allowed an initial assessment of ADS-33 handling quality requirements for an aircraft of this ...... then executing 180 or 360 degree turns in an attempt to ...
Mar 2, 2011 ... CCT's software is capable of simultaneously handling incoming ... has been using CCTK to automate its remote control rocket cryogenic fueling systems. ... seismic, infrared, and proximity sensor data with auto-tracking ...
The periodic mode is analyzed together with two conventional boundary handling modes for particle swarm. By providing an infinite space that comprises periodic copies of original search space, it avoids possible disorganizing of particle swarm that is induced by the undesired mutations at the boundary. The results on benchmark functions show that particle swarm with periodic mode is capable of improving the search performance significantly, by compared with that of conventional modes and other algorithms.
A monolithic micromachined waveguide device or devices with low-loss, high-power handling, and near-optical frequency ranges is set forth. The waveguide and integrated devices are capable of transmitting near-optical frequencies due to optical-quality sidewall roughness. The device or devices are fabricated in parallel, may be mass produced using a LIGA manufacturing process, and may include a passive component such as a diplexer and/or an active capping layer capable of particularized signal processing of the waveforms propagated by the waveguide.
The objective of this study is to develop a method to aid in the selection of an overburden handling system in surface coal mining. The selection procedure consists of three major parts. The first part is aimed at rating the equipment's potential to perform the environmental protection related activities and then integrating this rating into the system selection process. The second part is an engineering analysis of the design of pit layouts and the operation of alternative overburden handling systems. The third part consists of a cost and sensitivity analysis of alternative systems on different mining situations. Specifically, the work includes: (1) a Delphi study to determine the magnitude of the environmental impacts and to quantify the relationship between mining practices and environmental remedies, (2) a scoring model to set up an index of the relative capability of equipment to do the environmental ...
A laboratory model of a TPV generator in the kilowatt range was developed and tested. It was based on methane/oxygen combustion and a spectrally matched selective emitter/collector pair (ytterbia emitter-silicon PV cell). The system demonstrated a power output of 2.4 kilowatts at an overall efficiency of 4.5{percent} without recuperation of heat from the exhaust gases. Key aspects of the effort include: (1) process development and fabrication of mechanically strong selective emitter ceramic textile materials; (2) design of a stirred reactor emitter/burner capable of handling up to 175,000 Btu/hr fuel flows; (3) support to the developer of the production silicon concentrator cells capable of withstanding TPV environments; (4) assessing the apparent temperature exponent of selective emitters; and (5) determining that the remaining generator efficiency improvements are readily defined combustion ...
PURPOSE We wanted to assess computer capabilities in a primary care practice-based research network and to understand how receptive the practices were to new ideas for automation of practice...Full Text Available
Computer software for risks assessment of transportation of important freight has been developed. It incorporates models of transport accidents, including terrorist attacks. These models use, among the others, unput data of cartographic character. Geographical information system technology and electronic maps of an area are involved as an instrument for handling this kind of data. Fuzzy set theory methods as well as standard methods of probability theory have been used for quantitative risk assessment. Fuzzy algebraic operations and their computer realisation are discussed. One preliminary example of risk assessment is described. (authors)
The continuing rapid increase in available computing power has not reduced the importance of efficient methods of optical system assessment for automatic lens design. On the contrary, the new capabilities simply show that truly automatic optical design wi...
The imaging analytical capabilities of laser scanning cytometer (LSC) have been used to assess morphological features considered to be typical of the senescent phenotype. The characteristic “flattening”...Full Text Available
The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF)is a 400 MW (th) sodium-cooled fast flux test reactor located on the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. The FFTF is operated by the Westinghouse Hanford Company for the United States Department of Energy. The FFTF is a three loop plant designed primarily for the purpose of testing full-scale core components in an environment prototypic of future liquid metal reactors. The plant design emphasizes features to enhance this test capability, especially in the area of the core, reactor vessel, and refueling system. Eight special test positions are provided in the vessel head to permit contact instrumented experiments to be installed and irradiated. These test positions effectively divide the core into three sectors. Each sector requires its own In-Vessel Handling Machine (IVHM) to access all the core positions. Since the core and the in-vessel refueling components are submerged under sodium, all ...
A diffuse-reflectance capability for the Fourier transform infrared spectrometer at the Y-12 Plant Laboratory has been implemented. A sample cell with a 25 to 400/sup 0/C temperature-controlled sample stage and an ultrahigh-vacuum-to-atmospheric pressure gas-handlingcapability has been developed. Absorbance of light from the spectrometer beam, resulting from the beam being scattered from a powder sample, can be measured. This capability of detecting molecular species on and in powders is to be used to study chemisorption on actinide and rare-earth metals, alloys, and compounds. Cell design is described along with experiments demonstrating its performance in detecting moisture absorption on uranium oxide, moisture and carbon dioxide absorption on the lithium hydride/hydroxide system, and carbon dioxide absorption on potassium borohydride. 13 figures.
This report describes the work performed during FY 1995 by Pacific Northwest Laboratory in developing and optimizing analysis techniques for identifying organics present in Hanford waste tanks. The main focus was to provide a means for rapidly obtaining the most useful information concerning the organics present in tank waste, with minimal sample handling and with minimal waste generation. One major focus has been to optimize analytical methods for organic speciation. Select methods, such as atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, were developed to increase the speciation capabilities, while minimizing sample handling. A capillary electrophoresis method was developed to improve separation capabilities while minimizing additional waste generation. In addition, considerable emphasis has been placed on developing a rapid ...
The study presented in this thesis is a contribution toward improving the reliability of Metallized Polypropylene Film (MPPF) capacitors achieved by a better design. A temperature distribution in the roll is assumed with the aim of optimizing its thermal performance. It appears that the heating of long capacitor is higher than that of equivalent flat capacitor subjected to the same electric stresses. Standard accelerated aging tests (temperature and voltage) of MPPF capacitors have been performed with the aim to evaluate the dielectric performance and thus the capacitor lifetime. The statistical approach showed that the failure mode may be represented by two parameter Weibull distribution and the experimental approach proved that long capacitor deteriorates faster than a plate-shaped having the same features. Although capacitors with long geometry seem to have a poor pulse handling performance, we found that the quality of the, end-edge contact is strongly ...
In order to improve the handlingcapability of red mud, it is mixed with fine-grain coal material such as brown coal or lignite in dust form, in a ratio by weight of between 0.5-10:1. The liquid present in the red mud is bound by the very fine coal admixed therewith so that the resulting mixture can be stored in a silo and even pneumatically conveyed, and the oily properties of the red mud are removed by the treatment. The mixture is particularly suitable for use in connection with the hydrogenating liquefaction of coal in which the red mud is used as a catalyst.
In the context of safety assessment of radioactive waste repositories, complex radionuclide transport models covering key safety-relevant processes play a major role. In recent Swiss safety assessments, such as Kristallin-I, an important drawback was the limitation in geosphere modelling capability to account for geosphere heterogeneities. In marked contrast to this limitation in modelling capabilities, great effort has been put into investigating the heterogeneity of the geosphere as it impacts on hydrology. Structural geological methods have been used to look at the geometry of the flow paths on a small scale and the diffusion and sorption properties of different rock materials have been investigated. This huge amount of information could however be only partially applied in geosphere transport modelling. To make use of these investigations the 'PICNIC project' was established as a ...
The issues of the geothermal resource at Brady's Hot Springs are dealt with: the prospective supply of feedstocks to the ethanol plant, the markets for the spent grain by-products of the plant, the storage, handling and transshipment requirements for the feedstocks and by-products from a rail siding facility at Fernley, the probable market for fuel ethanol in the region, and an assessment of the economic viability of the entire undertaking.
During one year more than 40,000 items of information on radiation exposure of personnel involved in the handling of radiation sources and more than 5,000,000 items on irradiation of other people are collected in the authors' laboratory. Considerable progress in assessment of mean annual gonad dose of genetically sifnificant dose was attained by means of an algorithm for a personal computer. This simple and inexpensive system has led to a higher accuracy in the application of protective measures. (author).
Computer software for risk assessment of transportation of important freight has been developed. It incorporates models of transport accidents, including terrorist attacks. These models use, among the others, input data of cartographic character. Geographic information system technology and electronic maps of a geographic area are involved as an instrument for handling this kind of data. Fuzzy set theory methods as well as standard methods of probability theory have been used for quantitative risk assessment. Fuzzy algebraic operations and their computer realization are discussed. Risk assessment for one particular route of railway transportation is given as an example. (author)
The Predictive Capability Maturity Model (PCMM) is a new model that can be used to assess the level of maturity of computational modeling and simulation (M&S) efforts. The development of the model is based on both the authors experience and their analysis of similar investigations in the past. The perspective taken in this report is one of judging the usefulness of a predictive capability that relies on the numerical solution to partial differential equations to better inform and improve decision making. The review of past investigations, such as the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model Integration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Department of Defense Technology Readiness Levels, indicates that a more restricted, more interpretable method is needed to assess the maturity of an M&S effort. The PCMM addresses six ...
Fires and explosions have been identified as major potential hazards for Oil and Gas Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) installations and pose risk to personnel, assets, and the environment. Current fire and explosion assessment (FEA) tools require physical effect modeling software and follows standards from API, ISO, and engineering practices. However, the tools are not specific to any particular system such as an FPSO, and do not provide comprehensive guidance for safety engineers to perform FEA. This paper discusses the development of a screening and comparison tool for FEA on FPSOs and the incorporation of an expert system into the tool. The results are computerized using MS Excel/VBA to provide a structured and comprehensive assessment on each equipment and module handling ...
The accident assessment under emergency situation includes the accident status evaluation and its consequence estimation. This paper introduces evaluation methods for accident status and its assistant computer system (SESAME-GNP) utilized during the emergency situation in Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station (GNPS) in detail. At the same time, an improved accident consequence estimation system in GNPS (RACAS-GNP) is briefly described. With the improvement of the accident assessment systems, the capability of emergency response in GNPS is strengthened
The purpose of the Ocean FUSRAP Program, which began in March 1981, is to assess the technical, environmental, and institutional feasibility of disposing, in the ocean and on the ocean floor, of FUSRAP waste which contains traces of natural radioactive materials. The initial planning has focused on the Middlesex, New Jersey, Sampling Plant site and surrounding properties, which contain on the order of 100,000 metric tons of material. The Belgian Congo uranium ore and other uranium ores used by the United States were handled at the sampling plant site and have since been removed.
This report is a description of the West Valley Demonstration Project`s radioactive waste storage facility, the Chemical Process Cell (CPC). This facility is currently being used to temporarily store vitrified waste in stainless steel canisters. These canisters are stacked two-high in a seismically designed rack system within the cell. Approximately 300 canisters will be produced during the Project`s vitrification campaign which began in June 1996. Following the completion of waste vitrification and solidification, these canisters will be transferred via rail or truck to a federal repository (when available) for permanent storage. All operations in the CPC are conducted remotely using various handling systems and equipment. Areas adjacent to or surrounding the cell provide capabilities for viewing, ventilation, and equipment/component access.
We present ANAPPRES V1.0, the first version of a computerized expert system capable of analyzing constant- and variable-flowrate interference tests, in which there is one active well and an arbitrary number of observation wells, in liquid-saturated homogeneous reservoirs. ANAPPRES successfully couples mathematical models, optimization techniques, heuristic knowledge and computerized graphics, a combination not often found in published expert systems. Its main advantages are that it is user friendly, requires essentially no experience on the part of the analyst, eliminates subjectivity associated with earlier techniques of analysis, can handle complex cases and large data sets, completes the analysis of even the most complex cases (including plotting the results) in one run, and is significantly faster than a human expert.
This report presents a probabilistic safety assessment of radioactive doses as consequences from accident scenarios to complement the deterministic assessment presented in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Safety Analysis Report (SAR). The International Council of Radiation Protection (ICRP) recommends both assessments be conducted to ensure that ''an adequate level of safety has been achieved and that no major contributors to risk are overlooked'' (ICRP 1993). To that end, the probabilistic assessment for the WIPP accident scenarios addresses the wide range of assumptions, e.g. the range of values representing the radioactive source of an accident, that could possibly have been overlooked by the SAR. Routine releases of radionuclides from the WIPP repository to the environment during the waste emplacement operations are expected to be essentially zero. In ...
Since 1992, the fruitful collaboration of the Russian and Western-European technical support organizations (TSOs) is being continued due to the support of the European Commission. There are two main areas of activities. The first one is more of methodological assistance and enhancing RF TSOs capabilities to support Rostekhnadzor decision making process. Experience and knowledge acquired in this area projects increase RF TSOs capabilities regarding a wide spectrum of safety related issues assessment, in particular safety analyses, reactor vessel embrittlement, application of 'leak before break' concept, severe accident and accident management, fire risk evaluation, etc. The second area is focused on licensing related assessments of EC financed on site assistance projects (modernisations). This area projects promote implementation in Russia a licensing process based on a technical dialogue between ...
In the analysis of power systems security, recently a new concern related to possible malicious attacks caught much attention. Coordination among different transmission system operators (TSO) in an interconnected power system to counteract such attacks has become an important problem. This paper presents a general framework for describing the physical, cyber and decision-making aspects of the problem and their interrelations; within this framework, an analytic tool for the assessment of information impacts in handling on-line security after a malicious attack is proposed and discussed. The model is based on the socially rational multi-agent systems and the equilibrium of a fictitious play is considered to analyze the impacts of various levels of information available to the interconnected system operators on the outcomes of the decision-making process under attack. A 34-buses test system, with 3 systems interconnected by tie-lines, is presented ...
The assessment and control of fetal exposure to radiation in the workplace is an issue that is complicated by both biological and political/social ramifications. As a result of the dramatic increase in the number of women employed as radiation workers during the past 10 years, many facilities using radioactive materials have instituted fetal protection programs with special requirements for female radiation workers. It is necessary, however, to ensure that any fetal protection program be developed in such a way as to be nondiscriminatory. A study has been initiated whose purpose is to balance the political/social and the biological ramifications associated with occupational protection of the developing embryo/fetus. Several considerations are involved in properly balancing these factors. These considerations include appropriate methods of declaring the pregnancy, training workers, controlling the dose to the embryo/fetus, measuring and calculating the dose to the ...
Overhead persistent surveillance systems are becoming more capable at acquiring wide-field image sequences for long time-spans. The need to exploit this data is becoming ever greater. The ability to track a single vehicle of interest or to track all the observable vehicles, which may number in the thousands, over large, cluttered regions while they persist in the imagery is very desirable. Typically, this imagery has many thousands of pixels on a side and is characterized by lower resolutions (e.g. {approx}0.5 meters/pixel to {approx}2.0 meters/pixel) and lower frame rates (e.g. {approx} sub-Hz to several Hz). We describe our ultra-scale capable implementation of a multiple-vehicle tracking algorithm for overhead persistent surveillance imagery. This work builds upon an earlier report, where now the algorithm has been modified for improved performance and has been substantially improved to handle much larger datasets in a ...
The use of the focused ion beam (FIB) systems has increased to a high level in recent years. The imaging, milling, and deposition capabilities of the FIB make it the ideal instrument for e.g., site-specific failure analysis, specimen preparation and nano-machining. Ion channelling contrast allows for selective imaging of polycrystalline and polyphase microstructures. In addition, the FIB and CrossBeam registered instruments are unique stand-alone analytical tools. Their vast capabilities have enabled numerous applications into the semiconductor and materials sciences applications. These integrated CrossBeam registered Tools enable the observation and direct control of the FIB operation in real time. In addition to the improved accuracy and resolution the electron beam adds analytical capabilities as STEM, EDS and EBSP to the instruments. To ensure a safe and reliable operation of the instrument, a dedicated vacuum system is ...
This work describes a combinatorial model for estimating the reliability of the embedded digital system by means of multi-state function. This model includes a coverage model for fault-handling techniques implemented in digital systems. The fault-handling techniques make it difficult for many types of components in digital system to be treated as binary state, good or bad. The multi-state function provides a complete analysis of multi-state systems as which the digital systems can be regarded. Through adaptation of software operational profile flow to multi-state function, the HW/SW interaction is also considered for estimation of the reliability of digital system. Using this model, we evaluate the reliability of one board controller in a digital system, Interposing Logic System (ILS), which is installed in YGN nuclear power units 3 and 4. Since the proposed model is a generalized combinatorial model, the simplification of this model becomes ...
The criterion the study is based on in evaluating environmental risks is the possibility of harmful changes in air, water and soils rather than the harmful environmental impacts these changes are caused by. The two significant criteria, i.e. the evaluated environmental hazards potentials or 'value parameters', and the evaluated damage-to-the-environment probabilities or 'safety parameters', reveal the respective environmental risks or 'risk factors'. These risk factors are classified by 23 environmental risk parameters for differentiation between low-risk and high-aid for pollution abatement measures provided that one fixes acceptance limits for the environmental parameters. As a rule the environmental risks of technical facilities which handle hazardous materials can be evaluated appropriately and the results can be compared. (orig./HSCH).
The observation by Maday in 1974 that the Schmidt-Duffin solution to the optimal fin profile problem was flawed due to neglect of the slant height factor led to a new solution--actually, a demonstration of the ill-posedness of the question--by Snider. The present article proves mathematically that omission of this factor leads inevitably to underestimation of the heat transfer capability of any fin. Additionally, a perturbation scheme for estimating the correction for this effect is derived for configurations with low generalized Biot numbers, and a revised assessment of the performance of the Schmidt fin is presented.
This year's Information Technology Resources Assessment (ITRA) is something of a departure from traditional practice. Past assessments have concentrated on developments in fundamental technology, particularly with respect to hardware. They form an impressive chronicle of decreasing cycle times, increasing densities, decreasing costs (or, equivalently, increasing capacity and capability per dollar spent), and new system architectures, with a leavening of operating systems and languages. Past assessments have aimed -- and succeeded -- at putting information technology squarely in the spotlight; by contrast, in the first part of this assessment, we would like to move it to the background, and encourage the reader to reflect less on the continuing technological miracles of miniaturization in space and time and more on the second- and third-order implications of some possible ...
This year`s Information Technology Resources Assessment (ITRA) is something of a departure from traditional practice. Past assessments have concentrated on developments in fundamental technology, particularly with respect to hardware. They form an impressive chronicle of decreasing cycle times, increasing densities, decreasing costs (or, equivalently, increasing capacity and capability per dollar spent), and new system architectures, with a leavening of operating systems and languages. Past assessments have aimed -- and succeeded -- at putting information technology squarely in the spotlight; by contrast, in the first part of this assessment, we would like to move it to the background, and encourage the reader to reflect less on the continuing technological miracles of miniaturization in space and time and more on the second- and third-order implications of some possible workplace ...
IntroductionFocusing on people and organizations, this paper aims to contribute to offshore safety assessment by proposing a methodology to model causal relationships.MethodThe methodology is proposed in a general sense that it will be capable of accommodating modeling of multiple risk factors considered in offshore operations and will have the ability to deal with different types of data that may come from different resources. Reason's ?Swiss cheese?? model is used to form a generic offshore safety assessment framework, and Bayesian Network (BN) is tailored to fit into the framework to construct a causal relationship model. The proposed framework uses a five-level-structure model to address latent failures within the causal sequence of events. The five levels include Root causes level, Tr...
Multi-criteria group decision making (MCGDM) aims to support preference-based decision over the available alternatives that are characterized by multiple criteria in a group. To increase the level of overall satisfaction for the final decision across the group and deal with uncertainty in decision process, a fuzzy MCGDM process (FMP) model is established in this study. This FMP model can also aggregate both subjective and objective information under multi-level hierarchies of criteria and evaluators. Based on the FMP model, a fuzzy MCGDM decision support system (called Decider) is developed, which can handle information expressed in linguistic terms, boolean values, as well as numeric values to assess and rank a set of alternatives within a group of decision makers. Real applications indic...
A state-of-the-art review and assessment of storage effects on crude oil and product quality was undertaken through a literature search by computer accessing several data base sources. Pertinent citations from that literature search are tabulated for the years 1980 to the present. This 1990 revision supplements earlier reviews by Brinkman and others which covered stability publications through 1979 and an update in 1983 by Goetzinger and others that covered the period 1952--1982. For purposes of organization, citations are listed in the current revision chronologically starting with the earliest 1980 publications. The citations have also been divided according to primary subject matter. Consequently 11 sections appear including: alternate fuels, gasoline, distillate fuel, jet fuel, residual fuel, crude oil, biodegradation, analyses, reaction mechanisms, containment, and handling and storage. Each section contains a brief narrative followed by ...
The 5-th International conference 'Nuclear and Radiation Physics' was held in Almaty (Kazakhstan) 26-29 September 2005. Besides basic problems of nuclear and solid state physics the conference paid considerable attention to applied topics important for industry and science in Kazakhstan; they include fuel and construction materials for nuclear power production, new technologies and materials for their production, materials for hydrogen power production, handling and utilization of radioactive waste, analytical methods for combating with illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials, technologies for reduction and assessment of environmental risk from radiation-hazardous materials and sites, production and application of isotopes, application of nuclear technologies in medicine and industry. On the conference more than 300 papers were presented by participants from 20 countries.
The primary function of the Waste Handling Shaft (WHS) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is to permit the transfer of radioactive waste from the surface waste handling building to the underground storage area. It also serves as an intake shaft for small volumes of air during normal storage operations and as an emergency escape route. Part of the construction was the placement of a concrete liner and steel reinforced key in 1984. During a routine shaft inspection in May 1990, some degradation of the WHS concrete liner was observed between the depths of 800 and 900 feet below the ground surface. Detailed investigations of the liner had been carried out by Sandia National Laboratories and by Westinghouse Electric Corporation Waste Isolation Division (WID) through Lankard Materials Laboratory. Observations, reports, and data support the conclusion that the concrete degradation, resulting from attack by chemically aggressive brine, is a ...
This report summarizes the results of an expert-opinion elicitation activity designed to qualitatively assess the status and capabilities of currently available computer codes and models for accident analysis and reactor safety calculations of advanced sodium fast reactors, and identify important gaps. The twelve-member panel consisted of representatives from five U.S. National Laboratories (SNL, ANL, INL, ORNL, and BNL), the University of Wisconsin, the KAERI, the JAEA, and the CEA. The major portion of this elicitation activity occurred during a two-day meeting held on Aug. 10-11, 2010 at Argonne National Laboratory. There were two primary objectives of this work: (1) Identify computer codes currently available for SFR accident analysis and reactor safety calculations; and (2) Assess the status and capability of current US computer codes to adequately model the required accident scenarios and ...
The Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) is a single, highly integrated technical program for maintaining the surety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. The SSP uses past nuclear test data along with current and future non-nuclear test data, computational modeling and simulation, and experimental facilities to advance understanding of nuclear weapons. It includes stockpile surveillance, experimental research, development and engineering (D&E) programs, and an appropriately scaled production capability to support stockpile requirements. This integrated national program requires the continued use of current facilities and programs along with new experimental facilities and computational enhancements to support these programs. The Advanced Simulation and Computing Program (ASC) is a cornerstone of the SSP, providing simulation capabilities and computational resources to support the annual stockpile assessment ...
The Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) is a single, highly integrated technical program for maintaining the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. The SSP uses past nuclear test data along with current and future nonnuclear test data, computational modeling and simulation, and experimental facilities to advance understanding of nuclear weapons. It includes stockpile surveillance, experimental research, development and engineering programs, and an appropriately scaled production capability to support stockpile requirements. This integrated national program requires the continued use of current facilities and programs along with new experimental facilities and computational enhancements to support these programs. The Advanced Simulation and Computing Program (ASC)1 is a cornerstone of the SSP, providing simulation capabilities and computational resources to support the annual stockpile assessment and ...
The market potential for the fan atomized burner (FAB) in water and space heating applications was examined. The major findings of the study are as follows. (1). The FAB`s low-input capability allows development of oil-fired room heaters and wall furnaces, a new market area for oil heat. (2). Among conventional oil-fired products, furnaces will benefit most from the burner`s low input capability due to (1) their quick delivery of heat and (2) their more prevalent use in warmer climates and smaller homes. (3). The greatest potential for increased product sales or oil sales exists in the use of the burner with new products (i.e., room heaters). Sales of boilers and direct-fired water heaters are not likely to increase with the use of the burner. (4). Acceptance of the burner will be dependent on proof of reliability. Proof of better reliability than conventional burners would accelerate acceptance.
A device is presented with handle containing hinges and work support arm, a flexible pin with supports and extra weights. The flexible pin is equipped with cantilevered sergments and weights. The bracket hinges on the handle are perpendicular to the axis of the flexible pin. To reduce handle vibration during drilling hard rock, the handle and brackets are joined to allow relative movement on the surface perpendicular to the hinges of the work support arm. The handle is joined to the work support arm parallel to the sides and the work support arm has holes to accomodate this. Elastic bushings are located between the lateral sides of the work support arm where it is joined to the handle.
We have already developed three conventional and one periodic permanent (PPM) type 50-MW class klystrons, a smart modulator, and the first HOM-free accelerator structure (Choke-mode type, full-scale high power model). A very stable ceramic high voltage monitor was successfully tested up to 367-kV with a 4.5-#mu#sec pulse. A new C-band SiC type high power rf-load, advancing the power handlingcapability up to 50-MW is now being designed. It should have excellent mass production characteristics as it uses circularly symmetric TM_0_1_1 chained cavities. The first high power prototype of an rf compressor cavity made of a low thermal expansion material (super Invar) was designed to provide stable operation even with a very high Q of 200-k, it was successfully tested the output rf power up to 135-MW, 0.5-#mu#sec pulse width and 50-pps repetition rate. The C-band linac rf-system will be used for the SASE-FEL (SCSS) production project at SPring-8, but ...
The BEATRIX-II irradiation experiment is an in-situ tritium release experiment being carried out in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) reactor to evaluate the tritium release characteristics of fusion solid breeder materials. A sophisticated tritium gas handling system has been developed to continuously monitor the tritium recovery from the specimens and facilitate tritium removal from the experiment's sweep gas flow stream. The in-situ recovery experiment accommodates two different in-reactor specimen canisters with individual gas streams and temperature monitoring/control. Ionization chambers have been specifically designed to respond to the rapid changes in the tritium release rate at the anticipated tritium concentrations. Two ceramic electrolysis cells have proved effective in reducing the moisture in the gas streams to hydrogen/tritium. A tritium getter system, capable of reducing the tritium level by a factor greater than 4000, ...
... Title : Refining the Magnetic Forming Capability. ... Abstract : The purpose of this project was to refine the in-house magnetic forming capability. ...
