The author assumes that the reader is familiar with the Spherical harmonics, Pn, method and the discrete ordinates, S{sub n}, method; for a derivation of the equations used in these methods. I will only discuss the Boltzmann equation in one dimension, and the Sn method using Gaussian quadrature. I will do this merely to simplify the following discussion; once you understand the concepts presented here you can easily extend the conclusions to more general situations. Why are the spherical harmonics P{sub n} and discrete ordinate S{sub n} methods, or more correctly the P{sub n} and S{sub n+1} methods, equivalent, e.g., P{sub 3} is equivalent to S{sub 4}? When the S{sub n} method uses a Gaussian quadrature most textbooks will tell you that both methods are equivalent to assuming that the angular flux can be represented by a Legendre polynomial expansion of order n. Most textbooks are wrong [1]. We know that the S{sub n} method constrains the ''particles'' to travel in discrete directions; when Gaussian quadrature is used these discrete directions correspond to the zeros of the Legendre polynomial P{sub n+1}({mu}). What is not immediately obvious is that the P{sub n} method constrains the ''particles'' in exactly the same way. …

Many organizations worldwide develop standards that affect nuclear instrumentation and control (I and C). Two of the primary standards organizations are the US IEEE's Nuclear Power Engineering Committee (NPEC), and the IEC subcommittee on Reactor Instrumentation (SC45A). This paper surveys the contents of the two sets of standards. Opportunities for complementary use of IEEE and IEC standards are discussed. The collections of IEEE. and IEC standards have some overlap, but in many cases cover significantly different topics. For example, IEEE standards go to great depth on environmental qualification of many specific types of components, while IEC covers the topic only at the general level. Conversely, certain IEC standards deal with specific instrumentation and control functions, a topic area where IEEE standards are largely mute. This paper considers how the two sets of standards may be used in a complementary fashion to achieve broader topic coverage than is possible using only one or the other standard suite. To understand the similarities and differences between IEC and IEEE nuclear standards layer diagrams were developed for each set of standards. Another paper [Johnson, 2001] used the same layer diagrams to investigate where coordination between the two sets of standards is most critical.

The nature of electronic excitations in crystalline solid nitromethane under conditions of shock loading and static compression are examined. Density functional theory calculations are used to determine the crystal bandgap under hydrostatic stress, uniaxial strain, and shear strain. Bandgap lowering under uniaxial strain due to molecular defects and vacancies is considered. In all cases, the bandgap is not lowered enough to produce a significant population of excited states in the crystal. Preliminary simulations on the formation of detonation product molecules from HMX are discussed.

This report provides the results of detailed hydrologic characterization tests conducted within newly constructed Hanford Site wells during FY 1999. Detailed characterization tests performed during FY 1999 included: groundwater flow characterization, barometric response evaluation, slug tests, single-well tracer tests, constant-rate pumping tests, and in-well vertical flow tests. Hydraulic property estimates obtained from the detailed hydrologic tests include: transmissivity, hydraulic conductivity, specific yield, effective porosity, in-well lateral flow velocity, aquifer flow velocity, vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivity (within the well-screen section) and in-well vertical flow velocity. In addition, local groundwater flow characteristics (i.e., hydraulic gradient and flow direction) were determined for four sites where detailed well testing was performed.

This report catalogs the existing geologic data that can be found in various databases, published and unpublished reports, and in individuals' technical files. The scope of this catalog is primarily on the 100, 200, and 300 Areas, with a particular emphasis on the 200 Areas. Over 2,922 wells are included in the catalog. Nearly all of these wells (2,459) have some form of driller's or geologist's log. Archived samples are available for 1,742 wells. Particle size data are available from 1,078 wells and moisture data are available from 356 wells. Some form of chemical property data is available from 588 wells. However, this catalog is by no means complete. Numerous individuals have been involved in various geologic-related studies of the Hanford Site. The true extent of unpublished data retained in their technical files is unknown. However, this data catalog is believed to represent the majority (>90%) of the geologic data that is currently retrievable.

