In 2000 the Hanford Tank Farms had one of the worst safety records in the Department of Energy Complex. By the end of FY08 the safety performance of the workforce had turned completely around, resulting in one of the best safety records in the DOE complex for operations of its kind. This paper describes the variety of programs and changes that were put in place to accomplish such a dramatic turn-around. The U.S. Department of Energy's 586-square-mile Hanford Site in Washington State was established during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project to develop nuclear materials to end the war. For the next several decades it continued to produce plutonium for the nation's defense, leaving behind vast quantities of radioactive and chemical waste. Much of this waste, 53,000,000 gallons, remains stored in 149 aging single-shell tanks and 28 newer double-shell tanks. One of the primary objectives at Hanford is to safely manage this waste until it can be prepared for disposal, but this has not always been easy. These giant underground tanks, many of which date back to the beginning of the Manhattan Project, range in size from 55,000 gallons up to 1.1 million gallons, and are buried …

Completed sodium battery thermal model update from experimental performance; developed approach to evaluate thermal management strategies

Publication quality results were obtained for several experiments and materials systems including: (i) Patterning and smoothening of sapphire surfaces by energetic Ar+ ions. Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering (GISAXS) experiments were performed in the system at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) X21 beamline. Ar+ ions in the energy range from 300 eV to 1000 eV were used to produce ripples on the surfaces of single-crystal sapphire. It was found that the ripple wavelength varies strongly with the angle of incidence of the ions, which increase significantly as the angle from normal is varied from 55° to 35°. A smooth region was found for ion incidence less than 35° away from normal incidence. In this region a strong smoothening mechanism with strength proportional to the second derivative of the height of the surface was found to be responsible for the effect. The discovery of this phase transition between stable and unstable regimes as the angle of incidence is varied has also stimulated new work by other groups in the field. (ii) Growth of Ge quantum dots on Si(100) and (111). We discovered the formation of quantum wires on 4° misoriented Si(111) using real-time GISAXS during the deposition of Ge. …

We study the effect of interference between the Standard Model Higgs boson resonance and the continuum background in the process {gamma}{gamma} {yields} H {yields} b{bar b} at a photon collider. Taking into account virtual gluon exchange between the final-state quarks, we calculate the leading corrections to the height of the resonance for the case of a light (m{sub H} < 160 GeV) Higgs boson. We find that the interference is destructive and around 0.1-0.2% of the peak height, depending on the mass of the Higgs and the scattering angle. This suppression is smaller by an order of magnitude than the anticipated experimental accuracy at a photon collider. However, the fractional suppression can be significantly larger if the Higgs coupling to b quarks is increased by physics beyond the Standard Model.

The Savannah River Site F-Tank Farm Closure project has successfully performed Mechanical Sludge Removal using the Waste on Wheels (WOW) system within two of its storage tanks. The Waste on Wheels (WOW) system is designed to be relatively mobile with the ability for many components to be redeployed to multiple tanks. It is primarily comprised of Submersible Mixer Pumps (SMPs), Submersible Transfer Pumps (STPs), and a mobile control room with a control panel and variable speed drives. These tanks, designated as Tank 6 and Tank 5 respectively, are Type I waste tanks located in F-Tank Farm (FTF) with a capacity of 2839 cubic meters (750,000 gallons) each. In addition, Type I tanks have 34 vertically oriented cooling coils and two horizontal cooling coil circuits along the tank floor. DOE intends to remove from service and operationally close Tank 5 and Tank 6 and other HLW tanks that do not meet current containment standards. After obtaining regulatory approval, the tanks and cooling coils will be isolated and filled with grout for long term stabilization. Mechanical Sludge Removal of the remaining sludge waste within Tank 6 removed {approx} 75% of the original 25,000 gallons in August 2007. Utilizing lessons learned from Tank …

The performance assessment (PA) process is being applied to support an increasing variety of waste management decisions that involve the whole spectrum of stakeholders. As with many technical tools, the PA process can be seen as a black box, which can be difficult to understand when implemented. Recognizing the increasing use of PA and the concerns about difficulties with understanding, the Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) made a recommendation that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) provide a Public Educational Forum on PAs. The DOE-Headquarters Environmental Management (DOE-EM) Office of Compliance and the DOE-Savannah River (DOE-SR) responded to this recommendation by supporting the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) in developing several presentation modules that can be used to describe different aspects of the PA process. For the Public Educational Forum, the PA modules were combined with presentations on DOE perspectives, historical modeling efforts at the Savannah River Site, and review perspectives from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The overall goals are to help the public understand how PAs are implemented and the rigor that is applied, and to provide insight into the use of PAs for waste management decision-making.

