current program and to guide them in the development of future studies, an effective integrated …

Preliminary work is presented on an effort to generate synthetic constitutive data for random composite materials. The long-ranged goal is to use the overall response determined from finite element simulations of representative volumes (RV) of the heterogeneous material to construct a homogenized constitutive model. A simple composite of a matrix containing polydispersed spheres was chosen as the first configuration to simulate. Here the accuracy of the numerical simulation tools is tested by determining effective elastic constants of the ordered elastic composite in which equal-sized spheres are arranged in each of three cubic lattice configurations. The resulting anisotropic effective elastic constant values agree with theoretical results to better than 10%, with typical agreement being better than 4%.

Mid-infrared (3--6 {micro}m) LED`s are being developed for use in chemical sensor systems. As rich, InAsSb heterostructures are particularly suited for optical emitters in the mid-infrared region. The authors are investigating both InAsSb-InAs multiple quantum well (MQW) and InAsSb-InAsP strained layer superlattice (SLS) structures for use as the active region for light emitting diodes (LED`s). The addition of phosphorus to the InAs barriers increases the light and heavy hole splitting and hence reduces non-radiative Auger recombination and provides for better electron and hole confinement in the InAsSb quantum well. Low temperature (< 20 K) photoluminescence (PL) emission from MQW structures is observed between 3.2 to 6.0 {micro}m for InAsSb wells between 70 to 100 {angstrom} and antimony mole fractions between 0.04 to 0.18. Room temperature PL has been observed to 6.4 {micro}m in MQW structures. The additional confinement by InAsP barriers results in low temperature PL being observed over a narrower range (3.2 to 5.0 {micro}m) for the similar well thicknesses with antimony mole fractions between 0.10 to 0.24. Room temperature photoluminescence was observed to 5.8 {micro}m in SLS structures. The addition of a p-AlAsSb layer between the n-type active region (MQW or SLS) and a p-GaAsSb contact layer improves …

This document is a reclamation plan for short-term and long-term stabilization of land disturbed by activities associated with interim clean-up of radionuclide-contaminated surface soil at Clean Slate 2 located northwest of the Nevada Test Site on the Nellis Air Force Range. Surface soils at Clean Slate 2 were contaminated as a result of the detonation of a device containing plutonium and depleted uranium using chemical explosives. Excavation of contaminated soils at Clean Slate 2 will follow procedures similar to those used during the cleanup of the Double Tracks and Clean Slate 1 sites. A maximum of approximately 33 cm (12 in) of the surface soils will be excavated and removed from the site. Near ground zero, where contamination levels are highest, approximately 2 m (7 ft) of soil may be removed. The maximum area to be excavated is estimated to be 18.4 hectares (45.4) acres. In addition to the disturbance associated with soil excavation, approximately 2.0 hectares (5.0) acres will be disturbed by the construction of staging areas and placement of support facilities. Short term stabilization consists of an application of a chemical soil stabilizer and long-term stabilizations involves the establishment of a permanent vegetative cover using selective native plant …

The thermal conduction of a portion of an enhanced surface heat exchanger for a gas fired heat pipe solar receiver was modeled using the boundary element and finite element methods (BEM and FEM) to determine the effect of weld fillet size on performance of a stud welded pin fin. A process that could be utilized by others for designing the surface mesh on an object of interest, performing a conversion from the mesh into the input format utilized by the BEM code, obtaining output on the surface of the object, and displaying visual results was developed. It was determined that the weld fillet on the pin fin significantly enhanced the heat performance, improving the operating margin of the heat exchanger. The performance of the BEM program on the pin fin was measured (as computational time) and used as a performance comparison with the FEM model. Given similar surface element densities, the BEM method took longer to get a solution than the FEM method. The FEM method creates a sparse matrix that scales in storage and computation as the number of nodes (N), whereas the BEM method scales as N{sup 2} in storage and N{sup 3} in computation.

Significant progress has been made in developing a three-dimensional capability for predicting the mechanical response of rock over spatial and time scales of geologic interest to the Oil and Gas industry. An Advanced Computational Technology Initiative (ACTI) initiated three years ago to achieve such a computational technology breakthrough has made significant progress towards its goal by adapting and improving the unique advanced quasistatic finite element technology developed by Sandia National Laboratories to the mechanics applications important to exploration and production (E and P). This capability now gives the industry a powerful tool to help reduce risk on prospects, improve pre-project initial reserve estimates, and lower operating costs. Progress to date on this program is reported herein by presenting and discussing the enhancements and adaptations that have been made to the technology, with specific examples to illustrate their use on large E and P geomechanics problems.

