This brochure details the New American Home 2009, which demonstrates the use of innovative building materials, cutting-edge design, and the latest construction techniques.

The objectives of this project were (1) to alter a metalloregulatory protein (MerR) so that it would bind other toxic metals or radionuclides with similar affinity so that the engineered protein itself and/or bacteria expressing it could be deployed in the environment to specifically sequester such metals and (2) to alter the mercuric reductase, MerA, to reduce radionuclides and render them less mobile. Both projects had a basic science component. In the first case, such information about MerR illuminates how proteins discriminate very similar metals/elements. In the second case, information about MerA reveals the criteria for transmission of reducing equivalents from NADPH to redox-active metals. The work involved genetic engineering of all or parts of both proteins and examination of their resultant properties both in vivo and in vitro, the latter with biochemical and biophysical tools including equilibrium and non-equilibrium dialysis, XAFS, NMR, x-ray crystallography, and titration calorimetry. We defined the basis for metal specificity in MerR, devised a bacterial strain that sequesters Hg while growing, characterized gold reduction by MerA and the role of the metallochaperone domain of MerA, and determined the 3-D structure of MerB, the organomercurial lyase.

This project presents the outcome of an effort made by a consortium of six universities in the State of New York to develop a Center for Advanced technology (CAT) in the emerging field of Nano-Bio-Molecular Information Technology. The effort consists of activities such as organization of the NYNBIT incubator, collaborative research projects, development of courses, an educational program for high schools, and commercial start-up programs.

Nationwide, the demand for electricity due to population and industrial growth is on the rise. However, climate change and air quality issues raise serious questions about the wisdom of addressing these shortages through the construction of additional fossil fueled power plants. In 1997, the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology Energy Research and Development Panel determined that restoring a viable nuclear energy option was essential and that the DOE should implement a R&D effort to address principal obstacles to achieving this option. This work has addressed the need for improved thermal/fluid analysis capabilities, through the use of computational fluid dynamics, which are necessary to support the design of generation IV gas-cooled and supercritical water reactors.

This report documents a preliminary spatial and geostatistical analysis of the distribution of several contaminants of interest (COIs) in groundwater within the unconfined aquifer beneath the 200 West Area of the Hanford Site. The contaminant plumes of interest extend within the 200-ZP-1 and 200-UP-1 groundwater operable units. The COIs included in the PNNL study were carbon tetrachloride (CTET), technetium-99 (Tc-99), iodine-129 (I-129), chloroform, plutonium, uranium, trichloroethylene (TCE), and nitrate. The project included three tasks. Task 1 involved the development of a database that includes all relevant depth-discrete data on the distribution of COIs in the study area. The second task involved a spatial analysis of the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of data for the COIs in the study area. The main focus of the task was to determine if sufficient data are available for geostatistical mapping of the COIs in 3D. Task 3 involved the generation of numerical grids of the concentration of CTET, chloroform, and Tc-99.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District (CENWP) funds numerous evaluations of fish passage and survival on the Columbia River. In 2007, the CENWP asked Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to conduct an acoustic telemetry study to estimate the survival of juvenile Chinook salmon passing the spillway at Bonneville Dam. This report documents the study results which are intended to be used to improve the conditions juvenile anadromous fish experience when passing through the dams that the Corps operates on the river.

Due to higher than expected hydrogen generation during the Tank 51-Sludge Batch 4 (SB4) qualification run, DWPF engineering requested the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to expand the ongoing catalytic hydrogen generation program. The work presented in this Technical Report was identified as part of SRNL/Liquid Waste Organization (LWO) meetings to define potential causes of catalytic hydrogen generation as well as from an external technical review panel commissioned to evaluate SRNL hydrogen related data and programs. New scope included improving the understanding of SRAT/SME process chemistry, particularly as it related to acid consumption and hydrogen generation. The expanded hydrogen program scope was covered under the technical task request (TTR): HLW-DWPF-TTR-2007-0016. A task technical and quality assurance plan (TT&QAP) was issued to cover focus areas raised in meetings with LWO plus a portion of the recommendations made by the review panel. A supporting analytical study plan was issued. It was also noted in the review of catalytic hydrogen generation that control of the DWPF acid stoichiometry was an important element in controlling hydrogen generation. A separate TTR was issued to investigate ways of improving the determination of the acid requirement during processing: HLWDWPF-TTR-0015. A separate TT&QAP was prepared for this task …

