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Through this funded project, our research group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has pioneered and been successful in preparing and evaluating the performance of prototypes of neutron, alpha, and gamma-ray detectors based on various types of nanoparticles. These include organic fluors [2,5-diphenyloxazole (PPO) and 1,4-bis-2-(5-phenyloxazolyl)-benzene (POPOP)]-doped polystyrene and polyvinyltoluene nanoparticles, highly crystalline inorganic ZnS-capped CdSe, ZnS, three-component CdSxSe1-x, Ce3+-doped Y2O3, and Ce3+-doped LaPO4 (LaPO4:Ce) nanocrystals (NCs) in polystyrene (PS) or polyvinyltoluene (PVT). Previously, this effort identified two strong candidate nanoparticles for neutron and gamma detection applications. These two NCs are LaPO4:Ce and CdSxSe1-x (Dai, S. et. al. manuscript in preparation; see Figures 1 and 2). Another key accomplishment of the previously funded project is the development of 6Li3PO4 nanoparticles as a neutron-absorbing material (Dai, S. et. al. manuscript in preparation). Because the size of these nanoparticles is well under the diffraction limit for visible light, the 6Li3PO4 nanoparticles can be utilized as a vehicle for doping large percentages of Li-6 into plastic scintillators for detection of thermal neutrons. Our preliminary results indicate that a transparent polymer composite containing as high as 16 wt% of the 6Li3PO4 nanoparticles can be fabricated. Figure 3 shows the pulse height spectra from thermal …

The monitoring of chemical constituents in manufacturing processes is of economic importance to most industries. The monitoring and control of chemical constituents may be of importance for product quality control or, in the case of process effluents, of environmental concern. The most common approach now employed for chemical process control is to collect samples which are returned to a conventional chemical analysis laboratory. This project attempts to demonstrate the use of microfabricated structures, referred to as 'lab-on-a-chip' devices, that accomplish chemical measurement tasks that emulate those performed in the conventional laboratory. The devices envisioned could be used as hand portable chemical analysis instruments where samples are analyzed in the field or as emplaced sensors for continuous 'real-time' monitoring. This project focuses on the development of filtration elements and solid phase extraction elements that can be monolithically integrated onto electrophoresis and chromatographic structures pioneered in the laboratory. Successful demonstration of these additional functional elements on integrated microfabricated devices allows lab-on-a-chip technologies to address real world samples that would be encountered in process control environments. The resultant technology has a broad application to industrial environmental monitoring problems. such as monitoring municipal water supplies, waste water effluent from industrial facilities, or monitoring of …

This paper presents the results of interviews conducted with 44 business people in 10 states to examine the use of the utility bill as an information mechanism for providing businesses with the relationship between energy consumption and cost. Our results indicate that there are significant barriers to the use of the utility bill as an information tool for energy consumers. Furthermore, we found significant variations among respondents in the information desired from the bill, and differences in decision-making criteria for investments aimed at reducing energy consumption and for those aimed at other forms of waste minimization. These results call into question the applicability of standard market theories in the purchase of energy by most businesses.

A performance computational model for a 100 kW nominal solid oxide fuel cell generator system is described. The calculational methods are based on the FORTRAN programming language. Comprehensive parameter input options are presented, and constraints are identified. Example reactant, electrical, and efficiency outputs are demonstrated over the relevant operating ranges. A sample calculated output display at nominal operating conditions is given.

The first Specific Aim for this grant was to identify and characterize an average of 500 human insertion/deletion polymorphisms per grant year (1500 total). This task was carried out entirely at MMRF. They substantially exceeded this goal by confirming about 2,300 diallelic indels. Complete characterization information for these polymorphisms is available from the Marshfield web site. A manuscript describing results for the first 2,000 diallelic indels was published earlier this year in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The Second Specific Aim of the grant was to investigate and develop improved methods for analysis of diallelic polymorphisms using miniaturized DNA arrays. The initial genotyping technology efforts focused on various hybridization and extension protocols with oligo arrays on flow-through channel glass. Channel glass is a porous material that permits reagents to be passed through the arrays. They devoted roughly 19 months at the beginning of the grant in pursuit of this methodology, but for various technological reasons, progress was limited.