The objective of this report is to compare the benefits and costs of modifications proposed for intake gate closure systems at four hydroelectric stations on the Lower Snake and Upper Columbia Rivers in the Walla Walla District that are unable to meet the COE 10-minute closure rule due to the installation of fish screens. The primary benefit of the proposed modifications is to reduce the risk of damage to the station and environs when emergency intake gate closure is required. Consequently, this report presents the results and methodology of an extensive risk analysis performed to assess the reliability of powerhouse systems and the costs and timing of potential damages resulting from events requiring emergency intake gate closure. As part of this analysis, the level of protection provided by the nitrogen emergency closure system was also evaluated. The nitrogen system was the basis for the original recommendation to partially disable the intake gate systems. The risk analysis quantifies this protection level.

This report is a compilation of 7 studies conducted for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1995 and 1998 which used hydroacoustic methods to study the behavior of migrating salmon in response to navigation channel maintenance activities in the lower Columbia River near river mile 45. Differences between daytime and nighttime behavior and fish densities were noted. Comparisons were made of fish distribution across the river (in the channel, channel margin or near shore) and fish depth upstream and downstream of dikes, dredges, and pile driving areas.

Discovered three new proteins involved in DNA damage assessment. Interestingly they are all proteins involved in recombination, but they have very different roles in that process and other proteins that might be expected to be equivalently involved are not. This is developing into a very significant area of research.

Expression profiling and genomic DNA sequence comparisons are increasingly being applied to the identification and analysis of the genes involved in lipid metabolism. Not only has genome-wide expression profiling aided in the identification of novel genes involved in important processes in lipid metabolism such as sterol efflux, but the utilization of information from these studies has added to our understanding of the regulation of pathways participating in the process. Coupled with these gene expression studies, cross species comparison, searching for sequences conserved through evolution, has proven to be a powerful tool to identify important non-coding regulatory sequences as well as the discovery of novel genes relevant to lipid biology. An example of the value of this approach was the recent chance discovery of a new apolipoprotein gene (apo AV) that has dramatic effects upon triglyceride metabolism in mice and humans.

The purpose of the inventory abstraction, which has been prepared in accordance with a technical work plan (CRWMS M&O 2000e for ICN 02 of the present analysis, and BSC 2001e for ICN 03 of the present analysis), is to: (1) Interpret the results of a series of relative dose calculations (CRWMS M&O 2000c, 2000f). (2) Recommend, including a basis thereof, a set of radionuclides that should be modeled in the Total System Performance Assessment in Support of the Site Recommendation (TSPA-SR) and the Total System Performance Assessment in Support of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (TSPA-FEIS). (3) Provide initial radionuclide inventories for the TSPA-SR and TSPA-FEIS models. (4) Answer the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)'s Issue Resolution Status Report ''Key Technical Issue: Container Life and Source Term'' (CLST IRSR) key technical issue (KTI): ''The rate at which radionuclides in SNF [spent nuclear fuel] are released from the EBS [engineered barrier system] through the oxidation and dissolution of spent fuel'' (NRC 1999, Subissue 3). The scope of the radionuclide screening analysis encompasses the period from 100 years to 10,000 years after the potential repository at Yucca Mountain is sealed for scenarios involving the breach of a waste package and subsequent degradation …

To facilitate the study of flux heterogeneity within a region, the authors have designed, built, and field-tested a highly portable, rapidly deployable, eddy covariance CO{sub 2} flux measurement system. The system is built from off-the-shelf parts and was assembled at a minimal cost. The unique combination of features of this system allow for a very rapid deployment with a minimal number of field personnel. The system is capable of making high precision, unattended measurements of turbulent CO{sub 2} fluxes, latent heat (LE) fluxes, sensible heat fluxes (H), and momentum transfer fluxes. In addition, many of the meteorological and ecosystem variables necessary for quality control of the fluxes and for running ecosystem models are measured. A side-by-side field comparison of the system at a pair of established AmeriFlux sites has verified that, for single measurements, the system is capable of CO{sub 2} flux accuracy of about {+-} 1.2 {micro}mole/m{sup 2}/sec, LE flux accuracy of about {+-} 15 Watts/m{sup 2}, H flux accuracy of about {+-} 7 Watts/m{sup 2}, and momentum transfer flux accuracy of about {+-} 11 gm-m/sec/sec. System deployment time is between 2 and 4 hours by a single person. The system was measured to draw between 30 and 35 …

