An eddy current test system is described in which the test information is detected as a series of fields reflected from the metal surface and interior. Pulsed electromagnetic fields are caused to impinge upon the test specimen. These fields are restricted to a small cross sectional area over a path in space long enough to be useful for test purposes by devices called mask-apenture assemblies. This approach provides a number of advantages over conventional eddy current methods of comparable capabilities, including superior surface resolution, a reduction in circuit complexity, and an improvement in stability and reliability. Various applications and test results are discussed. (auth)

This paper describes a quantitative approach to help evaluate and respond to safeguards alarms. These alrms may be generated internally by a facility's safeguards systems or externally by individuals claiming to possess stolen Special Nuclear Material (SNM). This approach can be used to identify the most likely cause of an alarm - theft, hoax, or error - and to evaluate alternative responses to alarms. Possible responses include conducting investigations, initiating measures to recover stolen SNM, and replying to external threats. Based on the results of each alarm investigation step, the evaluation revises the likelihoods of possible causes of an alarm, and uses this information to determine the optimal sequence of further responses. The choice of an optimal sequence of responses takes into consideration the costs and benefits of successful thefts or hoaxes. These results provide an analytical basis for setting priorities and developing contingency plans for responding to safeguards alarms.

We have conducted parametric economic studies for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) electric power plants using an economic model to estimate the cost of electricity. We found that the economy of scale of the reactor is an important factor in determining the combination of target gain, driver efficiency, and electric conversion efficiency required for an economically competitive system. A strong economy of scale allows a significant reduction in these performance parameters for a given cost of electricity. The degree of reduction is dependent, however, on the maximum achievable chamber pulse rate.

Interest in reducing the labor-intensive requirements for calibrating HPGe detectors has resulted in various efficiency models. The present study examines a method for predicting the efficiencies over ranges of sample geometries, whereby only a few measurements are required. The method has been appraised against extensive HPGe calibrations, and has been used for a nondestructive'' calibration for samples from a NASA satellite.

The paper describes work to enable improved energy performance of existing and new retail stores belonging to a national chain and thereby also identify measures and tools that would improve the performance of 'big box' stores generally. A detailed energy simulation model of a standard store design was developed and used to: (1) demonstrate the benefits of benchmarking the energy performance of retail stores of relatively standard design using baselines derived from simulation, (2) identify cost-effective improvements in the efficiency of components to be incorporated in the next design cycle, and (3) use simulation to identify potential control strategy improvements that could be adopted in all stores, improving operational efficiency. The core enabling task of the project was to develop an energy model of the current standard design using the EnergyPlus simulation program. For the purpose of verification of the model against actual utility bills, the model was reconfigured to represent twelve existing stores (seven relatively new stores and five older stores) in different US climates and simulations were performed using weather data obtained from the National Weather Service. The results of this exercise, which showed generally good agreement between predicted and measured total energy use, suggest that dynamic benchmarking …

IceCube is a cubic kilometer neutrino telescope under construction at the South Pole.The primary goal is to discover astrophysical sources of high energy neutrinos.We describe the detector and present results on atmospheric muon neutrinos from2006 data collected with nine detector strings.

This paper is based on a transcript of my EPAC'08 presentation on advanced computing tools for accelerator physics. Following an introduction I present several examples, provide a history of the development of beam dynamics capabilities, and conclude with thoughts on the future of large scale computing in accelerator physics.

Weak scale supersymmetric theories often suffer from several naturalness problems: the problems of reproducing the correct scale for electroweak symmetry breaking, the correct abundance for dark matter, and small rates for flavor violating processes. We argue that the first two problems point to particular regions of parameter space in models with weak scale supersymmetry: those with a small {mu} term. This has an interesting implication on direct dark matter detection experiments. We find that, if the signs of the three gaugino mass parameters are all equal, we can obtain a solid lower bound on the spin-independent neutralino-nucleon cross section, {sigma}{sub SI}. In the case that the gaugino masses satisfy the unified mass relations, we obtain {sigma}{sub SI} {approx}> 4 x 10{sup -46} cm{sup 2} (1 x 10{sup -46} cm{sup 2}) for fine-tuning in electroweak symmetry breaking no worse than 10% (5%). We also discuss a possibility that the three problems listed above are all connected to the hierarchy of fermion masses. This occurs if supersymmetry breaking and electroweak symmetry breaking (the Higgs fields) are coupled to matter fields with similar hierarchical structures. The discovery of {mu} {yields} e transition processes in near future experiments is predicted in such a framework.