In developing severe accident management strategies, an engineering decision would be made based on the available data and information that are vague, imprecise and uncertain by nature. These sorts of vagueness and uncertainty are due to lack of knowledge for the severe accident sequences of interest. The fuzzy set theory offers a possibility of handling these sorts of data and information. In this paper, the possibility to apply the decision-making method based on fuzzy set theory to the evaluation of the accident management strategies at a nuclear power plant is scrutinized. The fuzzy decision-making method uses linguistic variables and fuzzy numbers to represent the decision-maker's subjective assessments for the decision alternatives according to the decision criteria. The fuzzy mean operator is used to aggregate the decision-maker's subjective assessments, while the total integral value method is used ...
Shut-off rod drive mechanism forms a safety critical system of a nuclear reactor. It is the space constraints for the given reactor layout, which makes design of shut-off rod drive mechanism (SRDM) a custom built design. Design of SRDM adopts fail-safe, replaceability and the simplicity criterion ensuring very high reliability of its operation. Shut-off rod drive mechanism for TAPP-3 and 4 and 'Critical Facility' have been recently designed and developed at Division of Remote Handling and Robotics (DRHR), BARC. These are designed with a number of advanced features and these are significantly different than those used in Dhruva and 220 MWe PHWRs. Design of SRDM is qualified through proto typing and life cycle testing on a full-scale test set-up. This paper gives details of qualification and life cycle test data for prototype SRDM for TAPP-3 and 4 and 'Critical Facility' and reliability assessment. (author)
As a part of the compatibility analysis of DUPIC fuel in CANDU reactors, the radiation physics calculations have been performed for the CANDU primary shielding system, thermal shield, radiation damage, transportation cask and storage. At first, the primary shield system was assessed for the DUPIC fuel core, which has shown that the dose rates and heat deposition rates through the primary shield of the DUPIC fuel core are not much different from those of natural uranium core because the power levels on the core periphery are similar for both cores. Secondly, the radiation effects on the critical components and the themal shields were assessed when the DUPIC fuel is loaded in CANDU reactors. Compared with the displacement per atom (DPA) of the critical component for natural uranium core, that for the DUPIC fuel core was increased by -30% for the innermost groove and the weld points and by -10% for the corner of the calandria subshells and annular ...
This paper describes the modeling of horizontal steam generator with the TRACE code and calculation results of a loss-of-feedwater (LOF-10) experiment at the PACTEL facility. Parallel Channel Test Loop (PACTEL) is an integral test facility for a VVER-440 type nuclear reactor. The main objectives were to prepare a simulation model for its horizontal steam generator with the TRACE thermal hydraulic code and assess different modeling options of the code. PACTEL experiment LOF-10 was chosen for this assessment. The calculation results showed that TRACE is capable in simulating horizontal steam generator behavior both in steady state and during loss-of-feedwater transient. The phenomenon of heat transfer from primary to secondary side, steam superheating and flow reversal in the lowest heat exc...
Nuclear forensic science has become increasingly important for global nuclear security. However, many current laboratory analysis techniques are based on methods developed without the imperative for timely analysis that underlies the post-detonation forensics mission requirements. Current analysis of actinides, fission products, and fuel-specific materials requires time-consuming chemical separation coupled with nuclear counting or mass spectrometry. High-temperature gas-phase separations have been used in the past for the rapid separation of newly created elements/isotopes and as a basis for chemical classification of that element. We are assessing the utility of this method for rapid separation in the gas-phase to accelerate the separations of radioisotopes germane to post-detonation nuclear forensic investigations. The existing state of the art for thermo chromatographic separations, and its applicability to nuclear forensics, will be reviewed. (author)
Objectives1. To establish the present capacity and capability across all the sectors within the UK for - a) Undertaking research in the areas of toxicology and ecotoxicology and environmental hazard and risk assessment work on chemical subtances including emerging containments (e.g. enginerred nanomaterials); and b) Applying these skills in the policy and regulatory context. 2) The range of chemicals involved should include pharmaceutical and medical products, crop protection agents, biocides, vet [continued...]DescriptionThe aim of this project is to identify the current status of the scientific community, areas of expertise, and identify the gaps in skills, knowledge or recruitment. The project will use a questionnaire approach to obtain this information for all sectors of the business community. The analysis will identify the gaps in provision, and areas where investment is needed in future training and/or recruitment.
Because of its high price, the extra virgin olive oil is frequently target for adulteration with lower quality oils. This paper presents an innovative optical technique capable of quantifying the adulteration of extra virgin olive oil caused by lowergrade olive oils. It relies on spectral fingerprinting the test liquid by means of diffuse-light absorption spectroscopy carried out by optical fiber technology in the wide 400-1700 nm spectral range. Then, a smart multivariate processing of spectroscopic data is applied for immediate prediction of adulterant concentration.
The paper investigates computerized tomography capabilities in showing vascular complications secondary to intestinal obstruction and for assessing the site and cause of obstruction. [Italian] Scopo del lavoro e' lo studio dell'uso della tomografia computerizzata nel riconoscimento di complicanze vascolari secondarie ad occlusione intestinale e della presenza, della natura e della sede dell'ostacolo alla canalizzazione intestinale.
The National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) developed by the U.S. Department of Energy`s Energy Information Administration is a well-recognized model that is used to project the potential impact of new electric generation technologies. The NEMS model does not presently have the capability to model energy storage on the national grid. The scope of this study was to assess the feasibility of, and make recommendations for, the modeling of battery energy storage systems in the Electricity Market of the NEMS. Incorporating storage within the NEMS will allow the national benefits of storage technologies to be evaluated.
The dynamic response characteristics of the VAWT rotor are important factors governing the safety and fatigue life of VAWT systems. The principal problems are the determination of critical rotor speeds (resonances) and the assessment of forced vibration response amplitudes. The solution to these problems is complicated by centrifugal and coriolis effects which can have substantial influence on rotor resonant frequencies and mode shapes. This paper will describe and discuss the primary tools now in use at Sandia National Laboratories for rotor analysis. These tools include a lumped springmass model (VAWTDYN) and also finite-element based approaches. The discussion will center on the accuracy and completeness of current capabilities and plans for future research.
The dynamic response characteristics of the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) rotor are important factors governing the safety and fatigue life of VAWT systems. The principal problems are the determination of critical rotor speeds (resonances) and the assessment of forced vibration response amplitudes. The solution to these problems is complicated by centrifugal and Coriolis effects which can have substantial influence on rotor resonant frequencies and mode shapes. The primary tools now in use for rotor analysis are described and discussed. These tools include a lumped spring mass model (VAWTDYN) and also finite-element based approaches. The accuracy and completeness of current capabilities are also discussed.
As a continuation of its efforts to provide methodologies and tools to Member States to carry out comparative assessment and analyse priority environmental issues related to the development of the electric power sector, the IAEA has completed a new version of the Wien Automatic System Planning (WASP) Package WASP-IV for carrying out power generation expansion planning taking into consideration fuel availability and environmental constraints. This manual constitutes a part of this work and aims to provide users with a guide to use effectively the new version of the model WASP-IV. WASP was originally developed in 1972 by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA to meet the IAEA needs to analyse the economic competitiveness of nuclear power in comparison to other generation expansion alternatives for supplying the future electricity requirements of a country or region. Previous versions of the model were used by Member States in ...
This thesis study covers both global performance and local phenomena analyses focusing on natural circulation reactor design safety. Four important topics are included: the global SBWR design safety assessment, important local phenomena investigation, steady and transient natural circulation process study, and two-phase instability analysis. The conceptual design of the SBWR-200 is introduced in this thesis and the global performance of a natural circulation reactor is then assessed using PUMA integral test data and RELAP5 simulations. A safety assessment methodology is developed to evaluate the PUMA integral test data extrapolation and code scalability. The RELAP5 code simulation capability in low-pressure low-flow conditions is also validated. The study shows that the code is capable of predicting the global accident scenario in natural circulation reactors with reasonable ...
Threat characterization is a key component in evaluating the threat faced by control systems. Without a thorough understanding of the threat faced by critical infrastructure networks, adequate resources cannot be allocated or directed effectively to the defense of these systems. Traditional methods of threat analysis focus on identifying the capabilities and motivations of a specific attacker, assessing the value the adversary would place on targeted systems, and deploying defenses according to the threat posed by the potential adversary. Too many effective exploits and tools exist and are easily accessible to anyone with access to an Internet connection, minimal technical skills, and a significantly reduced motivational threshold to be able to narrow the field of potential adversaries effectively. Understanding how hackers evaluate new IT security research and incorporate significant new ideas into their own tools provides a means of ...
A report on the Canadian Nuclear Society Conference on robotics and remote handling in the nuclear industry, September 1984. Remote handling in reactor operations, particularly in the Candu reactors is discussed, and the costs and benefits of use of remote handling equipment are considered. Steam generator inspection and repair is an area in which practical application of robotic technology has made a major advance. (U.K.).
We developed prototype chemistry for nucleic acid hybridization on our bead-based diagnostics platform and we established an automatable bead handling protocol capable of 50 part-per-billion (ppb) sensitivity. We are working towards a platform capable of parallel, rapid (10 minute), raw sample testing for orthogonal (in this case nucleic acid and immunoassays) identification of biological (and other) threats in a single sensor microsystem. In this LDRD we developed the nucleic acid chemistry required for nucleic acid hybridization. Our goal is to place a non-cell associated RNA virus (Bovine Viral Diarrhea, BVD) on the beads for raw sample testing. This key pre-requisite to showing orthogonality (nucleic acid measurements can be performed in parallel with immunoassay measurements). Orthogonal detection dramatically reduces false positives. We chose BVD because our collaborators (UC-Davis) can supply samples from ...
The strategy for management of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s (ORNL) radioactively contaminated liquid waste was reviewed in 1991. The latest information available through the end of 1990 on waste characterization, regulations, US Department of Energy (DOE) budget guidance, and research and development programs was evaluated to determine how the strategy should be revised. Few changes are needed to update the strategy to reflect new waste characterization, research, and regulatory information. However, recent budget guidance from DOE indicates that minimum funding will not be sufficient to accomplish original objectives to upgrade the liquid low-level waste (LLLW) system to comply with the Federal Facilities Agreement, provide long-term LLLW treatment capability, and minimize environmental, safety, and health risks. Options are presented that might allow the ORNL LLLW system to continue operations temporarily, but they would significantly reduce its ...
The strategy for management of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s (ORNL`s) radioactively contaminated liquid waste was reviewed. The latest information on waste characterization, regulations, US Department of Energy (DOE) budget guidance, and research and development programs was evaluated to determine how the strategy should be revised. Few changes are needed to update the strategy to reflect new waste characterization, research, and regulatory information. However, recent budget guidance from DOE indicates that minimum funding will not be sufficient to accomplish original objectives to upgrade the liquid low-level waste (LLLW) system to be in compliance with the Federal Facilities Agreement compliance, provide long-term LLLW treatment capability, and minimize Environmental Safety & Health risks. Options are presented that might allow the ORNL LLLW system to continue operations temporarily but significantly reduce its capabilities to ...
A seaport simulation model, PORTSIM, has been developed for the Department of Defense (DOD) at Argonne National Laboratory. PORTSIM simulates the detailed processes of cargo loading and unloading in a seaport and provides throughput capability, resource utilization, and other important information on the bottlenecks in a seaport operation, which are crucial data in determining troop and equipment deployment capability. There are two key problems to solve in developing the HLA-compliant PORTSIM model. The first is the cargo object ownership transfer problem. In PORTSIM, cargo items, e.g. vehicles, containers, and pallets, are objects having asset attributes. Cargo comes to a seaport for loading or unloading. The ownership of a cargo object transfers from its carrier to the port and then from the port to a new carrier. Each owner of the cargo object is responsible for publishing and updating the attributes of the cargo object when it has the ...
An actuating mechanism of a mine combine is proposed. It includes a rotating platform in a vertical plane on which by hinges with the possibility of rotation parallel to the plane of the platform there are handles with cutting drums and a mechanism for extension of the handle which has hydraulic cylinders. With a decrease in load on the hinges of the handles from bending forces, on the platform between the front edge of the platform and the site of attachment of the handle hinges there are openings. Each handle has a support projection which is placed in this opening with the possibility of movement. A clamp plank is installed on it which covers the opening. The distance from the center of the projection support to the axis of the corresponding hinge is greater than the height of embedding of this hinge into the platform.
Full text: Research reactors have been playing a multi dimensional role in areas of nuclear fuel cycle programme, radio-isotope productions, neutron beam research etc. To ensure an efficient, smooth and safe operation of a nuclear research reactor, many reactor physics evaluations are required on routine basis. As part of reactor core management the important activities are maintaining core reactivity status, core power distribution, xenon estimations, safety evaluation of in-pile irradiation samples and experimental assemblies and assessment of nuclear safety in fuel handling/storage. In-pile irradiation requires a prior estimation of the reactivity load due to the sample, heating rate and the activity developed in it during irradiation. For the safety of the personnel handling irradiated samples the dose rate at the surface of shielded flask housing the irradiated sample should be less than 200 mR/Hr. Therefore, a proper ...
A spreadsheet-based decision support system has been developed that allows easy evaluation of integrated biomass to electricity and biomass to ethanol systems. The Bioenergy Assessment Model (BEAM) has been developed to allow the techno-economic assessment of biomass to electricity and biomass to ethanol schemes, including investigation of the interfacing issues. Technical and economic parameters can be assessed for a variety of feedstocks, conversion technologies and generating cycles. Production modules are currently available for biomass supply from short rotation coppice and conventional forestry relevant to conditions and practices in NW Europe. The biomass conversion modules include pre-treatment (reception, storage, handling, comminution, screening and drying); atmospheric gasification (generic gasifier, wet gas scrubbing, dual fuel engine); pressure gasification (generic gasifier, hot gas ...
The Department of Defense (DoD) has long depended on military support functions enabled by space reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) assets. Future generation satellite capabilities will further push technologies in space - if the right technologies are deployed in the right numbers and with the right payloads. Modeling and simulation play major parts in developing and deploying such assets: 1) system and operational requirements determination, and 2) assessment of military utility of such assets. Each area is critical in a system"s life cycle. Requirements determination cuts across the issues of doctrine, organizations, training, materiel, leader development, personnel, and facilities (DOTMLPF). Military utility assessments are necessary to explore and quantify the military worth/benefit of space RSTA assets to operational commanders. Each of these areas requires relevant modeling/simulation tools ...
The primary aim was to evaluate delayed contrast-enhanced MRI in depicting perineural spread of hilar cholangiocarcinoma (CCC) and consequently to determine the capability of MRI/MRCP for staging CCC. Fifteen patients that underwent MRI/MRCP and surgical treatment were retrospectively included. Two radiologists evaluated MR images to assess delayed periductal enhancement, extent of bile duct stenosis, liver parenchymal and vascular involvement and presence of liver atrophy. An agreement between delayed enhancement of the bile duct walls and perineural neoplastic spread showed a very good correlation factor (0.93). The overall accuracy in detecting biliary neoplastic invasion was higher for delayed T1-weighted images (93.3%) than for the MRCP images (80%), and T1-delayed image increased the MR accuracy in assessing the neoplastic resectability (p < 0.05). MRI correctly predicted vascular involvement in 73% and liver ...
Low and intermediate waste disposal facilities safety assessment is comprised of several steps from site selection , construction and operation to post-closure performance assessment. This is a multidisciplinary and complex task , and can not be analyzed by one expert only. This high complexity can lead to ambiguity and vagueness in information and consequently in the decision making process. In order to make the decision process clear and objective, there is the need to provide the decision makers with a clear and comprehensive picture of the whole process and, at the same time, simple and easily understandable by the public. This paper suggests the development of an inference system based on fuzzy decision making methodology. Fuzzy logic tools are specially suited to deal with ambiguous data by using language expressions. This process would be capable of integrating knowledge from various fields of environmental sciences. ...
This study describes the mechanical compatibility of the direct use of spent pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel in Canada deuterium uranium (CANDU) reactors (DUPIC) fuel, when it is loaded into a CANDU reactor. The mechanical compatibility can be assessed for the fuel management, primary heat transport system, fuel channel, and the fuel handling system in the reactor core by both the experimental and analytic methods. Because the physical dimensions of the DUPIC fuel bundle adopt the CANDU flexible (CANFLEX) fuel bundle design which has already been demonstrated for a commercial use in CANDU reactors, the experimental compatibility analyses focused on the generation of material property data and the irradiation tests of the DUPIC fuel, which are used for the computational analysis. The intermediate results of the mechanical compatibility analysis have shown that the integrity of the DUPIC fuel is mostly maintained under the high power and ...
Safety and environmental assessments have been made of conceptual fusion power plant designs employing silicon carbide composites (SiC/SiC) as the first wall and blanket structure material. These have used similar analysis methods to earlier studies of designs based on vanadium alloy or low-activation martensitic steel, allowing direct comparisons. The very low short-term activation of silicon carbide results in an almost insignificant level of decay heat in postulated loss of coolant accidents, and a lower {gamma}-dose rate on the timescale of relevance to handling for maintenance operations. However on the longer time-scale, of interest in possible recycling operations, decommissioning and waste management, SiC/SiC appears to perform no better than vanadium alloy or low-activation martensitic steel, due in part to the activation of impurities in a realistic composition. Furthermore, its increased neutron transparency may result in higher ...
A field study (1993-96) assessed the benefits of applying unusually high rates of coal fly ash from power plants as a soil amendment to enhance water retention of soils without adversely affecting growth and marketability of the turf species, centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides (Munro) Hack.) A Latin Square plot design was employed that included 0 (control, no fly ash applied), 280, 560 and 1120 MgHa {sup -1} application rates of unweathered precipitator fly ash. The fly ash was spread evenly over each plot area, rototilled, and allowed to weather under natural conditions for 8 months before seeding. High levels of soluble salts, indicated by the electrical conductivity of soil extracts, in tandem with an apparent phytotoxic effect from boron, apparently inhibited initial plant establishment as shown by substantially lower germination counts in treated soil. However, plant height and rooting depth were not adversely affected, as were the dry matter yields ...
The purpose of this paper is to assess a new local air coolers model in ISAAC 2.0, as ISAAC 1.0 could model local air coolers only at two locations. In the new model, local air coolers up to twelve locations could be handled. Large LOCA and loss of feed water sequences were selected for the model comparison. Two cases were analyzed with ISAAC 2.0: one with 6 local air coolers in one of the fueling machine room and in the steam generator room, respectively, and the other with 3 local air coolers at both fueling machine room and 6 local air coolers in the steam generator room. The study assumes that the safety systems such as emergency core cooling system, shield cooling system and moderator cooling system are unavailable. According to the ISAAC 2.0 results, the new local air coolers model showed almost no difference between two cases. Also it was found that as the location of LACs increased, the new model worked properly and the effect of LACs ...
The AFGD process as demonstrated by Pure Air at the Bailly Station offers a reliable and cost-effective means of achieving a high degree of SO{sub 2} emissions reduction when burning high-sulfur coals. Many innovative features have been successfully incorporated in this process, and it is ready for widespread commercial use. The system uses a single-loop cocurrent scrubbing process with in-situ oxidation to produce wallboard-grade gypsum instead of wet sludge. A novel wastewater evaporation system minimizes effluents. The advanced scrubbing process uses a common absorber to serve multiple boilers, thereby saving on capital through economies of scale. Major results of the project are: (1) SO{sub 2} removal of over 94 percent was achieved over the three-year demonstration period, with a system availability exceeding 99.5 percent; (2) a large, single absorber handled the combined flue gas of boilers generating 528 MWe of power, and no spares were required; (3) direct ...
Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) is an emerging technology with features that are potentially attractive in electric utility applications. This study evaluates the potential for SMES technology in the generation, transmission, distribution, and use of electric energy; the time frame of the assessment is through the year 2030. Comparisons are made with other technology options, including both commercially available and advanced systems such as various peaking generation technologies, transmission stability improvement technologies, and power quality enhancement devices. The methodology used for this study focused on the needs of the market place, the capabilities of S and the characteristics of the competing technologies. There is widespread interest within utilities for the development of SMES technology, but there is no general consensus regarding the most attractive size. Considerable uncertainty exists regarding the eventual ...
ObjectivesTo obtain a benchmarked unsteady aerodynamic code for the S809 aerofoil; including Dynamic Stall. ~%~~%~The code will be that of Leishman & Beddoes suitably configured for the aerofoil's use on wind tubines. ~%~~%~To involve the international community during the assessment phase after benchmarking.~%~~%~To compare the data collected with that from the NWTC experiment.~%~~%~To improve the predictive capability of extant horizontal axis wind turbine performance codes. ~%~~%~To be compliant with b [continued...]DescriptionIn December 2000 the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (USA) held an international seminar to consider the predictive capabilities of w ind-turbine codes using their recently measured data. This highlighted the need for a detailed consideration of the codes sub-system with proper benc hmarking (became ...
In the RIR (Risk-informed Regulation), PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment) plays a major role because it provides overall risk insights for the regulatory body and utility. Therefore, the scope, the level of details and the technical adequacy of PSA, i.e. the quality of PSA is to be ensured for the successful RIR. To improve the quality of Korean PSA, we evaluate the quality of the KSNP (Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant) internal full-power PSA model based on the 'ASME PRA Standard' and the 'NEI PRA Peer Review Process Guidance.' As a working group, PSA experts of the regulatory body and industry also participated in the evaluation process. It is finally judged that the overall quality of the KSNP PSA is between the ASME Standard Capability Category I and II. We also derive some items to be improved for upgrading the quality of the PSA up to the ASME Standard Capability Category II. ...
The Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) is a single, highly integrated technical program for maintaining the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. The SSP uses past nuclear test data along with future non-nuclear test data, computational modeling and simulation, and experimental facilities to advance understanding of nuclear weapons. It includes stockpile surveillance, experimental research, development and engineering programs, and an appropriately scaled production capability to support stockpile requirements. This integrated national program will require the continued use of current facilities and programs along with new experimental facilities and computational enhancements to support these programs. The Advanced Simulation and Computing program (ASC) is a cornerstone of the SSP, providing simulation capabilities and computational resources to support the annual stockpile assessment and certification, to ...
This Current Year Work Plan presents a detailed description of the activities to be performed by the Joint Integration Office during FY87. It breaks down the activities into two major work areas: Program Management and Program Analysis. Program Management is performed by the JIO by providing technical planning and guidance for the development of advanced TRU waste management capabilities. This includes equipment/facility design, engineering, construction, and operations. These functions are integrated to allow transition from interim storage to final disposition. JIO tasks include program requirements identification, long-range technical planning, budget development, program planning document preparation, task guidance, task monitoring, information gathering and task reporting to DOE, interfacing with other agencies and DOE lead programs, integrating public involvement with program efforts, and preparation of program status reports for DOE. Program Analysis is ...
The United States Government (USG) first developed nuclear forensics-related capabilities to analyze radiological and nuclear materials, including underground nuclear test debris and interdicted materials. Nuclear forensics is not a new mission for Department of Defense (DoD). The department's existing nuclear forensics capability is the result of programs that span six (6) decades and includes activities to assess foreign nuclear weapons testing activities, monitor and verify nuclear arms control treaties, and to support intelligence and law enforcement activities. Today, nuclear forensics must support not only weapons programs and nuclear smuggling incidents, but also the scientific analysis and subsequent attribution of terrorists' use of radiological or nuclear materials/devices. Nuclear forensics can help divulge the source of origin of nuclear materials, the type of design for an interdicted or detonated device, as ...
A series of meteorological and tracer experiments, was conducted during May and June 1984 over the 20-km wide /O/resund strait between Denmark and Sweden for the purpose of studying atmospheric dispersion processes over cold water and warm land surfaces and providing the data needed to evaluate meso-scale models in a coastal environment. In concert with these objectives the data from these experiments have been used as part of a continuing effort to evaluate the capability of the three-dimensional MATHEW/ADPIC (M/A) atmospheric dispersion models to simulate pollutant transport and diffusion characteristics of the atmospheric during a wide variety of meteorological conditions. Since previous studies have focused primarily on M/A model evaluations over rolling and complex terrain at inland sites, the /O/resund experiments provide a unique opportunity to evaluate the models in a coastal environment. The M/A models are used by the Atmospheric Release Advisory ...
The UNSAT-H model was developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to assess the water dynamics of arid sites and, in particular, estimate recharge fluxes for scenarios pertinent to waste disposal facilities. During the last 4 years, the UNSAT-H model received support from the Immobilized Waste Program (IWP) of the Hanford Site's River Protection Project. This program is designing and assessing the performance of on-site disposal facilities to receive radioactive wastes that are currently stored in single- and double-shell tanks at the Hanford Site (LMHC 1999). The IWP is interested in estimates of recharge rates for current conditions and long-term scenarios involving the vadose zone disposal of tank wastes. Simulation modeling with UNSAT-H is one of the methods being used to provide those estimates (e.g., Rockhold et al. 1995; Fayer et al. 1999). To achieve the above goals for assessing water ...
The Candu 6 reactor assembly consists of an array of 380 pressure tubes, which are installed horizontally in a large cylindrical vessel, the Calandria, containing the low pressure heavy water moderator. The pressure tube is located inside calandria tube and the annulus between these tubes, which forms a closed loop with CO{sub 2} gas recirculating, is called the Annulus Gas System (AGS). It is designed to give an alarm to the operator even for a small pressure tube leak by a very sensitive dew point meter so that he can take a preventive action for the pressure tbe rupture incident. To judge whether the operator action time is enough or not in the design of Wolsung 2, 3, and 4, the Leak Before Break (LBB) assessment is required for the analysis of the pressure tube failure accident. In order to provide the required data for the LBB assessment of Wolsung Units 2, 3, 4, a series of leak detection capability tests was ...
This guide describes an acceptable method of complying with the Commission's regulations with regard to the quality assurance requirements for the packaging, shipping, receiving, storage, and handling of items for water-cooled nuclear power plants.
This plan describes the Quality Assurance Program which will be applied to spent fuel handling and packaging tests conducted at the Area 25 E-MAD facility, Nevada Test Site (NTS).
The purpose of the present study was to determine whether exposure to exogenous physiological concentrations of caffeine influence contractility, Ca2+handling, and fatigue development...Full Text Available
... a way to model a munition's terminal effects in a ... following attributes are handled in a stochastic fashion ... be improved by managing a queue of buffers ...
Within the framework of efforts to optimize state-of-the-art waste disposal methods, this research project makes a theoretical analysis of the propagation behaviour of pollutants from landfills and waste incineration plants into the immediate vicinity of such plants. In order to judge the propagation of pollutants near the above-mentioned waste disposal facilities, a calculation program was developed within the framework of this research project which permits simulation of the propagation of such emissions in a three-dimensional space by application of an Eulerian grid model. It is capable of realistically representing fluid flow conditions and pollutant concentrations for certain points of times within the complex building patterns of such plants, for randomly chosen atmospheric conditions. (orig.)
