The computational mesh in numerical simulation provides a framework on which to monitor the spatial dependence of function and their derivatives. Spatial mesh is therefore essential to the ability to integrate systems in time without loss of fidelity. Several philosophies have emerged to provide such fidelity (Eulerian, Lagrangian, Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian ALE, Adaptive Mesh Refinement AMR, and adaptive node generation/deletion). Regardless of the type of mesh, a major difficulty is in setting up the initial mesh. Clearly a high density of grid points is essential in regions of high geometric complexity and/or regions of intense, energetic activity. For some problems, mesh generation is such a crucial part of the problem that it can take as much computational effort as the run itself, and these tasks are now taking weeks of massively parallel CPU time. Mesh generation is no less crucial to electromagnetic calculations. In fact EM problem set up can be even more challenging without the clues given by fluid motion in hydrodynamic systems. When the mesh is advected with the fluid (Lagrangian), mesh points naturally congregate in regions of high activity. Similarly in AMR algorithms, strong gradients in the fluid flow are one of the triggers for mesh refinement. …

Article commenting on the paper entitled "Determination of the equilibrium constant for complex formation in a binary mixture of chloroform and triethylamine from viscosity data on the basis of the idea associated solution model"

Computer simulation has been applied to the investigation of intergranular stress corrosion cracking in Ni-based alloys based on a hydrogen embrittlement mechanism. The simulation employs computational modules that address (a) transport and reactions of aqueous species giving rise to hydrogen generation at the liquid-metal interface, (b) solid state transport of hydrogen via intergranular and transgranular diffusion pathways, and (c) fracture due to the embrittlement of metallic bonds by hydrogen. A key focus of the computational model development has been the role of materials microstructure (precipitate particles and grain boundaries) on hydrogen transport and embrittlement. Simulation results reveal that intergranular fracture is enhanced as grain boundaries are weakened and that microstructures with grains elongated perpendicular to the stress axis are more susceptible to cracking. The presence of intergranular precipitates may be expected to either enhance or impede cracking depending on the relative distribution of hydrogen between the grain boundaries and the precipitate-matrix interfaces. Calculations of hydrogen outgassing and in gassing demonstrate a strong effect of charging method on the fracture behavior.

Boron is added to nickel-base superalloys such as Alloy X-750 in order to enhance high temperature strength and ductility so that the alloy may be more easily hot worked[1]. Boron additions also have been shown to ameliorate intergranular hydrogen embrittlement in nickel[2], and to improve the high temperature resistance of Alloy X-750 to aqueous stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in the absence of irradiation[3]. Recent quantum mechanical calculations demonstrate that boron strengthens grain boundaries in pure nickel[4], and may contribute to the observed benefits of boron on workability and fracture resistance of nickel alloys. Alloy X-750 exhibits greater susceptibility to intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) when irradiated[5], and it has been proposed that the presence of grain boundary helium and/or lithium is responsible. Arguments have been advanced that helium embrittlement of the grain boundaries is primarily responsible for the greater observed susceptibility to IGSCC in irradiated X-750[1]. Alternatively, it has been proposed that lithium promotes IGSCC either by entering the water at the crack tip and lowering the local pH, or by inducing a restructuring of the grain boundary itself[1]. Direct embrittlement of grain boundaries by lithium also has been investigated by ion bombardment in Nimonic PE16, illustrating that under certain …

Single crystals of magnesium-aluminate spinel MgAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} were irradiated with 340 keV Xe{sup 2} ions at {minus}173 C ({approximately} 100 K). A fluence of 1 x 10{sup 20} Xe/m{sup 2} created an amorphous layer at the surface of the samples. The samples were annealed for 1 h at different temperatures ranging from 130 C to 880 C. Recrystallization took place in the temperature interval between 610 C and 855 C. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show two distinct layers near the surface: (1) a polycrystalline layer with columnar grain structure; and (2) a buried damaged layer epitaxial with the substrate. After annealing at 1100 C for 52 days, the profile of implanted Xe ions did not change, which means that Xe ions are not mobile in the spinel structure up to 1100 C. The thickness of the buried damaged layer decreased significantly in the 1100 C annealed sample comparing to the sample annealed for 1 h at 855 C.