A three-dimensional analysis of radiation generation in a free-electron laser (FEL) is performed in the small signal regime. The analysis includes beam conditioning, harmonic generation, flat beams, and a new scaling of the FEL equations using the six-dimensional beam brightness. The six-dimensional beam brightness is an invariant under Liouvillian flow; therefore, any nondissipative manipulation of the phase-space, performed, for example, in order to optimize FEL performance, must conserve this brightness. This scaling is more natural than the commonly-used scaling with the one-dimensional growth rate. The brightness-scaled equations allow for the succinct characterization of the optimal FEL performance under various additional constraints. The analysis allows for the simple evaluation of gain enhancement schemes based on beam phase space manipulations such as emittance exchange and conditioning. An example comparing the gain in the first and third harmonics of round or flat and conditioned or unconditioned beams is presented.

National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS II) will be a 3-GeV, 792-meter circumference, 3rd generation synchrotron radiation facility, with ultra low emittance and extremely high brightness. the storage ring has 30 Double-Bend-Achromatic (DBA) cells. in each cell, there are five magnets and chamber girders, and one straight section for insertion devices or Radio Frequency (RF) cavities or injection. Most vacuum chambers are made from extruded aluminum with two different cross sections: one fitted in the dipole magnets, and the other surrounded by multipole magnets. They discuss the layout of the DBA cells, the detailed design of the cell's vacuum chambers, the mounting of the Beam-Position-Monitor (BPM) buttons, discrete absorbers, lumped pumps and the distributed Non-Evaporable Getter (NEG) strips, and describe the fabrication and testing of these prototype cell chambers. The account also details the development of the chamber bakeout process, the NEG stri's supports, and the RF shielded bellows.

Beam instability caused by the electron cloud has been observed in positron and proton storage rings, and it is expected to be a limiting factor in the performance of future colliders [1-3]. The effect is expected to be particularly severe in magnetic field regions. To test possible mitigation methods in magnetic fields, we have installed a new 4-dipole chicane experiment in the PEP-II Low Energy Ring (LER) at SLAC with both bare and TiN-coated aluminum chambers. In particular, we have observed a large variation of the electron flux at the chamber wall as a function of the chicane dipole field. We infer this is a new high order resonance effect where the energy gained by the electrons in the positron beam depends on the phase of the electron cyclotron motion with respect to the bunch crossing, leading to a modulation of the secondary electron production. Presumably the cloud density is modulated as well and this resonance effect could be used to reduce its magnitude in future colliders. We present the experimental results obtained during January 2008 until the April final shut-down of the PEP-II machine.

In this work, I report the latest lattice QCD calculations of nucleon and hyperon structure from chiral fermions in 2+1-flavor dynamical simulations. All calculations are done with a chirally symmetric fermion action, domain-wall fermions, for valence quarks. I begin with the latest lattice results on the nucleon structure, focusing on results from RBC/UKQCD using 2+1-flavor chiral fermion actions. We find the chiral-extrapolated axial coupling constant at physical pion mass point. to be 1.23(5), consistent with experimental value. The renormalization constants for the structure functions are obtained from RI/MOM-scheme non-perturbative renormalization. We find first moments of the polarized and unpolarized nucleon structure functions at zero transfer momentum to be 0.133(13) and 0.203(23) respectively, using continuum chiral extrapolation. These are consistent with the experimental values, unlike previous calculations which have been 50% larger. We also have a prediction for the transversity, which we find to be 0.56(4). The twist-3 matrix element is consistent with zero which agrees with the prediction of the Wandzura-Wilczek relation. In the second half of this work, I report an indirect dynamical estimation of the strangeness proton magnetic moments using mixed actions. With the analysis of hyperon form factors and using charge symmetry, the strangeness of proton is …