We present a new computed tomography method, the low third derivative (LTD) method, that is particularly suited for reconstructing the spatial distribution of gas concentrations from path-integral data for a small number of optical paths. The method finds a spatial distribution of gas concentrations that (1) has path integrals that agree with measured path integrals, and (2) has a low third spatial derivative in each direction, at every point. The trade-off between (1) and (2) is controlled by an adjustable parameter, which can be set based on analysis of the path-integral data. The method produces a set of linear equations, which can be solved with a single matrix multiplication if the constraint that all concentrations must be positive is ignored; the method is therefore extremely rapid. Analysis of experimental data from thousands of concentration distributions shows that the method works nearly as well as Smooth Basis Function Minimization (the best method previously available), yet is 100 times faster.

Construction of the Dalles, Bonneville, McNary, and John Day Dams on the Columbia River by the federal government resulted in a substantial loss of riparian bottomland along the Columbia River. Impacts associated with the Mid-Columbia Projects were assessed for several wildlife species using the Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USDI-FWS 1980). The studies documented the loss of riparian habitat and established a baseline against which mitigation measures could be developed (USDI-FWS 1990 and USDE-BPA 1990). The impact assessments established a mitigation goal, a portion of which would be satisfied by the creation, restoration, and enhancement of riparian lands on tributaries to the Columbia River, including the Yakima Valley. The Yakama Nation (YN), the Northwest Power Planning Council, and the Bonneville Power Administration have agreed that the Yakama Nation would be funded to implement habitat restoration on lands within and adjacent to their reservation. Some of the targeted lands are owned by the Yakama Nation, some are trust lands, and some lands have been in private ownership. Since the early 1990s, the Yakama Nation has been in the process of assembling riparian lands into Wildlife Management Areas, and restoring natural hydrology and natural cover-types …

As part of a project for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Sandia National Laboratories Intelligent Systems and Robotics Center is developing and testing the feasibility of using a cooperative team of robotic sentry vehicles to guard a perimeter, perform a surround task, and travel extended distances. This paper describes the authors most recent activities. In particular, this paper highlights the development of a Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) leapfrog capability that allows two or more vehicles to alternate sending DGPS corrections. Using this leapfrog technique, this paper shows that a group of autonomous vehicles can travel 22.68 kilometers with a root mean square positioning error of only 5 meters.

ParaDyn is a parallel version of the DYNA3D computer program, a three-dimensional explicit finite-element program for analyzing the dynamic response of solids and structures. The ParaDyn program has been used as a production tool for over three years for analyzing problems which range in size from a few tens of thousands of elements to between one-million and ten-million elements. ParaDyn runs on parallel computers provided by the Department of Energy Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) and the Department of Defense High Performance Computing and Modernization Program. Preprocessing and post-processing software utilities and tools are designed to facilitate the generation of partitioned domains for processors on a massively parallel computer and the visualization of both resultant data and boundary data generated in a parallel simulation. This manual provides a brief overview of the parallel implementation; describes techniques for running the ParaDyn program, tools and utilities; and provides examples of parallel simulations.

Use of multiple backlighter foils and/or double-sided laser interaction geometry with backlit imaging can result in improved backlighter efficiency. An experimental comparison of backlighter intensity for Ti foils and Ti/Sc combination foils in both the one-sided and double-sided laser-interaction configuration is presented. Spectrally-integrated framing camera images show intensity contributions of front and rear backlighter surfaces for both foil types. Analysis of time-resolved x-ray spectra collected from foil targets show the relative contribution of Ti and Sc 2-1 He-like resonance lines to the total backlighter intensity.

