The spreading need for and use of configuration and data management (CDM) standards has highlighted a number of challenges to the companies that need to implement those standards. For companies and organizations that are new to CDM or have limited CDM capabilities, one of the major dilemmas faced is identifying how and where to start. In many cases there is a need to contend with a legacy of poorly identified items and information and an immature or non-existent CDM infrastructure (processes, procedures, people, and information systems). To the company management and CDM professional this poses a seemingly insurmountable task of putting in place a CDM infrastructure that provides the needed benefits while keeping within an acceptable cost and schedule. This paper deals with initially establishing the CDM infrastructure using the tools that a company already has available. The paper identifies features of common software applications that can be used to implement CDM principles.

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Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided a status report on the Navy's initiatives to address a number of in-transit inventory problems that GAO identified in previous reports."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) congressional reports on depot maintenance workloads, focusing on: (1) DOD's compliance with the 50-50 requirement in 10 U.S.C. 2466 for fiscal years 1998 and 1999; (2) GAO's views on DOD's progress in improving the quality of the workload data for the previous fiscal years; and (3) the reasonableness of DOD's estimates of expenditures for fiscal years 2000 through 2004."

The technical aspects of charging 12-volt (V) batteries with a small permanent magnet wind-turbine generator suggested that a special battery-charging station be developed. Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducted research on several possible configurations of wind-electric battery-charging stations. Based on preliminary modeling and test results, the optimal system for this application was the one with individual charge controllers. This paper presents the development efforts and test results of a commercial prototype wind-electric battery-charging station designed and manufactured by Ascension Technology, a Division of Applied Power Corporation (APC). The system, which is powered by a 3-kilowatt (kW) wind turbine, was tested at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC). The paper discusses control strategies to improve system performance, and includes recommendations for system integrators based on the testing experience accumulated at the NWTC.

Requirements for evaluating the adherence characteristics of sludge on the fuel stored in the K East Basin and the effect of canister movement on basin water turbidity are documented in Briggs (1996). The results of the sludge adherence testing have been documented (Bergmann 1996). This report documents the results of the canister movement tests. The purpose of the canister movement tests was to characterize water turbidity under controlled canister movements (Briggs 1996). The tests were designed to evaluate methods for minimizing the plumes and controlling water turbidity during fuel movements leading to multi-canister overpack (MCO) loading. It was expected that the test data would provide qualitative visual information for use in the design of the fuel retrieval and water treatment systems. Video recordings of the tests were to be the only information collected.

We develop scalable algorithms and object-oriented code frameworks for terascale scientific simulations on massively parallel processors (MPPs). Our research in multigrid-based linear solvers and adaptive mesh refinement enables Laboratory programs to use MPPs to explore important physical phenomena. For example, our research aids stockpile stewardship by making practical detailed 3D simulations of radiation transport. The need to solve large linear systems arises in many applications, including radiation transport, structural dynamics, combustion, and flow in porous media. These systems result from discretizations of partial differential equations on computational meshes. Our first research objective is to develop multigrid preconditioned iterative methods for such problems and to demonstrate their scalability on MPPs. Scalability describes how total computational work grows with problem size; it measures how effectively additional resources can help solve increasingly larger problems. Many factors contribute to scalability: computer architecture, parallel implementation, and choice of algorithm. Scalable algorithms have been shown to decrease simulation times by several orders of magnitude.

At the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), originally built in the 1960s, old process and comfort chillers, pumps, and other related central cooling-system equipment were replaced, and pumping configuration changes were made to accelerator heat rejection systems, the employee office space and a ``process system'' for the equipment and accelerators. The new 4500-ton cooling system is expected to use 40% less energy and is free of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons. Energy savings of 20 million kWh and a demand reduction of about 2.5 megawatts are expected, resulting in estimated cost savings of $900,000 per year.

Sandia has recently completed the flight certification test series for the Multi-Spectral Thermal Imaging satellite (MTI), which is a small satellite for which Sandia was the system integrator. A paper was presented at the 16th Aerospace Testing Seminar discussing plans for performing the structural dynamics certification program for that satellite. The testing philosophy was originally based on a combination of system level vibroacoustic tests and component level shock and vibration tests. However, the plans evolved to include computational analyses using both Finite Element Analysis and Statistical Energy Analysis techniques. This paper outlines the final certification process and discuss lessons learned including both things that went well and things that should/could have been done differently.

