About 50 million gallons of high-level mixed waste is currently stored in underground tanks at The United States Department of Energy's (DOE's) Hanford site in the State of Washington. The Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) will provide DOE's Office of River Protection (ORP) with a means of treating this waste by vitrification for subsequent disposal. The tank waste will be separated into low- and high-activity waste fractions, which will then be vitrified respectively into Immobilized Low Activity Waste (ILAW) and Immobilized High Level Waste (IHLW) products. The ILAW product will be disposed in an engineered facility on the Hanford site while the IHLW product will likely be directed to a national deep geological disposal facility for high-level nuclear waste. The ILA W and IHLW products must meet a variety of requirements with respect to protection of the environment before they can be accepted for disposal. The objectives of the work reported herein were to assess the corrosion of Inconel 690 and 693 in the FeP glass developed by MS&T and to measure key high temperature properties of the LAW iron phosphate glass. Specific objectives of these tests were the following: (1) Determination of the extent of corrosion …

SPIRES, an aging high-energy physics publication data base, is in the process of being replaced by INSPIRE. In order to ease the transition from SPIRES to INSPIRE it is important to understand user behavior and the drivers for adoption. The goal of this project was to address some questions in regards to the presumed two-thirds of the users still using SPIRES. These questions are answered through analysis of the log files from both websites. A series of scripts were developed to collect and interpret the data contained in the log files. The common search patterns and usage comparisons are made between INSPIRE and SPIRES, and a method for detecting user frustration is presented. The analysis reveals a more even split than originally thought as well as the expected trend of user transition to INSPIRE.

This report highlights the possible ways to prosecute those who caused the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The report suggests that prosecution can be done under laws such as the ESA (Endangered Species Act) or the MMPA (Marine Mammal Protection Act) both of which provide for civil and criminal punishment. However, the most likely law to be used will be the MBTA (Migratory Bird Treatment Act) which makes it a crime to kill migratory birds. The report suggests that the MBTA would be the best method to prosecute for criminal liability.

We present the results of a project to apply scintillator technology recently developed at Louisiana Tech University to hadronic calorimetry. In particular, we developed a prototype calorimeter module incorporating scintillator embedded with metal oxide nanoparticles as the active layers. These metal oxide nanoparticles of gadolinium oxide, have high cross-sections for interactions with slow neutrons. As a part fo this research project, we have developed a novel method for producing plastic scintillators with metal oxide nanoparticles evenly distributed through the plastic without aggregation.We will test the performance of the calorimeter module in test beam and with a neutron source, in order to measure the response to the neutron component of hadronic showers. We will supplement our detector prototyping activities with detailed studies of the effect of neutron component on the resolution of hadronic energy measurements, particular in the next generation of particle flow calorimeters.

Annual financial report of the Angelina & Neches River Authority containing independently-audited financial information for fiscal year 2016, including statements of assets, expenses, revenues, and cash flows, with supplementary notes and information.

Annual financial report of the Angelina & Neches River Authority containing independently-audited financial information for fiscal years 2015 and 2016, including statements of assets, expenses, revenues, and cash flows, with supplementary notes and information.

The Graduate Automotive Technology Education (GATE) Program at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) was established in October 1998 pursuant to an award from the U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE). The focus area of the Penn State GATE Program is advanced energy storage systems for electric and hybrid vehicles.

In a variety of materials synthesis and processing contexts, atomistic processes at heterophase interfaces play a critical role governing defect formation, growth morphologies, and microstructure evolution. Accurate knowledge of interfacial structure, free energies, mobilities and segregation coefficients are critical for predictive modeling of microstructure evolution, yet direct experimental measurement of these fundamental interfacial properties remains elusive in many cases. In this project first-principles calculations were combined with molecular-dynamics (MD) and Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations, to investigate the atomic-scale structural and dynamical properties of heterophase interfaces, and the relationship between these properties and the calculated thermodynamic and kinetic parameters that influence the evolution of phase transformation structures at nanometer to micron length scales. The topics investigated in this project were motivated primarily by phenomena associated with solidification processing of metals and alloys, and the main focus of the work was thus on solid-liquid interfaces and high-temperature grain boundaries. Additional efforts involved first-principles calculations of coherent solid-solid heterophase interfaces, where a close collaboration with researchers at the National Center for Electron Microscopy was undertaken to understand the evolution of novel core-shell precipitate microstructures in aluminum alloys.

