Five commercial reactor criticals (CRCs) for the LaSalle Unit 1 boiling-water reactor have been analyzed using KENO V.a, the Monte Carlo criticality code of the SCALE 4 code system. The irradiated fuel assembly isotopics for the criticality analyses were provided by the Waste Package Design team at the Yucca Mountain Project in the United States, who performed the depletion calculations using the SAS2H sequence of SCALE 4. The reactor critical measurements involved two beginning-of-cycle and three middle-of-cycle configurations. The CRCs involved relatively low-cycle burnups, and therefore contained a relatively high gadolinium poison content in the reactor assemblies. This report summarizes the data and methods used in analyzing the critical configurations and assesses the sensitivity of the results to some of the modeling approximations used to represent the gadolinium poison distribution within the assemblies. The KENO V.a calculations, performed using the SCALE 44GROUPNDF5 ENDF/B-V cross-section library, yield predicted k{sub eff} values within about 1% {Delta}k/k relative to reactor measurements for the five CRCs using general 8-pin and 9-pin heterogeneous gadolinium poison pin assembly models.

During the 1990s, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) became the fastest growing segment of the auto industry, especially those in the medium-size category. In 1999, SUV sales reached almost 19% of the total light vehicle market and the mix of SUVs on the road, as measured by registration data, was about 8.7%. This immense popularity has been called by some a passing fad--vehicle purchases based on the SUV ''image''. But the continued yearly increases in SUV sales seem to indicate a more permanent trend. Additional explanations for SUV popularity include the general economic well being in the United States, a perception of safety, and ''utility''. Generally larger and heavier than the typical automobile, SUVs require more fuel per mile to operate and produce greater amounts of pollutants. They are also driven further annually than are automobiles of the same vintage, a fact that exacerbates the fuel-use and emission problems. Although buyers believe that SUVs are safer than automobiles which they are in some cases, SUVs are more prone to roll-overs than are automobiles. In addition, SUVs, with their higher bumpers and greater weight, may be a threat to other vehicles on the highway, especially in side-impact crashes. With sales projected to …

This report documents the technical support for the ATS provided by the Center for Transportation Analysis (CTA) in Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), which included the estimation of trip distances as well as daa quality editing and checking of variables required for the distance calculations.

We are attempting to characterize and model the micromechanical response of highly-filled polymers. In this class of materials, the continuous plastic binder used to bond the highly-filled material dominates the observed viscoelastic response. As a result, realistic lifetime analysis of these materials will require a thorough understanding of the contribution of the plastic binder. Laboratory applications of these materials include plastic bonded explosives, propellants, a variety of specialized filled organic materials for stockpile systems, and highly filled epoxy dielectric materials for the National Ignition Facility. We have explored numerous techniques to characterize the local microstructure of plastic bonded explosives. However, insufficient funding was obtained to bring these technologies to maturity, nevertheless our present tool set is significantly better than 2 years ago. We have also made some progress in developing an appropriate micromechanical constitutive modeling framework, based on a finite element method incorporating a cohesive zone model to represent the binder contribution within a Voronoi tesselation mesh structure for the PBX grains. A second modeling approach was used to incorporate analytical micromechanics (generalized self-consistent schemes). However, preliminary theoretical analysis strongly suggested that this approach would be invalid for such extremely high-filled systems like PBX.

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The objective of this calculation is to provide in-drift physical properties required by the drift-scale models (both two- and three-dimensional) used in total system performance assessments (TSPA). The physical properties include waste package geometry, waste package thermal properties, emplacement drift geometry including backfill and invert geometry and properties (both thermal and hydrologic), drip shield geometry and thermal properties, all tabulated in a single source.

The objectives of the research program were to identify and determine the relative importance of various sources of dissolved organic matter to the continental shelf, and to estimate the net carbon balance for the Middle Atlantic Bight.

