The objective of this research project was to acquire, process, and interpret multiple high-resolution 3-D compressional wave and 2-D, 2-C shear wave seismic data in the hopes of observing changes in fluid characteristics in an oil field before, during, and after the miscible carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) flood that began around December 1, 2003, as part of the DOE-sponsored Class Revisit Project (DOE No.DE-AC26-00BC15124). Unique and key to this imaging activity is the high-resolution nature of the seismic data, minimal deployment design, and the temporal sampling throughout the flood. The 900-m-deep test reservoir is located in central Kansas oomoldic limestones of the Lansing-Kansas City Group, deposited on a shallow marine shelf in Pennsylvanian time. After 30 months of seismic monitoring, one baseline and eight monitor surveys clearly detected changes that appear consistent with movement of CO{sub 2} as modeled with fluid simulators and observed in production data. Attribute analysis was a very useful tool in enhancing changes in seismic character present, but difficult to interpret on time amplitude slices. Lessons learned from and tools/techniques developed during this project will allow high-resolution seismic imaging to be routinely applied to many CO{sub 2} injection programs in a large percentage of shallow carbonate …

This report documents the deactivation, decontamination, decommissioning, and demolition (D4) of nine buildings in the 300 Area of the Hanford Site. The D4 of these facilities included characterization, engineering, removal of hazardous and radiologically contaminated materials, equipment removal, utility disconnection, deactivation, decontamination, demolition of the structure, and stabilization or removal of the remaining slab and foundation, as appropriate.

This report describes the impacts from emissions of radionuclides at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for calendar year 2006. This report fulfills the requirements established by the Radionuclide National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (Rad-NESHAP). This report is prepared by LANL's Rad-NESHAP compliance team, part of the Environmental Protection Division. The information in this report is required under the Clean Air Act and is being reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The highest effective dose equivalent (EDE) to an off-site member of the public was calculated using procedures specified by the EPA and described in this report. LANL's EDE was 0.47 mrem for 2006. The annual limit established by the EPA is 10 mrem per year. During calendar year 2006, LANL continuously monitored radionuclide emissions at 28 release points, or stacks. The Laboratory estimates emissions from an additional 58 release points using radionuclide usage source terms. Also, LANL uses a network of air samplers around the Laboratory perimeter to monitor ambient airborne levels of radionuclides. To provide data for dispersion modeling and dose assessment, LANL maintains and operates meteorological monitoring systems. From these measurement systems, a comprehensive evaluation is conducted to calculate the EDE for the Laboratory. …

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas Senate and House of Representatives granting the Texas DeMolay Association permission to use the chambers of the senate and house of representatives in the State Capitol on February 17-18, 2007.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas Senate and House of Representatives granting the legislature permission to adjourn for more than three days during the period beginning on Wednesday, January 24, 2007, and ending on Monday, January 29, 2007.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas Senate and House of Representatives inviting the governor to address a joint session of the legislature on February 6, 2007.

The Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center (FRMAC) is the United States’ response organization for radiological emergencies. The FRMAC is structured as an operations center and employs the combined resources of several federal agencies to respond to any disaster resulting in the release of radioactivity. The mission of the FRMAC is to support state and local authorities in the gathering of environmental data using an array of survey equipment ranging from alpha probes, beta/gamma probes, and high-purity germanium (HPGe) spectroscopy to the gathering of physical samples. Once collected, the data are projected on maps to assist public officials make protective action decisions. In addition to the accumulation of data, it is the legal obligation of the FRMAC to keep archival records of all data points and their actions. During an event, it is conceivable that hundreds to thousands of sample points will be recorded over a relatively short time. It is in the interest of the federal government and public that the information collected be put to the best use as fast as possible. Toward this end, the Remote Sensing Laboratory, working under the direction of the United States Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, is investigating the use …

The Accu Core sampler system consists of alternating cylindrical clear acrylic sections and one-inch cylindrical stainless steel sections arranged in clear shrink wrap. The set of alternating acrylic and stainless steel sections in the shrink wrap are designed to fit in a Geoprobe dual-tube penetrometer for collection of continuous soil cores. The clear acrylic sections can have 1/2-inch access holes for easy soil headspace screening without violating the integrity of the adjacent stainless steel sections. The Accu Core sampler system can be used to store a soil sample collected in the stainless steel section by capping the ends of the section so it becomes a sample storage container. The sampler system can also be used to collect a subsurface soil sample in one of the sections that can be directly extruded from the section into a container for storage during shipment to the laboratory. In addition, the soil in a sampler section can be quickly sub-sampled using a coring tool and extruded into a storage container so the integrity of the soil is not disrupted and the potential for VOC loss during sub-sampling is greatly reduced. A field validation study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the Accu Core …

The next generation of forming elements based on acoustic excitation to increase drainage and enhances formation both with on-line control and profiling capabilities has been investigated in this project. The system can be designed and optimized based on the fundamental experimental and computational analysis and investigation of acoustic waves in a fiber suspension flow and interaction with the forming wire.

