Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The use of electricity is indispensable to modern life. As Macao Special Administrative Region becomes a gaming and tourism center in Asia, modeling the consumption of electricity is critical to Macao's economic development. The purposes of this paper are to conduct an extensive literature review on modeling of electricity consumption, and to identify key climatic, demographic, economic and/or industrial factors that may affect the electricity consumption of a country/city. It was identified that the five factors, namely temperature, population, the number of tourists, hotel room occupancy and days per month, could be used to characterize Macao's monthly electricity consumption. Three selected approaches including multiple regression, artificial neural network (ANN) and wavelet ANN were used to derive ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper presents a survey on public preferences in SE England for the use of wind, biomass and nuclear power in electricity generation. Using a labelled CE the perceived importance (value) to the public of distance and the energy options' impacts on biodiversity, emissions, land occupation and household cost was explored. Results suggest that impacts, technology name, demographic characteristics, attitudes towards the environment, knowledge and experience with the technologies were significant choice determinants. Considering the current debate about the development of nuclear power and biomass in UK and worldwide, this survey provides an insight into the factors affecting public acceptability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A brief overview is given of the geological characteristics of each region of the state as they relate to potential geothermal development. Those exploration methods which can lead to the siting of a deep exploration well are described. Requirements and techniques needed for drilling deeper higher temperature exploration and production wells are presented. Electrical generation, direct utilization, and indirect utilization are reviewed. Economic factors of direct use projects are presented. A general guide to the regulatory framework affecting geothermal energy development is provided. The general steps necessary to gain access to explore, develop, distribute, and use geothermal resources are outlined. (MHR)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The purpose of the chapter is to explain briefly the various considerations that enter into determining the general layout or arrangement of typical hydroelectric powerplants, pumping plants, and pumped-storage plants. Some of the important factors that affect or determine the location, type, and layout of the plant and the selection of the major items of equipment included in the installation are outlined in this chapter. The first consideration in the design of a powerplant, pumping plant, or pumped-storage plant is that it adequately perform its function and be structurally safe. The structure is also designed to give a pleasing architectural appearance.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper reports that there are four combustion technologies upon which U.S. electric utilities are expected to rely for the majority of their future power generating needs. These technologies are pulverized coal- fired combustion (PC); coal-fired fluidized bed combustion (AFBC); coal gasification, combined cycle systems (CGCC); and natural gas-fired combined cycle systems (NGCC). The engineering and economic parameters which affect the choice of a technology include capital costs, operating and maintenance costs, fuel costs, construction schedule, process risk, environmental and site impacts, fuel efficiency and flexibility, plant availability, capacity factors, timing of startup, and the importance of utility economic and financial factors.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The purpose of this article is to critically review the available evidence pertaining to occupational, environmental, and individual factors that can affect the development of occupational asthma (OA)....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Knowledge of factors affecting variation in birth weight is especially important given the relationship of birth weight to neonatal and adult health. The present study utilises two large contemporary...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Life cycle oriented methods are increasingly used for environmental assessments (EAs) of the built environment. However, many assumptions are made in such assessments, potentially influencing the results and making the assessment more ambiguous. To increase the reliability of EAs, consequences of the assumptions made have to be better understood. Since energy use in the operation and maintenance phase is an important factor decisive for the overall environmental performance of a building, the purpose of this study is to investigate how the selection of heat and electricity mix affects the assessed environmental performance of buildings. It also aims to suggest how to choose heat and electricity data in EAs of the built environment in general. Applying four different modes of electricity production and two different modes of heat production in a case study of three different ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The operation of buildings can be temporarily modified to use much less electricity. These actions may be necessary during regional electricity shortages lasting anywhere from days to months. The electricity conservation measures typically involve a combination of technical modifications, temporary changes in occupant behavior, and greatly increased vigilance. At the same time, attempts to drastically reduce a building's electricity use may have unexpected consequences affecting energy use, the indoor environment, and the performance of building materials and equipment. Electricity shortfalls such as those described in this paper may occur more often as a result of climate change and liberalized electricity markets. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An experimental rig was set up to study the performance of a thermal storage unit using stearic acid as the heat storage medium. The unit mainly consists of an electrical heating rod and an outer tube, and the space between is an annulus that is filled with stearic acid. The thermal performance of the unit is measured, and the heat transfer characteristics of the melting processes of stearic acid are studied under different heat flux conditions to determine the influence of heat flux on the melting processes. A new type of fin is designed and fixed to the electrical heating rod to enhance the thermal response of the stearic acid. The experimental results show that the fin can improve the heat transfer of the melting process of the thermal storage unit greatly. The equivalent thermal conductivity of the PCM can be augmented by a factor up to 3. The analysis of the experimental results shows that the enhancement mechanism of ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BACKGROUNDThe reproductive health of children born of infertile couples may be affected by infertility treatment or factors associated with infertility. We examined sexual maturation...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Jan 22, 2011 ... Abstract: Land use changes and deforestation in tropical rainforests are among the major factors affecting the overall function of the global ...

Science.gov (United States)

... content of the environment) are significant factors affecting the useful service life of adhesive bonded plastic composite sandwich panels at 650 F ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

There is conflicting evidence about the effect of parental consanguinity on fetal growth. Previous studies have not always allowed for other factors that are known to affect birth weight, in particular,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundThe link between maternal factors and birth outcomes is well established. Substantial changes in society and medical care over time have influenced women's reproductive...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We examine the electric and magnetic strange form factors of the nucleon in the pseudoscalar-vector SU(3) Skyrme model, with special emphasis on the effects of isospin symmetry breaking (ISB). It is found that ISB has a nontrivial effect on the strange vector form factors of the nucleon and its contribution to the nucleon strangeness is significantly larger than one might naively expect. Our calculations and discussions may be of some significance for the experimental extraction of the authentic strangeness.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The covariant quark model is shown to allow a phenomenological description of the neutron electric form factor, G{sub E}{sup n}(Q{sup 2}), in the impulse approximation, provided that the wave function contains minor ({approx}3%) admixtures of the lowest energy sea-quark configurations. While that form factor is not very sensitive to whether the q{sup -} in the qqqqq{sup -} component is in the P-state or in the S-state, the calculated nucleon magnetic form factors are much closer to the empirical values in the case of the former configuration. In the case of the electric form factor of the proton, G{sub E}{sup p}(Q{sup 2}) a zero appears in the impulse approximation close to 10 GeV{sup 2}, when the q{sup -} is in the P-state. That configuration, which may be interpreted as a pion loop ('cloud') fluctuation, also leads to a clearly better ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In this paper, an empirical model is developed for electricity consumption of the Jordanian industrial sector based on multivariate linear regression to identify the main drivers behind electricity consumption. In addition, projection of electricity consumption for the industrial sector based on time series forecasting is presented. It was found that industrial production outputs and capacity utilization are the two most important variables that affect demand on electrical power and the multivariate linear regression model can be used adequately to simulate industrial electricity consumption with very high coefficient of determination. To illustrate the importance of integrating energy efficiency within national energy plans, the impact of implementing high-efficiency motors was investigat...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Objectives. Thousands of Louisiana residents were asked to boil water because of widespread disruptions in electricity and natural gas services after Hurricane Rita. We sought to assess...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polarization measurements are allowing the electric to magnetic form factor ratio of the proton to be determined with unprecedented precision. Recent results indicate that there is a large deviation from unity in the proton form factor ratio around Q{sup 2}{approx_equal}0.35 GeV{sup 2}. Furthermore, the deviation from unity is attributed to a deviation of the electric form factor from standard fits and calculations. A new, partially completed, experiment will significantly improve the existing data and will determine the presence, if any, of a narrow structure in the form factor ratio. The new measurement, combined with the expected high precision cross section measurements, will allow the extraction of individual form factors with unprecedented accuracy at low Q{sup 2}.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The paper evaluates standardization of regulations on safety of electrical equipment for underground coal mines in the USSR. Factors increasing hazards of electrical failures of equipment in underground coal mines are analyzed: reduced lighting, increased humidity and dusts, damage caused by falling rocks or damage during haulage in underground workings, installation of electrical equipment in places easily accessible to untrained personnel. Standards on safety of electrical equipment for underground coal mining valid in the USSR are reviewed: the PIRNEh regulations on production of electrical equipment for coal mines developed by the VNIIVEh Institute, and the GOST national standards. International cooperation within the COMECON on safety of mining electrical equipment (the Interelectro Committee of the COMECON) is described. Certification ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

China operates 10 nuclear power reactors and has 5 more under construction. A large extension of nuclear power is expected by 2020. Nuclear generated electricity accounts for 2% of the total electric power generation. The Chinese policy is to have spent fuel reprocessed in China. So, final disposal include vitrified waste and some CANDU spent fuel for direct disposal. There is a legal framework in place in China to manage HLW. The China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) has the responsibility for setting policy on HLW disposal and implementing the disposal programme, while the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) and the State Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) are the regulatory bodies, which are responsible for licensing and reviewing of environment impact assessment report. The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) is considered to be the actual implementer, conducting the major activities for HLW management. In the 1980's, China ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurobehavioral disorder affecting 5% to 10% of children. Although considered to be a highly familial disorder, ADHD heritability estimates of 60% to 80% highlight the considerable role that environmental factors may still play in disorder susceptibility. Proposed ADHD environmental risk factors include prenatal substance exposures, heavy metal and chemical exposures, nutritional factors, and lifestyle/psychosocial factors. This paper reviews the literature published in 2010 investigating the association between environmental risk factors and ADHD or related symptomatology. Sources of risk factor exposure and the proposed mechanism by which each exposure is linked to ADHD-related neurobehavioral changes are also reported. Metho...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ecosystems worldwide are experiencing unprecedented nitrogen enrichment through fertilization and pollution. While longterm ecological consequences are difficult to predict, it seems that plants and animals adapted to nitrogen-limited environments are at particular risk from these changes. This report summarizes the limited body of literature which addresses this important topic. From a herbivoreAes perspective, fertilization increases the nutritional quality of host plant tissues. In some cases fertilization has lead to decreased production of defensive compounds. How this affects populations of insects is unclear because fertilization affects not only herbivores but their natural enemies. This report outlines how fertilization affects tree processes such as growth, photosynthesis, and production of defensive compounds. The many factors that affect insect repsonse to fertilization ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Proposed features of the competitive electricity market in Ontario were reviewed. The speaker predicted that demand for renewable energy in Ontario`s competitive electricity market will be affected by green power, emissions trading, labelling, and renewables portfolio standard. Under current regulations retailers can charge customers a premium for purchasing electricity generated by `green` sources. The existing limits on emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxides will remain in place, but an emissions cap and trading program for all Ontario-based generation is an option to consider. Ontario`s Market Design Committee (MDC) has recommended the implementation of emissions trading for electricity-related air pollutants for all generators located in Ontario. The complex mechanics of emission trading are explained. The MDC recommendation of the use of standard ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The dependence of the mobility of DNA molecules through an hexagonal array of micropillars on their length and the applied electric field was investigated and it was found that mobility is a nonmonotonic function of their length. Results also revealed that the size dependence of the DNA mobility depends on the applied electric field and there is a crossover around E 25 V/cm for the mobility of l-DNA and T4-DNA. These observations are explained in terms of the diffusion process inside the structure affected by the solvent and are modeled using the Langevin and its corresponding Fokker-Planck equations. The phenomenon is generalized under three regimes in a phase diagram relating the electric field and the DNA lengths. The model and the associated phase diagram described here provide an expl...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Ophthalmologic abnormalities have been described in patients with dementia, but the extent to which poor vision and treatment for visual disorders affect cognitive decline is not well defined. Linked...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

From view on Organization Behavior theory, the concept, development and affecting factors of safety culture are introduced. The focuses are on the establishment, development and management practice for safety culture at Daya Bay NPP. A strong safety culture, also demonstrated, has contributed greatly to improving performance at Daya Bay

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Factors affecting the membrane filtration of food suspensions were studied for 58 foods and 13 membrane filters. Lot number within a brand, pore size (0.45 or 0.8 micrometer), and time elapsed before...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

The report discusses the capabilities of equipment vendors to supply and install the quantity of flue gas desulfurization systems required to meet alternative standards for coal-fired steam generators. It analyzes limiting factors affecting supply capabilities (such as the availa...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting the failure of trials (<50% pain reduction in pain for trial period) to improve success rate of spinal...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This is the June report by the Energy Information Administration. The contents of the report include an energy overview, energy consumption, petroleum, natural gas, oil and gas resource development, coal, electricity, nuclear energy, energy prices, and international energy. Included are appendices containing thermal conversion factors, metric and other physical conversion factors, and carbon dioxide emission factors for coal.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this paper, an empirical model is developed for electricity consumption of the Jordanian industrial sector based on multivariate linear regression to identify the main drivers behind electricity consumption. In addition, projection of electricity consumption for the industrial sector based on time series forecasting is presented. It was found that industrial production outputs and capacity utilization are the two most important variables that affect demand on electrical power and the multivariate linear regression model can be used adequately to simulate industrial electricity consumption with very high coefficient of determination. To illustrate the importance of integrating energy efficiency within national energy plans, the impact of implementing high-efficiency motors was investigated and found to be significant. Without such basic energy conservation and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In 1998, EU legislation initiated a liberalisation process among European energy markets. The process of market opening has significantly changed the functioning of the markets and the competition conditions of the energy sector. At the same time, the industry witnessed a surge of mergers and far-reaching changes in the structure of German electricity and natural gas markets occurred. Against this background, the doctoral thesis at hand surveys the merger activities in the energy sector as well as the merger control policy of the German Federal Cartel Office during the first years of liberalisation. The study starts with a portrayal of the institutional framework of the German merger control regime and a survey of the relevant economic literature on horizontal and vertical mergers. Subsequent to the legal and theoretical considerations, the merger activities and the merger control policy of the German Federal Cartel Office are investigated empirically. The data set ...

