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At least 919 records · Page 51

Intraocular pressure reduction and regulation system

An intraocular pressure reduction and regulation system is described and data are presented covering performance in: (1) reducing intraocular pressure to a preselected value, (2) maintaining a set minimum intraocular pressure, and (3) reducing the dynamic increases in intraocular pressure resulting from external loads applied to the eye.

Baehr, E. F.↗

Near-millimeter spectrum of the microwave background

A description is given of a method for the measurement of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) spectrum. A helium-cooled, balloon-borne spectrophotometer was used to measure the emission spectrum of the night sky over the frequency range 1.7-40/cm. The apparatus was calibrated using a blackbody source at a variety of temperatures both before and after the flight. It is shown that the spectrum of the CMB peaks at 6/cm and is approximately that of a blackbody out to several times that frequency. The measured flux is also found to be equivalent to that from a blackbody in the temperature range from 2.88 to 3.09 K. The data set resulting from the combination of these measurements with previous observations of the CMB covers three decades in frequency, and is compared with various CMB models.

Woody, D. P.↗

Image processing applied to gravity and topography data covering the continental United States

The applicability of fairly standard image processing techniques to processing and analyzing large geologic data sets in addressed. Image filtering techniques were used to interpolate between gravity station locations to produce a regularly spaced data array that preserves detail in areas with good coverage, and that produces a continuous tone image rather than a contour map. Standard image processing techniques were used to digitally register and overlay topographic and gravity data, and the data were displayed in ways that emphasize subtle but pervasive structural features. The potential of the methods is illustrated through a discussion of linear structures that appear in the processed data between the midcontinent gravity high and the Appalachians.

Arvidson, R. E.↗

Inelastic stress analyses at finite deformation through complementary energy approaches

A new hybrid-stress finite element algorithm, suitable for analyses of large, quasistatic, inelastic deformations, is presented. The algorithm is based upon a generalization of de Veubeke's (1972) complementary energy principle. The principal variables in the formulation are the nominal stress rate and spin, and the resulting finite element equations are discrete versions of the equations of compatibility and angular momentum balance. The algorithm produces true rates, time derivatives, as opposed to 'increments'. There results a boundary value problem (for stress rate and velocity) and an initial value problem (for total stress and deformation). A discussion of the numerical treatment of the boundary value problem is followed by a detailed examination of the numerical treatment of the initial value problem, covering the topics of efficiency, stability, and objectivity. The paper is closed with a set of examples, finite homogeneous deformation problems, which serve to bring out important aspects of the algorithm.

Atluri, S. N.↗

Analyses of large quasistatic deformations of inelastic bodies by a new hybrid-stress finite element algorithm

A new hybrid-stress finite element algorithm, suitable for analyses of large, quasistatic, inelastic deformations, is presented. The algorithm is base upon a generalization of de Veubeke's complementary energy principle. The principal variables in the formulation are the nominal stress rate and spin, and thg resulting finite element equations are discrete versions of the equations of compatibility and angular momentum balance. The algorithm produces true rates, time derivatives, as opposed to 'increments'. There results a complete separation of the boundary value problem (for stress rate and velocity) and the initial value problem (for total stress and deformation); hence, their numerical treatments are essentially independent. After a fairly comprehensive discussion of the numerical treatment of the boundary value problem, we launch into a detailed examination of the numerical treatment of the initial value problem, covering the topics of efficiency, stability and objectivity. The paper is closed with a set of examples, finite homogeneous deformation problems, which serve to bring out important aspects of the algorithm.

Reed, K. W.↗

Contrasts in winter-summer cloudiness over the Western Hemisphere during the FGGE

An examination is undertaken of techniques for the representation of satellite-derived seasonal cloud climatology statistics, together with the phenomenological contrasts evident in extended cloud fields from one season to the next. Attention is given to results from a winter and a summer period over the Western Hemisphere in 1979. Cloud cover information has been derived from the GOES-East geosynchronous satellite; the data sets used consist of 15-day periods of hourly, 8-km resolution visual and IR digital measurements.

