The mission of the US Department of Energy's Office of Transportation Technologies is to promote the development and deployment of transportation technologies that reduce US dependence on foreign oil, while helping to improve the nation's air quality and promoting US competitiveness. In support of this mission, DOE has directed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to conduct projects to evaluate the performance and acceptability of alternative fuel vehicles. NREL has undertaken several fleet study projects, which seek to provide objective real-world fleet experiences with AFVs. For this type of study we collect, analyze, and report on operational, cost, emissions, and performance data from AFVs being driven in a fleet application. The primary purpose of such studies is to make real-world information on AFVs available to fleet managers and other potential AFV purchasers. For this project, data was collected from 13 passenger vans operating in the Boulder/Denver, Colorado area. The study vehicles were all 1999 Ford E-350 passenger vans based at SuperShuttle's Boulder location. Five of the vans were dedicated CNG, five were bi-fuel CNG/gasoline, and three were standard gasoline vans that were used for comparison.

Equations for modeling surface chemical kinetics by the interaction of gaseous and surface species are presented. The formulation is embedded in a finite element heat transfer code and an ordinary differential equation package is used to solve the surface system of chemical kinetic equations for each iteration within the heat transfer solver. The method is applied to a flow which includes methane and methanol in a microreactor on a chip. A simpler more conventional method, a plug flow reactor model, is then applied to a similar problem. Initial results for steam reforming of methanol are given.

Advanced framing techniques for home construction have been researched extensively and proven effective. Both builders and home owners can benefit from advanced framing. Advanced framing techniques create a structurally sound home that has lower material and labor costs than a conventionally framed house. This fact sheet describes advanced framing techniques, design considerations, and framing.

Ore-bearing quartz-carbonate veins of the Coeur d'Alene mining district yield {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr ratios of 0.74 to >1.60 for low-Rb/Sr, carbonate gangue minerals, similar to current ranges measured in Middle Proterozoic, high-Rb/Sr rocks of the Belt Supergroup. Stable-isotope and fluid-inclusion studies establish a genetic relationship between vein formation and metamorphic-hydrothermal systems of the region. These extraordinary {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr ratios require accumulation of radiogenic {sup 87}Sr in a high Rb/Sr system over an extended period prior to incorporation of Sr into the veins by hydrothermal processes. Evaluation of the age and composition of potential sources of highly radiogenic Sr indicates that the ore-bearing veins of the Coeur d'Alene district formed within the last 200 Ma from components scavenged from sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks of the Belt Supergroup, the primary host-rocks of the district. These results are consistent with a Cretaceous or Early Tertiary age for these veins. Pb-Zn deposits that yield Pb isotope, K-Ar, and Ar-Ar results indicative of a Proterozoic age probably formed during deposition or diagenesis of the Belt Supergroup at 1350-1500 Ma, possibly as Sullivan-type syngenetic deposits. K-Ar and Rb-Sr apparent ages and {delta}{sup 18}O values of Belt Supergroup rocks decrease southward from the Coeur d'Alene district …

In 1998, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, a public transit agency in Dallas, Texas, began operating a large fleet of heavy-duty buses powered by liquefied natural gas. As part of a $16 million commitment to alternative fuels, DART operates 139 LNG buses serviced by two new LNG fueling stations.

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Military Construction Appropriations.

Combustion appliances that use fuels like natural gas, propane, oil, kerosene, or wood can be more efficient and effective at heating than electricity. However, careful installation is required to ensure safe and efficient operation. This fact sheet addresses problems posed by combustion equipment and provides suggestions for furnaces and water heaters, unvented space heaters and fireplaces, and stoves and ovens. Installation, combustion closet design, causes of and prevention of backdrafting are also covered.

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Construction, analysis and numerical testing of efficient solution techniques for solving elliptic PDEs that allow for parallel implementation have been the focus of the research. A number of discretization and solution methods for solving second order elliptic problems that include mortar and penalty approximations and domain decomposition methods for finite elements and finite volumes have been investigated and analyzed. Techniques for parallel domain decomposition algorithms in the framework of PETC and HYPRE have been studied and tested. Hierarchical parallel grid refinement and adaptive solution methods have been implemented and tested on various model problems.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released in September new estimates showing that each year in the United States 76 million people get sick, 325,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 die from food-related illnesses. Food-borne illness is a serious public health problem. Often, people do not seek medical help and their illness is not officially reported. Yet, consumers have become aware of the serious consequences of illnesses linked to a growing variety of foods, produced domestically or imported. Consumers want the government to regulate the food supply, and industry is interested in producing foods that are safe at a reasonable price. As a result there is congressional interest in oversight and legislation in this area.