The research examined possible sources of degradation of platinum based anode catalysts under long term use. Scientists at the United Technologies Research Center had shown that the anode as well as the cathode catalysts degrade in hydrogen fuel cells. This goal of this research was to see if mechanisms of anode degradation could be understood using forefront electrochemical techniques in an aqueous system. We found that this method is limited by the very low levels of impurities (perhaps less than a part per trillion) in the electrolyte. This limitation comes from the relatively small catalyst surface area (a few sq cm or less) compared to the electrolyte volume of 10 to 25 ml. In real fuel cells this ratio is completelyreversed: high catalyst surface area and low electrolyte violume, making the system much less sensitive to impurities in the electrolyte. We conclude that degradation mechanisms should be studied in real fuel cell systems, rather than in ex-situ, large electrolyte volume experiments.

The overall objective of the project was to integrate advanced thermoelectric materials into a power generation device that could convert waste heat from an industrial process to electricity with an efficiency approaching 20%. Advanced thermoelectric materials were developed with figure-of-merit ZT of 1.5 at 275 degrees C. These materials were not successfully integrated into a power generation device. However, waste heat recovery was demonstrated from an industrial process (the combustion exhaust gas stream of an oxyfuel-fired flat glass melting furnace) using a commercially available (5% efficiency) thermoelectric generator coupled to a heat pipe. It was concluded that significant improvements both in thermoelectric material figure-of-merit and in cost-effective methods for capturing heat would be required to make thermoelectric waste heat recovery viable for widespread industrial application.

The goal of the project was to extend the lifetime of hardware submerged in molten metal by an order of magnitude and to improve energy efficiency of molten metal handling process. Assuming broad implementation of project results, energy savings in 2020 were projected to be 10 trillion BTU/year, with cost savings of approximately $100 million/year. The project team was comprised of materials research groups from West Virginia University and the Missouri University of Science and Technology formerly University of Missouri – Rolla, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, International Lead and Zinc Research Organization, Secat and Energy Industries of Ohio. Industry partners included six suppliers to the hot dip galvanizing industry, four end-user steel companies with hot-dip Galvanize and/or Galvalume lines, eight refractory suppliers, and seven refractory end-user companies. The results of the project included the development of: (1) New families of materials more resistant to degradation in hot-dip galvanizing bath conditions were developed; (2) Alloy 2020 weld overlay material and process were developed and applied to GI rolls; (3) New Alloys and dross-cleaning procedures were developed for Galvalume processes; (4) Two new refractory compositions, including new anti-wetting agents, were identified for use with liquid aluminum alloys; (5) A new thermal conductivity …

An ecological investigation was conducted to evaluate mitigation options for demolition of a retired facility that contained a maternity roost of approximately 2,000 Myotis yumanensis bats. The recommendation from the study was to leave the non-contaminated structure intact and fence the area.

The Cementitious Barriers Project (CBP) is a multidisciplinary cross cutting project initiated by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a reasonable and credible set of tools to improve understanding and prediction of the structural, hydraulic and chemical performance of cementitious barriers used in nuclear applications. The period of performance is >100 years for operating facilities and > 1000 years for waste management. The CBP has defined a set of reference cases to provide the following functions: (1) a common set of system configurations to illustrate the methods and tools developed by the CBP, (2) a common basis for evaluating methodology for uncertainty characterization, (3) a common set of cases to develop a complete set of parameter and changes in parameters as a function of time and changing conditions, and (4) a basis for experiments and model validation, and (5) a basis for improving conceptual models and reducing model uncertainties. These reference cases include the following two reference disposal units and a reference storage unit: (1) a cementitious low activity waste form in a reinforced concrete disposal vault, (2) a concrete vault containing a steel high-level waste tank filled with grout (closed high-level waste tank), and (3) a spent …

A search for the lepton flavor violating decays {tau}{sup -} {yields} l{sup -} K{sub S}{sup 0} (l = e or {mu}) has been performed using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 469 fb{sup -1}, collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II e{sup +}e{sup -} asymmetric energy collider. No statistically significant signal has been observed in either channel and the estimated upper limits on branching fractions are {Beta}({tau}{sup -} {yields} e{sup -} K{sub S}{sup 0}) < 3.3 x 10{sup -8} and {Beta}({tau}{sup -} {yields} {mu}{sup -}K{sub S}{sup 0}) < 4.0 x 10{sup -8} at 90% confidence level.

