The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) currently does not have the necessary capabilities to process all remote-handled wastes resulting from the Laboratory’s nuclear-related missions. Over the years, various U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-sponsored programs undertaken at the INL have produced radioactive wastes and other materials that are categorized as remote-handled (contact radiological dose rate > 200 mR/hr). These materials include Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF), transuranic (TRU) waste, waste requiring geological disposal, low-level waste (LLW), mixed waste (both radioactive and hazardous per the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act [RCRA]), and activated and/or radioactively-contaminated reactor components. The waste consists primarily of uranium, plutonium, other TRU isotopes, and shorter-lived isotopes such as cesium and cobalt with radiological dose rates up to 20,000 R/hr. The hazardous constituents in the waste consist primarily of reactive metals (i.e., sodium and sodium-potassium alloy [NaK]), which are reactive and ignitable per RCRA, making the waste difficult to handle and treat. A smaller portion of the waste is contaminated with other hazardous components (i.e., RCRA toxicity characteristic metals). Several analyses of alternatives to provide the required remote-handling and treatment capability to manage INL’s remote-handled waste have been conducted over the years and have included various options ranging from modification of …

A finite element computational approach to simulation of the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) Core Thermal-Fluid behavior is developed. These models were developed to facilitate design of a low enriched core for the HFIR, which will have different axial and radial flux profiles from the current HEU core and thus will require fuel and poison load optimization. This report outlines a stepwise implementation of this modeling approach using the commercial finite element code, COMSOL, with initial assessment of fuel, poison and clad conduction modeling capability, followed by assessment of mating of the fuel conduction models to a one dimensional fluid model typical of legacy simulation techniques for the HFIR core. The model is then extended to fully couple 2-dimensional conduction in the fuel to a 2-dimensional thermo-fluid model of the coolant for a HFIR core cooling sub-channel with additional assessment of simulation outcomes. Finally, 3-dimensional simulations of a fuel plate and cooling channel are presented.

Evidence is reported for a narrow structure near the J/{psi}{phi} threshold in exclusive B{sup +} {yields} J/{psi}{phi}K{sup +} decays produced in {bar p}p collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. A signal of 14 {+-} 5 events, with statistical significance in excess of 3.8 standard deviations, is observed in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.7 fb{sup -1}, collected by the CDF II detector. The mass and natural width of the structure are measured to be 4143.0 {+-} 2.9(stat) {+-} 1.2(syst) MeV/c{sup 2} and 11.7{sub -5.0}{sup +8.3}(stat) {+-} 3.7(syst) MeV/c{sup 2}.

The behavior of a shocked tungsten carbide / epoxy mixture as it expands into a vacuum has been studied through a combination of experiments and simulations. X-ray radiography of the expanding material as well as the velocity measured for a stood-off witness late are used to understand the physics of the problem. The initial shock causes vaporization of the epoxy matrix, leading to a multi-phase flow situation as the epoxy expands rapidly at around 8 km/s followed by the WC particles moving around 3 km/s. There are also small amounts of WC moving at higher velocities, apparently due to jetting in the sample. These experiments provide important data about the multi-phase flow characteristics of this material.

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Feed-in tariff (FIT) policies are implemented in more than 40 countries around the world and are cited as the primary reason for the success of the German and Spanish renewable energy markets. As a result of that success, FIT policy proposals are starting to gain traction in several U.S. states and municipalities. Experience from Europe is also beginning to demonstrate that properly designed FITs may be more cost-effective than renewable portfolio standards (RPS), which make use of competitive solicitations. This article explores the design and operation of feed-in tariff policies, including a FIT policy definition, payment-structure options, and payment differentiation. The article also touches on the potential interactions between FIT policies and RPS policies at the state level.

The security of the widely-used cryptographic hash function SHA1 has been impugned. We have developed two replacement hash functions. The first, SHA1X, is a drop-in replacement for SHA1. The second, SANDstorm, has been submitted as a candidate to the NIST-sponsored SHA3 Hash Function competition.