This document summarizes the analysis of 3 basic criteria for the sampling systems that will provide waste validation samples of tank waste feeds prior to delivery to the waste treatment and immobilization plant where the wastes will be converted to glass forms. The assessed criteria includes sampling through a 4-inch riser, sampling while a mixer pump is operating, and the deployment of an at-tank analysis system. The assessment, based on the Phase I, 3S6 waste feed scenario, indicated that for high level waste, sampling through a 4-inch riser is not required but sampling while mixer pumps are operating will be required. For low activity waste, sampling through a 4-inch riser will be required but sampling while mixer pumps are operating is not required. The assessment indicated that an at-tank analysis system to provide tank mixing/settling (homogeneity) status is not needed since the number of tanks providing LAW feed was expanded and the payment basis in the original privatization contract has been modified.

The system description of the Double-Shell Tank (DST) Monitor and Control Subsystem establishes the system boundaries and describes the interface of the DST Monitor and Control Subsystem with new and existing systems that are required to accomplish the Waste Feed Delivery (WFD) mission.

This study is based on previous evaluations/proposals for removing the floating organic layer in C-103. A practical method is described with assumptions, cost and schedule estimates, and risks. Proposed operational steps include bulk organic removal, phase separation, organic washing and offsite disposal, followed by an in-situ polishing process.

This interim report describes a DOE project currently underway to establish what is known about decontamination of buildings and people and the procedures and protocols used to determine when and how people or buildings are considered ''clean'' following decontamination. To fulfill this objective, the study systematically examined reported decontamination experiences to determine what procedures and protocols are currently employed for decontamination, the timeframe involved to initiate and complete the decontamination process, how the contaminants were identified, the problems encountered during the decontamination process, how response efforts of agencies were coordinated, and the perceived social psychological effects on people who were decontaminated or who participated in the decontamination process. Findings and recommendations from the study are intended to aid decision-making and to improve the basis for determining appropriate decontamination protocols for recovery planners and policy makers for responding to chemical and biological events.

The isotopic composition of mixed-oxide fuel (fabricated with both uranium and plutonium isotopes) discharged from reactors is of interest to the Fissile Material Disposition Program. The validation of depletion codes used to predict isotopic compositions of MOX fuel, similar to studies concerning uranium-only fueled reactors, thus, is very important. The EEI-Westinghouse Plutonium Recycle Demonstration Program was conducted to examine the use of MOX fuel in the San Onofre PWR, Unit I, during cycles 2 and 3. The data, usually required as input to depletion codes, either one-dimensional or lattice codes, were taken from various sources and compiled into this report. Where data were either lacking or determined inadequate, the appropriate data were supplied from other references. The scope of the reactor operations and design data, in addition to the isotopic analyses, was considered to be of sufficient quality for depletion code validation.

In this paper, we first present the status of our computational modeling study of the thermal expansion coefficient of Fe{sub 3}Al over a wide range of temperature and evaluate its dependence on selected additives. This will be accomplished by applying an isobaric Monte Carlo technique. The required total energy of the sample will be computed by using a tight-binding (TB) method that allows us to significantly increase the size of the computational data base without reducing the accuracy of the calculations. The parameters of the TB Hamiltonian are fitted to reproduce the band structure obtained by our quantum mechanical full-potential LMTO calculations. The combination of the three methods mentioned above creates an effective approach to the computation of the physical properties of the transition-metal aluminides and it can be extended to alloys with more than two components. At present, we are using a simplified approach for a first-round of results; and as a test of the simplified approach, have obtained excellent agreement with experiment for aluminum. Our previous experimental results showed that, because of their smaller grain size, FA-187 and FA-189 are extrinsically more susceptible to environmental embrittlement than FA-186 under low strain loading condition. To further investigate the grain …

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This Phase I SBIR project focused on developing flexible scintillating liquid core optical fibers, with potential uses in high-energy calorimetry, tracking, preradiators, active targets or other fast detectors. Progress on the six tasks of the project is summarized. The technical developments involve three technology components: (1) highly flexible capillaries or tubes of relatively low n (index of refraction) to serve as cladding and liquid core containment; (2) scintillator (and clear) fluids of relatively high n to serve as a core-- these fluids must have a high light transmission and, for some applications, radiation hardness; (3) optical end plugs, plug insertion, and plug-cladding tube sealing technology to contain the core fluids in the tubes, and to transmit the light.