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This report outlines Paraguay's governmental structure and leaders, economy, and relations between the United States and Paraguay.

The purpose of this grant was to develop the theory and practice of high-performance databases for massive streamed datasets. Over the last three years, we have developed fast indexing technology, that is, technology for rapidly ingesting data and storing that data so that it can be efficiently queried and analyzed. During this project we developed the technology so that high-bandwidth data streams can be indexed and queried efficiently. Our technology has been proven to work data sets composed of tens of billions of rows when the data streams arrives at over 40,000 rows per second. We achieved these numbers even on a single disk driven by two cores. Our work comprised (1) new write-optimized data structures with better asymptotic complexity than traditional structures, (2) implementation, and (3) benchmarking. We furthermore developed a prototype of TokuFS, a middleware layer that can handle microdata I/O packaged up in an MPI-IO abstraction.

The primary project objectives were to understand how the process design of an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant affects the dynamic operability and controllability of the process. Steady-state and dynamic simulation models were developed to predict the process behavior during typical transients that occur in plant operation. Advanced control strategies were developed to improve the ability of the process to follow changes in the power load demand, and to improve performance during transitions between power levels. Another objective of the proposed work was to educate graduate and undergraduate students in the application of process systems and control to coal technology. Educational materials were developed for use in engineering courses to further broaden this exposure to many students. ASPENTECH software was used to perform steady-state and dynamic simulations of an IGCC power plant. Linear systems analysis techniques were used to assess the steady-state and dynamic operability of the power plant under various plant operating conditions. Model predictive control (MPC) strategies were developed to improve the dynamic operation of the power plants. MATLAB and SIMULINK software were used for systems analysis and control system design, and the SIMULINK functionality in ASPEN DYNAMICS was used to test the control strategies on …

The overall objective of the project was to verify the applicability of the FCMOM approach to the kinetic equations describing the particle flow dynamics. For monodispersed systems the fundamental equation governing the particle flow dynamics is the Boltzmann equation. During the project, the FCMOM was successfully applied to several homogeneous and in-homogeneous problems in different flow regimes, demonstrating that the FCMOM has the potential to be used to solve efficiently the Boltzmann equation. However, some relevant issues still need to be resolved, i.e. the homogeneous cooling problem (inelastic particles cases) and the transition between different regimes. In this report, the results obtained in homogeneous conditions are discussed first. Then a discussion of the validation results for in-homogeneous conditions is provided. And finally, a discussion will be provided about the transition between different regimes. Alongside the work on development of FCMOM approach studies were undertaken in order to provide insights into anisotropy or particles kinetics in riser hydrodynamics. This report includes results of studies of multiphase flow with unequal granular temperatures and analysis of momentum re-distribution in risers due to particle-particle and fluid-particle interactions. The study of multiphase flow with unequal granular temperatures entailed both simulation and experimental studies of two …

Beamline 6-2c at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) is capable of Transmission X-ray Microscopy (TXM) at 30 nm resolution. Raw images from the microscope must undergo extensive image processing before publication. Since typical data sets normally contain thousands of images, it is necessary to automate the image processing workflow as much as possible, particularly for the aligning and averaging of similar images. Currently we align images using the 'phase correlation' algorithm, which calculates the relative offset of two images by multiplying them in the frequency domain. For images containing high frequency noise, this algorithm will align noise with noise, resulting in a blurry average. To remedy this we multiply the images by a Gaussian function in the frequency domain, so that the algorithm ignores the high frequency noise while properly aligning the features of interest (FOI). The shape of the Gaussian is manually tuned by the user until the resulting average image is sharpest. To automatically optimize this process, it is necessary for the computer to evaluate the quality of the average image by quantifying its sharpness. In our research we explored two image sharpness metrics, the variance method and the frequency threshold method. The variance method uses the variance …

Report detailing issues and legislative concerns regarding immigration during the 111th Congress, with a focus on comprehensive reform.

The magnetorotational instability is a fluid instability that causes the onset of turbulence in discs with poloidal magnetic fields. It is believed to be an important mechanism in the physics of accretion discs, namely in its ability to transport angular momentum outward. A similar instability arising in systems with a helical magnetic field may be easier to produce in laboratory experiments using liquid sodium, but the applicability of this phenomenon to astrophysical discs is unclear. To explore and compare the properties of these standard and helical magnetorotational instabilities (MRI and HRMI, respectively), magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) capabilities were added to Dedalus, an open-source hydrodynamics simulator. Dedalus is a Python-based pseudospectral code that uses external libraries and parallelization with the goal of achieving speeds competitive with codes implemented in lower-level languages. This paper will outline the MHD equations as implemented in Dedalus, the steps taken to improve the performance of the code, and the status of MRI investigations using Dedalus.