Electrochromic glazings promise to be the next major advance in energy-efficient window technology, helping to transform windows and skylights from an energy liability to an energy source for the nation's building stock. Monitored results from a full-scale demonstration of large-area electrochromic windows are given. The test consisted of two side-by-side, 3.7x4.6-m, office-like rooms. In each room, five 62x173-cm lower electrochromic windows and five 62x43-cm upper electrochromic windows formed a large window wall. The window-to-exterior-wall ratio (WWR) was 0.40. The southeast-facing electrochromic windows had an overall visible transmittance (Tv) range of Tv=0.11-0.38 and were integrated with a dimmable electric lighting system to provide constant work plane illuminance and to control direct sun. Daily lighting use from the automated electrochromic window system decreased by 6 to 24% compared to energy use with static, low-transmission (Tv =0.11), unshaded windows in overcast to cle ar sky winter conditions in Oakland, California. Daily lighting energy use increased as much as 13% compared to lighting energy use with static windows that had Tv=0.38. Even when lighting energy savings were not obtainable, the visual environment produced by the electrochromic windows, indicated by well-controlled window and room luminance levels, was significantly improved for computer-type tasks throughout the day …

The equilibrium states of 2D non-coarsening fluid foams, which consist of bubbles with fixed areas, correspond to local minima of the total perimeter. (1) The authors find an approximate value of the global minimum, and determine directly from an image how far a foam is from its ground state. (2) For (small) area disorder, small bubbles tend to sort inwards and large bubbles outwards. (3) Topological charges of the same sign repel while charges of opposite sign attract. (4) They discuss boundary conditions and the uniqueness of the pattern for fixed topology.

Decisions throughout the life cycle of a building, from design through construction and commissioning to operation and demolition, require the involvement of multiple interested parties (e.g., architects, engineers, owners, occupants and facility managers). The performance of alternative designs and courses of action must be assessed with respect to multiple performance criteria, such as comfort, aesthetics, energy, cost and environmental impact. Several stand-alone computer tools are currently available that address specific performance issues during various stages of a building's life cycle. Some of these tools support collaboration by providing means for synchronous and asynchronous communications, performance simulations, and monitoring of a variety of performance parameters involved in decisions about a building during building operation. However, these tools are not linked in any way, so significant work is required to maintain and distribute information to all parties. In this paper we describe a software model that provides the data management and process control required for collaborative decision making throughout a building's life cycle. The requirements for the model are delineated addressing data and process needs for decision making at different stages of a building's life cycle. The software model meets these requirements and allows addition of any number of processes and support …

The DIRC (acronym for Detection of Internally Reflected Cherenkov (light)) is a new type of Cherenkov ring imaging detector based on total internal reflection that is used for the first time in the BaBar detector at PEP-II ring of SLAC. The Cherenkov radiators are long rectangular bars made of synthetic fused silica. The photon detector is a water tank equipped with an array of 10,752 conventional photomultipliers. The first year operational experience in the BaBar detector is presented using cosmic data and collision data in the energy region of the Y(4s) resonance.

In last 50 years, the field of scientific computing has seen a rapid change of vendors, architectures, technologies and the usage of systems. Despite all these changes the evolution of performance on a large scale however seems to be a very steady and continuous process. Moore's Law is often cited in this context. If the authors plot the peak performance of various computers of the last 5 decades in Figure 1 that could have been called the supercomputers of their time they indeed see how well this law holds for almost the complete lifespan of modern computing. On average they see an increase in performance of two magnitudes of order every decade.

The authors discuss whether a low-lying hybrid baryon should be defined as a three quark--gluon bound state or as three quarks moving on an excited adiabatic potential. We show that the latter definition becomes exact, not only for very heavy quarks, but also for specific dynamics. We review the literature on the signatures of hybrid baryons, with specific reference to strong hadronic decays, electromagnetic couplings, diffractive production and production in {psi} decay.

