UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Due to the use of a limited number of species and subchronic exposures, current ecological hazard assessment processes can underestimate the chronic toxicity of environmental contaminants resulting...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

A study was made of the timber products processing point source category, for the purpose of developing information to assist the EPA in establishing effluent limitations guidelines and standards to implement sections 301, 304, 306, and 307 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. The document is the result of that study.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The harmful effect of phosphate in yellow cake on the TBP purification process and its removal methods are dealed with. The reason of more uranium loss in residue was analyzed. The harmful effect of phosphate on TBP extraction efficiency and operaton of extraction column was discussed. The limit value of uranium concentration in digestion solution was presented. For TBP purification process, the presence of phosphate in yellow cake does more harm than good. (authors)

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The virtual lack of well-characterized metastatic pancreatic cancer tissues for study has limited systematic studies of the metastatic process of this deadly disease. To address this important...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A closed loop control process assures that a system performs within control limits. In closed loop control, the system's output feeds back directly to change the system's inputs. We describe an approach...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plasma nitriding as a diffusion process is the oldest plasma-assisted process for the surface treatment of metals. Although the use of this process in industry is already well developed and established there are still several scientific questions in the basic understanding of the process and consequently some problems and limits concerning its upscaling for industrial use. Therefore it is necessary to get reproducible results for different geometries of workpieces and for different workload sizes. Correlations between different plasma and treatment parameters, especially in big plants, have to be considered. To understand the process handling using some simple but impressive models the difficulties of treating single parts or mixed workloads are explained. For profitable applications of plasma nitriding plants, some guidelines for the use and selection of a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The purpose of this research is to develop a technically and economically feasible process for biologically producing H(sub 2) from synthesis gas while, at the same time, removing harmful sulfur gas compounds. Six major tasks are being studied: 1. Culture development, where the best cultures are selected and conditions optimized for simultaneous hydrogen production and sulfur gas removal; 2. Mass transfer and kinetic studies in which equations necessary for process design are developed; 3. Bioreactor design studies, where the cultures chosen in Task 1 are utilized in continuous reaction vessels to demonstrate process feasibility and define operating conditions; 4. Evaluation of biological synthetic gas conversion under limiting conditions in preparation for industrial demonstration studies; 5. Process scale-up where laboratory data are scaled to larger-size units in preparation for ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The U.S. Support Program to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards (USSP) was established in 1977 to transfer US technology and expertise to assist the IAEA Department of Safeguards because its limited budget and scope would not allow for R&D activities and the procurement of specialized or customized equipment. Over the years, the USSP and the Department of Safeguards have worked together continuously to develop and improve processes for requesting, selecting, and managing projects that support the Safeguards verification mission. This paper will discuss the main USSP processes for accepting and processing Safeguards requests, and managing and reporting task progress.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper focuses on the design and modeling of the humidification dehumidification desalination (HDH) process. The process is only found on experimental or very small pilot scale. Literature studies are rather limited and it includes a number of experimental investigations, performance evaluation, and measurements of the heat and mass transfer coefficients. This study includes useful and new data on the evaluation of the heat transfer coefficient of the humid air stream in the condenser unit. The analysis develops a correlation for the heat transfer coefficient for the humid air stream as a function of the Reynolds and Prandtl numbers. Also, detailed evaluation of the system performance is presented as a function of the system temperatures and the inlet relative humidity of the air strea...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Case studies are presented for treatment of refinery wastes in a pilot-scale thin-film evaporator, the removal of volatiles from industrial wastewater for two steam strippers, and the removal of semivolatiles from water by steam stripping followed by liquid-phase carbon adsorption. The report provides data on removal efficiency, air emissions, process residuals, treatment costs, and process limitations. Details on sampling and analytical procedures, quality assurance, and process data are contained in the Appendixes (Volume II).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The present article will review recent advances in focused ion beam (FIB) technology. With increasing demands for scale of integration, microfabrication technology is becoming more important and various new microfabrication tools and processing techniques are desired. FIB is one of the promising tools for future microfabrication technology. This provides maskless patterning capability, which is of importance for process simplification, nanofabrication and in the development of in situ vacuum processing. In situ vacuum processing systems are being developed by combining FIB and a molecular beam epitaxy system. Radiation damage may limit applications of FIB. However, it was demonstrated that low energy FIB (<1 keV) with very high brightness was reached and promising results for low damage processing have been obtained. (orig.).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The GERDA experiment is located in the underground Gran Sasso laboratory. The experiment aims at studying the neutrinoless ?? decay of 76Ge. The implementation of the experiment is divided in two consecutive phases. Phase I will allow within one year of data taking to reach a sensitivity limit for the half life of the process of the order of Formula Not Shown years. Phase II, with an increased amount of active material and a background index lower by one order of magnitude than in Phase I, will allow to reach a half life limit of about Formula Not Shown years. In the present paper a brief review of the status of the experiment and its perspectives is given.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The TRIMPWR code has been developed as a post processor for TRIMHX (transient 3D diffusion code) in support of the reactor limits program. TRIMPWR is designed to produce JOSHUA files containing: core power as a function of time, assembly power by hex as a function of time, assembly power post peaking as a function of time, and axial power shapes for each assembly as a function of time (formatted for use by the FLOWTRAN code) from the output of a TRIMHX run. In an attempt to simplify the reactor limits process by reducing the number of assemblies which must be run through FLOWTRAN, TRIMPWR also sorts the assemblies by the product of the power post peaking and the maximum normalized axial power density for each assembly. This follows from the assumption that those assemblies having the maximum value of this product will have the most restrictive limits.

CERN Document Server

Given a Gibbs point process $\\P^{\\Psi}$ on $\\R^d$ having a weak enough potential $\\Psi$, we consider the random measures $\\mu_\\la := \\sum_{x \\in \\P^{\\Psi} \\cap Q_\\la} \\xi(x, \\P^{\\Psi} \\cap Q_\\la) \\delta_{x/\\la^{1/d}}$, where $Q_{\\la} := [-\\la^{1/d}/2,\\la^{1/d}/2]^d$ is the volume $\\la$ cube and where $\\xi(\\cdot,\\cdot)$ is a translation invariant stabilizing functional. Subject to $\\Psi$ satisfying a localization property and translation invariance, we establish weak laws of large numbers for $\\la^{-1} \\mu_\\la(f)$, $f$ a bounded test function on $\\R^d$, and weak convergence of $\\la^{-1/2} \\mu_\\la(f),$ suitably centered, to a Gaussian field acting on bounded test functions. The result yields limit laws for geometric functionals on Gibbs point processes including the Strauss and area interaction point processes as well as more general point processes ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Variability in production is one of the largest factors that negatively impacts construction project performance. A common construction practice to protect production systems from variability is the use of buffers (Bf). Construction practitioners and researchers have proposed buffering approaches for different production situations, but these approaches have faced practical limitations in their application. A multiobjective analytic model (MAM) is proposed to develop a graphical solution for the design of Work-In-Process (WIP) Bf in order to overcome these practical limitations to Bf application, being demonstrated through the scheduling of repetitive building projects. Multiobjective analytic modeling is based on Simulation?Optimization (SO) modeling and Pareto Fronts concepts. Simulation...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Asymmetric Incremental Sheet Forming (AISF) is a relatively new manufacturing process. In AISF, a CNC driven forming tool imposes a localized plastic deformation as it moves along the contour of the desired part. Thus, the final shape is obtained by a sequence of localized plastic deformations. AISF is suitable for small series production of sheet metal parts as needed in aeronautical and medical applications. Two main process limits restrict the range of application of AISF in these fields. These are the low geometrical accuracy of parts made from titanium alloys or high strength steels and, for titanium alloys, the limited formability at room temperature. In this paper a new concept for laser-assisted AISF is introduced including the required components. Furthermore, the CAX tools used f...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Processing of food with ionizing radiation is a method suitable to enhance shelf-life and hygienic quality. Up to a dose of 10 kGy the method is considered wholesome. In many countries the practical use of food irradiation is increasing, however, in the Federal Republic of Germany the process is strictly forbidden. Applications and methods for radiation processing of food are compiled, limits and prospects are explained, and advantages and disadvantages are compared with traditional methods. Identification of irradiated foods and dosimetry and process control for radiation processing of food are areas where further research is needed. Continuous processing of particulate foods in bulk is an application where electron accelerators might be profitable. Beam parameters and velocity distribution of food particles in the treatment area can be ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Several metallurgical coatings have been developed that provide good tribological performances in high-temperature liquid sodium and that are relatively unaffected by neutron fluences to 6 X 10/sup 22/ n/cm/sup 2/ (E > 0.1 MeV). The coatings that have consistently provided the best tribological performance have been the nickel aluminide diffusion coatings created by the pack cementation process, chromium carbide or Tribaloy 700 trade mark (a nickel-base hardfacing alloy) applied by the detonation-gun process, and chromium carbide and other hardfacing alloy) applied by the detonation-gun process, and chromium carbide and other hardfacing materials applied by the electro-spark deposition process. The latter process is a relatively recent development for nuclear applications and is expected to find wide usage. Other coating processes, such as plasma-spray ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The report deals with: (1) two-phase flow regime transitions, (2) liquid entrainment in break flow, (3) vapor pull-through, and (4) CCFL in horizontal ducts. The first three processes influence the mass flow through the break, whereas the fourth one imposes a limit on liquid flow from the steam generator through the hot leg break into the core. Correlations available in the literature which deal with these processes are presented and applied to a hot leg of a PWR, LOFT and Semiscale for quantitative estimates, as well as for determining the scale distortion in the latter two facilities.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brain scintiscanning which was first carried out exclusively 'statical' and only with test substances of limited quality has been replaced nowadays by 'dynamical' camera-sequency-scintiscanning with technetium. This brought considerable progress not only for identifying but also for the differential diagnosis of cerebro-organic processes. Development, methods, and integration of brain scintiscanning in a diagnostical conception are described briefly. (orig.).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The radiation life time of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) is the most important limiting factor for the term of exploitation of the whole power unit. The main degradation mechanism of RPV metal is the neutron induced embrittlement. Processes of radiation ageing running in RPV metal lead to fracture toughness decrease and to increased probability of brittle fracture of the vessel under thermal shocks. This explains the importance of RPV integrity assessment and rest life time management

Science.gov (United States)

A steam producing system based on fluidized-bed gasification of biomass materials is discussed. Limited experimental results are discussed and show that steam has been produced at rates of 334.3 kg/hr. (737 lbs/hr.) with 2.8 kg of stream produced for each kilogram of cotton gin trash (2.8 lb/lb.). ref.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundLimited information has been published regarding how specific processes for event adjudication can affect event rates in trials. We reviewed nonfatal myocardial infarctions...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuclear forensics is a relatively new scientific branch whose aim it is to read out material inherent information from nuclear material. On the basis of material taken in safe-keeping in Germany, the procedure is illustrated and the limits and possibilities of nuclear forensics are shown, in particular the statements that can be made concerning the material, and the relation of the material with respect to a certain location of origin or manufacturing process. (orig.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

At the Savannah River Site (SRS), nuclear production reactors used de-ionizers to control the chemistry of the reactor moderator during their operation to produce nuclear materials primarily for the weapons program. These de-ionizers were removed from the reactors and stored as a legacy waste with no path to disposal due to the relatively high 14C contamination (i.e., on the order of 20 curies per de-ionizer for 48-50 de-ionizers) and the low disposal limit of 4.2 Ci previously established for the Intermediate Level Vault (ILV). The ILV is considered most appropriate facility within which to dispose these items due to the method of solidifying waste items with cementitious material inside concrete vaults. In previous analyses the 14C ILV disposal limit was established at 4.2 Ci resulting from the use of a very conservative method to analyze the dose received from atmospheric releases of gaseous 14C. This investigation implemented a more ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The present paper describes the development of ultra-fine grains on the surface of AZ31 alloys caused by hydrogenation and dehydrogenation treatment, so-called HDDR process. Upon hydrogenation process, disproportionation reaction occurred in forming of MgH{sub 2}, Mg{sub 0.42}Al{sub 0.58}, and Al phases. In the following desorption process, the three phases were re-solved into the AZ31 alloy. As a result of the HDDR phenomena, the grain size of AZ31 alloy powders was reduced down to about 100 nm after the heat treatment at 350 C under a hydrogen pressure of 7 MPa for 24 h. The grain size tended to be increased with increasing process temperatures. In addition, the HDDR process was also applied to AZ31 alloy plates. By the HDDR process at 450 C, the grain size was reduced to less than 500 nm, where hydrogenated layer thickness was limited to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Many countries which do not produce oil are rich with other sources of energy that are not fully utilised, such as tar sand, oil shale and olive cake. Limited previous work was done on producing carbonaceous matter and separating volatile matter from combinations of tar sand, oil shale and olive cake. In this study, a process is designed and tested to produce carbonaceous matter from combinations of three materials mentioned above. Results indicate that the process is successful in producing carbonaceous matter. The minimum temperatures to achieve complete carbonisation was found to be 500degC for a minimum heating time of 1.5h. Carbonised materials were tested for their calorific values, which indicated a successful carbonisation process. The proposed process can be scaled up and automated, and is expected to be economically feasible. Moreover, the process ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Pulses are rich in nutrients. The existence of anti-nutritional components and the length of time required for preparation have, however, limited their frequency of use compared to recommended intake levels. Anti-nutritional components in pulses can be largely removed by heat treatment. Additionally pre-treatment of pulses with heat and processing of seeds into flour could further enhance their use by decreasing processing and preparation times. In this study, trypsin inhibitor activity, functional properties, and microstructural characteristics of flours prepared from different varieties of lentil, chickpea, and pea as affected by roasting and boiling were evaluated. Both thermal treatments resulted in significant reduction (p<0.05) in trypsin inhibitor activity ranging from -95.6% to -37...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Savannah River Site disposes of low-level radioactive waste within on-site engineered disposal facilities. The Savannah River Site must demonstrate that these disposals meet the requirements of DOE Order 435 . 1 through a process known as performance assessment (PA). The objective of this document is to provide the radionuclide -specific data needed for the PA calculations . This work is part of an on-going program to periodically review and update existing PA work as new data becomes available. Revision of the E -Area Low-Level Waste Facility PA is currently underway. The number of radionuclides selected to undergo detailed analysis in the PA is determined by a screening process. The basis of this process is described. Radionuclide-specific data for half-lives, decay modes, daughters, dose conversion factors and groundwater concentration limits are presented with source references and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Efforts in industry concerning pollution abatement up to nowadays were aimed at: solid particles contained in gaseous effluents, SO_2 effluent reduction, nitrogen oxide effluent limitation through combustion technology enhancement. Various CO_2 emission scenarios with different energy production means (same or increased nuclear plant number, energy consumption reduction) show that energy conservation schemes for the developed countries are the best solution to CO_2 control. Different solutions for greenhouse gas abatement from industrial plant are reviewed: effluent processing, burner technological enhancement, heat transfer optimization on industrial processes, computer assisted management for industrial processes, plasma technic for refining, substitution of gas to oil in chemistry, etc.