Oxy-fired or low-nitrogen combustion is a technology that will facilitate CO2 capture while also reducing NOx formation and which offers the opportunity for near-zero emissions coal combustion via either the retrofit of existing power plants, or the design of new power plants. Because of the opportunity to improve the environmental performance of the existing coal fired fleet (currently approximately 800 GW of capacity in the US alone) and the potential for converting these plants from air-blown to oxy-fired burners, NETL’s Office of Research & Development is focusing its attention on the impact of retrofitting existing plants on the service life of the materials of construction

Presented is a measurement of the simultaneous production of a W{sup {+-}} boson in association with a second weak boson (W{sup {+-}} or Z{sup 0}) in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. Events are consider with one electron or one muon, missing transverse energy, and at least two hadronic jets. The data were collected by the D0 detector in Run IIa of the Tevatron accelerator and correspond to 1.07 fb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity for each of the two channels (WW/WZ {yields} e{nu}q{bar q} and WW/WZ {yields} {mu}{nu}q{bar q}). The cross section for WW + WZ production is measured to be 20.2 {+-} 2.5(stat) {+-} 3.6(sys) {+-} 1.2(lum) pb with a Gaussian significance of 4.4 standard deviations above the background-only scenario. This measurement is consistent with the Standard Model prediction and represents the first direct evidence for WW and WZ production with semi-leptonic decays at a hadron collider.

We present a measurement of the t{bar t} differential cross section with respect to the t{bar t} invariant mass, d{sigma}/dM{sub t{bar t}}, in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV using an integrated luminosity of 2.7 fb{sup -1} collected by the CDF II experiment. The t{bar t} invariant mass spectrum is sensitive to a variety of exotic particles decaying into t{bar t} pairs. The result is consistent with the standard model expectation, as modeled by PYTHIA with CTEQ5L parton distribution functions.

When fractures in otherwise hard rocks are filled with fluids (oil, gas, water, CO{sub 2}), the type and physical state of the fluid (liquid or gas) can make a large difference in the wave speeds and attenuation properties of seismic waves. The present work summarizes methods of deconstructing theses effects of fractures, together with any fluids contained within them, on wave propagation as observed in reflection seismic data. Additional studies of waves in fluid-saturated granular media show that the behavior can be quite different from that for fractured media, since these materials are typically much softer mechanically than are the fractured rocks (i.e., having a very small drained moduli). Important fluid effects in such media are often governed as much by fluid viscosity as by fluid bulk modulus.

The IRT 2000 research reactor, operated by the Bulgarian Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy (INRNE), safely shipped all of their Russian-origin nuclear fuel from the Republic of Bulgaria to the Russian Federation beginning in 2003 and completing in 2008. These fresh and spent fuel shipments removed all highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Bulgaria. The fresh fuel was shipped by air in December 2003 using trucks and a commercial cargo aircraft. One combined spent fuel shipment of HEU and low enriched uranium (LEU) was completed in July 2008 using high capacity VPVR/M casks transported by truck, barge, and rail. The HEU shipments were assisted by the Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return Program (RRRFR) and the LEU spent fuel shipment was funded by Bulgaria. This report describes the work, approvals, organizations, equipment, and agreements required to complete these shipments and concludes with several major lessons learned.

NREL's study shows that hybrid electric vehicles can significantly reduce oil imports for use in light-duty vehicles, particularly if drivers switch to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles overall.

Handwritten note on March 1, 2009 regarding bringing more allies and using ActBlue.

Handwritten note on March 1, 2009 regarding Linda Allen Webmaster and John-Thomas Musselman Technology Workshop.

Adsorbed water films strongly influence residual water saturations and hydraulic conductivities in porous media at low saturations. Hydraulic properties of adsorbed water films in unsaturated porous media were investigated through combining Langmuir's film model with scaling analysis, without use of any adjustable parameters. Diffuse double layer influences are predicted to be important through the strong dependence of adsorbed water film thickness (f) on matric potential ({Psi}) and ion charge (z). Film thickness, film velocity, and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity are predicted to vary with z{sup -1}, z{sup -2}, and z{sup -3}, respectively. In monodisperse granular media, the characteristic grain size ({lambda}) controls film hydraulics through {lambda}{sup -1} scaling of (1) the perimeter length per unit cross sectional area over which films occur, (2) the critical matric potential ({Psi}{sub c}) below which films control flow, and (3) the magnitude of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity when {Psi} < {Psi}{sub c}. While it is recognized that finer textured sediments have higher unsaturated hydraulic conductivities than coarser sands at intermediate {Psi}, the {lambda}{sup -1} scaling of hydraulic conductivity predicted here extends this understanding to very low saturations where all pores are drained. Extremely low unsaturated hydraulic conductivities are predicted under adsorbed film-controlled conditions (generally < …