The Hanford Seismic Assessment Program (HSAP) provides an uninterrupted collection of high-quality raw and processed seismic data from the Hanford Seismic Network for the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors. The HSAP is responsible for locating and identifying sources of seismic activity and monitoring changes in the historical pattern of seismic activity at the Hanford Site. The data are compiled, archived, and published for use by the Hanford Site for waste management, natural phenomena hazards assessments, and engineering design and construction. In addition, the HSAP works with the Hanford Site Emergency Services Organization to provide assistance in the event of a significant earthquake on the Hanford Site. The Hanford Seismic Network and the Eastern Washington Regional Network consist of 44 individual sensor sites and 15 radio relay sites maintained by the Hanford Seismic Assessment Team. During fiscal year 2008, the Hanford Seismic Network recorded 1431 triggers on the seismometer system, which included 112 seismic events in the southeast Washington area and an additional 422 regional and teleseismic events. There were 74 events determined to be local earthquakes relevant to the Hanford Site. The highest-magnitude event (3.7 Mc) occurred on May 18, 2008, and was located approximately 17 km east …

The Federal Energy Management Program facilitates the Federal Government?s implementation of sound, cost-effective energy management and investment practices to enhance the nation?s energy security and environmental stewardship. FEMP does this by focusing on the needs of its Federal customers, delivering an array of products grouped into project transaction services, applied technology services, and decision support services. This document outlines FEMP services and programs.

The purpose of this report is to provide a concise but comprehensive overview of Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility instrumentation status. The report is divided into the following five sections: (1) new instrumentation in the process of being acquired and deployed, (2) field campaigns, (3) existing instrumentation and progress on improvements or upgrades, (4) proposed future instrumentation, and (5) Small Business Innovation Research instrument development.

The Critical Infrastructure Protection Decision Support System Decision Model (CIPDSS-DM) is a useful tool for comparing the effectiveness of alternative risk-mitigation strategies on the basis of CIPDSS consequence scenarios. The model is designed to assist analysts and policy makers in evaluating and selecting the most effective risk-mitigation strategies, as affected by the importance assigned to various impact measures and the likelihood of an incident. A typical CIPDSS-DM decision map plots the relative preference of alternative risk-mitigation options versus the annual probability of an undesired incident occurring once during the protective life of the investment, assumed to be 20 years. The model also enables other types of comparisons, including a decision map that isolates a selected impact variable and displays the relative preference for the options of interest--parameterized on the basis of the contribution of the isolated variable to total impact, as well as the likelihood of the incident. Satisfaction/regret analysis further assists the analyst or policy maker in evaluating the confidence with which one option can be selected over another.

This report provides the technical justification for locating a large detector underground in a US based Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory. A large detector with a fiducial mass greater than 100 kTon will most likely be a multipurpose facility. The main physics justification for such a device is detection of accelerator generated neutrinos, nucleon decay, and natural sources of neutrinos such as solar, atmospheric and supernova neutrinos. The requirement on the depth of this detector will be guided by the rate of signals from these sources and the rate of backgrounds from cosmic rays over a very wide range of energies (from solar neutrino energies of 5 MeV to high energies in the range of tens of GeV). For the present report, we have examined the depth requirement for a large water Cherenkov detector and a liquid argon time projection chamber. There has been extensive previous experience with underground water Cherenkov detectors such as IMB, Kamioka, and most recently, Super-Kamiokande which has a fiducial mass of 22 kTon and a total mass of 50 kTon at a depth of 2700 meters-water-equivalent. Projections for signal and background capability for a larger and deeper (or shallower) detectors of this type can …

Distribution systems are experiencing outages due to a phenomenon known as local voltage collapse. Local voltage collapse is occurring in part because modern air conditioner compressor motors are much more susceptible to stalling during a voltage dip than older motors. These motors can stall in less than 3 cycles (.05s) when a fault, such as on the sub-transmission system, causes voltage to sag to 70 to 60%. The reasons for this susceptibility are discussed in the report. During the local voltage collapse, voltages are depressed for a period of perhaps one or two minutes. There is a concern that these local events are interacting together over larger areas and may present a challenge to system reliability. An effective method of preventing local voltage collapse is the use of voltage regulation from Distributed Energy Resources (DER) that can supply or absorb reactive power. DER, when properly controlled, can provide a rapid correction to voltage dips and prevent motor stall. This report discusses the phenomenon and causes of local voltage collapse as well as the control methodology we have developed to counter voltage sag. The problem is growing because of the use of low inertia, high efficiency air conditioner (A/C) compressor motors …

