We used split-beam hydroacoustics to monitor kokanee Oncorhynchus nerka kennerlyi abundance in Dworshak Reservoir from 1995 to 1996 in order to quantify the impacts of water releases from Dworshak Dam. The kokanee population was at a record high level of 1.9 million age-1 and age-2 fish (350 fish/ha) during June 1995. Large discharges of water during July and August of 1995 did not result in major losses of kokanee. Mid-winter flooding in February. March, and April of 1996: however, caused entrainment losses of 90% of all kokanee in the reservoir. The population declined to 140,000 kokanee. High flows during spring runoff used another 50% of the kokanee to be lost, further reducing the population to 71,000 fish (13 fish/ha). Entrainment losses were partially explainable by the distribution of kokanee in the reservoir. During winter, all age-classes of kokanee congregated near the dam making them susceptible to high releases of water. Kokanee appeared to be less susceptible to entrainment during summer and early fall because most kokanee were in other parts of the reservoir: adults were in the upper reservoir staging to spawn, fry were in the upper reservoir having emerged from tributary streams, and juvenile kokanee were spread throughout the …

None

No abstract is currently available for this report.

One of the current unsolved problems in human factors is the difficulty in acquiring information from lessons learned and data collected among human performance analysts in different domains. There are several common concerns and generally accepted issues of importance for human factors, psychology and industry analysts of performance and safety. Among these are the need to incorporate lessons learned in design, to carefully consider implementation of new designs and automation, and the need to reduce human performance-based contributions to risk. In spite of shared concerns, there are several roadblocks to widespread sharing of data and lessons learned from operating experience and simulation, including the fact that very few publicly accessible data bases exist (Gertman & Blackman, 1994, and Kirwan, 1997). There is a need to draw together analysts and analytic methodologies to comprise a centralized source of data with sufficient detail to be meaningful while ensuring source anonymity. We propose that a generic source of performance data and a multi-domain data store may provide the first steps toward cooperative performance modeling and analysis across industries.

In the Continued Storage Analysis Report (CSAR) (Reference 1), DOE decided to analyze the environmental consequences of continuing to store the commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) at 72 commercial nuclear power sites and DOE-owned spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste at five Department of Energy sites by region rather than by individual site. This analysis assumes that three commercial facilities pairs--Salem and Hope Creek, Fitzpatrick and Nine-Mile Point, and Dresden and Moms--share common storage due to their proximity to each other. The five regions selected for this analysis are shown on Figure 1. Regions 1, 2, and 3 are the same as those used by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in their regulatory oversight of commercial power reactors. NRC Region 4 was subdivided into two regions to more appropriately define the two different climates that exist in NRC Region 4. A single hypothetical site in each region was assumed to store all the SNF and HLW in that region. Such a site does not exist and has no geographic location but is a mathematical construct for analytical purposes. To ensure that the calculated results for the regional analyses reflect appropriate inventory, facility and material degradation, and radionuclide transport, the waste inventories, …

A study was conducted to evaluate how workers predict manufacturing production potentials given positively and negatively framed information. Findings indicate the existence of a bias toward positive information and suggest that this bias may be reduced with experience but is never the less maintained. Experts err in the same way non experts do in differentially processing negative and positive information. Additionally, both experts and non experts tend to overestimate production potentials in a positive direction. The authors propose that these biases should be addressed with further research including cross domain analyses and consideration in training, workplace design, and human performance modeling.

A study was conducted to evaluate how workers predict manufacturing production potentials given positively and negatively framed information. Findings indicate the existence of a bias toward positive information and suggest that this bias may be reduced with experience but is never the less maintained. Experts err in the same way non experts do in differentially processing negative and positive information. Additionally, both experts and non experts tend to overestimate production potentials in a positive direction. The authors propose that these biases should be addressed with further research including cross domain analyses and consideration in training, workplace design, and human performance modeling.

A study has been carried out to determine the feasibility of using commercial database management systems (DBMSs) to support large-scale computational science. Conventional wisdom in the past has been that DBMSs are too slow for such data. Several events over the past few years have muddied the clarity of this mindset: 1. 2. 3. 4. Several commercial DBMS systems have demonstrated storage and ad-hoc quer access to Terabyte data sets. Several large-scale science teams, such as EOSDIS [NAS91], high energy physics [MM97] and human genome [Kin93] have adopted (or make frequent use of) commercial DBMS systems as the central part of their data management scheme. Several major DBMS vendors have introduced their first object-relational products (ORDBMSs), which have the potential to support large, array-oriented data. In some cases, performance is a moot issue. This is true in particular if the performance of legacy applications is not reduced while new, albeit slow, capabilities are added to the system. The basic assessment is still that DBMSs do not scale to large computational data. However, many of the reasons have changed, and there is an expiration date attached to that prognosis. This document expands on this conclusion, identifies the advantages and disadvantages of …

Under the conditions used in these experiments, the use of low-level energy acoustic energy did not result in improvements in the biodegradation of PAHs in a PAH-contaminated soil compared to an untreated control. Expected impacts on biodegradation rates by the acoustic energy could not be evaluated as the data were not conducive to this determination. The acoustic energy was only supplied to the treated samples during 10 minutes per day (0.6944 % of a day). It is possible that using longer treatment times, more exposure to the acoustic energy, and alternate types of contamination might have been able to demonstrate the purported ability of acoustic energy to desorb nonpolar contaminants and improve their biodegradation rate and endpoint.