Smith, E. A.↗

The automated Army ROTC Questionnaire (ARQ)

The Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadet Command (ROTCCC) takes applications for its officer training program from college students and Army enlisted personnel worldwide. Each applicant is required to complete a set of application forms prior to acceptance into the ROTC program. These forms are covered by several regulations that govern the eligibility of potential applicants and guide the applicant through the application process. Eligibility criteria changes as Army regulations are periodically revised. Outdated information results in a loss of applications attributable to frustration and error. ROTCCC asked for an inexpensive and reliable way of automating their application process. After reviewing the process, it was determined that an expert system with good end user interface capabilities could be used to solve a large part of the problem. The system captures the knowledge contained within the regulations, enables the quick distribution and implementation of eligibility criteria changes, and distributes the expertise of the admissions personnel to the education centers and colleges. The expert system uses a modified version of CLIPS that was streamlined to make the most efficient use of its capabilities. A user interface with windowing capabilities provides the applicant with a simple and effective way to input his/her personal data.

Young, David L. H.↗

Sea level variation

Published values for the long-term, global mean sea level rise determined from tide gauge records range from about one to three mm per year. The scatter of the estimates appears to arise largely from the use of data from gauges located at convergent tectonic plate boundaries where changes of land elevation give fictitious sea level trends, and the effects of large interdecadal and longer sea level variations on short (less than 50+ years) or sappy records. In addition, virtually all gauges undergo subsidence or uplift due to isostatic rebound from the last deglaciation at a rate comparable to or greater than the secular rise of sea level. Modeling rebound by the ICE-3G model of Tushingham and Peltier (1990) and avoiding tide gauge records in areas of converging tectonic plates produces a highly consistent set of long sea level records. A global set of 21 such stations in nine oceanic regions with an average record length of 76 years during the period 1880-1980 yields the global sea level rise value 1.8 mm/year +/- 0.1. Greenhouse warming scenarios commonly forecast an additional acceleration of global sea level in the next 5 or 6+ decades in the range 0.1-0.2 mm/yr2. Because of the large power at low frequencies in the sea level spectrum, very long tide gauge records (75 years minimum) have been examined for past apparent sea level acceleration. For the 80-year period 1905-1985, 23 essentially complete tide gauge records in 10 geographic groups are available for analysis. These yielded the apparent global acceleration -0.011 (+/- 0.012) mm/yr2. A larger, less uniform set of 37 records in the same 10 groups with 92 years average length covering the 141 years from 1850-1991 gave 0.001 (+/- 0.008) mm/yr2. Thus there is no evidence for an apparent acceleration in the past 100+ years that is significant either statistically, or in comparison to values associated with global warming. Unfortunately, the large interdecadal fluctuations of sea level severely affect estimates of global sea level acceleration for time spans of less than about 50 years. This means that tide gauges alone cannot serve as a reliable leading indicator of climate change in less than many decades. This time required can be significantly reduced if the interdecadal fluctuations of sea level can be understood in terms of their forcing mechanisms, and then removed from the tide gauge records.

Douglas, Bruce C.↗

NASA directives master list and index

This Handbook sets forth in two parts the following information for the guidance of users of the NASA Management Directives System. Part A is a master list of management directives in force as of March 31, 1993. Chapter 1 contains introductory informative material on how to use this Handbook. Chapter 2 is a complete master list of Agencywide management directives, describing each directive by type, number, effective date, expiration date, title, and organization code of the office responsible for the directive. Chapter 3 includes a consolidated numerical list of all delegations of authority and a breakdown of such delegation by the office or installation to which special authority is assigned. Chapter 4 sets forth a consolidated list of all NASA Handbooks (NHB's) and important footnotes covering the control and ordering of such documents. Chapter 5 is a consolidated list of NASA management directives applicable to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Chapter 6 is a consolidated list of NASA management directives published in the Code of Federal Regulations. Complementary manuals to the NASA Management Directives System are described in Chapter 7. Part B is the index to NASA management directives in force as of March 31, 1993. This part contains an in-depth alphabetical index to all NASA management directives other than Handbooks. NHB's 1610.6, 'NASA Personnel Security Handbook,' 1620.3, 'NASA Physical Security Handbook,' 1640.4, 'NASA Information Security Program,' 1900.1, 'Standards of Conduct for NASA Employees,' 5103.6, 'Source Evaluation Board Handbook,' and 7400.1, 'Budget Administration Manual,' are indexed in-depth. All other NHB's are indexed by titles only.