Science.gov (United States)

We calculate the electromagnetic form factors of a bound proton. The chiral quark-soliton model provides the quark and antiquark substructure of the proton, which is embedded in nuclear matter. This procedure yields significant modifications of the form factors in the nuclear environment. The sea quarks are almost completely unaffected, and serve to mitigate the valence quark effect. In particular, the ratio of the isoscalar electric to the isovector magnetic form factor decreases by 20% at Q{sup 2}=1 GeV{sup 2} at nuclear density, and we do not see a strong enhancement of the magnetic moment.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A variety of stress situations may affect the activity and survival of plant-beneficial pseudomonads added to soil to control root diseases. This study focused on the roles of the sigma factor AlgU...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Increasing environmental awareness and new legislation in Europe and, in particular, America have accelerated the development of marketable electric cars which satisfy customer demands in terms of performance, range capability, safety and comfort. Tomorrow's electric cars will therefore require powerful heating and cooling systems for the passenger compartment which meet the conditions specific to this particular mode of transport and which do not overly affect the range capability of such vehicles. At Behr GmbH suitable system concepts were developed at a very early stage which were based on a high proportion of recirculated air, the use of the A/C unit as a heat pump, and heat recovery. This paper will examine two typical A/C systems which combine good heating and cooling characteristics with the low electric power requirement of only 1,5-2 kW. (orig.).

Science.gov (United States)

The complete world set of parity-violating electron scattering data up to Q{sup 2}{approx}0.3 GeV{sup 2} is analyzed. We extract the current experimental determination of the strange electric and magnetic form factors of the proton, as well as the weak axial form factors of the proton and neutron, at Q{sup 2}=0.1 GeV{sup 2}. Within experimental uncertainties, we find that the strange form factors are consistent with zero, as are the anapole contributions to the axial form factors. Nevertheless, the correlation between the strange and anapole contributions suggest that there is only a small probability that these form factors all vanish simultaneously.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The common factor that underlies several types of functional brain imaging is the electric current of masses of dendrites. The prodigious demands for the energy that is required to drive the...Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Methods of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to study the microstructure of dispersion-strengthened Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposites obtained by the method of simultaneous deposition of Cu and Al2O3 from the vapor phase. The effect of the size of particles of the oxide (Al2O3) and of their content on the electrical resistance of the composite has been considered. The results obtained make it possible to suppose that the main structural factor that determines the electrical resistance of the composite are nanodispersed particles of Al2O3 with a size of less than 20 nm.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Results obtained on induced current and voltage caused by a high voltage transmission lines running parallel at a trolley bus contact lines, are presented. A computer program in Basic language, was developed to calculate the electric induction, problems of safety, a theoretical development and mathematical model of the electric factors between two lines (inductor and induced) are also discussed. 11 figs., 1 tab., 8 refs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The H-SAPS (Hydrogen Stand-Alone Power System) project, an EU project within the ALTENER programme in the period 2002-2004, was initiated to determine the potential for the introduction of environmentally benign hydrogen technology in what is believed to be a near-term market, namely stand-alone power systems (SAPS). The objective of the project was to examine the technological, political, social and economical factors affecting the emergence of hydrogen technology in the stand-alone power system market today and in the future. The scope of the project was limited to small and medium sized stand-alone power systems, up to a few hundred kilowatts (kW) power rating and based on renewable energy as the primary energy source. The work was divided into five phases: (1) Inception, (2) Data collection and analysis, (3) Market analysis and barrier removal, (4) Dissemination, and (5) Final report. Separate reports were written on these topics, and later ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ash fallout from the Mount Saint Helens eruptions affected high-voltage transmission in a four-state area as volatile gases caused conductivity changes and corrosion. The Bonneville Power Authority (BPA) found that it was possible to maintain electric service except for a few short, localized outages. Cleaning ash from transformers and substations was the first priority. Tests were underway within 48 hours to determine ash characteristics and cleaning procedures. A summary to what happened and what was learned is presented in two lists. (DCK)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An ``energy snapshot`` article is included on housing characteristics in 1993 (survey of 7,111 households). The rest of the document is divided into: energy overview, energy consumption, petroleum, natural gas, oil and gas resource development, coal, electricity, nuclear energy, energy prices, international energy, and appendices (conversion factors, CO2 emission factors from coal, index, glossary).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The purpose of organization and management development activities in the commercial nuclear power industry is to foster high levels of power plant performance and safety through improved human performance. The NRC has been working to develop assessment tools to assay the effects of organizational factors on plant safety. The utility industry has been working on initiatives targeting individual accountability, the improvement of plant performance and the elimination of the items identified through the NRC assessment process. Organization and management activities do not focus on industry organizational charts, but on the personnel processes and dimensions (factors) that affect safety and economic performance. As individual terms these activities are often combined and referred to as organizational factors. As an area of study, organizational factors has become more prominent as the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The visual impact of wind turbines is one of the main factors affecting public acceptance of wind parks. This paper evaluates the visual impact of a wind park in Chania, Crete, using the Spanish method of evaluation. The outcomes are combined with the psychometric testing of the residents by the use of questionnaires and with the values of the Spanish method about various scenarios concerning the size of the wind park (double, half, one wind turbine). The results of the study prove that the quantification of the potential visual impact could minimize this, apparently, main reason that affects public acceptance. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study examined the feasibility of using triticale straw for production of electricity in Canada. Triticale is a manmade hybrid of wheat and rye and it has a high potential of growth in Canada. The cost ($/MWh) of producing electricity from triticale straw was estimated using a data intensive techno-economic model. The study also determined the optimum size of a biomass power plant (MW) which is a trade-off between capital cost of the plant and transportation cost of biomass. Cost curves were also developed in order to evaluate the impact of scale on power production costs. The location of the power plant and the future expansion of triticale were among the factors considered in the techno-economic mode. The scope of the work included all the processes beginning with the collection of straw to the conversion to electricity through direct combustion at the power plant. According to the preliminary ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The purpose of this research is to clarify how psychological factors' impact on public acceptance of nuclear energy varies with where they live and their degree of knowledge. For this purpose, we carried out questionnaire survey about nuclear energy at three urban areas and two nuclear power plant siting areas. After collecting data, we applied factor analysis to the data, and found four factors which construct cognitive structure of nuclear energy. Using multiple regression analysis, we evaluated the impact of the four factors on two issues: the decision for or against nuclear policy and the reaction to nuclear power plant siting, and compared changes of the impact by where respondents live and their degree of knowledge. Consequently, we found that the impact of all four factors on the two issues varies with where respondents live. We also found that the impact of respondents' ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The purpose of this research is to clarify how psychological factor's impact on public acceptance of nuclear energy varies with people's degree of knowledge. For this purpose, we carried out questionnaire survey about nuclear energy at Suginami ward, Tokyo. After collecting data, we applied factor analysis to the data, and found 4 factors: Trust in the Authorities, Superiority of Nuclear Power Generation, Benefit for Nuclear Power Plants' Siting Areas, and Risk Perception about Nuclear Technology. In addition, using multiple regression analysis, we evaluated the impact of the 4 factors on 2 issues: the decision for or against nuclear policy and the reaction to nuclear power plant siting. Consequently, we found the change of impact of all 4 factors on the 2 issues. Especially, the impact of the 4 factors to the reaction to nuclear power plant siting was ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Data were collected on 154 adoptive families with gay/lesbian and straight adoptive parents (154 parent respondents and 210 adolescent respondents). This study was principally interested in factors affecting adolescent attachment including parent sexual orientation, adolescent and parent life satisfaction, and parent level of relationship satisfaction with their adopted child as well as other key parent, child and adoption characteristics. The results suggest that higher level of adopted adolescent attachment to parents is not related to adoptive parent sexual orientation. Adolescent attachment to parents is related to adolescent life satisfaction; parent level of relationship satisfaction with their adopted child, number of placements prior to adoption, and adolescent's current age. Adole...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sweden is facing a re-structured electricity market beginning January 1, 1996, implying full competition in the purchasing and selling of electricity. The transmission and distribution of electricity will remain as a franchised monopoly and this business has to be strictly separated from the electricity trading. In the monopolistic environment, pricing of electricity has been based on more or less relevant costs and a resonable rate of return. The energy charges have reflected the system short range marginal costs while the demand and fixed charges have been adapted to give a total cost level corresponding to the system average cost. Tariffs of this type, known as time-of-use tariffs, have stimulated peak shaving during peak load (high cost hours) and valley filling during low load (low cost hours), increasing the load factor. Restructuring will influence the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in concern over the health and safety aspects of high voltage transmission lines (HVTL). The majority of research has focused on effects directly or indirectly involved with the central nervous system, including physiological, ultrastructural, and biochemical alterations, changes in blood composition, behaviour, reproduction, and development. Several recent epidemiological reports have presented preliminary data suggesting an increase in the incidence of cancer among children and adults exposed to magnetic fields through living close to various types of electrical power lines or devices. With the increase in environmental concerns there has been a concomitant consideration of biological effects and health implications related to presently existing HVTL and those planned in the future. It was concluded that the electric and magnetic field strengths and the electrical ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A new empirical expression is presented for the T/sub c/ of A-15 compounds, T/sub c/ = 210 2R/sub A/-d/sub 0//R/sub B/..sqrt..M/sub A/ x R/sup 3//sub A/g-barZ-bary/sub B//RB/R/sup 3//sub B/n-baray/sub A//R/sub A/, from which the effects of some structural factors on T/sub c/ for high-T/sub c/ superconductors are obvious.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The main objective of this paper is to identify conditions which affect public concern (either increase or decrease) and political acceptance for developing and implementing programmes for geologic disposal of long-lived radioactive waste. It also looks how citizens and relevant actors can be associated in the decision making process in such a way that their input is enriching the outcome towards a more socially robust and sustainable solution. Finally, it aims at learning from the interaction how to optimise risk management addressing needs and expectations of the public and of other relevant stakeholders. In order to meet these objectives, factors of relevance for societal acceptance conditions are identified, described and analysed. Subsequently these factors are looked for in the real world of nuclear waste management through cases in several countries. The analysis is conducted for six stages of a repository programme ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Presented are some preliminary studies made in preparation for the design of a solar powered loop for desalination by humidification - dehumidification process. The studies concentrated on the evaluation of different parameters affecting the performance of the combination of different components in such a loop in the hope of outlining the most decisive factors for the choice or design of solar collectors or heat source. The results presented relate to the performance of two of the most important components in a loop of such purpose, that is: the humidifying and the dehumidifying columns or stacks. 4 refs.

Science.gov (United States)

Addresses factors affecting rural education in Tasmania (Australia), including population trends, financial support, student enrollment, socioeconomic status of rural residents, and geographic isolation. Issues that need to be addressed include the status of small schools in Tasmania, costs associated with transporting students, staffing, low student retention, and limited availability of special services. (LP)

Science.gov (United States)

Friction opposes tooth motion whenever sliding mechanics is employed. Understanding what friction is and how to manage it is of paramount importance to the successful practitioner. In this article, the coefficients of friction are summarized between different arch wire-bracket couples as a function of material, geometric, and external parameters. From this vantage point, friction can then be evaluated within the context of other factors that affect sliding-binding and notching. PMID:9573878

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper reviews the main studies on entrepreneurship conducted during the past two decades that are relevant for the understanding of various macroeconomic issues. I organize the discussion by distinguishing three groups of contributions. The first group includes studies whose main purpose is to understand the factors that affect the decision to become an entrepreneur. The second group includes studies that look at the aggregate and distributional implications of entrepreneurship for savings and investment. The third group deals with issues of economic development and growth.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a monogenic disease characterized by a high variability of disease severity and outcome that points to the role of environmental factors and modulating genes that shape the course...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The aim of this paper is to present and evaluate control strategies for adjustment and preservation of air quality, thermal and visual comfort for buildings' occupants while, simultaneously, energy consumption reduction is achieved. Fuzzy PID, fuzzy PD and adaptive fuzzy PD control methods are applied. The inputs to any controller are: the PMV index affecting thermal comfort, the CO{sub 2} concentration affecting indoor air quality and the illuminance level affecting visual comfort. The adaptive fuzzy PD controller adapts the inputs and outputs scaling factors and is based on a second order reference model. More specifically, the scaling factors are modified according to a sigmoid type function, in such a way that the measured variable to be as closer as possible to the reference model. The adaptive fuzzy PD controller is compared to a non-adaptive fuzzy PD and to an ON-OFF ...