Future energy systems will be required to fire lower-grade fuels and meet higher energy conversion efficiencies than today's systems. The steam cycle used at present is limited to a maximum temperature of 550 C because above that, the stainless steel tubes deform and corrode excessively. To boost efficiency significantly, much higher working fluid temperatures are required. Although high-temperature alloys will suffice for the construction of these components in the near term, the greatest efficiency increases can be reached only with the use of advanced structural ceramics such as silicon carbide (SiC). However, SiC does not melt, but instead sublimes at temperatures over 2000 C. Therefore, it is not possible to join pieces of it through welding, and most brazing compounds have much lower melting points, so the joints lose strength at temperatures much lower than the maximum use temperature of the SiC. Since larger objects such as heat exchangers cannot be easily created from smaller ceramic pieces, the size of the SiC structures that can presently be manufactured are limited by the size of the sintering furnaces (approximately 10 feet for sintered alpha SiC). In addition, repair of the objects will require the use of field-joining techniques. Some success has …

None

In order to increase the efficiency of advanced coal-fired power systems, higher working fluid temperatures must be reached. Some system surfaces will have to be protected by covering them with corrosion-resistant refractories. Corrosion is the degradation of the material surfaces or grain boundaries by chemical reactions with melts, liquids, or gases causing loss of material and consequently a decrease in strength of the structure. In order to develop methods of reducing corrosion, the microstructure that is attacked must be identified along with the mechanism and rates of attack. Once these are identified, methods for reducing corrosion rates can be developed. In order to determine the reactivity of a refractory to the slag or glass in most industrial applications, various slag tests have been developed. The most common are the cup slag test, drip slag test (ASTM C768), gradient slag test, rotary slag test (ASTM C874), and the dip-and-spin test. Among these tests, the cup slag test is the only static test method and most commonly used. In this study, we compared the rates of corrosion of castable alumina refractory samples modified with rare earth oxides (REOs) using the static test method, then compared the static test data with data from …

Two experiments were performed in which 25 grams of TNT were detonated inside an expended detonation calorimeter bomb. The bomb had a contained volume of approximately 5.28 liters. In the first experiment, the bomb was charged with 3 atmospheres of nitrogen. In the second, it was charged with 2.58 atmospheres (23.1 psi gage) of oxygen. In each experiment pressure was monitored over a period of approximately 1200 microseconds after the pulse to the CDU. Monitoring was performed via two 10,000 psi 102AO3 PCB high frequency pressure transducers mounted symmetrically in the lid of the calorimeter bomb. Conditioners used were PCB 482As. The signals from the transducers were recorded in digital format on a multi channel Tektronix scope. The sampling frequency was 10 Mhz (10 samples per microsecond). After a period of cooling following detonation, gas samples were taken and were subsequently submitted for analysis using gas mass spectrometry. Due to a late request for post shot measurement, it was only possible to make a rough estimate of the weight of debris (carbon) remaining in the calorimeter bomb following the second experiment.

One of the current unsolved problems in human factors is the difficulty in acquiring information from lessons learned and data collected among human performance analysts in different domains. There are several common concerns and generally accepted issues of importance for human factors, psychology and industry analysts of performance and safety. Among these are the need to incorporate lessons learned in design, to carefully consider implementation of new designs and automation, and the need to reduce human performance-based contributions to risk. In spite of shared concerns, there are several road blocks to widespread sharing of data and lessons learned from operating experience and simulation, including the fact that very few publicly accessible data bases exist(Gertman & Blackman, 1994, and Kirwan, 1997). There is a need to draw together analysts and analytic methodologies to comprise a centralized source of data with sufficient detail to be meaningful while ensuring source anonymity. We propose that a generic source of performance data and a multi-domain data store may provide the first steps toward cooperative performance modeling and analysis across industries.