Source record↗

NASA directives: Master list and index

This Handbook sets forth in two parts the following information for the guidance of users of the NASA Management Directives System. Chapter 1 contains introductory information material on how to use this Handbook. Chapter 2 is a complete master list of Agency-wide management directives, describing each directive by type, number, effective date, expiration date, title, and organization code of the office responsible for the directive. Chapter 3 includes a consolidated numerical list of all delegations of authority and a breakdown of such delegation by the office of Installation to which special authority is assigned. Chapter 4 sets forth a consolidated list of all NASA Handbooks (NHB's) and important footnotes covering the control and ordering of such documents. Chapter 5 is a consolidated list of NASA management directives applicable to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Chapter 6 is a consolidated list of NASA management directives published in the code of Federal Regulations. Complementary manuals to the NASA Management Directives System are described in Chapter 7. Part B contains an in-depth alphabetical index to all NASA management directives other than Handbooks.

Source record↗

NASA directives master list and index

This handbook sets forth in two parts, Master List of Management Directives and Index to NASA Management Directives, the following information for the guidance of users of the NASA Management Directives System. Chapter 1 contains introductory information material on how to use this handbook. Chapter 2 is a complete master list of agencywide management directives, describing each directive by type, number, effective date, expiration date, title, and organization code of the office responsible for the directive. Chapter 3 includes a consolidated numerical list of all delegations of authority and a breakdown of such delegation by the office or center to which special authority is assigned. Chapter 4 sets forth a consolidated list of all NASA handbooks (NHB's) and important footnotes covering the control and ordering of such documents. Chapter 5 is a consolidated list of NASA management directives applicable to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Chapter 6 is a consolidated list of NASA regulations published in the Code of Federal Regulations. Chapter 7 is a consolidated list of NASA regulations published in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Complementary manuals to the NASA Management Directives System are described in Chapter 8. The second part contains an in depth alphabetical index to all NASA management directives other than handbooks, most of which are indexed by titles only.

Source record↗

Characteristics of Seamounts Near Hawaii as Viewed by GLORIA

Using images and data acquired from the GLORIA sonar system, 390 seamounts within the U.S. Hawaiian Exclusive Economic Zone (HEEZ) off Hawaii have been studied. Their diameters range from 1 to 57 km. with most less than 15 km. Seamount abundance increases exponentially with decreasing size. The areal density of observed seamounts having diameters greater than 1 km is 182/10(exp 6) sq km. The theoretical abundance of seamounts of all sizes normalized to a unit area is (309 +/- 17)/10(exp 6) sq km, about an order of magnitude less than other surveyed areas of the Pacific. This may reflect a lower abundance of Cretaceous seamounts in this region, the covering of small seamounts by sediment, or discrepancies from the use of different data sets to derive the abundance statistics. The seamounts have morphologies ranging from steep-sided, flat-topped structures to cones to more amorphous structures; they are similar to volcanoes found elsewhere on the seafloor. A suite of secondary features associated with the seamounts includes summit craters, summit mounds, coalesced boundaries, landslides, and graben. Several seamount chains are aligned parallel to Cretaceous fracture zones, consistent with an origin close to the ancestral East Pacific Rise. Others are aligned parallel to the Necker Ridge, suggesting that they formed contemporaneously with Necker in the plate interior. This observation, together with high abundances of seamounts where other intraplate igneous processes have occurred, suggests some seamounts formed since leaving the spreading center.