RPP-6153, Engineering Task Plan for Hose-in-Hose Transfer System for the Interim Stabilization Program, defines the programmatic goals, functional requirements, and technical criteria for the development and subsequent installation of transfer line equipment to support Hanford's Interim Stabilization Program. RPP-6028, Specification for Hose in Hose Transfer Lines for Hanford's Interim Stabilization Program, has been issued to define the specific requirements for the design, manufacture, and verification of transfer line assemblies for specific waste transfer applications. Included in RPP-6028 are tables defining the chemical constituents of concern to which transfer lines will be exposed. Current Interim Stabilization Program planning forecasts that the at-grade transfer lines will be required to convey pumpable waste for as much as three years after commissioning. Prudent engineering dictates that the equipment placed in service have a working life in excess of this forecasted time period, with some margin to allow for future adjustments to the planned schedule. This document evaluates the effective service life of the Hose-in-Hose Transfer Lines, based on information submitted by the manufacturer and published literature. The effective service life of transfer line assemblies is a function of several factors. Foremost among these are process fluid characteristics, ambient environmental conditions, and the manufacturer's stated …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the benefits and risks of food irradiation, focusing on the: (1) extent and the purposes for which food irradiation is being used in the United States; and (2) scientifically supported benefits and risks of food irradiation."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Foreign Military Sales Program, focusing on: (1) the Department of Defense's (DOD) implementation of its requirement to observe and report on defense articles and services transferred under the Foreign Military Sales program; (2) DOD's implementation of requirements to perform end-use checks; and (3) the extent to which DOD has satisfied the reporting requirements of the end-use monitoring amendment to the Arms Export Control Act."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Forest Service's Washington Office funding allocations to Region 4, focusing on: (1) funds allocated to Region 4 during fiscal years 1995-2000 for budget line items under the National Forest System (NFS) appropriation; (2) reasons for trends and year-to-year changes in NFS' funding allocations to Region 4; (3) how budget line item amounts in the budget requests Region 4 submitted for fiscal years 1998-2000 differed from the final allocations it received; and (4) funds allocated to all regions during fiscal years 1995-2000 for the Fire Preparedness budget line item under the Wildland Fire Management appropriation."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on federal and selected state funding of invasive species activities, focusing on: (1) federal and selected state funding in fiscal years (FY) 1999 and 2000 and the departments' views on the effectiveness of coordination efforts with other entities; (2) funding by selected states for invasive species activities in fiscal years 1999 and 2000 and the states' views on the effectiveness of coordination with federal departments and other entities; and (3) actions taken by the Invasive Species Council to implement Executive Order 13112."

This project has used Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) {sup 14}C measurements to study climate and carbon cycle variations on time scales from decades to millennia over the past 30,000 years, primarily in the western US and the North Pacific. {sup 14}C dates provide a temporal framework for records of climate change, and natural radiocarbon acts as a carbon cycle tracer in independently dated records. The overall basis for the study is the observation that attempts to model future climate and carbon cycle changes cannot be taken seriously if the models have not been adequately tested. Paleoclimate studies are unique because they provide realistic test data under climate conditions significantly different from those of the present, whereas instrumental results can only sample the system as it is today. The aim of this project has been to better establish the extent, timing, and causes of past climate perturbations, and the carbon cycle changes with which they are linked. This provides real-world data for model testing, both for the development of individual models and also for inter-model diagnosis and comparison activities such as those of LLNL's PCMDI program; it helps us achieve a better basic understanding of how the climate system works so …

This report is a summary of activity on this subcontract during the period from September 1, 1997 through August 30, 1999. The contract entailed the engineering, component tests, system field tests, certification, and preparation for manufacturing the existing Cannon Wind Eagle 300-kW (CWE-300) wind turbine. The CWE 300 is a lightweight, flexible machine with a number of innovative design features that, relative to comparable rigid-hub machines, promises to contribute to reduced capital, installation, and maintenance costs. The architecture of the CWE-300 evolved from earlier wind turbine models developed over several decades. The current design retains many of the desirable features of earlier machines, addresses problems exhibited by those machines, and incorporates further innovative design features.

At fixed hold temperatures, grain growth usually stagnates indefinitely after sufficiently long hold times. The change in the growth behavior can be very abrupt, resulting in a sudden plateau in plots of grain size versus time at fixed temperature. Standard grain growth laws do not formally predict the rapid onset of growth stagnation, merely a slow down of grain growth to imperceptible rates. Therefore, the grain size in the plateau regions for long hold times is typically not in agreement with that predicted with kinetic variables derived from the size versus time curves for short hold times where there is pronounced curvature. Standard laws lead to endpoint grain sizes with strong dependences on the hold times. The experimental observation in many cases is a nearly linear temperature dependence that is independent of the hold times after a sufficient duration. Additionally, the growth process may restart from a stagnated state with sufficient temperature increases, where again, the stagnated grain size temperature dependence is linear. For growth laws including size dependent opposing forces, endpoint grain sizes are predicted to be either independent of temperature, or exponentially temperature dependent with thermodynamic reversibility, the latter an impossibility. We derive, heuristically, a stagnation force, phenomenologically …

The photofragmentation pathways of chemically reactive free radicals have been examined using the technique of fast beam photofragment translational spectroscopy. Measurements of the photodissociation cross-sections, product branching ratios, product state energy distributions, and angular distributions provide insight into the excited state potential energy surfaces and nonadiabatic processes involved in the dissociation mechanisms. Photodissociation spectroscopy and dynamics of the predissociative {tilde A}{sup 2}A{sub 1} and {tilde B}{sup 2}A{sub 2} states of CH{sub 3}S have been investigated. At all photon energies, CH{sub 3} + S({sup 3}P{sub j}), was the main reaction channel. The translational energy distributions reveal resolved structure corresponding to vibrational excitation of the CH{sub 3} umbrella mode and the S({sup 3}P{sub j}) fine-structure distribution from which the nature of the coupled repulsive surfaces is inferred. Dissociation rates are deduced from the photofragment angular distributions, which depend intimately on the degree of vibrational excitation in the C-S stretch. Nitrogen combustion radicals, NCN, CNN and HNCN have also been studied. For all three radicals, the elimination of molecular nitrogen is the primary reaction channel. Excitation to linear excited triplet and singlet electronic states of the NCN radical generates resolved vibrational structure of the N{sub 2} photofragment. The relatively low fragment rotational excitation …