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared a total system performance assessment for a site recommendation (TSPA-SR), if suitable, on Yucca Mountain for disposal of radioactive waste. Discussed here is the Cladding Degradation Component of the Waste Form Degradation Model (WF Model), of the TSPA-SR. The Cladding Degradation Component determines the degradation rate of the Zircaloy cladding on commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF) and, thereby, the CSNF matrix exposed and radioisotopes available for dissolution in any water present. Since the 1950s, most CSNF has been clad with less than 1 mm (usually between 600 and 900 {micro}m) of Zircaloy, a zirconium alloy. Zircaloy cladding is not a designed engineered barrier of the Yucca Mountain disposal system, but rather is an existing characteristic of the CSNF that is important to determining the release rate of radioisotopes once the waste package (WP) has breached. Although studies of cladding degradation from fluoride [F] began at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as early as 1984, cladding as a characteristic of the waste was not considered in TSPAs, conducted in the early 1990s. However, enough information on cladding performance has accumulated in the literature such that cladding was considered in 1993 when examining the performance …

Pennsylvanian-age Morrow reservoirs are a key component of a large fluvial-deltaic system that extends across portions of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. A problem that operators have to solve in some Morrow plays in this multi-state area is that many of the fluvial channels within the Morrow interval are invisible to seismic compressional (P) waves. This P-wave imaging problem forces operators in such situations to site infill, field-extension, and exploration wells without the aid of 3-D seismic technology. The objective of this project was to develop and demonstrate seismic technology that can improve drilling success in Morrow plays. Current P-wave technology commonly results in 80-percent of Morrow exploration wells not penetrating economic reservoir facies. Studies at Colorado School of Mines have shown that some of the Morrow channels that are elusive as P-wave targets create robust shear (S) wave reflections (Rampton, 1995). These findings caused Visos Energy to conclude that exploration and field development of Morrow prospects should be done by a combination of P-wave and S-wave seismic imaging. To obtain expanded information about the P and S reflectivity of Morrow facies, 9-component vertical seismic profile (9-C VSP) data were recorded at three locations along the Morrow trend. These data …

The report presents calculation results of isotopic composition of irradiated fuel performed for the Quad Cities-1 reactor bundle with UO{sub 2} and MOX fuel. The MCU-REA code was used for calculations. The code is developed in Kurchatov Institute, Russia. The MCU-REA results are compared with the experimental data and HELIOS code results.

This report covers work performed during FY 1999-2000 in support of treatment demonstrations conducted for the Mercury Working Group of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Mixed Waste Focus Area. In order to comply with the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), DOE must use one of these procedures for wastes containing mercury at levels above 260 ppm: a retorting/roasting treatment or an incineration treatment (if the wastes also contain organics). The recovered radioactively contaminated mercury must then be treated by an amalgamation process prior to disposal. The DOE Mixed Waste Focus Area and Mercury Working Group are working with the EPA to determine if some alternative processes could treat these types of waste directly, thereby avoiding for DOE the costly recovery step. They sponsored a demonstration in which commercial vendors applied their technologies for the treatment of two contaminated waste soils from Brookhaven National Laboratory. Each soil was contaminated with {approx}4500 ppm mercury; however, one soil had as a major radioelement americium-241, while the other contained mostly europium-152. The project described in this report addressed the need for data on the mercury vapor released by the solidified/stabilized mixed …

The first irradiation experiment to evaluate the technical feasibility of proposed acitnide transmutation fuels for the US. Accelerator Transmutation of Waste program is currently under design. The goal of this irradiation experiment is to obtain initial irradiation performance data on candidate transmutation fuel concepts. The candidate fuels include non-fertile variations of (1) metallic alloys, (2) nitrides, (3) oxides, and (4) metal-matrix dispersion fuels. These fuels will be irradiated in the form of rodlets in the Advanced Test Reactor in Idaho beginning in September 2002. it is expected that postirradiation examinations will be performed on these fuels at the {approx} 7 and 20 at.-% burnup levels. This paper presents the design of the irradiation test vehicle and the fuel rodlets; the test matrix of fuel variations, the target test conditions; and the planned postirradiation examinations.

