The Temperature-Initiated Passive Cooling System (TIPACS) is a recently invented passive cooling system that transfers heat from a hot, insulated system to a cooler, external environment. TIPACS has four defining characteristics: efficient heat-transfer, passive with no moving components, thermal switch mechanism that allows heat transfer only above a preset temperature, and one-way (heat diode) heat transfer. Example applications include cooling (1) building attics, (2) electrical sheds, (3) chemical reactors, (4) utility-load-leveling batteries, and (5) nuclear reactor containments. TIPACS was evaluated for cooling a modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (MHTGR) cavity. This evaluation indicates potential performance and economic advantages.

Gas permeable membranes were evaluated for possible use as air pollution control devices on a fluidized bed catalytic incineration unit. The unit is a candidate technology for treatment of certain mixed hazardous and radioactive wastes at the Rocky Flats Plant. Cellulose acetate and polyimide membranes were tested to determine the permeance of typical off-gas components such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen. Multi-component permeation studies included gas mixtures containing light hydrocarbons. Experiments were also conducted to discover information about potential membrane degradation in the presence of organic compounds.

The physical state of the debris cloud generated by the interaction of a projectile with a thin target depends on the energy balance associated with above the sound speeds of the impact event. At impact velocities well materials involved, the cloud is expected to be primarily molten, but with some vapor present. A series of numerical calculations using the multi-dimensional finite-difference hydrocode CTH has been used to evaluate the effect of phase changes (i.e., different vapor fractions) on these clouds, and their subsequent interaction with backwall structures. In the calculations, higher concentrations of vapor are achieved by increasing the initial temperature of both the projectile and the thin shield while keeping the impact velocity constant, and by actually increasing the impact velocity. The nature of the debris cloud and its subsequent loading on the protected structure depend on both its thermal and physical state. This interaction can cause rupture, spallation or simply bulging of the backwall. These computational results are discussed and compared with new experimental observations obtained at an impact velocity of {approximately}10 km/s. In the experiment, the debris cloud was generated by the impact of a plate-shaped titanium projectile with a thin titanium shield.

With the end of the Cold War, much concern has been directed towards the accumulation of special nuclear material resulting from the dismantlement of a large number of nuclear weapons. This concern has opened up a debate over the final disposition of the large inventory of weapons-capable plutonium. Technologies for the conversion of plutonium into acceptable forms will need to be assessed and evaluated. Candidate strategies for interim and final disposition include a variety of immobilization techniques (vitrification in glass, ceramic, or metal), conversion to reactor fuel, or direct discard as waste. The selected disposition strategy will be chosen based upon a range of decision metric such as expected conversion costs, equipment requirements, and waste generation. To this end, a systems analysis approach is necessary for the evaluation and comparison of the different disposition strategies. Current data on inventory of plutonium, such as that at the Rocky Flats Plant (RFP), may be useful for the evaluation and selection of candidate disposition technologies. A preliminary analysis of the residues of scrap at Rocky Flats was performed to establish a foundation for comparison of candidate strategies. About 3 metric tons of plutonium and 270 metric tons of other wastes remain in the …

The centralized audio presentation manager addresses the problems which occur when multiple programs running simultaneously attempt to use the audio output of a computer system. Time dependence of sound means that certain auditory messages must be scheduled simultaneously, which can lead to perceptual problems due to psychoacoustic phenomena. Furthermore, the combination of speech and nonspeech audio is examined; each presents its own problems of perceptibility in an acoustic environment composed of multiple auditory streams. The centralized audio presentation manager receives abstract parameterized message requests from the currently running programs, and attempts to create and present a sonic representation in the most perceptible manner through the use of a theoretically and empirically designed rule set.

The report reviews the patterns of foreign ownership interest in US energy enterprises, exclusive of portfolio investment (<10% ownership of a US enterprise). It profiles the involvement of foreign-affiliated US companies in the following areas: domestic petroleum production (including natural gas), reserve holdings, refining and marketing activities, coal production, and uranium exploration and development.

Recent experiments on pion correlations, interpreted as interferometric measurements of the collision zone, are compared with models that distinguish a prehadronic phase and a hadronic phase. The models include prehadronic longitudinal expansion, conversion to hadrons in local kinetic equilibrium, and rescattering of the produced hadrons. The longitudinal radius measured in collisions of 200 GeV/u sulfur nuclei on a heavy target require the existence of a prehadronic phase which converts to the hadronic phase at densities around 0.8 GeV/fm{sup 3}. The transverse radii cannot be reproduced without introducing more complex dynamics into the transverse expansion.

T Plant (221-T) was the first and largest of the early chemical separations plants at the Hanford Engineer Works (HEW) (World War II name for the Hanford Site). Officially designated as a Cell Building by the Manhattan Engineer District (MED) of the Army Corps of Engineers (agency responsible for HEW), T Plant served as the headquarters of chemical processing operations at Hanford from its construction until the opening of the REDOX Plant in January 1952. Because it formed a crucial link in the first full-scale plutonium production operations in world history, it meets criteria established in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as a National Historic Structure.

Distances Traveled by our Four Oldest RTG-Powered Spacecraft, DOE Memo to Al Newhouse, Bob Lange, Ed Mastal, Art Mehner, Bev Cook & V. Cassella of DOE.Attached is a copy of letter from Hazel R. O'Leary, Secretary of Energy to Admiral Bruce Demars, Secretary of the Navy dated 5/4/1994, subject: 100 Million Mile Milestone on Nuclear Power. Attached is a copy of letter from President Bill Clinton to Hazel Rollins O'Leary, Secretary of Energy dated 4/25/1994

This report discusses a CRADA code used to enhance the Cimstation in ramifaction of inspection part programs as they are being develop. This report briefly discussed the following topics and contains a code listing in the back: algorithm explanation; Cimstation CAD models; importing inspection point data; need for a new algorithm; details of the algorithms; formulas/mathematics used for the algorithm; algorithm software design diagram; and software function descriptions.