An expert system was developed which helps maintenance personnel diagnose the condition of rotor and stator windings and their cores, in motors and generators rated 2300 V and above. The expert system, called MICAA[TM], used an approach which has been found to be effective for diagnosing medical problems. The program required the user to input machine nameplate information, operating status, and any past test data available. In addition, the program would suggest tests that may be useful, as well as provide guidance to maintenance personnel on what to look for in visual inspections of the machine. The expert system stored and correlated all this information, calculated the overall condition of the component in question, and identified the most likely specific causes of any deterioration. The basic methodology of motor and generator condition assessment, and the architecture and processing performed by MICAA to obtain these capabilities were ...
In this paper, we introduce a new recursive neural network model able to process directed acyclic graphs with labelled edges. The model uses a state transition function which considers the edge labels and is independent both from the number and the order of the children of each node. The computational capabilities of the new recursive architecture are assessed. Moreover, in order to test the proposed architecture on a practical challenging application, the problem of object detection in images is also addressed. In fact, the localization of target objects is a preliminary step in any recognition system. The proposed technique is general and can be applied in different detection systems, since it does not exploit any a priori knowledge on the particular problem. Some experiments on face detection, carried out on scenes acquired by an indoor camera, are reported, showing very promising results. PMID:16181770
Understanding of probiotic-induced regulatory gene expression and networking is critical to further explore their roles in controlling infection. Transcriptional profile of selected innate immune genes in primary bovine intestinal epithelial cells was assessed over a time course of incubation with the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum 299v. Based on gene expression results, a time point was chosen to prime epithelial cells with the probiotic prior to infection with rotavirus. Plaque assays and genomic analysis provided the basis for establishing the efficacy of probiotics in preventing a rotaviral infection. Plaque assays revealed that the probiotic is capable of decreasing (at least by 100-fold) the levels of live virus when the cells were primed with the probiotic. Results from gene expr...
Pinealectomy completely prevented gonadal regression as well as reduction in body weight and white adipose tissue content of the gonadal and retroperitoneal fat deposits in male meadow voles transferred from long to short day lengths. Pineal influences on pelage characteristics depended on which parameter was assessed. For instance, the increase in guard hair length observed in short-day control voles was blocked by pinealectomy; however, a similar increase in underhair length was unaffected by removal of the pineal gland. Photoperiod-dependent changes in fat deposition, testicular activity, and guard hair length presumably rely on altered pineal secretory activity to transduce the effects of day length on the neuroendocrine axis; however, mechanisms independent of pineal activity may be capable of mediating photoperiodic control of underhair growth. PMID:2979644
A new protocol technology is just starting to emerge from the laboratory environment. Its stated purpose is to provide an additional means in which networks, and the services that reside on them, can be protected from adversarial compromise. This report has a two-fold objective. First is to provide the reader with an overview of this emerging Dynamic Defenses technology using Dynamic Network Address Translation (Dynat). This ''structure overview'' is concentrated in the body of the report, and describes the important attributes of the technology. The second objective is to provide a framework that can be used to help in the classification and assessment of the different types of dynamic defense technologies along with some related capabilities and limitations. This information is primarily contained in the appendices.
Coal mining generates a number of significant environmental impacts. Due to its synoptic coverage and repetitive data acquisition capabilities, remote sensing has been extensively used to monitor effects of surface mining. Availability of low cost and high resolution data in recent years has focused increased attention on the use of satellite data for monitoring surface mining activity. This article presents an overview of some of the important studies that have used satellite and airborne remote sensing data to assess environmental impacts of coal mining and to monitor reclamation activities. Detection and delineation of subsurface coal mine fires using remotely-sensed thermal data is also briefly discussed. The utility of interfacing remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems for effective environmental management of mining areas has been emphasized.
Research was performed to assess the feasibility of barrier membrane substances, for use within mining or associated high risk environments, in restricting the diffusion transport of radon gas quantities. Specific tests were conducted to determine permeability parameters of a variety of membrane materials with reference to radon flow capabilities. Tests were conducted both within laboratory and in-situ emanation environments where concentrations and diffusion flows of radon gas were known to exist. Equilibrium radon gas concentrations were monitored in initially radon-free chambers adjacent to gas sources, but separated by specified membrane substances. Membrane barrier effectiveness was demonstrated to result in reduced emanation concentrations of radon gas within the sampling chamber atmosphere. Minimum gas concentrations were evidenced where the barrier membrane material was shown to exhibit lowest radon permeability characteristics.
International police have been deployed on a number of peacekeeping missions, but providing capacity development and assisting in reform of local police in war-torn nations are only a relatively recent undertaking. The process of police reform is complicated because of the inherent difficulty in evaluating the impact of a development programme on police service delivery performance. This study reports on the results of a pilot survey of international police managers assessment of the level of competency of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force following the introduction of a capacity development programme 3 years earlier. The results indicate that although the local police had improved operationally, and in some cases to an international standard, the Force had lower capability in strateg...
Commercial polyolefin, such as poly(propylene), are widely used because of their easy processing and their excellent mechanical and thermal properties. Although their recycling is well established, the mechanical and thermal properties of the recycled waste poly(propylene)(WPP) are normally lower than those of the virgin material. The introduction of talc can improve the toughness, without compromising the processability and recycling capabilities. However, the thermal properties of these blends should be assessed to limit degradation during recycling. The effect of gamma radiation on the thermal and mechanical properties of WPP/High Crystallinity Poly(propylene)/Talc was studied. TGA, DSC, and electrical conductivity performed the characterization of WPP composites. Mechanical properties ...
The dynamic response characteristics of the VAWT rotor are important factors governing the safety and fatique life of VAWT systems. The principal problems are the determination of critical rotor speeds (resonances) and the assessment of forced vibration response amplitudes. The solution to these problems is complicated by centrifugal and Coriolis effects which can have substantial influence on rotor resonant frequencies and mode shapes. This paper will describe and discuss the primary tools now in use at Sandia National Laboratories for rotor analysis. These tools include a lumped spring-mass model (VAWTDYN) and also finite-element based approaches. The discussion will center on the accuracy and completeness of current capabilities and plans for future research. As this paper is meant primarily to provide an overview, much of the detail is omitted and will be presented in a follow-on report.
This paper presents extensive non-linear finite element (FE) analysis and formulation development work carried out on the ultimate compressive strength of plates and stiffened panels of ship structures. A review of contemporary designs for large ships was carried out. The existing formulae for plate ultimate compressive strength were reviewed and compared with non-linear FE analysis results. A semi-analytical formula for ultimate compressive strength assessments of stiffened panels was proposed and is described. The developed formula was verified against results using ABAQUS non-linear FE software for a series of 61 stiffened panels and a good agreement between the proposed formula and FE results were achieved. The method was verified against a large number of published FE results and was ...
A historical review of floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) systems for marginal fields is presented. The areas in which such systems are operating, ranges of model tests, and current applicability of mooring systems are reviewed to present capabilities of these concepts. Limitations are reviewed to assess the applicability of these concepts to similar sites. Consideration of processing operations on floating vessels are identified. Particularly, the effects of vessel motion on the processing equipment, gas disposal, and crude offloading are addressed. It will be shown that operations are becoming well understood and routine. Future problem areas and solutions under development are identified. Specific examples are cited and design refinements are noted. While various floating production systems have been in operation for only a few years, their potential for solving the problems of producing small offshore fields and for achieving ...
The modeling methods used to compute the neutron-induced activation of target and near-target materials in the NIF facility are presented. A detailed space and energy description of the neutron environment in the different materials is provided. A new capability has been developed to treat in a general way the activation of debris produced in an operational regime of yield and no-yield experiments. First calculations are addressed to analyze the activity of the debris into the target chamber. The contribution of the different components to activity, interior dose rates, and waste disposal rating (WDR) is determined. The importance of the activation coming from primary irradiation in the target, and from secondary irradiation in debris deposited onto the first wall is assessed. Finally, waste hazards of the activated debris when removed out of the chamber and stored are analyzed. (authors)
This is a continuation of research that started in July 2007 at the Deep River Science Academy. The research was related to the effects of endplate thickness and misalignment of fuel bundles in the fuel channel on pressure losses of reactor coolant. Based on this research, a new approach to refueling of the CANDU reactor has been developed. It greatly simplifies fuel handling equipment and increases its reliability. It also reduces required staffing, as well as operating and maintenance costs associated with fuel handling. (author)
... military medical education, environmental security activities, and provides e-mail capabilities and other basic information management capabilities. ...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of a simple deformable phantom as a QA tool for testing and validation of deformable image registration algorithms. A diagnostic thoracic imaging phantom with a deformable foam insert was used in this study. Small plastic markers were distributed through the foam to create a lattice with a measurable deformation as the ground truth data for all comparisons. The foam was compressed in the superior-inferior direction using a one-dimensional drive stage pushing a flat 'diaphragm' to create deformations similar to those from inhale and exhale states. Images were acquired at different compressions of the foam and the location of every marker was manually identified on each image volume to establish a known deformation field with a known accuracy. The markers were removed digitally from corresponding images prior to registration. Different image registration algorithms were tested using this method. Repeat measurement of marker ...
To address the need for integrated models of advanced power generation systems and for improved analysis techniques, the US Department of Energy (DOE), through the Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC), has supported the development of performance, emissions, and cost models of several advanced power generation systems, including integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), externally-fired combined cycle (EFCC) and pressurized fluidized bed combustion (PFBC) concepts. Simultaneously, numerical methods for simulation of uncertainties and optimization of process flowsheets have been implemented in the DOE`s public version of ASPEN. The new process models and computational capabilities have been applied to demonstrate the benefits of quantitative approaches to dealing with uncertainty and for optimizing technologies in the face of uncertainty. This paper focuses on modeling and assessment of the EFCC system concept. The purpose of the ...
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 ...
The TRAC/PFI-MOD2 Version 5.3 code was assessed against six FLECHT-SEASET forced reflood tests (31504, 31203, 31302, 31701, 34209, and 31922) and two cylindrical core test facility (CCTF) tests [C1-19 and C2-6]. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clad thermal response predictive capabilities of the code with the newly added reflood model under large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions in a pressurized water reactor (PWR). The TRAC model for the FLECHT-SEASET test facility was developed from a RELAP5 model. The test section was modeled using a vessel component with 23 axial levels, 1 radial ring, and 1 azimuthal cell. Test inlet and exit conditions were modeled using fill and break components, respectively. The measured lower and upper plenum test conditions were input to the model. The electrically heated rod was modeled using a rod component with 22 axial mesh points. The axial boundary of each mesh point coincided ...
In response to a heat shock, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae undergoes a large increase in its resistance to heat and, by the induction of its recombinational DNA repair capacity, a corresponding increase in resistance to radiation. Yeast which lack mitochondrial DNA, mitochondria-controlled protein synthetic apparatus, aerobic respiration, and electron transport (rho/sup 0/ strain) were used to assess the role of O/sub 2/, mitochondria, and oxidative processes controlled by mitochondria in the induction of these resistances. We have found that rho/sup 0/ yeast grown and heat shocked in either the presence or absence of O/sub 2/ are capable of developing both radiation and heat resistance. We conclude that neither the stress signal nor its cellular consequences of induced heat and radiation resistance are directly dependent on O/sub 2/, mitochondrial DNA, or mitochondria-controlled protein synthetic or oxidative processes.
The use of a non-dedicated GPS receiver system for attitude determination was assessed in airborne mode through a test conducted at Sandia National Laboratories. Four independent NovAtel GPSCard{trademark} receivers were installed in Sandia`s Twin Engine Otter with two antennas mounted on the fuselage and two on the wing tips at separations of 6 to 18 m. A strapdown INS was also on board the aircraft in order to provide an independent attitude reference at rates between 4 and 10 Hz. During the multi-day test, GPS measurements were recorded between 1 and 10 Hz. Carrier phase measurements were post-processed using a double difference approach developed at The University of Calgary in which integer ambiguities were resolved in seconds using the known antenna separations as constraints. The tracking capability of the system is demonstrated under dynamics consisting of roll and pitch angles up to 45 and 12 degrees, respectively. Comparisons between ...
RELAP5 (Reactor Excursion and Leak Analysis Program) is a system code developed at the Idaho National Environmental and Engineering Laboratory for thermal hydraulic analysis of nuclear reactors. The code RELAP5 is widely used for safety analysis studies of commercial nuclear power plants. However, recent released version of RELAP5/3.2 and over present significant capabilities for analysis of nuclear reactor research systems. As a contribution to the assessment of RELAP5/3.3 for research reactor safety analysis, experimental data from the University of Massachusetts Lowell Research Reactor UMLRR are used. The UMLRR is a 1 MW, light water moderated and cooled, graphite-reflected, open-pool type research reactor. This paper presents the development and the validation of a UMLRR-RELAP model using experimental data. For this purpose, a series of experiments were performed for benchmarking RELAP5 calculations for research reactor systems. As a result ...
The integrity of the cables located in the target room is very important in the Fire PSA, because the CDF and CCDP are changed according to the results of a cable integrity that depends on the surrounding gas temperature. The conservative assumptions used in the Fire PSA typically specify that all of the equipment and cables of a room would fail when a fire happens in the room. But the realistic assessment of a fire risk by using a fire simulation tool has become necessary in the Fire PSA as described in the ANS Fire PRA Standard. This paper evaluates the cable integrity of eight pump rooms in the nuclear power plant by using the CFAST zone fire model. The upper layer gas temperature of each room is estimated, and an analysis based on the results of model simulations is used to judge the cable integrity. According to the analysis results, the integrity of the cable located in the upper layer in the pump rooms is maintained without any thermal damage, and the CCDP ...
Some considerations regarding ice load in risk-based dam safety analysis are presented for small concrete dams. The most significant physical mechanisms leading to ice thrust on dams (such as thermal expansion and water level fluctuations) are outlined. Published literature on dam ice loads to examine ice load magnitude-return period relationships, sliding and overstressing failure mechanisms and structural performance criteria to resist ice loads, are also reviewed. Related loading combinations for structural safety evaluations were determined regarding the issue of simultaneity of ice loads with other events such as earthquakes. Parametric analyses were conducted on a small gravity dam section, 3m high, and a taller dam, 17.9 m high, to demonstrate the ultimate ice load carrying capability as a function of dam geometry and shear and tensile strengths of construction joints. Since the failure mechanism of a dam subjected to excessive ice loads is not well known, a ...
Thermoplastic encapsulation has been extensively studied at Brookhaven National Laboratory`s (BNL) Environmental and Waste Technology Center (EWTC) as a waste encapsulation technology applicable to a wide range of waste types including radioactive, hazardous and mixed wastes. Encapsulation involves processing thermoplastic and waste materials into a waste form product by heating and mixing both materials into a homogeneous molten mixture. Cooling of the melt results in a solid monolithic waste form in which contaminants have been completely surrounded by a polymer matrix. Heating and mixing requirements for successful waste encapsulation can be met using proven technologies available in various types of commercial equipment. Processing techniques for thermoplastic materials, such as low density polyethylene (LDPE), are well established within the plastics industry. The majority of commercial polymer processing is accomplished using extruders, mixers or a combination of these ...
The presence of water in export coals increases transport and handling costs. Coarse (+0.5 mm) coal constitutes the majority of the product, and small changes in its final moisture content will have a significant effect on overall product moisture. An on-line moisture monitor was installed on a product belt immediately after a coarse coal centrifuge to continuously measure the moisture content of the coal from a single centrifuge. Basic studies were also conducted with a laboratory centrifuge specifically designed to characterize various coarse coal samples in terms of their water retention capacity. The moisture of the coarse coal (typically 6 to 9%) was found to vary by at least 1% at a particular plant, and by a number of percentage points between plants. An empirical model has been developed which can explain about 80% of the moisture variation from the 25 samples investigated. The rank of the coals ranged from 0.7 to 1.65% mean reflectance. The model ...
Recycling and disposal of spent sodium-sulfur (Na/S) batteries are important issues that must be addressed as part of the commercialization process of Na/S battery-powered electric vehicles. The use of Na/S batteries in electric vehicles will result in significant environmental benefits, and the disposal of spent batteries should not detract from those benefits. In the United States, waste disposal is regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Understanding these regulations will help in selecting recycling and disposal processes for Na/S batteries that are environmentally acceptable and cost effective. Treatment processes for spent Na/S battery wastes are in the beginning stages of development, so a final evaluation of the impact of RCRA regulations on these treatment processes is not possible. The objectives of tills report on battery recycling and disposal are as follows: Provide an overview of RCRA regulations and requirements as they apply to Na/S battery ...
Nanosatellite space launches could significantly benefit from an electrically powered launch complex, based on an electromagnetic coil launcher. This paper presents results of studies to estimate the required launcher parameters and some fixed facility issues. This study is based on electromagnetic launch, or electromagnetic gun technology, which is constrained to a coaxial geometry to take advantage of the efficiency of closely-coupled coils. A baseline configuration for analysis considers a payload mass of 10 kg, launch velocity of 6 km/s, a second stage solid booster for orbital insertion, and a payload fraction of about 0.1. The launch facility is envisioned as an inclined track, 1-2 km in length, mounted on a hillside at 25 degrees aimed in the orbital inclination of interest. The launcher energy and power requirements fall in the range of 2000 MJ and 2 MW electric. This energy would be supplied by 400 modules of energy storage and magnetic coils. With a prime power generator of 2 ...
Many of today's automated real-time testing systems for embedded systems were developed using expensive custom hardware and software. In this article they describe how to use commercially available off-the-shelf hardware and software to design and develop an automated real-time test systems for Embedded Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Based Control Systems. The system development began with the implementation of the VALI/TEST Pro testing methodology as a means for structuring the testing. Using this methodology, they were able to decompose system requirement documents for a Personnel Safety System (PSS) into its high, intermediate and detail level requirements. next, the validation procedures for the PSS system were decomposed into testing units called builds, test runs and test cases. To measure the PSS system's test coverage three levels of system requirements were mapped to their respective unit level of test using a specially constructed validation matrix that ...
Radioactive waste shipping and receiving facilities presently planned for commercial and defence high level nuclear waste will handle waste packages at frequencies far in excess of those in common practice today. If current limits for radiation levels at the cask surface and current handling methods are used, high cumulative personnel exposure to ionizing radiation is projected to occur. To reduce these exposure levels, alternate handling methods are being developed and demonstrated. The production nature of cask receiving operations suggests commercial robotics be incorporated into a remote handling system to reduce predicted worker exposure to acceptable levels while maintaining or increasing throughput. The first phase of cask handling system development culminated in a proof-of-principle test demonstrating the feasibility of performing cask receiving and unloading operations in ...
Radioactive waste shipping and receiving facilities presently planned for commercial and defense high-level nuclear waste will handle waste packages at frequencies far in excess of those in common practice today. If current limits for radiation levels at the cask surface and current handling methods are used, high cumulative personnel exposure to ionizing radiation is projected to occur. To reduce these exposure levels, alternate handling methods are being developed and demonstrated. The production nature of cask receiving operations, suggests commercial robotics be incorporated into a remote handling system to reduce predicted worker exposure to acceptable levels while maintaining or increasing throughput. The first phase of cask handling system development culminated in a proof-of-principle test demonstrating the feasibility of performing cask receiving and unloading operations in ...
Radioactive waste shipping and receiving facilities presently planned for commercial and defense nuclear waste will handle waste packages at frequencies far in excess of those in common practice today. Unacceptable personnel exposure to ionizing radiation is projected to occur if current limits for radiation levels at the cask surface and current handling methods are used. To reduce these exposure levels, alternate handling methods are being developed and demonstrated. The production nature of cask receiving operations suggests commercial robotics be incorporated into a remote handling system to reduce predicted worker exposure to acceptable levels, while maintaining or increasing throughput. The first phase of cask handling system development culminated in a proof-of-principle test demonstrating the feasibility of performing cask receiving and unloading operations in a remote and ...
Many hoarding rodents use burrows not only for dwelling and protection from natural enemies, but also for food storage. However, little is known how burrows used by scatter-hoarding animals influence their foraging behaviors. In addition, handling time for a given food item has a fundamental impact on hoarding strategies of these hoarding animals: food items with longer handling time are more likely to be hoarded due to increasing predation risk because the animals spend more time outside their burrows if they consumed such food. By providing with two types of artificial burrows (aboveground vs. underground) and two types of food items (i.e. seeds) with contrasting handling times, we investigated how burrow condition and handling time co-influence hoarding strategies of a key scatter-hoard...
Full text: Secure, reliable and cost-effective communications are becoming an increasingly important tool for safeguards verification. This trend began with the initiation of remote monitoring implementation, where secure and cost effective data communications were required both to satisfy the confidentiality requirements of Member States and in order to meet the rigorous data authenticity requirements which allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to draw credible and independent conclusions. In addition, the implementation of additional protocols and integrated safeguards increases the importance of information (obtained in the course of an inspection, visit, complementary access or design information verification) being analyzed and corroborated with other information sources stored at IAEA Headquarters or Regional Offices, often while the inspector is still on-site. This requires the capability of enabling the inspector, wherever he is in the field, ...
The Milstar communications satellite system will provide secure antijam communication capabilities for DOD operations into the next century. In order to accomplish this task, the Milstar system will employ precise timekeeping on its satellites and at its ground control stations. The constellation will consist of four satellites in geosynchronous orbit, each carrying a set of four rubidium (Rb) atomic clocks. Several times a day, during normal operation, the Mission Control Element (MCE) will collect timing information from the constellation, and after several days use this information to update the time and frequency of the satellite clocks. The MCE will maintain precise time with a cesium (Cs) atomic clock, synchronized to UTC(USNO) via a GPS receiver. We have developed a Monte Carlo simulation of Milstar's space segment timekeeping. The simulation includes the effects of: uplink/downlink time transfer noise; satellite crosslink time transfer noise; satellite ...
This Current Year Work Plan presents in detail a description of the activities to be performed by the Joint Integration Office/RI during FY86. It breaks down the activities into two major work areas: Program Management and Program Analysis. Program Management is performed by the JIO/RI by providing technical planning and guidance for the development of advanced TRU waste management capabilities. This includes equipment/facility design, engineering, construction, and operations. These functions are integrated to allow transition from interim storage to final disposition. JIO/RI tasks include program requirements identification, long-range technical planning, budget development, program planning document preparation, task guidance development, task monitoring, task progress information gathering and reporting to DOE, interfacing with other agencies and DOE lead programs, integrating public involvement with program efforts, and preparation of reports for DOE detailing ...
TRIGA-SSR is a steady state research and material test reactor that has been in operation since 1980. The original TRIGA fuel was HEU (highly enriched uranium) with a U"2"3"5 enrichment of 93 per cent. Almost all TRIGA HEU fuel bundles are now burned-up. Part of the spent fuel was loaded and transferred to US, in a Romania - DOE arrangement. The rest of the TRIGA fuel bundles have to be temporarily stored in the TRIGA facility. As the storage conditions had to be established with caution, neutron and thermal hydraulic evaluations of the storage conditions were required. Some criticality evaluations were made based on the SAR (Safety Analysis Report) data. Fuel constant axial temperature approximation effect is usual for criticality computations. TRIGA-SSR fuel bundle geometry and materials model for SCALE5-CSAS module allows the introduction of a fuel temperature dependency for the entire fuel active height, using different materials for each fuel bundle region. Previous RELAP5 thermal ...
The Safety Analysis Report for the TRUPACT-II Shipping Package [Transuranic Package Transporter-II (TRUPACT-II) SARP] set limits for gas generation rates, wattage limits, and flammable volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations in transuranic (TRU) waste containers that would be shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Based on existing headspace gas data for drums stored at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) and the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS), over 30 percent of the contact-handled TRU waste drums contain flammable VOC concentrations greater than the limit. Additional requirements may be imposed for emplacement of waste in the WIPP facility. The conditional no-migration determination (NMD) for the test phase of the facility required that flame tests be performed if significant levels of flammable VOCs were present in TRU waste containers. This paper describes an approach for investigating the potential ...
Waste management has gone through a history of shifting problems, demands, and strategies over the years. In contrast to the long prevailing view that the problem could be solved by hiding or moving it, waste is now viewed as a problem ranging from local to global concern, and as being an integral part of several sectors in society. Decisive for this view has been society's increasing complexity and thus the increasing complexity of waste, together with a general development of environmental consciousness, moving from local focus on point emission sources, to regional and global issues of more complex nature. This thesis is about the development and application ORWARE; a model for computer aided environmental systems analysis of municipal waste management. Its origin is the hypothesis that widened perspectives are needed in waste management decision-making to avoid severe sub-optimisation of environmental performance. With a strong foundation in life cycle ...
The purpose of this report is to provide a brief overview and bibliography of those techniques that may have application for the evaluation of a site to determine if a high energy release event is nuclear in nature. This effort is motivated by recognition of the changing world political climate and the perception that low yield and non-proliferation issues will grow in importance as countries become increasingly involved as signators to treaties that are intended to limit the development and testing of nuclear weapons. Along with an increasing interest in such issues is the awareness of the need to implement improved capabilities for treaty monitoring programs that must deal with assessing suspicious occurrences of high energy release events. In preparing this report, it is recognized that monitoring can take two main forms. The first involves the resolution of unidentified events detected by seismic and satellite National Technical Means. ...
A set of materials property data for potential wear resistant materials was collected. These materials are designated for use as the ''core'' materials in the Fibrous Monolith structure. The material properties of hardness, toughness, thermal conductivity and cost were selected as determining factors for material choice. Data for these four properties were normalized, and weighting factors were assigned for each property to establish priority and evaluate the effects of priority fluctuation. Materials were then given a score based on the normalized parameters and weighting values. Using the initial estimates for parameter priority, the highest ranking material was tungsten carbide, with diamond as the second ranked material. Several materials were included in the trade study, and five were selected as promising ''core'' materials to include in this effort. These materials are tungsten carbide, diamond, boron ...
This report summarises nearly 20 biosphere reports and gives a synthesis of the work performed within the SR-Site Biosphere project, i.e. the biosphere part of SR-Site. SR-Site Biosphere provides the main project with dose conversion factors (LDFs), given a unit release rate, for calculation of human doses under different release scenarios, and assesses if a potential release from the repository would have detrimental effects on the environment. The intention of this report is to give sufficient details for an overview of methods, results and major conclusions, with references to the biosphere reports where methods, data and results are presented and discussed in detail. The philosophy of the biosphere assessment was to make estimations of the radiological risk for humans and the environment as realistic as possible, based on the knowledge of present-day conditions at Forsmark and the past and expected future development of the site. This was ...
There are two major distinct activities involved with reprocessing of nuclear fuel. They are: a) Mechanical handling of the fuel in the head end plants; and b) chemical dissolution and separation of unused fuel, useful by-products and waste products. Plants and facilities associated with the former include significant remote handling equipment that is designed for handling of fuel for normal production processes. These equipment are selected and designed to meet the design throughput of the plant taking into consideration ease of their operation and maintenance in conjunction with statutory regulations on safety and operator dose uptake. Nevertheless, during the life of the plant, there are instances when special equipment is called for to access part of the plant and undertake tasks such as inspection, maintenance and modification to improve the existing process. BNFL has much experience in the design and application of ...
