This newsletter provides a brief overview of the Field Verification Project for Small Wind Turbines conducted at the NWTC, along with a description of activities and case studies of projects.

Annually laminated sediments (varves) offer an effective means of acquiring high-quality paleoenvironmental records. However, the strength of a varve chronology can be compromised by a number of factors, such as missing varves, ambiguous laminations, and human counting error. We assess the quality of a varve chronology for the last three millennia from Steel Lake, Minnesota, through comparisons with nine AMS {sup 14}C dates on terrestrial plant macrofossils from the same core. These comparisons revealed an overall 8.4% discrepancy, primarily because of missing/uncountable varves within two stratigraphic intervals characterized by low carbonate concentrations and obscure laminations. Application of appropriate correction factors to these two intervals results in excellent agreement between the varve and {sup 14}C chronologies. These results, together with other varve studies, demonstrate that an independent age-determination method, such as {sup 14}C dating, is usually necessary to verify, and potentially correct, varve chronologies.

A survey of the technical literature was performed to summarize the mechanical properties of inorganic components in K Basins sludge. The components included gibbsite, ferrihydrite, lepidocrocite and goethite, hematite, quartz, anorthite, calcite, basalt, Zircaloy, aluminum, and, in particular, irradiated uranium metal and uranium dioxide. Review of the technical literature showed that information on the hardness of uranium metal at irradiation exposures similar to those experienced by the N Reactor fuel present in the K Basins (typically up to 3000 MWd/t) were not available. Measurements therefore were performed to determine the hardness of coupons taken from three irradiated N Reactor uranium metal fuel elements taken from K Basins. Hardness values averaged 30 {+-} 8 Rockwell C units, similar to values previously reported for uranium irradiated to {approx}1200 MWd/t. The physical properties of candidate uranium metal and uranium dioxide surrogates were gathered and compared. Surrogates having properties closest to those of irradiated uranium metal appear to be alloys of tungsten. The surrogate for uranium dioxide, present both as particles and agglomerates in actual K Basin sludge, likely requires two materials. Cerium oxide, CeO2, was identified as a surrogate of the smaller UO2 particles while steel grit was identified for the UO2 agglomerates.

Annihilation of extremely energetic cosmic neutrinos on the relic-neutrino background can give rise to absorption lines at energies corresponding to formation of the electroweak gauge boson Z{sup 0}. The positions of the absorption dips are set by the masses of the relic neutrinos. Suitably intense sources of extremely energetic (10{sup 21} - 10{sup 25}-eV) cosmic neutrinos might therefore enable the determination of the absolute neutrino masses and the flavor composition of the mass eigenstates. Several factors--other than neutrino mass and composition--distort the absorption lines, however. We analyze the influence of the time-evolution of the relic-neutrino density and the consequences of neutrino decay. We consider the sensitivity of the lineshape to the age and character of extremely energetic neutrino sources, and to the thermal history of the Universe, reflected in the expansion rate. We take into account Fermi motion arising from the thermal distribution of the relic-neutrino gas. We also note the implications of Dirac vs. Majorana relics, and briefly consider unconventional neutrino histories. We ask what kinds of external information would enhance the potential of cosmic-neutrino absorption spectroscopy, and estimate the sensitivity required to make the technique a reality.

The SAMGrid team is in the process of implementing a monitoring and information service, which fulfills several important roles in the operation of the SAMGrid system, and will replace the first generation of monitoring tools in the current deployments. The first generation tools are in general based on text log-files and represent solutions which are not scalable or maintainable. The roles of the monitoring and information service are: (1) providing diagnostics for troubleshooting the operation of SAMGrid services; (2) providing support for monitoring at the level of user jobs; (3) providing runtime support for local configuration and other information which currently must be stored centrally (thus moving the system toward greater autonomy for the SAMGrid station services, which include cache management and job management services); (4) providing intelligent collection of statistics in order to enable performance monitoring and tuning. The architecture of this service is quite flexible, permitting input from any instrumented SAMGrid application or service. It will allow multiple backend storage for archiving of (possibly) filtered monitoring events, as well as real time information displays and active notification service for alarm conditions. This service will be able to export, in a configurable manner, information to higher level Grid monitoring …

This brochure describes The New American Home, an annual project that is focused on the future of homebuilding. Industry experts team to design, build, and monitor a demonstration home that has been equipped with the latest marketable technologies and projects.

