We are conducting a collaborative research program on two tokamaks, HT-7 and EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, formerly HT-7U), with the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASIPP) located in Hefei, PRC. The work that we planned for this year included conducting transport experiments on HT-7, completing plans for expansion of the HT-7 diagnostic set, and reaching an agreement on how UT-FRC can best participate in experiments on HT-7U. These goals were accomplished as summarized in the next section. Note that the experimental portion of the work is still underway. The experimental campaign for HT-7 began just a few weeks before this report was compiled.

Tedious manual input of data that define a building, its systems and its expected pattern of use and operating schedules for building energy performance simulation has in the past diverted time and resources from productive simulation runs. In addition to its previously released IFCtoIDF utility that semiautomates the import of building geometry, the new IFC HVAC interface to EnergyPlus (released at the end of 2003) makes it possible to import and export most of the data that define HVAC equipment and systems in a building directly from and to other IFC compatible software tools. This reduces the manual input of other data needed for successful simulation with EnergyPlus to a minimum. The main purpose of this new interface is to enable import of HVAC equipment and systems definitions, generated by other IFC compatible software tools (such as HVAC systems design tools) and data bases, into EnergyPlus, and to write such definitions contained in EnergyPlus input files to the original IFC files from which building geometry was extracted for the particular EnergyPlus input. In addition, this interface sets an example for developers of other software tools how to import and/or export data other than building geometry from and/or into EnergyPlus. This …

The Portable Acoustic Monitoring Package (PAMP) has been designed to record and monitor acoustic signals in high-pressure natural gas (NG) transmission lines. Of particular interest are the three acoustic signals associated with a pipeline fracture. The system is portable (less than 30 lbm) and can be used at all line pressures up to 1000 psig. The PAMP requires a shut-off valve equipped 1/2 inch NPT access port in the pipeline. It is fully functional over the typical pressure range found in the natural gas transmission pipelines in the West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio areas. With the use of the PAMP, a full spectrum of acoustic signals can be recorded and defined in terms of acoustic energy in decibels. To detect natural gas pipeline infringements and leaks, the acoustic energy generated inside the line is monitored with a sensitive pressure-equalized microphone and a step function type {Delta}p transducer. The assembly is mounted on a 1000 psig pipe fitting-tree called the PAMP. The electronics required to record, store and analyze the data are described within this report in the format of an operating manual.

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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has chosen CIGNEX Technologies, Inc. (CIGNEX) to design and develop the JaWE2Openflow conversion software. This document was created by CIGNEX as a project deliverable.

The dual-continuum random-walk particle tracking approach is an attractive simulation method for simulating transport in a fractured porous medium. In order to be truly successful for such a model, however, the key issue is to properly simulate the mass transfer between the fracture and matrix continua. In a recent paper, Pan and Bodvarsson (2002) proposed an improved scheme for simulating fracture-matrix mass transfer, by introducing the concept of activity range into the calculation of fracture-matrix particle-transfer probability. By comparing with analytical solutions, they showed that their scheme successfully captured the transient diffusion depth into the matrix without any additional subgrid (matrix) cells. This technical note presents an expansion of their scheme to cases in which significant water flow through the fracture-matrix interface exists. The dual-continuum particle tracker with this new scheme was found to be as accurate as a numerical model using a more detailed grid. The improved scheme can be readily incorporated into the existing particle-tracking code, while still maintaining the advantage of needing no additional matrix cells to capture transient features of particle penetration into the matrix.

Sinclair and Dyes Inlets near Bremerton, Washington, are on the State of Washington's 1998 303(d) list of impaired waters because of fecal coliform contamination in marine water, metals in sediment and fish tissue, and organics in sediment and fish tissue. This Metals Verification Study was conducted to address the 303(d) segments that are listed for metal contaminants in marine sediment, because significant cleanup and source control activities have been conducted in the Inlets since the data supporting the 1998 303(d) listings were collected. The study was designed to obtain present-day sediment metals concentrations throughout Sinclair Inlet, Dyes Inlet, Port Orchard Passage, and Rich Passage, with stations spatially distributed to support 303(d) listing updates and also watershed-level water quality and contaminant transport modeling efforts. A total of 160 surface sediment samples from Sinclair Inlet, Dyes Inlet, Port Orchard Passage, and Rich Passage were screened for copper, lead, and zinc using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). 40 samples (25%) were selected for confirmatory metals analysis by ICP-MS for cadmium, silver, and arsenic in addition to copper, lead, and zinc. Regression relationships between the ICP-MS and XRF datasets were developed to estimate copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in all samples. The XRF results for copper, …