CERN Document Server

The MAP model was introduced in information system engineering in order to model processes on a flexible way. The intentional level of this model helps an engineer to execute a process with a strong relationship to the situation of the project at hand. In the literature, attempts for having a practical use of maps are not numerous. Our aim is to enhance the guidance mechanisms of the process execution by reusing graph algorithms. After clarifying the existing relationship between graphs and maps, we improve the MAP model by adding qualitative criteria. We then offer a way to express maps with graphs and propose to use Graph theory algorithms to offer an automatic guidance of the map. We illustrate our proposal by an example and discuss its limitations.

CERN Document Server

Two-dimensional simulations of the coarsening process of the isotropic/smectic-A phase transition are presented using a high-order Landau-de Gennes type free energy model. Defect annihilation laws for smectic disclinations, elementary dislocations, and total dislocation content are determined. The computed evolution of the orientational correlation length and disclination density is found to be in agreement with previous experimental observations showing that disclination interactions dominate the coarsening process. The mechanism of smectic disclination movement, limited by the absorption and emission of elementary dislocations, is found to be facilitated by curvature walls connecting interacting disclinations. At intermediate times in the coarsening process, split-core dislocation formation and interactions displaying an effective disclination quadrupole configuration are observed. This work provides ...

CERN Document Server

Process algebra for parallel and distributed processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An analysis is presented of the electron temperature in a linear device which includes the effect of thermal conduction, heat flux limit, radiation, and end plugs. It is found that the thermal conduction and the heat flux limit are dominant in the initial phase of cooling, while the later phase is almost completely controlled by radiation that spatially homogenizes the temperature distribution. In the case of bremsstrahlung, within the frame of the present model, the temperature decays to zero in a finite time. This process takes the form of a cooling wave that moves from the ends of the column to the center. Impurities cause a milder, exponential decay, which is still much faster than the algebraic conduction decay. The thermal effectiveness of the end plugs is described by a convective transfer coefficient h/sub p/. Its scaling law (in terms of the coupled plamsa-plug system) reveals that a very high plug-plasma density ...

Science.gov (United States)

Since some of the earliest evolutionary calculations it has been found that post main sequence stars become red giants (e.g. Sandage and Schwarzschild, 1952). However the exact physical processes that lead to and determine the rate of redward evolution are not completely understood. We hypothesized that the redward evolution might be due to an increase in radiation pressure somewhere in the star that causes the layers above it to be pushed outward, resulting in an expanded envelope and a cooler surface temperature. If the radiative luminosity somewhere in the star approached the Eddington limit, the outer layers would obviously expand. However, due to the presence of gas pressure, the critical value for expansion would be somewhat less than the Eddington limit.

CERN Document Server

We present a new modular traffic signs recognition system, successfully applied to both American and European speed limit signs. Our sign detection step is based only on shape-detection (rectangles or circles). This enables it to work on grayscale images, contrary to most European competitors, which eases robustness to illumination conditions (notably night operation). Speed sign candidates are classified (or rejected) by segmenting potential digits inside them (which is rather original and has several advantages), and then applying a neural digit recognition. The global detection rate is ~90% for both (standard) U.S. and E.U. speed signs, with a misclassification rate 150 minutes of video. The system processes in real-time ~20 frames/s on a standard high-end laptop.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Researchers report results from the Low Energy Antiproton Experiment (LEAP), a balloon-borne instrument which was flown in August, 1987. They found a value of 4.2 by 10-6 for the antiproton to proton ratio in the energy range from 120 MeV to 600 MeV at the top of the atmosphere. In particular, this experiment places an upper limit on the flux almost an order of magnitude below the reported flux of Buffington et al. This upper limit allows us to place significant constraints on both the primordial black hole and weakly interacting Majorana Fermion hypothesis, as well as on the low energy processes in more conventional models of galactic cosmic ray antiproton production.

CERN Document Server

Analysis of the dynamics of the cavity radiation of a coherently pumped correlated emission laser is presented. The phase fluctuation and dephasing are found to affect the time evolution of the two-mode squeezing and intensity of the cavity radiation significantly. The intensity and degree of the two-mode squeezing increase at early stages of the process with time, but this trend changes rapidly afterwards. It is also shown that they increase with phase fluctuation and dephasing in the strong driving limit, however the situation appears to be opposite in the weak driving limit. This essentially suggests that the phase fluctuation and dephasing weaken the coherence induced by a strong driving mechanism so that the spontaneous emission gets a chance. The other important aspect of the phase fluctuation, in this regard, is the relaxation of the time at which the maximum squeezing is manifested as well as the time in which the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Animal carcasses from slaughterhouses are usually composted on farms, but the composting process is not optimized and a large volumes of carbonaceous residues are needed. This type of composting takes place over a period of 6 to 9 months in a nonaerated static pile. Quebec's industrial research centre (CRIQ) developed an organic biodrying process (BIOSECO) adapted to large-scale operations in order to optimize the treatment of slaughterhouse residues. Biodrying is a form of composting, in which the thermophilic phase is optimized, making it possible to evaporate large amounts of water. Biodrying is done inside a building and reduces the amount of carbonaceous residues considerably. The process is optimized by the sequence in which the slaughterhouse residues are added, the choice of input and the aeration flow. Slaughterhouse residues can be treated non-stop throughout the entire year. Since the odours are nearly ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spent nuclear wastes are inevitable issues to use nuclear power as a sustainable energy. Therefore, every country has their fuel cycles which are best for their environmental and/or political circumstances for the use of nuclear energy. These days agreements are made that spent nuclear fuels should be recycled to minimize waste volume and its toxicity all around the world. Republic of Korea also has a plan to recycle the spent nuclear fuels by using Gen-IV concept burner reactors and pyro-process plants. Not many options of national nuclear strategies are exist because Korea has too many people for its limited land space. KAERI already has been proposing a national fuel cycle concept called 'KIEP-21' that encompasses all the requirements of the advanced nuclear fuel cycle such as reduction of volume, toxicity, HLW heat load and so on. Authors suggest non-national fuel cycle concept called 'PyroGreen' for the sustainable nuclear energy system. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

During the water detritiation process most of the tritium inventory is transferred from water into the gaseous phase, then it is further enriched and finally extracted and safely stored. The control of tritium inventory is an acute issue from several points of view: - Financially - tritium is an expensive material; - Safeguard - tritium is considered as nuclear material of strategic importance; - Safety - tritium is a radioactive material: requirements for documented safety analysis report (to ensure strict limits on the total tritium allowed) and for evaluation of accident consequences associated with that inventory. Large amounts of tritium can be stored, in a very safely manner, as metal tritides. A bench-scale experiment of a tritium storage bed with integrated system for in-situ tritium inventory accountancy was designed and developed at ICSI Rm. Valcea. The calibration curve and the detection limit for this ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Transmission electron microscope (TEM) specimens are today routinely prepared using focussed ion beam (FIB) instruments. Specifically, the lift-out method has become an increasingly popular technique and involves removing thin cross-sections from site-specific locations and transferring them to a TEM grid. This lift-out process can either be performed ex situ or in situ. The latter is mainly carried out on combined dual-beam FIB and scanning electron microscope (SEM) systems whereas conventional single-beam instruments often are limited to the traditional ex situ method. It is nevertheless desirable to enhance the capabilities of existing single-beam instruments to allow for in situ lift-out preparation to be performed since this technique offers a number of advantages over the older ex situ method. A single-beam FIB instrument was therefore modified to incorporate an in situ micromanipulator fitted with a tungsten needle, which can be attached ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The dynamics of many natural and technical systems are essentially influenced by a periodic forcing. Analytic solutions of the equations of motion for periodically driven systems are generally not known. Simulations, numerical solutions or in some limiting cases approximate analytic solutions represent the known approaches to study the dynamics of such systems. Besides the regime of weak periodic forces where linear response theory works, the limit of a slow driving force can often be treated analytically using an adiabatic approximation. For this approximation to hold all intrinsic processes must be fast on the time-scale of a period of the external driving force. We developed a perturbation theory for periodically driven Markovian systems that covers the adiabatic regime but also works if the system has a single slow mode that may even be slower than the driving force. We call it the semi adiabatic approximation. Some ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report documents the technical development for a patent disclosure of a double-clad process for the continuous casting of thin-strip carbon steel. The fundamental idea of the disclosure is to form a product strip by depositing molten steel between two, cooled, clad strips of the same material. The claimed benefits include: (a) the conservation of energy in steel making through the elimination of soaking pits and reheat cycles, and (b) an improved surface on both sides of the as-cast product such that it will be suitable for direct feed to a cold-reduction mill. However, the process as conceived is not necessarily limited to the casting of carbon steel, but may be also applied to other metals and alloys. The work is described under three headings as follows. Preliminary Considerations and Scoping Analysis presents the basic idea of the double-clad, thin-strip casting process; the energy conservation ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A basic problem in gravitational physics is the resolution of spacetime singularities where general relativity breaks down. The simplest such singularities are conical singularities arising from orbifold identifications of flat space, and the most challenging are spacelike singularities inside black holes (and in cosmology). Topology changing processes also require evolution through classically singular spacetimes. I briefly review how a phase of closed string tachyon condensate replaces, and helps to resolve, basic singularities of each of these types. Finally I discuss some interesting features of singularities arising in the small volume limit of compact negatively curved spaces and the emerging zoology of spacelike singularities.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper describes a Qualitative/Screening Methodology included in the draft ANS Low Power and Shutdown (LPSD) PRA (Probabilistic Risk Assessment) Standard. The screening methodology can be used to eliminate certain specified shutdown POSs (Plant Operating States) from requiring further quantitative risk assessment in the context of a specified application based on demonstrating that their risk is lower than some predetermined limiting value. The paper also describes a methodology for qualitative risk assessment (QRA) tools that are used to support the screening process. The paper outlines the bases of both methodologies. (authors)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report documents results of a preliminary hazard analysis (PHA) covering the existing Crane Chempump and the new salt well pumping design. Three hazardous conditions were identified for the Chempump and ten hazardous conditions were identified for the new salt well pump design. This report also presents the results of the control decision/allocation process. A backflow preventer and associated limiting condition for operation were assigned to one hazardous condition with the new design.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 amended the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 to permit the construction of offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. Terminals with environmentally destructive open-loop regasification systems were quickly approved in the Gulf of Mexico. This study analyzed the political methods of the George W. Bush administration to determine how it developed offshore LNG. Findings showed that the Bush administration worked closely with the energy industry to promote national energy security and limited the role of certain federal and state agencies through a centralized policy process.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polymeric coated ferromagnetic carriers with an absorbed layer of octyl(phenyl)-N,N-diisobutylcarbamoylmethylphosphine oxide (CMPO) diluted by tributyl phosphate (TBP) are being evaluated for application in the separation and the recovery of low concentrations of americium, plutonium, and uranium from nuclear waste solutions. Due to their chemical nature, these extractants selectively complex americium and plutonium contaminants onto the particles and the complexed particles can be recovered from the solution using a magnet. Physical and chemical characterization of the extractant-absorbed particles were performed by gamma and liquid scintillation counting, scanning electron microscopic (SEM) micrograph, and other physical measurements. Plutonium, americium, and uranium separations have been performed at various HNO{sub 3} and HCl concentrations. Parameters were studied to determine the limitations and capacity of the process. The status of the ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The human genome encodes 11 cysteine cathepsins belonging to the papain-like family of cysteine peptidases that are known predominantly as endo-lysosomal enzymes. However, it is now understood that the functions and activities of cysteine cathepsins are not limited to endo-lysosomal compartments, as they are also active in the peri- and extracellular space. The thyroid gland is an endocrine organ where such intra- and extracellular proteolytic activities are required to solubilize the prohormone thyroglobulin from its luminal, covalently cross-linked storage forms for subsequent processing into smaller protein fragments and thyroid hormone liberation. Cathepsin K has been identified as one of the cysteine cathepsins with a crucial role in thyroglobulin processing. However, cathepsin K has ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The potential of waste seashells powder, as a new adsorbent for Brilliant Red HE-3B reactive dye removal from aqueous solutions, was examined by the batch technique. The Freundlich, Langmuir, and Dubinin-Radushkevich adsorption models were applied to describe the equilibrium sorption data and to determine the corresponding isotherm constants. The values of the thermodynamic parameters, ?G, ?H, and ?S, indicate that the sorption of reactive dye is a spontaneous and endothermic process. The kinetic data evaluated by pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and intraparticle diffusion kinetic models suggested that the sorption of reactive dye onto seashell is a complex process and both surface sorption and intraparticle diffusion contributes to the rate limiting step.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Active Process Water (APW) System, provided as unitized closed loop system in Tarapur Atomic Power Project Units-3 and 4, serves to remove heat from various heat exchangers. One of the important loads served by APW system is shutdown cooling heat exchangers and if APW shutdown is taken then reactor cannot be maintained in cold shutdown condition. It is estimated that after 7 days of reactor shutdown, if about 20% of the normal cooling flow to shutdown cooling heat exchangers is provided then along with keeping PHT in cold shutdown state, reactor components, moderator, end shield water, calandria vault water and calandria vault concrete temperature can be maintained within technical specification limits for extended duration. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Due to size and costs of big slewing rings, the common methods of experimental trial and error together with destructive test methods for verification of the inductive hardening process are limited. Thereby it is essential to simulate the hardening process in addition to the tests. With these simulations, it should be possible to get conclusions for the hardening pattern, the residual stress and distortion. With actually existing methods a fully three dimensional simulation is extremely time consuming. For that reason, a new method was developed that combines two dimensional with three dimensional simulation to shorten the time for calculation tremendously. (orig.)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The influence of plasma nitriding on the fatigue behaviour of AISI 4140 low-alloy steel was investigated under varying process conditions of temperature (500-600 C), time (1-12 h), heat treatment before ion nitriding (quenched and tempered, normalized) and gas mixture (50% H{sub 2}-50% N{sub 2}). A rotating bending fatigue machine was used to determine the fatigue strength. It was found that the plasma nitriding improves the fatigue strength and increases the fatigue limit depending on the surface hardness of the case depth. The microstructure of surface and diffusion layers was examined by optical microscopy. The fracture surface of specimens and the origin of fatigue cracks were observed by scanning electron microscopy.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Waste cooking oil can be recovered and processed into animal feed additives after purification. Unfortunately, the traditional purification processes are insufficient for the removal of the harmful compounds formed during frying, mainly about malondialdehyde and other 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. In the present paper, firstly, a simple and reliable HPLC method was developed to measure the content of malondialdehyde in purified waste cooking oil. The detection limit and the standard recovery of the analysis method are 1.20x10-5gl-1 and 96.5-99.2%, respectively, which is accurate and valid enough for the detection of malondialdehyde in waste cooking oil. Furthermore, the removal of malondialdehyde and other 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances from waste cooking oil was in...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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 ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A large acceptance, high stopping power, Bragg curve spectrometer has been developed for use in coincidence experiments with heavy ions. The electron collection fields are radial and position information is obtained from a resistive anode. The detector is 60 cm deep and operates at pressures of up to 2.5 atm of P-10 gas. It is mated to a scattering chamber which allows it to be moved out of plane during coincidence measurements. The detector design was aided by the results of computer simulations of the electron collection process in the detector, and of the signal processing in the electronics. The signals from the Bragg curve spectrometer are recorded in a waveform digitizer and the Bragg peak height, range, position and pileup rejection information are determined from software analysis of the recorded signals. Factors limiting the performance of the detector are discussed, and results obtained with the detector are ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bulk micromachining generally refers to processes involving wet chemical etching of structures formed out of the silicon substrate and so is limited to fairly large, crude structures. Surface micromachining allows intricate patterning of thin films of polysilicon and other materials to form essentially two-dimensional layered parts (since the thickness of the parts is limited by the thickness of the deposited films). There is a third type of micromachining in which the part is formed by filling a mold which was defined by photolithographic means. Historically micromachining molds have been formed in some sort of photopolymer, be it with x-ray lithography (``LIGA``) or more conventional UV lithography, with the aim of producing piece parts. Recently, however, several groups including ours at Sandia have independently come up with the idea of forming the mold for mechanical parts by etching into the silicon substrate itself. ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We discuss the transient-enhanced diffusion of Sb, As, P, In, Ga, and B in ion-implanted Si, where the near-surface region has been amorphized by the dopant or by a self-implantation process. With Sb, a large transient diffusion enhancement is observed proportional to dopant concentration. For Sb, As, P, and In, the enhancement follows the relative interstitialcy diffusion coefficient. We believe this behavior is caused by stable implantation-induced point defects present in the amorphous surface layer, which decay during thermal processing to release high concentrations of self-interstitials. This process occurs in competition with the solid phase epitaxial (SPE) growth process, and for high dopant concentrations can occur in the amorphous phase ahead of the crystallization front. We believe this may be the origin of the dopant redistribution which can occur during SPE growth, which sets the upper ...