Science.gov (United States)

Solid fuels such as coal, wood, and crop straw supply some fraction of household cooking and heating fuel for more than one billion people in China. As these fuels do not generally combust cleanly in household stoves, their use levies large health and environmental burdens, particularly in rural regions. Production of clean-burning fuels from agricultural residue offers one prospect for mitigating health and social burdens imposed by household use of solid fuels. This dissertation explores the question: how might production of clean-burning household fuels from agricultural residues affect human health and social conditions in rural China? I approach this question from three perspectives. First, a technically plausible but currently unproven village-scale energy technology is explored in a scenario bounded by natural resources and substantiated by engineering specifications, estimates of indoor exposures to air pollution, and epidemiological analyses. This analysis ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The aim of this study is to prepare some polymeric moulds using Natural rubber latex (NRL)- portland cement composites based on a delayed-action mechanism. Factors affecting the preparation process such as concentration, mixing percentage, additives and their effects on what is regarded as a delayed-action coacervant combination was studied. The effect of Gamma-radiation on the mechanical properties of these moulds was investigated. The effect of natural aging on the prepared moulds was investigated to determine the possibility of using the prepared product in the construction field as expansion joints and cracks filling materials ...etc. The results may be summarized as follows: 1) Composites of natural rubber latex (NRL)-portland cement mould were prepared as two separate parts. The stabilized natural rubber latex (NRL) with hydroxy ethyl cellulose (HEC) as stabilizer and a delayed-action coacervant (sodium meta silicate) present in the ...

Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)

Abstract in english The main objective of the research presented here is to relate anatomical features of wood species that affect the interactions between polymeric phases and performance of wood plastic composites (WPC). These interactions are related to the probable interlocking volume and surface area for stress transfer in a WPC. Composites were produced from different wood species and analyzed using SEM (scanning electron microscopy). Results showed that wood species with high interfac (more) ial areas may increase mechanical interlocking, reflected in the viscous constant of the Maxwell model. A complicating factor is that the relation of cell wall thickness-lumen diameter and the interconnectivity between wood cells in a wood, affect the potential for cell collapse. When wood cells collapse, the penetration of the thermoplastic into the wood structure is almost always ceased. The collapse of wood cells during ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper outlines an approach to develop estimates of individual customer contestability using a combined statistical and engineering analysis. The approach is targeted for use for mid-size commercial and industrial customers who are not being considered for individual flexible pricing contracts. Contestability is defined as the potential lost revenue associated with customers leaving the utility or significantly reducing electricity purchases. Contestability is modeled from the customer`s perspective using a two-stage decision process. In the first stage, the customer decides if he will continue to purchase electricity from the utility (referred to as customer retention), and in the second stage, the customer determines the amount of electricity purchased (referred to as load retention). Measures of individual customer contestability will be key factors in developing market segments and new rate ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study estimates the electricity demand function for the residential sector of South Korea with the aim of examining the effects of improved energy efficiency, structural factors and household lifestyles on electricity consumption. In the study, time series data for the period from 1973 to 2007 is used in a structural time series model to estimate the long-term price and income elasticities and annual growth of underlying energy demand trend (UEDT) at the end of the estimation period. The result shows a long-term income elasticity of 1.33 and a long-term price elasticity of -0.27% with -0.93% as the percentage growth of UEDT at the end of the estimation period. This result suggests that, in order to encourage energy efficiency in the residential sector, the government should complement the market based pricing policies with non-market policies such as minimum energy efficiency standards and public enlightenment. ...

Science.gov (United States)

Electric utilities have been surprised by recent opposition to the construction of very-high-voltage transmission lines, which met with little resistance in the past. Concerns over health and safety factors are associated with the increase in the number of such lines, although their presence has always been an inconvenience and a hazard for those living and working in the immediate vicinity. The new lines present additional hazards due to the continuous flow of small electric currents and the charges that build up in the area of the towers and lines. The lines are also a threat to persons wearing cardiac pacemakers. There is experimental evidence from the Soviet Union and the U.S. that electric and magnetic fields at the frequencies of such power lines can have serious biological effects on growth rates and the functioning of the central nervous system. Full disclosure that possible risks are involved ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper reported on a study that evaluated the energy consumption of cotton gins used in Australia. The average electricity use is 52.3 kWh per bale. In practicality, the electricity consumption for different gins is correlated linearly with the bale numbers produced. The cost of electricity is therefore important in cotton ginning operations. The power factor in all the gins monitored in this study was greater than 0.85. The study showed that the use of gas dryers was highly influenced by the cotton moisture and regulated drying temperature. In general, electricity and gas consumption comprised 61 and 39 per cent of total energy use respectively. The study showed that 60.38 kg of carbon dioxide are emitted for ginning each bale of cotton. This paper described a newly developed method for monitoring the energy performance in cotton gins. Detailed monitoring and analysis carried ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report is the first of four volumes that identify and assess the environmental, health, and safety issues involved in using sodium-sulfur (Na/S) battery technology as the energy source in electric and hybrid vehicles that may affect the commercialization of Na/S batteries. This and the other reports on recycling, shipping, and vehicle safety are intended to help the Electric and Hybrid Propulsion Division of the Office of Transportation Technologies in the US Department of Energy (DOE/EHP) determine the direction of its research, development, and demonstration (RD D) program for Na/S battery technology. The reports review the status of Na/S battery RD D and identify potential hazards and risks that may require additional research or that may affect the design and use of Na/S batteries. This volume covers cell design and engineering as the basis of safety for Na/S batteries and describes and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This article examines reported willingness to pay for electric utility investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency resources using the results of Deliberative Polls conducted by electric utilities in Texas. Age, education, and salary tend to affect reported willingness to pay for utility investments in these resources. Intensive exposure to information about energy resource issues led to an increase in the number of respondents interested in paying a modest premium to support investments in both renewable energy resources and energy efficiency. However, average reported premiums actually declined following the Polls, as very high outlier responses moved to more reasonable values following the Polls. These results support the contention that informed dialogue about energy alternatives will result in broader interest in providing a modest level of support for these resources. (author)

Science.gov (United States)

We present a Poincare covariant Faddeev equation, which enables the simultaneous prediction of meson and baryon observables using the leading order in a truncation of the Dyson-Schwinger equations that can systematically be improved. The solution describes a nucleon's dressed-quark core. The evolution of the nucleon mass with current-quark mass is discussed. A nucleon-photon current, which can produce nucleon form factors with realistic Q{sup 2} evolution, is described. Axial-vector diquark correlations lead to a neutron Dirac form factor that is negative, with r{sub 1}{sup nu}>r{sub 1}{sup nd}. The proton electric-magnetic form factor ratio falls with increasing Q{sup 2}.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In order to improve the capacity and service life of cathodes, the effect of carboxy-methyl cellulose, soot, silica gel and fibres was examined. Structural tests and electrical and electro-chemical measurements are used for this. The additives can affect crystallization in the manufacturing stage of the electrodes and can increase the storage capacity for water and the electronic conductivity. They act to stabilize the mass in cyclic operation. Soot additive has little effect on the properties of the electrode, but the other substances increase the service life or the use of the mass. (LU).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Transverse form factors have been extracted for the low-lying neutron hole (particle) states of /sup 207/Pb from inelastic-electron-scattering data. A systematic, multipolarity-and momentum-transfer-independent quenching of approx.55% in the transverse amplitude is observed when compared with single particle predictions for both electric and magnetic transitions. The magnitude of the observed effect is not readily explained by our present theoretical understanding of this nucleus.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Monthly Energy Review (MER) presents an overview of the Energy Information Administration`s recent monthly energy statistics. The statistics cover the major activities of US production, consumption, trade, stocks, and prices for petroleum, natural gas, coal, electricity, and nuclear energy. Also included are international energy and thermal and metric conversion factors. 37 figs., 61 tabs.

CERN Document Server

An S-brane solution with two non-composite electric branes and a set of l scalar fields is considered. The intersection rule for branes corresponds to the Lie algebra A_2. The solution contains five factor spaces with the fifth one interpreted as ``our'' 3-dimensional space. It is shown that there exists a time interval where accelerating expansion of ``our'' 3-dimensional space is compatible with small enough value of effective gravitational ``constant'' variation.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The penetrance of Lebers hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) in families with primary mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations is very complex. Matrilineal and nuclear genetic background, as well as environmental factors, have been reported to be involved in different affected pedigrees. Here we describe two large Chinese families that show a striking difference in the penetrance of LHON, in which 53.3% and 15.0% of members were affected (Pin vivo mitochondrial oxidative metabolism as described in a previous study. Evolutionary analysis failed to indicate any putatively pathogenic mutation that cosegregated with G11778A in these two pedigrees. Our results suggest that the variable penetrance of LHON in the two Chinese families is independent of both their mtDNA haplotype background and a seconda...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Some models anticipate that liberalized agricultural trade will lead to increased crop diversity, while other models make the opposite claim. These positions were explored in southwestern British Columbia, Canada where, between 1992 and 1998, government subsidies and other measures designed to protect horticultural farmers were lifted, exposing these farmers to foreign competition. Public hearings on the future of agriculture provided an opportunity to tap the knowledge and experience of people affected by this transition. Analysis of transcripts from these hearings, which was confirmed by industry data, shows that trade liberalization has led to the loss of the local fruit and vegetable processing industry. Stakeholders saw the loss as a major factor affecting the choice of crops grown lo...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Integrated Solar Upper Stage (ISUS) Program at the USAF Phillips Laboratory is directed at demonstrating a solar bimodal power and propulsion system for military applications. Trades were performed to examine the potential performance of the ISUS stage combined with the proposed LLV-3 launch vehicle. Variation in ISUS thermal power directly affects the trip time from LEO to GEO. These variations can be altered by changing average propellant temperature raising or lowering the average specific impulse. If the ISUS system is sized for the spacecraft`s electrical power requirements, this can result in long trip times for high mass satellites with low electrical power requirements. The ISUS can be sized, however, for a suitable thermal power to allow more rapid trip times with minimum impact on delivered mass. Such a system can place significantly more payload in GEO than a solid chemical stage. The mass advantages of the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper presents an analysis of the applicability of alternative systems for electric vehicle (EV) heating and air conditioning (HVAC). The paper consists of two parts. The first part is a cooling and heating load calculation for electric vehicles. The second part is an evaluation of several systems that can provide the desired cooling and heating in EVs. These systems are ranked according to their overall weight The overall weight is calculated by adding the system weight and the weight of the battery necessary to provide energy for system operation. The system with the minimum overall weight is considered to be the best, because minimum vehicle weight decreases the energy required for propulsion, and therefore increases the vehicle range. Three systems are considered as the best choices for EV HVAC. These are, vapor compression, ice storage and adsorption systems. These systems are evaluated, including calculations of system weight, system ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A conceptual hydrodynamic model in the Holocene and upper Pleistocene beneath the Louisiana wetlands is described in terms of safety distributions. Porewater safety is calculated from electrical measurements, including resistivity soundings, electric logs, and electromagnetic profiling. Electrical measurements support the primary, basin-wide groundwater flow model; however, the data also indicate secondary contributions from expulsion of fluids under geopressure along active growth faults and from original waters of deposition. Expulsion of water from growth faults has been described previously for deeper sections of the Pleistocene, but has not been reported for the Holocene or upper Pleistocene beneath the Louisiana wetlands. Porewater chemistry variations beneath the coastal wetlands are a consequence of the following (in order of importance): (1) environment of deposition; (2) a basin-wide, regional flow system; (3) ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

With using artificial neural networks (ANNs), an analytical study related to the heated length effect on critical heat flux (CHF) has been carried out to make an improvement of the CHF prediction accuracy based on local condition correlations or table. It has been carried out to suggest a feasible criterion of the threshold length-to-diameter (L/D) value in which heated length could affect CHF. And within the criterion, a L/D correction factor has been developed through conventional regression. In order to validate the developed L/D correction factor, CHF experiments for various heated lengths have been carried out under low and intermediate pressure conditions. The developed threshold L/D correlation provides a new feasible criterion of L/D threshold value. The developed correction factor gives a reasonable accuracy for the original database, showing the error of -2.18% for average and 27.75% for RMS, ...