An improved lockout assembly for locking a circuit breaker in a selected off or on position is provided. The lockout assembly includes a lock block and a lock pin. The lock block has a hollow interior which fits over the free end of a switch handle of the circuit breaker. The lock block includes at least one hole that is placed in registration with a hole in the free end of the switch handle. A lock tab on the lock block serves to align and register the respective holes on the lock block and switch handle. A lock pin is inserted through the registered holes and serves to connect the lock block to the switch handle. Once the lock block and the switch handle are connected, the position of the switch handle is prevented from being changed by the lock tab bumping up against a stationary housing portion of the circuit breaker. When the lock pin installed, an ...
This document presents a detailed schedule for the implementation of the strategy for managing defense remote-handled (RH) transuranic (TRU) waste. The baseline management strategy was defined in the Defense Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste Cost/Schedule Optimization Study and is summarized in this document. Also included are revised RH TRU waste inventory projections, current site management plans, a list of key decision points and milestones, and a discussion of uncertainties associated with management of RH TRU waste. The plans are summarized in a detailed schedule diagram and in an RH TRU waste work off diagram. 9 refs., 5 figs., 4 tabs.
In order to improve the working conditions for the operators of drilling rigs, the work area for handling of pipes and tubes is arranged on a main deck convered by a drill deck, which has openings closable by hatch cover panels. The derrick is enclosed in a cover, from which tunnels extend out over the drill deck and comprises lifting means for handling of pipes and tubes between the decks. The tunnels are connected to the cover of the derrick by raised enclosures permitting the swinging of pipes from a horizontal position in the tunnel to a vertical position in the derrick, and vice versa. There is a door, at least at one of the enclosures, permitting handling of especially long objects. Basically, the handling of pipes and tubes can be performed within areas fully protected from the weather.
D-11. The Contractor shall pack and mark all hardware deliverable under this ... Handling, and Transportation, and/or MIL-STD-2073-1 and MIL-STD 2073-2, ...
Approximately 65% of PSI structures report some type of ligand(s) that is bound in the crystal structure. Here, a description is given of how such ligands are handled and analyzed at the JCSG and a...Full Text Available
We present interactive computer programs for the analysis of nucleic acid sequences. In order to handle these programs, minimum computer experience is sufficient. The nucleotide sequence of the human...Full Text Available
The National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP) was implemented in 1997 to update and improve the quality of food composition data maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). NFNAP was designed to sample and analyze frequently consumed foods in the U.S. food supply using statistically rigorous sampling plans, established sample handling procedures, and qualified analytical laboratories. Methods for careful handling of food samples from acquisition to analysis were developed to ensure the integrity of the samples and subsequent generation of accurate nutrient values. The infrastructure of NFNAP, under which over 1500 foods have been sampled, mandates tested sample handling protocols for a wide variety of foods. The majority of these foods were categorized into ...
This book discusses the procedures applied for the clinical nuclear medicine laboratory. The procedures are presented as proven guidelines. The chapters are included on quality assurance, radionuclide handling, and radiation safety.
Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Whirlpool Galaxy Deep Field Credit & Copyright: Jon Christensen Explanation: Follow the handle...
on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. M51: Cosmic Whirlpool Credit & Copyright: Tony and Daphne Hallas Explanation: Follow the handle of the Big...
Sep 19, 2005 ... within a sealed tube to control the environment to which a sample mounts are better suited to handling the very small crystal is exposed. ...
This thesis - Resource Management in Broadband Communication Networks - deals with different ways of optimizing the available resources of data- or telecommunication networks. Especially topics like optimal routing, load balancing and fast recovery of routes in case of link failures are covered. The first part gives a brief description of some of the existing protocols for routing and controlling resources, such as RSVP, OSPF, BGP, PNNI, etc. The remaining part concerns the following two fundamentally different approaches to resource management etc.: - Software agents - Simulated ants In the beginning of the part concerning software agents a description of what exactly constitutes software agents, according to the scientists and according to the organization, FIPA is given. After this, the main results from the IMPACT project are presented. The IMPACT project is an EU-project that aimed at developing a demonstration platform, where software agents handled virtually ...
There is a well-known story about the blind man examining the elephant: the part of the elephant examined determines his perception of the whole beast. Perhaps bioinformatics--the shotgun marriage between biology and mathematics, computer science, and engineering--is like an elephant that occupies a large chair in the scientific living room. Given the demand for and shortage of researchers with the computer skills to handle large volumes of biological data, where exactly does the bioinformatics elephant sit? There are probably many biologists who feel that a major product of this bioinformatics elephant is large piles of waste material. If you have tried to plow through Web sites and software packages in search of a specific tool for analyzing and collating large amounts of research data, you may well feel the same way. But there has been progress with major initiatives to develop more computing power, educate biologists about computers, increase funding, and set ...
SX Holdings Limited intends to establish a rare earths plant at Port Pirie, South Australia. The proposal involves three stages of development, Stage 3 being to develop a monazite cracking plant and associated rare earths separation facility with the capacity to process up to 8,000 t/a of monazite-type ores. The proposed initial capacity is 4,000 t/a. This Draft Environmental Impact Statement relates to Stage 3 and is based on a monazite processing capacity of 8,000 t/a. The justification of the project is given in terms of use and the market for rare earths, the economic and environmental benefits of the proposal, the site selection process, site rehabilitation, and the consequences of not proceeding. A detailed description of the project is given, including the treatment process, site development and facilities, the supply of raw materials, product and waste handling, transport and storage, plant commissioning, operation and decommissioning, construction and ...
The Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) of the Department of Energy is designed to identify and evaluate the radiological conditions at sites formerly used by the Corps of Engineers Manhattan Engineer District and the US Atomic Energy Commission. Where required, remedial action will be instituted to remove potential restrictions on the use of the sites due to residual low-level radioactive contamination. A total of 31 sites that may require remedial action has been identified. The purpose of the Ocean FUSRAP Program, which began in March 1981, is to assess the technical, environmental, and institutional feasibility of disposing, in the ocean and on the ocean floor, of FUSRAP soil and rubble which contains traces of natural radioactive materials. The initial focus has been on the Middlesex, New Jersey, Sampling Plant site and surrounding properties, which contain on the order of 100,000 metric tons of material. The Belgian Congo uranium ore and ...
The Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) of the Department of Energy is designed to identify and evaluate the radiological conditions at sites formerly used by the Corps of Engineers Manhattan Engineer District and the US Atomic Energy Commission. Where required, remedial action will be instituted to remove potential restrictions on the use of the sites due to residual low-level radioactive contamination. A total of 31 sites that may require remedial action has been identified. The purpose of the Ocean FUSRAP Program, which began in March 1981, is to assess the technical, environmental, and institutional feasibility of disposing, in the ocean and on the ocean floor, of FUSRAP soil and rubble which contains traces of natural radioactive materials. The initial focus has been on the Middlesex, New Jersey, Sampling Plant site and surrounding properties, which contain on the order of 100,000 metric tons of material. The Belgian Congo uranium ore and ...
Determination of the suitability of the site for WIPP is only the first major phase in the evaluation of the radiological impact of the repository on the public health and safety. The Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG) will continue to independently review the design of the facility, the operational procedures, the criteria for packaging and shipment of the waste, the plans, procedures and results of the WIPP experiments, emergency preparedness, adherence to EPA and pertinent NRC regulations, and other important features of the project. EEG has concluded from existing evidence that the Los Medanos site for the WIPP project has been characterized in sufficient detail to warrant confidence in the validation of the site for the permanent emplacement of approximately 6 million cubic feet of defense transuranic waste. This conclusion is based on the assumption that the maximum surface dose rate for the unshielded remote-handled transuranic waste canisters will be 100 ...
BACKGROUND: Denys-Drash Syndrome (DDS) is an uncommon disorder that appears sporadically and in rare cases may be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait It manifests either at birth or within the first year of life and typically consists of the triad of congenital nephropathy, Wilms tumour and intersex disorder. CASE REPORT: A 10 year-old Caucasian girl was referred to the Dental Department, at Glasgow Royal Hospital for Sick Children by her Paediatric Nephrologist Consultant. The patient was being teased by her peers over her markedly discoloured teeth. The dental history revealed that the patient was a regular dental attendee from an early age. She was dentally anxious having only experienced dental treatment under general anaesthesia (GA) when she was 4 years old. Apparently her primary dentition also showed a generalised discolouration. TREATMENT: This consisted of multiple visits for diet analysis and tooth brushing instruction with the use of disclosing tablets. Plaque control ...
Energy balances are analysed from a life-cycle perspective for biogas systems based on 8 different raw materials. The analysis is based on published data and relates to Swedish conditions. The results show that the energy input into biogas systems (i.e. large-scale biogas plants) overall corresponds to 20-40% (on average approximately 30%) of the energy content in the biogas produced. The net energy output turns negative when transport distances exceed approximately 200 km (manure), or up to 700 km (slaughterhouse waste). Large variations exist in energy efficiency among the biogas systems studied. These variations depend both on the properties of the raw materials studied and on the system design and allocation methods chosen. The net energy output from biogas systems based on raw materials that have high water content and low biogas yield (e.g. manure) is relatively low. When energy-demanding handling of the raw materials is required, the energy input increases ...
... design, and manufacturing knowledge have been acquired and used to develop an 'in-house' capability for the fabrication of magnetic forming coils ...
Chemoheterotrophic thermophilic bacteria were used to achieve enhanced hydrocarbon degradation during slurry-phase treatment of oily waste sludges from petroleum refinery operations. Aerobic and anaerobic bacterial cultures were examined under thermophilic conditions to assess the effects of mode of metabolism on the potential for petroleum hydrocarbon degradation. The study determined that both aerobic and anaerobic thermophilic bacteria are capable of growth on petroleum hydrocarbons. Thermophilic methanogenesis is feasible during the degradation of hydrocarbons when a strict anaerobic condition is achieved in a slurry bioreactor. Aerobic thermophilic bacteria achieved the largest apparent reduction in chemical oxygen demand, freon extractable oil, total and volatile solid,s and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) when treating oily waste sludges. The observed shift with time in the molecular weight distribution of hydrocarbon material ...
Chemoheterotrophic thermophilic bacteria were used to achieve enhanced hydrocarbon degradation during slurry-phase treatment of oily waste sludges from petroleum refinery operations. Aerobic and anaerobic bacterial cultures were examined under thermophilic conditions to assess the effects of mode of metabolism on the potential for petroleum hydrocarbon degradation. The study determined that both aerobic and anaerobic thermophilic bacteria are capable of growth on petroleum hydrocarbons. Thermophilic methanogenesis is feasible during the degradation of hydrocarbons when a strict anaerobic condition is achieved in a slurry bioreactor. Aerobic thermophilic bacteria achieved the largest apparent reduction in chemical oxygen demand, freon extractable oil, total and volatile solid,s and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) when treating oily waste sludges. The observed shift with time in the molecular weight distribution of hydrocarbon material ...
Since the late 1970s, the Babcock & Wilcox (B & W) Owners Group (BWOG) has sponsored significant activities that address technical, economic, and licensing issues to ensure that the B & W nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) power plants operate until the end of their current plant licensed life and to preserve the license renewal option. It should be no surprise that the BWOG decided in late 1992 to aggressively pursue a license renewal effort. This effort, the Generic License Renewal Program (GLRP), has over the past 18 months contributed significantly to the industry`s license renewal initiative. The GLRP was established as a project with a full-time management organization within the BWOG structure. Its primary objective was the development and demonstration of an integrated plant assessment (IPA) process that would meet the requirements of the License Renewal Rule, published by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in December 1991. The BWOG ...
When chest radiographs are obtained using an anti-scatter grid in a mobile x-ray unit by Fuji Computed Radiography (FCR), right lung densities may differ from left lung densities owing to misalignment caused by an oblique x-ray beam. Such misalignment is considered to be caused by factors such as the shape of the bed and angle of the x-ray tube. Misalignment is especially frequent when exposure is carried out in the sitting position. Although a low-ratio grid has been reported to offer improvement, the misalignment is not completely eliminated. Therefore, we used a copper plate without a lattice feature instead of grid, and examined the results. The copper plate was found to have the ability of a grid to eliminate radiation scatter, and, furthermore, to offer the physical capabilities of a grid as determined by Carlin's new grid assessment method. Image quality was demonstrated through contrast manipulation to be equal to that obtained ...
When chest radiographs are obtained using an anti-scatter grid in a mobile x-ray unit by Fuji Computed Radiography (FCR), right lung densities may differ from left lung densities owing to misalignment caused by an oblique x-ray beam. Such misalignment is considered to be caused by factors such as the shape of the bed and angle of the x-ray tube. Misalignment is especially frequent when exposure is carried out in the sitting position. Although a low-ratio grid has been reported to offer improvement, the misalignment is not completely eliminated. Therefore, we used a copper plate without a lattice feature instead of grid, and examined the results. The copper plate was found to have the ability of a grid to eliminate radiation scatter, and, furthermore, to offer the physical capabilities of a grid as determined by Carlin's new grid assessment method. Image quality was demonstrated through contrast manipulation to be equal to that obtained by grid ...
The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory was designed with some passive safety response attributes which contribute to the safety of the facility. The three passive safety attributes being evaluated in the paper are: 1) In-core and in-vessel natural convection cooling, 2) a passive heat sink capability of the ATR primary coolant system (PCS) for the transfer of decay power from the uninsulated piping to the confinement, and 3) gravity feed of emergency coolant makeup. The safety significance of the ATR passive safety response attributes is that the reactor can passively respond to most transients, given a reactor scram, to provide adequate decay power removal and a significant time for operator action should the normal active heat removal systems and their backup systems both fail. The ATR Interim Level 1 Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) models and results were used to evaluate the significance to ATR fuel ...
Analyses of the roles of cement-based barriers in radioactive waste isolation show that models used to estimate their characteristics during the lifetime of the repository must consider the alteration of material properties with time due to degradation processes. Reinforced concrete barriers at repositories shall be designed in such manner that they fulfil besides isolative capabilities also the required functions of mechanical resistance and stability. Key elements of safety evaluation are mainly the correct selection of materials for mineral composites with cement binder (cements, aggregates, mineral additives and chemical admixtures) and their design, execution of construction works and production of precast concrete containers (continuous casting of concrete - no cold joints, limited number of construction joints, proper placing and consolidation, finishing and curing), strict control of used materials and inspection of works, as well as investigation after the ...
The overall objective of this research project is to develop a technical basis for flexible piping designs which will improve piping reliability and minimize the use of pipe supports, snubbers, and pipe whip restraints. The current study was conducted to establish the necessary groundwork based on the piping reliability analysis. A confirmatory piping reliability assessment indicated that removing rigid supports and snubbers tends to either improve or affect very little the piping reliability. We then investigated a couple of changes to be implemented in Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.61 and RG 1.122 aimed at more flexible piping design. We concluded that these changes substantially reduce calculated piping responses and allows piping redesigns with significant reduction in number of supports and snubbers without violating ASME code requirements. Furthermore, the more flexible piping redesigns are capable of exhibiting reliability levels equal to or ...
The purpose and need for DOE to undertake the actions described in this document are to improve the efficiency of the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) complex. Benefits would include optimization of the AGS scientific program, increased high-energy and nuclear physics experimentation, improved health and safety conditions for workers and users, reduced impact on the environment and the general public, energy conservation, decreased generation of hazardous and radioactive wastes, and completion of actions required to permit the AGS to be the injector to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)., Improved efficiency is defined as increasing the AGS`s capabilities to capture and accelerate the proton intensity transferred to the AGS from the AGS booster. Improved capture of beam intensity would reduce the beam losses which equate to lost scientific opportunity for study and increased potential for radiation doses to workers and the general public. The action ...
Full text.This paper describes a software tool for generation expansion planning based on dynamic programming, probabilistic production simulation, and environmental assessment. The aim is to determine the units needed to expand a given system in order to minimize either the cost or the environmental impact or some weighed function of the two. The problem of generation expansion planning is solved in stages using Tunnel Dynamic Programming (TDP) with Heuristic rules to limit the number of options analyzed. The production costing methodology is based on combining a probabilistic generation model known as the capacity outage table (COT) with the load duration curve (LDC) of the system to deduce a risk model from which the expected energy not supplied (EENS) is estimated. The generation model is built recursively using an efficient numerical convolution procedure and is combined at each step with the LDC to calculate the expected energy produced by each unit, its ...
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 mathematical models of the electricity consumption. The accuracy of these models was assessed by using the mean squared error (MSE), the mean ...
Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the capability of high-resolution images obtained with a commercially available pelvic phased-array surface coil to demonstrate normal hip anatomy. Design. We retrospectively analyzed the oblique coronal magnetic resonance (MR) images of hips of 36 consecutive patients acquired on a 1.5-T clinical imager using a pelvic phased-array coil as a receiver, a 16-20 cm field of view, and 5 mm slice thickness. Patients. Thirty-six patients were studied, age 15-81 years. There were 20 males and 16 females. Results and conclusions. The articular cartilage, cortex, superior labrum, and iliofemoral ligament were well visualized on proton density weighted fat saturation (PDF) images. The femoral and obturator vessels, obturator nerve, and various muscles were easily seen on T1-weighted images. High-resolution imaging of the hip is achievable in a reasonable amount of time using newer phased-array surface coils ...
Phenomena associated with induced currents and voltages on high voltage transmission lines were discussed. Basic principles were reviewed. Action taken by Hydro-Quebec to assess the importance of associated problems on its grid was described. Hydro-Quebec`s findings and recommendations were compared with those of the International Standard, IEC 1129. It was concluded that for most cases, induced currents and voltages were higher than those listed under Class A recommendations of IEC 1129 as rated switching capabilities for ground switches assigned to this duty. For worst case scenarios, it was also found that, values of induced currents and voltages were lower than those of Class B recommendations. Hydro-Quebec and GEC Alsthom T and D collaborated to design and type test a full range of low cost and efficient ground interrupter switches tailored to Hydro-Quebec`s needs. A list of general application criteria of ground interrupter switches that ...
In field O{sub 3}-enrichment experiments increased herbivore densities have been reported, which could be due to negatively affected host location behavior of natural enemies. We addressed the impact of doubling background O{sub 3} on the host location of the parasitoid Cotesia plutellae by conducting 24-h trials in an open-air O{sub 3}-fumigation system during two consecutive years. Two circles (radii 1.40 and 4.00 m) of Plutella xylostella-infested potted cabbage plants were placed in the O{sub 3} and ambient plots. Female wasps were released into each plot from the center, and observed 5 times over a 24-h period to assess their host location capability. Thereafter, plants were kept in laboratory conditions until larvae pupation to determine parasitism rates. No significant differences were detected between ambient and O{sub 3}-enriched environments either in the number of wasps found in the field, or in the percentages of parasitized larvae. ...
A study has been performed for the development and assessment of a subchannel analysis code which is purposed to be used for the analysis of advanced reactor conditions with various configurations of reactor core and several kinds of reactor coolant fluids. The subchannel analysis code was developed on the basis of MATRA code which is being developed at KAERI. A GUI (Graphic User Interface) system was adopted in order to reduce input error and to enhance user convenience. The subchannel code was complemented in the property calculation modules by including various fluids such as heavy liquid metal, gas, refrigerant,and supercritical water. The subchannel code was applied to calculate the local thermal hydraulic conditions inside the non-square test bundles which was employed for the analysis of CHF. The applicability of the subchannel code was evaluated for a high temperature gas cooled reactor condition and supercritical pressure conditions with water and Freon. A ...
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute(KAERI) launched a project to develop an integral reactor in 1996. The reactor called as System Integrated Modular Advanced Reactor(SMART) which is a kind of small modular reactors (SMRs). Since the early 1990s, there has been renewed interest in the development and application of small and medium sized integral reactors. 2009 assessment by the IAEA under its Innovative Nuclear Power Reactor and Fuel Cycle (INPRO) program concluded that there could be 96 SMRs in operation around the world by 2030 in its 'high' case, and 43 units in the 'low' case, none of them in the USA. The reason of the increased demand mostly comes from the fact that SMRs are thought to be more suitable for developing countries with small electrical grid capacity, insufficient infrastructure and limited investment capability than developed ones. However, it has disadvantage in the point of scale of economy. So, it should be compared the ...
To assess the diagnostic capability Fuji computed radiography (FCR) using a dual side reading system was compared to the conventional radiography using a film-screen system. Twenty-eight patients with lung cancer were examined with a new FCR system (FCR 5501D) and a conventional screen-film system concurrently. FCR utilizes a reading system that detects emissions from dual sides of imaging plate. Chest X-rays were obtained with same exposure factors in both systems. Image qualities of both systems were compared by two radiologists using a five-level score. There were no lesion that FCR images were inferior to film-screen images. The frequency of score +1 or +2 that FCR images were superior to film-screen images was 31% in large nodular shadows, 40% in accompanying shadows with a nodule, 67% of small nodular shadows, and 43% of the lymph node swelling in the hilum of the lung or mediastinum. In large nodular shadows which were the most frequent ...
Postresection villus hyperplasia is a major compensatory mechanism in the short-bowel patient. Substances capable of augmenting postresection mucosal hyperplasia could have therapeutic implications. Human growth hormone (hGH) and human growth hormone releasing factor (hGHRF) stimulate growth of the gastrointestinal tract; however, the diabetogenic actions of growth hormone limit its usefulness in clinical practice. Plerocercoid larvae of the tapeworm Spirometra mansonoides produce an analog of hGH void of diabetogenic side effects. We assessed effects of plerocercoid growth factor (PGF) on mucosal adaptation following 70% proximal jejunoileal resection in young rats. Mucosal weight, DNA, protein, and total sucrase activity per centimeter of bowel were increased in resected PGF-treated animals compared to resected controls. We conclude PGF augments intrinsic postresection mucosal hyperplasia following extensive intestinal resection. PMID:3665682
Daya Bay NPP has been operating safely and stably over 10 years since 1994, and its' seismic analysis of nuclear island was in accordance with the approaches in RCC-G standard for the model M310, in which the Simplified Impedance Matrix Method (SIMM) was employed for the consideration of SSI. Thanks to the rapid progress being made in upgrading the evaluation technology and the capability of data processing systems, methods and software tools for the SSI analysis have experienced significant development all over the world. Focused on the model of reactor building of the Daya Bay NPP, in his paper the more sophisticated 3D half-space continuum impedance method based on the Green functions is used to analyze the functions of the soil, and then the seismic responses of the coupled SSI system are calculated and compared with the corresponding design values. It demonstrates that the design method provides a set of conservatively safe results. The conclusions from the ...
The Electrochemical Technology Program at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) provides advanced battery R&D; technology transfer to industry; technical analyses, assessments, modeling, and databases; and independent testing and post-test analyses of advanced batteries. These capabilities and services are being offered to the US Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) and Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA) are being negotiated for USABC-sponsored work at ANL. A small portion of DOE`s cost share for USABC projects has been provided to ANL to continue R&D and testing activities on key technologies that were previously supported directly by DOE. This report summarizes progress on these USABC projects during the period of April I through September 30, 1992. In this report, the objective, background, technical progress, and status are described for each task. The work is organized into the following task areas: 1.0 ...
The Electrochemical Technology Program at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) provides advanced battery R D; technology transfer to industry; technical analyses, assessments, modeling, and databases; and independent testing and post-test analyses of advanced batteries. These capabilities and services are being offered to the US Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) and Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA) are being negotiated for USABC-sponsored work at ANL. A small portion of DOE's cost share for USABC projects has been provided to ANL to continue R D and testing activities on key technologies that were previously supported directly by DOE. This report summarizes progress on these USABC projects during the period of April I through September 30, 1992. In this report, the objective, background, technical progress, and status are described for each task. The work is organized into the following task areas: 1.0 ...
An uncertainty decrease is an very important issue for enhancing risk-informed (RI) activities worldwide. Especially, a relatively large uncertainty in a level-2 (L2) PSA risk compared with level-1 internal PSA risk has been a bottleneck problem in the RI application to the extent of a severe accident management. According to the ASME PRA standard in which sources of an uncertainty to capture a category-II RI (= Option 2) capability are listed, an uncertainty analysis which identifies the key sources of an uncertainty and includes sensitivity studies for dominant contributors to LERF (Large Early Release Frequency) needs to be provided. To solve these problems, USNRC have developed the 'SPAR-LERF' model related to the L2 RI application and 'L2 uncertainty assessment and improvement' work is being taken as a main PSA2 topic of the SARNET (Severe Accident Research Network of Excellence) program in Europe by OECD/NEA. Domestically, a mid/long-term ...
Coupled modeling of subsurface multiphase fluid and heat flow, solute transport and chemical reactions can be used for the assessment of acid mine drainage remediation, mineral deposition, waste disposal sites, hydrothermal convection, contaminant transport, and groundwater quality. Here they present a numerical simulation model, TOUGHREACT, which considers non-isothermal multi-component chemical transport in both liquid and gas phases. A wide range of subsurface thermo-physical-chemical processes is considered. The model can be applied to one-, two- or three-dimensional porous and fractured media with physical and chemical heterogeneity. The model can accommodate any number of chemical species present in liquid, gas and solid phases. A variety of equilibrium chemical reactions is considered, such as aqueous complexation, gas dissolution/exsolution, cation exchange, and surface complexation. Mineral dissolution/precipitation can proceed either subject to local ...
such as public utilities, waste disposal sites, large energy dependent facilities including factories, institutions ( ...provides immediate identification of PCB wastes, informs company officials of any special handling or disposal techniques ...provides immediate identification of PCB wastes, informs company officials of any special handling or disposal techniques
This Radioactive and Mixed Waste Management Plan for the Hazardous Waste Handling Facility at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory is written to meet the requirements for an annual report of radioactive and mixed waste management activities outlined in DOE Order 5820.2A. Radioactive and mixed waste management activities during FY 1994 listed here include principal regulatory and environmental issues and the degree to which planned activities were accomplished.
This book contains the proceedings of the International Topical Meeting on Remote Systems and Robotics in Hostile Environments. It is organized under the following sessions: Worldwide Applications Overview; Operating Mobile Systems; Sensors and Control Systems; Space Applications; Reactor Operations and Surveillance; Remote Equipment for Hazardous Operations; Future Mobile System; Mining and Construction Operations; Special Applications; Hot Cell Applications; Processing; Reactor Operations and Maintenance; Decontamination and Waste Handling; Remote Handling Development and Demonstration.
This paper describes a method for preparing the sample handling and inlet system of a mass spectrometer for analysis of a subsequent sample following analysis of a previous sample comprising the flushing of the system interior with supercritical CO{sub 2} and venting the interior. The method eliminates the effect of system ``memory`` on the subsequent analysis, especially following persistent samples such as xenon and krypton.
