Yucca Mountain (YM), Nevada, has been proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy as a geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. In this study, we investigate the potential for groundwater advective pathways from underground nuclear testing areas on the Nevada Test Site (NTS) to the YM area by estimating the timeframe for advective travel and its uncertainty resulting from porosity value uncertainty for hydrogeologic units (HGUs) in the region. We perform sensitivity analysis to determine the most influential HGUs on advective radionuclide travel times from the NTS to the YM area. Groundwater pathways and advective travel times are obtained using the particle tracking package MODPATH and flow results from the Death Valley Regional Flow System (DVRFS) model by the U.S. Geological Survey. Values and uncertainties of HGU porosities are quantified through evaluation of existing site porosity data and expert professional judgment and are incorporated through Monte Carlo simulations to estimate mean travel times and uncertainties. We base our simulations on two steady state flow scenarios for the purpose of long term prediction and monitoring. The first represents pre-pumping conditions prior to groundwater development in the area in 1912 (the initial stress period of the DVRFS model). …

High-speed microchannel plate (MCP)–based imagers are critical detectors for x-ray diagnostics employed on Z-experiments at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to measure time-resolved x-ray spectra and to image dynamic hohlraums. A multiframe design using eight half strips in one imager permits recordings of radiation events in discrete temporal snapshots to yield a time-evolved movie. We present data using various facilities to characterize the performance of this design. These characterization studies include DC and pulsed-voltage biased measurements in both saturated and linear operational regimes using an intense, short-pulsed UV laser. Electrical probe measurements taken to characterize the shape of the HV pulse propagating across the strips help to corroborate the spatial gain dependence.

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Mask contributors to line-edge roughness (LER) have recently been shown to be an issue of concern for both the accuracy of current resist evaluation tests as well the ultimate LER requirements for the 22-nm production node. Problems arise from mask absorber LER as well as mask reflector or surface roughness leading to random phase variations in the reflected beam. Not only do these mask contributors effect to total measured LER in resist, but they also effect LER spatial characteristic such as the LER power spectral density and related descriptors of correlation length and roughness exponent. Noting that these characteristics are important in the understanding of LER, it is crucial to understand how mask effects impact these parameters. Moreover, understanding how these metrics respond to mask effects may lead to an experimental mechanism for experimentally evaluating the importance of mask contributors to LER. Here we use computer modeling to study the LER spatial metrics arising from mask effects. We further describe the effects of illumination conditions and defocus on the metrics and compare the results to those expected from intrinsic resist LER.

Staphylothermus marinus is an anaerobic, sulfur-reducing peptide fermenter of the archaeal phylum Crenarchaeota. It is the third heterotrophic, obligate sulfur reducing crenarchaeote to be sequenced and provides an opportunity for comparative analysis of the three genomes. The 1.57 Mbp genome of the hyperthermophilic crenarchaeote Staphylothermus marinus has been completely sequenced. The main energy generating pathways likely involve 2-oxoacid:ferredoxin oxidoreductases and ADP-forming acetyl-CoA synthases. S. marinus possesses several enzymes not present in other crenarchaeotes including a sodium ion-translocating decarboxylase likely to be involved in amino acid degradation. S. marinus lacks sulfur-reducing enzymes present in the other two sulfur-reducing crenarchaeotes that have been sequenced - Thermofilum pendens and Hyperthermus butylicus. Instead it has three operons similar to the mbh and mbx operons of Pyrococcus furiosus, which may play a role in sulfur reduction and/or hydrogen production. The two marine organisms, S. marinus and H. butylicus, possess more sodium-dependent transporters than T. pendens and use symporters for potassium uptake while T. pendens uses an ATP-dependent potassium transporter. T. pendens has adapted to a nutrient-rich environment while H. butylicus is adapted to a nutrient-poor environment, and S. marinus lies between these two extremes. The three heterotrophic sulfur-reducing crenarchaeotes have adapted to their habitats, terrestrial …

A variety of analyses were conducted on selected sediment samples collected from two wells (299 W15-46 and 299-W15-48) drilled near the 216-Z-9 Trench to elucidate the form and potential for Pu and Am to be mobilized under present conditions and those that could be expected in future remediation scenarios. Analyses included moisture content, determination of the less than sand size fraction (silt plus clay), carbon analysis, SEM/EDS analysis, microwave-assisted acid digestions for total element analysis, and extraction tests using Hanford groundwater as the leachate. Results of the extraction tests were used as input to conduct equilibrium geochemical modeling of the solutions with Geochemist’s Workbench®. Geochemical modeling results for Pu were evaluated in terms of recent conclusions regarding the solubility and redox reactions of Pu by Neck et al. (2007a, 2007b). It was found that the highest concentrations of Pu and Am were associated with sediments of low silt/clay content and occur above silt/clay rich layers within the sediment profile. It was also found that the Pu and Am were relatively enriched in the silt/clay portion of these samples. The fact that the highest concentrations of Pu and Am occurred in sediments with low silt/clay contents suggests that waste solutions had …

During the past three years, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) Load Modeling Task Force (LMTF) has led the effort to develop the new modeling approach. As part of this effort, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Southern California Edison (SCE), and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Solutions tested 27 residential air-conditioning units to assess their response to delayed voltage recovery transients. After completing these tests, different modeling approaches were proposed, among them a performance modeling approach that proved to be one of the three favored for its simplicity and ability to recreate different SVR events satisfactorily. Funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC) under its load modeling project, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) led the follow-on task to analyze the motor testing data to derive the parameters needed to develop a performance models for the single-phase air-conditioning (SPAC) unit. To derive the performance model, PNNL researchers first used the motor voltage and frequency ramping test data to obtain the real (P) and reactive (Q) power versus voltage (V) and frequency (f) curves. Then, curve fitting was used to develop the P-V, Q-V, P-f, and Q-f relationships for motor running and stalling states. The resulting performance model ignores the …