CERN Document Server

Site-specific recombination is an important cellular process that yields a variety of knotted and catenated DNA products on supercoiled circular DNA. Twist knots are some of the most common conformations of these products. They are also one of the simplest families of knots and catenanes. Yet, our systematic understanding of their implication in DNA and important cellular processes like site-specific recombination is very limited. Here we present a topological model of site-specific recombination characterising all possible products of site-specific recombination on twist knot substrates, extending previous work of Buck and Flapan. We illustrate how to use our model to examine previously uncharacterized experimental data. We show how our model can help determine the sequence of products in multiple rounds of processive recombination and distinguish between products of processive and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This technical report was written as a result of Integrated Plant Information System (IPIS) feasibility study on CANDU 9 project which had been carried out from January, 1994 to March, 1994 at AECL (Atomic Energy Canada Limited) in Canada. From 1987, AECL had done endeavour to change engineering work process from paper based work process to computer based work process through CANDU 3 project. Even though AECL had a lot of good results form computerizing the Process Engineering, Instrumentation Control and Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Aided Design and Drafting, and Document Management System, but there remains the problem of information isolation and integration. On this feasibility study, IPIS design support functionality guideline was suggested by evaluating current AECL CAE tools, analyzing computer aided engineering task and work flow, investigating ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The grain boundary misorientation distribution of 203 grain boundaries in bulk processed high Tc superconductor YBa_2Cu_3O_7_-_#delta# with five processing conditions;, was studied. Two complementary analytical approaches, Grain Boundary Misorientation Distribution (GBMD) from the random description, using a hypothesis test and #chi#"2 analysis, and Grain Boundary Character Distribution (GBCD), using the Coincidence Site Lattice (CSL) model, were applied. The GBMD and GBCD both showed grain boundary evolution departing from a random distribution above 935 C processing temperature. The GBCD analyses indicated an approximately linear increase in the population of CSL-related boundaries, among which the tetragonal CSL (c/a #not =# 3) boundaries grew in the same trend while orthorhombic boundaries (c/a = 3) became stagnated. The results from comparing the corresponding GBCD and volume averaged J_c for each batch indicated that ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The commercial Modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (MHTGR) achieves improved reactor safety performance and reliability by utilizing an integrated sequence of completely passive thermal storage and heat transfer mechanisms to reject decay heat in the event that all its active cooling systems fail to operate. During such events, the initial heatup transient in the core is followed by a quasi-steady state cooldown process which, if uninterrupted, can continue for several days. A buoyancy-driven natural convection cooling system called the RCCS facilitates the continuous heat removal by circulating ambient air through the reactor cavity, where it is heated and then exhausted to the outside environment. The peak thermal load on the RCCS occurs approximately at the time that the vessel reaches its highest temperature. To confirm the adequacy of the RCCS design, detailed analytical models were developed to simulate the decay heat removal ...

Science.gov (United States)

Testing was performed to determine the feasibility and processing characteristics of evaporation of actual Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) recycle material. Samples of the Off Gas Condensate Tank (OGCT) and Slurry Mix Evaporator Condensate Tank (SMECT) were transferred from DWPF to the Savannah River National Lab (SRNL) Shielded Cells and blended with De-Ionized (DI) water and a small amount of Slurry Mix Evaporator (SME) product. A total of 3000 mL of this feed was concentrated to approximately 90 mL during a semi-batch evaporation test of approximately 17 hours. One interruption occurred during the run when the feed tube developed a split and was replaced. Samples of the resulting condensate and concentrate were collected and analyzed. The resulting analysis of the condensate was compared to the Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) limits for the F/H Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP). Results from the test were compared ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Classical beam line ion implantation is limited to low energies and cannot achieve P+/N junctions requested for <45nm ITRS node. RTA (rapid thermal annealing) needs to be improved for dopants activation and damage reductions. Spike annealing process also induces a large diffusion mainly due to TED (transient enhanced diffusion). Compared to conventional beam line ion implantation limited to a minimum energy implantation of 200eV, plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is an emerging technique to get ultimate shallow profiles (as-implanted) due to no lower limitation of energy and high dose rate. On the another hand, laser thermal processing (LTP) allows to obtain very shallow junction with no TED, abrupt profile and activated depth control. In this paper, we show the implementation of the BF_3 PIII associated with the LTP. Ions from BF_3"+ plasma have been implanted in 200mm ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The microbial process of converting organic matter into methane and carbon dioxide is so complex that anaerobic digesters have long been treated as {open_quotes}black boxes.{close_quotes} Research into this process during the past few decades has gradually unraveled this complexity, but many questions remain. The major biochemical reactions for forming methane by methanogens are largely understood, and evolutionary studies indicate that these microbes are as different from bacteria as they are from plants and animals. In anaerobic digesters, methanogens are at the terminus of a metabolic web, in which the reactions of myriads of other microbes produce a very limited range of compounds - mainly acetate, hydrogen, and formate - on which the methanogens grow and from which they form methane. {open_quotes}Interspecies hydrogen-transfer{close_quotes} and {open_quotes}interspecies formate-transfer{close_quotes} are major ...

Science.gov (United States)

A pyrochemical partitioning process has been conceptually designed so that the transmutation of spent LWR fuels in PEACER can produce mainly low-level waste (Class C waste) for near-surface burial. Chloride salt technology developed for IFR has been employed as the baseline. Electrorefining, reductive extraction and salt recycling steps are used to construct overall flowsheet in order to support PEACER operation. The decontamination factor for transuranic elements was estimated based on both thermodynamic models and reported experimental data. It is expected that overall decontamination factor can be as high as 10{sup 5} for transuranic elements. Final wastes from pyrochemical processing for PEACER are noble metals, alkaline earth metal, and lanthanides. The final wastes are stabilized by mixing with zeolite and glass-frits such that concentration limit for class C waste can be met. The volume of Class C waste is estimated ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gallium is present in surplus weapons-grade plutonium (WG-Pu) at a concentration of approximately 1 wt %. Plans are to dispose of surplus WG-Pu by converting it to UO{sub 2}-PuO{sub 2} mixed oxide (MOX) fuel and irradiating it in commercial power reactors. However, the presence of high concentrations of gallium in plutonium poses a potential corrosion problem during the process of MOX fuel irradiation. The batch experiments performed in this study were designed to measure the capability of the PUREX solvent extraction process to separate gallium from plutonium under idealized conditions. Radioactive tracing of the gallium with {sup 72}Ga enabled the accurate measurement of low concentrations of extractable gallium. The experiments approximated the proposed flowsheet for WG-Pu purification, except that only one stage was used for each process: extraction, scrubbing, and stripping. The gallium decontamination factor (DF) ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) operates the Waste Treatment Centre (WTC) to treat and immobilize some of the low- level radioactive waste (LLRW) streams at the Chalk River Laboratories (CRL). The WTC at treats low- level radioactive liquid waste by removing the contaminants from the wastewater, concentrating them, and immobilizing them. The fundamental design concept for the WTC is to process the waste streams using forced circulation type liquid waste evaporation (LWE), to solidify the concentrates using thin film evaporator and to discharge the purified effluent into the Ottawa River following verification monitoring. The solidified product drums are stored in existing storage facilities in the CRL. The LWE was installed in the WTC to treat the LLRW. After about four (4) years of design, construction and cold commissioning, the active commissioning of the evaporator process using radioactive waste streams ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The solubilities of plutonium and uranium have been determined for alkaline salt solutions having compositions which bound those which will be processed in the In-Tank Precipitation (ITP) process. Loadings of plutonium and uranium onto monosodium titanate (MST) have been determined at temperatures bounding those expected to occur during ITP and using a salt solution which was determined to have the maximum solubility for uranium and plutonium. Fissile loadings increase with decreasing amounts of MST in contact with the salt solutions saturated in plutonium and uranium. At MST concentrations bounding those which are planned for the ITP process, expressions for the maximum loadings (wt %) are determined to be 0.29 - 0.20x[MST] for plutonium and 1.8 - 0.29x[MST] for uranium, where [MST] is the concentration of MST in grams/liter. These expressions are valid over the range of MST concentrations from 0.05 to 0.51 g/L and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Environmental research related to uranium tailings is being carried out within the Mining Research Laboratories and Mineral Sciences Laboratories of CANMET, EMR. Field-related research on uranium tailings has been conducted at Elliot Lake for over five years. Much of the work has been focused on a program to rehabilitate pyritic tailings. This has resulted in developing a practicable technology for growing vegetation on such wastes. Limitations have been small size of the test-plots and the relatively short period during which experiments have been carried out. A research program aimed at identifying and reducing acidic and radioactive effluents is also underway at Elliot Lake. These liquid effluents have been identified as the most serious threat to the environment. Research at the Mineral Sciences Laboratories and its predecessor divisions relating to the processing of uranium and thorium ores is outlined. A process has ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The non-licensed operator on the job training model presently considered for development and implementation at C.N. Almaraz (CNA) has the primary objective of imparting practical knowledge and skills to the trainee on a per system basis and specific to the job position. This model is somewhat different in scope from the OJT process used in U.S. stations because the learning process is not done on a task per task basis, but rather on the concept of learning collectively all the knowledge and skills required by the specific-system job. This model arose primarily from two thoughts. First, the knowledge and skills have been obtained from a detailed job and task analysis process which will result in the learning of many required knowledge and skills divided by three categories: components, systems and academics. Secondly, the OJT most commonly used in the U.S. requires that the respective station department administers and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This Environmental Assessment evaluates the proposed action to operate two laboratory-size muffle furnaces in glovebox HC-21C, located in the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP), Hanford Site, Richland, Washington. The muffle furnaces would be used to stabilize chemically reactive sludges that contain approximately 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of plutonium by heating to approximately 500 to 1000{degrees}C (900 to 1800{degrees}F). The resulting stable powder, mostly plutonium oxide with impurities, would be stored in the PFP vaults. The presence of chemically reactive plutonium-bearing sludges in the process gloveboxes poses a risk to workers from radiation exposure and limits the availability of storage space for future plant cleanup. Therefore, there is a need to stabilize the material into a form suitable for long-term storage. This proposed action would be an interim action, which would take place prior to completion of an Environmental Impact ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The dependencies that limit high frequency operation of a vacuum microelectronic grating free-electron laser are examined. The important parameters are identified as the electron beam energy, emittance, and generalized perveance. The scaling of power with emittance and frequency is studied in the far-infrared spectral range using a modified scanning electron microscope (SEM) and submillimeter diffraction gratings. The SEM is suited to the task of generating and positioning a low emittance (10"-"2#pi#-mm-mrad), low current (100 #mu#A), but high current density (50-500 A cm"-"2) electron beam. It has been used to demonstrate the spontaneous emission process known as the Smith-Purcell effect. A vacuum microelectronic grating free-electron laser has the potential of generating radiation throughout the entire far-infrared spectral range which extends from approximately 10 to 10"3#mu#m. An introduction to the theory, initial results, and details of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) has developed draft documentation to present the proposed Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) remote-handled (RH-) transuranic (TRU) waste characterization program to its regulators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New Mexico Environment Department. Compliance with Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 191 and 194; the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (PL 102-579); and the WIPP Hazardous Waste Facility Permit, as well as the Certificates of Compliance for the 72-B and 10-160B Casks, requires that specific waste parameter limits be imposed on DOE sites disposing of TRU waste at WIPP. The DOE-CBFO must control the sites' compliance with the limits by specifying allowable characterization methods. As with the established WIPP contact handled TRU waste characterization program, the DOE-CBFO has proposed a Remote-Handled TRU Waste Acceptance Criteria (RH-WAC) ...