International Science & Technology Center (ISTC)

Development of Frequency Controlled Electric Drives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This article identifies the imperatives behind the need to move away from teaching based on the transmission of a lot of facts to teaching that enables students to become lifelong learners. It reminds us that the over-riding goal is an education process that maximizes the ability of teachers to teach well and of students to learn effectively. It argues that the necessary reform process can only be successful if the three components of an education programme--the curriculum, teaching strategies and assessment--are reformed simultaneously to ensure that each is designed to produce more effective teaching and learning. It points to the literature that tells us what we know about factors affecting student behaviour and, in particular, notes the crucial factor of student perception of the requirement of the assessment regime. It recommends that Biggs' model of constructive alignment is used as the organizing principle ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Purpose - Mobile phones have provided an opportunity for banking institutions to introduce new services to the public. The latest service, which is now available in Malaysian banking institutions, is the mobile phone credit card. The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary investigation of the factors that determine whether Malaysia's bank customers will use the new mobile phone credit card technology. Design/methodology/approach - This paper extends the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM) to mobile phone credit cards and includes "perceived credibility (PC)", the "amount of information about mobile phone credit cards (AIMCs)" and "perceived expressiveness (PE)", in addition to "perceived usefulness (PU)" and "perceived ease of use (PEOU)". Findings - The resul...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The study was conducted during 2000 to determine the role of various chemical plant factors viz., total minerals, nitrogen, fat contents, carbohydrate, macro an micro nutrients in the leaves of five genotypes of sugarcane i.e., BF-162, SPSG-26, L-118, CP-43/33 and CP-72/2086 by correlating the infestation of top borer, Scirpophaga Nivella F. at tillering stage. None of the genotype was found completely resistant to the pest. CP-43/33 and BF-162 proved susceptible and resistant varieties, respectively. Total mineral, manganese and copper contents did not show significant correlation with the pest infestation, whereas nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium and ferrous contents played a positive and significant role. Phosphorous, carbohydrates, fats and zinc contents played a significant and negative effect on the pest infestation at tillering stage. (author)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) has been proposed several years ago as an approach for quantitative analysis of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy spectra. Recently developed refinement of the spectral processing method is described in the present work. Accurate quantitative results have been demonstrated for several metallic alloys. However, the degree of accuracy that can be achieved with Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy analysis of generic samples still needs to be thoroughly investigated. The authors have undertaken a systematic study of errors and biasing factors affecting the calculation in the Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy spectra processing. These factors may be classified in three main groups: 1) experi...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The thermal degradation and crystallisation behaviours of polyamide12/isotactic polypropylene (PA12/PP) blends were studied. Effects of blend ratio and compatibiliser concentration on the thermal degradation properties of the blends were analysed. The activation energy for degradation in compatibilised and uncompatibilised blends computed using Horowitz-Metzger equation was reported. The blend ratio as well as the presence of compatibiliser has significant effect on the thermal stability of the blends. Phase morphology was found to be one of the decisive factors that affected the thermal stability of both uncompatibilised and compatibilised blends. Melting and crystallisation behaviours of the blends in the presence and absence of compatibiliser were evaluated. It was observed that blendin...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study was initiated to provide empirical data and analyses on the dam passage timing, travel rate, survival, and life history variation of fall Chinook salmon that are produced in the Clearwater River. The area of interest for this study focuses on the lower four miles of the Clearwater River and its confluence with the Snake River because this is an area where many fish delay their seaward migration. The goal of the project is to increase our understanding of the environmental and biological factors that affect juvenile life history of fall Chinook salmon in the Clearwater River. The following summaries are provided for each of the individual chapters in this report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The various factors that affect the open-circuit voltage ([ital V][sub oc]) of a two-terminal GaInP[sub 2]/GaAs tandem cell are examined. These include a) an anomalous problem associated with the GaAs bottom cell and b) back surface passivation of the thin GaInP[sub 2] top cell. Solutions to these problems are presented and yield tandem [ital V][sub oc]s close to the practical theoretical limits.

Science.gov (United States)

Computer simulations of agricultural finance and management may be helpful to students preparing for agricultural careers. Simulations would provide problem definition and problem solving in realistic interactions with complex and ambiguous situations similar to those encountered in farming. The paper describes a major financial problem for farmers, explores the implications of that problem for students, and outlines a computer-based simulation model which would give students experience in dealing with the problem. Data sources for simulations, potentials of interactive exercises among students, and advantages of using real data with existing ambiguities are described. The board game "AGRICULTURE" is discussed as a prototype for simulation. (LFL)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A large acceptance, high stopping power Bragg curve spectrometer has been developed for use in coincidence experiments with heavy ions. The electron collection fields are radial and position information is obtained from a resistive anode. The detector is 60 cm deep and operates at pressures of up to 2.5 atm of P-10 gas. It is mated to a scattering chamber which allows it to be moved out of plane during coincidence measurements. Factors affecting the performance of the detector are discussed, and results obtained with the detector are presented. (orig.).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

There is increasing pressure to operate laboratory facilities in environmentally and financially sustainable ways. A key factor in achieving this goal is careful consideration of how energy is used by the buildings' ventilation system, both for conditioning air supplied to the laboratories and the energy used moving air through the building. Traditionally, laboratory energy use is treated as an engineering concern within the scope of the building's overall design and operation. However, this approach limits the involvement of key stakeholders in many important decisions and can lead to unexpected safety concerns for the laboratory's users. We believe that a broad view of the parties affected by a laboratory building's operations is necessary to avoid having the various stakeholders working...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To evaluate the success rates, long-term patency rates and factors affecting the patency rates of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty(PTA) and thrombolysis in the management of insufficient access during hemodialysis. Between January 1991 and March 1995, 37 insufficient shunts(23 native fistulae and 14 graft fistulae) were treated in 31 patients. PTA was performed in 24 shunts, and thrombolysis in 13;in seven of these latter, thrombolysois was followed by PTA. The success and long-term patency rates of PTA and thrombolysis were evaluated. Shunts were subdivided according to a patient's age, type and age of the shunt, and number and length of the stenosis, and the degree of residual stenosis and in each subgroup, patency rates was compared. The overall success rate of PTA and thrombolysis for insufficient hemodialytic access was 78.4%(29/37). The success rates of PTA and thrombolysis were 91.7%(22/24) and 53.8%(7/13), respectively. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The history of the technical, economic, and financial performances of these four countries' power companies over the past two decades is recounted, and then interpreted as the result of the existing organizational models. The changes that have occurred can be understood in long-term perspective by comparing the performance of these companies to the characteristics, rules, and objectives used to define the models, which also helps explain the history of performance indicator variations. Two models are defined: one for the physical plant and one for the management. These correspond to two successive phases in the organization and operation of the electrical sector. Rural electrification and regional interconnection will be important factors in any new model or models developed for the future, because the forms they take is likely to modify the characteristics of these national power companies. 26 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Voltage sag caused by faults on an electric power transmission line is one of the most intractable power quality issues for both utility companies and customers. The fault in power system randomly exists along transmission lines due to the combination of many uncertain factors. To predict and assess the annual expected sag frequency (ESF) deriving from the faults along lines, a stochastic based method that employs maximum entropy principle, namely the maximum entropy probability method (MEPM), has been introduced in this paper. Moreover, various types of faults have been considered systematically. With the fault line intervals and the sample moments taken into account, the discrete values of distribution probability of fault locations along the transmission lines have been estimat...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The study has analysed the effects of various factors on hydroelectric power generation potential to include climate change/variability, water demand, and installation of proposed hydroelectric power schemes in the Zambezi River Basin. An assessment of historical (1970?2000) power potential in relation to climate change/variability at existing hydro electric power schemes(Cahora Bassa, Kariba, Kafue Gorge and Itezhi-Tezhi) in the Zambezi River Basin was conducted. The correlation of hydroelectric power potential with climate change/variability aimed at observing the link and extent of influence of the latter on the former was investigated. In order to predict the future outlook of hydro electric power potential, General Circulation Models (GCM) were used to generate projected precipitation...

CERN Document Server

The available data of single X-ray pulsars, their wind nebulae, and the SNRs which are connected to some of these sources are analysed. It is shown that electric field intensity of neutron stars tears off charged particles from the surface of neutron star and triggers the acceleration of particles. The charged particles are accelerated mainly in the field of magnetodipole radiation wave. Power and energy spectra of the charged particles depend on the strength of the magnetodipole radiation. Therefore, the X-ray radiation is strongly dependent on the rate of rotational energy loss and weakly dependent on the electric field intensity. Coulomb interaction between the charged particles is the main factor for the energy loss and the X-ray spectra of the charged particles.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stationary target measurements of the nucleon form factors have been performed with high precision down to Q{sup 2} of {approx} 0.01 GeV{sup 2} for protons (G{sub E}{sup p}) and down to {approx} 0.1 GeV{sup 2} for neutrons (G{sub M}{sup n}). Conventional extraction using cross section and polarization measurement cannot be extended to very low values of Q{sup 2} due to inherent experimental limitations. We present a proposal for a new approach to a measurement, using colliding beams, which will extend the range of possible measurement at low Q{sup 2} by several orders of magnitude over stationary target limits.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The electric power consumption of electric cars and the demand they will pose on electric utilities are considered. The increased amount of travel will require more electric power in summer, while space heating makes larger demands in winter. This leads to nearly flat demand on electric utilities throughout the year. 5 refs.

CERN Document Server

We report on the spectral cross-calibration results of the Konus-Wind, the Suzaku/WAM, and the Swift/BAT instruments using simultaneously observed gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). This is the first attempt to use simultaneously observed GRBs as a spectral calibration source to understand systematic problems among the instruments. Based on these joint spectral fits, we find that 1) although a constant factor (a normalization factor) agrees within 20% among the instruments, the BAT constant factor shows a systematically smaller value by 10-20% compared to that of Konus-Wind, 2) there is a systematic trend that the low-energy photon index becomes steeper by 0.1-0.2 and Epeak becomes systematically higher by 10-20% when including the BAT data in the joint fits, and 3) the high-energy photon index agrees within 0.2 among the instruments. Our results show that cross-calibration based on joint spectral analysis is an important step to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pyrolysis of Greek fir wood samples in a fluidized bed reactor was studied. The experimental conditions selected control the yield of gaseous, liquid and solid products. The factors examined were: pyrolysis temperature, mean particle size, pressure, residence time of volatiles, lignin content of biomass and moisture content. The experiments were performed on the basis of a 12-run Plackett-Burman fractional factorial design. Statistical analysis of the data showed that the pyrolysis temperature is the main factor affecting the distribution of the yields of liquids, their phenolic fraction and gases in the range of experimental conditions tested. Empirical expressions were obtained from linear regression giving the yields of liquids, phenols and gases in terms of temperature. The maximum predicted yields were 56 and 12 wt.% on a moisture-free basis at 520 C and 545 C for liquids and phenols, respectively. The yield of gases ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Superconducting magnetic and inertial energy pulsed power systems are being developed for future theta-pinch, Tokamak, and laser fusion applications. The short term requirements for these applications are discussed along with present day accomplishments. Areas requiring a research and development effort are examined in detail. Subjects discussed include stresses, energy loss factors, conductor metallurgy, cryogenic requirements, and electrical limitations of superconducting magnetic storage systems; costs, applications, and present technology of homopolar systems; and switching problems associated with both systems.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The near-term availability of domestic and selected foreign uranium resources for use by United States electric utilities is considered in light of projected geopolitical and socioeconomic considerations. No attempt is made to analyze the impact on domestic uranium supply of inflation or cost-price considerations, the introduction of the breeder reactor, limitations in enrichment capacity, or the presently expanding uranium inventory. All data are current as of mid-1980. The period with which this research is concerned is 1980-1995. It is concluded that the United States must promote responsible, environmentally acceptable uranium resource exploration and development, if this nation is to remain self sufficient in this necessary energy commodity.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

