The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) and the Federal Power Act (FPA) were enacted to eliminate unfair practices and other abuses by electricity and gas holding companies by requiring federal control and regulation of interstate public utility holding companies. Comprehensive energy legislation has passed the House and Senate. The House passed H.R. 6 on April 11, 2003. On July 31, 2003, the Senate suspended debate on S. 14, inserted the text of H.R. 4 (107th Congress) as a substitute, and passed H.R. 6. A conference agreement was reached November 17, 2003, and passed by the House the next day. H.R. 6 includes an electricity title that would, in part, repeal PUHCA, would prospectively repeal the mandatory purchase requirement under PURPA, and would create an electric reliability organization. On June 15, 2004, H.R. 4503, a comprehensive energy policy bill, passed the House.

This report provides an overview of Lebanese politics, recent events in Lebanon, and current issues in U.S. - Lebanon relations.

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The overall objective of this project is the three phase development of an Early Entrance Coproduction Plant (EECP) which uses petroleum coke to produce at least one product from at least two of the following three categories: (1) electric power (or heat), (2) fuels, and (3) chemicals. The objective is to have these products produced by technologies capable of using synthesis gas derived from coal and/or other carbonaceous feedstocks. The objectives of Phase I were to determine the feasibility and define the concept for the EECP located at a specific site; develop a Research, Development, and Testing (RD&T) Plan for implementation in Phase II; and prepare a Preliminary Project Financing Plan. The objective of Phase II is to implement the work as outlined in the Phase I RD&T Plan to enhance the development and commercial acceptance of coproduction technology that produces high-value products, particularly those that are critical to our domestic fuel and power requirements. The work performed under Phase II will resolve critical knowledge and technology gaps on the integration of gasification and downstream processing to coproduce some combination of power, fuels, and chemicals from coal and/or other carbonaceous feedstocks. The objective of Phase III is to develop an …

This study identifies vital gas turbine (GT) parameters and quantifies their influence in meeting the DOE Turbine Program overall Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant goals of 50% net HHV efficiency, $1000/kW capital cost, and low emissions. The project analytically evaluates GE advanced F class air cooled technology level gas turbine conceptual cycle designs and determines their influence on IGCC plant level performance including impact of Carbon capture. This report summarizes the work accomplished in each of the following six Tasks. Task 1.0--Overall IGCC Plant Level Requirements Identification: Plant level requirements were identified, and compared with DOE's IGCC Goal of achieving 50% Net HHV Efficiency and $1000/KW by the Year 2008, through use of a Six Sigma Quality Functional Deployment (QFD) Tool. This analysis resulted in 7 GT System Level Parameters as the most significant. Task 2.0--Requirements Prioritization/Flow-Down to GT Subsystem Level: GT requirements were identified, analyzed and prioritized relative to achieving plant level goals, and compared with the flow down of power island goals through use of a Six Sigma QFD Tool. This analysis resulted in 11 GT Cycle Design Parameters being selected as the most significant. Task 3.0--IGCC Conceptual System Analysis: A Baseline IGCC Plant configuration was chosen, …

C-Ring and Pin electrodes from Corrosion Probe retrieved from Tank 241-AN-107 were examined visually and by weight loss measurements. The weight loss measurements were carried out according to ASTM Method G-190. Corrosion rates estimated from the weight loss measurements indicated extremely limited corrosion with no visually observable pitting or cracking. The extremely low corrosion rates are in agreement with the results of ultrasonic examination of the primary tank wall.

When self-sputtering is driven far above the runaway threshold voltage, energetic electrons are made available to produce"excess plasma" far from the magnetron target. Ionization balance considerations show that the secondary electrons deliver the necessary energy to the"remote" zone. Thereby, such a system can be an extraordinarily prolific generator of useable metal ions. Contrary to other known sources, the ion current to a substrate can exceed the discharge current. For gasless self-sputtering of copper, the useable ion current scales exponentially with the discharge voltage.