The research activities performed in this quarter (reporting period: 10/01/97- 12/31/97) are summarized as follows: The activities concentrated on: . Partial analysis of the multi pulse test results . Data analysis and comparison with that of the single pulse test data

Sampling tests indicated that the polycarbonate filters were marginally acceptable for in-stack fine-particle collection because of their 230 F melting point as well as requiring carbon coating to reduce charging effects. Vitreous carbon substrates, although not porous, have acceptable thermal stability as well as acceptable levels of charging. A porous silver membrane filter is also being considered for future testing. Pure reference samples of secondary aerosols have been successfully been collected on vitreous carbon substrates with good dispersion and found suitable for direct examination by scanning electron microscope (SEM) without prior coating or preparation. These samples will be used to develop optimum SEM measurement and quantification techniques related to the analysis of fine secondary aerosols.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) draft Mercury Study Report to Congress (1) estimated anthropogenic mercury emissions to be 253 tons/yr in the US, with the majority (216 tons/yr) from combustion sources. The three main combustion sources listed were coal (72 tons/yr), medical waste incinerators (65 tons/yr), and municipal waste combustors (64 tons/yr). The emissions from both medical waste incinerators and municipal waste combustors were recently regulated, which, together with the reduction of mercury in consumer products such as batteries and fluorescent lights, has already reduced the emissions from these sources, as stated in the final EPA Mercury Report to Congress (2). EPA now estimates total point-source mercury emissions to be 158 tons/yr, with coal remaining at 72 tons/yr, while medical waste incinerators are down to 16 tons/yr and municipal waste combustors are at 30 tons/yr. Coal is now the primary source of anthropogenic mercury emissions in the US, accounting for 46%. In addition, the use of coal in the US has been increasing every year and passed the 1-billion-ton-per-year mark for the first time in 1997 (3). At the current rate of increase, coal consumption would reach 1.4 billion tons annually by the year 2020. On a worldwide basis, …

Test Area North (TAN) at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is the site of a large trichloroethene (TCE) plume resulting from the historical injection of wastewater into the Snake River Plain Aquifer. The TAN Record of Decision (ROD) selected pump and treat as the final remedy and included a contingency for post-ROD treatability studies of alternative technologies. The technologies still under consideration are in-situ bioremediation, in-situ chemical oxidation, and natural attenuation. Both anaerobic and aerobic laboratory microcosm studies indicate the presence of microorganisms capable of chloroethene degradation. Field data indicate that TCE concentrations decrease relative to tritium and tetrachloroethene indicating an as yet unknown process is contributing to natural attenuation of TCE. Several methods for analyzing the field data have been evaluated and important limitations identified. Early results from the continued evaluation of the three alternative technologies suggest the combined approach of active remediation of the source area (in situ bioremediation and/or chemical oxidation replacing or augmenting pump and treat) and natural attenuation within the dissolved phase plume may be more cost and schedule effective than the base case pump and treat.

This document presents the stress analysis of the Down Force Calibration Stand. All structural components were evaluated and found to be adequate to withstand the applicable design loads meeting all codes and standards requirements.

This report highlights the accomplishments of the Enhanced Surveillance Program (ESP), the highest-priority research and development effort in stockpile management today. This is volume one of eleven, the unclassified summary of selected program highlights. These highlights fall into the following focus areas: pits, high explosives, organics, dynamics, diagnostics, systems, secondaries, materials-aging models, non-nuclear components, and routine surveillance testing system upgrades. Principal investigators from around the DOE complex contributed to this report.

An experimental program has been completed to make detailed measurements of a pulverized coal flame with reburning and advanced reburning. Maps of species (CO, CO{sub 2}, O{sub 2} , NO, HCN, and NH{sub 3}), temperature and velocity have been obtained which consist of approximately 60 measurements across a cross sectional plane of the reactor. A total of six of these maps have been obtained. Three operating conditions for the baseline flame have been mapped, two operating conditions with reburning, and one operating condition of advanced reburning. In addition to the mapping data, effluent measurements of gaseous products were obtained for various operating conditions. This report focuses on the advanced reburning data. Advanced reburning was achieved in the reactor by injecting natural gas downstream of the primary combustion zone to form a reburning zone followed by a second injection of ammonia downstream of reburning to form an advanced reburning zone. Finally, downstream of the ammonia injection, air was injected to form a burnout or tertiary air zone. The amount of natural gas injected was characterized by the reburning zone stoichiometric ratio. The amount of ammonia injected was characterized by the ammonia to nitrogen stoichiometric ratio or NSR and by the amount …

This report describes the completion of the development of an electromagnetic valve to control liquid steel flow for improved liquid steel feeding for slab casters. Achievements result from a joint research effort between Westinghouse Science and Technology Center, North American Refractories and U.S. Steel. This effort is part of the American Iron and Steel Institute's (AISI) Advanced Process Control Program, a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and fifteen North American steel makers.

None

The primary mission of the Site Planning and Integration (SP and I) project is to assist Fluor Daniel Project Direction to ensure that all work performed under the Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC) is adequately planned, executed, controlled, and that performance is measured and reported in an integrated fashion. Furthermore, SP and I is responsible for the development, implementation, and management of systems and processes that integrate technical, schedule, and cost baselines for PHMC work.