How long does a PV system have to operate to recover the energy--and the associated generation of pollution and CO{sub 2}--that went into making the system? Energy paybacks for rooftop systems range from 1 to 4 years, depending on the system. Based on models and real data, the idea that PV cannot pay back its energy investment is simply a myth.

Results of the first measurement of {sup 3}P orbitally excited neutral D-meson states, D*{sub 2}{sup 0} and D{sub 1}{sup 0}, produced in hadron collisions at the Tevatron are presented. Using data from the displaced track trigger, CDF II collects a large sample of these states in decay modes D*{sup +} {pi}{sup -}, D{sup +} {pi}{sup -}. Masses and widths of both states have been measured with precision better than or comparable to that of the world average.

Integrated approaches for the heating and cooling requirements of both the fuel cell (FC) stack and cabin environment are critical to fuel cell vehicle performance in terms of stack efficiency, fuel economy, and cost. An integrated FC system and cabin thermal management system would address the cabin cooling and heating requirements, control the temperature of the stack by mitigating the waste heat, and ideally capture the waste heat and use it for useful purposes. Current work at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) details a conceptual design of a metal hydride heat pump (MHHP) for the fuel cell system and cabin thermal management.

Fermilab's hadron physics research continues in all its accelerator-based programs. These efforts will be identified, and the optimization of the Fermilab schedules for physics will be described. In addition to the immediate plans, the Fermilab Long Range Plan will be cited, and the status and potential role of a new proton source, the Proton Driver, is described.

Although healthy dentin is invariably hydrated in vivo, from a perspective of examining the mechanisms of fracture in dentin, it is interesting to consider the role of water hydration. Furthermore, it is feasible that exposure to certain polar solvents, e.g., those found in clinical adhesives, can induce dehydration. In the present study, in vitro deformation and fracture experiments, the latter involving a resistance-curve (R-curve) approach (i.e., toughness evolution with crack extension), were conducted in order to assess changes in the constitutive and fracture behavior induced by three common solvents - acetone, ethanol and methanol. In addition, nanoindentation-based experiments to evaluate the deformation behavior at the level of individual collagen fibers and ultraviolet Raman spectroscopy to evaluate changes in bonding were performed. The results indicate a reversible effect of chemical dehydration, with increased fracture resistance, strength, and stiffness associated with lower hydrogen bonding ability of the solvent. These results are analyzed both in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic toughening phenomena to further understand the micromechanisms of fracture in dentin and the specific role of water hydration.

Results from simulated experiments in several laboratories show that host sediments influence hydrate formation in accord with known heterogeneity of host sediments at sites of gas hydrate occurrence (1). For example, in Mackenzie Delta, NWT Canada (Mallik 2L-38 well), coarser-grained units (pore-filling model) are found whereas in the Gulf of Mexico, the found hydrate samples do not appear to be lithologically controlled. We have initiated a systematic study of sediments, initially focusing on samples from various depths at a specific site, to establish a correlation with hydrate occurrence (or variations thereof) to establish differences in their microstructure, porosity, and other associated properties. The synchrotron computed microtomography (CMT) set-up at the X-27A tomography beam line at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), Brookhaven National Laboratory was used as a tool to study sediments from Blake Ridge at three sub bottom depths of 0.2, 50, and 667 meters. Results from the tomographic analysis of the deepest sample (667 m) are presented here to illustrate how tomography can be used to obtain new insights into the structures of methane hydrate host sediments. The investigation shows the internal grain/pore space resolution in the microstructure and a 3-D visualization of the connecting pathways obtained following …

Habitat for Humanity's goal is to supply quality housing to poor families while reducing their energy cost burden, especially in light of ever-increasing energy prices. Habitat Metro Denver partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Project and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to improve their construction and design process to create an affordable home that is not only cost-effective and volunteer friendly to build but highly energy efficient and a comfortable place to live.

