Article on structural and electronic properties of carbon nanotube tapers, a set of nanostructures comprised of straight tubular sections with decreasing diameters, joined to each other via conical funnels and terminated with a hemispherical cap.

A significant portion of the cost of fabricating LMFBR fuels is in the non-fuel components such as fuel pin cladding, fuel assembly ducts and end fittings. The contribution of these to fuel fabrication costs, based on FFTF experience and extrapolated to large LMFBR fuel loadings, is discussed. The extrapolation considers the expected effects of LMFBR development programs in progress on non-fuel component costs.

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A novel compact CT-guided intensity modulated proton radiotherapy (IMPT) system is described. The system is being designed to deliver fast IMPT so that larger target volumes and motion management can be accomplished. The system will be ideal for large and complex target volumes in young patients. The basis of the design is the dielectric wall accelerator (DWA) system being developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The DWA uses fast switched high voltage transmission lines to generate pulsed electric fields on the inside of a high gradient insulating (HGI) acceleration tube. High electric field gradients are achieved by the use of alternating insulators and conductors and short pulse times. The system will produce individual pulses that can be varied in intensity, energy and spot width. The IMPT planning system will optimize delivery characteristics. The system will be capable of being sited in a conventional linac vault and provide intensity modulated rotational therapy. Feasibility tests of an optimization system for selecting the position, energy, intensity and spot size for a collection of spots comprising the treatment are underway. A prototype is being designed and concept designs of the envelope and environmental needs of the unit are beginning. The status of …

The meaning of the phrase 'constraint effect in fracture' has changed in the past two decades from 'contained plasticity' to a broader description of 'dependence of fracture toughness value on geometry of test specimen or structure'. This paper will first elucidate the fundamental mechanics reasons for the apparent 'constraint effects in fracture', followed by outlining a straightforward approach to overcoming this problem in both brittle (elastic) and ductile (elastic-plastic) fracture. It is concluded by discussing the major difference in constraint effect on fracture event in elastic and elastic-plastic materials.

We have developed a high-speed system for collecting x-ray fluorescence microprobe data, based on ASICs developed at BNL and high-speed processors developed by CSIRO. The system can collect fluorescence data in a continuous raster scan mode, and present elemental images in real time using Ryan's Dynamic Analysis algorithm. We will present results from a 32-element prototype array illustrating the concept. The final instrument will have 384 elements arranged in a square array around a central hole.

An X-ray Active Matrix Pixel Sensor (XAMPS) is being developed for recording data for the X-ray Pump Probe experiment at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). Special attention has to be paid to some technological challenges that this design presents. New processes were developed and refined to address problems encountered during previous productions of XAMPS. The development of these critical steps and corresponding tests results are reported here.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a powerful tool for surface and interface analysis, providing the elemental composition of surfaces and the local chemical environment of adsorbed species. Conventional XPS experiments have been limited to ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions due to a short mean free path of electrons in a gas phase. The recent advances in instrumentation coupled with third-generation synchrotron radiation sources enables in-situ XPS measurements at pressures above 5 Torr. In this review, we describe the basic design of the ambient pressure XPS setup that combines differential pumping with an electrostatic focusing. We present examples of the application of in-situ XPS to studies of water adsorption on the surface of metals and oxides including Cu(110), Cu(111), TiO2(110) under environmental conditions of water vapor pressure. On all these surfaces we observe a general trend where hydroxyl groups form first, followed by molecular water adsorption. The importance of surface OH groups and their hydrogen bonding to water molecules in water adsorption on surfaces is discussed in detail.

Solar Resource Assessment Workshop, Denver CO, Oct 29, 2008 presentation: NREL's FY09 CSP Resource Assessment Plans

Solar Resource Assessment Workshop, Denver CO, Oct 29, 2008 presentation: Uncertainty for Satellite and Station Solar Data in the Updated NSRDB,