Bridges, Nathan T.↗

BOREAS AES Five-Day Averaged Surface Meteorological and Upper Air Data

The Canadian Atmospheric Environment Service (AES) provided BOREAS with hourly and daily surface meteorological data from 23 of the AES meteorological stations located across Canada and upper air data from 1 station at The Pas, Manitoba. Due to copyright restrictions on the full resolution surface meteorological data, this data set contains 5-day average values for the surface parameters. The upper air data are provided in their full resolution form. The 5-day averaging was performed in order to create a data set that could be publicly distributed at no cost. Temporally, the surface meteorological data cover the period of January 1975 to December 1996 and the upper air data cover the period of January 1961 to November 1996. The data are provided in tabular ASCII files, and are classified as AFM-staff data. The data files are available on a CD-ROM (see document number 20010000884), or from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

Hall, Forrest G.↗

Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Land Data Assimilation System (LDAS) and Other Assimilated Hydrological Data at NASA GES DISC

The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) provides science support for several data sets relevant to agriculture and food security, including the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Land Data Assimilation System (LDAS), or FLDAS data set. The GES DISC is one of twelve NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) data centers that process, archive, document, and distribute data from Earth science missions and related projects. The GES DISC hosts a wide range of remote sensing and model data, and provides reliable and robust data access and other services to users worldwide. Beyond data archive and access, the GES DISC offers many services to visualize and analyze the data. This presentation provides a summary of the hydrological data available at the GES DISC, along with an overview of related data services. Specifically, the FLDAS data set has been adapted to work with domains, data streams, and monitoring and forecast requirements associated with food security assessment in data-sparse, developing country settings. The FLDAS global monthly data have a 0.1 x 0.1 degree spatial resolution covering the period from January 1982 to present. Global FLDAS monthly anomaly and monthly climatology data are also available at the GES DISC to evaluate how current conditions compare to averages over the FLDAS 35-year period. Several case studies using the FLDAS soil moisture, evapotranspiration, rainfall, runoff, and surface temperature data will be presented.

Loeser, Carlee↗

Conditions Databases at FNAL

Conditions databases is an important class of database applications where the database is used to record the state of a set of quantities as a function of observation time. Conditions databases are used in Hight Energy Physics to record the state of the detector apparatus during data taking, and then to use the data during the event reconstruction and analysis phases. At FNAL, we have a set of 3 different conditions database products, Minerva Conditions DB, ConDB and UConDB, which cover the whole range of the use cases presented by the FNAL experiments. These products have common features such as conditions data representation model, data version control, ability to restore the database to a previous state, scalable web service data access interface. In the paper, we will present the common features of the products, common solutions used to build them and also the differences between the products and their target use cases.

Mandrichenko, Igor V.↗

The application of ICASPA to critical and safe mass calculations - 14586

ICASPA, an Improved Critical and Safe Parameters Algorithm, calculates the size of a fissile body for a given value of k-effective. ICASPA uses an iterative predictor/corrector algorithm in which the MONK9A code is used to derive a precise k-effective value for a given candidate body size; auxiliary equations are then used to adjust the body size. The process is repeated until MONK9A outputs the chosen target value of k-effective. EDF Energy operates eight nuclear power stations comprising one Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) and seven Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) stations. At these sites, the term 'fuel route' is used to encompass all of the ex-reactor arrangements for the handling and storage of fuel. The criticality safety cases for these fuel routes are based on the use of geometrically safe arrangements for the required quantities of fuel. The allowed quantities and arrangements of fuel are safely sub-critical, even under the contingency of accidental moderator ingress. The fuel route safety cases consider all credible potential fault conditions, including events such as dropped fuel. Any such events might change the geometry of the fuel elements, but it is difficult to calculate exact k-effective values for realistic models of dropped fuel. This difficulty is overcome by the use of an alternative approach in which limiting safe masses are calculated for bounding (worst-case) rearrangements of fuel rods and moderators, using geometries similar to those covered by criticality handbook data. Where required, the resulting safe masses are used to set safety case limits and conditions. For example, some fire extinguishants, such as water and ABC dry powder, are also effective moderators. Hence, in some fuel route areas, administrative criticality controls are used to either prohibit or limit the permitted quantities of these materials. This paper describes the work that has been carried out to adopt ICASPA as the approved calculation method for these safe mass calculations. The work has been carried out within the company quality assurance requirements for nuclear safety related software. It has involved the development of a configuration controlled version of ICASPA and the local verification and validation of the resulting code. The benefits from the adoption of ICASPA are also presented. These include accuracy improvements and, because the method uses the MONK9A code for k-effective calculations, the ability to use more sophisticated models for limiting case geometries. (authors)