The sintering of pure and doped boron carbide was investigated over the temperature range 1898 to 2380/sup 0/K and at additive levels ranging from 0.75 to 10.0%. The addition of 0.75 and 3.8 wt% of AlF/sub 3/, Ni, Fe, and Cu deactivated the sintering of B/sub 4/C at all temperatures. In contrast, the addition of 10.0 wt% these additives resulted in enhanced shrinkage in B/sub 4/C for the temperatures 1898 and 2133/sup 0/K. At the highest temperature, 2380/sup 0/K, the addition of 10.0 wt% AlF/sub 3/ was the only case where enhanced shrinkage was observed. In this case, x-ray analysis showed the formation of a B/sub 12/C/sub 2/Al compound and the release of fluorine. These results are interpreted in terms of a grain-boundary diffusion process for pure and doped B/sub 4/C.

The Tokamak Ignition/Burn Experimental Reactor (TIBER) is being designed to provide nuclear testing capabilities for first wall and blanket design concepts. The baseline design for TIBER II is to provide steady-state nuclear burn capabilities. These objectives must be met using reactor relevant components, such as state-of-the-art current drive schemes coupled with superconducting toroidal field (TF) and poloidal field (PF) coils. The design is also constrained to be cost effective, which forces the machine to be as small as possible. This last constraint limits the nuclear shielding in TIBER. Therefore, the TF coils will have a high nuclear heat load of up to 4.5 kW per coil. The cooling scheme and the thermal analysis for this design are presented.

Ammonia assimilation has been implicated as participating in regulation of nitrogen fixation in free-living bacteria. In fact, these simple organisms utilize an integrated regulation of carbon and nitrogen metabolism; we except to observe an integration of nitrogen and carbon fixation in plants; how could these complex systems grow efficiently and compete in the ecosystem without coordinating these two crucial activities We have been investigating the role of ammonia assimilation regulating the complex symbiotic nitrogen fixation of legumes. Just as is observed in the simple bacterial systems, perturbation of ammonia assimilation in legumes results in increased overall nitrogen fixation. The perturbed plants have increased growth and total nitrogen fixation capability. Because we have targeted the first enyzme in ammonia assimilation, glutamine synthetase, this provides a marker that could be used to assist selection or screening for increased biomass yield. 45 refs., 4 tabs.

Although linear induction accelerators (LIAs) are quite reliable by most standards, they are limited in repeating rate, average power, and reliability because the final stage of energy delivery is based on spark gap performance. In addition, they have a low duty factor of operation. To provide a higher burst rate and greater reliability, the researchers used new technology to develop a magnetic pulse compression scheme that eliminates all spark gaps and exceeds requirements. The paper describes the scheme. The magnetic drive system can be tailored to drive induction cells from a few kA to over 10 kA at 500 kV, with average beam power levels in the megawatts. This new 5-MeV, 2.5-kA LIA under construction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will be used for the development of high brightness sources and will provide a test bed for the new technology, which should lead to LIAs that surpass the radio frequency linacs for efficiency and reliability, as well as fit other industrial applications, such as sewage sterilization.

An article written by Janet Tyson about the need to support local museums. The Amon Carter Museum is featured in the piece.