Identification and spatial registration of laser-induced damage relative to incident fluence profiles is often required to characterize the damage properties of laser optics near damage threshold. Of particular interest in inertial confinement laser systems are large aperture beam damage tests (>1cm{sup 2}) where the number of initiated damage sites for {phi}>14J/cm{sup 2} can approach 10{sup 5}-10{sup 6}, requiring automatic microscopy counting to locate and register individual damage sites. However, as was shown for the case of bacteria counting in biology decades ago, random overlapping or 'clumping' prevents accurate counting of Poisson-distributed objects at high densities, and must be accounted for if the underlying statistics are to be understood. In this work we analyze the effect of random clumping on damage initiation density estimates at fluences above damage threshold. The parameter {psi} = a{rho} = {rho}/{rho}{sub 0}, where a = 1/{rho}{sub 0} is the mean damage site area and {rho} is the mean number density, is used to characterize the onset of clumping, and approximations based on a simple model are used to derive an expression for clumped damage density vs. fluence and damage site size. The influence of the uncorrected {rho} vs. {phi} curve on damage initiation probability predictions is …

The final-state interaction in multichannel decay processes is systematically studied with application to B decay in mind. Since the final-state interaction is intrinsically interwoven with the decay interaction in this case, no simple phase theorem like"Watson's theorem" holds for experimentally observed final states. We first examine in detail the two-channel problem as a toy-model to clarify the issues and to remedy common mistakes made in earlier literature. Realistic multichannel problems are too challenging for quantitative analysis. To cope with mathematical complexity, we introduce a method of approximation that is applicable to the case where one prominent inelastic channel dominates over all others. We illustrate this approximation method in the amplitude of the decay B to pi K fed by the intermediate states of a charmed meson pair. Even with our approximation we need more accurate information of strong interactions than we have now. Nonetheless we are able to obtain some insight in the issue and draw useful conclusions on general features on the strong phases.

Mitigation of 351nm laser-induced damage sites on fused silica exit surfaces by selective CO{sub 2} treatment has been shown to effectively arrest the exponential growth responsible for limiting the lifetime of optics in high-fluence laser systems. However, the perturbation to the optical surface profile following the mitigation process introduces phase contrast to the beam, causing some amount of downstream intensification with the potential to damage downstream optics. Control of the laser treatment process and measurement of the associated phase modulation is essential to preventing downstream 'fratricide' in damage-mitigated optical systems. In this work we present measurements of the surface morphology, intensification patterns and damage associated with various CO{sub 2} mitigation treatments on fused silica surfaces. Specifically, two components of intensification pattern, one on-axis and another off-axis can lead to damage of downstream optics and are related to rims around the ablation pit left from the mitigation process. It is shown that control of the rim structure around the edge of typical mitigation sites is crucial in preventing damage to downstream optics.

Growth of laser initiated damage plays a major role in determining optics lifetime in high power laser systems. Previous measurements have established that the lateral diameter grows exponentially. Knowledge of the growth of the site in the propagation direction is also important, especially so when considering techniques designed to mitigate damage growth, where it is required to reach all the subsurface damage. In this work, we present data on both the diameter and the depth of a growing exit surface damage sites in fused silica. Measured growth rates with both 351 nm illumination and with combined 351 nm and 1054 nm illumination are discussed.

While many high energy density physics (HEDP) Rayleigh-Taylor and Richtmyer-Meshkov instability experiments have been fielded as part of basic HEDP and astrophysics studies, not one HEDP Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) experiment has been successfully performed. Herein, a design for a novel HEDP x-ray driven KH experiment is presented along with supporting radiation-hydrodynamic simulation and theory.

Consequence assessment during emergency response often requires atmospheric transport and dispersion modeling to guide decision making. A statistical analysis of the ensemble of results from several models is a useful way of estimating the uncertainty for a given forecast. ENSEMBLE is a European Union program that utilizes an internet-based system to ingest transport results from numerous modeling agencies. A recent set of exercises required output on three distinct spatial and temporal scales. The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) uses a regional prognostic model nested within a larger-scale synoptic model to generate the meteorological conditions which are in turn used in a Lagrangian particle dispersion model. A discussion of SRNL participation in these exercises is given, with particular emphasis on requirements for provision of results in a timely manner with regard to the various spatial scales.

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Synthetic CdZnTe or 'CZT' crystals can be grown under controlled conditions to produce high quality crystals to be used as room temperature radiation detectors. Even the best crystal growth methods result in defects, such as tellurium secondary phases, that affect the crystal's performance. In this study, CZT crystals were analyzed by micro Raman spectroscopy. The growth of Te rich areas on the surface was induced by low powered lasers. The growth was observed versus time with low power Raman scattering and was observed immediately under higher power conditions. The detector response was also measured after induced Te enrichment.

