A measurement of the forward-backward charge asymmetry in the decay of Z{sup o} bosons produced from {bar p}p collisions at {radical}s = 1.8 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron collider, and decaying to {mu}{sup +} {mu}{sup {minus}} pairs is presented. From this asymmetry, a value for the Weinburg angle, sin{sup 2} {theta}{sub W}, is extracted and compared to values from other experiments.

A modified finite-difference time-domain method for solving Maxwell`s equations in nonlinear media is presented. This method allows for a finite response time to be incorporated in the medium, physically creating dispersion and absorption mechanisms. The technique models electromagnetic fields in two space dimensions and time and encompasses both the TE{sub z} and TM{sub z} set of decoupled field equations. Aspects of an ultra-short pulsed Gaussian beam are studied in a variety of linear and nonlinear environments to demonstrate that the methods developed here can be used efficaciously in the modeling of pulses in complex problem space geometries even when nonlinearities are present.

This thesis is part of an ongoing project at Iowa State University to develop ANN based fault diagnostic systems to detect and classify operational transients at nuclear power plants. The project envisages the deployment of such an advisor at Iowa Electric Light and Power Company`s Duane Arnold Energy Center nuclear power plant located at Palo, IA. This advisor is expected to make status diagnosis in real time, thus providing the operators with more time for corrective measures.

The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN), in particular a backpropagation ANN, to improve the speed and quality of the reconstruction of three-dimensional SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) images. In addition, since the processing elements (PE)s in each layer of an ANN are independent of each other, the speed and efficiency of the neural network architecture could be better optimized by implementing the ANN on a massively parallel computer. The specific goals of this research were: to implement a fully interconnected backpropagation neural network on a serial computer and a SIMD parallel computer, to identify any reduction in the time required to train these networks on the parallel machine versus the serial machine, to determine if these neural networks can learn to recognize SPECT data by training them on a section of an actual SPECT image, and to determine from the knowledge obtained in this research if full SPECT image reconstruction by an ANN implemented on a parallel computer is feasible both in time required to train the network, and in quality of the images reconstructed.

The groundwater of 400 North Carolina homes was sampled to ascertain the distribution and extent of {sup 222}Rn in North Carolina groundwater. Arithmetic mean (AM) and geometric mean (GM) concentrations of 1,816 pCi L{sup {minus}1} and 656 pCi L{sup {minus}1} were found for the state. These results indicate that two-thirds of 114{degree}C. homes served by groundwater exceed the EPA proposed 300 pCi L{sup {minus}1} maximum contaminant level (MCL). Only 2% of NC homes exceeded 10,000 pCi L-1. The Eastern region had the lowest radon concentrations by far, with a GM of 2-)0 pCi L{sup {minus}1}. The Central region and Western region had GM`s of 794 pCi L{sup {minus}1} and 1,032 pCi L{sup {minus}1} respectively. The groundwater data approached a log normal distribution. No consistent trends were noted in the relationship between indoor radon concentrations and groundwater radon concentrations. A correlation coefficient of 0.00921 revealed a very weak linear relationship.

The D0 experiment began accumulating data at the Fermilab Tevatron in May of 1992. Protons are collided with antiprotons at {radical}s = 1.8 TeV and an expected peak luminosity of 5 {times} 10{sup 30} cm{sup {minus}2} sec{sup {minus}1}. The D0 detector is an all-purpose detector that will have exceptional jet reconstruction capabilities derived from superior calorimetry and nearly 4{pi} angular coverage. One of the many physics measurements that will be made at D0 is the inclusive jet cross section. Comparison of this cross section with theoretical predictions allows us to test the accuracy of the standard model of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). This comparison is usually in the form of a measurement of the differential cross section with respect to the transverse energy of the jet. The extended angular coverage of the D0 detector allows measurements of the differential cross section as a function of jet rapidity as well. Recently completed calculations of the next-to-leading-order contribution to the inclusive cross section result in predictions with reduced theoretical errors. In addition, recent fits to data from deep inelastic scattering and single photon experiments further restrict the quark and gluon structure functions of the proton which are necessary in the theoretical predictions of …

