Shielding for the APS will be such that the individual radiation worker dose will be as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). The ALARA goals for the APS are to keep the total of the work-related radiation exposure (exposure coming from other than natural or medical sources) as far below 500 person-mrem per year, collective total effective dose equivalent, as reasonably achievable. For an individual APS radiation worker, the goal is to keep the maximum occupational total effective dose equivalent of any one employee as far below 200 mrem/yr as reasonably achievable. The ALARA goal for APS beamline scientists is to keep the total of the work-related radiation exposure (exposure coming from other than natural or medical sources) as far below 100 person-mrem per year, collective total effective dose equivalent, as reasonably achievable. For an individual APS beamline scientist, the goal is to keep the maximum occupational total effective dose equivalent of any one scientist as far below 50 mrem/yr as reasonably achievable. The dose is actively monitored by the radiation monitors on the storage ring wall in each sector and by the frequent area surveys performed by the health physics personnel. For cases in which surveys indicate elevated hourly dose …

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The RESRAD-OFFSITE code is an extension of the RESRAD (onsite) code, which has been widely used for calculating doses and risks from exposure to radioactively contaminated soils. The development of RESRAD-OFFSITE started more than 10 years ago, but new models and methodologies have been developed, tested, and incorporated since then. Some of the new models have been benchmarked against other independently developed (international) models. The databases used have also expanded to include all the radionuclides (more than 830) contained in the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) 38 database. This manual provides detailed information on the design and application of the RESRAD-OFFSITE code. It describes in detail the new models used in the code, such as the three-dimensional dispersion groundwater flow and radionuclide transport model, the Gaussian plume model for atmospheric dispersion, and the deposition model used to estimate the accumulation of radionuclides in offsite locations and in foods. Potential exposure pathways and exposure scenarios that can be modeled by the RESRAD-OFFSITE code are also discussed. A user's guide is included in Appendix A of this manual. The default parameter values and parameter distributions are presented in Appendix B, along with a discussion on the statistical distributions for probabilistic analysis. …

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Supersymmetry, extension of the Standard Model of Particle Physics (SM), is searched for by trying to observe the supersymmetric partner of bottom quark ({tilde b}). This search is performed using events with a final state comprising two acoplanar b-quark jets and missing transverse energy (MET) and coming from a sample of 992 pb{sup -1} of data collected by the D0 detector at the Tevatron, the Fermilab p{bar p} collider. The absence of an excess of events in comparison to MS expectations leads to exclude sb masses up to 201 GeV, neutralino masses up to 94 GeV. The MET has been studied under two points of view, because of its fundamental role in this search. First, at the level of the trigger system which allows the online selection candidate events, and then, within the framework of the ALPGEN generator, the simulation of the Z boson transverse momentum which appears as MET when the Z boson decays into neutrino.

This report describes a visit to several gas well sites in the Fayetteville Shale on August 9, 2007. I met with George Sheffer, Desoto Field Manager for SEECO, Inc. (a large gas producer in Arkansas). We talked in his Conway, Arkansas, office for an hour and a half about the processes and technologies that SEECO uses. We then drove into the field to some of SEECO's properties to see first-hand what the well sites looked like. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) made several funding awards under a program called Low Impact Natural Gas and Oil (LINGO). One of the projects that received an award is 'Probabilistic Risk-Based Decision Support for Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Facilities in Sensitive Ecosystems'. The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville has the lead on the project, and Argonne National Laboratory is a partner. The goal of the project is to develop a Web-based decision support tool that will be used by mid- and small-sized oil and gas companies as well as environmental regulators and other stakeholders to proactively minimize adverse ecosystem impacts associated with the recovery of gas reserves in sensitive areas. The project focuses on …