On October 30, 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) sponsored an all-day workshop to assess the status of the ACRF Archive. Focus areas included usability of current functions, plans for revised functions, proposals for new functions, and an overarching discussion of new ideas. Although 13 scientists familiar with ACRF and the ARM Program were invited to the workshop, only 10 scientists were available to attend the workshop. ACRF consists of the infrastructure that was developed to support the ARM Program and includes the ACRF Archive (previously called the ARM Archive). The scientists who participated in the meeting ranged from those who used the Archive frequently to those who seldom or never had accessed the Archive. The group was spread across disciplines, i.e. modelers, conservationists, and others from universities and government laboratories. A few of the participants were funded by the ARM Program, but most were not funded currently by ARM. During the past year, several improvements were made to the ACRF Archive to link it with the ARM/ACRF web pages, add a shopping cart feature, and expand on search parameters. Additional modifications have been proposed and prototypes of these proposals were …

The purpose of this report is to provide a concise but comprehensive overview of Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) instrumentation status. The report is divided into the following four sections: (1) new instrumentation in the process of being acquired and deployed, (2) existing instrumentation and progress on improvements or upgrades, (3) proposed future instrumentation, and (4) SBIR instrument development.

The purpose of this report is to provide a concise but comprehensive overview of Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) instrumentation status. The report is divided into the following four sections: (1) new instrumentation in the process of being acquired and deployed, (2) existing instrumentation and progress on improvements or upgrades, (3) proposed future instrumentation, and (4) SBIR instrument development.

Numerous studies have been conducted to determine changes that occur in slag that cause a rapid change in viscosity, but these studies have been limited by the inability to characterize/identify the phases present in the slag. Rapid freezing of slag in entrained gasifiers and slagging combustion systems can cause a shutdown of the system. The reactions occurring in slag that result in rapid freezing of slags are not well understood. It is believed that electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) can be used to analyze slags and aid in their characterization although its use has not been found in literature. The EBSD technique allows particle-by-particle mineralogy based on diffraction patterns generated by the electron beam when the sample is tilted to a high angle. The diffraction pattern (Kikuchi bands) can only come from crystalline phases, which makes this technique ideally suited to study crystal formation in slags where oftentimes the crystals are very small and a reasonable chemical analysis cannot be made by conventional energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS) methods in the scanning electron microscope. The ability to have mineralogical data based on the crystalline structure of a phase rather than a chemical analysis by EDS allows much better interpretation of the temperature regimes …

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory, B&W and Air Liquide are developing and optimizing the oxy-combustion process for retrofitting existing boilers as well as new plants. The main objectives of the project is to: (1) demonstrate the feasibility of the oxy-combustion technology with flue gas recycle in a 5-million Btu/hr coal-fired pilot boiler, (2) measure its performances in terms of emissions and boiler efficiency while selecting the right oxygen injection and flue gas recycle strategies, and (3) perform technical and economic feasibility studies for application of the technology in demonstration and commercial scale boilers. This document summarizes the work performed during the period of performance of the project (Oct 2002 to June 2007). Detailed technical results are reported in corresponding topical reports that are attached as an appendix to this report. Task 1 (Site Preparation) has been completed in 2003. The experimental pilot-scale O{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} combustion tests of Task 2 (experimental test performance) has been completed in Q2 2004. Process simulation and cost assessment of Task 3 (Techno-Economic Study) has been completed in Q1 2005. The topical report on Task 3 has been finalized and submitted to DOE in Q3 2005. The calculations …

The Advanced Monobore Concept--CFEX{copyright} Self-Expanding Tubular Technology Development was a successfully executed fundamental research through field demonstration project. This final report is presented as a progression, according to basic technology development steps. For this project, the research and development steps used were: concept development, engineering analysis, manufacturing, testing, demonstration, and technology transfer. The CFEX{copyright} Technology Development--Advanced Monobore Concept Project successfully completed all of the steps for technology development, covering fundamental research, conceptual development, engineering design, advanced-level prototype construction, mechanical testing, and downhole demonstration. Within an approximately two year period, a partially defined, broad concept was evolved into a substantial new technological area for drilling and production engineering applicable a variety of extractive industries--which was also successfully demonstrated in a test well. The demonstration achievement included an actual mono-diameter placement of two self-expanding tubulars. The fundamental result is that an economical and technically proficient means of casing any size of drilling or production well or borehole is indicated as feasible based on the results of the project. Highlighted major accomplishments during the project's Concept, Engineering, Manufacturing, Demonstration, and Technology Transfer phases, are given.

Comprehensive test ban monitoring in terms of location and discrimination has progressed significantly in recent years. However, the characterization of sources and the estimation of low yields remains a particular challenge.

We have developed a forward modeling technique to retrieve rupture characteristics of small earthquakes (3<M<5), including rupture propagation direction, fault dimension, and rupture speed.

The air cargo system is vulnerable to several security threats, including: potential plots to place explosives aboard aircraft; illegal shipments of hazardous materials; criminal activities such as smuggling and theft; and potential hijackings and sabotage by persons with access to aircraft. This report discusses legislative efforts currently underway to improve air cargo system security.