High conductivity liquid waste, which is produced in nuclear power plants, is now processed with radwaste evaporator. The concentrated liquid waste in the evaporator is so highly radioactive and corrosive that the improvement on maintenability and reduction of exposure dose rate are desirable as well as high decontamination factor (DF). Fuji Electric constructed the improved experimental facility of evaporator and carried out an experiment to demonstrate DF, maintenability and controllability of system. As the results, DF, maintenability and controllability were proved to be excellent and its applicability to nuclear power plant was well established.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Current light water reactor (LWR) steam generators have been affected by a variety of corrosion and mechanical damage degradation mechanisms. Included are wear caused by tube vibration, intergranular corrosion, pitting, and thinning or wastage of the steam generator tubing and accelerated corrosion of carbon steel supports (denting). The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Steam Generator Owners Groups (I, II) have sponsored laboratory and field studies to provide ameliorative actions for the majority of the damage forms experienced to date. Some of the current corrosion mechanisms are aggravated or caused by unique materials choices or materials interactions. New materials have been proposed and at least partially qualified for use in replacement model steam generators, including an advanced LWR design. In so far as possible, the materials choices for the advanced LWR steam generator avoid the corrosion pitfalls seemingly inherent ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To evaluate the predictive factors for treatment response and prognostic factors affecting survival outcomes after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma. Medical records of forty two patients with histologically confirmed analsquamous cell carcinoma, who had complete CCRT between 1993 and 2008, were reviewed retrospectively. Median age was 61.5 years (39-89 years), and median radiotherapy (RT) dose was 50.4 Gy (30.0-64.0 Gy). A total of 36 patients had equal to or less than T2 stage (85.7%). Fourteen patients (33.3%) showed regional nodal metastasis, 36 patients (85.7%) were treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus mitomycin, and the remaining patients were treated by 5-FU plus cisplatinum. The median follow--up time was 62 months (2-202 months).The 5-year overall survival, locoregional relapse-free survival, disease-free survival, and colostomy-free survival rates were 86.0%, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A preliminary investigation was conducted on ion specific membranes. This investigation concentrated on testing candidate organic compounds for transporting cesium ions through a membrane composed of the organic compound supported on a substrate. Solid PVC membranes were initially tried, but were found to be too slow. Thereafter, only liquid membranes were tested. These were faster and cesium concentration factors up to 2.96 were achieved in a single membrane cell. A cell with two membranes achieved a cesium concentration factor of 4.19. Cesium precipitation with sodium tetraphenyl borate in high sodium concentrations was explored. No interference from sodium was found until the sodium nitrite concentration reached 4.5 moles. Concurrently, cesium concentrations as high as 5.4 g/L were precipitated. Potassium tetraphenyl borate is being investigated for use in exchange columns for the removal of cesium from solutions. Initial investigations show ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The latest electronic circuit technology that can be used for the electric railway traction system fed by an AC/DC dual power line was developed. This system consists of reverse conducting GTO thyristors, microprocessors, and DSP`s. In the AC power supply line section, the line converter is controlled by PWM technology to secure a high power factor and reduce the higher harmonic generation of an input current as far as possible. The line converter and motor converter use reverse conducting GTO thyristors. Since these converters are cooled using a heat pipe cooler, they are reduced in size and weight. The electric grounding point of the main power circuit is set to the negative side of the DC line for AC and DC line sections. Therefore, the AC/DC selector switch was simplified in structure. Moreover, the DC input for the auxiliary power supply can be obtained from multiple line converters using diodes. As the result of the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Fresnel solar collector is a promising concept to reduce the electricity cost price in solar thermal power plants. The optical performance of a Fresnel collector depends on material properties, on its geometric layout and on the level of optical accuracy that can be obtained. A variety of geometric parameters, e.g. the height of the absorber, the number, size and distance of primary mirrors in.uence the shading and blocking of rays and the amount of rays missing the absorber. To evaluate the in.uence of the parameter variation regarding the electricity cost price and to yield an optimization, the optical performance is assessed with an annual simulation based on hourly weather-data. To permit a consideration of changes in collector cost according to different geometric layouts, cost factors where allocated to geometric parameters. The paper presents the method and the simulation results of the optimization under ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A multi-faceted research program has been performed to investigate in detail several aspects of free and forced convective cooling of underground electric cable systems. There were two main areas of investigation. The first one reported in this volume dealt with the fluid dynamic and thermal aspects of various components of the cable system. In particular, friction factors for laminar flow in the cable pipes with various configurations were determined using a finite element technique; the temperature distributions and heat transfer in splices were examined using a combined analytical numerical technique; the pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of cable pipes in the transitional and turbulent flow regime were determined experimentally in a model study; and full-scale model experimental work was carried out to determine the fluid dynamic and thermal characteristics of entrance and exit chambers for the cooling oil. The second major ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A conceptual design of an advanced sodium/sulfur cell for US electric-van applications has been completed. The important design factors included specific physical and electrical requirements, service life, manufacturability, thermal management, and safety. The capacity of this cell is approximately the same as that for the ``PB`` cell being developed by Silent Power Limited (10 Ah). The new cell offers a 50% improvement in energy capacity and nearly a 100% improvement in peak power over the existing PB cells. A battery constructed with such cells would significantly exceed the USABC`s mid-term performance specifications. In addition, a similar cell and battery design effort was completed for an advanced passenger car application. A battery using the van cell would have nearly 3 times the energy compared to lead-acid batteries, yet weigh 40% less; a present-day battery using a cell specifically designed for this car would ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The establishment of the domestic market in Europe requires rules for the assignment of orders, with which a standardization of the rules of competition can be achieved and with which a discrimination of individual bidders can be prevented. Clients and contractors of power station equipments equally are affected by the definitions for the assignment of orders. The contribution under consideration is a regulation for the procurement of steam turbine systems. It is a supplement of the European standard DIN EN 45510:1998. The regulation integrates the former terms of delivery of association of the electricity industry (VDEW) for steam turbines as well as the collection and evaluation of a multiplicity of experiences of the VGB regulations.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Introduction: Research indicates that music can affect heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conductance. Music can stimulate central emotions in the brain and release biochemical materials that change the physiologic state. We sought to compare changes in the electrical function of the heart in response to music. Method: Subjects were asked to listen to 2 types of music, namely, sedative and arousal music, in conjunction with two 30-second periods of complete silence. The experiment was conducted in 4 segments: the first and third parts were silence, and the second and fourth parts were music. First, the response to each type of music was compared with that to the preceding period of silence. Next, the responses to both types of music were compared. Finally, the response to music regardles...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Work on the coke oven gas cleaning demonstration project (CCT-11) this quarter has focused on Phase IIB tasks, and include engineering, construction, and training. Additionally, plans for changes in the operating schedule of the coke plant that affect the demonstration project are described. The project Milestone Schedule and Log is shown. Planned Baseline Supplemental Monitoring activities described in the Environmental Monitoring Plan were completed. Testing of the mechanical systems began in June, 1991. The cold commissioning date has been moved back from October 1, 1991 to November 1, 1991 to allow float for miscellaneous finish-up items beyond the electrical contractor`s projected completion date of October 31, 1991.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper discusses how specialized techniques for machine condition monitoring can help to eliminate false alarms and undetected faults, leading to a truly cost effective predictive maintenance program. It is vital to base the monitoring system on the parameter which will give the most useful information about potential faults and breakdowns. This parameter is generally agreed to be vibration. While oil debris analysis and variations in temperature, geometry and machine speed can all give advance warning of faults, no other parameter can reveal as wide a range of fault types as vibration. The vibration transducers job is to accurately and faithfully convert the vibration into an electric signal for assessment. If this part of the system is weak, reliability will be badly affected. Data integrity is crucial.

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The penetrance of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) in families with primary mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations is very complex. Matrilineal and nuclear genetic background, as well as environmental factors, have been reported to be involved in different affected pedigrees. Here we describe two large Chinese families that show a striking difference in the penetrance of LHON, in which 53.3% and 15.0% of members were affected (P < 0.02), respectively. Analysis of the complete mtDNA genome of the two families revealed the presence of the primary mutation G11778A and several other variants suggesting the same haplogroup status G2a. The family with higher penetrance contained a previously described secondary mutation G13708A, which presents a polymorphism in normal Chinese samples and does not affect in vivo mitochondrial oxidative metabolism as described in a previous study. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quantitative ecological risk assessment (ERA) is a means whereby the risk posed by a toxicant in any system can be evaluated by comparing the distribution of its measured or modelled concentrations (water quality data (WQD)) with available information on the range of concentrations that are known to adversely affect biota within that, or similar, habitats (dose-response data (DRD)). Initially, the WQD are compared with regulatory criteria (e.g. ANZECC and ARMCANZ, 2000). If they fail this test, then, on the assumption that both data sets comprise subsets of the entire range of concentrations, probability density functions are derived assuming a standard distribution form a typically log-normal. In this paper, AQUARISK has been used to estimate the risk posed by copper in effluent from the Rum Jungle mine site, pre- and post-remediation, and the proportion of taxa likely to be affected in the East Branch (EB) of the Finniss River downstream of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Nuclear Safety Commission acknowledged the policy of the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy to cope with these important matters on August 8, 1984. The main contents of the investigation and deliberation were as follows, As to the prevention of the occurrence of fires, the prevention of the leak and spread of inflammable liquid and gas, the installation of protective relays and so on, the use of incombustible materials and aseismatic design and the installation of lightning arresters. As to the detection of fires and fire fighting, the proper selection and arrangement of fire detectors and extinguishers, the extinguishers which do not harm the safety function of structures and equipment, and the extinguishers which are not affected by natural phenomena. As to the reduction of the effect of fires, the proper installation of fire walls and extinguishers, and the high temperature shut off of nuclear reactors which is never hampered by any fire. (Kako, I.).

Science.gov (United States)

The objective of the study was to investigate neuronal processing during the encoding, retention and retrieval phases of a serial visual working memory task. Particularly, we were interested in how these phases are affected by working memory load and how processing is modulated by methylphenidate. Healthy adults were asked to memorize the order of four, five or six pictures under methylphenidate (20mg) and under placebo while brain electrical activity was recorded. On the performance level, the number of correct responses decreased with increasing working memory load. Concerning brain electrical activity, in the encoding phase P3 amplitudes increased at midline electrodes with increasing memory load while load had no effect in the retention and retrieval phase. Medication neither influenced performance nor the different processing stages significantly. Our data provide evidence that during the encoding phase more ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Probabilistic assessment methods can be used to identify specific plant vulnerabilities. Application of such methods can also facilitate selection among system design alternatives available for safety enhancements. The quality of assessment results is however strongly dependent on realistic and accurate input data for modelling of system component behaviour and failure modes during conditions to be assessed. Use of conservative input data may not lead to results providing guidance on safety upgrades. Adequate input data for probabilistic assessments seems to be lacking for at least failure modes of some electrical components when exposed to a fire. This report presents an attempt to improve the situation with respect to such input data. In order to take advantage of information in existing documentation of fire incident occurrences some of the lessons learned from the fire at Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant on March 22, 1975 are discussed in this report. Also a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

With regard to polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), there is few scientific knowledge on the emission patterns into the environment and exposure pathways to humans, and basic information is insufficient to consider what measures effective are. For the purpose of promoting risk reduction of target substances more effectively and efficiently, it is desirable to comprehend accurately the causal chain from the target substances utilization to the risk intake, and to evaluate the measures covering the whole applications of target substances. As the existing researches on the PBDE emission inventory, there are EU risk assessment report (European Chemical Bureau 2000, 2002, 2003), Danish EPA (1999), Palm et al.(2002) and Alcock et al. (2003). In addition, emissions of DecaBDE are published in TRI (Toxic Release Inventory) of US EPA. However, the primary information of the previous inventories is often the same and estimations based on the measured values are few. In light of the situation, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Although the public generally hold positive attitudes towards wind energy, proposals for the construction of new wind farms are often met with strong resistance. In New Zealand, where the government has recently introduced ambitious policy targets for renewable energy generation, negative perceptions of wind farms are increasingly evident and have the potential to prevent the achievement of these targets. This research sets out to examine what influences social resistance to wind farms in New Zealand. Drawing from public submissions on three wind farm proposals, a framework developed by Devine-Wright [Devine-Wright, P., 2005a. Beyond NIMBYism: towards an integrated Framework for Understanding Public Perceptions of Wind Energy. Wind Energy 8, 125-139.] was used as the basis for identification of factors affecting public perceptions of wind farms. The research found firstly that there was no apparent relationship between the proximity of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oil/electric heating systems and energy measuring instrumentation were installed in 50 houses in Deep River, Ontario. These were operated and monitored for two heating seasons to demonstrate their performance and determine the percentage oil placement as a function of heater capacity and control system. All experimental data was stored and processed by computer. It was found that oil furnace utilization efficiency varied from 48 to 59% for an average of 53.5%. Oil displacement ranged from 49 to 83% for 2.5 and 5.0 kW electric heaters controlled by two-stage indoor thermostats. Fuel costs for oil/electric hybrid heating, with 5.0 kW plenum heaters and indoor two-stage thermostats, were 20% less than for oil heating, based on average furnace efficency and 1983 January retail fuel prices. Annual load factors above 37% were achieved for plenum heaters compared to 11.9% for all-electric ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Water repellency en the microstructure super-hydrophobic cured surface is important for research and industrial purposes. This microstructure film can be cured on polyethylene terephthalate PET surface by electron beam (EB) at different irradiation doses 10-100 kGy. The microstructure formulation composed from hydrophobic acrylate oligomer (EB 244) and monomer (SR 440). The irradiation induced cross linking of the prepared microstructure was proved by FTIR spectroscopy and the adhesion force by abrasion test. Some factors affecting the adhesion force of the prepared microstructure film such as oligomer/monomer composition ratio and the thickness of the microstructure cured film were studied. The contact angles (8) were measured on cured surfaces before and after adding the super hydrophobic nanoparticles (Zonyl 9361). The super-hydrophobic cured surface showed the self-cleaning property. The volume of water droplet affected ...

CERN Document Server

Neutrino emission drives neutron star cooling for the first several hundreds of years after its birth. Given the low energy ($\\sim$ keV) nature of this process, one expects very few nonstandard particle physics contributions which could affect this rate. Requiring that any new physics contributions involve light degrees of freedom, one of the likely candidates which can affect the cooling process would be a nonzero magnetic moment for the neutrino. To illustrate, we compute the emission rate for neutrino pair bremsstrahlung in neutron-neutron scattering through photon-neutrino magnetic moment coupling. We also present analogous differential rates for neutrino scattering off nucleons and electrons that determine neutrino opacities in supernovae. Employing current upper bounds from collider experiments on the tau magnetic moment, we find that the neutrino emission rate can exceed the rate through neutral current electroweak interaction by a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This technology development plan is designed to provide a clear understanding of the research and development direction necessary for the qualification of nuclear grade graphite for use within the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) reactor. The NGNP will be a helium gas cooled Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) with a large graphite core. Graphite physically contains the fuel and comprises the majority of the core volume. Considerable effort will be required to ensure that the graphite performance is not compromised during operation. Based upon the perceived requirements the major data needs are outlined and justified from the perspective of reactor design, reatcor performance, or the reactor safety case. The path forward for technology development can then be easily determined for each data need. How the data will be obtained and the inter-relationships between the experimental and modeling activities will define the technology development for graphite R&D. Finally, the ...