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A study was performed to validate the existing tools for fast reactor neutronics analysis against previous critical experiments. The six benchmark problems for the ZPPR-21 critical experiments phases A through F specified in the Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments were analyzed. Analysis was also performed for three loading configurations of the ZPPR-15 Phase A experiments. As-built core models were developed in XYZ geometries using the reactor loading records and drawer master information. Detailed Monte Carlo and deterministic transport calculations were performed, along with various modeling sensitivity analyses. The Monte Carlo simulations were carried out with the VIM code with continuous energy cross sections based on the ENDF/B-V.2 data. For deterministic calculations, region-dependent 230-group cross sections were generated using the ETOE-2/MC-2/SDX code system, again based on the ENDF/B-V.2 data. Plate heterogeneity effects were taken into account by SDX unit cell calculations. Core calculations were performed with the TWODANT discrete ordinate code for the ZPPR-21 benchmarks, and with the DIF3D nodal transport option for the ZPPR-15 experiments. For all six ZPPR-21 configurations where the Pu-239 concentration varies from 0 to 49 w/o and the U-235 concentration accordingly varies from 62 to 0 w/o, the core multiplication factor determined with a …

This handbook demonstrates the application of a tool for measuring and monitoring the impact of a development project in the Department of Quezaltenango, Guatemala. That project itself presently is a demonstration. It explores the technical feasibility and the commercial possibilities of direct geothermal heat applications to the processing of agricultural produce - with the eventual purpose of expanding agricultural exports from Guatemala. The handbook focuses on an early stage of the geothermal initiative and guides preparations for future impact measurement and monitoring of geothermal projects. Primarily, guidance is for projects in agricultural applications of geothermal heat - and basically in Quezaltenango. But the exercise and the handbook are relevant in broad outline to other, industrial applications projects as well which may be based in other departments and have immediate impact across the whole country. This handbook attempts to prepare geothermal energy planners in Guatemala for that juncture when geothermal projects can be managed by objectives. It promotes and facilitates thinking about defining specific objectives for projects that result from the demonstration at Zunil (in Quezaltenango Department); and it prompts preparations for obtaining baseline measurements and for making rational projections on the achievements of future projects.

An evidence of the existence of leptoquarks (LQ) would prove the validity of various extensions of the Standard Model of Particle Physics (SM). The search for first generation leptoquarks presented in this dissertation has been performed by analyzing a 1.02 fb{sup -1} sample of data collected by the D0 detector, events with a final state comprising two light jets and two electrons. The absence of an excess of events in comparison to SM expectations leads to exclude scalar LQ masses up to 292 GeV and vector LQ masses from 350 to 458 GeV, depending on the LQ-l-q coupling type. The great importance of a good jet energy measurement motivated the study of the instrumental backgrounds correlated to the calorimeter, as much as studies of the hadronic showers energy resolution in {gamma} + jets events.

Geothermal energy is increasingly recognized for its potential to reduce carbon emissions and U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Energy and environmental analyses are critical to developing a robust set of geothermal energy technologies. This report summarizes what is currently known about the life cycle water requirements of geothermal electric power-generating systems and the water quality of geothermal waters. It is part of a larger effort to compare the life cycle impacts of large-scale geothermal electricity generation with other power generation technologies. The results of the life cycle analysis are summarized in a companion report, Life Cycle Analysis Results of Geothermal Systems in Comparison to Other Power Systems. This report is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 gives the background of the project and its purpose, which is to inform power plant design and operations. Chapter 2 summarizes the geothermal electricity generation technologies evaluated in this study, which include conventional hydrothermal flash and binary systems, as well as enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) that rely on engineering a productive reservoir where heat exists but water availability or permeability may be limited. Chapter 3 describes the methods and approach to this work and identifies the four power plant scenarios evaluated: a 20-MW EGS …

While high fidelity modeling capabilities for various physics phenomena are being pursued under advanced modeling and simulation initiatives under the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, they generally rely on high-performance computation facilities and are too expensive to be used for parameter-space exploration or design analysis. One-dimensional system codes have been used for a long time and have reached a degree of maturity, but limit their validity to specific applications. Thus, an intermediate fidelity (IF) modeling method is being pursued in this work for a fast-running, modest-fidelity, whole-core transient analyses capability. The new approach is essential for design scoping and engineering analyses and could lead to improvements in the design of the new generations of reactors and to the reduction of uncertainties in safety analysis. This report summarizes the initial effort on the development of the intermediate-fidelity full assembly modeling method. The requirements and the desired merits of the IF approach have been defined. A three-dimensional momentum source model has been developed to model the anisotropic flow in the wire-wrapped rod bundle without the need to resolve the geometric details. It has been confirmed that the momentum source model works well if its affecting region is accurately imposed. The validity of …