Science.gov (United States)

Not Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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 ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this study we tried to develop the long-range transport system and find the way to prevent from the radiological emergency risk. For the study, meteorological forecast system in Korea Meteorological Administration is investigated. Numerical simulation is also carried out by the long-range transport model and Vis-5D. We surveyed the emergency preparedness for nuclear accidents which were ARAC in USA, RODOS in Europe and WSPEED in Japan and then investigated the processing of medium- and long-range atmospheric diffusion modeling system. We also studied on the application of KMA/NWPD model which are GDAPS and RDAPS. In the future, it is necessary to produce to the high resolution meteorological data from KMA/NWPD for the development of medium- and long-range atmospheric diffusion modeling system and construct the integrated system for data processing in real time. It was simulated by using micro-scale meteorological field applying wind field ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Case studies of natural wetlands for treating mine drainage are described. Most of the sites are in northern Canada. The natural wetlands examined suggest that constructed wetlands are a viable option for the passive treatment of mine drainage. Natural wetlands retain many metals, and many species of plants are represented in them. Processes for metal removal include sorption onto organic matter, hydrolysis, and reduction. The results show that wetlands need not be based on cattails to be effective, and that passive mine drainage treatment is feasible in northern regions. Few examples are available of constructed wetlands for treating metal mine drainage. It is concluded that the limitations of constructed wetlands are found not in the wetlands, but in information about them. 37 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The discovery of large reserves of oil has resulted in a proliferation of drilling and production platforms in the North Sea, and other offshore areas around the UK will probably be developed. The exploitation of marginal oil fields, particularly in those developing countries which have only limited energy resources, has been made possible by the development of a floating production, storage and offloading (f.p.s.o.) unit consisting of a large tonnage oil tanker converted for the purpose and moored. The increased electrical power demands imposed by the addition of process plant, extra accommodation, and so on, usually necessitate additions to onboard generation and distribution systems, which must of course be integrated with the existing equipment.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In order to evaluate postclosure off-site doses from low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities, a computer code was developed to simulate the radionuclide released from waste form, transport through vadose zone and transport in the saturated zone. This paper describes the methodology used to model these process. The radionuclide released from the waste is calculated using a model based on first order kinetics and the transport through porous media was determined using semi-analytical solution of the mass transport equation, considering the limiting case of unidirectional convective transport with three-dimensional dispersion in an isotropic medium. The results obtained in this work were compared with other codes, showing good agreement. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The estimation of radiation dose to man from either external or internal exposure to radionuclides requires a knowledge of the energies and intensities of the atomic and nuclear radiations emitted during the radioactive decay process. The availability of evaluated decay data for the large number of radionuclides of interest is thus of fundamental importance for radiation dosimetry. This handbook contains a compilation of decay data for approximately 500 radionuclides. These data constitute an evaluated data file constructed for use in the radiological assessment activities of the Technology Assessments Section of the Health and Safety Research Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The radionuclides selected for this handbook include those occurring naturally in the environment, those of potential importance in routine or accidental releases from the nuclear fuel cycle, those of current interest in nuclear medicine and fusion reactor technology, and some of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The historical back ground of free electron laser (FEL) and the present status of development and utilization research of FEL facilities in the world are explained. Eight facilities such as Stanford Univ., UCSB, Duke Univ., Vanderbilt Univ., LANL AFEL (USA), FOM FELIX (Netherlands), N-lands LURE CLIO (France) and FELI (Japan) can be used. The principle of FEL generation process is that free electrons move in a zigzag direction to generate radio waves which interfere with each other to become monochromatic light and then free electron laser. The benefits of FEL, quality of electron beam, limit of wave length of FEL, problems and development of utilization technologies of FEL are explained. (S.Y.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Full text.The electric energy demand in Lebanon is estimated to grow at an average of 3-5% per year for the coming 10 years. Such an increase in energy demand is problematic for Lebanon since its economy is almost totally dependent on imported fuel which contributes to 97% of the overall energy requirements. Solar water heaters (SWH) are regarded as the most important element in a long term energy conservation and management strategy for this country, but their promotion is a national issue requiring the participation of many stake holders and decision makers. Additionally, the success of solar energy penetration into the existing energy market is constrained by many factors such as technical and financial limitations, decision criteria and policy instruments. This paper will explore the feasibility of SWH, and will work out, using the Analytic Hierarchy Process technique, a policy to ensure a large scale diffusion of SWH in the energy market

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Anti-jamming techniques to improve Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers robustness have been mainly developed in military applications. None of civilian techniques can procure sufficient robustness against occasional or intentional jammers for civil GPS or GALILEO navigation receivers. The amplitude domain processing (ADP) filtering is a technique based upon Capon works and Neyman-Pearson theory. Several experiments concerning the ADP filtering have been considered at the 3DETSNAV division of LACIME laboratory at Ecole de technologie superieure (ETS), which have proved that the technique is reliable in order to eradicate powerful interference present in the spread spectrum signal. However, the results show that the ADP filter has a real limitation when submitted to multiple interferen...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This study examined kinetics and mass transfer in the biosorption of heavy metals onto Caulerpa lentillifera. The sorption capacity of Cu^2^+, Pb^2^+ and Cd^2^+ from aqueous solution increased with initial metal concentration and decreased with biosorbent dose. Kinetic data were well described using the pseudo-second-order model. Results showed that both external mass transfer and intraparticle diffusion were rate limiting steps in the biosorption process. Activation energy of biosorption kinetics fell in the range of 3-13kJ/mol. The biosorption of Cu^2^+, Cd^2^+ and Pb^2^+ on the biomass correlated well with the Langmuir isotherm (R^2>0.99) with maximum sorption capacities at 293K of 0.169, 0.085 and 0.177mol/kg for Cu^2^+, Cd^2^+ and Pb^2^+ ions, respectively. Thermodynamic studies demon...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Using the method of statistic planning of an experiment, the SrSO_4 desulfurization process has been studied in the case of reductive roasting of celestine with the use blast-furnace coke. The main factors that determine the rate of the SrSO_4 desulfurization are the roasting temperature and charge components dispersity. The desulfurization rate increases proportionally to the increase in the roasting temperature and dispersity of the reaction mixture components. To decrease the SrSO_4 desulfurization and the concentration of sulfur-containing components in gases released at rather a high celestine reduction rate, the roasting is recommended to proceed at the temperature of 1100 to 1150 deg, in this case it is necessary to limit the content of small (less than 3.2 mm) fractions of reagents.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Through an unusual differentiation process, human trophoblast progenitors (cytotrophoblasts) give rise to tumor-like cells that invade the uterus. By an unknown mechanism, invasive cytotrophoblasts exhibit permanent cell cycle withdrawal. Here we report molecular cytogenetic data showing that {approx} 20 to 60 percent of these interphase cells had acquired aneusomies involving chromosomes X, Y, o r16. The incidence positively correlated with gestational age and differentiation to an invasive phenotype. Scoring 12 chromosomes in flow-sorted cytotrophoblasts showed that more than 95 percent of the cells were hyperdiploid. Thus, aneuploidy appears to be an important component of normal placentation, perhaps limiting the proliferative and invasive potential of cytotrophoblasts within the uterus.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

It is known that the plant cuticle represents the first barrier that must be overcome by any chemical reaching the plant surface from the atmosphere before entering the plant. Because of the importance of the cuticle as a barrier to penetration of a wide variety of compounds, its morphology, chemistry, and permeability have been extensively studied. However, only limited information is available on the nature of functional chemical groups present and their interaction and role during the penetration process. The usefulness of in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies in identifying functional groups present in isolated cuticles is described and their relationships to the structure of the cuticular membrane are discussed. Applications of infrared spectroscopy on the presence and role of phenolics in the cuticle structure and during the cuticle development, nitrogen oxide binding to isolated cuticles, and the interactions between ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To evaluate the usefulness of portable chest radiographs by Fuji computed radiography (FCR) in ICU, FCR radiographs of 56 patients who were admitted to General Intensive Care Unit of Keio University Hospital were compared with the conventional portable images. Because FCR could show two differently processed images in one film and allowed a wide range of image reproduction, visualization of the trachea, bone soft tissues and catheters by FCR was easier than that by the conventional radiography. Repeated radiographs by FCR had similar optical densities and limited exposure errors. Furthermore, radiation was reduced than that of the conventional radiography. In conclusion, FCR is thought to be a useful technique for portable chest radiography in ICU patients. (author).

Science.gov (United States)

This environmental assessment quantifies the water quality-related benefits for Transportation Equipment Cleaning (TEC) facilities based on site-specific analyses of current conditions and the conditions that would be achieved by process changes under proposed BAT (Best Available Technology) and PSES (Pretreatment Standards for Existing Sources) controls. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated instream pollutant concentrations for 157 priority and nonconventional pollutants from three subcategories (barge-chemical and petroleum, rail-chemical, and truck-chemical) of direct and indirect discharges using stream dilution modeling. The potential impacts and benefits to aquatic life are projected by comparing the modeled instream pollutant concentrations to published EPA aquatic life criteria guidance or to toxic effect levels.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diurnal and seasonal thermal constancy, a greatly delayed seasonal temperature maximum, and summer cool and winter warm conditions characterize the stream environment below a deep-release dam in Colorado. Low diversity index and equitability values and changes in macroinvertebrate species composition may result from failure of the temperature regime to provide the thermal stimuli essential for various life-cycle phenomena. It is hypothesized that the following sublethal effects, directly or indirectly resulting from the modified temperature regime, may further alter macroinvertebrate community structure: reduction of niche overlap and a shift toward an equilibrium community as a consequence of reduced environmental fluctuation; more intense competition associated with greater productivity; elimination of major invertebrate predators; and failure of the limited temperature range to provide optimal temperatures for various physiological ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Plants require solar radiation for photosynthesis and their growth is directly related to the amount received, assuming that other environmental parameters are not limiting. Therefore, precise estimation of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is necessary to enhance overall accuracies of plant growth models. This study aimed to explore the PAR radiant flux in the San Francisco Bay Area of northern California. During the growing season (March through August) for 2?years 2007?2008, the on-site magnitudes of photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD) were investigated and then processed at both the hourly and daily time scales. Combined with global solar radiation (R S) and simulated extraterrestrial solar radiation, five PAR-related values were developed, i.e., flux density-based PAR ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

For investigating carryover of some organophosphorus pesticide residues in the cereal food chain from grain to consumer, a study was set up on wheat bran, flour and cookies, with and without bran. Special emphasis was given to malathion and chlorpyrifos-methyl residues in cookies for better protection of consumers. Pesticide-free wheat was placed in a small-scale model of a commercial storage vessel and treated with these pesticides. The residue levels of insecticides were determined in wheat, as well as in bran, flour and cookies produced from stored wheat at various time intervals during storage. A multiresidue analysis was performed using GC-NPD and GC-MS. Malathion and chlorpyrifos-methyl residue levels were higher than the maximum residue limits (MRLs) in wheat after 240days of storag...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The purpose of this project was to develop improved dynamic failure models for brittle materials (primarily ceramics). The approach to developing these failure models was to establish a database (ACERAM) in which fundamental material properties and processing information could be directly correlated with ballistic performance data. Under this contract, a comprehensive literature search was conducted, many contacts were established in the armor/anti-armor research and development community, and database development was undertaken. A more limited project was also undertaken to assess and compare the effects of material properties and penetration mechanisms on the ballistic performance of depleted uranium and tungsten alloy penetrators.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Japanese companies have developed suitable cleansing technologies and export their know-how. Some original technologies are developed today, like: in-situ chemical oxidation, iron confinement, hot-soil process, low-temperature catalytic decomposition or dechlorination of dioxins. However, some pollutions are still poorly considered (nitrates) or badly mastered (dioxins). This situation is partly due to late legal decisions and to limited pollution abatement measures. Japan is also very active in bio-cleansing research, and this, despite the lack of dialogue and directives at the national level. Several research programs with important funds have started since 1995. However, Japan is still at the preliminary stage in open-field applications of cleansing methods. (J.S.)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Effects of some experimental parameters (supporting electrolyte, initial pH and current density) on the performance of electrocoagulation process using iron electrodes were investigated. Results of experiments showed that dissolution of iron is purely electrochemical and fits well with Faraday's law and leads to Fe^2^+ which are chemically oxidized into Fe^3^+ in aerated conditions. In neutral and alkaline conditions, the reaction between hydroxyl ions generated at the cathode and dissolved iron ions forms insoluble hydroxo-iron species. Potentiodynamic polarization tests showed that the formation of passive film on iron anode limits the continuous electrochemical dissolution of iron. Corrosion and pitting potentials largely depend on the nature of supporting electrolyte. The dissolution o...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The problem of passively tracking a moving signal source has importance in a variety of applications such as radar, sonar, seismology, and radio astronomy. In many applications, only limited information is available about the signal source. It will be assumed here that only the signals which are detected by the sensors and the velocity of the source signal are known. The objective of this document is to present a program which passively tracks a target using an array of sensors. This program is available in MATLAB, version 3.5. The algorithm which is implemented consists of three main parts: time delay estimation, passive localization, and data post processing. Each of these parts are discussed, and the mathematical foundation for their solution given. Following, this the organization of the program is presented, and an example of its usage is given.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We consider particle evaporation and fission of an ensemble of hot, rotating compound nuclei as a stochastic process. We derive a set of coupled differential equations formed by a Fokker-Planck equation describing fission, and master equations for calculating particle evaporation. From these equations, we are able to determine multiplicities of prefission neutrons, protons and {alpha}-particles, their energy spectra and their angular momentum distributions. A comparison of our results with experimental data provides us with information regarding the reduced friction coefficient {beta}, the fission barrier height and the level density parameter. For different iridium isotopes, ({sup 181,185,187}Ir), {sup 185}Os and {sup 158}Er, we obtain as an upper limit {beta}{<=}8.0x10{sup 21} s{sup -1}. (orig.).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Most of the low-level liquid radioactive wastes generated from PWR plants are classified into high or low total suspended solid(HTDS or LTDS), radio-chemical waste and radioactive laundry waste. Although the evaporation process has a high decontamination ability, it has several problems such as corrosion, foaming, and congestion. A new liquid waste disposal process using the ion-exchange demineralizer(IED) has been introduced into the Yonggwang NPP 5 and 6 to complement the current evaporation process. To determine the differences, these two methods have been compared in this study. Those aspects compared here were the released radioactivity volume of the liquid radioactive wastes, The dose of off-site residents, the decontamination factor, and the amount of the solid radioactive wastes. While it was expected that the liquid radioactive waste volume in the evaporating system would be 20 percent higher than in the IED, the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This thesis deals with the evaluation of Solar Grade Silicon (SoG-Si) purified by different techniques, and also the fabrication and characterization of high efficiency and advanced bifacial solar cells. In the beginning of Chapter 1, various SoG-Si production methods relevant for this work are qualitatively described. The three feedstock materials used in this work are from the Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR) process, metallurgical feedstock-I and feedstock-II process. In metallurgical feedstock-I, the lifetime of the minority charge carriers in multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) samples at the grain boundaries are found to be higher than the grains themselves possibly due to lower resistivities in the grain boundaries. The efficiency of the best solar cell obtained using the mc-Si metallurgical feedstock-I is 16.1%. It has been identified that the fast light induced degradation, whose magnitude is lower than that of a reference cell suggests the ...