This report gives an overview of the background and funding of the food stamps program.

The motion of charged particles in slowly changing magnetic fields exhibits adiabatic invariance even in the presence of abrupt magnetic discontinuities. Particles near discontinuities in magnetic fields, what we call ''boundary particles'', are constrained to remain near an arbitrarily fractured boundary even as the particle drifts along the discontinuity. A new adiabatic invariant applies to the motion of these particles.

Multiple locus VNTR analysis (MLVA) systems are being developed for B. anthracis, Y. pestis and F. tularensis. These are high resolution DNA fingerprinting systems that will allow for molecular epidemiology and forensic analysis of these pathogens.

Multiple locus VNTR analysis (MLVA) systems are being developed for B. anthracis, Y. pestis and F. tularensis. These are high resolution DNA fingerprinting systems that will allow for molecular epidemiology and forensic analysis of these pathogens.

The U. S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has an energetic science education program and outreach effort. This overview describes the components of the programs and evaluates the changes that have occurred in this effort during the last several years. Efforts have been expanded to reach more students, as well as the public in general. The primary goal is to inform the public regarding the fusion and plasma research at PPPL and to excite students so that they can appreciate science and technology. A student's interest in science can be raised by tours, summer research experiences, in-classroom presentations, plasma expos, teacher workshops and web-based materials. The ultimate result of this effort is a better-informed public, as well as an increase in the number of women and minorities who choose science as a vocation. Measuring the results is difficult, but current metrics are reviewed. The science education and outreach programs are supported by a de dicated core group of individuals and supplemented by other members of the PPPL staff and consultants who perform various outreach and educational activities.

Progress on the design, fabrication, testing and assembly of two-layer Pixel Array Detectors (PADs) is described. The PADs are developed for challenging time-resolved X-ray imaging applications at synchrotron radiation X-ray sources.

Packed columns provide a proven technology for stripping benzene from salt solution. With continuous Small Tank Precipitation process the stripping load is reduced by a factor of four vs. former ITP cycling, and process continuity is maintained through to the Saltstone transfer tank. Lower stripping capacity allows new design options, including coarser packing and possibly reduced foaming packing.

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Properly sealed, moisture-protected, and insulated walls help increase comfort, reduce noise, and save on energy costs. This fact sheet addresses these topics plus advanced framing techniques, insulation types, wall sheathings, and steps for effective wall construction and insulation.

Weather-resistive barriers are a part of exterior wall systems that protect building materials from exterior water penetration. They perform like a protective shell for buildings, yet allow water vapor to escape. This fact sheet covers types and costs of weather-resistive barriers, when and how to use them, installation, details for windows and doors, and properties of weather-resistive barriers.

This report provides a table outlining the bills vetoed by President William Jefferson Clinton's two terms in office. It includes an overview and the bill number, date, title, and override attempts for each veto.

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One of the current major national environmental problems is the safe disposal of large quantities of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste materials, which are rapidly accumulating throughout the country. These radioactive byproducts are generated as the result of national defense activities and from the generation of electricity by commercial nuclear power plants. At present, spent nuclear fuel is accumulating at over 70 power plant sites distributed throughout 33 states. The safe disposal of these high-level radioactive materials at a central disposal facility is a high national priority. This Reference Design Description explains the current design for a potential geologic repository that may be located at Yucca Mountain in Nevada for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste materials. This document describes a possible design for the three fundamental parts of a repository: a surface facility, subsurface repository, and waste packaging. It also presents the current conceptual design of the key engineering systems for the final four phases of repository processes: operations, monitoring, closure, and postclosure. In accordance with current law, this design does not include an interim storage option. In addition, this Reference Design Description reviews the expected long-term performance of the potential repository. It …