The interior voltage of a large metal can with thick walls struck directly by lightning was estimated using diffusion theory, aperture slot voltage theory, and experimental data. The hollow cylinder is closed at both ends. One end has a cap that is welded to the cylinder wall making a continuous electrical interface. The other end consists of a circular plate that is pressed into the cylinder wall and held under pressure with a threaded ring. From our experience with coupling measurements, this joint will be a weak link. It will allow more current to leak into the interior than from diffusion through the walls. Because the joint was designed for mechanical purposes, the electrical properties, such as continuity around the circumference, are not well controlled. Therefore, it is difficult to determine a single voltage attributed to this joint design with varying electrical characteristics. Instead, we will make a best effort of bounding the problem using both analytical calculations and data from tests of similar structures. The calculated internal cylinder voltage subjected to an extreme lightning strike from current diffusing through the wall is 19 volts. We estimate that the press-fit end plate will increase this voltage by a factor of …

The intense ion beams in a heavy ion Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) driver and fusion chamber are non-neutral plasmas whose dynamics are largely dominated by space charge. We propose to develop a ''source-to-target'' Heavy Ion Fusion (HIF) beam simulation capability: a description of the kinetic behavior of this complex, nonlinear system which is both integrated and detailed. We will apply this new capability to further our understanding of key scientific issues in the physics of ion beams for IFE. The simulations will entail self-consistent field descriptions that require interprocessor communication, but are scalable and will run efficiently on terascale architectures. This new capability will be based on the integration of three types of simulations, each requiring terascale computing: (1) simulations of acceleration and confinement of the space-charge-dominated ion beams through the driver (accelerator, pulse compression line, and final focusing system) which accurately describe their dynamics, including emittance growth (phase-space dilution) effects; these are particle-in-cell (PIC) models; (2) electromagnetic (EM) and magnetoinductive (Darwin) simulations which describe the beam and the fusion chamber environment, including multibeam, neutralization, stripping, beam and plasma ionization processes, and return current effects; and (3) highly detailed simulations (6f, multispecies PIC, continuum Vlasov), which can examine electron effects …

Iron ions provide many valuable plasma diagnostics for cosmic plasmas. The accuracy of these diagnostics, however, often depends on an accurate understanding of the ionization structure of the emitting gas. Dielectronic recombination (DR) is the dominant electron-ion recombination mechanism for most iron ions in cosmic plasmas. Using the heavy-ion storage ring at the Max-Planck-Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany, we have measured the low temperature DR rates for Fe{sup q+} where q = 15, 17, 18, and 19. These rates are important for photoionized gases which form in the media surrounding active galactic nuclei, X-ray binaries, and cataclysmic variables. Our results demonstrate that commonly used theoretical approximations for calculating low temperature DR rates can easily under- or over-estimate the DR rate by a factor of {approx} 2 or more. As essentially all DR rates used for modeling photoionized gases are calculated using these approximations, our results indicate that new DR rates are needed for almost all charge states of cosmically abundant elements. Measurements are underway for other charge states of iron.

Digital instrumentation and control systems have the potential of offering significant benefits over traditional analog systems in Nuclear Power Plant safety systems, but there are also significant difficulties in qualifying digital systems to the satisfaction of regulators. Digital systems differ in fundamental ways from analog systems. New methods for safety qualification, which take these differences into account, would ease the regulatory cost and promote use of digital systems. This paper offers a possible method for assisting in the analysis of digital system software, as one step in an improved qualification process.

The objective of this project is to facilitate the ligand development process for f-block metal ions, i.e., the actinides and lanthanides, by developing an accurate set of criteria for the design of ligand architectures. To achieve this objective we first combine theory and experiment to understand the nature of fundamental interactions in selected metal-ligand systems. These design criteria provide a basis for proposing improved Ligand architectures. We then incorporate this understanding within the framework of a molecular mechanics force field to allow the rapid calculation of geometries and energies for ligands and their metal complexes. This computational model provides a method for quickly screening proposed architectures to identify the best candidates for subsequent synthesis and testing.

We have examined the interaction of deuterium clusters with high intensity, ultrafast laser radiation. Upon irradiation a hot plasma is created with a sufficient temperature to produce nuclear fusion. We have seen that larger clusters produce more fusion neutrons than smaller clusters, consistent with a Coulomb explosion model. Fusion yield is currently limited by propagation effects. Using inter ferometric imaging we have examined the laser propagation and found that the laser energy is absorbed before it penetrates to the center (highest density region) of the gas jet.