This report describes the ARM (Atmospheric Radiation Measurement) operational variational objective analysis system. It is currently used to process the data collected from the ARM Intensive Operational Periods (IOPs) for driving and evaluating physical parameterizations in climate models. The analysis system was originally developed by Zhang and Lin (1997) at State University of New York at Stony Brook and was migrated to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as the ARM operational objective analysis system in May 1999. In contrast with previous objective analysis (e.g., Barnes, 1964; O'Brien, 1970; Lin and Johnson, 1996), the ARM objective analysis used the constrained variational analysis method developed by Zhang and Lin (1997), in which the atmospheric state variables are forced to satisfy the conservation of mass, heat, moisture, and momentum through a variational technique. The purpose of this technical report is to provide an overview of the constrained variational analysis method, the architecture of the objective analysis system, along with in-depth information on running the variational analysis codes.

The DOE is currently conducting cleanup activities at its nuclear weapons development sites, many of which have accumulated plutonium (Pu) in soils for 50 years. To properly control Pu migration in soils within Federal sites and onto public lands, better evaluate the public risk, and design effective remediation strategies, a fundamental understanding of Pu speciation and environmental transport is needed. This type of information is increasingly important as the remediation and decommissioning plans for actinide-contaminated sites includes in situ stabilization or clean-up to a particular level of residual contamination. Long-term stewardship of the sites and return of these sites to public use will require more accurate predictions of contamination stability and mobility than is possible using current information.

A recent increase in interest and development of wind energy in the Midwestern United States has focused the need for updating wind resource maps of this area. The wind resource assessment group at the National Renewable Energy Lab., a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory, has produced updated high-resolution (1-km) wind resource maps for several states in this region. This abstract describes the computerized tools and methodology used by NREL to create the higher resolution maps.

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The objective of this calculation is to evaluate the thermal response of the Fort Saint Vrain (FSV) Codisposal Waste Package (WP) design under nominal Monitored Geologic Repository conditions. The objective of the calculation is to provide thermal parameter information to support the FSV waste package design. The information provided by the sketches (Attachment IV) is that of the potential design of the type of WP considered in this calculation, and all obtained results are valid for that design only. This calculation is associated with the WP design and was performed by the Waste Package Design group in accordance with the ''Technical Work Plan for: Waste Package Design Description for LA'' (Ref. 16). AP-3.124, ''Calculations'' (Ref. 17) is used to perform the calculation and develop the document. The sketches attached to this calculation provide the potential dimensions and materials for the SDHLW (Defense High Level Waste) / DOE (Department of Energy) Long WP.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the energy absorption characteristics of plastically deformed inclined struts under impact loading. This information is needed to provide a usable method by which designers and analysts of shipping casks for radioactive or fissile materials can determine the energy absorption capabilities of external longitudinal fins on cylindrical casks under specified impact conditions. A survey of technical literature related to experimental determination of the dynamic plastic behavior of struts revealed no information directly applicable to the immediate problem, especially in the impact velocity ranges desired, and an experimental program was conducted to obtain the needed data. Mild-steel struts with rectangular cross sections were impacted by free-falling weights dropped from known heights. These struts or fin specimens were inclined at five different angles to simulate different angles of impact that fins on a shipping cask could experience under certain accident conditions. The resisting force of the deforming strut was measured and recorded as a function of time by using load cells instrumented with resistance strain gage bridges, signal conditioning equipment, an oscilloscope, and a Polaroid camera. The acceleration of the impacting weight was measured and recorded as a function of time during the latter portion …