Computational models of particle dynamics often exchange solution data with discretized continuum-fields using interpolation functions. These particle methods require a series expansion of the interpolation function for two purposes: numerical analysis used to establish the model's consistency and accuracy, and logical-coordinate evaluation used to locate particles within a grid. This report presents discrete-expansions for a linear interpolation function commonly used within triangular cell geometries. Discrete-expansions, unlike a Taylor's series, account for interpolation discontinuities across cell boundaries and, therefore, are valid throughout a discretized domain. Verification of linear discrete-expansions is demonstrated on a simple test problem.

Seven improved decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) technologies were successfully deployed at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) during the Accelerated Site Technology Deployment (ASTD) Integrated Decontamination and Decommissioning (ID&D) project. The use of these improved technologies saved the INEEL $462K in fiscal year 1999, and is projected to save about $14M over the next ten years. Since deploying new technologies on D&D projects shows great potential for cost-savings, factors that led to successful deployment have been documented. These factors are described here as they apply to the seven deployments at the INEEL to assist with deployments at other DOE sites.

Laser results are summarized for the low-phonon hosts KPb{sub 2}Cl{sub 5} and CaGa{sub 2}S{sub 4}. Radiative quantum efficiencies were determined in KPb{sub 2}Cl{sub 5}:Dy{sup 3+} directly from emission spectra in order to accurately determine its long-wavelength potential. The results indicate that room-temperature laser action should be possible to near 9 {micro}m in this host.

The authors analysis of small-scale LWC fluctuations in PVM-100A data from SOCEX-1 supports the still controversial claim that droplet concentration is not everywhere Poissonian. This does not exclude a slow (spectral exponent {beta} = 5/3) low-amplitude component in the variability of droplet number and size distribution. We believe the cause of the excess small-scale LWC variance causing the scale-break at 2--5 m lies in entrainment- and/or-mixing events; such processes maybe related to the intermittency (occasional bursts of variability at the inner-scale) associated with the large-scale multifractality. Comparing exponents obtained for large-scale behavior with those previously obtained from two other field programs, we uncover remarkable similarities between the basic multifractal (i.e., arbitrary-order structure function) properties of LWC in SOCEX, FIRE'87 and ASTEX clouds and those of passively advected scalars in turbulent flows. However, we also find interesting differences between the three kinds of marine cloud cover and with passive scalars but these are in the details of the various multifractal characterizations (inner and outer scales, high-order scaling). To reproduce these statistical behaviors defines a quantitatively-precise challenge for the cloud-modeling community.

This paper will discuss the methods used at a depleted uranium facility to develop a hazard categorization and a limiting condition for operation (LCO) for the inventory based on increased Category 2 threshold quantity values (TV) from DOE Standard 1027-92. A revision to the safety analysis report (SAR) for a Category 3 depleted uranium facility was required to meet current methodologies and isotope content. The previous SAR first approved in 1992, allowed an inventory of depleted uranium that exceeded the Category 2 threshold quantity values in the material storage warehouses using an accident analysis methodology for final hazard categorization. New information regarding the isotopic content of the depleted uranium required an updated hazard categorization evaluation. The DOE Standard 1027-92 requires the evaluation to be based on inventory (Reference 1, 3.1, page 5), therefore, the previous method of performing a hazard consequence and probability analysis could not be used. The standard (1027) requires a facility to be designated as a Category 3 Nuclear facility when the inventory levels in the facility, or facility segments, are greater than Category 3 thresholds and below Category 2 thresholds. A Category 2 Nuclear Facility requires a more in depth hazard and accident analysis. Our categorization …