A lock out assembly for a circuit breaker which consists of a generally step-shaped unitary base with an aperture in the small portion of the step-shaped base and a roughly S shaped retaining pin which loops through the large portion of the step-shaped base. The lock out assembly is adapted to fit over a circuit breaker with the handle switch projecting through the aperture, and the retaining pin projecting into an opening of the handle switch, preventing removal.
The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) reactor characterization by the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory (HEDL) includes extensive neutronic measurements during startup and initial operation. To aid in the handling and counting of the thousands of passive dosimeters used as part of this effort, an automated dosimetry specimen handling, positioning, and counting system was designed and developed by Westinghouse Hanford for the Department of Energy.
An outline of the instrumentation and control systems associated with fuelling machines is given. The control systems such as hydraulic system, oil hydraulic system, electric control system and the remote control systems have been discussed in detail. The difference between RAPP and MAPP fuel handling control systems has been explained. A computer based system for the Narora fuel handling control system is also discussed. (S.K.K.).
The objective of the ''Waste Handling Building Conceptual Study'' is to develop proposed design requirements for the repository Waste Handling System in sufficient detail to allow the surface facility design to proceed to the License Application effort if the proposed requirements are approved by DOE. Proposed requirements were developed to further refine waste handling facility performance characteristics and design constraints with an emphasis on supporting modular construction, minimizing fuel inventory, and optimizing facility maintainability and dry handling operations. To meet this objective, this study attempts to provide an alternative design to the Site Recommendation design that is flexible, simple, reliable, and can be constructed in phases. The design concept will be input to the ''Modular Design/Construction and Operation Options ...
The main problems arising in decommissioning nuclear-powered submarines (NPS) relate to choosing a concept of handling reactor compartments followed by handling technology development. Reactor compartments (RC) are characterized with extremely space-saving or integral layout of large-size power equipment and systems, restricted access for dismantling, high radiation dose rates in a number of bays of RC. The above RC features pose a problem to find optimum option of RC utilization which on the one hand would be the most cost efficient, and the safest as possible on the other, i.e. dose commitments of personnel involved should be minimum, and effect on population and environment should be negligible. The main radiation factors specifying safety in RC handling at any decommissioning stage are as follows: (1) total radioactivity integrated in reactor facility (RF); (2) distribution of this radioactivity through RF equipment and ...
This document - IAEA Safeguards: Implementation Blueprint of Commercial Satellite Imagery - constitutes the second report from SSC Satellitbild giving a structured view and solid guidelines on how to proceed with a conceivable implementation of satellite imagery to support Safeguards activities of the Agency. This Phase 2 report presents a large number of concrete recommendations regarding suggested management issues, work organisation, imagery purchasing and team building. The study has also resulted in several lists of actions and preliminary project plans with GANT schedules concerning training, hardware and software, as well as for the initial pilot studies. In both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies it is confirmed that the proposed concept of a relatively small Imagery Unit using high-resolution data will be a sound and feasible undertaking. Such a unit capable of performing advanced image processing as a tool for various safeguard tasks will give the Agency an ...
Reporting of the first nuclear trafficking incidents began in the early 1990's. The incidents were handled on a national level, using the resources and expertise available in the respective states. However, it soon became evident that fighting this illicit movement of nuclear material across borders would require international cooperation and a systematic and methodological approach. To this end, the G-8 states encouraged the creation of a dedicated group of experts. The Nuclear Smuggling International Technical Working Group (ITWG) was created in the mid 1990's under the auspices of the G-8, following the 1995 Ottawa summit and the 1996 nuclear security summit held in Moscow. The group reports regularly to the Nuclear Safety and Security Group (NSSG) of the G-8. The ITWG has been working towards a sustainable mechanism to help resolve the international problem surrounding combating the illicit trafficking of nuclear material. In consequence, the technical focus ...
This paper describes the modeling of horizontal steam generator with the TRACE code and calculation results of a loss-of-feedwater (LOF-10) experiment at the PACTEL facility. Parallel Channel Test Loop (PACTEL) is an integral test facility for a VVER-440 type nuclear reactor. The main objectives were to prepare a simulation model for its horizontal steam generator with the TRACE thermal hydraulic code and assess different modeling options of the code. PACTEL experiment LOF-10 was chosen for this assessment. The calculation results showed that TRACE is capable in simulating horizontal steam generator behavior both in steady state and during loss-of-feedwater transient. The phenomenon of heat transfer from primary to secondary side, steam superheating and flow reversal in the lowest heat exchange tubes were studied in detail. Different nodalization options were introduced. In the simulation of PACTEL loss-of-feedwater ...
This paper describes the modeling of horizontal steam generator with the TRACE code and calculation results of a loss-of-feedwater (LOF-10) experiment at the PACTEL facility. Parallel Channel Test Loop (PACTEL) is an integral test facility for a VVER-440 type nuclear reactor. The main objectives were to prepare a simulation model for its horizontal steam generator with the TRACE thermal hydraulic code and assess different modeling options of the code. PACTEL experiment LOF-10 was chosen for this assessment. The calculation results showed that TRACE is capable in simulating horizontal steam generator behavior both in steady state and during loss-of-feedwater transient. The phenomenon of heat transfer from primary to secondary side, steam superheating and flow reversal in the lowest heat exchange tubes were studied in detail. Different nodalization options were introduced. In the simulation of PACTEL loss-of-feedwater ...
The purpose of this study was to examine the day-to-day reproducibility and single measurement reliability of peak force, time to half peak force and rate of force development indices of knee extension neuromuscular performance in patients with end-stage renal failure. Eleven self-selected patients (6 men, 5 women) receiving maintenance dialysis (dialysis history 67 +/- 42.8 month) completed 3 inter-day assessment sessions. Each comprised a standardized warm-up and 3 intermittent static maximal voluntary actions of the knee extensors of the preferred limb (45 degrees knee flexion angle [0 degrees = full knee extension]) using a specially-constructed dynamometer. Repeated measures ANOVA of coefficient of variation scores revealed significant differences between indices in their reproducibility across day-to-day trials. Post-hoc comparisons of group mean scores suggested that peak force (6.6 +/- 3.0%) offers significantly greater measurement reproducibility than time ...
The overall goal of the proposed project is to explore the use of partitioning tracers to characterize dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) in aquifer systems. Bulk-phase partitioning tracers will be investigated to detect and determine DNAPL saturation, while interface partitioning tracers will be investigated to measure the area of the DNAPL-water interface. The specific objectives that will be addressed to accomplish this goal are: (1) Investigate the use of partitioning tracers to detect and determine both the saturation and interfacial area of DNAPLs in saturated porous media. (2) Investigate the effect of rate-limited mass transfer on the transport behavior of partitioning tracers. (3) Investigate the effect of porous-media heterogeneity on the transport behavior of partitioning tracers. (4) Develop and evaluate mathematical models capable of simulating the transport of partitioning tracers in complex systems. This proposal outlines an integrated approach ...
For Monte Carlo simulations to be used as an alternative solution to perform scatter correction, accurate modelling of the scanner as well as speed is paramount. General-purpose Monte Carlo packages (Geant4, EGS, MCNP) allow a detailed description of the scanner but are not efficient at simulating voxel-based geometries (patient images). On the other hand, dedicated codes (SimSET, PETSIM) will perform well for voxel-based objects but will be poor in their capacity of simulating complex geometries such as a PET scanner. The approach adopted in this work was to couple a dedicated code (SimSET) with a general-purpose package (Geant4) to have the efficiency of the former and the capabilities of the latter. The combined SimSET+Geant4 code (SimG4) was assessed on the GE Advance PET scanner and compared to the use of SimSET only. A better description of the resolution and sensitivity of the scanner and of the scatter fraction was obtained with SimG4. ...
The purpose of this study was to assess experimentally and clinically the usefulness of Fuji Computed Radiography (FCR) in angiographic examinations. FCR had a spatial resolution with much lower X-ray exposure doses, although the resolution of FCR was generally inferior to conventional films. When a contrast medium of 1% iodine concentration was used, FCR pinpointed a mass 1.5 mm in diameter; and conventional film could detect a mass 2.2 mm in diameter. The contrast of iodine in FCR examinations was stable. A high sensitivity of imaging plate allowed a wide range of visualization. In 148 selective angiographic examinatinons for 138 patients, FCR-subtraction images were superior to conventional film angiography for contrast resolution; it had a high sensitivity in detecting areas, such as the mediastimun and left lobe of the liver, and tumor stains in capillary phase. The capability of FCR arteriogram was as good as film arteriogram even with a ...
The purpose of this study was to assess experimentally and clinically the usefulness of Fuji Computed Radiography (FCR) in angiographic examinations. FCR had a spatial resolution with much lower X-ray exposure doses, although the resolution of FCR was generally inferior to conventional films. When a contrast medium of 1% iodine concentration was used, FCR pinpointed a mass 1.5 mm in diameter; and conventional film could detect a mass 2.2 mm in diameter. The contrast of iodine in FCR examinations was stable. A high sensitivity of imaging plate allowed a wide range of visualization. In 148 selective angiographic examinatinons for 138 patients, FCR-subtraction images were superior to conventional film angiography for contrast resolution; it had a high sensitivity in detecting areas, such as the mediastimun and left lobe of the liver, and tumor stains in capillary phase. The capability of FCR arteriogram was as good as film arteriogram even with a ...
Aim of this retrospective study was to assess the capability of contrast-enhanced helical computerised tomography (CT) in sigmoid diverticulitis, especially relative to selection of the appropriate treatment. The findings of 41 patients were reviewed from 1998 to 1999 June. Contrast-enhanced helical CT is the imaging modality of choice in assessing mild or severe acute diverticulitis because it provides useful information for appropriate treatment planning in the emergency setting. This technique is most useful in questionable cases and in patients with suspected severe diverticulitis where a choice must be made between different treatment options. [Italian] Scopo di questo studio retrospettivo e' illustrare i molteplici aspetti radiologici della flogosi diverticolare sigmoidea con tomografia computerizzata (TC) spirale, con specifico riguardo alle implicazioni terapeutiche che scaturiscono dall'analisi e ...
Numerous studies have investigated degradation of individual endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in lab or natural waters. However, natural variations in water matrices and mixtures of EDCs in the environment may confound analysis of the treatment efficiency. Because chemical based analytical methods cannot represent the combined or synergistic activities between water quality parameters and/or the EDC mixtures at environmentally relevant concentrations ({mu}g L{sup -1}-ng L{sup -1}), bioanalytical assessments of residual estrogenic activity in treated water were used to evaluate the performance of the UV based advanced oxidation process for estrogenic contaminants in water. Four EDCs including estradiol (E{sub 2}), ethinyl estradiol (EE{sub 2}), bisphenol-A (BPA) and nonylphenol (NP) were spiked individually or as a mixture at {mu}g L{sup -1}-ng L{sup -1} in laboratory or natural river water. The removal rates of estrogenic activity were quantitatively evaluated ...
Biosorption of heavy metals by various biological materials has been studied extensively in the last decade due to its potential particularly in wastewater treatment. The presence of a large number of metals in industrial metal-bearing solutions makes it necessary to investigate their effect on the final metal uptake by individual biosorbent materials. Nonliving biomass of Sargassum, a brown marine alga, is capable of binding more than 10% of its dry weight in toxic cadmium ions. Although ubiquitous iron interferes with Cd uptake, only approximately 4.5% of it is sequestered (biomass dry weight). Biosorption of both metals at pH 4.5 could be described by Langmuir-type isotherms with b, the affinity-related coefficient (Cd: b = 0.015; Fe: b = 0.027). The interference of Fe with Cd uptake, and vice versa, was assessed by deriving three-dimensional equilibrium two-metal sorption isotherm surfaces, smoothed and cut to reveal the inhibition effect ...
The condition of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in wet storage at ten Soviet-designed research reactors has been assessed in the light of international experience in order to identify any associated safety issues. These reactors use Al-clad UO2-Al or U-Al alloy dispersion fuels of ?20% enrichment that were fabricated in Russia; the reactors have been in operation since 1955-70. Although originally sent for reprocessing, much of the SNF generated over the last 25-30 years has been stored in fuel storage pools (FSPs) of variable water quality. The external condition of wet-stored SNF assemblies from the reactors surveyed varied from significant failure due to galvanic corrosion that was driven by poor water quality, through gradual pitting caused by slightly impure water, to a stable condition of no observable change in the oxidized Al alloy surface of the irradiated fuel. SNF stability in wet storage seems to depend on three factors: Al being the sole metal in the FSP (to ...
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Engineering Directorate has two primary discretionary avenues for its investment in technologies: the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program and the ''Tech Base'' program. This volume summarizes progress on the projects funded for technology-base efforts in FY2004. The Engineering Technical Reports exemplify Engineering's more than 50-year history of researching and developing (LDRD), and reducing to practice (technology-base) the engineering technologies needed to support the Laboratory's missions. Engineering has been a partner in every major program and project at the Laboratory throughout its existence, and has prepared for this role with a skilled workforce and technical resources. This accomplishment is well summarized by Engineering's mission: ''Enable program success today and ensure the Laboratory's vitality ...
When completed, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF) will be the world's largest laser with experimental capabilities applicable to stockpile stewardship, energy research, science and astrophysics. As construction of the conventional facilities nears completion, operations supporting the installation of specialized laser equipment have come online. Playing a critical role in the precision cleaning of mechanical parts from the NIF beamline are three pieces of aqueous cleaning equipment. Housed in the Optics Assembly Building (OAB), adjacent to NIF's laser bay, are the large mechanical parts gross cleaner (LMPGC), the large mechanical parts precision cleaner (LMPPC), and the small mechanical parts gross and precision cleaner (SMPGPC). These aqueous units, designed and built by Sonic Systems, Inc., of Newtown, Pennsylvania, not only accommodate parts that vary greatly in size, weight, geometry, ...
Analysis of the use of information sources by family physicians is important for both practical and theoretical reasons. First, analysis of the ways in which family physicians handle information may...Full Text Available
BackgroundIn prognostic studies model instability and missing data can be troubling factors. Proposed methods for handling these situations are bootstrapping (B) and Multiple imputation...Full Text Available
The astronomical number of letters handled by the Post Office makes automatic sorting technology essential. Key roles are played by the postcode system and an ink-jet printer that has been developed to use phosphorescent inks.
The Brain Database is an information tool designed to aid in the integration of clinical and research results in neuroanatomy and regional biochemistry. It can handle a wide range of data types including...Full Text Available
VACUTAINER PPT plasma preparation tubes were evaluated to determine the effects of various handling and shipping conditions on plasma human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load determinations. Plasmas...Full Text Available
...same sort of handle ? religious that we have on global warming or energy policy or ...other words my claim is that we need to study religion the way we study global warming and all the other really serious phenomena on this planet ...
With the exception of some minerals, the specific activity of natural radioactive material is below 370 Bq/g, their handling thus not being subject to authorization or the duty of reporting according to section 4 para. 2 of the Radiological Protection Ordinance. Moreover, there is required no handling license for prospecting, mining and processing of radioactive minerals; they are subject to the procedures for the plans of operation of the mining laws of the Federal States. License-free handling of natural radioactive material may result in the production of radioactive waste, the disposal of which must be authorized according to sect. 47 of the Radiological Protection Ordinance if the specific activity exceeds the free amounts of column 4 in Table IV of Appendix IV by a factor of 10"-"4/g. This inconsistency is discussed by means of the following examples: (1) fly ash and slag from coal power plants, (2) flue dust from ...
Organophosphates and carbamates (OPs/CMs) are known for their acetylcholinesterase inhibiting character. A cross-sectional study of pesticide handling practices and self-perceived symptoms of acute...Full Text Available
... the provisions of NASA Handbook (NHB) 6000.1, Requirements for Packaging, Handling, and Transportation, and/or MIL-STD-2073-1 and MIL-STD-2073-2, ...
Outpatient practice after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is gaining momentum due to constantly optimizing results. Furthermore, the availability of limited beds to handle the large volume...Full Text Available
Policies and regulations in the current health care environment have impacted the manner in which patient data - especially protected health information (PHI) - are handled in the clinical and...Full Text Available
Optimal sample handling techniques for tissue preparation and storage, RNA extraction and quantification, and target gene detection are crucial for reliable gene expression analysis. Methods...Full Text Available
During the operation of the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), radioactive gases, primarily xenon and krypton, will be produced which will require processing and storing. Two systems have been installed in the FFTF for handling these gases: (1) one to handle, primarily, the reactor cover gas system, and (2) a second to handle the cells and cover gas systems, other than the reactor, whose atmosphere may become contaminated. The system that processes the reactor cover gas, which is argon, is called the Radioactive Argon Processing System (RAPS). The effluent argon from RAPS will normally be sufficiently decontaminated to allow its reuse as the reactor cover gas. If the radioactive level in the RAPS becomes too high, the exhaust stream will be diverted to the Cell Atmosphere Processing System (CAPS), a system which can function as a backup to RAPS. The design and operation of the RAPS and CAPS systems are described and certain ...
A nucleic acid extraction system that can handle small numbers of specimens with a short test turnaround time and short hands-on time is desirable for emergent testing. We performed a comparative validation...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe search for cluster structure in microarray datasets is a base problem for the so-called "-omic sciences". A difficult problem in clustering is how to handle data with...Full Text Available
subject to a learning curve which should help to lessen the user's time at KSC. An MMSE Payload Handling Fixture has ...... (F4.I ASSlUN IASILlM.ny.CTC I ...
Secretariat of the Basel Convention United Nations Office at Geneva ...such as public utilities, waste disposal sites, large energy dependent facilities including factories, institutions (hospitals, ...it provides immediate identification of PCB wastes, informs company officials of any special handling or disposal techniques
Recent health care policies and regulations have impacted the manner in which patient data – especially protected health information (PHI) – are handled in both the clinical...Full Text Available
To estimate the waste management needs of a fusion power reactor, a scheme for handling radioactive waste from a fusion plant has been devised. The handling scheme proceeds with radioactive waste, primarily from blanket replacement, being stored on-site; waste in cooled and shielded casks is then isolated off-site; finally, the materials are recycled. Using activities and component lifetimes supplied by designers, several conceptual fusion power reactors have been analyzed and their waste streams compared to fission reactors with regard to total activity, specific activity, and lifetimes of activity.
To estimate the waste management needs of a fusion power reactor, a scheme for handling radioactive waste from a fusion plant has been devised. The handling scheme proceeds with radioactive waste, primarily from blanket replacement, being stored on-site; waste in cooled and shielded casks is then isolated off-site; finally, the materials are recycled. Using activities and component lifetimes supplied by designers, several conceptual fusion power reactors have been analyzed and their waste streams compared to fission reactors with regard to total activity, specific activity, and lifetimes of activity.
A review of the literature was undertaken to determine the potential for development of instrumentation for on-board remote sensing of coal quality. This review report acts as an inventory of commercially available techniques being tested or under development, particularly in the areas of the cutting horizon measurement methods associated with longwall mining equipment and coal/waste monitoring techniques in coal handling systems. While technology is available which can discriminate rocks from coal on a conveyor belt, the literature indicates that this hardware has yet to be adapted to continuous surface mining machines. 23 refs., 18 figs.
As a direct result of its interest in the use of robotics within active plants, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. (BNFL) has adopted a positive attitude toward both national and European initiatives in this area. During the early operation of the Sellafield reprocessing plant, the process vessels and cell voids were monitored using simple pole and camera combinations. In 1985, BNFL embarked on the provision of a series of machines intended to satisfy the advancing needs for inspection while increasing the level of expertise within the company in this important area. DIMAN 1, DIMAN 2, RODMAN, REPMAN, and RAFFMAN remote handling and robotic machines are described.
The product of several advanced physical coal cleaning processes is a dry, ultrafine coal (DUC), in the order of 10 microns mean mass diameter. To utilize this fuel commercially, cost-effective, environmentally safe systems must be provided for the storage, transport, and handling of this finely divided form of fuel. The objective of the project described herein is the development of total logistics systems for DUC, including experimental verification of key features. The systems to be developed will provide for safe, economic, and environmentally protective storage and delivery of DUC for residential, commercial, and industrial uses. 20 figs.
Based on the High Temperature Sodium Facility (HTSF) experience and the extensive design efforts for FFTF, procedures are in place for the unloading of the tank cars and for the fill of the FFTF reactor. Special precautions have been taken to provide safe handling and to accommodate contingencies in operation. These contingencies include special protective suits allowing personnel to enter and correct conditions arising from fill operations in the course of moving 7.71 x 10/sup 5/ kg (1.7 x 10/sup 6/ lbs) of sodium from the tank cars into the reactor vessel and its loop system.
The Fast Flux Test Facility near Richland, Washington, utilizes computer control for reactor refueling and other related core component handling and processing tasks. The computer controlled tasks described in this paper include core component transfers within the reactor vessel, core component transfers into and out of the reactor vessel, remote duct measurements of irradiated core components, remote duct cutting, and finally, transferring irradiated components out of the reactor containment building for off-site shipments or to long term storage. 3 refs., 16 figs.
There have been many recent explosive advances in both IR and Raman spectroscopy which have developed in response to industrial problems of increasing complexity. Probably the biggest factor in these advances has been computerization, which has contributed not only to substantial improvements in data handling but to enormous gains in sensitivities of analyses as well. In this paper numerous examples of Raman and IR applications in industry are given using many of these recent advances, including in-situ techniques, microprobe analyses, unusual combinations of instruments - i.e., hyphenated methods - and new sample handling techniques. The bright future of FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy is also briefly discussed.
NASA cost-risk assessment is composed of cost estimating relationship (CER) and technical risk assessment plus cost element correlation assessment; ...
The Model for the Assessment of Psychosocial Problems (MAPP) can help family medicine residents effectively assess patients with psychosocial problems. Following a patient-centred clinical method, MAPP...Full Text Available
Military working dogs are rapidly becoming integral to military operations. While they bring many valuable capabilities to the battlefield, it is important that Special Operations leaders consider canine team capabilities and requirements when planning mi...
The purpose of this project was to build a long-range, parallel hybrid gas/electric vehicle capable of driving beyond the communter capabilities of series hybrid vehicles. It was envisioned that since the gas engine would be able to independently propel t...
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...
... small water or ice particles by impaction ... flight recording; principally the hydrometeor charge unit ... capability of directing aircraft movements by radio ...
... directed the transformation of designated Service operational headquarters into effective and scalable Joint Task Force headquarters capable of ...
... such as discovery, capabilities registration, lookup, and a ... Java- based toolkit for creating ... Multisensor, Multisource Information Fusion: Architectures ...
12], the Predictive Capability Maturity Model (PCMM) [ref. 13], the Uncertainty Structure scale [ref. 11], and the Simulation Readiness Level (SRL) scale ...
... to integrate and synchronize SC efforts and capabilities, as noted in the SC Roadmap, the joint community needs to publish SC policy and expand ...
... geographically flexible rapid- deployment forecasting system that directly leverages the CORIE modeling and information management capabilities. ...
Experiments were carried out to determine the adsorption capability of some commercial activated and non-activated charcoal samples with methanol to select the most favourable pair to be used in a solar adsorption refrigeration system. The results obtained are presented. A simple method has been used to enhance the adsorption capability of the lumpwood charcoal. (Author)
Assessment of the immune system's capability to respond to antigens with the generation of specific antibodies, whilst under the influence of a test article, is required in toxicity tests according to the European guideline for repeated dose toxicity testing of medicinal products. The purpose of this study in rats was to validate methodology for the determination of Keyhole Limpet Haemocyanin (KLH)-specific antibodies under the influence of an immunologically active compound. The immunosuppressant FK506, commercially available as Prograf, was administered orally (gavage) to five rats per sex per group at dosages of 0.5mg/kg per day or 3mg/kg per day, for a period of 4 weeks. On days 14 and 22, KLH was administered subcutaneously, with an adjuvant (AluGel), to the two treated groups and a control (i.e. without FK506 treatment) approximately 1h following administration of FK506. Terminal investigations included haematology parameters, titration ...
Coilguns have demonstrated their capability to launch projectiles to 1 km/s, and there is interest in their application for long-range precision strike weapons. However, the incorporation of cooling systems for repetitive operation will impact the mechanical design and response of the future coils. To assess the impact of such changes, an evaluation of the ruggedness and reliability of the existing 50 mm bore coil designed in 1993 was made by repeatedly testing at stress levels associated with operation in a coilgun. A two-coil testbed has been built with a static projectile where each coil is energized by its own capacitor bank. Simulation models of the applied forces generated in this testbed have been created with the SLINGSHOT circuit code to obtain loads equivalent to the worst-case anticipated in a 50 mm coilgun that could launch a 236 g projectile to 2 km/s. Bench measurements of the seven remaining coils built in 1993 have been used to ...
This support document summarized the results of botanical surveys conducted as part of a phytoremediation research project that catalogued plants found growing at a petroleum impacted site in Alberta. Phytoremediation refers to the growing of chosen plant species in a polluted site for a period of time in order for the plant to remove contaminants through its natural attributes of absorption, translocation, storage and excretion. Several different plant species with phytoremediation properties are being considered for wide scale bioremediation use. This document described the PhytoPet database which was originally developed as an inventory of plants with phytoremediation capabilities. It was designed to provide easy access to information and help users choose plants with the potential to phytoremediate petroleum hydrocarbons. The information in this document is intended for remediation specialists, site owners and managers as well as environmental scientists in ...
This report presents findings from the first year of a two-year study of interactive efforts involving utilities and non-utility parties (NUPS) working together to prepare plans, develop Demand-Side Management (DSM) programs, or otherwise promote integrated planning and the use of cost-effective DSM measures. Of the ten cases covered in the current study, seven involved the collaborative approach to NUP involvement, which generally is marked by intensive utility-NUP interactions designed to reach consensus on a broad range of important issues; in collaboratives, outside consultants often are provided to enhance the technical capabilities of the NUPS. Another of the cases in this study involved a cooperative arrangement,'' whereby a utility and a NLT worked together in a focused short-term effort to develop a single DSM program. The intense interaction involved in this approach makes it very similar to a collaborative, except that both the scope ...
This report presents findings from the first year of a two-year study of interactive efforts involving utilities and non-utility parties (NUPS) working together to prepare plans, develop Demand-Side Management (DSM) programs, or otherwise promote integrated planning and the use of cost-effective DSM measures. Of the ten cases covered in the current study, seven involved the collaborative approach to NUP involvement, which generally is marked by intensive utility-NUP interactions designed to reach consensus on a broad range of important issues; in collaboratives, outside consultants often are provided to enhance the technical capabilities of the NUPS. Another of the cases in this study involved a ``cooperative arrangement,`` whereby a utility and a NLT worked together in a focused short-term effort to develop a single DSM program. The intense interaction involved in this approach makes it very similar to a collaborative, except that both the scope and the duration ...