Science.gov (United States)

High salinity is one of the main factors limiting cotton growth and productivity. The genes that regulate salt stress in TM-1 upland cotton were monitored using microarray and real-time PCR (RT-PCR) with samples taken from roots. Microarray analysis showed that 1503 probe sets were up-regulated and 1490 probe sets were down-regulated in plants exposed for 3h to 100mM NaCl, and RT-PCR analysis validated 42 relevant/related genes. The distribution of enriched gene ontology terms showed such important processes as the response to water stress and pathways of hormone metabolism and signal transduction were induced by the NaCl treatment. Some key regulatory gene families involved in abiotic and biotic sources of stress such as WRKY, ERF, and JAZ were differentially expressed. Our transcriptome analysis might provide some useful insights into salt-mediated signal transduction pathways in cotton and offer a number of candidate genes as potential ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We argue that closed string tachyons drive two spacetime topology changing transitions--loss of genus in a Riemann surface and separation of a Riemann surface into two components. The tachyons of interest are localized versions of Scherk-Schwarz winding string tachyons arising on Riemann surfaces in regions of moduli space where string-scale tubes develop. Spacetime and world-sheet renormalization group analyses provide strong evidence that the decay of these tachyons removes a portion of the spacetime, splitting the tube into two pieces. We address the fate of the gauge fields and charges lost in the process, generalize it to situations with weak flux backgrounds, and use this process to study the type 0 tachyon, providing further evidence that its decay drives the theory sub-critical. Finally, we discuss the time-dependent dynamics of this topology-changing transition and find that it can occur more efficiently than analogous transitions on ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In a scenario of aqueous transport from a high-level radioactive waste repository, the concentration of radionuclides in water in contact with the waste constitutes the source term for transport models, and as such represents a fundamental component of all performance assessment models. Many laboratory experiments have been done to characterize release rates and understand processes influencing radionuclide release rates from irradiated nuclear fuel. Natural analogues of these waste forms have been studied to obtain information regarding the long-term stability of potential waste forms in complex natural systems. This information from diverse sources must be brought together to develop and defend methods used to define source terms for performance assessment models. In this manuscript examples of measures of radionuclide release rates from spent nuclear fuel or analogues of nuclear fuel are presented. Each example represents a very different approach to obtaining a ...

Science.gov (United States)

We analyze cross sections for quasielastic inclusive scattering of electrons on nuclei and show that the observed isolated peaks for relatively low Q{sup 2} are unique for the lightest targets. Focusing, in particular, on D and {sup 4}He, we investigate in two ways to what measure the above peaks can be allocated to nucleon-elastic processes. We first compute approximate upper limits for the nucleon-inelastic background in the quasielastic region due to inclusive {delta} excitation, and find those to be small. Far more precise is a semiphenomenological approach, where the dominance of nucleon-elastic processes is translated into a set of stringent requirements. We show that those are very well fulfilled for recent D data, and to a somewhat lesser extent for older D and {sup 4}He data. With knowledge of G{sub E,M}{sup p} and information on G{sub E}{sup n}, we then extract G{sub M}{sup n} and find agreement with values ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The objectives of the project were (i) to develop a combination iron oxide production and carbon sequestration plant that will use serpentine ores as the source of iron and the extraction tailings as the storage element for CO2 disposal, (ii) the identification of locations within the US where this process may be implemented and (iii) to create a standardized process to characterize the serpentine deposits in terms of carbon disposal capacity and iron and steel production capacity. The first objective was not accomplished. The research failed to identify a technique to accelerate direct aqueous mineral carbonation, the limiting step in the integration of steel production and carbon sequestration. Objective (ii) was accomplished. It was found that the sequestration potential of the ultramafic resource surfaces in the US and Puerto Rico is approximately 4,647 Gt of CO2 or over 500 years of current US production of CO2. ...

Science.gov (United States)

Electrospun nanofibers composed of biodegradable polymers are attractive candidates for cell culture scaffolds in tissue engineering. Their fine-meshed structures, resembling natural extracellular matrices, effectively interact with cell surfaces and promote cell proliferation. The application of electrospinning, however, is limited to two-dimensional (2D) or single tube-like scaffolds, and the fabrication of arbitrary three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds from electrospun nanofibers is still very difficult due to the fibers' continuous and entangled form. To address this issue, in this paper, we describe the use of phase-separation-assisted electrospray and electrostatic focusing to perform continuous direct 3D patterning of nanofibrous microcapsules of biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA). These microcapsules exhibit fiber-particle duality because they are composed of nanofibers suitable for cell attachment while also being easy to handle as particles for direct 3D ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

III--V based devices such as field effect transistors, heterojunction bipolar transistors, and lasers often have surface leakage and thermal degradation problems due to surface states which pin the Fermi level to the midgap. Sulfur based passivation processes are known to improve device performance by altering surface-state densities. We have developed a voltage-controlled anodic sulfur passivation scheme using Na_2S dissolved in ethylene glycol. Our process has repeatedly produced a #approx#25% improvement in peak output power near the catastrophic damage limit in visible (#lambda#=670 nm) AlGaInP edge-emitting lasers. The threshold current density before and after passivation, and the I--V characteristics before and after catastrophic failure, were essentially unchanged indicating that passivation raises the threshold for facet damage.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Present day mammography has not been able to make use of the advantages of digital luminescence radiography because of the limited spatial resolution. The recent development of electromagnetic focusing X-ray tube with effective focal spot sizes from 0.04 to 0.12 mm allows radiographic direct magnification with less geometric blur. It is now possible to combine direct magnification mammography with digital luminescence radiography. By combining high quality storage phosphor screens with an HQ-workstation a spatial resolution of 8 lp/mm is possible for 1.7-fold magnification. For 4-fold spot magnification views spatial resolution can be theoretically increased to approx. 20 lp/mm. One important advantage of digital radiography is the possibility of image-postprocessing. This article presents two sets of standard parameters and three sets of image dependent parameters for better imaging of specific lesions, such as microcalcifications. The introduction of the storage ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The fundamental mechanisms underlying the chemical degradation of polymers can change as a function of environmental stress level. When this occurs, it greatly complicates any attempt to use accelerated tests for predicting long-term material degradation behaviors. Understanding how degradation mechanisms can change at different stress levels facilitates both the design and the interpretation of aging tests. Oxidative degradation is a predominant mechanism for many polymers exposed to a variety of different environments in the presence of air, and there are two mechanistic considerations which are widely applicable to material oxidation. One involves a physical process, oxygen diffusion, as a rate-limiting step. This mechanism can predominate at high stress levels. The second is a chemical process, the time-dependent decomposition of peroxide species. This leads to chain branching and can become a rate-controlling factor at ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The aim of the paper is to investigate the process of #alpha#-particle breakup into two deuterons and to estimate the applicability of data on breakup for extraction of diffusivity parameter (a) in the framework of the diffraction approach. Measurements of absolute values of differential cross sections (DCS) of 96 MeV #alpha#-particle breakup on "5"8","6"4Ni are carried out in the limited angular range: #THETA#_1=22.5 deg, #THETA#_2=50, 55, 60, -50, -60 deg. Wide maxima typical for the process of incident #alpha#-particle breakup are observed in deuteron energy spectra. Measured DCS for #alpha#-particle breakup show distinct difference for "5"8Ni and "6"4Ni. The calculations describe satisfactorily this difference in the framework of the diffraction approach, if it is supposed that the diffusivity parameter for "5"8Ni nucleus has the value a=0.65 fm, and for "6"4Ni - a=0.85 fm.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The author investigates the diffusion and damage-annealing characteristics as a result of boron implantation through a surface oxide into the silicon, a process that is commonly realized in the fabrication of p-n junctions. Defect structures were examined using plan-view and cross-section transmission-electron microscopies. It is shown that recoil-implanted oxygen plays a critical role in determining the above annealing characteristics. For instance, transient-enhanced diffusion of boron, as is widely observed for boron-implanted silicon, does not occur in the case of through-oxide implantation. The initial suppression of the defect-enhanced diffusion lasts for a limited period of time after which enhanced diffusion occurs again. The so-called incubated enhanced diffusion' is characterized as due to recoiled-oxygen precipitation-emitting point defect that enhances boron motion. The incubation time constant, the magnitude for the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jordan is an example of a third world country that is non-oil producing but contains huge reserves of other energy sources such as tar sand, oil shale, and olive cake. Some limited research is available about how to utilize these energy sources in pure form. However, available research does not deal with combinations of these energy sources. This experimental study investigates combinations of these energy forms as potential energy sources in Jordan. The experimental procedure involves characterization of samples by proximate analysis, calorific value determination of different combinations, and a compacting process of the different particles. The best combination, with respect to calorific value, is found to be 20% tar sand, 20% olive cake, and 60% oil shale. Compacting materials either with starch or with heated tar sand up to 110{sup o}C for 1 h indicates a feasible process for handling, packaging, and transporting. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nitrogen has been added to stainless steels to improve mechanical strength and corrosion resistance. High nitrogen steel production is limited by high gas pressure requirements and low nitrogen solubility in the melt. One way to overcome this limitation is the addition of nitrogen in solid state because of its higher solubility in austenite. However, gas and salt bath nitriding have been done at temperatures around 550 C, where nitrogen solubility in the steel is still very low. High temperature nitriding has been, thus proposed to increase nitrogen contents in the steel but the presence of oxide layers on top of the steel is a barrier to nitrogen intake. In this paper a modified plasma nitriding process is proposed. The first step of this process is a hydrogen plasma sputtering for oxide removal, exposing active steel surface improving nitrogen pickup. This is followed by a nitriding step where high ...

Science.gov (United States)

The proven principle of increase in strength during breakage of coke has served as a basis for proposals for mechanical treatment of coke before its use in blast furnaces. The losses of part of the resources of the large-lump product accomanying this treatment make the process of development of the properties outside of the oven not entirely favorable. Mechanical treatment is considered a separate element of the technology of preparation of coke apart from the preceding and subsequent breaking effects, which are also accompanied by losses of part of the blast furnace coke. The large scale of coke production, its high cost, the rising specific capital investment in the mining of coking coal and the limited resources of good coking coal all indicate the necessity for coke preparation which will provide the maximum national economic effect in its utilization. Thus in the process of coke preparation outside the oven, at all ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper identifies some of the issues which arise in the consideration of the derivation of new limits on exposure to internal emitters. Basic and secondary radiation protection limits are discussed. Terms are defined and applied to the limitation of risk from stochastic effects. Non-stochastic data for specific internal emitters (/sup 131/I and the radium isotopes) are presented. Emphasis is placed on the quantitative aspects of the limit setting problem. 65 references, 2 figures, 12 tables.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ti and its alloys (Ti-6Al-4V) have been used in different engineering applications due to their several outstanding properties. Nevertheless, their use in practical applications is limited in many cases due to their poor tribological property. Researches are ongoing on surface modification of Ti based materials by different plasma and ion based techniques to overcome this problem. However, the conventional plasma nitriding techniques have several problems such as formation of an arc, increased possibility of surface contamination due to a comparatively higher operating pressure, production of a very thin nitrided layer after a long processing time, etc. In this present work, the possibility of a new low-pressure plasma nitriding process using a Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) based saddle field fast atom beam source on a Ti-6Al-4V alloy sample is investigated. Plasma nitriding was carried out at 900 deg. C ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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 ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is an emerging technology for clean combustion. We have previously demonstrated that the embedding of metal nanoparticles into a nanostructured ceramic matrix can result in unusually active and sinter-resistant nanocomposite oxygen carrier materials for CLC which maintain high reactivity and high-temperature stability even when sulfur contaminated fuels are used in CLC. Here, we propose a novel process scheme for in situ desulfurization of syngas with simultaneous CO{sub 2}-capture in chemical looping combustion by using these robust nanocomposite oxygen carriers simultaneously as sulfur-capture materials. We found that a nanocomposite Cu-BHA carrier can indeed strongly reduce the H{sub 2}S concentration in the fuel reactor effluent. However, during the process the support matrix is also sulfidized and takes part in the redox process of CLC. This results in SO{sub 2} production during the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ultra-shallow junction formation in deep submicron Si devices is limited by anomalous diffusion of the dopant, which is related to the release of interstitials from defect clusters formed during the implantation of energetic ions or the subsequent annealing. The work described in this dissertation is concerned with the effects of low energy B ion implantation, especially damage formation, clustering and its annealing. After a review of the stopping and ranges of energetic ions in Si, the formation of implant damage, in particular of point defects, their migration, agglomeration and annihilation, including the involvement of dopant ions, is considered. A description of the Salford ultra low energy implanter is given and the main analysis technique, medium ion energy scattering (MEIS) reviewed. Additional analytical techniques used, such as secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), 4-point probe and cross section transmission microscopy (XTEM) as well as TRIM ...

Science.gov (United States)

... Service life limits are established by NAVAIRINST 13130.1a. The TH-57C is nearing its service life limit and without it, the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The ion nitriding treatment is a process widely used in steel alloys to improve the material's properties; such as surface hardness, resistance to wear, fatigue life and resistance to corrosion. But geometric changes in the components can produce during the nitriding process different effects on the behavior of the plasma, such as local variations in the electric field, an empty cathode effect, etc. These in turn can affect among other factors the local temperature and therefore the kinetics of the process, generating variations in the compound layer thicknesses and zone of diffusion, and micro-hardness profile. These heterogeneities limit the effectiveness of the plasma nitriding process, where control and duplication of the surface modification are most important. This work aims to study the effect of the geometry of the pieces treated with ionic nitriding, especially the effect ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Most of the low-level liquid radioactive wastes generated from PWR plants are classified into high or low total suspended solid(HTDS or LTDS), and into radiochemical and radioactive laundry waste. Although the evaporation process has a high decontamination ability, it has several problems such as corrosion, foam, and congestion. A new liquid waste disposal process using the ion-exchange demineralizer(IED), instead of the current evaporation process, has been introduced into the Yonggwang NPP No 5 and 6. These two methods have been compared to understand the differences in this study. Aspects compared here were the released radioactivity amount of the liquid radioactive wastes, the dose of off-site residents, the decontamination factor, and the amount of the solid radioactive wastes. The IED system is designed to discharge higher radioactivity about 20% than the evaporating system, and the actual radioactivity released from ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A processing technique for A-15 compounds which has improved mechanical and superconducting properties has been developed. This technique consists of rapid solidification of the alloy by the chill block spinning machine (CBSM) to form amorphous ribbons and by subsequent annealing crystallizes the stable or metastable fine grain flexible A-15 structure. The CBSM has been modified so that all the processing parameters could be controlled and optimized for each alloy composition. By the improved CBSM it was possible to form amorphous Nb_3Si, Nb_3Ge and Nb_3(AlSi) ribbons with more than 80% reproducible rate. Critical current density measurements are limited by contact resistance. A Cu plating technique was introduced in this research that made the contact resistance three orders of magnitude lower than that obtained by other methods. This plated coating also gave an additional mechanical support to the sample and acted as a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Among the membrane filtration techniques, continuous cross-flow ultrafiltration (UF) is an innovative method to separate solid/liquid or liquid/liquid phases at a lower pressure of 5--150 psi compared to reverse osmosis (RO) in which the applied pressure is an order of magnitude higher. Recently, attempts have been made to combine processes of UF and other treatments for many applications. However, there is very little knowledge about the filtration process which combined coagulation and UF, and very few attempts have been made to apply coagulated UF to the treatment of fuel oil contaminated water. During the UF treatment of organic contaminants rapid declines in flux will occur due to the membrane fouling. Oil as a foulant plants an important role in the flux decrease. However, there are very limited pretreatment processes which can effectively remove fuel oil from water and hence solve the fouling ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuclear Forensics is a key element in the response process which is initiated after detection of illicit nuclear or other radioactive material. Credible nuclear forensics relies on appropriate sampling procedures, on validated analytical methods and on thorough data analysis and interpretation. Nuclear forensics aims at providing clues on the history and the potential origin of the material. Elemental and isotopic composition of the material, as well as its macroscopic and microscopic appearance reflect the technological processes used for the fabrication of the material. The nuclear forensic analysis first of all results in measurement data. Through appropriate processing of these data information on the nature and the history of the material can be obtained. A number of data evaluation techniques serving this purpose are conceivable and have been applied. On the one side, statistical methods like principal component ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The PIUS reactor utilizes simplified, inherent, passive, or other innovative means to accomplish safety functions. Accordingly, the PIUS reactor is subject to the requirements of 10CFR52.47(b)(2)(i)(A). This regulation requires that the applicant adequately demonstrate the performance of each safety feature, interdependent effects among the safety features, and a sufficient data base on the safety features of the design to assess the analytical tools used for safety analysis. Los Alamos has assessed the quality and completeness of the existing and planned data bases used by Asea Brown Boveri to validate its safety analysis codes and other relevant data bases. Only a limited data base of separate effect and integral tests exist at present. This data base is not adequate to fulfill the requirements of 10CFR52.47(b)(2)(i)(A). Asea Brown Boveri has stated that it plans to conduct more separate effect and integral test programs. If appropriately designed and conducted, ...