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There is a need for an efficient, durable technology to reduce NOx emissions from oxidative exhaust streams such as those produced by compression-ignition, direct injection (CIDI) diesel or lean-burn gasoline engines. A partnership formed between the DOE Office of Advanced Automotive Technology, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the USCAR Low Emission Technologies Research and Development Partnership is evaluating the effectiveness of a non-thermal plasma in conjunction with catalytic materials to mediate NOx and particulate emissions from diesel fueled light duty (CIDI) engines. Preliminary studies showed that plasma-catalyst systems could reduce up to 70% of NOx emissions at an equivalent cost of 3.5% of the input fuel in simulated diesel exhaust. These studies also showed that the type and concentration of hydrocarbon play a key role in both the plasma gas phase chemistry and the catalyst surface chemistry. More recently, plasma/catalyst systems have been evaluated for NOx reduction and particulate removal on a CIDI engine. Performance results for select plasma-catalyst systems for both simulated and actual CIDI exhaust will be presented. The effect of NOx and hydrocarbon concentration on plasma-catalyst performance will also be shown. SAE Paper SAE-2000-01-1601 {copyright} 2000 SAE International. This paper is published on …

The INEEL and MIT are investigating the suitability of lead-bismuth cooled fast reactor for producing low-cost electricity as well as for actinide burning. This paper is concerned with the general area of thermal-hydraulics of lead-bismuth cooled reactors. The ATHENA code is being used in the thermal-hydraulic design and analysis of lead-bismuth cooled reactors. The ATHENA code was reviewed to determine its applicability for simulating lead-bismuth cooled reactors. Two modifications were made to the code as a result of this review. Specifically, a correlation to represent heat transfer from rod bundles to a liquid metal and a void correlation based on data taken in a mixture of lead-bismuth and steam were added the code. The paper also summarizes the analytical work that is being performed with the code and plans for future analytical work.

Total photofission cross sections for 238U, 235U, 233U, 237Np, 232Th, and natPb have been measured simultaneously, using tagged photons in the energy range Egamma=0.17-3.84 GeV. This was the first experiment performed using the Photon Tagging Facility in Hall B at Jefferson Lab. Our results show that the photofission cross section for 238U relative to that for 237Np is about 80%, implying the presence of important processes that compete with fission. We also observe that the relative photofission cross sections do not depend strongly on the incident photon energy over this entire energy range. If we assume that for 237Np the photofission probability is equal to unity, we observe a significant shadowing effect starting below 1.5 GeV.

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This article examines one district's staff development plan that has successfully engaged teachers and administrators in designing and implementing relevant programs that make a positive difference for schools and students.

The Software Quality Forum is a triennial conference held by the Software Quality Assurance Subcommittee for the Department of Energy's Quality Managers. The forum centers on key issues, information, and technology important in software development for the Nuclear Weapons Complex. This year it will be opened up to include local information technology companies and software vendors presenting their solutions, ideas, and lessons learned. The Software Quality Forum 2000 will take on a more hands-on, instructional tone than those previously held. There will be an emphasis on providing information, tools, and resources to assist developers in their goal of producing next generation software.

The SCDAP/RELAP5 code is being developed at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory under the primary sponsorship of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to provide best-estimate transient simulations of light water reactor coolant systems during severe accidents. This paper describes the modeling approach used in the SCDAP/RELAP5 code to calculate fluid heat transfer and flow losses through porous debris that has accumulated in the vessel lower head and core regions during the latter stages of a severe accident. The implementation of heat transfer and flow loss correlations into the code is discussed, and calculations performed to assess the validity of the modeling approach are described. The different modes of heat transfer in porous debris include: (1) forced convection to liquid, (2) forced convection to gas, (3) nucleate boiling, (4) transition boiling, (5) film boiling, and (6) transition from film boiling to convection to vapor. The correlations for flow losses in porous debris include frictional and form losses. The correlations for flow losses were integrated into the momentum equations in the RELAP5 part of the code. Since RELAP5 is a very general non-homogeneous non-equilibrium thermal-hydraulics code, the resulting modeling methodology is applicable to a wide range of debris thermal-hydraulic …