The selective removal of target ions from an aqueous solution containing ions of like charge by ligand-modified micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (LM-MEUF), is presented. In LM-MEUF, surfactant and specially tailored ligand are added to the contaminated stream. The surfactant forms aggregates called micelles, the hydrocarbon core of which the ligand complexed with the target species will solubilize. The surfactant is chosen to have the same charge type as the target ion; therefore, other ions (with similar charge) will not associate with the micelle, which makes the separation of the target ion selective. The solution is then processed by ultrafiltration, using a membrane with pore size small enough to block the passage of the micelles. In this study the divalent copper is the target ion in the solution containing divalent calcium. The surfactant is cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) and the ligand is 4-hexadecyloxybenzyliminodiacetic acid (C{sub 16}BIDA). Experiments were conducted with batch stirred cells and the results have been compared to separation that take place under a variety of conditions in the LM-MEUF process. Rejections of copper of up to 99.8% are observed, with almost no rejection of calcium, showing that LM-MEUF has excellent selectivity and separation efficiency.

The purpose of this study is to find aluminum alloys that are effective for use as wire vacuum seals in the 800MeV particle accelerator located at the Louis Anderson Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF) in Los Alamos, NM. Three alloys, Al 1100, Al 3003, and Al 6061, are investigated under uniaxial compression to determine stresses for a given height reduction from 0 to 70 percent, and to find plastic flow and surface interaction effects. Right-circular cylindrical specimens are compressed on-end (cylindrically) and radially (for modeling as compressed wire). Aluminum 1100 and 3003 alloys are compared for length to diameter ratios of 1 and 2 for both compression types, and are then compared to results of radial compression of annealed small diameter Al 1100 wire currently used at LAMPE. The specimens are also compressed between three different platen surfaces, polished steel, etched steel, and aluminum 6061-T6, to determine effects of friction. The Al 3003 alloy exhibits 20 to 25% lower stresses at all height reductions than Al 1100 for both cylindrical and radial compression.

The first measurement of bottom quark production in the forward detector at CDF is presented in this thesis. Events from the 1988/89 Fermilab collider run were selected with forward muons with nearby jets to form a bottom quark tag. The efficiency and acceptance of the detector are then taken into account and the number of events is turned into a cross section: {sigma}(p{sub t}{sup b} > 20 GeV, 1.9 < {vert_bar}{eta}{sup b}{vert_bar} < 2.5) = (124. {+-} 35. {+-} 76.) nb. The contribution from direct bottom quarks is {sigma}(p{sub t}{sup b} > 20 GeV, p{sub t}{sup {anti b}} > 15 GeV, 1.9 < {vert_bar}{eta}{sup b}{vert_bar} < 2.5) = (100. {+-} 30.{sub {minus}31.}{sup +30.}) nb.

A discussion of the origins and interpretation of various previously proposed models for the terms in the incompressible Reynolds-stress equation is given. It is hoped that the interpretations will provoke thoughts that will help in the future modeling of Reynolds-stress transport equations. Different forms of the closed Reynolds-stress equation have been solved numerically for the given mean velocity field of the wake flow behind a flat plate at a Reynolds number of 1000. A finite-difference/finite-volume collocation scheme was used to approximate the spatial derivatives, which were implemented in a time-marching scheme. The numerical time integration produced values for the six independent Reynolds-stress components, the turbulent kinetic energy decay rate, and the turbulent length scale for each of the models tried. The results of the different cases were compared and some conclusions were drawn on the effects of the various investigated modeled terms.