When the detonation reaction-zone length, {eta}{sub r}, is short in comparison to the dimensions of the explosive piece being burnt, the detonation can be viewed as a propagating surface (or front) separating burnt from unburnt material. If the product of the shock curvature, {kappa} and {eta}{sub r} is small (i.e., the scaled shock curvature satisfies the {vert_bar}{kappa}{eta}{sub r}{vert_bar} {much_lt} 1), then to leading order the speed of this surface, D{sub n}({kappa}) is a function only of {kappa}. It is in this limit that the original version of the asymptotic detonation front theory, called detonation shock dynamics (DSD), derives the propagation law, D{sub n}({kappa}). In this lecture, the authors compare D{sub n}({kappa})-theory with the results obtained with high-resolution direct numerical simulations (DNS), and then use the DNS results to guide the development of extended asymptotic front theories with enhanced predictive capabilities.

This paper is on the operation principles of the Visible Light Photon Counters (VLPCs), application to high luminosity-high multiplicity tracking for High Energy Charged Particle Physics, and application to Medical Imaging and Particle Astrophysics. The VLPCs as Solid State Photomultipliers (SSPMS) with high quantum efficiency can detect down to single photons very efficiently with excellent time resolution and high avalanche gains.

This experiment demonstrates detection of cosmic ray tracks by using Scintillating fiber planes and multi-anode photomultipliers (MA-PMTs). In a laboratory like this, cosmic rays provide a natural source of high-energy charged particles which can be detected with high efficiency and with nanosecond time resolution.

Mixed-conducting oxides have a wide range of applications, including fuel cells, gas separation systems, sensors, and electrocatalytic equipment. Dense ceramic membranes made of mixed-conducting oxides are particularly attractive for gas separation and methane conversion processes. Membranes made of Sr-Fe-Co oxide, which exhibits high combined electronic and oxygen ionic conductivities, can be used to selectively transport oxygen during the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas (syngas, i.e., CO + H{sub 2}). The authors have fabricated tubular Sr{sub 2}Fe{sub 2}CoO{sub 6+{delta}} membranes and tested them (some for more than 1,000 h) in a methane conversion reactor that was operating at 850--950 C. An oxygen permeation flux of {approx} 10 scc/cm{sup 2} {center_dot} min was obtained at 900 C in a tubular membrane with a wall thickness of 0.75 mm. Using a gas-tight electrochemical cell, the authors have also measured the steady-state oxygen permeability of flat Sr{sub 2}Fe{sub 2}CoO{sub 6+{delta}} membranes as a function of temperature and oxygen partial pressure(pO{sub 2}). Steady-state oxygen permeability increases with increasing temperature and with the difference in pO{sub 2} on the two sides of the membrane. At 900 C, an oxygen permeability of {approx} 2.5 scc/cm{sup 2} {center_dot} min was obtained in a 2.9-mm-thick membrane. This …

Direct Chemical Oxidation (DCO) is a non-thermal, ambient pressure, aqueous-based technology for the oxidative destruction of the organic components of hazardous or mixed waste streams. The process has been developed for applications in waste treatment and chemical demilitarization and decontamination at LLNL since 1992, and is applicable to the destruction of virtually all solid or liquid organics, including: chlorosolvents, oils and greases, detergents, organic-contaminated soils or sludges, explosives, chemical and biological warfare agents, and PCB's. [1-15] The process normally operates at 80-100 C, a heating requirement which increases the difficulty of surface decontamination of large objects or, for example, treatment of a wide area contaminated soil site. The driver for DCO work in FY98 was thus to investigate the use of catalysts to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technology for organics destruction at temperatures closer to ambient. In addition, DCO is at a sufficiently mature stage of development that technology transfer to a commercial entity was a logical next step, and was thus included in FY98 tasks.

The possibilities of a ring cooler stage in a muon collider are explored. A basic design is examined both with analytic calculations and simulation of the evolution of beam phase space.

The first two truncation error terms resulting from finite differencing the convection terms in the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are examined for the purpose of constructing two-dimensional grid generation schemes. These schemes are constructed such that the resulting grid distributions drive the error terms to zero. Two sets of equations result, one for each error term, that show promise in generating grids that provide more accurate flow solutions and possibly faster convergence. One set results in an algebraic scheme that drives the first truncation term to zero, and the other a hyperbolic scheme that drives the second term to zero. Also discussed is the possibility of using the schemes in sequentially constructing a grid in an iterative algorithm involving the flow solver. In essence, the process is envisioned to generate not only a flow field solution but the grid as well, rendering the approach a hands-off method for grid generation

The subject of this paper is the development of mathematical foundations for a theory of simulation. Sequentially updated cellular automata (sCA) over arbitrary graphs are employed as a paradigmatic framework. In the development of the theory, the authors focus on the properties of causal dependencies among local mappings in a simulation. The main object of and study is the mapping between a graph representing the dependencies among entities of a simulation and a representing the equivalence classes of systems obtained by all possible updates.

This report was prepared to help small firm search for financing for geothermal energy projects. There are various financial and economics formulas. Costs of some small overseas geothermal power projects are shown. There is much discussion of possible sources of financing, especially for overseas projects. (DJE-2005)

Planar, micron-scale ellipses patterned from 700A-thick Co films exhibit nearly complete suppression of hysteresis when magnetized in- plane along their short axes. Using a combination of Magnetic Force Microscopy and Vibrating Sample Magnetometry, we find that the suppression of hysteresis is associated with the continuous deformation of a dipole field configuration. The presence of hysteresis for in-plane, long-axis magnetization is associated with transitions between topologically inequivalent configurations.