A novel short-pulse concept (SLIM) suited to a new generation of a high gradient induction particle accelerators is described herein. It applies advanced solid state semiconductor technology and modern microfabrication techniques to a coreless induction method of charged particle acceleration first proven on a macro scale in the 1960's. Because this approach avoids use of magnetic materials there is the prospect of such an accelerator working efficiently with accelerating pulses in the nanosecond range and, potentially, at megahertz pulse rates. The principal accelerator section is envisioned as a stack of coreless induction cells, the only active element within each being a single, extremely fast (subnanosecond) solid state opening switch: a Drift Step Recovery Diode (DSRD). Each coreless induction cell incorporates an electromagnetic pulse compressor in which inductive energy developed within a transmission-line feed structure over a period of tens of nanoseconds is diverted to the acceleration of the passing charge packet for a few nanoseconds by the abrupt opening of the DSRD switch. The duration of this accelerating output pulse--typically two-to-four nanoseconds--is precisely determined by a microfabricated pulse forming line connected to the cell. Because the accelerating pulse is only nanoseconds in duration, longitudinal accelerating gradients approaching 100 MeV per …

Molecular surface computations are often necessary in order to perform synthetic drug design. A critical step in this process is the computation and update of an exact boundary representation for the molecular surface (e.g. the Lee-Richards surface). In this paper they introduce efficient techniques for computing a molecular surface boundary representation as a set of NURBS (non-uniform rational B-splines) patches. This representation introduces for molecules the same geometric data structure used in the solid modeling community and enables immediate access to a wide range of modeling operations and techniques. Furthermore, this allows the use of any general solid modeling or visualization system as a molecular modeling interface. However, using such a representation in a molecular modeling environment raises several efficiency and update constraints, especially in a dynamic setting. For example, changes in the probe radius result in both geometric and topological changes to the set of patches. The techniques provide the option of trading accuracy of the representation for the efficiency of the computation, while still tracking the changes in the set of patches. In particular, they discuss two main classes of dynamic updates: one that keeps the topology of the molecular configuration fixed, and a more complicated case where …

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) operates a number of research and development (R&D) facilities for the U.S. Department of Energy at the Hanford Site, Washington. These facilities are subject to Clean Air Act regulations that require sampling of radionuclide air emissions from some of these facilities. A revision to an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard on sampling radioactive air emissions has recently been incorporated into federal and state regulations and a re-evaluation of affected facilities is being performed to determine the impact. The revised standard requires a well-mixed sampling location that must be demonstrated through tests specified in the standard. It also carries a number of maintenance requirements, including inspections and cleaning of the sampling system. Evaluations were performed in 2000 – 2002 on two PNNL facilities to determine the operational and design impacts of the new requirements. The evaluation included inspection and cleaning maintenance activities plus testing to determine if the current sampling locations meet criteria in the revised standard. Results show a wide range of complexity in inspection and cleaning activities depending on accessibility of the system, ease of removal, and potential impact on building operations (need for outages). As expected, these High Efficiency Particulate Air …

This report defines a number of terms within the realm of agricultural production.

From the formation of microscopic cracks in the fuel pipe liner of the space shuttle to the safety of roadway bridges, the fracture of materials has enormous implications throughout our society. The ability to assess and design safe engineering structures requires a detailed knowledge of this failure process. The fracture process depends on both the loading history and the detailed microscopic structure (microstructure) of the material. Weak points, such as inclusions and grain boundary junctions, are the locations from which microscopic fractures (voids and cracks) originate. Once nucleated, these fractures quickly link together to form a macroscopic crack. Despite this qualitative understanding, little is known about voids nucleation, plastic deformation in the surrounding material, and the mechanisms of linking. Central to Stockpile Stewardship is an understanding of shock loading of materials. During the passage of a shock wave, the material is compressed at a very high rate. This compression produces a high density of dislocation defects and other changes to the microstructure that are poorly understood. When the shock wave reflects from a free surface, the compression is rapidly released and extreme tension is produced inside the material. If this tension exceeds the internal rupture strength, microscopic fractures form and …

Ductile metals subjected to shock loading can develop internal damage through nucleation growth and coalescence of voids. The extent of damage can range from a well-defined spall plane induced by light shocks to more widespread damage caused by strong shocks. Because damage materials are often part of a dynamic system, significant additional deformation can occur in extensively damaged materials. To represent material behavior in simulation codes for stockpile stewardship calculations, both the damage and the recompression processes must be modeled accurately. Currently, no experimentally based models of recompression behavior are available for use in numerical simulations. The goals of this project are to (1) perform recompression experiments on samples containing controlled and well-characterized damage, (2) develop a model capturing the recompression behavior and residual strength based on the experimental data and micro-mechanical models, and (3) implement the model in an Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASCI) code (ALE3D). The recompression model, together with failure models based on underlying physical mechanisms, will provide a more accurate representation of material behavior-information that is needed for simulations of explosively loaded materials such as those required by the Stockpile Stewardship Program.