The work presented here investigates the phenomenon of shock wave propagation in gas continuous, two-phase media. The motivation for this work stems from the need to understand blast venting consequences in the HYLIFE inertial confinement fusion (ICF) reactor. The HYLIFE concept utilizes lasers or heavy ion beams to rapidly heat and compress D-T targets injected into the center of a reactor chamber. A segmented blanket of falling molten lithium or Li{sub 2}BeF{sub 4} (Flibe) jets encircles the reactor`s central cavity, shielding the reactor structure from radiation damage, absorbing the fusion energy, and breeding more tritium fuel. X-rays from the fusion microexplosion will ablate a thin layer of blanket material from the surfaces which face toward the fusion site. This generates a highly energetic vapor, which mostly coalesces in the central cavity. The blast expansion from the central cavity generates a shock which propagates through the segmented blanket - a complex geometry, gas-continuous two-phase medium. The impulse that the blast gives to the liquid as it vents past, the gas shock on the chamber wall, and ultimately the liquid impact on the wall are all important quantities to the HYLIFE structural designers.

A remote sensing geophysical method is needed to properly characterize the void and chimney characteristics of underground nuclear tests. Various techniques were considered and a seismic reflection survey was selected. This survey was then fitted to the conditions at the test site so as to give optimum results. The data was then reduced via DOS computer and analyzed for content. The planned survey using a 50 ft offset did not show any useful information, however, a second survey with a variable longer offset was also conducted which was capable of determining the depth to the top and the bottom of the chimney with reasonable accuracy. Measurements of the horizontal spread of the structure, though, were inconclusive.

Two methods determine the speed of 3 m glass spheres using optical reflective sensors embedded in a micro-processor system. The first method, which will be referred to as the one pulse method, is sensitive to particle size and shape. The pulse width of a detected particle is measured and normalized by a shape correction factor resulting in a speed estimate. Three models are developed to correct for effects due to particle shape and light scattering inhomogeneities. The second method, which will be referred to as the two pulse method, measures individual particle velocity components independent of size and shape with two detectors spaced a known distance apart. This distance is divided by the delay between the two detector output pulses to determine speed. A by-product of both methods is a localized particle flux. The microprocessor subsystem automates the pulse detection, timing, velocity calculation and display which are accomplished by the micro-processor subsystem. In the laboratory, a chute is used to generate particle flows with different characteristics. The detection system is tested in the chute for two different flows. A mechanical speed measurement is used for comparison to the one pulse method. The one pulse method is used for comparison to …

An injector is a particular type of jet pump which uses condensable vapor to entrain a liquid and discharge against a pressure higher than either motive or suction pressures. The injector has no moving parts and requires no external power supply nor any complex control system. Thus, the injector is particularly suited for emergency core cooling operations. A detailed survey has indicated that various injector designs are available for operating pressures below 250 psig. However, the design of these injectors from the viewpoint of a basic understanding of heat and mass transfer processes has not been well developed. A critical review of the models showed serious discrepancies between the analytical models and the experimental observations. The discrepancies evolved from the neglect of non-equilibrium aspects of the flow. The origin of the non-equilibrium aspects can be traced to the extremely small time scales governing the flow in the injector. Thus, time scales of the order of 10{sup {minus}2} seconds are involved in the injector, accompanied by mass, momentum, and heat transfer rates of orders of magnitude higher than that observed in conventional two-phase flows. The present study focuses on the phenomenological and mathematical modeling of the processes in the injector from …

Accurate prediction of dynamic system failure behavior can be important for the reliability and risk analyses of nuclear power plants, as well as for their backfitting to satisfy given constraints on overall system reliability, or optimization of system performance. Global analysis of dynamic systems through investigating the variations in the structure of the attractors of the system and the domains of attraction of these attractors as a function of the system parameters is also important for nuclear technology in order to understand the fault-tolerance as well as the safety margins of the system under consideration and to insure a safe operation of nuclear reactors. Such a global analysis would be particularly relevant to future reactors with inherent or passive safety features that are expected to rely on natural phenomena rather than active components to achieve and maintain safe shutdown. Conventionally, failure and global analysis of dynamic systems necessitate the utilization of different methodologies which have computational limitations on the system size that can be handled. Using a Chapman-Kolmogorov interpretation of system dynamics, a theoretical basis is developed that unifies these methodologies as special cases and which can be used for a comprehensive safety and reliability analysis of dynamic systems.