Science.gov (United States)

Visual Sample Plan (VSP) is an easy-to-use visual and graphic statistically-based software tool being developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to help determine the appropriate number and location of environmental samples so that environmental decisions can be made with the required confidence. The VSP software, which is available free at http://dqo.pnl.gov/vsp, is a significant aid in developing probability-based sampling designs (number and location of samples and measurements) using the Data Quality Objectives (DQO) planning process developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). VSP also has the capability of conducted statistical analyses to provide descriptive statistical summaries of data sets, to test whether data are normally distributed, and to compute upper confidence limits on means. This report is the latest in a series of reports that document the statistical methods used in VSP [Davidson (2001), ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The hydration behavior of a number of square planar Pt(II) bis(cyano) complexes has been examined, and the limiting stoichiometries are related to the steric requirements of the dinitrogen bidentate ligands coordinated to the metal center. In particular, the IR, UV/vis, and [sup 1]H, [sup 13]C, and [sup 195]Pt NMR spectroscopic data for the compound Pt[sup II]dtbipy(CN)[sub 2] [dtbipy = 4,4[prime]-[l brace]C(CH[sub 3])[sub 3][r brace][sub 2]-2,2[prime]-bpy] have been determined and show that, at relative humidities (rh) above [approximately]40%, this complex sorbs five water molecules at room temperature. The sorption process consists of a rapid step in which one H[sub 2]O adds to the complex and which appears to be independent of rh, followed by a slower, rh-dependent step leading to the final stoichiometry. In contrast, the analogous 2,2[prime]-bpy complex sorbs no water under these conditions, while the 4,4[prime]-(CH[sub 3])[sub ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

By 1970 the first edition of the ASME Code Section XI, Inservice Inspection of Nuclear Reactor Coolant Systems was published. From its inception, the Section XI inservice inspection scope was based on a fundamental risk-based selection process. In other words the inservice inspection scope included components where the consequences of a pressure boundary failure were high. Once the consequence significant system boundaries were established, inspections would then be performed at locations believed to be most susceptible service induced failure. Current Section XI requirements require that inspection locations be selected on the basis of peak stress and fatigue usage values contained in the Design Reports. These original stress calculations were designed to qualify a design and assure that the plant would provide reliable service throughout its design life. For the most part, the fatigue usage values in these reports do not provide an accurate measure of service ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

For more than thirty years, the IAEA has published a set of documents aimed at the limitation of the radiation exposure of the population from various nuclear activities. In particular, in 1994 the IAEA published Technical Reports Series No. 364, Handbook of Parameter Values for the Prediction of Radionuclide Transfer in Temperate Environments. Over the years, it has proved to be a valuable reference for radioecologists, modellers and authorities in Member States, and has been quoted in numerous impact assessments. Technical Reports Series No. 364 was based on a review of available data up to the end of 1992. However, a number of high quality critical reviews have been produced in recent years for some of the transfer parameter values which merit consideration. Thus, it was assumed that there is sufficient new information available to warrant reconsideration of a significant proportion of the values given in Technical Reports Series No. 364 and to initiate an ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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 of the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study assesses the feasibility of the so-called heat pipe technique for cooling the piston of a mediumspeed diesel engine and is part of a research project 'EVE HPD, Extreme Value Engine Tests with High Power Density' carried out by HUT Internal Combustion Engine Laboratory. Diesel engines are being developed to give greater power from a given cylinder swept volume, which means higher temperatures in combustion chamber. The traditional oil cooling cannot be used beyond certain temperature level. Heat pipe technology could provide one solution to the cooling problem. The general properties, principles of operation, and structures of different types of heat pipes are described. Working fluids and container materials of heat pipes are discussed. The operation limitations of heat pipes are studied, especially, the limitations of a reciprocating heat pipe, in which the return of the condensate to the evaporator section is ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

US Department of Energy methods used for characterization of contact-handled transuranic (CH-TRU) waste prior to shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) are described and listed by contractor site. The methods described are part of the certification process. All CH-TRU waste must be assayed for determination of fissile material content and decay heat values prior to shipment and prior to storage on-site. Both nondestructive assay (NDA) and destructive assay methods are discussed, and new NDA developments such as passive-action neutron (PAN) crate counter improvements and neutron imaging are detailed. Specifically addressed are assay method physics; applicability to CH-TRU wastes; calibration standards and implementation; operator training requirements and practices; assay procedures; assay precision, bias, and limit of detection; and assay limitation. While PAN is a new technique and does not yet have established ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The goal of this DOE Vision-21 project work scope is to develop an integrated suite of software tools that can be used to simulate and visualize advanced plant concepts. Existing process simulation software does not meet the DOE's objective of ''virtual simulation'' which is needed to evaluate complex cycles. The overall intent of the DOE is to improve predictive tools for cycle analysis, and to improve the component models that are used in turn to simulate the cycle. Advanced component models are available; however, a generic coupling capability that will link the advanced component models to the cycle simulation software remains to be developed. In the current project, the coupling of the cycle analysis and cycle component simulation software will be based on an existing suite of programs. The challenge is to develop a general-purpose software and communications link between the cycle analysis software Aspen ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper identifies the event sequences that require thermal-hydraulic analyses for the success criteria of probabilistic safety analysis (PSA). The selection of the sequences is performed based on the review of the NEI Peer Review Process Guidance and ASME PRA Standard. Success criteria are the important element of PSA quality. Success criteria decide the success or failure of the key function in the PSA event tree. It is defined as a minimum set of components/trains of system required to mitigate an accident. Thermal-hydraulic codes are generally used to derive time-related criteria in the PSA, such as operator action time used in human reliability analysis (HRA), event timing, and time to recover the component or the power. This paper suggests the use of the MARS code for the T-H analysis to obtain the success criteria and sequence timing, and operator action time. In the Kori Units 3 and 4 PSA report, the T-H analyses for those criteria were performed by the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Acid mine drainage represents one of the most important environmental problem facing the mining industry. If the tailings contain sulphur, acid mine drainage will be generated as soon as the tailings are exposed to oxygen. In this paper, the authors discussed a technique for the storage of acid mine drainage generating tailings that delays and even eliminates the occurrence. It was suggested that tailings should be piled by incorporating, at regular intervals, compacted waste rock. Thermal convection and diffusion will prevent oxygen from reaching the tailings, and limit water circulation. The modelling of transfer processes (heat, water, oxygen) in a well known tailings dump, the Doyon Mine, was performed, and the results compared to the modelling where compacted waste rock had been incorporated at regular intervals. The results indicated that by remaining saturated, the layers acted as capillary barriers preventing oxygen from reaching the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

One approach to validate nuclear power plant (NPP) signals makes use of pattern recognition techniques. This approach often assumes that there is a set of signal prototypes that are continuously compared with the actual sensor signals. These signal prototypes are often computed based on empirical models with little or no knowledge about physical processes. A common problem of all data-based models is their limited ability to make predictions on the basis of available training data. Another problem is related to suboptimal training algorithms. Both of these potential shortcomings with conventional approaches to signal validation and sensor operability validation are successfully resolved by adopting a recently proposed learning paradigm called the support vector machine (SVM). The work presented here is a novel application of SVM for data-based modeling of system state variables in an NPP, integrated with a nonlinear, nonparametric technique ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A 2-stage cold (non-tritium) PMR system was tested with the ITER mix in61 days of continuous operation. No decrease in performance was observed over the duration of the test. Decontamination factor (DF) was found to increase with decreasing inlet rate. Decontamination factors in excess of 1.4 {times} 10{sup 5} were obtained, but the exact value of the highest DF could not be determined because of analysis limitations. Results of the 61-day test were used to design a 2-stage PMR system for use in tritium testing. The PMR system was scaled up by a factor of 6 and built into a glovebox in the Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. This system is approximately 1/5th of the expected full ITER scale. The ITER mix was injected into the PMR system for 31 hours, during which 4.5 g of tritium were processed. The 1st stage had DF = 200 and the 2nd stage had DF = 2.9 {times} 10{sup 6}. The overall DF = 5.8 {times} ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The authors investigated the development of tribochemical reaction layers and surface-level structural changes in a fuel-lubricated roller bearing steel 100Cr6 in the limiting friction range, using two different variants of surface treatment and heat treatment. Tribological experiments were carried out in a laboratory test stand with reversing sliding wear under varying loads and with a varying number of friction cycles. [German] Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, die Entstehung von tribochemischen Reaktionsschichten und oberflaechennahen Gefuegeaenderungen am Waelzlagerstahl 100Cr6 bei Kraftstoffschmierung im Grenzreibungsbereich fuer je zwei Oberflaechenbearbeitungen und Waermebehandlungen zu untersuchen. Dazu wurden tribologische Kurzversuche in einem Laborpruefstand mit reversierender Gleitbeanspruchung unter Variation der Last und der Anzahl der Reibzyklen durchgefuehrt. (orig.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uranium-aluminum alloys with a significant enrichment of uranium with "2"3"3U or "2"3"5U serve as nuclear fuels in research reactors. The quality assurance of this fuel requires, among other things, precise knowledge that all trace metal constituents that affect neutron economy, fuel integrity, and fuel fabrication process parameters are well within the specification limits. Trace metal characterization of "2"3"5U-Al alloy has been carried out by atomic spectrometry. The trace metal constituents of interest are grouped into common metals (silver, boron, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, sodium, nickel, lead, silicon, tin, titanium, vanadium, tungsten, and zinc) and lanthanides (cerium, dysprosium, europium, gadolinium, holminium, lutetium, samarium, and terbium). The elements yttrium and zirconium are grouped with the latter in view of the chemical separation procedure used. The alloy samples ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

World-wide water scarcity, especially in the developing world, indicates a pressing need to develop inexpensive, decentralized small-scale desalination technologies which use renewable resources of energy. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art in one of the most promising of these technologies, solar-driven humidification-dehumidification (HDH) desalination. Previous studies have investigated many different variations on the HDH cycle. In this paper, performance parameters which enable comparison of the various versions of the HDH cycle have been defined and evaluated. To better compare these cycles, each has been represented in psychometric coordinates. The principal components of the HDH system are also reviewed and compared, including the humidifier, solar heaters, and dehumidifiers. Particular attention is given to solar air heaters, for which design data is limited; and direct air heating is compared to direct water heating in the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

For a number of starless cores, self-absorbed molecular line and column density observations have implied the presence of large-amplitude oscillations. We examine the consequences of these oscillations on the evolution of the cores and the interpretation of their observations. We find that the pulsation energy helps support the cores and that the dissipation of this energy can lead toward instability and star formation. In this picture, the core lifetimes are limited by the pulsation-decay timescales, dominated by non-linear mode-mode coupling, and on the order of #approx =# few x 10"5-10"6 yr. Notably, this is similar to what is required to explain the relatively low rate of conversion of cores into stars. For cores with large-amplitude oscillations, dust continuum observations may appear asymmetric or irregular. As a consequence, some of the cores that would be classified as super-critical may be dynamically stable when oscillations are taken into account. Thus, ...