The power industry in the U.S. is faced with meeting new regulations to reduce the emissions of mercury compounds from coal-fired plants. These regulations are directed at the existing fleet of nearly 1,100 boilers. These plants are relatively old with an average age of over 40 years. Although most of these units are capable of operating for many additional years, there is a desire to minimize large capital expenditures because of the reduced (and unknown) remaining life of the plant to amortize the project. Injecting a sorbent such as powdered activated carbon into the flue gas represents one of the simplest and most mature approaches to controlling mercury emissions from coal-fired boilers. The overall objective of the test program described in this quarterly report is to evaluate the capabilities of activated carbon injection at four plants with configurations that together represent 78% of the existing coal-fired generation plants. This technology was successfully evaluated in NETL's Phase I tests at scales up to 150 MW, on plants burning subbituminous and bituminous coals and with ESPs and fabric filters. The tests also identified issues that still need to be addressed, such as evaluating performance on other configurations, optimizing sorbent usage (costs), and …

This is the sixth quarterly technical report for the RP-5 Renewable Energy Efficiency Project. The report summarizes the work progress, effort and activities that took place during the period from October 1, 2003 through December 31, 2003. The report has been prepared in accordance with the Department of Energy (DOE) Guidelines. In coordination with the DOE, IEUA has revised the original Cooperative Agreement to reflect the actual and current project scope of work. The original Agreement statement of work (SOW) included conceptual and preliminary equipment and systems, which were further evaluated for feasibility and suitability for the project. As a result, some of the equipment was taken out of the project scope. In response to questions from the DOE, IEUA has submitted a summary report on the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) secondary power generation units for availability and suitability for this project and associated safety concerns pointed out by the DOE. IEUA has awarded the consulting engineering contract to Parsons Water and Infrastructure, Inc. to provide the project's design and construction services. The project's pre-design kickoff meeting was held at IEUA's headquarters on December 11, 2003. IEUA has submitted a proposal for a grant offered by California Energy Commission (CEC) …

The paper will employ the Integrated Safeguards and Security Management (ISSM) methodology to analyze previous MCA issues. Each of the core functions of ISSM: Define the Scope of Work, Analyze the Risks, Develop and Implement Safeguards and Security Measures, Perform Work within Measures, Provide Feedback and Continuous Improvement will be discussed in the context of the MCA requirements in a plutonium processing facility. The two processes that will be explored are measurement of metal ingots and characterization of scrap for the proper disposition path. Recent self assessments and Surveys by the DOE have resulted in Satisfactory ratings and identification of Best Business Practices. The remediation of the MCA program into its current state of success will also be discussed in the framework of the ISSM methodology.

Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNP) (Reference 1) is the code of choice for doing complex neutron/photon/electron transport calculations for the nuclear industry and research institutions. The Visual Editor for Monte Carlo N-Particle (References 2 to 11) is recognized internationally as the best code for visually creating and graphically displaying input files for MCNP. The work performed in this grant enhanced the capabilities of the MCNP Visual Editor to allow it to read in a 2D Computer Aided Design (CAD) file, allowing the user to modify and view the 2D CAD file and then electronically generate a valid MCNP input geometry with a user specified axial extent.

Previous research, conducted under DOE Contracts DE-FC07-89ID12869, DE-FC07-93ID12230 and DE-FC07-95ID113358 made significant advances in understanding the Lost Foam Casting (LFC) Process and clearly identified areas where additional developments were needed to improve the process and make it more functional in industrial environments. The current project focused on eight tasks listed as follows: Task 1--Computational Model for the Process and Data Base to Support the Model; Task 2--Casting Dimensional Accuracy; Task 3--Pattern Production; Task 4--Improved Pattern Materials; Task 5--Coating Control; Task 6--In-Plant Case Studies; Task 7--Energy and the Environmental Data; and Task 8--Technology Transfer. This report summarizes the work done on all tasks in the period of October 1, 1999 through September 30, 2004. The results obtained in each task and subtask are summarized in this Executive Summary and details are provided in subsequent sections of the report.

Most visualizations of security-related network data require large amounts of finely detailed, high-dimensional data. However, in some cases, the data available can only be coarsely detailed because of security concerns or other limitations. How can interesting security events still be discovered in data that lacks important details, such as IP addresses, network security alarms, and labels? In this paper, we discuss a system we have designed that takes very coarsely detailed data-basic, summarized information of the activity on each TCP port during each given hour-and uses visualization to help uncover interesting security events.