CERN Document Server

This study compares the spatial characteristics of industrial R&D networks to those of public research R&D networks (i.e. universities and research organisations). The objective is to measure the impact of geographical separation effects on the constitution of cross-region R&D collaborations for both types of collaboration. We use data on joint research projects funded by the 5th European Framework Programme (FP) to proxy cross-region collaborative activities. The study area is composed of 255 NUTS-2 regions that cover the EU-25 member states (excluding Malta and Cyprus) as well as Norway and Switzerland. We adopt spatial interaction models to analyse how the variation of cross-region industry and public research networks is affected by geography. The results of the spatial analysis provide evidence that geographical factors significantly affect patterns of industrial R&D collaboration, while in the public ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This document describes the contents of a digital climatological data set that may be used by raster or vector geographic information systems (GISs). The primary focus of the data set is the quantification of the occurrence of synoptic storms and other climatological factors that affect coastlines. However, recent demands for new and/or improved climatologies of storm events as well as an increase in the availability of source data have made it useful to extend the domain of most of the data variables to that of regional and/or global coverage. The expansion of the data makes the data set applicable in several areas of climatic research. The data set contains eight data groups. Spatial coverage of data varies by data group. All data groups except one are referred to 1{degree} {times} 1{degree} or 5{degree} {times} 5{degree} grid cells of latitude and longitude. (Data group (3) is referenced by state.) 19 refs., 12 figs., 26 tabs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Using a set of six baboons (Papio cynocephalus), the authors conducted a series of seven experiments designed to evaluate the potentially aversive character of a 60 Hz electric field (EF). Initially, the subjects were trained, using food rewards as the reinforcer, to respond only when a cue light was illuminated. Next, an EF was presented along with the cue light; responses produced delivery of a food pellet and turned off both the cue light and the EF. Then, stimulus and reward conditions were varied. The authors determined that (1) presence of a strong EF does not affect operant responding for food rewards, (2) subjects will not respond at normal rates when the only reinforcer is termination of a strong EF, (3) presence of a strong EF can serve as a discriminative stimulus, (4) presence of a strong EF does not affect extinction of an appetite-motivated task, and (5) presentation of an EF can become a secondary reinforcer. ...

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Projektist Elektromobiilne Eesti 2020

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

There are many factors affecting diffusion bonding in order to obtain high quality joining. Therefore, in the beginning, we constructed diffusion bonding model based on void growth mechanism to predict bonding pressures and times. In addition, in order to compare theoretical values with experimental values, diffusion bonding tests were carried out by using commercial AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets with different grain sizes, 16 and 130 {mu}m. The present AZ31 alloys were successfully diffusion bonded at several conditions, and the bonding strength was more than 0.8 of each parent materials. The experimental bonding conditions in high quality joining, times and pressures, were good agreed with prediction analysis. (orig.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) analysis of the correlations between initial brain uptake and structure parameters, for example lipophilicity F_r, molar refractivity MR and electronic parameters #sigma#_1 of the "9"9Tc"m-N_2S_2 complexes have been studied with multiple regression analysis method. The main structural factors which affect the initial brain uptake of this kind of brain imaging agents have been discussed. The results may give some theoretical information for designing new brain imaging agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In the world of pipeline maintenance, there are pigs and there are intelligent pigs. Intelligent pigs, when launched into a pipeline, carry instrumentation onboard which enables them to gather and record information about problems such as denting, corrosion, and cracking. More basic pigs, on the other hand, look after the routine internal maintenance chores such as cleaning and swabbing, or else perform operational duties such as batching different types of product along the line. The harsh environment in which pigs often operate is described. Aside from the mechanical shocks they undergo when passing welds, bends, and other fittings, they may have to contend with hostile conditions such as hydrogen sulfide environments. High pressure is another factor to consider. In crude oil lines, significant paraffin deposits also can cause problems if they affect the sensors ability to maintain good contact with the pipe wall. In spite of these ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract The overstory of the jarrah forest is dominated by Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) with a smaller proportion of Marri (Corymbia calophylla). There are also several smaller tree species in the areas where Alcoa mines. Alcoa's restoration aims to restore all these species at densities similar to the unmined forest. This paper describes the establishment, survival, and growth of these trees with particular focus on Jarrah. Factors affecting the growth and form of Jarrah are also discussed. Establishment of Jarrah from seed in restored sites is variable (mean 10%), and once established, survival is high over two summer droughts (96%) and still high (mean 83%) after about a decade regardless of the presence of the Jarrah dieback disease Phytophthora cinnamomi. High establishment densitie...

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Environmental radon monitoring activities at the DOE Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP) have been conducted extensively since the early 1980`s. Monitoring has been conducted at ambient concentration levels (< 1 pCi/L Rn-222), inside buildings, and at significantly elevated levels (hundreds of thousands pCi/L Rn-222) within the K-65 silo that store concentrated radium bearing wastes. The purpose of this paper/presentation is to present and discuss some of the difficulties encountered/solutions (e.g. reliability, detection limits, affects of environmental factors, data transfer, etc.) that have been discovered while taking measurements using both alpha track-etch passive integrating detectors and alpha scintillation real-time detectors. A short summary and conclusion section is provided following each topic presented.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Improved radionuclide generator include a substantially insoluble salt of a radioactive parent which may be directly packed in column for subsequent elution of the daughter radionuclide. An improved 188Re generator was prepared by reacting a radioactive tungsten (188W) as parent radionuclide incorporated with aluminum chloride to obtain an insoluble radioactive aluminum tungstate matrix. The investigated matrix was characterized on the basis of the chemical composition, IR, thermal analysis and mechanical stabilities. The factors affecting the elution performance were studied such as influence of pH, molar ratio and drying temperature. From the obtained data, the molar ratio W:Al was 1.5:1 at pH?=?4, the matrix dried at 105??C for 2 h. Chromatographic and multichannel analysis has been cur...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A novel composite charged mosaic membrane (CCMM) was prepared via interfacial polymerization (IP) of polyamine [poly(epichlorohydrin amine)] and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on the polyethersulfone (PES) support. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and water contact angle analysis were applied to characterize the resulted CCMM. The FT-IR spectrum indicates that TMC reacts sufficiently with polyamine. ESEM and AFM pictures show that the IP process produces a dense selective layer on the support membrane. The water contact angle of the CCMM is smaller than that of the substrate membrane because of the cross-linked hydrophilic polyamine network. Several factors affecting the IP reaction and the performan...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Objectives Vietnamese patients? views on healthcare are changing as surgical interventions become more commonplace, but their views on perioperative care have remained largely unstudied during this period of rapid change. This study assesses Vietnamese patients? impression of anesthesia safety and postoperative pain in relation to clinical outcomes with the aim of improving patient-centered perioperative care. Methods The study cohort consisted of 180 hospitalized patients who were followed for 24?h following abdominal surgery. The assessments of these patients on the use of anesthesia and postoperative pain were measured by means of a 5-point Likert scale survey. Perioperative events were recorded on standardized forms by medical staff. The relationship between relevant factors affecting ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A central composite design was employed to optimize the extraction of pectin with citric acid. The independent variables were citric acid concentration (0.086-2.91% w/v) and extraction time (17-102min). The combined effect of these variables on the degree of esterification was investigated. Results have shown that the generated regression models adequately explained the data variation and significantly represented the actual relationship between the independent variables and the responses. Besides that, the citric acid concentration was the most important factor to affect the degree of esterification, as it exerted a significant influence on the dependent variable. Lower citric acid concentration increased the pectin degree of esterification. The surface response showed the relationships b...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In this study, Nylon 66/Polyester (Ny 66/PET) hybrid cord design and production was investigated to obtain new cord with better performance than conventional cord. The factors affecting cord properties and cord production process were examined. Taguchi design of experiment method was implemented in order to minimize the required number of experiments. Different sets of 4 reference cords conventionally used in tyre industry were prepared and resorcinol-formaldehyde-latex (RFL) treated in order to make a comparison of performance. Mechanical and thermal properties of hybrid cords were measured and compared with the values of reference cords. It was found that the twist level of high modulus PET component in the hybrid cords should be the same or above of the nylon in order to obtain maximum ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the various models or simulations for predicting drug release from bulk-degrading systems. A brief description of bulk degradation processes and factors affecting the degradation rate, and consequently the release kinetics, is presented first. Next, several important classical models, often used as the basis for subsequent model development, are discussed. Both mathematical models and Monte-Carlo based simulations have been developed for controlled release from bulk-degrading systems. The mathematical models can be further subdivided into two categories. First, the diffusion-based models whose transport mechanism is mainly governed by diffusion, but with degradation-dependent diffusion coefficients. These are generally simpler and easier...

Science.gov (United States)

To quantify the opportunities for natural gas and identify technological advances needed to capture such opportunities, the mineral-wool industry was analyzed with respect to the principal companies, their capabilities, and markets. The mineral-wool industry is stable with a slightly declining market. Of its market segments, only commercial acoustic insulation (which is currently dominant) is likely to be affected by growth in the next ten years. The principal process is based on treatment of blast-furnace slags in a cupola furnace using coke as the fuel and reducing agent. Expanded use of gas, as a substitute for coke, would eliminate environmental problems and expand the latitude of suitable raw materials. The study provides insights into the mineral-wool industry and identifies factors that may constitute bases for future usage of natural gas.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

AISI 316L stainless steel was welded by the electron beam (EB) and laser techniques. Microstructural characteristics, hardness profile, creep rupture properties and creep damage of the welds were investigated. Fully austenitic microstructure was obtained in the two welds. The solidification structure of the welds consisted of the cellular and equiaxed dendrites. The creep rupture lives of the two welds were almost the same, and they were reduced by a factor of about two compared to the base metal. Moreover, the rupture elongation of the welds was lower than that of the base metal. Creep damage was observed in the ''parting'' region of the welds and in the heat-affected zone (HAZ), respectively. Final creep fracture occurred in the ''parting'' region of the welds. (orig.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MRI diagnosis for malignant tumors are made possible by direct comparison to the results obtained by the brain and it seems possible to differentiate malignant tumors from other benign lesions. Cystic lesions, and mycotic sinusitis sometimes resemble malignant tumors in MR Image. In the present report, we investigated the relationships between the biochemical contents of cystic lesions and NMR-parameters to clarify why some inflammatory lesions appeared similar to malignant tumors in MRI. The variation of relaxation time depends upon the amount of protein in the cystic contents and the amount of glucose affects the relaxation time. We conclude that NMR-parameters are useful for the differential diagnosis of malignant tumors, cystic lesions and mycositic sinusitis by using the multiple variation analysis.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Methods for improving the sensitivity of scintillation cells for radon concentration measurements were studied with emphasis on improving light collection efficiency. This allows the length and hence the volume of the cell to be increased. Variables studied were choice of scintillator material, its method of application and thickness, length of cell, cell material, type and configuration of reflectors, choice of photomultipliers, and factors affecting background. Response from various areas of the cell surface was studied with an alphy source and with radon filling. Coating the window with phosphor was found to be counter-productive. The optimum results obtained were with the inside of the cell (other than the window) covered with a thick layer of ZnS(Ag), or with a thick layer of reflective material coated with a thin layer of phosphor. With it, a 10 cm diameter plexiglass cell can be extended to at least 50 cm length without difficulty from ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The Sulige gas field and the Yulin gas field are located in the north of the Ordos Basin. Reservoir pressure in the Sulige area is subnormal, whereas reservoirs in the Yulin area have normal hydrostatic pressure. This paper provides an explanation of this difference. The characteristics of reservoir sediment and formation water chemistry in the gas reservoirs of these two areas were analyzed. The results showed that both reservoirs have good sealing ability. Data of numerical simulation showed that tectonic uplift resulted in a great reduction in formation pressure in the northern Ordos Basin during the late Cretaceous period, and the decrease was greater in the Yulin gas field than in the Sulige gas field. However, because the total hydrocarbon-generating intensity of the Sulige area (<24...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A linear diffusion model serves as the basis for determination of an effective radon diffusion coefficient in concrete. The coefficient was needed to later allow quantitative prediction of radon accumulation within and behind concrete walls after application of an impervious radon barrier. A resolution of certain discrepancies noted in the literature in the use of an effective diffusion coefficient to model diffusion of a radioactive gas through a porous medium is suggested. An outline of factors expected to affect the concrete physical structure and the effective diffusion coefficient of radon through it is also presented. Finally, a field method for evaluating effective radon diffusion coefficients in concrete is proposed and results of measurements performed on a concrete foundation wall are compared with similar published values of gas diffusion coefficients in concrete. (author).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Purpose: The DBA/2J mice have been used as an animal model for human pigmentary glaucoma. However, these mice develop various degrees of disease symptoms at different ages, making it difficult to detect pathological changes of retinal degeneration at glaucoma onset. The purpose of this study is to develop a non-invasive assay to identify individual mice that develop visual deficits. Materials and Methods: We apply two behavioral tests, a swimming test of visual discrimination and a test of optomotor response, to identify glaucomatous DBA/2J mice. We then examine whether the elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP), the common risk factor for glaucoma, affects visual performances of the DBA/2J mice. We further compare the retinal ganglion cell death, one of the signature glaucoma symptoms, i...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An overview of climatic factors and impact relative to river ice engineering and science is presented. An explanation of the fundamentals of climatic change is followed by a review of direct and indirect climatic influences that govern river ice breakup and related trends. Known responses of river ice to climatic change and potential future changes to ice breakup processes are described along with the probable ecological and socio-economic consequences of these changes. Changes in engineering approaches to accommodate the present ice regime and predicted changes in climatic variables that affect river ice processes and reduce the vulnerability of infrastructure and ecosystems to climatic change are examined. Future research on the links between river ice and stream ecology is suggested to identify ecological concerns that may result from changes in river ice regimes induced by climatic change. 60 refs., 3 figs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The emittances of hydrogen and deuterium negative ion beams produced by volume ion sources have been measured in a transverse plane normal to the beam trajectory. The extraction voltage was varied from 10 to 40 kV, and the transverse magnetic field in the Penning discharges was varied from 0.1 to 0.2 T. Measurements were made on beams with current densities up to 60 mA/cm/sup 2/ at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with an emittance scanner originally developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The beam profile at the scanner can be used to improve the accuracy of the emittance measurements. Other factors affecting emittance measurements are discussed. This analysis may be applicable to other ion sources. 6 figs.

