The work reported here took place at the University of Minnesota from 07/01/1989 to 06/30/2006. Most of this work focused on computational materials applied to oxides during the first part of this funding period and to nanoscale materials toward the end of the funding period. This funding resulted in three monographs, 36 invited articles or book chapters, 160 articles in refereed journals and 89 invited talks. The funding helped train 13 PhD students and one masters student. The PI received two national research awards for this work. A list of these contributions are presented.

A COMPACT GAS PROCESSING DEVICE WAS INVESTIGATED TO INCREASE GAS PRODUCTION FROM REMOTE, PREVIOUSLY UN-ECONOMIC RESOURCES. THE UNIT WAS TESTED ON AIR AND WATER AND WITH NATURAL GAS AND LIQUID. RESULTS ARE REPORTED WITH RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE WORK.

The Savannah River National Laboratory measured the hydraulic conductivity of peat samples using method ASTM D4511-00. Four samples of peat were packed into 73mm diameter plastic tubes and saturated from the bottom up with water. The columns were packed with Premier ProMoss III TBK peat to a dry density of approximately 0.16 gm/cc (10 lb/ft3). One column was packed using oven dried peat and the other 3 were packed using as delivered peat. The oven dried sample was the most difficult to saturate. All of the peat samples expanded during saturation resulting in a sample length (L) that was longer than when the sample was initially packed. Table 1 contains information related to the column packing. After saturation the hydraulic conductivity test was conducted using the apparatus shown in Figure 1. Three of the samples were tested at 2 different flow conductions, 1 high and 1 low. Table 2 and Figure 2 contain the results of the hydraulic conductivity testing. Each test was run for a minimum of 40 minutes to allow the test conditions to stabilize. The hydraulic conductivity at the end of each test is reported as the hydraulic conductivity for that test. The hydraulic conductivity of the …

Detailed aircraft measurements were made of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) spectra associated with extensive cloud systems off the central California coast in the July 2005 MASE project. These measurements include the wide supersaturation (S) range (2-0.01%) that is important for these polluted stratus clouds. Concentrations were usually characteristic of continental/anthropogenic air masses. The most notable feature was the consistently higher concentrations above the clouds than below. CCN measurements are so important because they provide a link between atmospheric chemistry and cloud-climate effects, which are the largest climate uncertainty. Extensive comparisons throughout the eleven flights between two CCN spectrometers operated at different but overlapping S ranges displayed the precision and accuracy of these difficult spectral determinations. There are enough channels of resolution in these instruments to provide differential spectra, which produce more rigorous and precise comparisons than traditional cumulative presentations of CCN concentrations. Differential spectra are also more revealing than cumulative spectra. Only one of the eleven flights exhibited typical maritime concentrations. Average below cloud concentrations over the two hours furthest from the coast for the 8 flights with low polluted stratus was 614?233 at 1% S, 149?60 at 0.1% S and 57?33 at 0.04% S cm-3. Immediately above cloud average …

The John Day is the nation's second longest free-flowing river in the contiguous United States and the longest containing entirely unsupplemented runs of anadromous fish. Located in eastern Oregon, the basin drains over 8,000 square miles, Oregon's fourth largest drainage basin, and incorporates portions of eleven counties. Originating in the Strawberry Mountains near Prairie City, the John Day River flows 284 miles in a northwesterly direction, entering the Columbia River approximately four miles upstream of the John Day dam. With wild runs of spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead, westslope cutthroat, and redband and bull trout, the John Day system is truly a basin with national significance. The majority of the John Day basin was ceded to the Federal government in 1855 by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (Tribes). In 1997, the Tribes established an office in the basin to coordinate restoration projects, monitoring, planning and other watershed activities on private and public lands. Once established, the John Day Basin Office (JDBO) formed a partnership with the Grant Soil and Water Conservation District (GSWCD), which contracts the majority of the construction implementation activities for these projects from the JDBO. The GSWCD completes the landowner contact, …

Bioremediation of radionuclides and metals in the subsurface necessitate an understanding of the metabolic capacities and interactions of the anaerobic microorganisms that are found there, including members of the sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). Genetic investigation into the pathway of reductant flow to U(VI) in the SRB belonging to the genus Desulfovibrio has been the focus of this project. In Dv. desulfuricans strain G20, we confirmed the importance of the tetraheme cytochrome c3 by disruption of the gene encoding that cytochrome, cycA, and demonstrated a decrease in the ability of the mutant (I2) to reduce U(VI). We found that the cytochrome c3 was necessary for electrons from pyruvate to reach sulfate or fumarate as terminal electron acceptors. It was not needed for electrons from lactate to reach sulfate, from which we infer that a different pathway is used for the electrons from these two substrates. Cyrstal structure of the tetraheme cytochrome c3 was obtained and site-directed mutations of the protein indicated a binding site for metals at heme 4 of the structure. Kinetic studies for oxidation of reduced cytochrome c3 with U(VI) or molybdate revealed a preference for U(VI) as a substrate. Evidence for a role for sodium gradients in the energetic …