This paper presents several upper and lower bounds for the number-of-bits required for solving a classification problem, as well as ways in which these bounds can be used to efficiently build neural network chips. The focus will be on complexity aspects pertaining to neural networks: (1) size complexity and depth (size) tradeoffs, and (2) precision of weights and thresholds as well as limited interconnectivity. They show difficult problems-exponential growth in either space (precision and size) and/or time (learning and depth)-when using neural networks for solving general classes of problems (particular cases may enjoy better performances). The bounds for the number-of-bits required for solving a classification problem represent the first step of a general class of constructive algorithms, by showing how the quantization of the input space could be done in O (m{sup 2}n) steps. Here m is the number of examples, while n is the number of dimensions. The second step of the algorithm finds its roots in the implementation of a class of Boolean functions using threshold gates. It is substantiated by mathematical proofs for the size O (mn/{Delta}), and the depth O [log(mn)/log{Delta}] of the resulting network (here {Delta} is the maximum fan in). Using the fan in …

{l_brace}222{r_brace}MgO/Cu is one of the most extensively characterized ceramic/metal interfaces, in view of the atom probe field ion microscopy, Z-contrast Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), and spatially resolved Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) measurements performed by the present authors, as well as the high resolution electron microscopy (HREM) of this system by others. Atomistic simulations with local density functional theory (LDFT) and Molecular Dynamics (MD) have been performed to gain additional insight into the structure of this interface. This presentation describes an interface interatomic potential for {l_brace}222{r_brace}MgO/Cu derived from LDFT total energy calculations, and its application to structural properties, including the terminating species, the absence of dislocation standoff, and the symmetry of the interfacial dislocation network.

Observations made more than ten years ago showed that SiC could be made amorphous at cryogenic temperatures by in-situ 300kV electron irradiation. However, high voltage electron microscope (HVEM) results indicate a threshold voltage of 725 kV for amorphization of SiC at 140 K. In addition, a recent review exposes the considerable uncertainty in the literature regarding displacement energies for SiC. Therefore, further experiments have been performed in a Philips CM30 (LaB{sub 6} cathode) with a Gatan double-tilt cooling holder in an attempt to determine the threshold voltage for amorphization at {approximately} 140 K. Sintered {alpha}-SiC (defected 6H polytype), beam direction B = <11{bar 2}0>, and probes containing {approximately} 75 nA in {approximately} 0.5 {micro}m, were used. Amorphization occurred in <10 min at 300 kV and after {approximately} 60 min at 180 kV; visible darkening occurred at lower voltages and doses. Similar behavior occurred for B = [0001]. The critical dose for amorphization was measured as a function of accelerating voltage. Probe current profiles were measured by post-specimen scanning (CM30 SCIM mode with 100 {micro}m diameter Gatan STEM detector) images of the focused probes positioned in a hole, and probe currents were measured from the exposure time, which had previously been …

The authors calculate the a.c.-admittance of a two dimensional quantum point contact (QPC) using a Boltzmann-like kinetic equation derived for the partial Wigner distribution function. An integral equation for a potential inside a QPC is solved numerically. The dependence of the admittance on the frequency of the a.c. field is found in a wide frequency range {omega} {approx} 0--50 GHz. The contribution to the imaginary part of the admittance due to the quantum capacitance and inductance is numerically calculated. It is shown that the crossover from localized parameters--quantum capacitance and inductance--to distributed behavior takes place at {omega} {approximately} 10 GHz. A transition from 2D plasmons to quasi-1D plasmons is analyzed as a function of two dimensionless parameters: k{sub x}d{sub 0} (where k{sub x} is the longitudinal wave vector, and d{sub 0} is the width of the QPC), and the number of open electron channels, N.

The authors present the results of MD modeling on the structural properties of grain boundaries (GB) in thin polycrystalline films. The transition from crystalline boundaries with low mismatch angle to amorphous boundaries is investigated. It is shown that the structures of the GBs satisfy a thermodynamical criterion suggested in a cited reference. The potential energy of silicon atoms is closely related with a geometrical quantity -- tetragonality of their coordination with their nearest neighbors. A crossover of the length of localization is observed to analyze the crossover of the length of localization of the single electron states and properties of conductance of the thin polycrystalline film at low temperature. They use a two-dimensional Anderson localization model, with the random one site electron charging energy for a single grain (dot), random non-diagonal matrix elements, and random number of connections between the neighboring grains. The results on the crossover behavior of localization length of the single electron states and characteristic properties of conductance are presented in the region of parameters where the transition from an insulator to a conductor regimes takes place.

This document is an English translation of a Russian document which gives a brief overview of the historical events of the Russian State Scientific Center over the first 50 years of its existence.