Reliable quantitative prediction of contaminant transport in subsurface environments is critical to evaluating the risks associated with radionuclide migration. As part of the Underground Test Area (UGTA) project, radionuclide transport away from various underground nuclear tests conducted in the saturated zone at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) is being examined. In the near-field environment, reactive transport simulations must account for changes in water chemistry and mineralogy as a function of time and their effect on radionuclide migration. Unlike the K{sub d} approach, surface complexation (SC) reactions, in conjunction with ion exchange and precipitation, can be used to describe radionuclide reactive transport as a function of changing environmental conditions. They provide a more robust basis for describing radionuclide retardation in geochemically dynamic environments. The interaction between several radionuclides considered relevant to the UGTA project and iron oxides and calcite are examined in this report. The interaction between these same radionuclides and aluminosilicate minerals is examined in a companion report (Zavarin and Bruton, 2004). Selection criteria for radionuclides were based on abundance, half-life, toxicity to human and environmental health, and potential mobility at NTS (Tompson et al., 1999). Both iron oxide and calcite minerals are known to be present at NTS in …

Use of carbon in tokamaks leads to a major tritium retention issue due to co-deposition. To investigate this process a low power (no beams) L-mode experiment was performed on DIII-D in which {sup 13}CH{sub 4} was puffed into the main vessel through the toroidally-symmetric pumping plenum at the top of lower single-null discharges. Subsequently, the {sup 13}C content of tiles taken from the vessel wall was measured. The interpretive OEDGE code was used to model the results. It was found that the {sup 13}C deposition pattern is controlled by: (a) source strength of {sup 13}C{sup +}, (b) radial location of the {sup 13}C{sup +} source, (c) D{sub {perpendicular}}, (d) M{sub {parallel}}, the scrape-off layer parallel Mach number. Best agreement was found for (a) {approx}50% conversion efficiency {sup 13}CH{sub 4} {yields} {sup 13}C{sup +}, (b) {sup 13}C{sup +} source {approx}3.5 cm outboard of separatrix near {sup 13}CH{sub 4} injection location, (c)D{sub {perpendicular}} {approx} 0.3 m{sup 2}s{sup -1}, (d) M{sub {parallel}} {approx} 0.4 toward inside.

Over the past several years, there has been a great deal of research effort and funding put into the deployment of optical-based, advanced technology wide-area networks. Fermilab and CalTech have initiated a project to enable our production network facilities to exploit these advanced research network facilities. Our objective is to forward designated data transfers across these advanced wide area networks on a per-flow basis, making use our capacious production-use storage systems connected to the local campus network. To accomplish this, we intend to develop a dynamically provisioned forwarding service that would provide alternate path forwarding onto available wide area advanced research networks. The service would dynamically reconfigure forwarding of specific flows within our local production-use network facilities, as well as provide an interface to enable applications to utilize the service. We call this service LambdaStation. If one envisions wide area optical network paths as high bandwidth data railways, then LambdaStation would functionally be the railroad terminal that regulates which flows at the local site get directed onto the high bandwidth data railways. LambdaStation is a DOE-funded SciDac research project in its very early stage of development.

The heavy ion fusion (HIF) program is interested in developing a high brightness ion source for high energy density physics (HEDP) experiments. One possible approach to obtaining higher brightness may be to raise the surface temperature of the ion source just prior to extraction. The current ion source material being studied is a layer of potassium-doped aluminosilicate bonded to a tungsten substrate. It is speculated that if the surface temperature of the source is raised above 1200 C (from a steady-state temperature of 900 C) for time periods on the order of 100's of nanoseconds, current densities of greater than 100 mA/cm{sup 2} of ions may be achievable. Typical aluminosilicate sources produce ion current densities (either K+ or Na+ ions) of {approx}10 mA/cm{sup 2} (at 1100 C). A number of heating methods might be possible, including lasers, diode arrays, and flash lamps. Here we assume laser heating. In this preliminary study, we used the LLNL RadHeat code to model the time-temperature history of the surface when hit by laser pulses and illustrate how RadHeat can be used to optimize the surface temperature response. Also of interest is the temperature history of the interface temperature between the ceramic and the metal …