It is proposed to build a Wolter X-ray Microscope Computed Tomography System in order to characterize objects to sub-micrometer resolution. Wolter Optics Systems use hyperbolic, elliptical, and/or parabolic mirrors to reflect x-rays in order to focus or magnify an image. Wolter Optics have been used as telescopes and as microscopes. As microscopes they have been used for a number of purposes such as measuring emission x-rays and x-ray fluoresce of thin biological samples. Standard Computed Tomography (CT) Systems use 2D radiographic images, from a series of rotational angles, acquired by passing x-rays through an object to reconstruct a 3D image of the object. The x-ray paths in a Wolter X-ray Microscope will be considerably different than those of a standard CT system. There is little information about the 2D radiographic images that can be expected from such a system. There are questions about the quality, resolution and focusing range of an image created with such a system. It is not known whether characterization information can be obtained from these images and whether these 2D images can be reconstructed to 3D images of the object. A code has been developed to model the 2D radiographic image created by an object in …

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During the last 20 years, utilities and researchers have begun to understand the value in the collection and analysis of interruption cost data. The continued investigation of the monetary impact of power outages will facilitate the advancement of the analytical methods used to measure the costs and benefits from the perspective of the energy consumer. More in-depth analysis may be warranted because of the privatization and deregulation of power utilities, price instability in certain regions of the U.S. and the continued evolution of alternative auxiliary power systems.

During the contract period noted above, the Syracuse University Industrial Assessment Center conducted 97.5 assessment days for 98 different industrial clients. These assessments developed 818 assessment recommendations with an overall implementation rate of 51 % (AR’s). Total recommended dollar savings for the period was $17,386,758.00, with $8,893,212.00 actually implemented, for a dollar implementation rate of 57%. The Center employed a total of sixteen undergraduate interns throughout the contract period. Nine of these students stayed on at Syracuse University for graduate study with Center support; five students pursued graduate study at other universities. Ten of these students have, or will, accept professional positions in the energy consulting field. The Center has successfully engaged with a wide variety of professional and development organizations, including the Manufacturers Association of Central New York, The Central New York Technical Development Organization, (the local MEP), the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, The New York Power Authority, the Onondaga County Citizens Energy Committee, and the New York State Center of Excellence on Indoor Environmental Systems.

Our overall goal is the development of new and improved parameterizations of cloud-radiation effects and related processes, using ARM data at all three ARM sites, and the implementation and testing of these parameterizations in global models. To test recently developed prognostic parameterizations based on detailed cloud microphysics, we have compared SCM (single-column model) output with ARM observations at the SGP, NSA and TWP sites. We focus on the predicted cloud amounts and on a suite of radiative quantities strongly dependent on clouds, such as downwelling surface shortwave radiation. Our results demonstrate the superiority of parameterizations based on comprehensive treatments of cloud microphysics and cloud-radiative interactions. At the SGP and NSA sites, the SCM results simulate the ARM measurements well and are demonstrably more realistic than typical parameterizations found in conventional operational forecasting models. At the TWP site, the model performance depends strongly on details of the scheme, and the results of our diagnostic tests suggest ways to develop improved parameterizations better suited to simulating cloud-radiation interactions in the tropics generally. These advances have made it possible to take the next step and build on this progress, by incorporating our parameterization schemes in state-of-the-art three-dimensional atmospheric models, and diagnosing and evaluating …

This report provides the results of detailed hydrologic characterization tests conducted within selected Hanford Site wells during fiscal and calendar year 2005. Detailed characterization tests performed included groundwater-flow characterization, barometric response evaluation, slug tests, in-well vertical groundwater-flow assessments, and a single-well tracer and constant-rate pumping test. Hydraulic property estimates obtained from the detailed hydrologic tests include hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity, specific yield, effective porosity, in-well lateral and vertical groundwater-flow velocity, aquifer groundwater-flow velocity, and depth-distribution profiles of hydraulic conductivity. In addition, local groundwater-flow characteristics (i.e., hydraulic gradient and flow direction) were determined for a site where detailed well testing was performed. Results obtained from these tests provide hydrologic information that supports the needs of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act waste management area characterization as well as sitewide groundwater monitoring and modeling programs. These results also reduce the uncertainty of groundwater-flow conditions at selected locations on the Hanford Site.

