AMAX Research Development Center (AMAX R D) has been investigating methods for enhancing the reactivity and durability of the zinc ferrite desulfurization sorbent. Zinc ferrite sorbents are intended for use in desulfurization of hot coal gas in integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) or molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) applications. For the present program, the reactivity of the sorbent may be defined as its sulfur sorption capacity at the breakthrough point and at saturation in a bench-scale, fixed-bed reactor. Durability may be defined as the ability of the sorbent to maintain important physical characteristics such As size, strength, and specific surface area during 10 cycles of sulfidation and oxidation.

A workshop was convened to assist DOE's Technology Assessment Division in evaluating the need to prepare additional environmental- and social-impact assessments of different energy-conservation measures. Attendees participated in a decision-making exercise designed to rank 19 different energy-conservation measures according to their overall potential for achieving important national goals and their ease of implementation. The participants felt that the most-important ranking criteria dealt with questions concerning feasibility (economic, political/institutional, social, and technical) and economic efficiency. Other criteria, such as environmental quality and occupational health and safety received lower weights; possibly because of the widespread belief that most of the conservation measures presented would be environmentally beneficial. In the participants' view, the most-promising and feasible conservation measures include new-building-performance standards, retrofit of existing housing stock, new-appliance-performance standards and increased use of smaller cars. In contrast, conservation options which ranked rather low, such as diesel engines, coal-fired aluminum remelt furnaces, and cupola furnace modifications were expected to have some harmful environmental and health impacts. Most of these impacts are expected to be highly localized and of lesser national concern. Disagreement exists as to the efficacy of funding those projects deemed highly desirable and feasible versus those which are expected to have the greater …

AMAX Research Development Center (AMAX R D) has been investigating methods for enhancing the reactivity and durability of the zinc ferrite desulfurization sorbent. Zinc ferrite sorbents are intended for use in desulfurization of hot coal gas in integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) or molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) applications. For the present program, the reactivity of the sorbent may be defined as its sulfur sorption capacity at the breakthrough point and at saturation in a bench-scale, fixed-bed reactor. Durability may be defined as the ability of the sorbent to maintain important physical characteristics such as size, strength, and specific surface area during 10 cycles of sulfidation and oxidation.

Volumetric measurements have been completed for CH{sub 4}, CO{sub 2}, and H{sub 2}S at temperatures from 25{degrees}C to 380{degrees}C and 2 or 3 pressures at each temperature. The H{sub 2}S and CO{sub 2} solutions are stored in aluminized mylar bags in PVC pipes with water surrounding the bags at a pressure of several atmospheres. The methane is stored in a one liter autoclave with a sliding teflon piston engaging the sides of the autoclave which separates the standard methane solution from the pressurizing fluid. The solutions are prepared at 100 to 200 atmospheres and do not need to be re-standardized after each experiment. We also have some measurements on aqueous ammonia, boric acid, and acetic acid. Preliminary calculations of the free energy of methane in water at room temperature as a function of the model parameters for the methane have been finished. In preparation for these calculations, the theory and practice of the free energy perturbation calculations was reviewed. In molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo calculations a system does not immediately equilibrate to a change in the Hamiltonian, so that there is a time lag or a configuration number lag in the response of the system. These lags cause errors …

An experiment is being directed at the Nevada Test Site to test the feasibility for storage of spent fuel from nuclear reactors in geologic media. As part of this project, an analysis of the earthquake hazard was prepared. This report presents the results of this seismic hazard assessment. Two distinct components of the seismic hazard were addressed: vibratory ground motion and surface displacement. (ACR)

Through extensive testing and analyses of the concretion process, billets and shipping conditions, it has been determined that properly cured concreted billets can be safely shipped to National Lead Company of Ohio (NLO), Fernald. During curing, billets will be dried for 26 days prior to shipment with the last 10 days between 54 to 66/sup 0/C (130 to 150/sup 0/F). Such dried billets can withstand temperatures up to 85/sup 0/C (185/sup 0/F). The maximum billet temperature that can be expected to occur in shipment is 50/sup 0/C (123/sup 0/F). Thus, the drying cycle becomes a burning test at temperatures which the billets will not reach during shipment to NLO.

The use of snubbers for safety related piping systems has increased significantly during the last decade. A corresponding increase in snubber requirements (criteria) has also occurred. A review of these criteria indicates inconsistencies and contradictions, and reflects how rapidly knowledge and experience has been gained and applied. This study reviews and summarizes existing criteria, illustrates inconsistencies and recommends research to resolve conflicts.