Theory and modeling of chessboard-like self-assembling of vertically aligned columnar nanostructures in films has been developed. By means of modeling and three-dimensional computational simulations, we proposed a novel self-assembly process that can produce good chessboard nanostructure architectures through a pseudo-spinodal decomposition of an epitaxial film under optimal thermodynamic and crystallographic conditions (appropriate choice of the temperature, composition of the film, and crystal lattice parameters of the film and substrate). These conditions are formulated. The obtained results have been published on Nano Letters. Based on the principles of the formation of chessboard nanostructured films, we are currently trying to find good decomposing material systems that satisfy the optimal conditions to produce the chessboard nanostructure architecture. In addition we are under way doing 'computer experiments' to look for the appropriate materials with the chessboard columnar nanostructures, as a potential candidate for engineering of optical devices, high-efficiency multiferroics, and high-density magnetic perpendicular recording media. We are also currently to investigate the magnetoelectric response of multiferroic chessboard nanostructures under applied electric/magnetic fields. A unified 3-dimensional phase field theory of the strain-mediated magnetoelectric effect in magnetoelectric composites is developed. The theory is based on the established equivalency paradigm: we proved that by using a variational …

The thick-target yield for the {sup 40}Ca({alpha},{gamma}){sup 44}Ti reaction has been measured for E{sub beam} = 4.13, 4.54, and 5.36 MeV using both an activation measurement and online {gamma}-ray spectroscopy. The results of the two measurements agree. From the measured yield a reaction rate is deduced that is smaller than statistical model calculations. This implies a smaller {sup 44}Ti production in supernova compared to recently measured {sup 40}Ca({alpha},{gamma}){sup 44}Ti reaction rates.

The Pyramid Lake Renewable Energy Plan covers these areas: energy potential (primarily focusing on geothermal resource potential, but also more generally addressing wind energy potential); renewable energy market potential; transmission system development; geothermal direct use potential; and business structures to accomplish the development objectives of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.

The capture of solar energy by photosynthesis has had a most profound influence on the development and sustenance of life on earth. It is the engine that has driven the proliferation of life and, as the source of both energy and oxygen, has had a major hand in shaping the forms that life has taken. Both ancient and present day photosynthetic carbon fixation is intimately tied to issues of immediate human concern, global energy and global warming. Decreasing our reliance on fossil fuels by tapping photosynthesis in a more direct way is an attractive goal for sustainable energy. Meeting this challenge means understanding photosynthetic energy conversion at a molecular level, a task requiring perspectives ranging through all disciplines of science. Researchers in photosynthesis have a strong history of working across conventional boundaries and engaging in multidisciplinary collaborations. The Gordon conference in photosynthesis has been a key focal point for the dissemination of new results and the establishment of powerful research collaborations. In this spirit the 2009 Gordon conference on biophysical aspects of photosynthesis will bring together top international researchers from diverse and complementary disciplines, all working towards understanding how photosynthesis converts light into the stable chemical energy that powers so …

Cadmium manganese telluride (CMT) has high potential as a material for room-temperature nuclear-radiation detectors. We investigated indium-doped CMT crystals taken from the stable growth region of the ingot, and compared its characteristics with that from the last-to-freeze region. We employed different techniques, including synchrotron white-beam X-ray topography (SWBXT), current-voltage (I-V) measurements, and low-temperature photoluminescence spectra, and we also assessed their responses as detectors to irradiation exposure. The crystal from the stable growth region proved superior to that from the last-to-freeze region; it is a single-grain crystal, free of twins, and displayed a resistivity higher by two orders-of-magnitude. The segregation of indium dopant in the ingot might be responsible for its better resistivity. Furthermore, we recorded a good response in the detector fabricated from the crystal taken from the stable growth region; its ({mu}{tau}){sub e} value was 2.6 x 10{sup -3} cm{sup 2}/V, which is acceptable for thin detectors, including for applications in medicine.

The authors have succeeded in growing GaN1?xAsx alloys over a large composition range (0 < x < 0.8) by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The enhanced incorporation of As was achieved by growing the films with high As{sub 2} flux at low (as low as 100 C) growth temperatures, which is much below the normal GaN growth temperature range. Using x-ray and transmission electron microscopy, they found that the GaNAs alloys with high As content x > 0.17 are amorphous. Optical absorption measurements together with x-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy results reveal a continuous gradual decrease in band gap from -3.4 to < 1 eV with increasing As content. The energy gap reaches its minimum of -0.8 eV at x - 0.8. The composition dependence of the band gap of the crystalline GaN{sub 1?x}As{sub x} alloys follows the prediction of the band anticrossing model (BAC). However, our measured band gap of amorphous GaN{sub 1?x}As{sub x} with 0.3 < x < 0.8 are larger than that predicted by BAC. The results seem to indicate that for this composition range the amorphous GaN{sub 1?x}As{sub x} alloys have short-range ordering that resembles random crystalline GaN{sub 1?x}As{sub x} alloys. They have demonstrated the possibility of …

The interaction between slow highly-charged ions (SHCI) of different charge states from an electron-beam ion trap and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surfaces is studied in terms of modification of electronic states at single-ion impact nanosizeareas. Results are presented from AFM/STM analysis of the induced-surface topological features combined with Raman spectroscopy. I-V characteristics for a number of different impact regions were measured with STM and the results argue for possible formation of diamond-like nanoscale structures at the impact sites.