During the past year, an experiment has been underway to test use of reliable multicast capabilities for transmission of continuous data in the Global Communication Infrastructure. For the experiment a version of the CD-1 protocol was multicast enabled. The experiment has demonstrated the feasibility of transmitting data in a multicast mode over the GCI. In the case of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty the sender could be the station and the receivers the International Data Center (IDC) and one or more National Data Centers (NDC). The potential advantages of multicasting include (a) the timely receipt of the data by the IDC and the host NDC and (b) the simultaneous availability of the raw station data at, at least, two locations. The latter, by introducing redundant data paths, decreases the probability of loss of station data due to a potential failure of a single data receiver. This experiment is only one element of a needed more thorough ...
The DOETRAN model is a DSM database manager, developed to act as an intermediary between the whole building energy simulation model, DOE-2, and the DBEDT DSM Forecasting Model. DOETRAN accepts output data from DOE-2 and TRANslates that into the format required by the forecasting model. DOETRAN operates in the Windows environment and was developed using the relational database management software, Paradox 5.0 for Windows. It is not necessary to have any knowledge of Paradox to use DOETRAN. DOETRAN utilizes the powerful database manager capabilities of Paradox through a series of customized user-friendly windows displaying buttons and menus with simple and clear functions. The DOETRAN model performs three basic functions, with an optional fourth. The first function is to configure the user`s computer for DOETRAN. The second function is to import DOE-2 files with energy and loadshape data for each building type. The third main function is to then process the data into ...
Due to a leakage from a 12-inch pressurized diesel steel pipe four years ago, an area of approximately 30,000 square meters was contaminated. A pilot study applying the technology of in-situ enhanced bioremediation was conducted. In the study, a field test kit and on-site monitoring equipment were applied for site characterization and treatment verification. Physically, the enhanced bioremediation study consisted of an air extraction and air supply system, and a nutrition supply network. Certain consistent sampling methodology was employed. Progress was verified by daily monitoring and monthly verification. The objective of this study was to evaluate the capabilities of indigenous microorganisms to biodegrade the petroleum hydrocarbons with provision of oxygen and nutrients. Nine extraction wells and eight air sparging wells were installed. The air sparging wells injected the air into geoformation and the extraction wells provided the underground air circulation. ...
A marine propulsion system is a very complicated system composed of many mechanical components. As a result, the vibration signal of a gearbox in the system is strongly coupled with the vibration signatures of other components including a diesel engine and main shaft. It is therefore imperative to assess the coupling effect on diagnostic reliability in the process of gear fault diagnosis. For this reason, a fault detection and diagnosis method based on bispectrum analysis and artificial neural networks (ANNs) was proposed for the gearbox with consideration given to the impact of the other components in marine propulsion systems. To monitor the gear conditions, the bispectrum analysis was first employed to detect gear faults. The amplitude-frequency plots containing gear characteristic signals were then attained based on the bispectrum technique, which could be regarded as an index actualizing forepart gear faults diagnosis. Both the back propagation neural network ...
Nanometre-sized materials, like nanowires, nanoparticles or nanobelts, are gaining huge interest as building blocks of modern electronic nanodevices. Their fabrication feasibility has been demonstrated in the last years, and different routes are already well established in order to synthesize these materials. However, the assessment of their electrical properties is still a challenging issue, due to the difficulty to perform a precise nanolithography process allowing the access to such small structures. The fabrication of metallic contacts with precision in the nanometre range is necessary, as well as achieving a flexible system that allows to contact individual structures. Such a system could be a dual-beam Focused Ion Beam instrument, which combines Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Focused Ion Beam (FIB) in one machine, able to assist deposition of materials with nanometre precision. In this work, the methodology of fabrication of metallic nanocontacts to ...
Nanometre-sized materials, like nanowires, nanoparticles or nanobelts, are gaining huge interest as building blocks of modern electronic nanodevices. Their fabrication feasibility has been demonstrated in the last years, and different routes are already well established in order to synthesize these materials. However, the assessment of their electrical properties is still a challenging issue, due to the difficulty to perform a precise nanolithography process allowing the access to such small structures. The fabrication of metallic contacts with precision in the nanometre range is necessary, as well as achieving a flexible system that allows to contact individual structures. Such a system could be a dual-beam Focused Ion Beam instrument, which combines Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Focused Ion Beam (FIB) in one machine, able to assist deposition of materials with nanometre precision. In this work, the methodology of fabrication of metallic nanocontacts to ...
Optional multiple long-axial gated blood pool SPECT images were prepared for the purpose of stereoscopic and quantitative imaging of left ventricular wall motion (LVWM). Sixteen patients with ischemic heart disease and 8 healthy subjects were imaged in 32 views in the 360 degrees position after iv injection of 740 MBq of Tc-99m-labeled human serum albumin D. The R-R interval was divided into 16. After preparing conventional oblique images, long-axial images were prepared. Shortening rate of left ventricular wall was calculated in 5 segments of the apex and base of the left ventricle. An average shortening rate in each segment was graded with a score from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 40% or more. In the normal group, shortening rate in each segment, except for the base of the septal region, exceeded 40%. In the group of ischemic heart disease, radial shortening was capable of visualizing the degree and extent of the whole LVWM abnormality. LVWM abnormality seen on ...
Machine condition monitoring (MCM) has the capability to predict equipment maintenance needs which can reduce forced down-time and facilitate the avoidance of catastrophic failures and the consequential secondary damage. It can be used to allow confident deferral of routine maintenance, and improve equipment performance, availability, reliability and safety. In order to capitalize on the potential benefits of MCM directed toward power transformers two types of vibration tests were conducted on transformers owned and operated by Cargill Inc. and IES Utilities at the Bridgeport corn plant in Eddyville, Iowa. These tests involved collecting vibration signals from the transformer tank walls during transformer energization at no-load and during steady state operation at various loads. These vibration signals were then used to detect deterioration of internal mechanical integrity. Both types of tests conducted on the transformers at the Eddyville plant show considerable ...
Based on the occurrence of a number of plant incidents during low power and shutdown operating conditions, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has initiated several programs to better quantify risk during these periods. One specific issue of interest is the loss of residual heat removal (RHR) under reduced coolant inventory conditions. This issue is also of interest in the Federal Republic of Germany and an experiment was performed in the integral PKL-3 experimental facility at Siemens-KWU to supply applicable data. Recently, an effort has been undertaken at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) to identify and analyze the important thermal-hydraulic phenomena in pressurized water reactors following loss of vital AC power and consequent loss of the RHR system during reduced inventory operation. The thermal-hydraulic response of a nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) with a closed reactor coolant system (RCS) to loss of residual heat removal cooling ...
An uncertainty decrease is an very important issue for enhancing risk-informed (RI) activities worldwide. Especially, a relatively large uncertainty in a level-2 (L2) PSA risk compared with level-1 internal PSA risk has been a bottleneck problem in the RI application to the extent of a severe accident management. According to the ASME PRA standard in which sources of an uncertainty to capture a category-II RI (= Option 2) capability are listed, an uncertainty analysis which identifies the key sources of an uncertainty and includes sensitivity studies for dominant contributors to LERF (Large Early Release Frequency) needs to be provided. To solve these problems, USNRC have developed the 'SPAR-LERF' model related to the L2 RI application and 'L2 uncertainty assessment and improvement' work is being taken as a main PSA2 topic of the SARNET (Severe Accident Research Network of Excellence) program in Europe by ...
Since 1958, the AlliedSignal Federal Manufacturing and Technologies (FM and T) Metrology Department has developed measurement technology and calibration capability in four major areas of measurement: mechanical; environmental, gas, liquid; electrical (D.C., A.C., RF/microwave); and optical and radiation. The capabilities developed include unique capabilities in many areas of measurement and engineering expertise to develop measurement techniques and resolve measurement problems in these major areas. FM and T Metrology was established in 1958 to provide a measurement base for the Department of energy`s Kansas City Plant. The Metrology Engineering Department provides the expertise to develop measurement capabilities for virtually any type of measurement which falls into the broad areas listed above. The engineering staff currently averages almost 16 years of measurement experience. A strong audit function ...
This document describes the development testing phase associated with the OTA Shear activity and defines the controls to be in place throughout the testing. The purpose of the OTA Shear Program was to provide equipment that is needed for the processing of 40 foot long, sodium wetted, irradiated core components previously used in the FFTF reactor to monitor fuel and materials tests. There are currently 15 of these OTA test stalks located in the Test Assembly Conditioning Station (TACS) inerted vault. These need to be dispositioned for a shutdown mission to eliminate this highly activated, high dose inventory prior to turnover to the ERC since they must be handled by remote operations. These would also need to be dispositioned for a restart mission to free up the vault they currently reside in. The waste handling and cleaning equipment in the J33M Cell was designed and built for the handling of reactor components up to the ...
Objective: To evaluate the treatment of malignant biliary stenoses and occlusions using a new stent. Methods: In a prospective study, 25 patients with malignant obstructive jaundice were treated with SMART stents. The handling and the quality of stent expansion were documented. Stent function was assessed 2-4 days after intervention by cholangiography and laboratory tests. A follow-up was performed three months, after stent placement. Results: All lesions were treated successfully, with a total of 35 stents implanted. In 14 patients a further balloon dilatation was performed after stent placement (8-10 mm diameter/40-80 mm length). The mean serum bilirubin level decreased significantly from 11.6 mg/dl to 4.6 mg/dl after intervention (p<0.05). The follow-up showed a mean serum bilirubin level at 4.0 mg/dl. In 4 cases (16%) a further intervention (PTCD or stent) was performed. Six patients died due to tumor progression. The stents proved ...
Gel dosimetry is a new dosimetry method applied in radiation therapy. Gel dosimeters consist of a radiation sensitive gel, which can integrate absorbed doses from several radiation sources or beams. The dose to the gel can be evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a procedure that is the focus of the present thesis. A robust tool for the evaluation of the nonuniformity in MRI has been developed, the Deviation Image method. Unlike previously presented methods, the Deviation Image method includes all nonuniformity variations across a phantom surface and is insensitive to stochastic noise. Methods for the estimation of stochastic noise were analyzed in terms of sensitivity to nonuniformities. A method that averages the stochastic noise level over five regions over the phantom surface, and a method that assesses the stochastic noise level from the background, were found to be the methods of choice. Pronounced MR image nonuniformity variation with repetition and ...
At Tarapur Atomic Power Station 3 and 4, 540 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, core being large in size requires a continuous in core monitoring for local flux disturbances. Nearly 200 Self Powered Neutron Detectors (SPNDs) of the Straight Individually Replaceable (SIR) type are distributed in the reactor core. For purpose of reactor regulation and protection, cobalt SPNDs that have a prompt response for changes in power is used for in-core flux mapping, vanadium SPNDs that provide accurate measure of neutron flux, even though having slow response is used In core SPNDs are placed in Vertical Flux Units (VFU) and Horizontal Flux Units (HFUs). These SPNDs were to be replaced at regular intervals to meet the design intent. Cobalt SPNDs have dose rates of the order of 1000 Gy/h and the Mineral Insulated (MI) cables of Vanadium SPNDs have dose rates of the order of 100 Gy/h. So far 3 Cobalt SPNDs were removed from HFUs and are being stored in lead shielding inside spent fuel storage ...
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is developing a treatment process for remote-handled (RH) liquid transuranic mixed waste governed by the concept of minimizing the volume of waste requiring disposal. This task is to be accomplished by decontaminating the bulk components so the process effluent can be disposed with less risk and expense. Practical processes have been demonstrated on the laboratory scale for removing cesium 137 and strontium 90 isotopes from the waste, generating a concentrated waste volume, and rendering the bulk of the waste nearly radiation free for downstream processing. The process is projected to give decontamination factors of 10{sup 4} for cesium and 10{sup 3} for strontium. Because of the extent of decontamination, downstream processing will be contact handled. The transuranic, radioactive fraction of the mixed waste stream will be solidified using a thin-film evaporator and/or microwave solidification system. ...
The relative roles of glomerular filtration, tubular reabsorption and tubular secretion in lead handling were evaluated using renal clearance technique, stop-flow analysis, and renal lead accumulation. In addition, the effect of altering acid-base status on renal handling of Pb was determined. Clearance of ultrafilterable lead was measured in anesthetized dogs during infusion of "2"0"3Pb with small doses of carrier Pb(0.5 to 50 #mu#g/kg/h). Filterable lead concentration was estimated by in vitro ultrafiltration of non-anticoagulated plasma. Fractional excretion of Pb was calculated using creatinine clearance to estimate glomerular filtration rate. Dogs in acute metabolic acidosis had the lowest fractional excretion of ultrafilterable Pb (< 0.1); those in alkalosis had high fractional Pb excretion (0.75 to 2.5) while normal dogs were intermediate (0.1 to .4). The fractional excretion of Pb during metabolic alkalosis varied with the dose of Pb ...
The adaption of the Muster-VAwS (model ordinance on the handling of water endangering substances in plants and specialized facilities) in the ordinances of the different German states, means that the legislator has laid down concrete - technical and organizational - requirements concerning the handling of water-endangering substances for all plants. The present example of the systematic stocktaking of all environmentally relevant substances in the context of the operation of the pumped storage plants of Schluchseewerk AG, Freiburg, an the application of the model operating instructions for hydropower plants shall serve to illustrate two important aspects for the implementation of this extensive ordinance. (orig.) [Deutsch] Durch Umsetzung der Muster-VAwS (Muster-Verordnung ueber Anlagen zum Umgang mit wassergefaehrdenden Stoffen und Fachbetriebe) in entsprechende Laenderverordnungen wurden durch den Gesetzgeber konkrete Anforderungen, technisch ...
Users of pesticides may have waste or surplus quantities or spills for disposal. One alternative is to deactivate the pesticide at the handling site by using a straightforward chemical reaction. This option can be practical for those who use relatively small quantities of a large variety of pesticides, for example, greenhouse workers, small farmers, and agricultural researchers. This paper describes practical on-site methods for the disposal of spills or small waste quantities of five commonly used pesticides, Diazinon, Chlorpyrifos, Iprodione, 2,4-D, and Captan. These have been tested in the laboratory for the rate of disappearance of the pesticide, the degree of conversion to nontoxic products, the nature and identity of the products, the practicality of the method, and the ease of reproducibility. Methods selected were shown to be safe for the operator, reliable, and reproducible. Greater than 99% of the starting material had to be reacted under reasonable ...
An analysis is made of the basic principles and methods of construction of integrated optical circuits (IOC) for data processing, which are optical waveguide processors in the integrated form. A classification is provided of IOC in accordance with the nature of the input connections to optical components and in accordance with their intended function. An analysis is made of the current status of research and development of analog IOC for handling analog and digital signals, IOC for computing technology, and switching IOC. A detailed analysis is made of IOC with different functions in data processing: spectrum analyzers and correlators, analog-digital converters, circuits for identification of data sets and for encoding of signals, threshold and multistable circuits, logic and arithmetic units, and switching arrays. Descriptions are given of IOC for optically controlled data handling: bistable purely optical logic circuits, multivibrators, ...
The Real-Time Specification for Java (RTSJ) is silent on multiprocessor issues. It attempts not to preclude multiprocessor implementations but provides no direct support. Many areas of the RTSJ leave an implementation considerable freedom on how it provides the defined functionality. One such area is the asynchronous event handling (AEH) model. Events are fired and associated handlers are scheduled for execution in response; handlers have defined scheduling parameters and deadlines. The primary goal of the AEH model is to support a lightweight real-time concurrency model. Hence handlers, in general, do not have dedicated threads. Rather, the implementation is responsible for ensuring that all handlers meet their deadlines. Typically real-time threads are assigned to execute handlers by the...
Liquid radioactive waste treatment method of using evaporator was widely used from Kori 1 to Uljin 3 and 4, but a liquid radioactive waste treatment equipment that uses an ion exchange method instead of an evaporator was adopted aiming to minimize amount of radioactive waste and radiation exposure. However, the same equipment was introduced and applied for the first time in Korea and had experienced difficulties in securing credibility for the equipment and handling of liquid radioactive waste with inadequate data about performance and experience in operation and maintenance. In this study, examination, application and effect analysis was performed on the optimization measure for handling liquid radioactive waste of Yonggwang Nuclear Power Unit 5 and 6(YGN 5 and 6) that applies an ion exchange method
Conversion of Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory radioactive sodium-bearing waste into a single solid waste form by evaporation was demonstrated in both flask-scale and pilot-scale agitated thin film evaporator tests. A sodium-bearing waste simulant was adjusted to represent an evaporator feed in which the acid from the distillate is concentrated, neutralized, and recycled back through the evaporator. The advantage to this flowsheet is that a single remote-handled transuranic waste form is produced in the evaporator bottoms without the generation of any low-level mixed secondary waste. However, use of a recycle flowsheet in sodium-bearing waste evaporation results in a 50% increase in remote-handled transuranic volume in comparison to a non-recycle flowsheet.
WELLOG is a system of programs developed at the Earth Science Laboratory to be used to digitize well logs and perform some analysis and plotting of the data. Multiple logs can be plotted side by side for correlation analysis and up to three logs can be plotted in a cross plot. Data entry and editing functions are also provided by the programs. This system of well log interpretation programs is presently operating on the University of Utah UNIVAC 1108 computer. Digitizing of well logs is accomplished by an old model CALMA (off-line) digitizer. Those parts of WELLOG that handle the digitized data tapes are extremely machine dependent. The parts of WELLOG that produce the plots and handle the data beyond the digitized data tape are more portable.
In this paper, we propose a method based on the Laplacian in the frequency domain for video text detection. Unlike many other approaches which assume that text is horizontally-oriented, our method is able to handle text of arbitrary orientation. The input image is first filtered with Fourier-Laplacian. K-means clustering is then used to identify candidate text regions based on the maximum difference. The skeleton of each connected component helps to separate the different text strings from each other. Finally, text string straightness and edge density are used for false positive elimination. Experimental results show that the proposed method is able to handle graphics text and scene text of both horizontal and nonhorizontal orientation. PMID:20733217
This document, the Standards/Requirements Identification Document (S/RID) Phase 2 Assessment Report for the subject facility, represents the results of a Performance Assessment to determine whether procedures containing S/RID requirements are fully implemented by field personnel in the field. It contains a summary report and three attachments; an assessment schedule, performance objectives, and assessments for selected functional areas.
This document describes the 2003 SNL ASCI Software Quality Engineering (SQE) assessment of twenty ASCI application code teams and the results of that assessment. The purpose of this assessment was to determine code team compliance with the Sandia National Laboratories ASCI Applications Software Quality Engineering Practices, Version 2.0 as part of an overall program assessment.
The ability to test advanced fuels and cladding materials under reactor operating conditions in the United States is limited. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and the newly expanded post-irradiation examination (PIE) capability at the ORNL Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory provide unique support for this type of advanced fuel/cladding development effort. The wide breadth of ORNL's fuels and materials research divisions provides all the necessary fuel development capabilities in one location. At ORNL, facilities are available from test fuel fabrication, to irradiation in HFIR under either thermal or fast reactor conditions, to a complete suite of PIEs, and to final product disposal. There are very few locations in the world where this full range of capabilities exists. New testing capabilities at HFIR have been developed that allow testing of ...
The NuMI proton beam at Fermilab currently delivers 120 GeV protons to the neutrino production target with design beam power capability to 400 kW. Upgrade capability to 700 kW is being prepared, with planning toward delivering 2.3 MW beam provided by the Project X accelerator upgrade plan. We report on the system of beam diagnostics and control used in operation of the NuMI beam. Also considered are the steps to provide a robust system for transport and targeting beam of 2 MW and beyond.
... transItion to more capable space-based interceptors as ... ten wtth bmlogtcal, and thirty with chemical weapons. ... are becoming the weapon of choice ...
... cations, and precision UUV navigation ... In addition, conventional teleoperation of robots is not ... would involve an autonomous mobile robot capable of ...
He commanded the 50th Space Wing, which is responsible for 60 satellites. ... to produce space systems and launchers capable of tailored military effects on ...
The immediate early gene Arc is emerging as a versatile, finely tuned system capable of coupling changes in neuronal activity patterns to synaptic plasticity, thereby optimizing information...Full Text Available
Applying for AAO scheduled time Applying for AAT service time Applying for Gemini Time Travel and Accommodation AAT Schedule UKST Schedule Instrument capabilities and...
4) Expand to include client-server interaction (small-scale archive interactions with the goal of evaluating information management capabilities) -- Early ...
R/V Laurence M. Gould LMG0303 - Development of a luminescence dating capability for Antarctic glaciomarine sediments: Tests of signal zeroing at the ...
The relative transport capabilities of the cells of the root periphery and cortex were investigated using a variety of experimental techniques. Brief (30 seconds to 1 minute) exposures with the penetrating...Full Text Available
of Earth Science data and information management capabilities. Dale Schulz/400 . For your exceptional achievement in leading the joint LaRC/GSFC team in ...
Hemez9 on the Predictive Capability Maturity Model, and for their feedback on the CAS d uring a 2 007 technical interchange meeting in Albuquerque, NM. ...
... In this manner, a JBI-enabled COI would have the full suite of JBI information management capabilities, but would still be based on and have full ...
We briefly review capabilities and requirements for future instrumentation in UV- and X-ray astronomy that can contribute to advancing our understanding of the diffuse, highly ionised intergalactic medium.
Francisella tularensis is a Gram-negative bacterium capable of causing the zoonotic disease tularaemia in a large number of mammalian species and in arthropods. F. tularensis...Full Text Available
In response to changes in workload, the heart grows or shrinks. Indeed, the myocardium is capable of robust and rapid structural remodeling. In the setting of normal, physiological demand, the...Full Text Available
... The third series used a correlated parameter covariance matrix derived from a generic database of modeling uncertainty for space structures [5-1 ...
Numerous bacteria from a salt-marsh environment are capable of degrading malathion, an organophosphate insecticide, when supplied with additional nutrients as energy and carbon sources. Seven isolates...Full Text Available
... Deepwater Program is a 25-year, $24 billion plan to replace or modernize its fleet of vessels, aircraft, and information management capabilities. ...
Cells of the mononuclear phagocyte lineage have the capability to adhere to and fuse with each other and to differentiate into osteoclasts and giant cells. To investigate the macrophage adhesion/fusion...Full Text Available
... C14 and C15 are special aluminum electrolytic capacitors manufactured by Cornell-Dubilier and designed for high-frequency capability, long life ...
The author compares the UHF Follow-On and MILSTAR satellite communication systems. The comparison uses an analytical hierarchy process. Although the two systems have been tasked with different missions, a comparison of cost, capability, and orbit is conducted. UFO provides many of the same capabilities as MILSTAR, but on a smaller scale. Since UFO is also a new space system acquisition, it is used to compare dollars spent to field a viable communication system. A review of frequency bands, losses, and problems is conducted to establish the relationship. Cost data is provided to establish the major difference in the systems. While MILSTAR does possess more total capability than UFO, it is 10 times more costly. Additionally, UFO is a satellite that will evolve with new technology while MILSTAR is built to full capability immediately. In the author's opinion, the incremental performance of MILSTAR does not ...
... pursued for a similar space-based system, ... determine the most capable and opportunistic weapon ... Haim Baruch, Battle Management, AIAA, 2000, p ...
... with dynamic gridding capability to account for material ablation, as well as the addition of energy sources and heat transfer augmentation due to ...
This report presents results from the soil inorganic analysis of the 44th set of environmental quality assessment samples, of the quality assessment program, that were received on or before June 3, 1996. The samples were analyzed for RCRA metals.
This chapter provides a glimpse of student affairs assessment at Northern Arizona University including a specific example of assessment, tips to implementing assessment at your institution, and barriers encountered when implementing the process at Northern Arizona University.
The British Andrology Society guidelines for the assessment of post vasectomy semen samples recommend that initial assessment is undertaken 16 weeks post vasectomy and after the patient has produced...Full Text Available
Behavioural assessment methods have been used to signal the need for intervention and to evaluate treatment effectiveness. Direct observation and rating scales have been used to assess pain and distress...Full Text Available
Assessment strategies are an important component in game theoretical models of contests. Strategies can be either based on one’s own abilities (self assessment) or on the relative abilities...Full Text Available
BackgroundComputer-based health-risk assessments are electronic surveys which can be completed by patients privately, for example during their waiting time...Full Text Available
BackgroundWe were commissioned to carry out three health assessments in urban areas of Dublin in Ireland. We required an epidemiologically robust method that could collect data rapidly...Full Text Available
The report gives an initial assessment of the feasibility of disposing of flue gas desulfurization wastes in mines and in the ocean. The purpose of the assessment was to evaluate environmental, technical, regulatory, and economic aspects of the use of such disposal sites. Availab...
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) is a relatively sensitive explosive used in many electroexplosive devices as well as in medicine. Of primary interest to LLNL is its use in items such as exploding bridgewire (EBW) detonators and exploding bridge foil initiators (EFI). In these devices the crystalline powder is pressed into a granular, low-density compact that can be initiated by an exploding wire or foil. The long-term stability of this pressed compact is of interest to weapon stockpile lifetime prediction studies. Key points about potential aging mechanisms can be summarized as follows: (1) There are a number of factors that can contribute to PETN instability. These include particle size, polymorphic phase transitions, crystal structure, impurities, moisture, occlusions, chemical incompatibility and biological (microorganism) action. of these factors the most important for long-term aging of high surface area powders used in detonators appears to be that of particle size growth. ...
Ageing of nuclear power plants means evolution of material or equipment properties on one side, and evolution of personnel skill and procedure adequacy on the other side, both of which, after a certain time, may not be compatible with the required safety provisions, or with an economic operation of the plant. Repair or replacement of components, as well as change in service conditions for a better compatibility with component reduced capabilities can be used to mitigate ageing effects. The paper summarises the results of a study conducted in this field with the support of the European Commission. It presents: the synthesis of the work done under international auspices, and in the European context; the comparison of ageing management approaches used in several European countries with international recommendations; the summary of the various potential phenomena and their governing parameters, the methods of in-service ageing identification and possible mitigation ...
The instrument ball bearings are the key components of movable components for various kinds of measuring and control instruments; they often operate in the environmental condition of high-speed and light preload. In general, the non metal, disposable oilimpregnated retainer material has been used for these kinds of high precision miniature bearing. The engineering practice shows that the common failure mode of them is the wear which appears under the condition of insufficient lubrication condition. As the results, the vibration and noise will be enlarged, so does the frictional torque, which makes the ball bearings to lose its original working accuracy. It is the lifetime test of bearings that can enable the designers and manufacturers to chose the material of the bearing properly, optimize the product structure, mend the manufacturing technique process, and to enhance the technical level of the bearing products significantly. In this paper, the wear lifetime tester has been designed ...