The coordination study of 1972 performed by Mr. N.A. Williams of Kaiser Engineers (LTR 13 10-3) is examined and updated based upon 1977 loads. Present overcurrent relay settings are presented and evaluated for adequacy in terms of the updated short circuit analysis. Recommendations are made for new relay and trip device settings to improve coordination. Switchgear ratings are examined against available short circuit currents, and recommendations are made where applicable. Vital MCC-A and B are examined in detail to provide maximum continuity of service for every fault contingency. A recommendation is made to improve the reliability of these buses.

The equivalence of the paraxial wave equation to a time-dependent Schroedinger equation is exploited to construct optical analogs of model atoms in monochromatic fields. The approximation of geometrical optics provides the analog of the corresponding classical mechanics. Optical analogs of Rabi oscillations, photoionization, stabilization, and the Kramers-Henneberger transformation are discussed. One possibility for experimental realization of such optical analogs is proposed. These analogs may be useful for studies of quantum chaos'' when the ray trajectories are chaotic. 9 refs.

We have developed a LSI-11/23 computer-driven CAMAC data acquisition system. The 64 silicon-detector system is being used to investigate the alpha and spontaneous fission activities of short-lived transfermium isotopes by the real-time monitoring of the mother-daughter alpha decay sequence. A unique modular pulse processing electronics system was designed to simplify set up and calibration. The computer adjusts the gain of the CAMAC shaping amplifiers enabling the calibration and alignment of all 64 of the 1 k alpha spectra to within 0.5 channel in less than 10 minutes.

An engineering study was made to formulate a conceptual design for a multielement arc-type electrical switch system for switching 50,000-amp, 100-nsec or less pulses from a 50,000-v source at up to 1000 ppS. The switch is to have a lifetime of at least 5 x 10/sup 8/ pulse MTBF, litter time less than 10 nsec, closure time of less than 20 nsec, and 10 nh or less inductance. An offset midplane triggered spark gap (TSG) with ultraviolet (uv) preionization and forced air was selected as the most suitable switch for this application. Many but not all of the requirements of a full scale switch system were demonstrated in a 2-TSG subsystem. The requirements of current, pulse duration, frequency, lifetime, jitter, and inductance were equal to or better than needed; however, the TSG's were not operated above 36,000 v, mainly because of voltage limitations in the trigger switch. The TSG's were rated at only 35,000 v and were not holding off enough voltage in relation to their total gap spacing due to E-field distortions. Because the voltag-to-gap ratio was lower than optimum, the closure time was excessive to about 33 nsec, or 13 nsec in excess of the specification value.

We have evaluated the usefulness of the self-potential (SP)geophysical method to track the onset and location of microbialsulfate-reduction in saturated sediments during organic carbon amendment.Following stimulation of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) by addition oflactate, anomalous voltages exceeding 600 mV correlated in space and timewith the accumulation of dissolved sulfide. Abiotic experiments in whichthe sulfide concentration at the measurement electrode was systematicallyvaried showed a positive correlation between the magnitude of the SPanomaly and differences in the half-cell potential associated with themeasurement and reference electrodes. Thus, we infer that the SPanomaliesresulted from electrochemical differences that developedbetween sulfide-rich regions and areas having higher oxidation potential.In neither experiment did generation of an SP anomaly require thepresence of an in situ electronic conductor, as is required by othermodels. These findings emphasize the importance of incorporation ofelectrochemical effects at electrode surfaces in interpretation of SPdata from geophysical studies. We conclude that SP measurements provide aminimally invasive means for monitoring stimulated sulfate-reductionwithin saturated sediments.

The distribution and characteristics of surface cracks (i.e., sub-surface damage or scratching) on fused silica formed during grinding/polishing resulting from the addition of rogue particles in the base slurry has been investigated. Fused silica samples (10 cm diameter x 1 cm thick) were: (1) ground by loose abrasive grinding (alumina particles 9-30 {micro}m) on a glass lap with the addition of larger alumina particles at various concentrations with mean sizes ranging from 15-30 {micro}m, or (2) polished (using 0.5 {micro}m cerium oxide slurry) on various laps (polyurethanes pads or pitch) with the addition of larger rogue particles (diamond (4-45 {micro}m), pitch, dust, or dried Ceria slurry agglomerates) at various concentrations. For the resulting ground samples, the crack distributions of the as-prepared surfaces were determined using a polished taper technique. The crack depth was observed to: (1) increase at small concentrations (>10{sup -4} fraction) of rogue particles; and (2) increase with rogue particle concentration to crack depths consistent with that observed when grinding with particles the size of the rogue particles alone. For the polished samples, which were subsequently etched in HF:NH{sub 4}F to expose the surface damage, the resulting scratch properties (type, number density, width, and length) were characterized. The …