A passive soil gas study was conducted in the Building 419/511 (B419/511) area to screen for volatile organic compound (VOC) source locations in June 2000. Results of this study are presented with the most recent ground water contaminant plume maps, as well as the historic surface vapor analysis and soil contamination maps. Limited analytical data exists for the area directly north and west of B419. Because of extensive VOCs in ground water directly under the north end of B419, it is important to determine if the contaminant plume migrated to that location or if it originated from activities at B419. The results of this and previous investigations will aid in defining (1) the source(s) of contamination, (2) the placement and management of future remediation wells, and (3) remediation strategies. A brief description of the building's function and contamination summary is presented in Section 1.1. Section 1.2 presents the methodology used for the passive soil gas study. Section 1.3 is a discussion of the passive soil gas study and the hydrogeologic analysis. Concluding remarks and recommendations for future source investigations and remediation designs are found in Section 1.4.

In Situ Gaseous Reduction is a technology currently being developed by DOE for the remediation of soil waste sites contaminated with hexavalent chromium. Prior work suggests that a candidate for application of this approach is the 183-DR site at Hanford. However, deep vadose zone drilling is needed to verify the presence of a hexavalent chromium source and to determine the concentration levels and spatial distribution of contamination. This document presents the requirements associated with drilling one to two vadose zone boreholes at the 183-DR site to obtain this information. If hexavalent chromium is determined to be present at levels of at least 10 ppm in the vadose zone in one of the initial boreholes, this hole will be completed for gas injection and six additional gas extraction boreholes will be drilled and completed. This network will be used as a flowcell for performing a gas treatment test at the site.

Environmental Dynamics and Simulation 1999 Annual Report

Data Quality Objectives methodology is applied to Loss-on-Ignition (LOI) moisture content testing for stabilized nuclear materials. This work was performed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in support of the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) / Fluor Hanford, Inc. Historical results on LOI test results for two material types, oxide and sludge, are used to estimate within container variability. This variability estimate is then used in formulating the two recommended acceptance criteria for containers of material. The criteria which follow are proposed to replace the current criterion, which requires recycle if either of two container LOI measurements exceed 0.5 wt%, the DOE Standard 3013-99 threshold value. 1. The 95% upper confidence limit (UCL) for the true mean underlying moisture content in the container material should be less than 0.5 wt%. 2. The difference between the two LOI measurements per container should not exceed their expected 95th percentile relative to the estimated variability. Containers not meeting the first criterion, or those that generate in any negative LOI result, require material recycle. Containers not meeting the second criteria require review of the measurement results, potentially leading to resampling and retesting. Data from Los Alamos National Laboratory studies on moisture testing are obtained and analyzed. …

Over the fifty-five year history of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), considerable progress has been made in the development of techniques for studying the structure, function, and dynamics of biological molecules. The majority of this research has involved the development of multi-dimensional NMR experiments for studying molecules in solution, although in recent years a number of groups have begun to explore NMR methods for studying biological systems in the solid-state. Despite this new effort, a need still exists for the development of techniques that improve sensitivity, maximize information, and take advantage of all the NMR interactions available in biological molecules. In this dissertation, a variety of novel NMR techniques for studying biomolecules are discussed. A method for determining backbone ({phi}/{psi}) dihedral angles by comparing experimentally determined {sup 13}C{sub a}, chemical-shift anisotropies with theoretical calculations is presented, along with a brief description of the theory behind chemical-shift computation in proteins and peptides. The utility of the Spin-Polarization Induced Nuclear Overhauser Effect (SPINOE) to selectively enhance NMR signals in solution is examined in a variety of systems, as are methods for extracting structural information from cross-relaxation rates that can be measured in SPINOE experiments. Techniques for the production of supercritical and liquid laser-polarized …

The Advanced Light Source is proposing to replace 3 of it's bending magnets with superconducting magnets. This will substantially increase the required radiation shielding for these magnet's beamlines. In this report we outline the radiation shielding requirements for these 'superbend' beamlines.

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