ADINA and ADINAT in partnership have provided a unique tool for analysis of heat flow, temperature distribution, and underground stresses and deformations due to excavation and storage of nuclear fuel and/or waste cannisters in hard rock formations. During this work we have determined successful and unsuccessful combinations of elements and properties for both the thermal and the stress analyses. In addition, we have determined a need for thermal radiation transport between portions of the model, as contrasted to radiation between the model and its surroundings. This latter need has been met in the interim by use of nonlinear bar conductors, and it will be satisfied in the future by a special user subroutine at ADINAT. The geological modeling was preceeded by a period of code testing and verification during which it was found that at least one material model did not produce correct thermal stresses even though the thermal deformations were correct. We also found that thermal stresses were likely to be in apparent error due to differences in the way in which ADINA interpolates the temperature and strain fields within each element. Solutions to this problem are discussed.

Interest in reducing the labor-intensive requirements for calibrating HPGe detectors has resulted in various efficiency models. The present study examines a method for predicting the efficiencies over ranges of sample geometries, whereby only a few measurements are required. The method has been appraised against extensive HPGe calibrations, and has been used for a ``nondestructive`` calibration for samples from a NASA satellite.

A PSpice model of an induction accelerator cell switched by field-effect transistors (FETS) has been developed to simulate the modulator`s circuit performance and induction core flux behavior. A FET switched induction cell has been built that generate 4-kV, 1 {mu}s pulses at pulse rates exceeding 100 kHz. The circuit architecture provides for core reset between pulses and produces bursts of pulses that are variable in amplitude, pulse width and prf. The transistor switching array, energy storage capacitors, reset circuit, and cell core are all combined into a compact, low-impedance package. This high-prf induction cell is being developed as the accelerating element for a proposed heavy-ion recirculator, which is an arrangement of many small induction mM in a 30m diameter circle. The recirculator will accept 10-MeV ions from a linear ion accelerator, under development at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and continue their acceleration to 60-MeV by repeatedly passing the ion beam through the many 5-kV cells. As the ions gain speed, the cell prf must also keep pace by increasing from 70 kHz to 200 kHz. Simple PSpice models have been used to predict B-H loop behavior in the magnetic core and to analyze circuit performance. Simulations of the induction cell …

A four-chamber piston pump is powered by decomposed 85% hydrogen peroxide. The performance envelope of the evolving 400 gram pump has been expanded to 172 cc/s water flow at discharge pressures near 5 MPa. A gas generator cycle system using the pump has been tested under similar conditions of pressure and flow. The powerhead gas is derived from a small fraction of the pumped hydrogen peroxide, and the system starts from tank pressures as low as 0.2 MPa. The effects of steam condensation on performance have been evaluated.

The well-known spatial variation of packing fraction near the outer boundary of a pebble-bed reactor core is cited. The ramifications of this variation are explored with the MCNP computer code. It is found that the variation has negligible effects on the global reactor physics parameters extracted from the MCNP calculations for use in analysis by diffusion-theory codes, but for local reaction rates the effects of the variation are naturally important. Included is some preliminary work in using first-order perturbation theory for estimating the effect of the spatial variation of packing fraction on the core eigenvalue and the fission density distribution.

A novel approach called Forward-Inverse Adaptive Techniques (FIAT) for reservoir characterization is developed and applied to three representative exploration cases. Inverse modeling refers to the determination of the entire reservoir permeability under steady state single-phase flow regime, given only field permeability, pressure and production well measurements. FIAT solves the forward and inverse partial differential equations (PDEs) simultaneously by adding a regularization term and filtering pressure gradients. An implicit adaptive-grid, Galerkin, numerical scheme is used to numerically solve the set of PDEs subject to pressure and permeability boundary conditions. Three examples are presented. Results from all three cases demonstrate attainable and reasonably accurate solutions and, more importantly, provide insights into the consequences of data undersampling.

This report discusses the recovery from the February 9, 1991 small scale explosion in a custom processing dissolver at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant. Custom processing is a small scale dissolution facility which processes nuclear material in an economical fashion. The material dissolved in this facility was uranium metal, uranium oxides, and uranium/fissium alloy in nitric acid. The paper explained the release of fission material, and the decontamination and recovery of the fuel material. The safety and protection procedures were also discussed. Also described was the chemical analysis which was used to speculate the most probable cause of the explosion. (MB)