Program RealTime provided monitoring and forecasting of the 2007 inseason outmigrations via the internet for 26 PIT-tagged stocks of wild ESU Chinook salmon and steelhead to Lower Granite and/or McNary dams, one PIT-tagged hatchery-reared ESU of sockeye salmon to Lower Granite Dam, one PIT-tagged wild stock of sockeye salmon to McNary Dam, and 20 passage-indexed runs-at-large, five each to Rock Island, McNary, John Day, and Bonneville dams. Nineteen stocks are of wild yearling Chinook salmon which were captured, PIT-tagged, and released at sites above Lower Granite Dam in 2007 and have at least one year's historical migration data previous to the 2007 migration. These stocks originate in 19 tributaries of the Salmon, Grande Ronde and Clearwater Rivers, all tributaries to the Snake River, and are subsequently detected through tag identification and monitored at Lower Granite Dam. Seven wild PIT-tagged runs-at-large of Snake or Upper Columbia River ESU salmon and steelhead were monitored at McNary Dam. Three wild PIT-tagged runs-at-large were monitored at Lower Granite Dam, consisting of the yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon and the steelhead runs. The hatchery-reared PIT-tagged sockeye salmon stock from Redfish Lake was monitored outmigrating through Lower Granite Dam. Passage-indexed stocks (stocks monitored by FPC passage …

The US Department of Energy is performing research and development (R&D) that focuses on key phenomena that are important during challenging scenarios that may occur in the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Program / GEN-IV Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR). Phenomena identification and ranking studies (PIRT) to date have identified the air ingress event, following on the heels of a VHTR depressurization, as very important (Schultz et al., 2006). Consequently, the development of advanced air ingress-related models and verification and validation (V&V) are very high priority for the NGNP program. Following a loss of coolant and system depressurization, air will enter the core through the break. Air ingress leads to oxidation of the in-core graphite structure and fuel. The oxidation will accelerate heat-up of the bottom reflector and the reactor core and will cause the release of fission products eventually. The potential collapse of the bottom reflector because of burn-off and the release of CO lead to serious safety problems. For estimation of the proper safety margin we need experimental data and tools, including accurate multi-dimensional thermal-hydraulic and reactor physics models, a burn-off model, and a fracture model. We also need to develop effective strategies to mitigate the effects of …

The Laboratory Director is pleased to have the opportunity to present the 2008 Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) annual report. This is my first opportunity to do so, and only the second such report that has been issued. As will be obvious, SRNL has built upon the excellent start that was made with the LDRD program last year, and researchers have broken new ground in some important areas. In reviewing the output of this program this year, it is clear that the researchers implemented their ideas with creativity, skill and enthusiasm. It is gratifying to see this level of participation, because the LDRD program remains a key part of meeting SRNL's and DOE's strategic goals, and helps lay a solid scientific foundation for SRNL as the premier applied science laboratory. I also believe that the LDRD program's results this year have demonstrated SRNL's value as the EM Corporate Laboratory, having advanced knowledge in a spectrum of areas, including reduction of the technical risks of cleanup, separations science, packaging and transportation of nuclear materials, and many others. The research in support of Energy Security and National and Homeland Security has been no less notable. SRNL' s researchers have shown again …

Alstom Power Inc. has completed a DOE/NETL-sponsored program (under DOE Cooperative Agreement No. De-FC26-07NT42776) to demonstrate Mer-Cure{trademark}, one of Alstom's mercury control technologies for coal-fired boilers. The Mer-Cure{trademark}system utilizes a small amount of Mer-Clean{trademark} sorbent that is injected into the flue gas stream for oxidation and adsorption of gaseous mercury. Mer-Clean{trademark} sorbents are carbon-based and prepared with chemical additives that promote oxidation and capture of mercury. The Mer-Cure{trademark} system is unique in that the sorbent is injected into an environment where the mercury capture kinetics is accelerated. The full-scale demonstration program originally included test campaigns at two host sites: LCRA's 480-MW{sub e} Fayette Unit No.3 and Reliant Energy's 190-MW{sub e} Shawville Unit No.3. The only demonstration tests actually done were the short-term tests at LCRA due to budget constraints. This report gives a summary of the demonstration testing at Fayette Unit No.3. The goals for this Mercury Round 3 program, established by DOE/NETL under the original solicitation, were to reduce the uncontrolled mercury emissions by 90% at a cost significantly less than 50% of the previous target of $60,000/lb mercury removed. The results indicated that Mer-Cure{trademark} technology could achieve mercury removal of 90% based on uncontrolled stack emissions. The estimated …