This Spanish version of the popular Small Wind Electric Systems: A U.S. Consumer's Guide provides consumers with information to help them determine whether a small wind electric system can provide all or a portion of the energy they need for their home or business based on their wind resource, energy needs, and economics. Topics include how to make a home more energy efficient, how to choose the correct turbine size, the parts of a wind electric system, how to determine whether enough wind resource exists, how to choose the best site for a turbine, how to connect a system to the utility grid, and whether it's possible to become independent of the utility grid using wind energy. In addition, the cover of the guide contains a list of contacts for more information.

Oil and gas companies operate in many countries around the world. Their exploration and production (E&P) operations generate many kinds of waste that must be carefully and appropriately managed. Some of these wastes are inherently part of the E&P process; examples are drilling wastes and produced water. Other wastes are generic industrial wastes that are not unique to E&P activities, such as painting wastes and scrap metal. Still other wastes are associated with the presence of workers at the site; these include trash, food waste, and laundry wash water. In some host countries, mature environmental regulatory programs are in place that provide for various waste management options on the basis of the characteristics of the wastes and the environmental settings of the sites. In other countries, the waste management requirements and authorized options are stringent, even though the infrastructure to meet the requirements may not be available yet. In some cases, regulations and/or waste management infrastructure do not exist at all. Companies operating in these countries can be confronted with limited and expensive waste management options.

Over a period of 30 years, more than a hundred Zero Power Reactor (ZPR) critical assemblies were constructed at Argonne National Laboratory. The ZPR facilities, ZPR-3, ZPR-6, ZPR-9 and ZPPR, were all fast critical assembly facilities. The ZPR critical assemblies were constructed to support fast reactor development, but data from some of these assemblies are also well suited for nuclear data validation and to form the basis for criticality safety benchmarks. A number of the Argonne ZPR/ZPPR critical assemblies have been evaluated as ICSBEP and IRPhEP benchmarks. Of the three classes of ZPR assemblies, engineering mockups, engineering benchmarks and physics benchmarks, the last group tends to be most useful for criticality safety. Because physics benchmarks were designed to test fast reactor physics data and methods, they were as simple as possible in geometry and composition. The principal fissile species was {sup 235}U or {sup 239}Pu. Fuel enrichments ranged from 9% to 95%. Often there were only one or two main core diluent materials, such as aluminum, graphite, iron, sodium or stainless steel. The cores were reflected (and insulated from room return effects) by one or two layers of materials such as depleted uranium, lead or stainless steel. Despite their more …

The use of thorium in current or advanced light water reactors (LWRs) has been of interest in recent years. These interests have been associated with the need to increase nuclear fuel resources and the perceived non-proliferation advantages of the utilization of thorium in the fuel cycle. Various options have been considered for the use of thorium in the LWR fuel cycle including: (1) its use in a once-through fuel cycle to replace non-fissile uranium or to extend fuel burnup due to its attractive fertile material conversion, (2) its use for fissile plutonium burning in limited recycle cores, and (3) its advantage in limiting the transuranic elements to be disposed off in a repository (if only Th/U-233 fuel is used). The possibility for thorium utilization in multirecycle system has also been considered by various researchers, primarily because of the potential for near breeders with Th/U-233 in the thermal energy range. The objective of this project is to evaluate the potential of the Th/U-233 fuel multirecycle in current LWRs, with focus this year on pressurized water reactors (PWRs). In this work, approaches for ensuring a sustainable multirecycle without the need for external source of makeup fissile material have been investigated. The intent …

Concert presented at the UNT College of Music Winspear Performance Hall.

Concert presented at the UNT College of Music Winspear Performance Hall.

Concert presented at the UNT College of Music Winspear Performance Hall.

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Choral concert performed at the UNT College of Music Winspear Hall.

A guest artist concert of traditional Indian music performed at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Ensemble concert performed at the UNT College of Music Concert Hall.