The CDF detector is used to investigate the properties of events containing a photon and two jets. The rate of photon +2 jet production is higher than the theoretical calculation, but the shape of the events agrees with QCD predictions.

A search for first generation scalar leptoquarks was done at the DO detector at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory from 15 pb{minus}1 of data taken during the 1992--1993 colder run. At Fermilab`s p{bar p} collider with a center-of-mass energy of 1.8 TeV, leptoquarks are produced mostly by the strong force in pairs. Leptoquarks carry fractional charge, color, and also lepton and baryon quantum numbers. First generation leptoquarks couple exclusively to the electron, electron neutrino, and the u and d quarks; such a leptoquark would decay into, for example, an electron plus a quark. Signatures for leptoquarks at p{bar p} colliders that have been investigated at DO are two electrons plus two jets and one electron plus missing energy (from an electron neutrino) plus two jets.

The research reported here has included studies of the solubilization of pentanol in hexadecylpyridinium chloride (CPC), trimethyletetradecylammonium chloride (C{sub 14}Cl), benzyldimethyltetradecylammonium chloride (C{sub 14}BzCl), benzyldimethylhexadecylpyridinium chloride (C{sub 16}BzCl), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and binary mixtures of CPC + C{sub 16}BzCl and C{sub 14}Cl + C{sub 14}BzCl. Rather than using calorimetric methods, this project will employ headspace chromatography to measure solubilization of pentanol over a wide range of solute concentrations. While not yielding as much thermodynamic data as calorimetry, headspace chromatography is a more direct measure of the extent of solubilization. Using headspace chromatography, is a more direct measure of the extent of solubilization. Using headspace chromatography, this study will seek to determine whether strongly synergistic mixture ratios exist in the case of binary cationic surfactant systems. There are two equilibria in the pentanol-water-surfactant system: (1) The pentanol solubilized in micelles is in equilibrium with the monomeric pentanol in solution, and (2) the monomeric pentanol is in equilibrium with the pentanol in the vapor above the solution. To establish the link between the two equilibria, a sample of the vapor above pure liquid pentanol must be collected, in order to find the activity of pentanol in solution. Also, a calibration curve for …

Surface oxidation, surface charge, and flotation properties have been systematically studied for coal, coal-pyrite and ore-pyrite. Electrochemical studies show that coal-pyrite exhibits much higher and more complex surface oxidation than ore-pyrite and its oxidation rate depends strongly on the carbon/coal content. Flotation studies indicate that pyrites have no self-induced floatability. Fuel oil significantly improves the floatability of coal and induces considerable flotation for coal-pyrite due to the hydrophobic interaction of fuel oil with the carbon/coal inclusions on the pyrite surface. Xanthate is a good collector for ore-pyrite but a poor collector for coal and coal-pyrite. The results from thermodynamic calculations, flotation and zeta potential measurements show that iron ions greatly affect the flotation of pyrite with xanthate and fuel oil. Various organic and inorganic chemicals have been examined for depressing coal-pyrite. It was found, for the first time, that sodium pyrophosphate is an effective depressant for coal-pyrite. Solution chemistry shows that pyrophosphate reacts with iron ions to form stable iron pyrophosphate complexes. Using pyrophosphate, the complete separation of pyrite from coal can be realized over a wide pH range at relatively low dosage.

Surfactant based separation techniques based on the solubilization of organic compounds into the nonpolar interior of a micelle or electrostatic attraction of ionized metals and metal complexes to the charged surface of a micelle were studied in this work. Micellar solutions were used to recover two model volatile organic compounds emitted by the printing and painting industries (toluene and amyl acetate) and to investigate the effect of the most important variables in the surfactant enhanced carbon regeneration (SECR) process. SECR for liquid phase applications was also investigated in which the equilibrium adsorption of cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on activated carbon were measured. Micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) was investigated using spiral wound membranes for the simultaneous removal of organic compounds, metals and metal complexes dissolved in water, with emphasis on pollution control applications. Investigations of MEUF to remove 99+ per cent of trichloroethylene (TCE) from contaminated groundwater using criteria such as: membrane flux, solubilization equilibrium constant, surfactant molecular weight, and Krafft temperature led to the selection of an anionic disulfonate with a molecular weight of 642 (DOWFAX 8390). These data and results from supporting experiments were used to design a system which could clean-up water in a …