This is an update of the plan for the characterization of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and sludge stored in the Hanford K West and K East Basins. The purpose of the characterization program is to provide fuel and sludge data in support of the SNF Project in the effort to remove the fuel from the K Basins and place it into dry storage. Characterization of the K Basin fuel and sludge was initiated in 1994 and has been guided by the characterization plans (Abrefah 1994, Lawrence 1995a, Lawrence 1995b) and the characterization program management plan (PMP) (Lawrence 1995c, Lawrence 1998, Trimble 1999). The fuel characterization was completed in 1999. Summaries of these activities were documented by Lawrence (1999) and Suyama (1999). Lawrence (1999) is a summary report providing a road map to the detailed documentation of the fuel characterization. Suyama (1999) provides a basis for the limited characterization sample size as it relates to supporting design limits and the operational safety envelope for the SNF Project. The continuing sludge characterization is guided by a data quality objective (DQO) (Makenas 2000) and a sampling and analysis plan (SAP) (Baker, Welsh and Makenas 2000) The original intent of the characterization program was …

The objective of this program is to investigate and develop a novel class of high speed single transient ionizing radiation detector technologies that will enable critical diagnostics for the Stockpile Stewardship Management Program (such as ignition and other experiments) that is currently lacking. The goal is to achieve temporal resolution in the {approx}100 fs to 1 ps range, provide adequate fidelity to accurately measure DT burn histories, and extrapolate these to probable impact on nuclear weapon phenomena. This detector concept will be capable of femtosecond temporal response, good sensitivity (single x-ray photons), and can be fabricated into imaging arrays.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on funding for San Francisco under the Ryan White CARE Act, focusing on: (1) comparing San Francisco's fiscal (FY) 2000 title I grant award, which was determined using the act's hold-harmless provision, with what the award would have been had deceased acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) cases been included in the calculation; and (2) how funding for San Francisco that was based on the inclusion of deceased AIDS cases would have compared with the amount San Francisco would have received if the FY 2000 hold-harmless level had been reduced by 25 percent."

MEMS devices are currently fabricated primarily in silicon because of the available surface machining technology. However, Si has poor mechanical and tribological properties, and practical MEMS devices are currently limited primarily to applications involving only bending and flexural motion, such as cantilever accelerometers and vibration sensors. However, because of the poor flexural strength and fracture toughness of Si, and the tendency of Si to adhere to hydrophyllic surfaces, even these simple devices have limited dynamic range. Future MEMS applications that involve significant rolling or sliding contact will require the use of new materials with significantly improved mechanical and tribological properties, and the ability to perform well in harsh environments. Diamond is a superhard material of high mechanical strength, exceptional chemical inertness, and outstanding thermal stability. The brittle fracture strength is 23 times that of Si, and the projected wear life of diamond MEMS moving mechanical assemblies (MEMS-MMAs) is 10,000 times greater than that of Si MMAs. However, as the hardest known material, diamond is notoriously difficult to fabricate. Conventional CVD thin film deposition methods offer an approach to the fabrication of ultra-small diamond structures, but the films have large grain size, high internal stress, poor intergranular adhesion, and very rough …

AstroPower is developing a manufacturing process for Silicon-Film solar cell production under an NREL-administered Photovoltaic Manufacturing Technology (PVMaT) cost-share program. This document reports on results from the second phase of a three-phase effort. Progress is reported on the development of new procedures and equipment for in-line wet chemical processes, sheet fabrication, solar cell processing, and module assembly. Future concepts and goals for the Silicon-Film process are also discussed. A major technical goal of this effort is the elimination of batch production processes in AstroPower's solar cell process. New processes are being developed that can accommodate large-area Silicon-Film planks in an in-line, continuous manner. During Phase II of this program, an in-line chemical etching system for removing diffusion oxides was specified, procured, and installed. Operation of this system during Phase III of this program is expected to validate the in-line approach and will provide valuable information for use in the design of a second, and more challenging, in-line etch system. Significant progress was made during this reporting period in the development of new screenprinting ink formulations for both the front and back metallization of Silicon-Film solar cells. Cost reductions and efficiency improvements were achieved as a result of these efforts. Progress …

This document provides an overview of existing environmental and ecological information at areas identified as potential locations of the Savannah River Site's (SRS) Surplus Plutonium Disposition (SPD) facilities. This information is required to document existing environmental and baseline conditions from which SPD construction and operation impacts can be defined. It will be used in developing the required preoperational monitoring plan to be used at specific SPD facilities construction sites.