CERN Document Server

This paper presents an application of the state of the art and new trends for risk management of safety-related control and monitoring systems, currently applied in the industry. These techniques not only enable to manage safety and reliability issues but they also help in the control of quality and economic factors affected by the availability and maintenance of the system. The method includes an unambiguous definition of the system in terms of functions and a systematic analysis of hazardous situations, undesired events and possible malfunctions. It also includes the identification and quantification of the risk associated to the system. The required risk reduction is specified in terms of safety integrity levels. The safety integrity level results in requirements, preventive measures, possible improvements and recommendations to assure the satisfactory management of the risk.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corrosion is said to be the most dominant factor which affects the physical life of ships and offshore structures. In order to secure the structural safety of ships and offshore structures, it is necessary to take measures to corrosion based on the prediction of condition of progressive corrosion. But such prediction is difficult because the behavior of corrosion`s progress is probabilistic. In this paper, probabilistic model, which could evaluate the degradation of coatings and the successive corrosion of steel members, was proposed in order to explain the tendency of the actual corrosion conditions of existing ships. Then, statistical inferences on the proposed model were made by applying the actual data on plate thickness measurements of Bulk Carriers` Cargo Hold. And validity of the proposed model was verified.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Several materials, lenses, dry bearings and cables were exposed to a tritiated moisture environment to study the behavior of tritium contamination on candidate materials for ITER remote handling equipment. To optimize the tritium removal procedure, decontamination experiments using a gas purge with three different moisture concentrations were also performed. The surface tritium concentrations of CeO_2 containing alkaline barium glass (NB), CeO_2 containing lead glass (LX) and synthetic quartz (Quartz) after the exposure experiments were 7.80, 10.94 and 0.67 Bq/cm"2, respectively. It was found that the tritium concentration was influenced by the compositions of the materials. The concentrations of tritium on type 831 (solid lubrication material: graphite) and type 237 (solid lubrication material: tungsten disulfate) dry bearings after the exposure experiments were 89.80 and 31.78 Bq/cm"2, respectively. The tritium concentration in an electric cable tested was 5014 ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

It is well known that one of the main advantages of the high speed forming (HSF) processes is the improvement in the forming limits of the used materials.Using the Electromagnetic Forming (EMF) technology two materials have been tested with different mechanical and physical properties: the AA5754 aluminium and the AZ31B magnesium alloys.The EMF process principle can be described as follows: A significant amount of electrical energy is stored in a bank of capacitors which are suddenly discharged releasing all the stored energy. This electric discharge runs through a coil which generates an intense transient magnetic field. At the same time transient Eddy currents are induced in the electrically conductive part placed some millimetres far from the coil. Another intense magnetic field is generated due to those Eddy currents but on the opposite direction as the one generated by the coil. A big magnetic repulsion force is ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoogenstraaten's heating rate method has generally been considered as a reliable method for determining thermoluminescence trapping parameters of first order glow peaks. However, experience has shown that in some cases the deviation between the heating rate method and glow curve fitting method can be quite significant (considering only the linear part of the heating rate plot, of course). In this study it is shown that one of the main reasons for this deviation can be a systematic increase of a temperature lag between the measured and real temperature of the sample with increasing heating rate. It appears that this systematic increase of the temperature lag affects the method in the range of low heating rates (linear part of the heating rates plots) more than has been previously realised. The effect of the temperature lag on Hoogenstraaten's heating rate method is a decrease in activation energy and frequency factor and is more important for ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH`s) are ubiquitous hydrophobic organic pollutants in the marine environment. Many of the PAM`s are classified as possible carcinogens or mutagens, therefore they are of considerable concern to human and environmental health. The highest concentrations are found in coastal regions due to anthropogenic activities including oil spills, tanker operations, incomplete fossil fuel combustion and runoff. The sources and distribution of PAM`s in sediments are fairly well known, while the fate and transport of PAH`s in the marine environment are less known. Desorption is an important factor influencing the fate and transport of hydrophobic molecules at the seawater/sediment interface. The desorption of PAH`s from contaminated marine sediments to the water column/pore water affects the availability of the pollutant to biota. The sorption of PAH`s is determined in part by the organic carbon content of the sediments. The ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In 1995, 25,8 % of the world electricity consumption was of nuclear origin, while in the EU this figure is increased up to 50,6 %. In order to maintain and even to increase its share in the electricity generation, Nuclear Energy needs to achieve a good economic performance as a base load source when compared with its competitors, basically coal and gas fired plants. Fossil-fired generation costs have declined over the past ten years, mainly due to lower fossil fuel prices. This factor together with the recently observed tendency of higher discount rates to be applied are challenging the attractiveness of the nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is a capital intensive option. Taken into account extensive standardization programs has been established aiming at cost reductions as well as to increase efficiency of nuclear energy utilization, among their main purposes. Externalities play an important role, as they are already ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this paper an analysis will be performed to assess the economical competitiveness of Nuclear Power against other base load technologies. There are several plans to build more nuclear power plants in western countries; these plans are result among other things of the fossil fuel high prices and the concern for the global warming. France started the construction of one EPR at Flamanville in 2007 and at the end of 2008 there were 17 applications before NRC for construction and operation licenses (COL) to build as much as 26 new reactor units in USA, among the designs selected are the US-EPR, APWR, ESBWR, ABWR and AP1000. Currently, there is a lot of uncertainty about what is the overnight cost for a new generation III nuclear power plant and the vendors are not providing too much information. However, it is expected that under the new economy conditions the overnight cost will be between 2500 and 3500 USD/kW, the output electricity power of the units mentioned ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The response of MOS capacitors to low- and medium-energy x-ray irradiation is investigated as a function of gate material (TaSi or Al), oxide thickness, and electric field. Measured device response is compared with predictions based on discrete ordinates and Monte Carlo code simulations of dose enhancement effects, coupled with recent estimates of electron-hole recombination in MOS oxides. In comparisons of 10-keV x-ray and Co-60 irradiations of Al-gate MOS capacitors at an oxide electric field of 1 MV/cm, it is found that predictions and experiments agree to within better than 20 percent for oxide thicknesses ranging from 35 to 1060 nm. For capacitors having TaSi/Al gates, predictions and experiments agree to within better than 30 percent at 1 MV/cm, with the largest differences occurring for 35-nm gate oxides. At other electric fields, the disagreement between experiment and prediction increases significantly for both Al- ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To many, recent developments in electric markets are perplexing. Competition has appeared, often in the form of new players who do not own and operate generation or transmission facilities. Yet, these players happily enter into contracts obliging them to make or take delivery of power at set prices for months or even years into the future. They seem unconcerned about predicted capacity shortages, fuel price uncertainty or unpredictable plant outages. For the most part, these new players understand these risks quite well. They simply believe in the efficacy of markets. Until recently, price ensured recovery of cost. They foresee a true market where price makes supply equal demand and cost is not a factor in the short term at least. The appearance of such players is an augury of the new industry structure, one in which specialists in taking and managing distinct business risks evolve from within or enter from outside. They take and manage price ...

Science.gov (United States)

Context: The Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 allowed some rural hospitals meeting certain requirements to convert to Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and changed their Medicare reimbursement from prospective to cost-based. Some subsequent CAH-related laws reduced restrictions and increased payments, and the number of CAHs grew rapidly. Purpose: To examine factors related to hospitals' decisions to convert and time to CAH conversion. Methods: Eighty-nine rural hospitals in Iowa were characterized and observed from 1998 to 2005. Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify the determinants of time to CAH conversion. Findings: T-test and one-covariate Cox regression indicated that, in 1998, Iowa rural hospitals with more staffed beds, discharges, and acute inpatient days, higher operating margin, lower skilled swing bed days relative to acute days, and located in relatively high density counties were more likely to convert later or not convert before 2006. ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The core bypass flow in a prismatic very high temperature gas-cooled reactor (VHTR) is one of the important design considerations which impacts considerably on the integrity of reactor core internals including operating fuels. The interstitial gaps are an inherent presence in the reactor core because of tolerances in manufacturing the blocks and the inexact nature of their installation. Furthermore, the geometry of the graphite blocks changes over the lifetime of the reactor because of thermal expansion and irradiation damage. The occurrence of hot spots in the core and lower plenum and hot streaking in the lower plenum (regions of very hot gas flow) will be affected by the bypass flow. In the present study, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) calculations of a typical prismatic VHTR are conducted to understand better the bypass flow phenomenon and establish the evaluation method in the reactor core using commercial CFD code FLUENT. Parametric ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The hydromechanical effect of hydroelectric stations on zooplankton is customarily regarded as a constantly acting and comparatively harmless factor, since its destruction is inevitable when water masses are passed through hydroelectric stations, but its capacity for restoration is high (i.e., destruction of the zooplankton of the forebay is compensated by its production in the after bay). It is not known how correct such an opinion is, or what is the true balance of losses and reproduction of zooplankton in the forebays and after bays of hydroelectric stations. However, hydroelectric plants of a new type, pumped-storage plants, have been constructed in recent years and others are planned for the Dnieper reservoirs. The operational principle and purpose of these plants is that they employ special vertical turbine-electric pumps that pump water at night from the reservoirs into pumped-storage facilities at high levels, and then release this ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The supply of electronic instrumentation and controlling (I and C) equipments in Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station depends on importation up to now, however, reliable supply of spare parts is presently threatened by many factors. Consequently, Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station tries to localize these equipments. According to a survey, China has possessed the ability to undertake the research, development and production of the I and C system in nuclear power independently. We propose that localization should firstly starts with the production of replacement board and parts for analogical I and C system, gradually leads to the substitution of system cabinet units, and finally realize the independent research, development and production of advanced digital main control system. A series of prominent problems of producing nuclear grade I and C equipments are focused on the designing, manufacturing, testing and reliability evaluation. In this paper, technical procedures, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The changes in the electrical and structural properties of metal-silicide films caused by ion implantation and subsequent thermal annealing have been investigated. Epitaxial silicide films such as those of CoSi/sub 2/, NiSi/sub 2/ and Pd/sub 2/Si grown on Si(111) substrates were implanted with Ar ions and annealed in a vacuum furnace at temperatures ranging from 200 to 800/sup 0/C. Rutherford backscattering and channeling techniques and the four-point probe method were used to measure the crystalline quality and the sheet resistance of the films, respectively. It was found that the sheet resistances of CoSi/sub 2/, NiSi/sub 2/ and Pd/sub 2/Si films were increased by factors of 70, 6, and 3, respectively, by implantation to a dose of 1 x 10/sup 16/ Ar-ions/cm/sup 2/, but that they were almost restored by subsequent annealing to the values before implantation. A phase transformation from Pd/sub 2/Si to PdSi was also observed in the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Exposure control at the operating Nuclear Power Station is a major concern. TAPS Unit-4 is the first Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor of 540 MWe electrical capacity. This unit was made critical on March 6, 2005. In-depth review of radiation safety was done to identify the impact of design modification on dose rates at various locations and on the equipment's. Problems encountered in controlling the dose rates in 220 MWe electrical are eliminated by appropriate design modifications. Due to higher capacity of the unit there are design changes in major systems such as reactor core, primer heat transport system, moderator system, reactor regulation and protection systems. Reactor operations and maintenance activities during shut down contributes to exposure of the employees. Based on the experience gained in the operation of 220 MWe, design modifications incorporated in TAPS unit-4 and dose rate measurements carried out at 90 % full power, through ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We have performed inelastic neutron scattering (INS) experiments on CeRh_3B_2 at various temperatures to obtain direct information on the crystal electric field (CEF) in this compound, which exhibits some very peculiar magnetic properties for a Ce system: it is ferromagnetic with an unusually high Curie temperature (115 K), which contrasts with a strongly reduced and anisotropic magnetization (0.4 #mu#_B/fu within the c-plane of the hexagonal structure). Measurements with high incident energies show only one well defined magnetic excitation around 150 meV, its exact position varying with the temperature. These results, combined with our previous data of magnetization and magnetic form factor, have permitted us to determine the CEF energy level scheme taking into account the two J multiplets of the Ce"3"+ ion. Information on the ground state (quasielastic contribution and ground state moment) has also been obtained by experiments at low incident ...