We present a study, based on simulations with SERDYCA, a spatially-explicit individual-based model of rodent dynamics, on the relation between population persistence and the presence of numerous isolated disturbances in the habitat. We are specifically interested in the effect of disturbances that do not fragment the environment on population persistence. Our results suggest that the presence of disturbances in the absence of fragmentation can actually increase the average time to extinction of the modeled population. The presence of disturbances decreases population density but can increase the chance for mating in monogamous species and consequently, the ratio of juveniles in the population. It thus provides a better chance for the population to restore itself after a severe period with critically low population density. We call this the ''disturbance-forced localization effect''.

New results from the photoproduction experiment FOCUS are reported: Dalitz plot analysis, semileptonic form factor ratios and excited meson spectroscopy. The author reports on three new results from the photoproduction experiment FOCUS: the first Dalitz plot analysis of charm meson decays using the K-matrix approach[ 1], new measurements of the D{sub s}{sup +} {yields} {delta}(1020) {mu}{sup +}{nu} form factor ratios [2], and new measurements on L=1 excited meson spectroscopy [3], i.e., precise measurements of the masses and widths of the D*{sub 2}{sup +} and D*{sub 2}{sup 0} mesons, and evidence for broad states decaying to D{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, D{sup 0}{pi}{sup +} (the first such evidence in D{sup 0}{pi}{sup +}). The data for this paper were collected in the Wideband photoproduction experiment FOCUS during the Fermilab 1996-1997 fixed-target run.

The performance of parallel Monte Carlo transport calculations which use both spatial and particle parallelism is increased by dynamically assigning processors to the most worked domains. Since the particle work load varies over the course of the simulation, this algorithm determines each cycle if dynamic load balancing would speed up the calculation. If load balancing is required, a small number of particle communications are initiated in order to achieve load balance. This method has decreased the parallel run time by more than a factor of three for certain criticality calculations.

Higher-order basis functions have been constructed for surface-based differential forms that are used in engineering simulations. These surface-based forms have been designed to complement the volume-based forms present in EMSolve[1], a finite element code. The basis functions are constructed on a reference element and transformed, as necessary, for each element in space. Lagrange polynomials are used to create the basis functions. This approach is a necessary step in creating a hybrid finite-element/integral-equation time-domain code for electromagnetic analysis.

Waveguides were written in soda lime silicate glasses with a composition of xNa{sub 2}O xCaO (1-2x)SiO{sub 2}, where x = 15 and 20, using an amplified femtosecond laser. The waveguides formed around, not inside the exposed regions. This is similar to the waveguide behavior our group first observed in a phosphate glass, Schott IOG-1, and is distinctly different from fused silica in which the waveguides are inside the exposed regions. This data supports the rapid quenching theory, i.e. that the exposed regions cool rapidly, locking in a glass structure with a high fictive temperature, with the dependence of the refractive index on the glass cooling rate determining the qualitative behavior of the waveguides.

For over 20 years, Allison scanners have been used to measure emittances of low-energy ion beams. We show that scanning large trajectory angles produces ghost signals caused by the sampled beamlet impacting on an electric deflection plate. The ghost signal strength is proportional to the amount of beam entering the scanner. Depending on the ions, and their velocity, the ghost signals can have the opposite or the same polarity as the main beam signals. The ghost signals cause significant errors in the emittance estimates because they appear at large trajectory angles. These ghost signals often go undetected because they partly overlap with the real signals, are mostly below the 1% level, and often hide in the noise. A simple deflection plate modification is shown to reduce the ghost signal strength by over 99%.

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