42 ENGINEERING↗

Big Sky Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (Phase III Final Scientific/Technical Report)

The Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership (BSCSP) pursued a Phase III demonstration project at Kevin Dome in north central Montana. Kevin Dome covers approximately 700 square miles and is a naturally occurring CO 2 reservoir that is flanked by oil and gas fields. The carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is in the upper Devonian Duperow (carbonate) formation and does not reach the spill point of the dome; therefore, the dome has potential as a CO 2 sequestration reservoir, a CO 2 supply, or as both if anthropogenic sources and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations are associated with the dome. Kevin Dome could potentially act as a buffer to continue accepting anthropogenic CO 2 when EOR flooding operations are interrupted or completed. The project objective was to produce one million tonnes of CO 2 from the gas cap of Kevin Dome, pipe it laterally, inject, and re-store it in the brine leg of the same formation to test the hub / buffer storage concept. This was to be accomplished by drilling up to five production wells, building a short pipeline and compression facilities, and drilling an injection well and several monitoring wells. BSCSP commenced outreach and site characterization activities including acquiring baseline data for near-surface insurance monitoring, acquiring 3-dimensional, 9-component surface seismic over the project area, drilling two test wells (one in the production area and one in the injection area), coring key intervals, and performing comprehensive logging. Well tests of those wells revealed two barriers to the project. The production (Danielson 33-17) well was perforated in multiple zones but failed to produce any significant CO 2 . This was despite being drilled in the near vicinity of a historic well that had produced 3700 MCF per day in a drill stem test. Modeling indicated that this was likely due to a phase change during production causing a temperature drop resulting in hydrate and/or water ice formation that clogged the formation. Tests of the injection zone (Wallewein 22-1) well indicated total dissolved solids (TDS) slightly below the EPA required 10,000 parts per million (ppm) for a Class VI underground injection control permit. While the project was initiated before Class VI rules were promulgated, and this was an experimental project (seemingly qualified for a Class V permit), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicated that injection would require a Class VI permit. The low salinity result was unexpected as contours plotted based on regional formation water quality data indicated an expected TDS above 20,000 ppm, and wells between the recharge zone and the Wallewein well tested above 10,000 ppm. Faced with the inability to obtain an injection permit, the demonstration project could not proceed. However, the project had generated valuable samples and data on a large natural analog including 32 sq. mi. of 3-D, 9-C seismic, 430 ft. of carbonate core covering seven different depositional environments taken from areas with, and without the presence of CO 2 , 30 ft. of core of two caprocks, a tight carbonate and an anhydrite, a full set of modern logs on both wells, and well tests. DOE decided to re-scope the project around completing studies utilizing this data. This report covers both the initial scope and the re-scope (Task / Section numbers preceded with an R). While the report covers a wide range of project activities, highlights of this work include: Development of a geostatic model using neural nets to match well logs to facies and using multi-waveform seismic to inform reservoir heterogeneity; Unique mechanical testing of permeability – stress relationship in two caprock materials; Development of full waveform inversion to generate a high resolution velocity model; Model development for dual permeability (fracture and matrix) systems to better account for matrix-matrix interactions; Joint seismic wave inversion (including the first quadr-joint inversion) exhibiting better imaging of a challenging reservoir zone in stiff rock; Core flow and core flood results on a reactive carbonate; and Innovative laboratory measurements of seismic response of fractured core as a function of fluid fill.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