The University of California and California Institute of Technology are currently studying the feasibility of building a 30-m segmented ground based optical telescope called the California Extremely Large Telescope (CELT). The early ideas for this telescope were first described by Nelson and Mast and more recently refined by Nelson. In parallel, concepts for the fabrication of the primary segments were proposed by Mast, Nelson and Sommargren where high risk technologies were identified. One of these was the surface figure metrology needed for fabricating the aspheric mirror segments. This report addresses the advanced interferometry that will be needed to achieve 15nm rms accuracy for mirror segments with aspheric departures as large as 35mm peak-to-valley. For reasons of cost, size, measurement consistency and ease of operation we believe it is desirable to have a single interferometer that can be universally applied to each and every mirror segment. Such an instrument is described in this report.

Research on cellular function and regulation would be greatly advanced by new instrumentation using methods to alter cellular processes with spatial discrimination on the nanometer-scale. We present a novel technique for targeting submicrometer sized organelles or other biologically important regions in living cells using femtosecond laser pulses. By tightly focusing these pulses beneath the cell membrane, we can vaporize cellular material inside the cell through nonlinear optical processes. This technique enables non-invasive manipulation of the physical structure of a cell with sub-micrometer resolution. We propose to study the role mitochondria play in cell proliferation and apoptosis. Our technique provides a unique tool for the study of cell biology.

A new imaging high resolution x-ray crystal spectrometer (XCS) has been developed to measure continuous profiles of ion temperature and rotation velocity in fusion plasmas. Following proof-of-principle tests on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak and the NSTX spherical tokamak, and successful testing of a new silicon, pixilated detector with 1MHz count rate capability per pixel, an imaging XCS is being designed to measure full profiles of Ti and vφ on C-Mod. The imaging XCS design has also been adopted for ITER. Ion-temperature uncertainty and minimum measurable rotation velocity are calculated for the C-Mod spectrometer. The affects of x-ray and nuclear-radiation background on the measurement uncertainties are calculated to predict performance on ITER.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Environment, Safety, and Health (ES&H) Self-Assessment Program ensures that Integrated Safety Management (ISM) is implemented institutionally and by all divisions. The Self-Assessment Program, managed by the Office of Contract Assurance (OCA), provides for an internal evaluation of all ES&H programs and systems at LBNL. The functions of the program are to ensure that work is conducted safely, and with minimal negative impact to workers, the public, and the environment. The Self-Assessment Program is also the mechanism used to institute continuous improvements to the Laboratory's ES&H programs. The program is described in LBNL/PUB 5344, Environment, Safety, and Health Self-Assessment Program and is composed of four distinct assessments: the Division Self-Assessment, the Management of Environment, Safety, and Health (MESH) review, ES&H Technical Assurance, and the Appendix B Self-Assessment. The Division Self-Assessment uses the five core functions and seven guiding principles of ISM as the basis of evaluation. Metrics are created to measure performance in fulfilling ISM core functions and guiding principles, as well as promoting compliance with applicable regulations. The five core functions of ISM are as follows: (1) Define the Scope of Work; (2) Identify and Analyze Hazards; (3) Control the Hazards; (4) Perform the Work; and …

Hanford Seismic Monitoring provides an uninterrupted collection of high-quality raw and processed seismic data from the Hanford Seismic Network (HSN) for the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors. Hanford Seismic Monitoring also locates and identifies sources of seismic activity and monitors changes in the historical pattern of seismic activity at the Hanford Site. The data are compiled, archived, and published for use by the Hanford Site for waste management, Natural Phenomena Hazards assessments, and engineering design and construction. In addition, the seismic monitoring organization works with the Hanford Site Emergency Services Organization to provide assistance in the event of a significant earthquake on the Hanford Site. The HSN and the Eastern Washington Regional Network (EWRN) consist of 41 individual sensor sites and 15 radio relay sites maintained by the Hanford Seismic Monitoring staff. For the HSN, there were 477 triggers during the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2001 on the data acquisition system. Of these triggers, 176 were earthquakes. Forty-five earthquakes were located in the HSN area; 1 earthquake occurred in the Columbia River Basalt Group, 43 were earthquakes in the pre-basalt sediments, and 1 was earthquakes in the crystalline basement. Geographically, 44 earthquakes occurred in swarm areas, …

This project investigated layout and compression techniques for large, unstructured simulation data to reduce bandwidth requirements and latency in simulation I/O and subsequent post-processing, e.g. data analysis and visualization. The main goal was to eliminate the data-transfer bottleneck - for example, from disk to memory and from central processing unit to graphics processing unit - through coherent data access and by trading underutilized compute power for effective bandwidth and storage. This was accomplished by (1) designing algorithms that both enforce and exploit compactness and locality in unstructured data, and (2) adapting offline computations to a novel stream processing framework that supports pipelining and low-latency sequential access to compressed data. This report summarizes the techniques developed and results achieved, and includes references to publications that elaborate on the technical details of these methods.