Science.gov (United States)

This fact sheet summarizes the potential impact of climate change as it relates to California's electricity supply. ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Climate change and limited primary energy resources require indigenous renewable electricity generation options to change the current coal-dominated power source matrix in China. The wind power is such a solution for the above challenges, and it still has large space for improvement in China. In this paper several critical factors related to Chinese wind power were studied in details, including the wind resources, the wind turbine industry and the policies from the Chinese government. Based on the study, the perspective of wind power in China was discussed. With outstanding advantages, the offshore wind power has a bright future in China, so its main characteristics are discussed. Based on the discussions, suggestions were given to improve the development of Chinese wind power, and the gov...

CERN Document Server

We discuss three possible ways to address quantum physics behind chiral magnetic effect and electric charge fluctuation patterns in heavy ion collisions. The first one makes use of P-parity violation probed by local order parameters, the second considers CME in quantum measurement theory framework and the third way is to study P-odd * P-odd contributions to P-even observables. In the latter approach relevant form-factor is extracted and computed for weak magnetic field in confinement region and for free quarks in strong field regime. It is shown that the effect is negligible in the former case. We also discuss saturation effect - charge fluctuation asymmetry for free fermions reaches constant value at asymptotically large fields.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The design of a global steady-state thermal model of a 100kWt molten salt cavity receiver was developed as part of the key project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of People's Republic of China (MOST). In the design process, the following factors were analyzed: receiver area, heat loss (convective, emissive, reflective and conductive), number of tubes in the receiver panel, tube diameter and receiver surface temperature. The model was also used to calculate the receiver performance of the Sandia National Laboratories' molten salt electric experiment (MSEE). In addition, the thermal performance of the designed molten salt cavity receiver is presented for a fixed outlet flow rate and a fixed output temperature.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Increase in power utility loads in industrialized countries, as well as developing countries, demands a higher level of transmission line voltage. Radio interference (RI) problems have been determined to be a limiting factor in selecting the size of transmission line conductors. Transmission line noise is primarily caused by corona discharges in the immediate vicinity of the conductor. It has been observed that discharges occur during both half-cycles of the applied voltage, but positive corona is usually predominant at AM radio frequencies range with practical high-voltage and extra high-voltage transmission lines. The corona radio noise effect is highly dependent upon the presence of particles on the surface of the conductor and the increase of the electrical gradient beyond the breakdown value of the air. Therefore, corona radio noise varies significantly with the weather and atmospheric conditions and generally increases by 10 to 30 dB in ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Increase in power utility loads in industrialized countries, as well as developing countries, demands a higher level of transmission line voltage. Radio interference (RI) problems have been determined to be a limiting factor in selecting the size of transmission line conductors. Transmission line noise is primarily caused by corona discharges in the immediate vicinity of the conductor. It has been observed that discharges occur during both half-cycles of the applied voltage, but positive corona is usually predominant at AM radio frequencies range with practical high-voltage and extra high-voltage transmission lines. The corona radio noise effect is highly dependent upon the presence of particles on the surface of the conductor and the increase of the electrical gradient beyond the breakdown value of the air. Therefore, corona radio noise varies significantly with the weather and atmospheric conditions and generally increases by 10 to 30 dB in ...

CERN Document Server

We study 1-loop effects for massless Dirac fields in two spatial dimensions, coupled to homogeneous electromagnetic backgrounds, both at zero and at finite temperature and density. In the case of a purely magnetic field, we analyze the relationship between the invariance of the theory under large gauge transformations, the appearance of Chern-Simons terms and of different Berry's phases. In the case of a purely electric background field, we show that the effective Lagrangian is independent of the chemical potential and of the temperature. More interesting: we show that the minimal conductivity, as predicted by the quantum field theory, is the right multiple of the conductivity quantum and is, thus, consistent with the value measured for graphene, with no extra factor of pi in the denominator.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary Modern society all over the world depends on information and communication technology (ICT); and security of supply with ICT is an important location factor. In times of increasing anonymity, which makes us more and more dependent on public services such as emergency supports (emergency organizations), communication is existential. Communication also plays an important role for a good functioning of economy and industry, in the course of shorter production and storage times. The usage of ICT is taken for granted. However, the modern society's use of ICT is profoundly dependent on the public power supply. Particularly in highly industrialized countries like e.g. Austria, the ICT sector requires about 10% of the total electric energy demand. One third of these 10% is estimated to be ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The national energy research programme LVIS-2000: Future Building Services is concerned with the control of energy use and indoor climate in buildings of the future. The projects were presented at a one day seminar arranged by the Laboratory of Heating and Ventilation of the Technical Research Centre in Finland which is coordinating the programme. The presentations at the seminar were: Impurity emission from materials, Building materials and indoor air quality, analysis of organic compounds in indoor air, effect of the return air, effect of the return air on health and comfort, electric heating as an indoor climate factor, calculations of air flows in ventilated rooms, effect of energy saving measures on hospital hygiene, application of modern aerosol measurement technique on indoor climate research.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The intermediate valent behaviour of YbPd_2Si_2 has been studied under pressure in the temperature range from 1.2 K to 90 K by using the 84 keV Moessbauer transition in "1"7"0Yb. At 54 kbar and 4.2 K we obtain an increase of the electric field gradient (EFG) by a factor of #approx =# 3. In addition, the EFG varies strongly with temperature, in contrast to the behaviour at ambient pressure. At 1.2 K a change of the hyperfine pattern is observed indicating a magnetic character of the Yb ion. These results provide evidence of a pressure induced change of the valence state close to 3+. (orig.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

New York State Electric and Gas Co. (NYSEG) has developed a tool called Coal Quality Engineering Analysis (CQEA) to evaluate the cost impacts of coal quality on its power plants. CQEA allows quantification of the effect of coal quality on plant operating costs and has become an important factor in coal purchasing. The article describes the development of the analysis method, including a logic diagram of CQEA relationships. The results of CQEA calculations on the impact of one coal on overall production costs of different units, the impact of different coals on overall production costs of one unit, and production cost vs. coal quality, are presented and discussed. The use of the CQEA system within NYSEG is described.

Science.gov (United States)

A new algorithm for the design of decentralized output feedback stabilizers for large-scale electric power systems is presented in this paper. In the proposed approach, the generators which are most effective for stabilizer applications are first identified by using participation factors. Then an efficient algorithm based on decentralized pole assignment is proposed for the determination of the parameters of the power system stabilizers which, due to the difficulty associated with the communication among the geographically dispersed generating stations in a large power system, are essentially decentralized compensators using local generator outputs as their feedback signals. The proposed method is computationally efficient and can be applied to any large-scale system. The simplicity and effectiveness of the proposed method are demonstrated by an example of stabilizer design for a practical power system.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

As part of Pilot Project of KIP of CAS, a feasibility study of hydrogen production system using biomass residues is conducted. This study is based on a process of oxygen-rich air gasification of biomass in a downdraft gasifier plus CO-shift. The capacity of this system is 6.4 t biomass/d. Applying this system, it is expected that an annual production of 480 billion N m{sup 3} H{sub 2} will be generated for domestic supply in China. The capital cost of the plant used in this study is 1328/(N m{sup 3}/h) H{sub 2} out, and product supply cost is 0.15/N m{sup 3} H{sub 2}. The cost sensitivity analysis on this system tells that electricity and catalyst cost are the two most important factors to influence hydrogen production cost. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A radioactive Waste Incineration System (WIS) with suspension combustion is noticed as effective volume reduction technology of low level radiactive wastes that are increasing every year. In order to demonstrate the decontamination efficiency of ceramic filter used on WIS, this test has been carried out with the test facilities as joint research of Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) and Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. Miscellaneous combustible waste and power resin, to which 5 nuclides (Mn-54, Fe-59, Co-60, Zn-65, Cs-137) were added, were used as samples for incineration. As the result of the test, it was verified that Decontamination Factor (DF) of the single stage ceramic filter was usually kept over 10/sup 5/ for every nuclide, and from the results of above DF, over 10/sup 8/ is expected for real commercial plant as a total system. Therefore, it is realized that the off-gas clean up system of the WIS composed of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The objective of this study was to analyze the industrial demand for energy in seven Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries with particular emphasis on fuel substitution between oil, natural gas, coal, and electricity. Changing fuel demand also results from economic growth, changes in industrial structure, and changes in the energy intensity of industrial output. A historical analysis of these factors and fuel substitution is undertaken for industry as an aggregate, and for 12 specific industries. The major results of the historical analysis are: (1) fuel use changes are a result of fuel switching, changing energy intensity, changing industrial structure, and economic growth; (2) fuel substitutability depends upon fuel use. The three fossil fuels are substitutes in the industrial heat market, but there are numerous special industrial processes where a particular fuel is required; (3) large substitutions have ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

After a long period of stagnation in the UK, Europe and the USA, there is now a real expectation that new nuclear plants will be under construction shortly. Several factors have contributed to this change of position in the UK: the growing realisation that effective action is needed to offset greenhouse gas emissions; higher prices for fossil fuels; increasing reliance on overseas supplies of oil and gas; the limitations of wind and wave power and distribution; security of supply; the gradual realisation in the deregulated electricity generation market that nuclear power is competitive and the pending closure of most of the UK's nuclear fleet within less than 15 years. All these factors have led to a reversal of the UK Government's attitude to nuclear power, which has now ruled in favour of allowing a new generation of nuclear plants being built. This paper summarises some of the arguments that have led to this decision and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The use of n-alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayers on gold has blossomed in the past few years. These systems have functioned as models for common interfaces. Thiolate monolayers are ideal because they are easily modified before or after deposition. The works contained within this dissertation include interfacial characterization (inbred reflection absorption spectroscopy, ellipsometry, contact angle, scanning probe microscopy, and heterogeneous electron-transfer kinetics) and various modeling scenarios. The results of these characterizations present ground-breaking insights into the structure, function, and reproducible preparation of these monolayers. Surprisingly, three interfacial properties (electron-transfer, contact angle, and ellipsometry) were discovered to depend directly on the odd-even character of the monolayer components. Molecular modeling was utilized to investigate adlayer orientation, and suggests that these effects are adlayer structure specific. Finally, the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This supplement is published once a year as a complement to the Short- Term Energy Outlook, Quarterly Projections. The purpose of the Supplement is to review the accuracy of the forecasts published in the Outlook, make comparisons with other independent energy forecasts, and examine current energy topics that affect the forecasts. Chap. 2 analyzes the response of the US petroleum industry to the recent four Federal environmental rules on motor gasoline. Chap. 3 compares the EIA base or mid case energy projections for 1995 and 1996 (as published in the first quarter 1995 Outlook) with recent projections made by four other major forecasting groups. Chap. 4 evaluates the overall accuracy. Chap. 5 presents the methology used in the Short- Term Integrated Forecasting Model for oxygenate supply/demand balances. Chap. 6 reports theoretical and empirical results from a study of non-transportation energy demand by sector. The empirical analysis involves the short-run energy ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Focused ion beam (FIB) milling is a powerful and versatile tool for the maskless fabrication of structures and devices at micro- and nanometer scales. The approach is based on the milling and deposition capabilities of a focused ion beam, where the latter is achieved by ion-beam-assisted decomposition of a metalorganic gas precursor of the specific material that has to be deposited. The combination of FIB and scanning electron microscopy in the same unit (so-called dual-beam unit) further expands the capabilities of the approach by the possibility of performing electron-beam-assisted deposition and inspection. Permalloy nanowires with electrical contacts patterned by FIB-Pt deposition were prepared in the dual-beam unit. Various types of notches to pin magnetic domain walls were additionally fabricated by means of FIB. The fabrication parameters for a structural modification of the Permalloy structures without too strongly affecting the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Work on this coke oven gas cleaning demonstration project (CCT-II) this quarter has been focused on Phase IIB tasks, and include engineering, procurement, construction, and training. Additionally, plans for changes in the operating schedule of the coke plant that affect the demonstration project are described. Engineering efforts are nearly complete. Remaining to be finalized is an assessment of electrical heat tracing/insulation needs for pipe lines, assessment of fire protection requirements, and instrument modifications. Procurement of all major equipment items is complete, except for possible additions to fire fighting capabilities. Major focus is on expediting pipe and structural steel to the project site. Civil construction is complete except for minor pads and bases as required for pipe supports, etc. Erection of the hydrogen sulfide and ammonia scrubber vessels is complete. Installation of scrubber vessel internals is underway. A ...