We have performed two sets of experiments looking at laser-driven radiating blast waves. In one set of experiments the effect of a drive laser's passage through a background gas on the hydrodynamical evolution of blast waves was examined. It was found that the laser's passage heats a channel in the gas, creating a region where a portion of the blast wave front had an increased velocity, leading to the formation of a bump-like protrusion on the blast wave. The second set of experiments involved the use of regularly spaced wire arrays to induce perturbations on a blast wave surface. The decay of these perturbations as a function of time was measured for various wave number perturbations and found to be in good agreement with theoretical predictions.

This paper describes a face recognition method that is designed based on the consideration of anatomical and biomechanical characteristics of facial tissues. Elastic strain pattern inferred from face expression can reveal an individual's biometric signature associated with the underlying anatomical structure, and thus has the potential for face recognition. A method based on the continuum mechanics in finite element formulation is employed to compute the strain pattern. Experiments show very promising results. The proposed method is quite different from other face recognition methods and both its advantages and limitations, as well as future research for improvement are discussed.

Traditionally building simulation models are used at the design phase of a building project. These models are used to optimize various design alternatives, reduce energy consumption and cost. Building performance assessment for the operational phase of a buildings life cycle is sporadic, typically working from historical metered data and focusing on bulk energy assessment. Building Management Systems (BMS) do not explicitly incorporate feedback to the design phase or account for any changes, which have been made to building layout or fabric during construction. This paper discusses a proposal to develop an Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) compliant data visualization tool Building Performance Indicator (BuildingPI) for performance metric and performance effectiveness ratio evaluation.

The standard method of joining plastic pipe in the field is the butt fusion process. As in any pipeline application, joint quality greatly affects overall operational safety of the system. Currently no simple, reliable, cost effective method of assessing the quality of fusion joints in the field exists. Visual examination and pressure testing are current non-destructive approaches, which do not provide any assurance about the long-term pipeline performance. This project will develop, demonstrate, and validate an in-situ non-destructive inspection method for butt fusion joints in gas distribution plastic pipelines. The inspection system will include a laser based image-recognition system that will automatically generate and interpret digital images of pipe joints and assign them a pass/fail rating, which eliminates operator bias in evaluating joint quality. A Weld Zone Inspection Method (WZIM) is being developed in which local heat is applied to the joint region to relax the residual stresses formed by the original joining operation and reveal the surface condition of the joint. In cases where the joint is not formed under optimal conditions, and the intermolecular forces between contacting surfaces are not strong enough, the relaxation of macromolecules in the surface layer causes the material to pull back, revealing a …

The Savannah River Site (SRS) is currently in the process of Deactivation and Decommissioning (D and D) several processing areas. This paper addresses the Material Control and Accountability (MC and A) activities that were developed and implemented to downgrade the material balance area (MBA) from an active Category I facility to an inactive Category IV MBA. MC and A downgrade requirements developed address topical areas that can impact final facility closure milestones. Final operational activities to process the remaining nuclear material in the facility needed to be coordinated with MC and A closure activities to minimize the amount of time and cost associated with the closure of the facility. MC and A activities that needed to be addressed included; the decommissioning of process areas, transfer of accountable nuclear material to other facilities, the material hold-up measurements required once process areas were shut down, the access requirements to nuclear material during the final processing and simultaneous closure of processing areas, the usage of enhanced material surveillance requirements to improve the utilization of Operations personnel, the updating and record retention for accountability records, the transition to a lower category MBA for final deactivation activities which included phasing out security force personnel, and …

An In Tank Processing (ITP) technology was developed at the Savannah River Site to remove Cs-137 from high-level waste supernates. During the ITP process monosodium titanate and sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB) were added to the salt supernate to adsorb Sr-90/Pu-238 and precipitate Cs-137 as CsTPB, respectively. This process was demonstrated at the SRS in 1983. The demonstration produced 53,000 gallons of 2.5 weight per cent Cs rich precipitate containing TPB, which was later washed and diluted to 250,000 gallons. This material is currently stored in SRS tanks. The washed precipitate was to ultimately be disposed in borosilicate glass in the Defense Waste Processing Facility. Due to safety concerns the ITP process was abandoned in 1998, and new technologies are being researched for Cs-137 removal. In order to make space in the SRS Tank farm, the tank waste must be removed. Therefore, the tank waste must be processed to reduce or eliminate levels of nitrates, nitrites, and sodium tetra phenylborate (NaTPB) in order to reduce impacts of these species before it is vitrified at the DWPF. Fluidized Bed Steam Reforming (FBSR) is being considered as a candidate technology for destroying the nitrates and the NaTPB prior to melting. The purposes of the …