Phase change heat transfer is notorious for increasing the irreversibility of, and therefore decreasing the efficiency of, geothermal power plants. Its significant contribution to the overall irreversibility of the plant makes it the most important source of inefficiency in the process. Recent studies here have shown the promotion of drop wise condensation in the lab by means of increasing the surface energy density of a tube with nanotechnology. The use of nanotechnology has allowed the creation of surface treatments which discourage water from wetting a tube surface during a static test. These surface treatments are unique in that they create high- contact angles on the condensing tube surfaces to promote drop wise condensation.

New single-family home construction represents a significant and important market for the introduction of energy-efficient gas-fired space heating and water-heating equipment. In the new construction market, the choice of furnace and water-heater type is primarily driven by first cost considerations and the availability of power vent and condensing water heaters. Few analysis have been performed to assess the economic impacts of the different combinations of space and water-heating equipment. Thus, equipment is often installed without taking into consideration the potential economic and energy savings of installing space and water-heating equipment combinations. In this study, we use a life-cycle cost analysis that accounts for uncertainty and variability of the analysis inputs to assess the economic benefits of gas furnace and water-heater design combinations. This study accounts not only for the equipment cost but also for the cost of installing, maintaining, repairing, and operating the equipment over its lifetime. Overall, this study, which is focused on US single-family new construction households that install gas furnaces and storage water heaters, finds that installing a condensing or power-vent water heater together with condensing furnace is the most cost-effective option for the majority of these houses. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the new construction residential …

Two different cobaltites, LaCoO{sub 3} and La{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}CoO{sub 3-{delta}}, have been prepared and characterized by means of high energy Co K-edge and low energy O K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The partial substitution of La(III) by Sr(II) species induces important changes in the reactivity and electronic state of the perovskite, while little or no changes can be detected in the formal oxidation state of cobalt atoms. The presence of strontium cations induces two main effects in the chemical and electronic behavior of the perovskite. The charge balance with Sr(II) species is reached by the formation of oxygen vacancies throughout the network, which increases the reactivity of the perovskite, now more reducible than the original LaCoO{sub 3} perovskite. O K-edge XAS experiments indicate that the Sr(II) species cause d electrons of cobalt cations to change from low to high spin configuration. Our data allow us to propose that this change in spin multiplicity is induced by the bigger size of Sr(II) cations, which aligns the Co-O-Co atoms, and favors the overlapping of {pi}-symmetry cobalt and oxygen orbitals, reducing the splitting energy of e{sub g} and t{sub 2g} levels.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) wrote the 'Fisheries Mitigation Plan for Losses Attributable to the Construction and Operation of Hungry Horse Dam' in March 1991 to define the fisheries losses, mitigation alternatives and recommendations to protect, mitigate and enhance resident fish and aquatic habitat affected by Hungry Horse Dam. On November 12, 1991, the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) approved the mitigation plan with minor modifications, called for a detailed implementation plan, and amended measures 903(h)(1) through (7). A long-term mitigation plan was submitted in August 1992, was approved by the Council in 1993, and the first contract for this project was signed on November 11, 1993. The problem this project addresses is the loss of habitat, both in quality and quantity, in the Flathead Lake and River basin resulting from the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. The purpose of the project is to both implement mitigation measures and monitor the biological responses to those measures including those implemented by Project Numbers 9101903 and 9101904. Goals and objectives of the 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program (Section 10.1) addressed by this project are the rebuilding to sustainable levels weak, but …

We present the history and analysis of different wake field effects throughout the operational life of the PEP-II SLAC B-factory. Although the impedance of the high and low energy rings is small, the intense high current beams generated a lot of power. The effects from these wake fields are: heating and damage of vacuum beam chamber elements like RF seals, vacuum valves , shielded bellows, BPM buttons and ceramic tiles; vacuum spikes, vacuum instabilities and high detector background; beam longitudinal and transverse instabilities. We also discuss the methods used to eliminate these effects. Results of this analysis and the PEP-II experience may be very useful in the design of new storage rings and light sources.