Using 385 fb{sup -1} of e{sup +}e{sup -} collisions, they study the amplitudes of the singly Cabibbo-suppressed decay D{sup 0} {yields} K{sup -}K{sup +}{pi}{sup 0}. They measure the strong phase difference between the {bar D}{sup 0} and D{sup 0} decays to K*(892){sup +}K{sup -} to be -35.5{sup o} {+-} 1.9{sup o}(stat) {+-} 2.2{sup o}(syst), and their amplitude ratio to be 0.599 {+-} 0.013(stat) {+-} 0.011(syst). They observe contributions from the K{pi} and K{sup -}K{sup +} scalar and vector amplitudes, and analyze their angular moments. They find no evidence for charged {kappa}, nor for higher spin states. They also perform a partial wave analysis of the K{sup -}K{sup +} system in a limited mass range.

The analysis of coherent structures in Rayleigh-Taylor simulations is a challenging task as the lack of a precise definition of these structures is compounded by the massive size of the datasets. In an earlier work, we used techniques from image analysis to count these coherent structures in two high-resolution simulations, one a large-eddy simulation with 30 terabytes of analysis data, and the other a direct numerical simulation with 80 terabytes of analysis data. Our analysis indicated that there were four distinct regimes in the process of the mixing of the two fluids, starting from the initial linear stage, followed by the non-linear stage with weak turbulence, the mixing transition stage, and the final stage of strong turbulence. In this paper, we extend our earlier work to focus on only the rising bubbles and the falling spikes. We first consider different ways in which we can constrain the bubble and spike definitions and then extract various statistics on them. Our results on the rising bubble and falling spike counts again show that there are four regimes in the process of fluid mixing, each characterized by an integer-valued slope. Further, the average bubble heights and spike depths are related to similar results …

This report is about the Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI) and related Funding Programs in the fiscal year 2007.

This final technical progress report describes work performed from October 1, 2004, through May 16, 2007, for the project, 'Aperture-Tolerant, Chemical-Based Methods to Reduce Channeling'. We explored the potential of pore-filling gels for reducing excess water production from both fractured and unfractured production wells. Several gel formulations were identified that met the requirements--i.e., providing water residual resistance factors greater than 2,000 and ultimate oil residual resistance factors (F{sub rro}) of 2 or less. Significant oil throughput was required to achieve low F{sub rro} values, suggesting that gelant penetration into porous rock must be small (a few feet or less) for existing pore-filling gels to provide effective disproportionate permeability reduction. Compared with adsorbed polymers and weak gels, strong pore-filling gels can provide greater reliability and behavior that is insensitive to the initial rock permeability. Guidance is provided on where relative-permeability-modification/disproportionate-permeability-reduction treatments can be successfully applied for use in either oil or gas production wells. When properly designed and executed, these treatments can be successfully applied to a limited range of oilfield excessive-water-production problems. We examined whether gel rheology can explain behavior during extrusion through fractures. The rheology behavior of the gels tested showed a strong parallel to the results obtained from …

This report documents the determination of the cause of pressurization that led to bulging deformation of a 55 gallon wastewater drum stored in L-Area. Drum samples were sent to SRNL for evaluation. The interior surface of these samples revealed blistering and holes in the epoxy phenolic drum liner and corrosion of the carbon steel drum. It is suspected that osmotic pressure drove permeation of the water through the epoxy phenolic coating which was weakened from exposure to low pH water. The coating failed at locations throughout the drum interior. Subsequent corrosion of the carbon steel released hydrogen which pressurized the drum causing deformation of the drum lid. Additional samples from other wastewater drums on the same pallet were also evaluated and limited corrosion was visible on the interior surfaces. It is suspected that, with time, the corrosion would have advanced to cause pressurization of these sealed drums.

This white paper provides an overview and status report of the thermal-hydraulic nuclear research and development, both experimental and computational, conducted predominantly at Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne from the early 1970s through the early 1990s was the Department of Energy's (DOE's) lead lab for thermal-hydraulic development of Liquid Metal Reactors (LMRs). During the 1970s and into the mid-1980s, Argonne conducted thermal-hydraulic studies and experiments on individual reactor components supporting the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II), Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), and the Clinch River Breeder Reactor (CRBR). From the mid-1980s and into the early 1990s, Argonne conducted studies on phenomena related to forced- and natural-convection thermal buoyancy in complete in-vessel models of the General Electric (GE) Prototype Reactor Inherently Safe Module (PRISM) and Rockwell International (RI) Sodium Advanced Fast Reactor (SAFR). These two reactor initiatives involved Argonne working closely with U.S. industry and DOE. This paper describes the very important impact of thermal hydraulics dominated by thermal buoyancy forces on reactor global operation and on the behavior/performance of individual components during postulated off-normal accident events with low flow. Utilizing Argonne's LMR expertise and design knowledge is vital to the further development of safe, reliable, and high-performance LMRs. Argonne believes there remains …