SYNERGETICS, INC., has designed, developed, and tested an air handling duct system that integrates the air duct with the cornice trim of interior spaces. The device has the advantage that the normal thermal losses from ducts into unconditioned attics and crawl spaces can be totally eliminated by bringing the ducts internal to the conditioned space. The following report details work conducted in the second budget period to develop the Cornice Duct System into a viable product for use in a variety of residential or small commercial building settings. A full-scale prototype has been fabricated and tested in a laboratory test building at the Daylighting Facility at North Carolina State University., Based on the results of that testing, the prototype design as been refined, fabricated, installed, and extensively tested in a residential laboratory house. The testing indicates that the device gives substantially superior performance to a standard air distribution system in terms of energy performance and thermal comfort. Patent Number US 6,511,373 B2 has been granted on the version of the device installed and tested in the laboratory house. (A copy of that patent is attached.) Refinements to the device have been carried through two additional design iterations, with a particular …

Residual radioactive waste was removed from Tank 18F in the F-Area Tank Farm at Savannah River Site (SRS), using the advanced design mixer pump (ADMP). Known as a slurry pump, the ADMP is a 55 foot long pump with an upper motor mounted to a steel super structure, which spans the top of the waste tank. The motor is connected by a long vertical drive shaft to a centrifugal pump, which is submerged in waste near the tank bottom. The pump mixes, or slurries, the waste within the tank so that it may be transferred out of the tank. Tank 18F is a 1.3 million gallon, 85 foot diameter underground waste storage tank, which has no internal components such as cooling coils or structural supports. The tank contained a residual 47,000 gallons of nuclear waste, consisting of a gelatinous radioactive waste known as sludge and particulate zeolite. The prediction of the ADMP success was based on nearly twenty five years of research and the application of that research to slurry pump technology. Many personnel at SRS and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL) have significantly contributed to these efforts. This report summarizes that research which is pertinent to the ADMP performance …

A new reactor plant concept is presented that combines the benefits of ceramic-coated, high-temperature particle fuel with those of clean, high-temperature, low-pressure molten salt coolant. The Advanced High-Temperature Reactor (AHTR) concept is a collaboration of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and the University of California at Berkeley. The purpose of the concept is to provide an advanced design capable of satisfying the top-level functional requirements of the U.S. Department of Energy Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP), while also providing a technology base that is sufficiently robust to allow future development paths to higher temperatures and larger outputs with highly competitive economics. This report summarizes the status of the AHTR preconceptual design. It captures the results from an intense effort over a period of 3 months to (1) screen and examine potential feasibility concerns with the concept; (2) refine the conceptual design of major systems; and (3) identify research, development, and technology requirements to fully mature the AHTR design. Several analyses were performed and are presented to quantify the AHTR performance expectations and to assist in the selection of several design parameters. The AHTR, like other NGNP reactor concepts, uses coated particle fuel in a graphite matrix. But unlike …

Sequencing pathogen genomes is costly, demanding careful allocation of limited sequencing resources. We built a computational Sequencing Analysis Pipeline (SAP) to guide decisions regarding the amount of genomic sequencing necessary to develop high-quality diagnostic DNA and protein signatures. SAP uses simulations to estimate the number of target genomes and close phylogenetic relatives (near neighbors, or NNs) to sequence. We use SAP to assess whether draft data is sufficient or finished sequencing is required using Marburg and variola virus sequences. Simulations indicate that intermediate to high quality draft with error rates of 10{sup -3}-10{sup -5} ({approx} 8x coverage) of target organisms is suitable for DNA signature prediction. Low quality draft with error rates of {approx} 1% (3x to 6x coverage) of target isolates is inadequate for DNA signature prediction, although low quality draft of NNs is sufficient, as long as the target genomes are of high quality. For protein signature prediction, sequencing errors in target genomes substantially reduce the detection of amino acid sequence conservation, even if the draft is of high quality. In summary, high quality draft of target and low quality draft of NNs appears to be a cost-effective investment for DNA signature prediction, but may lead to underestimation …

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory of the University of California (LLNL) operates two Class II surface impoundments that store wastewater that is discharged from a number of buildings located on the Site 300 Facility (Site 300). The wastewater is the by-product of explosives processing. Reduction in the volume of water discharged from these buildings over the past several years has significantly reduced the wastewater storage needs. In addition, the impoundments were constructed in 1984, and the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane liners are nearing the end of their service life. The purpose of this project is to clean close the surface impoundments and provide new wastewater storage using portable, above ground storage tanks at six locations. The tanks will be installed prior to closure of the impoundments and will include heaters for allowing evaporation during relatively cool weather. Golder Associates (Golder) has prepared this Final Closure Plan (Closure Plan) on behalf of LLNL to address construction associated with the clean closure of the impoundments. This Closure Plan complies with State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Section 21400 of the California Code of Regulations Title 27 (27 CCR {section}21400). As required by these regulations and guidance, this Plan provides the following information: (1) …