Total EU (and Norway) emissions of CO_2 from thermal power generation were some 950 million tonnes in 1990, the Kyoto agreement reference level. An ongoing research project, the GESTCO project, will provide the first documentation that, for the emission sources within the selected key areas, sufficient geological storage capacity is available for at least 30 years and possibly much longer. Cost of energy will obviously increase, but it is anticipated that electricity production cost price will be comparable to that of renewables. It would further have major implications for the European power generating industry which today is totally dominated by fossil fuel combustion with enormous emissions problems. The identification and siting of subsurface CO_2 storage capability can be expected to have considerable effect on the planning for and future siting of fossil fuel plants. In Norway there are plans to build several major, coastally sited, natural gas-fed ...
High energy piping systems are operated with either or both conditions of maximum operating temperature exceeding 200 .deg. F(93.3 .deg. C) or maximum operating pressure exceeding 275 psig(19.3kg/cm{sup 2}) during normal operating conditions in nuclear power plants. A high energy pipe failure is postulated in branches or piping that runs larger than one inch nominal diameter. The resultant consequences of these postulated pipe breaks must be analyzed for the effect on maintenance of plant safe shutdown capability, containment integrity. And the analyzed results must be applied to the system design so that a pipe failure can not damage essential systems to an extent of impairing design function nor affect necessary component operability. The considerable effects of pipe break are as follows; dynamic effects such as pipe whip, jet impingement and environmental impact by release of system contents. Two types of forces are occurred by the pipe whip. The one is pipe ...
The evaluation of biological markers is recognized as necessary to the future of toxicology, epidemiology, and quantitative risk assessment. For biological markers to become widely accepted, their validity...Full Text Available
Trinitrotoluene (TNT) absorption was assessed in groups of workers at two explosives factories by measuring the urinary concentrations of dinitroaminotoluene (DNAT) metabolites. DNAT was detected in...Full Text Available
Transtelephonic electrocardiographic transmission (TET) is the most widespread form of telecardiology since it enables clinicians to assess patients at a distance. The purpose of this study was to assess...Full Text Available
Bone mineral density is considered to be the standard measure for the diagnosis of osteoporosis and the assessment of fracture risk. The majority of fragility fractures occur in patients with bone mineral...Full Text Available
ObjectivesTo determine the content and extent, design, and relative importance of patient assessment courses in the professional pharmacy curriculum.MethodsA...Full Text Available
... was associated with at least some 360 intent to ... herself, at least to 366 some degree, can be ... As prospective assessment instruments for suicidality are created ...
... 1768 1475 360 to 3400 ... The TSC provided an independent assessment of SA based on ... Complexity of Situation Degree of complication (number of ...
Report) A Screening Assessment of the Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Mitigation in the Great Lakes and New England Regions (Final Report)...
assessment.Both frustumswerein excellentcondition.No missingTPSor debonds/ unbondswere ...... 2) The average time for a 360 degree rotation was 29.9 seconds. ...
The existence of thresholds for toxicants is a matter of debate in chemical risk assessment and regulation. Current risk assessment methods are based on the assumption that, in the absence of sufficient...Full Text Available
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine potential new uses of return on investment (ROI) in alternative methods for library assessment and valuation. Design/methodology/approach - Uses examples of recent uses of ROI by libraries to identify potential new applications of ROI in library assessment and valuation. Findings - ROI investment has historically been used by libraries for the assessment of past performance of library organizations in a reactive/defensive nature or for assessing the value of customer services. ROI has not been widely used as a proactive assessment tool, to introspectively assess administrative or other internal services, or as an offensive assessment and valuation tool, especially for intangible performance assessment and valuation. Originality/value - New ...
BackgroundAdequate pain assessment is critical for evaluating the efficacy of analgesic treatment in clinical practice and during the development of new therapies. Yet the currently...Full Text Available
Current European and the US experiences in waste management are reviewed in the perspective of sustainable development. This publication questions the validity of the current approach taken by the Germany at ``closing the loop`` based on the example of packaging and packaging waste. The product item focus of current German legislation is compared with Danish and US approaches that are based on an integrated policy which covers the whole of waste generation and handling and is not product/item oriented. 1 fig., 2 tabs.
This article describes the state-of-the-art HVAC system at the Philadelphia Marriott Hotel. Thermal comfort and indoor air quality are emphasized. The system uses a hybrid gas absorption/electric centrifugal chilled water plant, variable flow pumping, water-side economizers to provide free cooling, central air handling units with air-side economizers and flow monitoring equipment.
Various diagnostics techniques for condition monitoring and life prediction of fluid power components and system are discussed. Though some of the techniques are very promising but may not be accepted because of increase in the instrumentation, it is planned to implement these techniques on various circuits of Fluid Power Lab for further improving and developing these for direct implementation in various fluid power circuits of power reactors. (author). 6 figs.
High and ultra-high strength steels for pipelines are produced by properly handling the steel microstructure. The metallurgical principles involved in the microstructure control are presented, with emphasis on TMCP processing, that comprises conventional controlled rolling followed by accelerated cooling. (author)
Provided the user interface is well designed, extended relational algebra can be a powerful tool for handling scientific data. Its utility is greatly enhanced by the addition of attribute algebra to allow mathematical manipulation of field values. The paper reports on a development which, motivated by practical requirements, integrates features such as functions, vector data types, iteration, and conditional-attribute values into a relational data-base management system.
The use of robots in powerplants is an option that can no longer be ignored. Robots can reduce worker exposure to harmful environments and minimize downtime. As a result, electric utilities are using them more than ever. As robots become more widely accepted, more are being developed to handle an expanding variety of applications. This report begins with an overview of the use of robotics in the electric-utility industry; following that are sections detailing applications for nuclear plants, fossil-fired stations, and transmission and distribution facilities.
... MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTES (MANAGEMENT AND HANDLING) RULES, 2000 Plastic Bag ban in Dhaka City, Bangladesh Private Sector Participation in Municipal Solid Waste Management SKAT 2000 TECHNICAL GUIDELINES ON MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Hazardous Waste Management Unit, Environmental Pollution Control Division, Central Environmental Authority, Sri Lanka 2004 Subregional ...
The alumina industry is facing worldwide a growing disposal problem. Red mud creates increasingly technical, economic and environmental problems. Available solutions are reviewed and an old idea using a new approach with pressurized disc or drum filters for red mud is herewith presented and submitted for consideration as a potential and prospective solution to the problem.
This standard describes requirements and provides guidelines for the control of activities to be exercised during procurement of items and services which affect the quality of nuclear power plants. These requirements and guidelines apply to procurement activities for items and services such as designing, purchasing, fabricating, handling, shipping, storage, cleaning, constructing, erecting, installing, inspecting, testing, maintaining, repairing, initial fueling, refueling, and modifying.
Requirements and guidelines are provided for the control of activities to be exercised during procurement of items and services which affect the quality of nuclear facilities. These requirements and guidelines apply to procurement activities for items and services such as designing, purchasing, fabricating, handling, shipping, storing, cleaning, constructing, erecting, installing, inspecting, texting, maintaining and modifying.
Papers are presented under the following topics: machine control and automation; rock drilling; cutting and fragmentation; rock characterization, remote sensing and interface detection; artificial intelligence and mine monitoring systems; computer applications; mechanical excavators; material handling; surface and underground mining; innovative mining systems; new developments in mechanical miners; ground hazard detection and control; ground support; and extraterrestrial mining.
Papers are presented under the session headings: research in mechanical fragmentation; rock characterization, remote sensing and interface detection; monitoring, data transmission and communications; tunnel boring machines; minewide monitoring and expert systems for ground control; machine guidance; shaft and raise boring; automation of drilling equipment; machine automation and control; new developments in mechanical miners; materials handling; innovative mining systems; general minewide monitoring and expert systems; ground support; human factors; and extraterrestrial mining.
Overloaded transmission lines are only part of the problem. The ability of the network to carry power is also limited by the supply of reactive power and by frequency stability. Reactive power problems must be corrected in minutes, frequency stability problems in seconds. There is no way that market forces can handle these problems. Reactive power must be supplied to all long transmission and distribution lines to compensate for the loss of reactive volt-amperes - and resulting voltage drop - in the reactance along the line`s length. 7 figs.
A decision must be made regarding whether the United State`s stockpile of neptunium should be discarded into the waste stream or kept for the production of Pu-238. Although the cost of long term storage is not inconsequential, to dispose of the material means the closing of our option to maintain control over our Pu-238 stockpile. Within the Fuels and Materials Examination Facility at Hanford there exists a remotely operated facility that can be converted for neptunium storage. This paper describes the facility and the anticipated handling requirements.
Elastic depth imaging of both P-wave and S-wave prestack seismic reflection data is formulated as a degraded form of Kirchhoff migration known as Wavepath Migration (WM). Applications to the SEG/EAGE salt model show that the method is sufficiently versatile anti relaitively inexpensive. It handles S-wave data with at least the same accuracy as Pwave data when local mode conversions are removed. WM also provides an understanding of multi-mode illumination.
Following the management buy out (MBO) at British Coal`s Hatfield Colliery, a member of the Solicitors involved looks at some of the issues to be considered in coal industry MBO`s. British Coal should be notified, a business plan will be needed for handling venture capital and other issues, and warranties need negotiating.
Breast cancer represents today more than 30% of all cancers and is responsible for about 20% of deaths due to cancer. The potentialities of mammography have increased in recent years through improvements in equipment and methodologies. In this paper the conventional mammography using film and image intensifiers is compared with digital mammography. Digital mammography presents clear advantages in storage and handling of information. Also its higher sensitivity will lead to an earlier detection of anomalies and a decrease in the number of invasive exams and surgeries
In 1996 Jespers and Wang classified finite semigroups whose integral semigroup ring has finitely many units. In a recent paper, Iwaki-Juriaans-Souza Filho continued this line of research by partially classifying the finite semigroups whose rational semigroup algebra %over a field of characteristic zero, contains a ${\\mathbb{Z}}$-order with hyperbolic unit group. In this paper we complete this classification by handling the case in which the semigroup is semi-simple.
On handling nitric solutions in the glove box nitrous gases are formed that are sucked off via a heated activated charcoal filter and a catalyst cartridge containing e.g. the FG 590 H catalist (Degussa). By the activated charcoal the nitrous gases are reduced to N/sub 2/ and CO gas; the catalyst will oxidize CO to CO/sub 2/. The CO/sub 2/ obtained is discharged through an exhaust air filter in the glove box.
The optimization of ethylene furnace operations using cfd-based simulations has been addressed. The optimization problems have been cast into various formulations: the Multidisciplinary feasible (MDF) approach, the All-At-Once (AAO) approach and the Individual discipline feasible (IDF) approach. These approaches mainly differ in their handling of the state equations as constraints, and hence some of the formulations place restrictions on the methods used to solve the state equations.
The paper describes a way to control methane that is almost self-sufficient. The Methane Buster extracts methane from longwall mines. The machinery can run virtually unattended and is fuelled by a small proportion of the methane that it extracts. The most popular model is the size of a car and weighs 3000 lbs. With pump inlet sizes varying from 6 to 24 ins. The pumps can handle up to 30,000 CFM. 3 photos.
The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) bottom-loading transfer cask (BLTC) system is designed to provide ex-vessel fuel transfers of irradiated reactor components between the reactor containment building and the LMFBR shipping cask in the reactor service building. This system is being procured from National Lead Industries, Wilmington, Delaware, under management of Aerojet Manufacturing Company.
The report gives results of a study of sintering and leaching mechanisms of fly ash/spent sodium sorbent mixtures from a dry injection flue gas desulfurization (FGD) process. It includes an estimate of the economics of pelletizing and sintering to handle the fly ash and spent sor...
This paper describes New York State Electric and Gas Corporation`s concept for a comprehensive, centrally located data system for management of their continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) data. The topics of the paper include the power system`s mix of generating units; data reporting requirements; data base management; nitrogen oxides compliance tracking; sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and flow monitoring; and allowance tracking.
This thesaurus contains the vocabulary used to index the Biomass Database maintained by the IEA Biomass Conversion Technical Information Service. The database, which is used to produce Biomass Abstracts, contains indexed and abstracted references to the published literature relating to biomass energy including cultivations, harvesting, materials handling, conversion techniques, environmental aspects and economics.
Large-scale decommissioning of Russian nuclear-powered submarines (NPS) and their utilization prospects gave rise to numerous complicated scientific and technical, as well as economic, problems. Problems of handling of radioactive equipment from the reactor compartments (RC) are among the vital ones, arousing a growing concern with the public. Without solution of the problems the processes of NPS utilization can not be considered completed. It involves potential hazard, for the environment both from NPS being paid up (temporal on-float storage) with unloaded spent nuclear fuel (SNF), and RC, cut from submarine hull, containing highly radioactive equipment and materials but no SNF. Diverse variations of the concept of reactor compartment handling of NPS subject to, utilization are possible, but, in principle, there are essentially two variants: (1) RC utilization directly in the course of NPS utilization, envisaging removal of radioactive ...
Resistance to the extended-spectrum cephalosporins can occur in Salmonella species via the production of extended-spectrum and AmpC β-lactamases. We describe human infections...Full Text Available
A description of LOOP covers the single point mooring (SPM) system; the offshore pipelines connecting each SPM to the pumping platform; the offshore platform complex, a pumping platform and a control platform; the onshore pipelines; and the Clovelly Dome storage terminal.
This paper demonstrates how maglev technology solves the classic problem of integrating two airports in a metropolitan area. So far, this has never been attempted because the mode of transportation that could handle this challenge effectively had not been invented yet. This also means that maglev technology is no longer 'the solution in search of a problem'. (orig.)
Total and net energies used harvesting 30-cm billets at 8 t/h were 1 and 0.3 kW x h/t, respectively. Harvested crop had 4% leaves, a 70% mass fraction of billets 30-40 cm long, and a 49/sup 0/ angle of repose. A self-unloading forage wagon with beaters and controls metered billets at 1.5 t/h to feed a juice-expression mill.
Modern microprocessor-based relays for the protection of the various power system components such as generators, transformers, feeders, and high voltage transmission lines are becoming more sophisticated as increasingly more complex functions and capabilities can be included in the microprocessor. With this increasing complexity, and the increasing complexity of the power system itself, there is even more value in testing the suitability of relaying equipment for the intended applications. This paper reviews the testing philosophy, experience, and capabilities developed at Ontario Hydro over more than 25 years of testing protective relays.
Military working dogs are rapidly becoming integral to military operations. While they bring many valuable capabilities to the battlefield, it is important that Special Operations leaders consider canine team capabilities and requirements when planning missions. Careful logistical and operational planning can optimize the health, performance, and readiness of the working dog while protecting the safety and well-being of the team members working with them. We also offer recommendations for medical treatment of dog bites. PMID:19813342
The cosmic antiparticle ring imaging Cherenkov experiment (CAPRICE) flew on a stratospheric balloon 8-9 August 1994 over northern Canada and collected data for more than 21 hours with less than 5 g/cm{sup 2} of residual atmosphere. The instrument includes a solid radiator RICH detector and an electromagnetic calorimeter for particle identification in the magnetic spectrometer. Preliminary antiproton and positron identification capabilities are presented.
The overall objective of this two phase NASA and Navy sponsored program ...... A tire pressure of 120 PSI and CBR of 5 to 6 is used to provide good soft field capability ...... DATCOM, the U. S. Air Force Stability and Control Handbook, is a .... goals were consistent with fleet air defense, attack capability, high ...
Advances in robotic technologies reflected in commercially available and demonstrated capabilities provide exceptional alternatives to the designer of new and upgraded production processes. This paper discusses the states of the art of these technologies, describes some of the research and application engineering which has extended and exploited these capabilities, and provides some conceptual synthesis of advanced robotics and other industrial automation to hypothetical nuclear industry/laboratory tasks. Nuclear industry applications are oriented upon tasks in hazardous and contaminating environments and with hazardous materials.
Sandia National Laboratories has recently developed two major field test capabilities for unattended ground sensor systems at the Department of energy`s Nevada Test Site (NTS). The first capability utilizes the NTS large area, varied terrain, and intrasite communications systems for testing sensors for detecting and tracking vehicular traffic. Sensor and ground truth data can be collected at either of two secure control centers. This system also includes an automated ground truth capability that consists of differential Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receivers on test vehicles and live TV coverage of critical road sections. Finally there is a high-speed, secure computer network link between the control centers and the Air Force`s Theater Air Command and Control Simulation Facility in Albuquerque NM. The second capability is Bunker 2-300. It is a facility for evaluating advanced sensor systems for ...
The Guarantee Outline presents the technical demands of design and contents of assessment for radiation hardening in satellite engineering in China. It includes the basis of design in space environment of polar orbit, the contents of design for general radiation hardening, the requirements and assessments of the single-board computer, the requirements of design for circuits (including hardware and software), the choices and assessments for devices, and the primary stipulations for the requirements of design and assessments against the phenomenon of charge and discharge.
A performance assessment of the operating Solid Waste Storage Area 6 (SWSA 6) facility for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been prepared to provide the technical basis for demonstrating compliance with the performance objectives of DOE Order 5820.2A, Chapter 111.2 An analysis of the uncertainty incorporated into the assessment was performed which addressed the quantitative uncertainty in the data used by the models, the subjective uncertainty associated with the models used for assessing performance of the disposal facility and site, and the uncertainty in the models used for estimating dose and human exposure. The results of the uncertainty analysis were used to interpret results and to formulate conclusions about the performance assessment. This paper discusses the approach taken in analyzing the uncertainty in the performance ...
The University of Michigan (UM) is a member of a team of researchers, including the universities of Florida, Texas, and Tennessee, along with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, developing robotic for hazardous environments. The goal of this research is to develop the intelligent and capable robots which can perform useful functions in the new generation of nuclear reactors currently under development. By augmenting human capabilities through remote robotics, increased safety, functionality, and reliability can be achieved. In accordance with the established lines of research responsibilities, our primary efforts during 1991 will continue to focus on the following areas: radiation imaging; mobile robot navigation; three-dimensional vision capabilities for navigation; and machine-intelligence. This report discuss work that has been and will be done in these areas.
Information about current and projected waste generation as well as available treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) capabilities and needs is crucial for effective, efficient, and safe waste management. This is especially true for large corporations that are responsible for multisite operations involving diverse and complex industrial processes. Such information is necessary not only for day-to-day operations, but also for strategic planning to ensure safe future performance. This paper reports on some methods developed and successfully applied to obtain requisite information and to assist waste management planning at the corporate level in a nationwide system of laboratories and industries. Waste generation and TSD capabilities at selected US Department of Energy (DOE) sites were studied. 1 ref., 2 tabs.
As lidar technology is able to provide fast data collection at a resolution of meters in an atmospheric volume, it is imperative to promote a modeling counterpart of the lidar capability. This paper describes an integrated capability based on data from a scanning water vapor lidar and a high-resolution hydrodynamic model (HIGRAD) equipped with a visualization routine (VIEWER) that simulates the lidar scanning. The purpose is to better understand the spatial and temporal representativeness of the lidar measurements and, in turn, to extend their utility in studying turbulence fields in the atmospheric boundary layer. Raman lidar water vapor data collected over the Pacific warm pool and the simulations with the HIGRAD code are used for identifying the underlying physics and potential aliasing effects of spatially resolved lidar measurements. This capability also helps improve the trade-off between spatial-temporal resolution ...
This study uses an electronic commerce (E-commerce) innovation model to analyze the differences in technological knowledge, business model, and dynamic capability aspects used in Internet-enabled commerce (I-commerce) versus mobile commerce (M-commerce) versus ubiquitous commerce (U-commerce). The results indicate that the innovation from I-commerce to M-commerce is radical, leading to drastic changes in the business model. However, from M-commerce to U-commerce, disruptive changes occur in both technological and business model dimensions. A set of critical dynamic capabilities for each innovation is identified. These results provide great insight for practitioners and scholars for enhancing their understanding of E-commerce innovation, and provide guidelines to help practitioners adapt fr...
Purpose - Viewing creativity through the theoretical lens of the resource-based view, the paper attempts to answer a fundamental question: is design creativity a static or dynamic capability? If static, then firms need to acquire personnel who are already creative. If dynamic, then personnel's creative talents should be developed through training. Design/methodology/approach - In an exploratory controlled experiment of 74 design engineers from ten firms, two forms of training emphasizing design creativity as static or dynamic capability were applied. Creative designs developed by the participants were judged by professionals inside each organization. Results were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings - The exploratory findings support the notion that design creativity is a ...
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) at the Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC) contracted with P.S. Lowell and Co. Inc. (Lowell and Co.) and Jay S. Dweck, Consultant, Inc., (JSD) to enhance the capability of ASPEN in simulating coal gasification and oil shale processing plants. Of particular concern was the capability to predict the distribution of environmentally significant components among the various aqueous and organic liquids and gas streams within or leaving the process. The project was divided into major task areas. The first was to develop and implement the calculational routines necessary for predicting aqueous electrolyte chemical reactions. Part of this effort also was to select a species list and collect and/or regress data for the necessary parameters. The second task was to develop and implement a multi-phase flash capability (including precipitated solids) and unit operations models for a ...
The purpose of this project was to build a long-range, parallel hybrid gas/electric vehicle capable of driving beyond the communter capabilities of series hybrid vehicles. It was envisioned that since the gas engine would be able to independently propel the car when needed and that the electric motor would be capable of doing the same, then you have a very desirable situation where this car can operate much more cheaply on electricity for the short distance runs under approximately 60 miles and also be able to propel the vehicle via the gas engine on the long-distance trips. During the time the car would be operating in the gas engine mode, it would be also recharging the 16 deep cycle batteries via the electric motor now being used as a generator. Then, even on long-distance trips, the electric motor could be used, after having been fully or partially recharged, to even further reduce cost per mile.
Fission track analysis (FTA) technique for the determination of "2"3"9Pu excreted through urine has been standardized using blank samples, tracer and "2"3"9Pu spikes. Double stage anion exchange separation protocol has been applied and an average radiochemical recovery of "2"3"9Pu of 18% was obtained. An average track registration efficiency of 11 tracks per #mu#Bq of "2"3"9Pu, irradiated to 0.35x10"1"7 neutron fluence was established. Reagent blank urine samples from 11 controlled subjects were analyzed by FTA and an average of 149#+-#14 tracks was obtained. Minimum detectable activity of 34 #mu#Bq L"-"1 of urine sample was obtained and will be useful for monitoring chronic exposure cases handling MOX fuel.
The ALICE heavy-ion particle physics experiment is currently being built at CERN near Geneva. It will use a PC cluster of 900 dual-processor machines for the last stages of the data readout process and a network of 400 microcomputers for the configuration and control of the cluster nodes. One of the most important objectives to be achieved in such experiments is to guarantee the utilized devices are running correctly during the experiment life-time. A second aspect is the extremely high availability and reliability requirements of the applications being run, the so called high level trigger (HLT). The SysMES framework is a scalable, decentralized, fault tolerant, dynamic, rule based tool set for the monitoring of networks of target systems and applications. The management algorithms consist of the following steps: system and application monitoring, recognition of undesirable states, event (message) generation, local event handling on the target, event forwarding to ...
Material related to routine as well as sensitive aspects of parent/day care center relationships is presented in this training module, one of a series providing staff development information for programs operated for dependents of military personnel. The module offers a brief discussion of ways caregivers can help parents feel at ease about leaving their children in child care and presents a set of multiple-choice skill-building exercises for effectively working with parents. Exercises focus on various topics, including how parents can be approached when their child may have a health problem, when child abuse or neglect is suspected, and when parental cooperation is needed to stop a child's undesirable or disruptive behavior. Exercises are also devoted to the questions of whether or not caregivers should act as advisors to parents or tell parents about their child's behavior at the center. Concluding exercises indicate how caregivers can handle parent requests for ...
A variety of special regulations exist in Costa Rica for registration and transport of hazardous substances; these set the requirements for entry into the country and the security of transport units. However, the regulations mentioned no specific rules for storing hazardous substances. Tax deposits have been the initial place where are stored the substances that enter the country.The creation of basic rules that would be regulating the storage of hazardous substances has taken place through the analysis of regulations and national and international laws governing hazardous substances. The regulatory domain that currently exists will be established with a field research in fiscal deposits in the metropolitan area. The storage and security measures that have been used by the personnel handling the substances will be identified to be putting the reality with that the hazardous substances have been handled in tax deposits. A rule base for the ...
The US Department of Energy is currently constructing the Waste Isolation Pilot near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The full-scale pilot plant will demonstrate the feasibility of the safe disposal of defense-related nuclear waste in a bedded salt formation at a depth of 2160 feet below the surface. WIPP will provide for the permanent storage of 25,000 cu ft of remote-handled (RH) transuranic waste and 6,000,000 cu ft of contact-handled (CH) transuranic waste. This paper covers the major mechanical/structural design considerations for the waste hoist and its hoist tower structure. The design of the hoist system and safety features incorporates state-of-the-art technology developed in the hoist and mining industry to ensure safe operation for transporting nuclear waste underground. Also included are design specifications for VOC-10 monitoring system.
The improvement in the functions of the viscous flow calculation method VEGA-SHIP around a ship and the expansion of application range were described as the numerical flow simulation in ship and ocean engineering and at the same time application examples to the ocean engineering by the general-purpose flow simulation code FLOW-3D handling the non-steady flow with a free surface were introduced as the numerical simulation regarding such products as a water gate and a dam. In the VEGA-SHIP, water surface was handled as a fixed wall so that wave could not be calculated. Therefore, an algorithm for calculating wave on the water surface was added to the VEGA-SHIP and a calculation method simultaneously considering the creation of wave around the ship and viscosity was developed. The FLOW-3D was used to calculate the phenomenon where inside liquid moved greatly due to the oscillation of a tank and hit against and damaged the tank ceiling in the tank, ...
Under the auspices of the DOE and private industry, considerable progress has been made in: preparation of coal-water fuels; combustion of low-ash coal-based fuel forms; processes to provide deeply-cleaned coal. Developments in advanced beneficiation of coal to meet stringent requirements for low ash and low sulfur can be anticipated to further complicate the problem areas associated with this product. This is attributable to the beneficiated coal being procured in very fine particles with high surface areas, modified surface characteristics, reduced particle size distribution range, and high inherent moisture. Experience in the storage, handling, and transport of highly beneficiated coal has been limited. This is understandable, as quantities of such product are only now becoming available in meaningful quantities. During this reporting period the authors have: developed a suite of empirical tests covering water retention, rewetting, mull stability, angle of ...