The objective of this study was to determine the best overall suture material to close incisions from the surgical implantation of Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) acoustic microtransmitters in subyearling Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. The effects of seven suture materials, four surgeons, and two water temperatures on suture retention, incision openness, tag retention, tissue inflammation, and tissue ulceration were quantified. The laboratory study, conducted by researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, supports a larger effort under way for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, aimed at determining the suitability of acoustic telemetry for estimating short- and longer-term (30-60 days) juvenile-salmonid survival at Columbia and Snake River dams and through the lower Columbia River.

The objective of this project is to conduct analysis, design, procurement and test of a high pressure ratio, wide flow range, and high EGR system with two stages of turbocharging. The system needs to meet the stringent 2010MY emissions regulations at 20% + better fuel economy than its nearest gasoline competitor while allowing equivalent vehicle launch characteristics and higher torque capability than its nearest gasoline competitor. The system will also need to meet light truck/ SUV life requirements, which will require validation or development of components traditionally used only in passenger car applications. The conceived system is termed 'seriessequential turbocharger' because the turbocharger system operates in series at appropriate times and also sequentially when required. This is accomplished using intelligent design and control of flow passages and valves. Components of the seriessequential system will also be applicable to parallel-sequential systems which are also expected to be in use for future light truck/SUV applications.

The objective of this calculation is to determine the structural response of a 21-Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) spent nuclear fuel waste package impacting an unyielding surface. A range of initial velocities and initial angles between the waste package and the unyielding surface is studied. The scope of this calculation is limited to estimating the area of the outer shell (OS) where the residual stress exceeds a given limit (hereafter ''damaged area''). The stress limit is defined as a fraction of the yield strength of the OS material, Alloy 22 (SB-575 N06022), at the appropriate temperature. The design of the 21-PWR waste package used in this calculation is that defined in Reference 8. However, a value of 4 mm was used for the gap between the inner shell and the OS, and the thickness of the OS was reduced by 2 mm. The sketch in Attachment I provides additional information not included in Reference 8. All obtained results are valid for this design only. This calculation is associated with the waste package design and was performed by the Specialty Analyses and Waste Package Design Section. The waste package (i.e. uncanistered spent nuclear fuel disposal container) is classified as Quality Level 1.

We have performed experiments at the COMET and Calisto short pulse laser facilities to make the first comprehensive measurements of the laser absorption and energy partition in solid targets heated with an ultrashort laser pulse focused to relativistic laser intensities (>10 10{sup 17} W/cm{sup 2}). The measurements show an exceedingly high absorption for P polarized laser-target interactions above 10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2}. Additionally, the hot electron population is observed to markedly increase at the same intensity range. An investigation of the relaxation process was initiated u using time sing time-resolved K{sub {alpha}} spectroscopy. Measurements of the time time-resolved K{sub {alpha}} radiation suggest a 10-20 ps relativistic electron relaxation time. However modeling difficulties of these data are apparent and a more detailed investigation on this subject matter is warranted.

The Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) Waste Package Department of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Management & Operating Contractor (CRWMS M&O) performed calculations to provide input for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the N Reactor, a graphite moderated reactor at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site (ref. 1). The N Reactor core was fueled with slightly enriched (0.947 wt% and 0.947 to 1.25 wt% {sup 235}U in Mark IV and Mark IA fuels, respectively) U-metal clad in Zircaloy-2 (Ref. 1, Sec. 3). Both types of N Reactor SNF have been considered for disposal at the proposed Yucca Mountain site. For some WPs, the outer shell and inner shell may breach (Ref. 3) allowing the influx of water. Water in the WP will moderate neutrons, increasing the likelihood of a criticality event within the WP; and the water may, in time, gradually leach the fissile components from the WP, further affecting the neutronics of the system. This study presents calculations of the long-term geochemical behavior of WPs containing two multi-canister overpacks (MCO) with either six baskets of Mark IA or five baskets of Mark IV intact N Reactor SNF rods (Ref. 1, Sec. 4) and two high-level waste …

This month's issue has the following articles: (1) Shaking the Foundations of Solar-System Science--Commentary by William H. Goldstein; (2) Stardust Results Challenge Astronomical Convention--The first samples retrieved from a comet are a treasure trove of surprises to Laboratory researchers; (3) Fire in the Hole--Underground coal gasification may help to meet future energy supply challenges with a production process from the past; (4) Big Physics in Small Spaces--A newly developed computer model successfully simulates particle-laden fluids flowing through complex microfluidic systems; (5) A New Block on the Periodic Table--Livermore and Russian scientists add a new block to the periodic table with the creation of element 118; and (6) A Search for Patterns and Connections--Throughout his career, Edward Teller searched for mathematical solutions to explain the physical world.