Boulder Wind Power (“BWP”) collaborated with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, to demonstrate the economics of scaling an advanced gearless drivetrain technology to 6MW (and larger) turbine applications. The project goal was to show that this advanced drivetrain technology enables a cost of energy of less than $0.10/kWH in offshore applications. This drivetrain technology achieves this Cost of Energy (“COE”) advantage via a 70% greater torque density versus current state-of-the-art drivetrain technologies. In addition, a new dynamically compliant design strategy is required to optimize turbine system-level COE. The BWP generator is uniquely suited for this new design strategy. This project developed a concept design for a 6MW drivetrain and culminated in a plan for a system-level test of this technology at 3MW scale. The project further demonstrated the advantage of the BWP drivetrain with increasing power ratings, with conceptual designs through 10 MW.

Studying the Environmental flow needs for Texas Rivers and Estuaries as part of the adaptive management phase

Financial statements from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) documenting financial statements of government activities and fund of CPRIT, as well as related notes, for fiscal year 2019.

As part of high-level waste pretreatment and immobilized low activity waste processing, liquid secondary wastes will be generated that will be transferred to the Effluent Treatment Facility on the Hanford Site for further treatment. These liquid secondary wastes will be converted to stable solid waste forms that will be disposed in the Integrated Disposal Facility. Currently, four waste forms are being considered for stabilization and solidification of the liquid secondary wastes. These waste forms are Cast Stone, Ceramicrete, DuraLith, and Fluidized Bed Steam Reformer. The preferred alternative will be down selected from these four waste forms. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is developing data packages to support the down selection process. The objective of the data packages is to identify, evaluate, and summarize the existing information on the four waste forms being considered for stabilization and solidification of the liquid secondary wastes. The information included will be based on information available in the open literature and from data obtained from testing currently underway. This data package is for the Ceramicrete waste form. Ceramicrete is a relatively new engineering material developed at Argonne National Laboratory to treat radioactive and hazardous waste streams (e.g., Wagh 2004; Wagh et al. 1999a, 2003; Singh et …

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A program to complete the design, construction and demonstration of a PEMFC system fuelled by Ethanol, LPG or NG for telecom applications was initiated in October 2007. Early in the program the economics for Ethanol were shown to be unfeasible and permission was given by DOE to focus on LPG only. The design and construction of a prototype unit was completed in Jun 2009 using commercially available PEM FC stack from Ballard Power Systems. During the course of testing, the high pressure drop of the stack was shown to be problematic in terms of control and stability of the reformer. Also, due to the power requirements for air compression the overall efficiency of the system was shown to be lower than a similar system using internally developed low pressure drop FC stack. In Q3 2009, the decision was made to change to the Plug power stack and a second prototype was built and tested. Overall net efficiency was shown to be 31.5% at 3 kW output. Total output of the system is 6 kW. Using the new stack hardware, material cost reduction of 63% was achieved over the previous Alpha design. During a November 2009 review meeting Plug Power proposed …

Relativistic pair-plasmas and jets are believed to exist in many astrophysical objects and are often invoked to explain energetic phenomena related to Gamma Ray Bursts and Black Holes. On earth, positrons from radioactive isotopes or accelerators are used extensively at low energies (sub-MeV) in areas related to surface science positron emission tomography and basic antimatter science. Experimental platforms capable of producing the high-temperature pair-plasma and high-flux jets required to simulate astrophysical positron conditions have so far been absent. In the last few years, we performed extensive experiments generating positrons with intense lasers where we found that relativistic electron and positron jets are produced by irradiating a solid gold target with an intense picosecond laser pulse. The positron temperatures in directions parallel and transverse to the beam both exceeded 0.5 MeV, and the density of electrons and positrons in these jets are of order 10{sup 16} cm{sup -3} and 10{sup 13} cm{sup -3}, respectively. With the advent of high-energy ultra-short laser pulses, we expect that a charge-neutral, relativistic pair-plasma is achievable, a novel regime of laboratory-produced hot dense matter. This talk will present some details of the laser-produced pair-plasma experiments.

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