The design of a gaging head for a portable radionuclide X-ray fluorescence analyzer is described. The gaging head is designed as a construction unit system which enables the application of lateral reflexion geometry as well as of coaxial geometry. It is designed so that adjustment from one geometry to the other is labour and time saving. The selection of characteristic radiation is performed by a couple of Ross' differential filters. These filters are prepared by a novel technique developed by our laboratory. The filter exchange is effected by the longitudinal move of the couple of filters encapsulated in a holder. The shift of the filters is controlled by means of a triggering mechanism situated in the body of the gaging head handle. This design makes is possible to handle the gaging head during measurements with one hand. A simple interchange of the absorption filter for the transmissive filter allows the operator to avoid any unwanted shift ...
The LHC magnet tests operation team developed various innovative techniques, particularly since early 2004, to complete the superconductor magnet tests by Feb. 2007. Overall and cryogenic priority handling, rapid on-bench thermal cycling, rule-based goodness evaluation on round-the-clock basis, multiple, mashed web systems are some of these techniques applied with rigour for successful tests completion in time. This paper highlights these operation empowerment tools which had a pivotal role for success. A priority handling method was put in place to enable maximum throughput from twelve test benches, having many different constraints. For the cryogenics infrastructure, it implied judicious allocation of limited resources to the benches. Rapid On-Bench Thermal Cycle was a key strategy to accelerate magnets tests throughput, saving time and simplifying logistics. First level magnet appraisal was developed for 24 hr decision making so as to ...
This paper evaluates activities from 1981 to 1985 of the Donetskgormash association which develops and manufactures equipment for coal mining. The association has manufactured 1,410 hoists, 274 blowers and 26 bucket wheel excavators. Sixteen experimental units of new mining equipment have been developed, among others the RPM 3600-42.5/90 bucket wheel excavator (with a capacity of 3,600 m/sup 3//h for coal handling in storage yards of large power plants), the bucket wheel system used in the EhR 630-10.5/0.5 excavator and the PZ 1600-17/20 materials handling system. Among 20 equipment types manufactured from 1981 to 1985, 4 types were manufactured in the USSR for the first time (e.g. the MPP shaft sinking system and the VOD-50 mine blower). Use of new types of equipment manufactured by the association economized about 46 million rubles in coal mines. From 1986 to 1990 production of mining equipment in the association should increase by 133%; ...
This report describes accomplishment of simulations of Pyrochemical Process Operation by using virtual engineering models. The pyrochemical process using molten salt electrorefining would introduce new technologies for new fuels of particle oxide, particle nitride and metallic fuels. This system is a batch treatment system of reprocessing and re-fabrication, which transports products of solid form from a process to next process. As a results, this system needs automated transport system for process operations by robotics. In this study, a simulation code system has been prepared, which provides virtual engineering environment to evaluate the pyrochemical process operation of a batch treatment system using handling robots. And the simulation study has been conducted to evaluate the required system functions, which are the function of handling robots, the interactions between robot and process equipment, and the time schedule of process, in the ...
The Coal Quality Engineering Analysis (CQEA) program developed by the New York State Electric and Gas Company (NYSEC) calculates the as-burned cost of burning a specific coal in a specific generation unit. These costs include: maintenance costs for coal and ash handling equipment; ash disposal costs; cost of oil (if required for flame stability and/or derating because of pulverizer capacity limitation); flue gas desulfurization costs; cost of replacement power caused by pulverizer, precipitator fly ash collection and bottom ash capacity limitation; boiler losses due to moisture, hydrogen, dry gas and unburned carbon; power for coal and ash handling equipment; power for coal pulverizers; cost of using excess air to prevent slagging of coal with low ash softening temperatures; and effect of heat rate on coal tonnage required for a desired generation. The use of CQEA to identify areas in which plant operations may be improved is discussed. 7 ...
The objective of this task was to obtain powder property data on candidate glass former materials, sufficient to guide conceptual design and estimate the cost of glass former handling facilities as requested under Part B1 of BNFL Technical and Development Support. Twenty-nine glass forming materials were selected and obtained from vendors for the characterization of their physical properties, durability in caustic solution, and powder flow characteristics. A glass former was selected based on the characterization for each of the ten oxide classes required for Envelope A, B, and C mixtures. Three blends (A, B, and C) were prepared based on formulations provided by Vitreous State Laboratory and evaluated with the same methods employed for the glass formers. The properties obtained are presented in a series of attached Tables. It was determined that five of the ten glass formers, (kyanite, iron oxide, titania, zircon, and zinc oxide) have the potential to cause some ...
The Savannah River Site (SRS) is currently developing a new facility, the Actinide Packaging and Storage Facility (APSF), to process and store legacy materials from the United States nuclear stockpile. A variety of materials, with a variety of properties, packaging and handling/storage requirements, will be processed and stored at the facility. Since these materials are hazardous and radioactive, automation will be used to minimize worker exposure. Other benefits derived from automation of the facility include increased throughput capacity and enhanced security. The diversity of materials and packaging geometries to be handled poses challenges to the automation of facility processes. In addition, the nature of the materials to be processed underscores the need for safety, reliability and serviceability. The application of automation in this facility must, therefore, be accomplished in a rational and disciplined manner to satisfy the strict ...
The Fuel Handling(F/H) System in existing CANDU 6 nuclear power plants was designed in the early 1960`s, utilizing the technology available at that time. The design for the F/H control system has been proven to be excellent in meeting the functional requirements through more than 20 CANDU units in service or under construction. The significant advance in electrical and electronic engineering area in a few decades motivates the design changes to reduce costs for engineering, construction and operation as well as to improve performance, reliability and safety based on the latest technology. This report outlines the current design of the F/H system, especially for the F/H control system, introduces some topics in research and development projects being carried out by AECL or other institutes, and presents several potential design improvement items for the better CANDU system with brief explanation about implementation. 29 figs., 2 tabs., 27 refs. (Author).
Concerning high performance composite solid propellant BAMO and BAMO-based copolymers, synthetic method and properties of them were studied. Comparison graph of theoretical specific impulse for various propellants were shown, by that, reason why highest specific impulse BAMO was selected as direction of the study. As the orientation of synthesis, those were indicated that radicals at both ends should be hydroxyl so as urethane bonding was available, that liquid at normal temperature was required for easy handling, and that glass transition temperature is required to be low enough. Synthesis was conducted by ring-opening polymerization of ring ether detail procedures of which were explained. Measurements of properties was performed for thermochemical properties, thermal decomposition, combution heat, and friction sensitivity test to confirm safety. As the result, those were understood that thermal decomposition was divided into two phases, rapid exothermal ...
The Waste Management Project manages and integrates (non-TWRS) waste management activities at the site. Activities include management of Hanford wastes as well as waste transferred to Hanford from other DOE, Department of Defense, or other facilities. This work includes handling, treatment, storage, and disposal of radioactive, nonradioactive, hazardous, and mixed solid and liquid wastes. Major Waste Management Projects are the Solid Waste Project, Liquid Effluents Project, and Analytical Services. Existing facilities (e.g., grout vaults and canyons) shall be evaluated for reuse for these purposes to the maximum extent possible.
Forced vibration experiment has been conducted for the reactor building of Sendai Unit 1 nuclear power plant. The beam vibrational behaviors of the outer shielding building and the internal concrete structure have been observed by using a 50 tf vibration for low frequency region, and a 10 tf vibration for high frequency region, respectively. The outline of the experimental methods, the data handling system and the major results of experiment are described. The experimental results were simulated by an analytical model. The proper vibrational frequency and the vibration modes obtained by the analysis were compared with those obtained by the experiment. By these comparisons, the adequacy of the analytical method employed for the design was confirmed.
This study investigates spent fuel cask handling experience at existing nuclear facilities to determine appropriate cask decontamination and maintenance operations at the potential Yucca Mountain repository. These operations are categorized as either routine or nonroutine. Routine cask decontamination and maintenance tasks are performed in the cask preparation area at the repository. Casks are taken offline to a separate cask maintenance area for major nonroutine tasks. The study develops conceptual designs of the cask preparation area and cask maintenance area. The functions, layouts, and major features of these areas are also described.
As there are many efforts devoted in order to manage the cancer, here the researcher handle one of these efforts that play a major part in treating the cancer internationally, it is a brachytherapy system. Brachytherapy was carried out mostly with radium sources, but recently some artificial sources are incorporated in this mode of treatment such as Cs-137, Ir-192, Au-198, P-32, Sr-90 and I-125. The research cover history of brachytherapy and radioactive sources used in, techniques of implementation, radiation protection and methods of brachytherapy dose calculation, as well as brachytherapy in radiation and isotopes centre in Khartoum.
Enhanced recovery by chemical flooding using surfactant and/or polymers simultaneously implies the following: (1) a fundamental knowledge of the physical chemistry of micellar systems and interfaces; (2) the proper formulation of mathematic models handling the basic mechanisms of oil recovery; and (3) the use of field-scale pilot units to test the validity of the models and to acquire technical knowledge. Efforts have been made by the French in these directions, and the main results are described. Special attention is paid to the search for new products and the improvement of manufacturing processes. 10 references.
The primary purpose of the Waste Management Program Plan is to provide an annual report of how Waste Management's operations are conducted, what facilities are being used to manage wastes, what forces are acting to change current waste management systems, and what plans are in store for the coming fiscal year. In addition, this document projects activities for several years beyond the coming fiscal year in order to adequately plan for safe handling, storage, and disposal of radioactive wastes generated at the Savannah River Site and for developing technology for improved management of wastes. In this document, work descriptions and milestone schedules are current as of December 1991.
Repair and maintenance for equipment used in the Belchatow brown coal mine and organizational models of repair services in the mine are discussed. Maintenance of earthmoving equipment, spreaders, bucket wheel excavators, loaders and other coal handling equipment, belt conveyors and drive systems for belt conveyors is discussed. Repair shops in the mine also manufacture about 35% of spare parts and elements for equipment used in the mine. Reliability of mining equipment, repairs and repair capacity of the shops are discussed. Organizational models of repair services, equipment used by these services and repair personnel are described. Effects of repair services on operation of the mine are evaluated.
The theme of the conference was recent developments in airborne remote sensing and their applications. The proceedings contain the papers presented at 14 general sessions and 13 interactive sessions covering airborne platforms, sensor systems, airborne/spaceborne synergy, atmospheric and oceanic measurements, land cover/land use, emergency response and reconnaissance, data handling, forestry, agriculture, water resources, geospatial reference, system calibration, environmental monitoring and planning, and information product advancements. Two papers are abstracted separately.
The symposium covers papers under different sections namely, (i) Core physics and Fuel management, (ii) Commissioning of facilities and systems, (iii) Operational experience and Human resource development, (iv) Fuel handling, Maintenance management and Surveillance, (v) Instrumentation and Control and Power supply systems, (vi) Analysis, modifications and developments for enhancing operational safety, (vii) Chemistry control and Effluent management, (viii) Radiation and industrial safety and (ix) Steam generators, Turbo-generators and other auxiliaries. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately. (author)
Drell-Yan pair production is investigated. We reexamine a model where the quark momentum fraction is defined as the ratio of the corresponding light-cone components of the quark and parent nucleon in a naive parton-model approach. It is shown that the results differ from the standard parton model. This is due to unphysical solutions for the momentum fractions within the naive approach which are not present in the standard parton model. In a calculation employing full quark kinematics, i.e., including primordial quark transverse momentum, these solutions also appear. A prescription is given to handle these solutions in order to avoid incorrect results. The impact of these solutions in the full kinematical approach is demonstrated and compared to the modified result.
This document establishes the minimum training requirements for the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) personnel who are responsible for management of dangerous waste. The training plan outlines training requirements for handling of solid dangerous waste during generator accumulation and liquid dangerous waste during treatment and storage operations. The implementation of this training plan will ensure the PFP facility compliance with the training plan requirements of Dangerous Waste Regulation. Chapter 173-303-330. Washington Administrative Code (WAC). The requirements for such compliance is described in Section 11.0 of WHC-CM-7-5 Environmental Compliance Manual.
nsive neutron-absorbing bricks from commercially available CaB/sub 6/ powder. The bricks are 2 x 3 x 5 in., and are strong enough to withstand normal handling. They last indefinitely; the ones described are now 7 years old, used and stored under normal room temperatures and humidities. The procedure is to make a thick, dry mud with the powder and water, followed by compression in a mold at pressures of about 1 ton/in./sup 2/ or more. The bricks are then baked for 2 hours or longer at a temperature of about 750 deg C. (auth)
This study illustrates the way to perform protocols, collect samples, and conduct laboratory analyses in order to characterize the physical properties of wood used in the industrial sector of the Valle de Aburra metropalitan area and the gains obtained by characterizing the properties of the most frequently used woods. In this investigation some of the most important sampling parameters are presented, such as taking samples in piles or accumulations of waste, handling of these samples in the laboratory and others of great importance such as the ignition point. the proposed methodology is based upon some of the international astm coal norms, for the similarity it has with wood and for the lack of information on sampling this type in wood
Many analytical chemistry methods normally used at the Savannah River site require repetitive procedures and handling of radioactive and other hazardous solutions. Robotics is being investigated as a method of reducing personnel fatigue and radiation exposure and also increasing product quality. Several applications of various commercially available robot systems are discussed involving cold (nonradioactive) and hot (radioactive) sample preparations and glovebox waste removal. Problems encountered in robot programming, parts fixturing, design of special robot hands and other support equipment, glovebox operation, and operator-system interaction are discussed. A typical robot system cost analysis for one application is given.
A 2D matrix allows a fairly rapid verification of irradiation parameters transferred on computer processing equipment without expanding the dosimetry means to implement. Associated to 'Multicheck and Verisoft' software it will handle some of the regulatory recommendations of the A.F.S.S.A.P.S. for quality control of accelerators and ensure the traceability of testing carried out. (N.C.)
This plan outlines the procedures and operations used at LLNL's Site 300 for the management of the hazardous waste generated. This waste consists primarily of depleted uranium (a by-product of U-235 enrichment), beryllium, small quantities of analytical chemicals, industrial type waste such as solvents, cleaning acids, photographic chemicals, etc., and explosives. This plan details the operations generating this waste, the proper handling of this material and the procedures used to treat or dispose of the hazardous waste. A considerable amount of information found in this plan was extracted from the Site 300 Safety and Operational Manual written by Site 300 Facility personnel and the Hazards Control Department.
This paper describes the safety system and training for personnel on board the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO II) currently working in the Cadlao Field, offshore Palawan in the Philippine Islands. (See Figure 1). The crude oil being produced has wellstream hydrogen sulfide concentrations up to 6000 PPM. Concentrations of hydrogen sulfide at 700 PPM or higher can be immediately dangerous to life and every effort must be made to ensure personnel safety.
The document represents a guide for the external decontamination of persons accidentally radio contaminated due to the use, production or transport of radioactive materials. The general conditions, from the medical point of view, to be kept in mind, in the event of accidental overexposures as decontamination treatment and the handling of samples are detailed throughout report. The external contamination without injury in skin or with wound its considered. The distribution of measures and responsibilities for the therapy of the irradiated patients with radioactive materials are enumerated. The preparations of decontaminate solutions are detailed in this work. Moreover, forms for the reception, physical evaluation of the patient and external contamination are presented. (author)
This book discusses the progress and problems of current interest in gaseous dielectrics and their use, with special emphasis on insulation in high-voltage transmission lines and substations. Topics covered include: basic physics of gaseous dielectrics; basic mechanisms; gas decomposition, reactions and toxicity; diagnostics and field probes; gases and mixtures for GIS transformers and circuit breakers; gaseous media for discharge chemistry and etching/corona; gas engineering for pulsed power and switching; gas breakdown under steep-fronted voltages; new developments in gas-insulated equipment and gas handling; gas/insulator interface/flashover; and quality control in testing gas-insulated equipment. Contains approximately 85 papers.
Division of Remote Handling and Robotics (DRHR) at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has been working on design and development of Reactivity Control Mechanisms for Nuclear Research Reactors (Dhruva, KAMINI and recently Critical Facility of Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)) as well as Power Reactors in India (Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors of 220 MWe at Narora and recently India's first 540 MWe PHWR Unit -1 and 2 at Tarapur). This paper gives a brief account of evolution of reactivity control mechanisms for nuclear research and power reactors in India. (author)
Biomass can provide a substantial energy source. Liquids are preferred for use as transportation fuels because of their high energy density and handling ease and safety. Liquid fuel production from biomass can be accomplished by any of several different processes including hydrolysis and fermentation of the carbohydrates to alcohol fuels, thermal gasification and synthesis of alcohol or hydrocarbon fuels, direct extraction of biologically produced hydrocarbons such as seed oils or algae lipids, or direct thermochemical conversion of the biomass to liquids and catalytic upgrading to hydrocarbon fuels. This report discusses direct thermochemical conversion to achieve biomass liquefaction and the requirements for wastewater treatment inherent in such processing. 21 refs.
As part of the start up of Los Alamos National Laboratory's new tritium-handling facility, the efficiency of a catalytic oxidation tritium decontamination system was investigated using deuterated methane. The tests were performed during the start up of the facility to confirm the operability of the system before introducing tritium and to provide a baseline for comparison. Techniques and instruments normally used for atmospheric tracer experiments using deuterated methane were applied virtually without modification. The sensitivity of this method allowed preliminary checks at the sub-ppm (v/v) level.
The notion of hardened systems can be found in several applications (nuclear power plants, alarm systems, research installations..). Their development correspond to the functional necessity to take into account a specific radiative environment. The starting point of each hardening study is the definition of the radiative environmental constraints representative of the application. In addition to these external constraints, the specific functional characteristics of each system are considered: control or interface systems in nuclear industry, in-board control systems, remote handling systems, etc. This paper summarizes the methodology followed according to the experience gained in previous studies and anticipating the future needs. (J.S.). 6 refs., 5 figs.
In the experimental fast Reactor JOYO, gripper of Fuel Handling Machine and Ex-Vessel Transfer Machine that the sodium adhered is being washed with alcohol. This radioactive alcohol waste that was used to the washing is stored to the tank. If it is able to separate the alcohol and sodium in the alcohol waste it becomes possible to dispose of the alcohol waste. Japan Nuclear Institute and Fuji Electric Systems CO., LTD. Developed the device that adds carbonic acid gas to the alcohol waste and cause the sodium in the alcohol waste separated as carbonate and remove this carbonate by using the thin film evaporator. (author)
Remote-controlled handling systems are required for work to be done in the decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear facilities. These systems are equipped with electronic devices suitable for use in working environments affected by ionizing radiation. The publication explains the step-wise progress achieved for improving the radiation resistance of electronic devices with the example of a four-quadrant controlling device for the motors of a manipulator. The radiation resistance of the device could be enhanced to radiation energies of 5.500 Gy. This means that a manipulator vehicle equipped with this controlling device can take up to approx. 15 kGy all in all, taking into account its own shielding properties. (DG).
The goal of this research program has been to add to our understanding of the breakup of molten fuel jets penetrating reactor coolant. Easily handled working fluids are used to simulate fuel jet breakup, so that detailed observations may be obtained from a relatively large number of experiments. The tools used for observing this behavior are high speed notion picture photography, Flash X-radiography, and X-ray cine. Jet breakup lengths are determined from motion pictures; the mechanisms by which the jets are fragmented may be inferred from radiographs.
Robotics technology is successfully being transitioned from space to terrestrial applications. It is being modified and enhanced to help in the US DOE's Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program. Some examples of these applications, ranging from large multijointed manipulators to autonomously navigated remote vehicles, are outlined in this article. They include the following: underground storage tank technology demonstration; light-duty utility arm system; remotely controlled material-handling system; remotely operated excavator; self-guided transfer vehicle. 10 figs.
The role of robotics and remote handling equipment in future nuclear power plant maintenance activities is discussed in the context of artificial intelligence applications. Special requirements manipulators, control systems, and man-machine interfaces for nuclear applications are noted. Tasks might include inspection with cameras, eddy current probes, and leak detectors; the collection of material samples; radiation monitoring; and the disassembly, repair and reassembly of a variety of system components. A robot with vision and force sensing and an intelligent control system that can access a knowledge base is schematically described. Recent advances in image interpretation systems are also discussed.
The role of robotics and remote handling equipment in future nuclear power plant maintenance activities is discussed in the context of artificial intelligence applications. Special requirements manipulators, control systems, and man-machine interfaces for nuclear applications are noted. Tasks might include inspection with cameras, eddy current probes, and leak detectors; the collection of material samples; radiation monitoring; and the disassembly, repair and reassembly of a variety of system components. A robot with vision and force sensing and an intelligent control system that can access a knowledge base is schematically described. Recent advances in image interpretation systems are also discussed.
The Fuels Material Examination Facility/Fuel Assembly Area is proposed to be used for fabrication of mixed oxide fuel to support the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) tritium/medical isotope mission. The plutonium isotope mix for the new mission is different than that analyzed in the FMEF safety analysis report. A reanalysis was performed of three representative accidents for the revised plutonium mix to determine the impact on the safety analysis. Current versions computer codes and meterology data files were used for the analysis. The revised accidents were a criticality, an explosion in a glovebox, and a tornado. The analysis concluded that risk guidelines were met with the revised plutonium mix.
The first biogas plant using the Plauen method has been operated without failures in the Saxon Vogtland since May 1987. This large scale anaerob treatment plant which is the first one in Germany handles besides agricultural recidual substance both municipal and industrial organic residues. The results show clearly that fermentation is a real alternative to composting, combusting and deponing. (orig.)
A fast production scheduling algorithm suitable for generation expansion studies is described in this paper. It can handle several independent rivers, thermal plants, pumped storage plants, import, export, and internal non-firm markets. Inflows and load are deterministic and a one-reservoir limit is imposed on each river. The scheduling problem is formulated as a generalized network problem which is efficiently solved by an adaption of the simplex method. The algorithm is part of a program developed by Hydro-Quebec to conduct preliminary evaluations of alternative expansion plans. The program and the scheduling algorithm are presented.
A fast production scheduling algorithm suitable for generation expansion studies is described in this paper. It can handle several independent rivers, thermal plants, pumped storage plants, import, export, and internal non-firm markets. Inflows and load are deterministic and a one-reservoir limit is imposed on each river. The scheduling problem is formulated as a generalized network problem which is efficiently solved by an adaption of the simplex method. The algorithm is part of a program developed by Hydro-Quebec to conduct preliminary evaluations of alternative expansion plans. The program and the scheduling algorithm are presented.
Backgrund: Interleukin-1, tumornecrosisfactor-{alpha} and interferon-{gamma} endogenously provide protection of the hematopoietic system against radiation. Thiols have already been used successfully as radioprotective agents. In this study the effect von N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on the release of interleukin-1{alpha} and {beta} (IL-1), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon-{gamma} (IFN-{gamma}) and tumornecrosisfactor-{alpha} (TNF-{alpha}) was assessed in an in vitro assay. Patients and Methods: Whole blood samples from 8 healthy volunteers were stimulated with 7.5 {mu}m/ml PHA. NAC was added at concentrations of 0.6, 6, 12 and 24 mmol/l. Subsequently the samples were irradiated with a dose of 18 Gy according to preceding validation experiments. Results: IL-1{alpha}, IL-1{beta} and IL-2: In comparison to simulation and radiation alone the addition of 0.6 and 6 mmol/l with IL-2 also 12 mmol/l, NAC resulted in a significant increase of the cytokine-concentrations. The ...
Biofuels may contribute to both rural economic development and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Gota Verde Project in Yoro, Honduras, attempts to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of small-scale biofuel production for local use by implementing a distinctive approach to feedstock production that encourages small farm sizes, mixed cropping of biofuel feedstock from Jatropha and food crops, particularly corn and beans, grown side by side on the same farmland and the total involvement of small rural farmers. But is the project sustainable? Using EC-Assess, the Earth Charter ethics-based assessment tool, to assess the sustainability of this project, the author found that in some assessment categories the actions surpassed the intended objectives, showing that the project was achieving certain Earth Charter goals without specifically stating its intention to address them. ...
Main results are summarised for a project carried out with the aim of increasing the knowledge of relations between handling characeristics and properties such as moisture content, particle size and shape etc. Handling characteristics that were studied: angle of repose, friction between fuel and different surfaces, the fuel`s tendency to bridge across openings, and its freezing characteristics. Some forty solid biomass fuels were studied, mainly wood fuels, with particle sized from 1 to 200 mm. New methods were developed for measurement of bridging across openings and freezing characeristics. The angle of repose varied between 25 and 55 deg. The particle shape had a significant influence, a high ratio of length/thickness gave a high angle of repose. When the fuel moisture content was increased the angle of repose first increased, then decreased, and finally increased again. The particle size had no influence. The friction depended more on the ...
The accepted model of retroviral reverse transcription includes a circular DNA intermediate which requires strand displacement synthesis for linearization and creation of an integration-competent, long...Full Text Available
The article describes control and monitoring concepts in which the delegation of responsibility is becoming more decisive than ever (automation hierarchy), and which are capable of optimized, automatic control of process events in pumped storage plants. 8 refs.
Borrelia burgdorferi produces potent cell-activating molecules capable of stimulating polyclonal proliferation and immunoglobulin production by murine B lymphocytes and cytokine production by a variety...Full Text Available
Some laboratory experiments have suggested that power-frequency electric and magnetic fields (EMF) may be capable of influencing calcium efflux from cell membranes, pineal function, and circadian rhythms....Full Text Available
...because it had greatly contributed to the geospatial capability of coalition forces in the Global War on Terrorism by producing a system that provides high-resolution imagery for use in detecting ground changes, creating detailed maps and obtaining Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) information. ...
The plasmid pE194 (3.7 kilobases) is capable of integrating into the genome of the bacterial host Bacillus subtilis in the absence of the major homology-dependent RecE recombination system. Multiple...Full Text Available
The Vision for Space Exploration will guide NASA's future human and robotic space activities. The broad range of human and robotic missions now being planned will require the development of new system-level capabilities enabled by emerging new technologie...
Lumbricus terrestris (Annelid, Oligocheta) is capable of cellular- and humoral-specific reactions against natural antigens. Is this earthworm able to elaborate a response of antibody type against a...Full Text Available
An asymmetrical shaped capillary die made exclusively of graphite is used to grow silicon ribbon which is capable of being made into solar cells that are more efficient than cells produced from ribbon made using a symmetrically shaped die.
Proprioceptive sensory signals inform the CNS of the consequences of motor acts, but effective motor planning involves internal neural systems capable of anticipating actual sensory feedback....Full Text Available
A discussion of historical techniques and future programs dealing with camouflage in urban warfare. The report emphasizes current capabilities in camouflage and deception and concludes that camouflage and deception techniques when used properly can provid...
Average human behavior in cue combination tasks is well predicted by Bayesian inference models. As this capability is acquired over developmental timescales, the question arises, how it is learned....Full Text Available
We previously reported the identification of a new family of plant methyltransferases (MTs), named the SABATH family, that use S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) to methylate...Full Text Available
Biological membranes are lamellar structures composed of two leaflets capable of supporting different mechanical stresses. Stress differences between leaflets were generated during micromechanical experiments...Full Text Available