Science.gov (United States)

The e{sup +}e{sup -}{yields}pp cross section is determined over a range of pp masses, from threshold to 4.5 GeV/c{sup 2}, by studying the e{sup +}e{sup -}{yields}pp{gamma} process. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 232 fb{sup -1}, collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II storage ring, at an e{sup +}e{sup -} center-of-mass energy of 10.6 GeV. The mass dependence of the ratio of electric and magnetic form factors, G{sub E}/G{sub M}, is measured for pp masses below 3 GeV/c{sup 2}; its value is found to be significantly larger than 1 for masses up to 2.2 GeV/c{sup 2}. We also measure J/{psi}{yields}pp and {psi}(2S){yields}pp branching fractions and set an upper limit on Y(4260){yields}pp production and decay.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steam turbines have reached a high level of technology. Development projects, leading to further improvement of turbines or to new concepts, usually last several years. Turbine manufacturers have therefore already been dealing with the question of market requirements in the 80's for some time. Developments in this decade will be marked less by the need for higher turbine ratings than by the necessity to increase efficiency and improve availability. Only in this way can the considerable increases in fuel costs be effectively countered. Improvements stemming from the steam process must be utilized to a large extent. However, plant availability sets a limit on these endeavours. The application of knowledge gained in the last years, in the field of materials research and numerical methods for problems of flow and mechanical engineering, will make it possible to optimize dimensioning and design of steam turbines, with a view to reaching the above ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper presents a case study of site characterization and hydrocarbon contamination plume mapping/delineation in a gas processing plant in southern Mexico. The paper describes innovative and cost-effective use of passive (non-intrusive) and active (intrusive) techniques, including the use of compound-specific analytical methods for site characterization. The techniques used, on a demonstrative basis, include geophysical, geochemical, and borehole drilling. Geochemical techniques used to delineate the horizontal extent of hydrocarbon contamination at the site include soil gas surveys. The borehole drilling technique used to assess the vertical extent of contamination and confirm geophysical and geochemical data combines conventional hollow-stem auguring with direct push-probe using Geoprobe. Compound-specific analytical methods, such as hydrocarbon fingerprinting and a modified method for gasoline range organics, demonstrate the inherent merit and need for such ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Since a Diesel engine can only be operated always in the condition thinner than the theoretical mixing ratio, a catalytic converter rhodium cannot be used, hence it is impossible to oxidate the portion of incomplete combustion and resolve nitrogen oxides using the catalytic converter rhodium as a spark ignition engine. Also since its combustion is mainly diffusion combustion, the amount of generated soot and fine particles is as much as several times to ten times more than that of a spark ignition engine. Also since no after treatment of exhaust has been established for a Diesel engine, it is necessary to cope with the combustion process which is the source of generating pollutant in order to promote reduction of such pollutant. In this article, awaring of the above, the difficulty of achieving both reduction of fine partiicles and reduction of NO {sub x} at the same time is explained in detail, and having done so, the measures to be taken for a direct injection ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Many types of maintenance activities are performed on contaminated (radioactive) machines and components at the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). When personnel dose levels are within permissible limits, maintenance is performed in contaminated work areas or in gloveboxes. Otherwise, maintenance is performed in the Interim Examination and Maintenance (IEM) Cell, a hot cell that is used to perform tasks that require remote operation. Maintenance is often a combination of manual and remote operation. One such operation was the cleaning of the closed loop ex-vessel machine (CLEM) core component grapple (CCG). The CLEM is used to transfer core components in and out of the reactor vessel. The CCG had not been operating properly due to buildups of metallic sodium and sodium compounds on the outside surface and internal moving parts. This paper tells how the CCG was disassembled and cleaned. Part of this task was done in a glovebox and part in the IEM Cell. Therefore, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The radioiodine-labeled amines currently available as brain-imaging agents, based on our previous work and that of others, are prepared either by exchange labeling or by direct iodination of a protected intermediate. The intrinsic slowness of these processes limits their potential for use with the positron-emitting 122I, as it has a half-life of only 3.6 min. This isotope has advantages of a low dose to the patient and availability from a generator containing the parent 20-h 122Xe. To develop a radiopharmaceutical in which 122I could be utilized, we prepared a number of secondary and tertiary amines (maintaining the 2,5-dimethoxy substitution pattern which allows direct iodination at the 4-position) with 131I. The organ distributions of these compounds were studied, and the best properties were found in the N,N-dimethyl homologue (2,5-dimethoxy-N,N-dimethyl-4-iodoamphetamine). This compound was successfully synthesized in a matter of seconds, ...

Science.gov (United States)

The usefulness of psychoanalysis to psychosomatic medicine has been limited by the longstanding assumption that the psychological disorder in psychosomatic patients resembles the conflict-based psychopathology that Freud identified in psychoneurotic patients. Recent investigations of the alexithymia construct, and the discovery that social relationships can influence health over the entire life span, have challenged this assumption and created an opportunity for a new and active involvement of psychoanalysis with psychosomatic medicine. In this contribution, I offer a synthesis of contemporary psychoanalytic observations and theories with concepts and research findings from developmental psychology, developmental biology, and the biomedical sciences. The proposed synthesis is consistent with the view that living organisms are self-regulating cybernetic systems; it also extends an evolving new psychosomatic model that conceptualizes illnesses and diseases as ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A heavy ion gas detector system consisting of a Bragg-curve spectroscopy ionization chamber for particle identification and a multiwire proportional chamber as position sensitive fast trigger device is described. The Bragg IC has been tested with several beams up to Z=36 to investigate some aspects of the BCS method. Results are reported on energy resolution and linearity, Z resolving power and mass sensitivity. The energy resolution is well below 1%. The Bragg-peak amplitude is fairly independent of the energy in a wide energy range and single elements are identified up to Z=38 with a resolving power Z/..delta..Zproportional50-80. Isotope identification by range measurement is limited by the straggling in the ionization process and the mass resolving power is M/..delta..Mproportional20-26 for S and Si isotopes. The MWPC allows subnanosecond time resolution and position identification along the in-plane coordinate within +-0.5 mm.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conventional methods of financing power generation, transmission and distribution in India cannot keep pace with the ever-growing demand. Alternative methods are discussed. Given the vast growth potential, funding can be by equity or debt capital or a hybrid of these. There is an urgent necessity to develop local capital markets as a source of funds since there are limits to how much can be derived from foreign investors, multilaterals and export credit agencies. The domestic financial institutions have raised large amounts for private investment in other sectors. With the creation of a proper climate and power companies set up with an attractive rate of return, sufficient capital could be forthcoming from both domestic and external markets for the power sector. In other sectors, Indian companies have been able to attract investment through Global Depository Receipts and Euroconvertible Bonds, for example. A key requirement for the power sector is the development ...

Science.gov (United States)

Government agencies responsible for protecting the public from the adverse effects of toxic chemicals must set priorities for research, regulatory action, protocol testing, and monitoring due to the vast number of toxic chemicals and the limited resources available to these agencies. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) must set priorities for research on hazards encountered in the workplace. Priorities are also utilized by NIOSH in preparing criteria for recommended occupational standards which are forwarded to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor, for possible promulgation. For various reasons, including rapidly changing conditions in the American workplace, NIOSH has instituted a revised priorities program. In the future, NIOSH research and recommended standards activities will focus not only on individual chemicals, but also on industries, occupations, chemical classes, and general ...

Science.gov (United States)

A new method, near-infrared laser desorption/ionization aerosol mass spectrometry (NIR-LDI-AMS), is described for the real time analysis of organic aerosols at atmospherically relevant mass loadings. Use of a single NIR laser pulse to vaporize and ionize particle components deposited on an aluminum probe results in minimal fragmentation to produce exclusively intact pseudomolecular anions at [M-H](-). Limits of detection (total particulate mass sampled) for oxidized compounds of relevance to atmospheric primary and secondary organic aerosol range from 89 fg for pinic acid to 8.8 pg for cholesterol. NIR-LDI-AMS was used in conjunction with the University of Vermont Environmental Chamber to study secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from ozonolysis of limonene at total aerosol mass loadings ranging from 3.2 to 25.0 ?g m(-3) and with a time resolution of several minutes. NIR-LDI-AMS permitted direct delineation between gas-phase, homogeneous SOA formation and ...

Science.gov (United States)

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 ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An experiment was conducted on the structure of mesoscopic calculating method for cement-based composite materials. The purpose was utilization for the simulation of mesoscale failure processes and the development of new composite materials. Mesh split based on Voronoi polygons was applied as the discrete limit analysis of the cement-based composite materials containing aggregate particles taking the arrangement of random particles into consideration, and a two-dimensional rigid-body/spring model was employed as the model. The nonhomogeneity of concrete was represented by three kinds of different spring parameters which were aggregate, mortar matrix and their interfaces. The simulation results were summarized as follows: The stress-strain curve went into a non-linear state from the 30% of the maximum stress. The generation of interfacial crack started on the side of the aggregate, but the propagation of the crack was stable. Deformation became ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The objective of this work is the measurement of two-phase flow parameters to support development of constitutive relationships for the HANARO/MAPLE type finned fuel using Real-Time Neutron Radiography (RTNR). A single element finned Fuel Element Simulator was used with R134a Freon flow. To observe the effect of a spacer device on void distribution, single pin tests were performed with and without a spacer. By analyzing the RTNR images using image processing, the effects of the spacer on the time-averaged and instantaneous void fraction distributions were studied. For the experimental results without a spacer, the time-averaged local void distribution is radially asymmetric and the degree of void fluctuation increases with a decreasing frequency along the heated channel, where the observed asymmetry may be caused by flow induced vibration. For the experimental results with a spacer, the spacer clearly limits any significant vibration and the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Theoretical interpretation of fast-charged-particle spectra, observed in the #alpha#-particle-induced reactions on the s-d shell nuclei (A = 24-28), in terms of the Intranuclear Cascade Model and the GDH exciton model (ALICE) is presented. The de-excitation of the excited residual nuclei is accounted for by the evaporation process. The theoretically predicted fast-proton and #alpha#' spectral shapes compare reasonably well with the corresponding measured spectra. However, the magnitude depends critically (as expected) on the reaction cross section employed by the model. As a first step to improve the model predictability of the reaction products, a closer look at the calculation of the #alpha#-particle reaction cross sections was undertaken. A microscopic approach using the optical theorem of Glauber's theory was employed to estimate the #alpha#-induced reaction cross sections for the light target nuclei under consideration. The calculated particle spectra were ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Megavoltage photon intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is typically used in the treatment of prostate cancer at our institution. Approximately 1% to 2% of patients with prostate cancer have hip prostheses. The presence of the prosthesis usually complicates the planning process because of dose perturbation around the prosthesis, radiation attenuation through the prosthesis, and the introduction of computed tomography artifacts in the planning volume. In addition, hip prostheses are typically made of materials of high atomic number, which add uncertainty to the dosimetry of the prostate and critical organs in the planning volume. When the prosthesis is bilateral, treatment planning is further complicated because only a limited number of beam angles can be used to avoid the prostheses. In this case study, we will report the observed advantages of using noncoplanar beams in the delivery of IMRT to a prostate cancer patient with bilateral ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Westinghouse is currently conducting the pre-application licensing of the International Reactor Innovative and Secure (IRIS). One of the key aspects of the IRIS design is its safety-by-designTM philosophy and within this framework the PRA is being used as an integral part of the design process. The most ambitious risk-related goal for IRIS is to reduce the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) to within the exclusion area by demonstrating that the off-site doses are consistent with the US Protective Action Guidelines (PAGs) for initiation of emergency response so that the required protective actions would be limited to the exclusion area. As a first step, a model has been developed to provide a first order approximation of the Large Early Release Frequency (LERF) as a surrogate predictor of the off-site doses. A key-aspect of the LERF model development is the characterization of the possible paths of release. Four main categories have been historically ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The effects of the dopants, Mg"2"+, Sr"2"+, Sc"3"+, Yb"3"+, Gd"3"+, La"3"+, Ti"4"+, Zr"4"+, Ce"4"+, and Nb"5"+, on the grain boundary mobility of dense Y_2O_3 have been investigated from 1,500 to 1,650 C. Parabolic grain growth has been observed in all cases over a grain size from 0.31 to 12.5 microm. Together with atmospheric effects, the results suggest that interstitial transport is the rate-limiting step for diffusive processes in Y_2O_3, which is also the case in CeO_2. The effect of solute drag cannot be ascertained but the anomalous effect of undersized dopants (Ti and Nb) on diffusion enhancement, previously reported in CeO_2, is again confirmed. Indications of very large binding energies between aliovalent dopants and oxygen defects are also observed. Overall, the most effective grain growth inhibitor is Zr"4"+, while the most potent grain growth promoter is Sr"2"+, both at 1.0% concentration.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

High aspect ratio sub-#mu#m periodic structures fabricated by focused ion beam (FIB) lithography have been characterised by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) using the macrochannelling technique. The technique overcomes the limitations of complementary techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), which can provide images with sub-#mu#m resolution of just the surface features and not of the deep sub-surface structures, without destructive cross sectioning of the sample. Here RBS macrochannelling with a 2 MeV He"+ ion beam is used to analyse a diffraction grating fabricated by FIB milling an array of 100 nm wide trenches in a 300 nm thick Ag film on a Si substrate. Using the surface structure imaged by SEM and AFM as a starting point, a numerical model for the RBS spectrum from the grating is fitted to the experimental spectrum as a function of the sub-surface structure. This process allows ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The measurement of two-phase flow parameters for development of constitutive relationships for the HANARO/MAPLE type finned fuel using Real-Time Neutron Radiography (RTNR) is discussed in this paper. A single element finned Fuel Element Simulator (FES) was used with Freon 134a as the working fluid. To observe the effect of a spacer device on void distribution, single pin tests were performed with and without a spacer present. By analyzing the RTNR images using image processing, the effects of the spacer on the time-averaged and instantaneous void fraction distribution were studied. For the experimental results without a spacer, the time-averaged local void distribution is radially asymmetric and the degree of void fluctuation increases with a decreasing frequency along the heated channel, where the observed asymmetry may be caused by flow induced vibration. For the experimental results with a spacer, the spacer clearly limits any significant ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glutathione (GSH) depletion sensitizes human lung carcinoma (A549-T27) cells to the cytotoxic effects of Cd++. The effects of GSH depletion on Cd++ accumulation and Cd++-induced metallothionein (MT) content were investigated to determine the possible role of these Cd++ responses in the sensitization process. Cellular GSH was depleted to 20% to 25% of control levels with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), or diethyl maleate (DEM), respectively. Neither treatment significantly affected Cd++-induced accumulation of exogenous 35s-cysteine into intracellular MT in a dose-dependent fashion. The results indicate that neither enhanced Cd++ accumulation nor reduced MT synthesis plays a primary role in affecting enhanced Cd++ cytotoxicity in A549 cells with reduced GSH levels. Although BSO inhibition of GSH synthesis enhanced MT synthesis, it sensitized the cells to Cd++, which suggests an additive effect of GSH and MT in cadmium cytoprotection. This observation also raises the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

With regard to long-term high-temperature strength, molybdenum is an effective alloying element but rather expensive as well. The author describes its influence on high-temperature strength properties of CrMoV alloyed steel. Besides molybdenum, also vanadium and carbon have an increasing effect on limiting rupture stress which furthermore may be effected by heat treatment, the cooling rate being a dominating factor in this process. To guarantee optimum long-term high-temperature strength properties, a minimum of a least 0.5% Mo and 0.35% V is required. The cooling rate after austentizing must be high enough to enable transformation in the bainitic structure to take place. A two-to-three-hour tempering treatment at about 720/sup 0/C is regarded as an optimum.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The analytical treatment of the nonperturbative QCD dynamics is one of the main open questions of the strong interactions. Currently, it is only possible to get some qualitative information about this regime considering other QCD-like theories, as, for example, the N=4 super Yang-Mills theory, where one can perform calculations in the nonperturbative limit of large 't Hooft coupling using the anti-de Sitter space/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT). Recently, the high energy scattering amplitude was calculated in the AdS/CFT approach, applied to deep-inelastic scattering and confronted with the F_2 HERA data. In this work we extend the nonperturbative AdS/CFT inspired model for diffractive processes and compare its predictions with a perturbative approach based on the Balitsky-Kovchegov equation. We demonstrate that the AdS/CFT inspired model is not able to describe the current F_2"D"("3") HERA data and predicts a similar behavior to that from the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Department of Energy (DOE) policy requires that all activities be conducted in a manner that protects the safety of the public and provides a safe and healthful workplace for employees. DOE has also prescribed that all personnel be protected in any explosives operation undertaken. The level of safety provided shall be at least equivalent to that of the best industrial practice. The risk of death or serious injury shall be limited to the lowest practicable minimum. DOE and contractors shall continually review their explosives operations with the aim of achieving further refinements and improvements in safety practices and protective features. This manual describes the Department's explosive safety requirements applicable to operations involving the development, testing, handling, and processing of explosives or assemblies containing explosives. It is intended to reflect the state-of-the-art in explosives safety. In addition, it is ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