A prototype Compton scatter camera for imaging gamma rays has been built and tested. This camera addresses unique aspects of gamma-ray imaging at nuclear industrial sites, including gamma-ray energies in the 0.5 to 3.0 MeV range and polychromatic fields. Analytic models of camera efficiency, resolution and contaminating events are developed. The response of the camera bears strong similarity to emission computed tomography devices used in nuclear medicine. A direct Fourier based algorithm is developed to reconstruct two-dimensional images of measured gamma-ray fields. Iterative ART and MLE algorithms are also investigated. The point response of the camera to gamma rays of energies from 0.5 to 2.8 MeV is measured and compared to the analytic models. The direct reconstruction algorithm is at least ten times more efficient than the iterative algorithms are also investigated. The point response of the camera to gamma rays energies from 0.5 to 2.8 MeV is measured and compared to the analytic models. The direct reconstruction algorithm is at least ten times more efficient than the iterative algorithms and produces images that are, in general, of the same quality. Measured images of several phantoms are shown. Important results include angular resolutions as low as 4.4{degrees}, reproduction of phantom …

The West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) is preparing to upgrade their low-level radioactive waste (LLW) characterization and classification program. This thesis describes a survey study of three other DOE sites conducted in support of this effort. The LLW characterization/classification programs of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Savannah River Site, and Idaho National Engineering Laboratory were critically evaluated. The evaluation was accomplished through tours of each site facility and personnel interviews. Comparative evaluation of the individual characterization/classification programs suggests the WVDP should purchase a real-time radiography unit and a passive/active neutron detection system, make additional mechanical modifications to the segmented gamma spectroscopy assay system, provide a separate building to house characterization equipment and perform assays away from waste storage, develop and document a new LLW characterization/classification methodology, and make use of the supercompactor owned by WVDP.

Two-phase cross flow over heat exchanger tubes creates vibrations which contribute greatly to the wear on the tubes. Fluidelastic instability is a major mechanism by which tubes can fail. In this work, the fluidelastic instability of a tube placed in an array subjected to two-phase cross flow has been studied. For the determination of fluidelastic instability, a triangular tube array was used. The tubes were made of acrylic and were 2.2 cm or 2.37 cm in diameter and 20 cm in length. Eighteen tubes and 4 half tubes formed 5 rows with a pitch to diameter ratio of 1.4. All of the tubes except the test tube were rigidly supported at the text section wall. The test tube was flexibly supported with two cantilever beams. By installing cantilever beams horizontally and vertically, drag and lift direction tube vibration were studied. Parameters of tube mass, structural stiffness, natural frequency, and pitch to diameter ratio were varied. The drag coefficients on a rigidly held tube in an array subjected to two-phase cross flow were measured. The tube in an array was located at displaced positions as well as at the normal position in order to study the variation of fluid force as …

The objective of this research was to investigate the oxidation behavior of coal and coal pyrite and to correlate the changes in the surface properties induced by oxidation, along with the intrinsic physical and chemical properties of these organic and inorganic materials, with the behavior in physical coal cleaning processes. This provide more fundamental knowledge for understanding the way in which different factors interact in a medium as heterogeneous as coal. Fourteen coal samples of different ranks ranging from high to medium sulfur content were studied by dry oxidation tests at different temperatures and humidities, and by wet oxidation tests using different oxidizing agents. The concentration of surface oxygen functional groups was determined by ion-exchange methods. The changes in the coal composition with oxidation were analyzed by spectroscopic techniques. The wettability of as-received and oxidized coal and coal pyrite samples was assessed by film flotation tests. The electrokinetic behavior of different coals and coal pyrite samples was studied by electrokinetic tests using electrophoresis. Possible oxidation mechanisms have been proposed to explain the changes on the coal surface induced by different oxidation treatments.