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The purpose of the Environmental Management Performance Report (EMPR) is to provide the Department of Energy Richland Operations Office's (DOE-RL's) report of Hanford's Environmental Management (EM) performance by: U. S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office, Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC) through Fluor Hanford, Inc. (FHI) and its subcontractors, Environmental Restoration Contract through Bechtel Hanford, Inc. (BHI), and its subcontractors, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL) for EM and EM Science and Technology (S&T) Mission. This report is a monthly publication that summarizes EM Site performance under RL Operations Office. It is organized by the four sections listed above, with each section containing an Executive Summary and Area Performance Summaries. A listing of what is contained in the sections can be found in the Table of Contents.

The general philosophy of this work is to develop an integrated set of decontamination methods and tools that will work on the major CBW threat agents. The work includes some near term techniques that can be demonstrated within a year and implemented soon thereafter as well as longer term research objectives. It is recognized that there is a balance between somewhat less effective methods which can be demonstrated quickly and more effective ones which may require a much longer time to fruition. The optimum goal of this study is to find a single decontamination system for chemical and biological agents which is non-toxic, non-corrosive, and easily deployable. One of the goals is to have decontamination systems that might be used by first responders as well as more complete systems to be used by specialized decontamination teams. Therefore, the overall project goal is to develop better decontamination methods that can be quickly implemented by these organizations. This includes early demonstrations and field work with companies or other government agencies who can identify implementation concerns and needs. The approach taken in this work is somewhat different than the standard military approach to decontamination. In a battlefield scenario, it is critical to decontaminate …

Waste pretreatment and immobilization requires the tank waste to be retrieved. Retrieval from tanks may require dilution. This test determines the effects of dilution on the mass of solids and their composition. This test plan gives test instructions, example data sheets, a waste compatibility review, and a waste stream fact sheet.

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The low frequency variation in the three dimensional air temperature fields of two reanalyses and two model simulations are described. The data sets used are the monthly mean temperature fields for the NCAR Climate Simulation Model (CSM, Boville and Gent, 1998) 300 year run, a NCAR Community Climate Model version 3 (CCM3, Kiehl et al., 1998) AMIP type simulation, and the NCEPLNCAR and ECMWF (ERA) reanalysis data sets. The variances and correlations are computed for the anomalies from the annual cycle for each data set. In general the reanalyses and models agree fairly well on the structure of the temperature variance. The models tend to have too much variance at the surface compared to the reanalyses. The CSM's poor simulation of the SST in the eastern Pacific leads to a much reduced variance in the Nino3 region. The enhanced variability over land appears to affect the midlatitude simulation of the CSM in that the higher surface variability extends off the east coast of continents. This is not evident in CCM3 and reanalyses where the SSTs are prescribed. At 200 hPa the CCM3 and reanalyses all evince the dumb bell pattern straddling the Equator in the eastern Pacific attributed by Yulaeva …

The purpose of this technical evaluation is to determine whether the secondary hoses are to be categorized as Commercial Grade Items (CGI) or Engineered Equipment. This determination will identify whether or not use of the CGI Dedication process is appropriate.

This document serves as a NOC pursuant to the requirements of Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 246-247-060, and as a request for approval to construct pursuant to 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 61.07, for the cleanout of sections of the 300 Area PS. Approval of the NOC will allow the pressure washing of certain pipe sections, the sump in the TEDF lift station, and the cleaning of PS 16 of the 300 Area PS that contains low levels of radioactivity. Section 15.0 of this NOC discusses the estimated total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) to the offsite maximally exposed individual (MEI) resulting from the unabated emissions from these cleaning activities. Using the currently approved unit dose conversion factors in HNF-3602, the estimated potential TEDE to the MEI resulting from the unabated, fugitive emissions from cleanout of the 300 Area PS is 4.70 E-05 millirem (mrem) per year. This dose was derived by conservatively estimating the doses from both the pressure washing and the use of the Guzzler{trademark} for removal of the liquid/soil mixture, as described in Section 5.0. and adding these doses together.