Subclassification of ovarian carcinomas can be used to guide treatment and determine prognosis. Germline and somatic mutations, loss of heterozygosity (LOH), and epigenetic events such as promoter hypermethylation can lead to decreased expression of BRCA1/2 in ovarian cancers. The mechanism of BRCA1/2 loss is a potential method of subclassifying high grade serous carcinomas. A consecutive series of 49 ovarian cancers was assessed for mutations status of BRCA1 and BRCA2, LOH at the BRCA1 and BRCA2 loci, methylation of the BRCA1 promoter, BRCA1, BRCA2, PTEN, and PIK3CA transcript levels, PIK3CA gene copy number, and BRCA1, p21, p53, and WT-1 immunohistochemistry. Eighteen (37%) of the ovarian carcinomas had germline or somatic BRCA1 mutations, or epigenetic loss of BRCA1. All of these tumors were high-grade serous or undifferentiated type. None of the endometrioid (n=5), clear cell (n=4), or low grade serous (n=2) carcinomas showed loss of BRCA1, whereas 47% of the 38 high-grade serous or undifferentiated carcinomas had loss of BRCA1. It was possible to distinguish high grade serous carcinomas with BRCA1 mutations from those with epigenetic BRCA1 loss: tumors with BRCA1 mutations typically had decreased PTEN mRNA levels while those with epigenetic loss of BRCA1 had copy number gain of PIK3CA. Overexpression …

Twin Roll Casting (TRC) is a process by which thin strip is produced directly from molten metal. This process has many advantages over traditional Direct Chill (DC) casting where metal is cast into large slabs or ingots and subsequently hot and cold rolled into strips. While the DC casting involves large capital investment and energy consumption, TRC produces strip with thickness in the range of 10 mm to 2.5 mm in one operation without hot rolling, with less cost, energy usage and equipment requirements. In TRC AA3105, high solidification and post-solidification cooling rates lead to high manganese supersaturation throughout the as-cast strip and very fine constituent particles near strip surface. After 90% cold rolling, the TRC material shows sluggish recrystallization kinetics and a very coarse grain structure, due to concurrent forming dispersoids and/or fine constituent particles. These particles interfere with the nucleation process by preventing migration of the boundaries associated with potential nuclei, resulting in fewer recrystallization nuclei and slower nucleation rate. In addition, the fine particles can impede grain growth by exerting a pinning pressure on moving boundaries. The current study investigated the microstructure evolution in TRC AA3105 during different thermo-mechanical treatments. A systematic study of the effects of …

Three independent methods (XUV spectroscopy, imaging at 68 eV and 256 eV) have been used to measure planar target rear surface plasma temperature due to heating by hot electrons. The hot electrons are produced by ultra-intense laser plasma interactions using the 150 J, 0.5 ps Titan laser. Soft x-ray spectroscopy in the 50-400 eV region and imaging at the 68 eV and 256 eV photon energies were used to determine the rear surface temperature of planar CD targets. Temperatures were found to be in the 60-150 eV range, with good agreement between the three diagnostics.

A Bremsstrahlung spectrometer using k-edge and differential filtering has been used with Image Plate dosimeters to measure the x-ray fluence from short-pulse laser/target interactions. An electron spectrometer in front of the Bremsstrahlung spectrometer deflects electrons from the x-ray line of sight and simultaneously measures the electron spectrum. The response functions were modeled with the Monte Carlo code Integrated Tiger Series 3.0 and the dosimeters calibrated with radioactive sources. Electron distributions with slope temperatures in the MeV range are inferred from the Bremsstrahlung spectra.

We present two high bandwidth data transmission and recording systems for the measurement of transient signals during pulsed power and laser produced plasmas. These systems use fiber optic cables to transmit analog data over long distances to high bandwidth digitizing oscilloscopes. One system is based on the direct modulation of a laser diode and has a bandwidth of 1.5 GHz. The other system is based upon a fiber-optic Mach-Zehnder modulator and has a bandwidth of 12 GHz, and is limited by the photo receiver. The signals are recorded on commercial digitizing oscilloscopes that have approximately 6 effective bits. The transmission systems use many off-the-shelf components from the telecommunications industry and thus have a high reliability and a moderate cost. Results from recent measurements will be presented. Investigation of the reduction in optical transmission by the fibers during exposure to high dose radiation will also be discussed.

