Award Data

NITRIC ACID IN THE GAS PHASE IS ONE OF THE MOST ABUNDANT TRACE NITROGEN OXIDE SPECIES IN THE ATMOSPHERE. ITS DEPOSITION AT THE SURFACE PROVIDES THE MAJOR SINK FOR NOX AND IS A SIGNIFICANT COMPONENT OF ACID PRECIPITATION. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AN INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE THE SURFACE FLUXES OF NITRIC ACID USING THE EDDY CORRELATIONTECHNIQUE WITH INFRARED TUNABLE DIODE LASER ABSORPTION ...

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SCINTILLATION SPECTROMETERS ARE CURRENTLY THE MOST WIDELY USED DEVICES FOR THE DETECTION AND SPECTROMETRY OF ENERGETIC PHOTONS (X-RAYS AND GAMMA RAYS) AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. THEY ARE VERY WIDELY USED IN NUCLEAR AND HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS RESEARCH, MEDICAL IMAGING AND INDUSTRIAL GAUGING APPLICATIONS. RECENTLY, SILICON SEMICONDUCTOR OPTICAL DETECTORS HAVE BEEN USED TO DETECT THE LIGHT PRODUCED BY THE SCI ...

SCINTILLATION DETECTORS HAVE REMAINED THE LEADING TYPE OF DETECTOR IN MANY AREAS OF NUCLEAR PHYSICS. ALTHOUGH IMPROVEMENTS IN SCINTILLATOR CYYSTAL TECHNOLOGY HAVE EXTENDED THE UTILITY OF SCINTILLATOR-BASED SYSTEMS, SERIOUS DEFICIENCIES IN THE OPTICAL DETECTORS USED WITH THE SCINTILLATOR CRYSTALS ARE LIMITING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THIS DETECTOR TECHNOLOGY. CONVENTIONAL SCINTILLATION SYSTEMS USE PHO ...

SO-CALLED "FOULING" OF FILTRATION MEMBRANES, WHICH LEADS TO DIMINISHED FILTRATE FLUX AND ALTERED SOLUTE REJECTION AND SELECTIVITY WITH TIME, IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO BUILDUP OF SURFACEMATERIALS. RESPONSIBLE MECHANISMS INCLUDE BOUNDARY LAYER, GEL AND CAKE PHENOMENA, AND INTERACTIONS OF PARTICLES OR SOLUBLE COMPONENTS (E.G., PROTEINS) WITH THE MEMBRANE. A POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM IS VIBRATION OF ...

IN THIS PROJECT, THE USE OF A PLASMATRON TO IGNITE PULVERIZED COAL (PC) FOR UTILITY BOILERS IS BEING EXPLORED. AIR IS PASSED THROUGH THE ARC OF THE PLASMATRON, CREATING A HIGH TEMPERATURE PLASMA (8,500 K) WITH HIGHLY REACTIVE OXYGEN RADICALS THAT EASILY COMBINE WITH AND IGNITE PULVERIZED COAL. PHASE I OF THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF THE CONCEPT AND ALSO ALLOWS ASSESSMENT OF ...

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THE PHASE I EFFORT HAS SUCCESSFULLY DEMONSTRATED THAT COMBINING SOL-GEL CHEMISTRY WITH MICROWAVE HEATING CAN RESULT IN THE FABRICATION OF A CERAMIC HIGH TC SUPERCONDUCTOR (HTS) IN ABOUT AN HOUR. SOL-GEL PROCESSING RESULTED IN UNIFORM MICRON-SIZED PRECURSOR POWDERS WITH THE DESIRED STOCHIOMETRY. THIS POWDER WAS SUBSEQUENTLY HEATED FOR 70 MINUTES UNDER SPECIFIC CONDITIONS IN A MODIFIED MICROWAVE OVE ...

ADVANCED COAL UTILIZATION AND CONVERSION PROCESSES UNDER DEVELOPMENT BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REQUIRE CLEANUP OF GAS STREAMS FOLLOWING GASIFICATION OR COMBUSTION OF COAL. FOR EXAMPLE, IT IS DESIRABLE TO REMOVE GASEOUS AND PARTICULATE CONTAMINANTS FROM THESE GAS STREAMS AT HIGH TEMPERATURE AND HIGH PRESSURE PRIOR TO GAS EXPANSION IN TURBINES. WHILE SEVERAL NOVEL FILTRATION DEVICES HAVE BEEN ...