In 2003, President George W. Bush announced the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative to accelerate the research and development of hydrogen, fuel cell, and infrastructure technologies that would enable hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to reach the commercial market in the 2020 timeframe. The widespread use of hydrogen can reduce our dependence on imported oil and benefit the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and criteria pollutant emissions that affect our air quality. The Energy Policy Act of 2005, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush on August 8, 2005, reinforces Federal government support for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Title VIII, also called the 'Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen Act of 2005' authorizes more than $3.2 billion for hydrogen and fuel cell activities intended to enable the commercial introduction of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2020, consistent with the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative. Numerous other titles in the Act call for related tax and market incentives, new studies, collaboration with alternative fuels and renewable energy programs, and broadened demonstrations--clearly demonstrating the strong support among members of Congress for the development and use of hydrogen fuel cell technologies. In 2006, the President announced the Advanced Energy Initiative (AEI) to accelerate research on …

General definitions of horizontal and vertical amplitudes for linear coupled motion are developed from the normal form of the one-turn matrix. This leads to the identification of conditions on the matrix that give rise to the linear coupling sum and difference resonances. The correspondence with the standard hamiltonian treatment of the resonances is discussed.

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Annihilation of cosmologically distributed dark matter is predicted to produce a potentially observable flux of high energy photons. Neglecting the contribution from local structure, this signal is predicted to be virtually uniform on the sky and, in order to be identified, must compete with various extragalactic backgrounds. We focus here on unresolved blazars and discuss several techniques for separating the dark matter signal from this background. First, the spectral shapes of the signal and background are expected to differ, a feature which can be exploited with the Fisher Matrix formalism. Second, in any given angular pixel, the number of photons from blazars is drawn from a distribution which is far from Poisson. A knowledge of this distribution enhances one's ability to extract the dark matter signal, while ignorance of it can lead to the introduction of a large systematic error.

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) maintains a neutron calibration facility which supports the calibration, maintenance, and repair of Radiation Protection Instruments. The SNL neutron reference fields are calibrated using the following methodology: Fluence rate is initially established by calculation using the NIST traceable source emission rate (decay corrected). Correction factors for the effects of room return or scatter, and source anisotropy are then developed by using a suitable radiation transport code to model the geometry of the facility. The conventionally true neutron dose rates are then determined using the appropriate fluence-todose equivalent conversion coefficients at several reference positions. This report describes the impact on calculated neutron dose rates of switching from NCRP-38 to CRP-74 neutron flux-todose equivalent rate conversion factors. This switch is driven by recent changes to dosimetry requirements addressed in 10 CFR 835 (Occupational Radiation Protection).

Contaminant releases in or near a building can lead to significant human exposures unless prompt response is taken. U.S. Federal and local agencies are implementing programs to place air-monitoring samplers in buildings to quickly detect biological agents. We describe a probabilistic algorithm for siting samplers in order to detect accidental or intentional releases of biological material. The algorithm maximizes the probability of detecting a release from among a suite of realistic scenarios. The scenarios may differ in any unknown, for example the release size or location, weather, mode of building operation, etc. The algorithm also can optimize sampler placement in the face of modeling uncertainties, for example the airflow leakage characteristics of the building, and the detection capabilities of the samplers. In an illustrative example, we apply the algorithm to a hypothetical 24-room commercial building, finding optimal networks for a variety of assumed sampler types and performance characteristics. We also discuss extensions of this work for detecting ambient pollutants in buildings, and for understanding building-wide airflow, pollutant dispersion, and exposures.

The Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility (IBRF) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) expands NREL's cellulosic ethanol research and development and collaboration capabilities.

Biomass-based ethanol and nuclear power are two viable elements in the path to U.S. energy independence. Numerous studies suggest nuclear power could provide a practical carbon-free heat source alternative for the production of biomass-based ethanol. In order for this coupling to occur, it is necessary to examine the interfacial requirements of both nuclear power plants and bioethanol refineries. This report describes the proposed characteristics of a small cogeneration nuclear power plant, a biochemical process-based cellulosic bioethanol refinery, and a thermochemical process-based cellulosic biorefinery. Systemic and interfacial issues relating to the co-location of either type of bioethanol facility with a nuclear power plant are presented and discussed. Results indicate future co-location efforts will require a new optimized energy strategy focused on overcoming the interfacial challenges identified in the report.