Metals are used in structural engineering applications because they can yield and deform before they break. However, under certain conditions of dynamic loading, metals can fail prematurely. This behavior is often associated with shear localization phenomena, with a shear band acting as a precursor to crack formation. These phenomena have been observed in metals for some time, however modeling this behavior in a continuum simulation code has met with very limited success. We are pursuing a series of model experiments closely linked to new model development in order to gain a fundamental understanding of shear localization and fracture. Many NNSA and DoD related missions require modeling and simulation of the response of metals to high explosive (HE) loading and whether those metals fail or fracture. HE loading differs from the loading experienced by a specimen in a traditional engineering application. In HE loading, the first process to occur is the passage of a strong shock through the metal due to detonation. This shock completely changes the microstructure of the metal by inducing intense dislocation multiplication, sometimes accompanied by the formation of deformation twins. This change in microstructure strongly modifies the mechanical response of the metal, changing its yield strength, work …

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This report discusses intelligence issues for Congress including narcotics trafficking, conflicts between Israel and Palestine, in Iraq, and among the former Yugoslav states, and North Korean missile capabilities. Updated December 16, 2002.

This report includes questions and answers regarding various military medical care services. What is the purpose of the Military Health Services System, who is eligible to receive this care, and what is the DOD pharmacy benefit are among questions asked and answered in this report.

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The New York City Energy-Water Integrated Planning Pilot Study is one of several projects funded by Sandia National Laboratories under the U.S. Department of Energy Energy-Water Nexus Program. These projects are intended to clarify some key issues and research needs identified during the Energy-Water Nexus Roadmapping activities. The objectives of the New York City Pilot Project are twofold: to identify energy-water nexus issues in an established urban area in conjunction with a group of key stakeholders and to define and apply an integrated energy and water decision support tool, as proof-of-concept, to one or more of these issues. During the course of this study, the Brookhaven National Laboratory project team worked very closely with members of a Pilot Project Steering Committee. The Steering Committee members brought a breadth of experience across the energy, water and climate disciplines, and all are well versed in the particular issues faced by an urban environment, and by New York City in particular. The first task was to identify energy-water issues of importance to New York City. This exercise was followed by discussion of the qualities and capabilities that an ideal decision support tool should display to address these issues. The decision was made to …

This report provides background information about Saudi Arabia and analyzes current issues in U.S.-Saudi relations.

Data coming from complex simulation models reach easily dimensions much greater than available computational resources. Visualization of such data still represents the most intuitive and effective tool for scientific inspection of simulated phenomena. To ease this process several techniques have been adopted mainly concerning the use of hierarchical multi-resolution representations. In this paper we present the implementation of a hierarchical indexing schema for multiresolution data tailored to overwork the computational power of distributed environments.

This project was directed by NREL to pursue development of an all polymer solar thermal collector. The proposed design utilized a dual sheet thermoform process to coincidentally form the absorber as well as the containment structure to support the glazing. It utilized ventilation to overcome stagnation degradation of the polymer materials.

This report describes research conducted between July 1, 2003 and September 30, 2003 on the use of dry regenerable sorbents for concentration of carbon dioxide from flue gas. Based on 5-cycle fixed bed tests of grade 3 sodium bicarbonate, calcination in carbon dioxide at 160 C does not affect the activity or capacity of the sorbent in subsequent carbonation cycles. Increasing the calcination temperature to 200 C does have an adverse impact on sorbent performance. RTI produced a supported sorbent with a nominal composition of 40% sodium carbonate. While this material has good attrition resistance, the activity, as determined by thermogravimetry, fixed bed testing and analysis of physical properties is insufficient for use as a carbon dioxide sorbent.

This report discusses policy and legislation regarding fish and marine mammals. These animals are important resources in open ocean and nearshore coastal areas. Commercial and sport fishing are jointly managed by the federal government and individual states. Many laws and regulations guide the management of these resources by federal agencies.