As lithium battery technology sets out to bridge the gap between portable electronics and the electrical automotive industry, cathode materials still stand as the bottleneck regarding performances. In the realm of highly attractive polyanion-type structures as high-voltage cathode materials, the sulfate group (SO{sub 4}){sup 2-} possesses an acknowledged superiority over other contenders in terms of open circuit voltage arising from the inductive effect of strong covalent S-O bonds. In parallel, novel lithium insertion mechanisms are providing alternatives to traditional intercalation, enabling reversible multi-electron processes securing high capacities. Combining both of these advantageous features, we report here the successful electrochemical reactivity of copper sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO{sub 4}.5H{sub 2}O) with respect to lithium insertion via a two-electron displacement reaction entailing the extrusion of metallic copper at a dual voltage of 3.2 V and 2.7 V ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Production of hydrogen sulfide in produced waters due to the activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) is a potentially serious problem. The hydrogen sulfide is not only a safety and environmental concern, it also contributes to corrosion, solids formation, a reduction in produced oil and gas values, and limitations on water discharge. Waters produced from seawater-flooded reservoirs typically contain all of the nutrients required to support SRB metabolism. Surface processing facilities provide a favorable environment in which SRB flourish, converting water-borne nutrients into biomass and H{sub 2}S. This paper will present results from a field trial in which a new technology for the biochemical control of SRB metabolism was successfully applied. A slip stream of water downstream of separators on a produced water handling facility was routed through a bioreactor in a side-steam device where microbial growth was allowed to develop fully. This ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We are continuing to study the suitability of modified thermal-battery technology as a potential power source for geothermal borehole applications. Previous work focused on the LiSi/FeS{sub 2} couple over a temperature range of 350 C to 400 C with the LiBr-KBr-LiF eutectic, which melts at 324.5 C. In this work, the discharge processes that take place in LiSi/CsBr-LiBr-KBr eutectic/FeS{sub 2} thermal cells were studied at temperatures between 250 C and 400 C using pelletized cells with immobilized electrolyte. The CsBr-LiBr-KBr eutectic was selected because of its lower melting point (228.5 C). Incorporation of a quasi-reference electrode allowed the determination of the relative contribution of each electrode to the overall cell polarization. The results of single-cell tests and limited battery tests are presented, along with preliminary data for battery stacks tested in a simulated geothermal borehole environment.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A modulation transfer function (MTF) calibration method based on binary pseudo-random (BPR) gratings and arrays [Proc. SPIE 7077-7 (2007), Opt. Eng. 47(7), 073602-1-5 (2008)] has been proven to be an effective MTF calibration method for a number of interferometric microscopes and a scatterometer [Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 616, 172-82 (2010]. Here we report on a significant expansion of the application range of the method. We describe the MTF calibration of a 6 inch phase shifting Fizeau interferometer. Beyond providing a direct measurement of the interferometer's MTF, tests with a BPR array surface have revealed an asymmetry in the instrument's data processing algorithm that fundamentally limits its bandwidth. Moreover, the tests have illustrated the effects of the instrument's detrending and filtering procedures on power spectral density measurements. The details of the development of a BPR test sample suitable for ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The study of B#->##tau#"+#tau#"-(X) decays can provide us with a better understanding of the third generation, and can be a useful probe of physics beyond the standard model. We present a model-independent analysis of these decays. We classify new physics that can largely enhance the decay rates and we discuss the constraints implied by other processes. Experimentally, flavor-changing neutral current B decays into final state #tau# close-quote s are still unconstrained. Searches for B decays with large missing energy at CERN LEP provide the first limits. We estimate that existing data already imply bounds on the B_d#->##tau#"+#tau#"-, B_s#->##tau#"+#tau#"-, and B#->#X#tau#"+#tau#"- decay rates at the few percent level. Although these bounds are over four orders of magnitude above the standard model predictions, they provide the first constraints on some leptoquarks, and on some R-parity-violating couplings. copyright 1997 The ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The previous judgment of eutrophic state, once proposed for the Trasimeno Lake (Umbria region, Italy), has been revised. According to Vollenweider-OECD classification criterion, the lake waters are at present to be classified as mesotrophic waters, with phosphorus limitation. However this level of moderate productivity results to be conditioned by the hydrochemical characteristics of the lake waters, that control phosphorus concentrations independently from the loading coming from the basin, and prevent dangerous and massive algal blooms. Different processes of chemical nature, regulating the phosphorus amount in the lake waters, are then reviewed: adsorption of P/P0(4) onto suspended materials, particularly clay mineral particles, and direct precipitation as hydroxylapatite or co-precipitation with carbonates, are found to be the principal mechanisms that determine chemical removal of phosphorus from the water column. A preliminary mass ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The study is intended to eventually bring about a number of improvements in the UK electrical system, particularly in regard to Demand Side Management (DSM). Among the benefits envisaged are (a) increased security of supply when the network is under stress; (b) reduction in costs; (c) simpler outage management; (d) carbon saving and (e) increased energy efficiency. So far, these potential benefits have attracted little attention in the residential and small business sectors of the market: suggested reasons for this are listed. Taking into account the experience of other countries, three options are presented for a UK DSM programme: they are (i) customer initiated; (ii) supplier initiated and (iii) distributor initiated. At present, all the suggested options need further study and to aid the development for small customers, five possible initiatives are suggested. This final report (95 pages) includes a detailed description of the research required and a tender ...

Science.gov (United States)

An exposure chamber is described for the quantifiable addition of fine and ultrafine aerosol particulate matter directly to cells and used to demonstrate the in vitro cytotoxicity of fine 1,4-naphthoquinone particles to murine lung epithelial cells. The electrostatic particulate dosage and exposure system (EPDExS) operates on the principle of electrostatic precipitation and is shown to deposit fine and ultrafine aerosol particles directly to cells with 100% efficiency for particle diameters in the range of 40-530nm. This range is not limited by the EPDExS, but rather by the aerosolization method used for this study. Numbers of particles deposited onto the cells are counted with a condensation particle counter, negating any need to calculate or estimate particle exposure. The process of particle introduction, assessed using Trypan blue dye exclusion, had no effect on cell viability. In combination with a differential mobility classifier, the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975. USSR Zabrodskij, VA Nedavnij, SN INIS-mf--3677. Available from

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Doublet III device is operating with an extensive system of plasma limiters and wall protective armor. Operations with up to 8MW of neutral beam power and 1.5MA plasma current are planned. Design and operational performance of the following systems are discussed: 1. Water-cooled graphite moveable limiter. 2. Water-cooled graphite fixed limiter and neutral beam wall armor. 3. Radiatively cooled Inconel divertor plates.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The goal of this program was to increase the high-temperature strength of the H-Series of cast austenitic stainless steels by 50% and upper use temperature by 86 to 140 F (30 to 60 C). Meeting this goal is expected to result in energy savings of 38 trillion Btu/year by 2020 and energy cost savings of $185 million/year. The higher strength H-Series of cast stainless steels (HK and HP type) have applications for the production of ethylene in the chemical industry, for radiant burner tubes and transfer rolls for secondary processing of steel in the steel industry, and for many applications in the heat-treating industry. The project was led by Duraloy Technologies, Inc. with research participation by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and industrial participation by a diverse group of companies. Energy Industries of Ohio (EIO) was also a partner in this project. Each team partner had well-defined roles. Duraloy Technologies led the team by identifying the base ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

According to enactment of reduced dose limit based on ICRP-60, the calculation of Derived Release Limits(DRL) on Wolsung NPPs was carried out. There are two methods of determination on DRL; that is MPC(Maximum Permissible Concentration) method and system analysis method. In order to use the system analysis method, lots of environmental data are necessary and complicated exposure pathway are considered. So we intend to apply MPC method that is sort of simple. In addition the calculated results were compared with derived release limit on Canadian nuclear power plant.

CERN Document Server

We briefly report on zero-temperature photoassociation of a Bose-Einstein condensate, focusing on the many-body rate limit for atom-molecule conversion. An upgraded model that explicitly includes spontaneous radiative decay leads to an unanticipated shift in the position of the photoassociation resonance, which affects whether the rate (constant) maximizes or saturates, as well as the limiting value itself. A simple analytical model agrees with numerical experiments, but only for high density. Finally, an explicit comparison with the two-body unitary limit, set by the size of the condensate, finds that the many-body rate limit is generally more strict.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Many mines and processing facilities are in remote, difficult to access areas, or are in areas where access is limited or restricted for national reasons. In a joint project with Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, the Canadian Safeguards Support Program is investigating utility of multi- and hyperspectral remote sensing for remotely inspecting such site. With a view to eventually using the hyperspectral satellite data now coming available, airborne data over uranium and copper mine tailings and uranium processing facilities in northern Canada were acquired. The objective of this work is to demonstrate that multispectral and hyperspectral data can provide complementary and supplementary information to high-resolution panchromatic imagery for the following safeguards applications: Inspection aids (up-to-date maps of remote locations), change detection, evaluation of member state declarations, monitoring of reactor, mining and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The effective remediation of contaminated sites requires accurate identification of chemical distributions. A rapid sampling method using passive sampling devices (PSDs) can provide a thorough site assessment. We have been pursuing their application in terrestrial systems and have found that they increase the ease and speed of analysis, decrease solvent usage and overall cost, and minimize the transport of contaminated soils. Time and cost savings allow a higher sampling frequency than is generally the case using traditional methods. PSDs have been used in the field in soils of varying physical properties and have been successful in estimating soil concentrations ranging from 1 {mu}g/kg (parts per billion) to greater than 200 mg/kg (parts per million). They were also helpful in identifying hot spots within the sites. Passive sampling devices show extreme promise as an analytical tool to rapidly characterize contaminant distributions in soil. There are substantial time and cost savings ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The strategy for building SASOL plants reflects a commitment to long-range planning. The first plant, which represented a large investment for a moderate production capacity, was built to establish a technology for reducing South Africa's dependence on imported motor fuels. After the success of the plant, SASOL made plans for a larger plant, which had to be justified solely on economic grounds. At that time, petroleum crude was cheap and plentiful, and the second plant was cancelled. But when OPEC formed and the price of petroleum crude was increased, the South African government reconsidered the plans for another SASOL plant. Furthermore, because the cost of fuels produced at Sasol I proved to be significantly insensitive to inflation and future OPEC price increases were expected, SASOL projected that a new, larger plant should make a profit within a few years after its initial operation. But OPEC prices and inflation have risen even faster than anticipated, and the products ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In cooling systems, an improved control of scale deposit and corrosion processes is a major challenge and an realistic evaluation tool for water treatments is of the utmost economic importance. In this study, a channel flow cell was used to allow in-situ electrochemical measurements in well defined electrolyte tube flowing conditions. An expression of the mass transfer towards the electrode was established where the diffusion-limited current is a function of Re{sup 1/3} in the laminar regime and was verified experimentally using the redox couples Fe[CN]{sub 6}{sup 4-}/ Fe[CN]{sub 6}{sup 3-} and O{sub 2}/OH{sup -}. This hydrodynamically controlled experimental device was developed to investigate scale deposit processes and to evaluate scale inhibitor efficiency using a electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance. Experiments were performed on three different waters, at various flow rates and temperatures. The efficiency of a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

As semiconductor device density and wafer area continue to increase, the volume of in-line and off-line data required to diagnose yield-limiting conditions is growing exponentially. To manage this data in the future, analysis tools will be required that can automatically reduce this data to useful information, e.g., by assisting the engineer in rapid root-cause diagnosis of defect generating mechanisms. In this paper, the authors describe a technology known as Spatial Signature Analysis (SSA) and its application to both optically-detected defect data as well as electrical test (e-test) bin data. The results of a validation study are summarized that demonstrate the effectiveness of the SSA approach on optical defect wafermaps through field-testing at three semiconductor manufacturing sites on ASIC, DRAM and SRAM products. This method has been extended to analyze and interpret electrical test data and to provide a pathway for correlation of this data with in-line ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We have demonstrated that optical images can be stored in transparent lead-lanthanum-zirconate-titanate (PLZT) ceramics by exposure to near-UV light with photon energies greater than the band gap energy of approx. equal to 3.35 eV. The image storage process relies on optically induced changes in the switching properties of ferroelectric domains (photoferroelectric effect). Stored images are nonvolatile but can be erased by uniform UV illumination and simultaneous application of an electric field. Although high quality images, with contrast variations of >= 100:1 and spatial resolution of approx. equal to 10 #mu#m, can be stored using the photoferroelectric effect, relatively high exposure energies (approx. equal to 100 mJ/cm"2) are required to store these images. This large exposure energy severely limits the range of possible applications of nonvolatile image storage in PLZT ceramics. We have recently found from studies of H, He and Ar ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A balloon-borne instrument has measured the cosmic-ray antiproton flux between 130 and 320 MeV and searched for antihelium between 130 and 370 MeV per nuclear. These particles were selected from the background of normal-matter cosmic rays by combining a selective trigger with a detailed spark chamber visualization of each recorded event. Antiprotons are identified by their characteristic annihilatin radiation. Residue from background processes meeting the selection criteria is small. The observed 14 antiprotons yield a measured differential flux of 1.7 +- 0.5 x 10/sup -4/ antiprotons m/sup -2/ sr/sup -1/ s/sup -1/ MeV/sup -1/ at the top of the atmosphere. The corresponding antiproton/proton ratio is 2.2 +- 0.6 x 10/sup -4/,, only slightly smaller than the ratio observed by other experiments at higher energies. Thus the antiprotons have a spectral shape similar to the protons, at least down to about 100 MeV. The expected flux of these particles can be calculated ...

Science.gov (United States)

BackgroundIn recent years, near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF)-labeled iron nanoparticles have been synthesized and applied in a number of applications, including the labeling of human cells for monitoring the engraftment process, imaging tumors, sensoring the in vivo molecular environment surrounding nanoparticles and tracing their in vivo biodistribution. These studies demonstrate that NIRF-labeled iron nanoparticles provide an efficient probe for cell labeling. Furthermore, the in vivo imaging studies show excellent performance of the NIR fluorophores. However, there is a limited selection of NIRF-labeled iron nanoparticles with an optimal wavelength for imaging around 800 nm, where tissue autofluorescence is minimal. Therefore, it is necessary to develop additional alternative NIRF-labeled iron nanoparticles for application in this area.ResultsThis study manufactured 12-nm DMSA-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles labeled with a near-infrared ...