Over the past three decades, Earth scientists have made great strides in understanding our planet’s workings and history. Yet this progress has served principally to lay bare more fundamental questions about the Earth. Expanding knowledge is generating new questions, while innovative technologies and new partnerships with other sciences provide new paths toward answers. A National Academies committee was established to frame some of the great intellectual challenges inherent in the study of the Earth and planets. The goal was to focus on science, not implementation issues, such as facilities or recommendations aimed at specific agencies. The committee canvassed the geological community and deliberated at length to arrive at 10 questions: 1. How did Earth and other planets form? 2. What happened during Earth’s “dark age” (the first 500 million years)? 3. How did life begin? 4. How does Earth’s interior work, and how does it affect the surface? 5. Why does Earth have plate tectonics and continents? 6. How are Earth processes controlled by material properties? 7. What causes climate to change—and how much can it change? 8. How has life shaped Earth—and how has Earth shaped life? 9. Can earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and their consequences be predicted? 10. How …

The goal of the Direct-Cooled Power Electronics Substrate project is to reduce the size and weight of the heat sink for power electronics used in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The concept proposed in this project was to develop an innovative power electronics mounting structure, model it, and perform both thermal and mechanical finite-element analysis (FEA). This concept involved integrating cooling channels within the direct-bonded copper (DBC) substrate and strategically locating these channels underneath the power electronic devices. This arrangement would then be directly cooled by water-ethylene glycol (WEG), essentially eliminating the conventional heat sink and associated heat flow path. The concept was evaluated to determine its manufacturability, its compatibility with WEG, and the potential to reduce size and weight while directly cooling the DBC and associated electronics with a coolant temperature of 105 C. This concept does not provide direct cooling to the electronics, only direct cooling inside the DBC substrate itself. These designs will take into account issues such as containment of the fluid (separation from the electronics) and synergy with the whole power inverter design architecture. In FY 2008, mechanical modeling of substrate and inverter core designs as well as thermal and …

In this thesis we examine the method of counting B{bar B} events produced in the BABAR experiment. The original method was proposed in 2000, but improvements to track reconstruction and our understanding of the detector since that date make it appropriate to revisit the B Counting method. We propose a new set of cuts designed to minimize the sensitivity to time-varying backgrounds. We find the new method counts B{bar B} events with an associated systematic uncertainty of {+-} 0.6%.

This research and development program was designed to improve nondestructive evaluation of large mechanical objects by providing both fast and thermal neutron sources for radiography. Neutron radiography permits inspection inside objects that x-rays cannot penetrate and permits imaging of corrosion and cracks in low-density materials. Discovering of fatigue cracks and corrosion in piping without the necessity of insulation removal is possible. Neutron radiography sources can provide for the nondestructive testing interests of commercial and military aircraft, public utilities and petrochemical organizations. Three neutron prototype neutron generators were designed and fabricated based on original research done at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The research and development of these generators was successfully continued by LBNL and Adelphi Technology Inc. under this STTR. The original design goals of high neutron yield and generator robustness have been achieved, using new technology developed under this grant. In one prototype generator, the fast neutron yield and brightness was roughly 10 times larger than previously marketed neutron generators using the same deuterium-deuterium reaction. In another generator, we integrate a moderator with a fast neutron source, resulting in a high brightness thermal neutron generator. The moderator acts as both conventional moderator and mechanical and electrical support structure …

Sampling and analytical requirements for in situ bioremediation pilot study for remediation of vadose zone petroleum hydrocarbon contamination.

This report summarizes a multi-year Directed Technologies Inc. (DTI) project to study the build-out of hydrogen production facilities during the transition from gasoline internal combustion engine vehicle to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The primary objectives of the project are to develop an enhanced understanding of hydrogen production issues during the transition period (out to 2050) and to develop recommendations for the DOE on areas of further study. These objectives are achieved by conducting economic and scenario analysis to predict how industry would provide the hydrogen production, delivery and dispensing capabilities necessary to satisfy increased hydrogen demand. The primary tool used for the analysis is a custom created MatLab simulation tool entitled HyPro (short for Hydrogen Production). This report describes the calculation methodology used in HyPro, the baseline assumptions, the results of the baseline analysis and several corollary studies. The appendices of this report included a complete listing of model assumptions (capital costs, efficiencies, feedstock prices, delivery distances, etc.) and a step-by-step manual on the specific operation of the HyPro program. This study was made possible with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The solar energy industry experienced unprecedented growth in the eight years from 2000 to 2007, with explosive growth occurring in the latter half of this period. From 2004 to 2007, global private sector investment in solar energy increased by almost twenty-fold, marking a dramatic increase in the short span of four years. This paper examines the timing, magnitude, focus and location of various forms of investment in the solar energy sector. It analyzes their trends to provide an understanding of the growth of the solar industry during the past eight years and to identify emerging themes in this rapidly evolving industry.