Results of radiation damage in Pu and Pu{sub 1-x}Am{sub x} alloys studied with magnetic susceptibility, {chi}(T), and resistivity are presented. Damage accumulated at low temperatures increases {chi}(T) for all measured alloys, with the trend generally enhanced as the lattice expands. There is a trend towards saturation observable in the damage induced magnetic susceptibility data, that is not evident in similar damage induced resistivity data taken on the same specimen. A comparison of isochronal annealing curves measured by both resistivity and magnetic susceptibility on a 4.3at% Ga stabilized {delta}-Pu specimen show that Stage I annealing, where interstitials begin to move, is largely transparent to the magnetic measurement. This indicates that interstitials have little impact on the damage induced increase in the magnetic susceptibility. The isochronal annealing curves of the Pu{sub 1-x}Am{sub x} alloys do not show distinct annealing stages as expected for alloys. However, samples near 20% Am concentration show an unexpected increase in magnetization beginning when specimens are annealed to 35K. This behavior is also reflected in a time dependent increase in the magnetic susceptibility of damaged specimens indicative of first order kinetics. These results suggest there may be a metastable phase induced by radiation damage and annealing in Pu{sub …

Measures the fast pulses seen with exploding bridge flyers by PDV

Motional Stark effect (MSE) measurements constrain equilibrium reconstruction of DIII-D tokamak plasmas using the equilibrium code EFIT. In 2007, two new MSE arrays were brought online, bringing the system to three core arrays, two edge arrays, and 64 total channels. We present the first EFIT reconstructions using this expanded system. Safety factor and E{sub R} profiles produced by fitting to data from the two new arrays and one of the other three agree well with independent measurements. Comparison of the data from the three arrays that view the core shows that one of the older arrays is inconsistent with the other two unless the measured calibration factors for this array are adjusted. The required adjustments depend on toroidal field and plasma current direction, and on still other uncertain factors that change as the plasma evolves. We discuss possible sources of calibration error for this array.

We present the results of applying new object classificationtechniques to difference images in the context of the Nearby SupernovaFactory supernova search. Most current supernova searches subtractreference images from new images, identify objects in these differenceimages, and apply simple threshold cuts on parameters such as statisticalsignificance, shape, and motionto reject objects such as cosmic rays,asteroids, and subtraction artifacts. Although most static objectssubtract cleanly, even a very low false positive detection rate can leadto hundreds of non-supernova candidates which must be vetted by humaninspection before triggering additional followup. In comparison to simplethreshold cuts, more sophisticated methods such as Boosted DecisionTrees, Random Forests, and Support Vector Machines provide dramaticallybetter object discrimination. At the Nearby Supernova Factory, we reducedthe number of non-supernova candidates by a factor of 10 while increasingour supernova identification efficiency. Methods such as these will becrucial for maintaining a reasonable false positive rate in the automatedtransient alert pipelines of upcoming projects such as PanSTARRS andLSST.

The authors use a sample of 384 million B{bar B} events collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e{sup +}e{sup -} collider to study angular distributions in the rare decays B {yields} K*{ell}{sup +}{ell}{sup -}, where {ell}{sup +}{ell}{sup -} is either e{sup +}e{sup -} or {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -}. For low dilepton invariant masses, m{sub {ell}{ell}} < 2.5 GeV/c{sup 2}, they measure a lepton forward-backward asymmetry {Alpha}{sub FB} = 0.24{sub -0.23}{sup +0.18} {+-} 0.05 and K* longitudinal polarization F{sub L} = 0.35 {+-} 0.16 {+-} 0.04. For m{sub {ell}{ell}} > 3.2 GeV/c{sup 2}, they measure {Alpha}{sub FB} = 0.76{sub -0.32}{sup +0.52} {+-} 0.07 and F{sub L} = 0.71{sub -0.22}{sup 0.20} {+-} 0.04.

New high-precision {sup 53}Mn-{sup 53}Cr data obtained for chondrules extracted from a primitive ordinary chondrite, Chainpur (LL3.4), define an initial {sup 53}Mn/{sup 55}Mn ratio of (5.1 {+-} 1.6) x 10{sup -6}. As a result of this downward revision from an earlier higher value of (9.4 {+-} 1.7) x 10{sup -6} for the same meteorite (Nyquist et al. 2001), together with an assessment of recent literature, we show that a consistent chronology with other chronometers such as the {sup 26}Al-{sup 26}Mg and {sup 207}Pb-{sup 206}Pb systems emerges in the early Solar System.