The purpose of this collaborative project between NREL and industry is: (1) provide high quality solar measurements in support of deploying Concentrating Solar Thermal projects; and (2) provide NREL with research-quality data sets for refining solar models and developing solar forecasting capabilities. The benefits of this project are: (1) lends NREL credibility to data sets used for economic analyses and commercial justification; (2) helps minimize costly mistakes in estimating capacity and economic return on investment; (3) helps maximize the development of projects for which adequate solar resources exist; (4) provides data to NREL for research to improve/validate models and explore RA innovations; and (5) helps maintain collaborative channels between NREL and industry.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is installing a network of sensors in the US to monitor background radiation and elevated radiation levels expected from a possible nuclear incident. The network (RadNet) of 180 fixed sensors is intended to provide a basic estimate of the radiation level throughout the US and enhanced accuracy near population centers. This report discusses one of the objective methods for locating these monitors based on criteria outlined by the EPA. The analysis employs a representative climatology of incident scenarios that includes 50 release locations, four seasons and four times of the day. This climatology was calculated from 5,600 simulations generated with NOAA-ARL's HYSPLIT Lagrangian trajectory model. The method treats the release plumes as targets and monitors are located to maximize the number of plumes detected with the network. Weighting schemes based on detection only, dose-weighted detection and population-dose weighted detection were evaluated. The result shows that most of the monitors are located around the population centers, as expected. However, there are monitors quite uniformly distributed around the less populated areas. The monitors at the populated areas will provide early warning to protect the general public, and the monitors spread across the country will provide valuable …

One of the activities associated with cleanup throughout the Department of Energy (DOE) complex is packaging radioactive materials into storage containers. Much of this work will be performed in high-radiation environments requiring fully remote operations, for which existing, proven systems do not currently exist. These conditions demand a process that is capable of producing acceptable (defect-free) welds on a consistent basis; the need to perform weld repair, under fully-remote operations, can be extremely costly and time consuming. Current closure welding technology (fusion welding) is not well suited for this application and will present risk to cleanup cost and schedule. To address this risk, Fluor and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), are proposing that a new and emerging joining technology, Friction Stir Welding (FSW), be considered for this work. FSW technology has been demonstrated in other industries (aerospace and marine) to produce near flaw-free welds on a consistent basis. FSW is judged capable of providing the needed performance for fully-remote closure welding of containers for radioactive materials for the following reasons: FSW is a solid-state process; material is not melted. As such, FSW does not produce the type of defects associated with fusion welding, e.g., solidification-induced porosity, cracking, distortion due …

Americium-241 is widely used as a radiation source, but it also has some potential risk if taken into the body because of its high dose conversion factor. Although the radiotoxicity of americium-241 is small compared to other transuranic actinides, its effects on the reproductive system and on development of the placenta are more damaging than the effects of plutonium-239. In Ohio, a gemologist's laboratory was contaminated with americium-241. Prior to decontamination of the laboratory, potential radiological impacts to the surrounding environment were assessed. A hypothetical fire accident resulting in a unit release (1 curie) was assumed. Potential radiological impacts were simulated using an atmospheric dispersion and dosimetry model with local meteorological data, population census data, and detailed information regarding the neighborhood. The results indicate that there could have been a significant impact on nearby residents from americium-241 via atmospheric dispersion if a major catastrophic release had occurred prior to contamination and decommissioning of the laboratory. 14 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.

Blocking the flow of radioactive gas in the emplacement hole requires attention to three items: stemming materials, cables, and spaces between the cables. This paper deals with an improvement in the latter; that is, filling the spaces between the cables and, thus, forming a bundle block. We have tested a two-part polyurethane foam in the field with apparent success. Field tests included recovery of sample cable bundles from a nuclear test in a tunnel. The foam creates a bundle block that survives the shock loading and improves the resistance to gas flow by as much as a factor of 3.

There are underappreciated limitations of the conversion of {sup 14}C-ages to the fixed, calendrical time-scale that bear directly upon our understanding of the dynamic climate system, or the relationship between the collapse of one civilization and it's neighbor's. In this paper we present a quantitative assessment of the limits of {sup 14}C-geochronology and calibration onto the absolute calendrical time-scale over the Holocene. We take into account not only the inherent limitations of the {sup 14}C-calendar calibration curve, but also analytical uncertainties.