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In-Vessel Retention (IVR) of molten core debris by means of external reactor vessel flooding is a cornerstone of severe accident management for Westinghouse's AP600 (advanced passive light water reactor) design. The case for its effectiveness (made in previous work by the PI) has been thoroughly documented, reviewed as part of the licensing certification, and accepted by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A successful IVR would terminate a severe accident, passively, with the core in a stable, coolable configuration (within the lower head), thus avoiding the largely uncertain accident evolution with the molten debris on the containment floor. This passive plant design has been upgraded by Westinghouse to the AP1000, a 1000 MWe plant very similar to the AP600. The severe accident management approach is very similar too, including In-Vessel Retention as the cornerstone feature, and initial evaluations indicated that this would be feasible at the higher power as well. A similar strategy is adopted in Korea for the APR1400 plant. The overall goal of this project is to provide experimental data and develop the necessary basic understanding so as to allow the robust extension of the AP600 In-Vessel Retention strategy for severe accident management to higher power reactors, and in …

The Pennsylvania State University, under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory will establish, promote, and manage a national industry-driven Stripper Well Consortium (SWC) that will be focused on improving the production performance of domestic petroleum and/or natural gas stripper wells. The consortium creates a partnership with the U.S. petroleum and natural gas industries and trade associations, state funding agencies, academia, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory. This report serves as the fourteenth quarterly technical progress report for the SWC. Key activities for this reporting period include: (1) organizing the SWC spring meeting in Golden Colorado, (2) planning of the upcoming SWC fall technology transfer meetings, and (3) recruit the SWC base membership.

The Department of Energy is sponsoring an initiative to facilitate efficient, effective and responsible use of Monitored Natural Attenuation and Enhanced Passive Remediation for chlorinated solvents. This Office of Environmental Management ''Alternative Project,'' focuses on providing scientific and policy support for MNA/EPR. A broadly representative working group of scientists supports the project along with partnerships with regulatory organizations such as the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council and the Environmental Protection Agency. The initial product of the technical working group was a summary report that articulated the conceptual approach and central scientific tenants of the project, and that identified a prioritized listing of technical targets for field research. This report documented the process in which scientific ground rules were developed, lines of inquiry were identified and then critically evaluated, promising applied research topics were highlighted in the various lines of inquiry, and these were discussed and prioritized. The summary report will serve as a resource to guide management and decision making throughout the period of the subject MNA/EPR Alternative Project. To support and more fully document the information presented in the summary report, we are publishing a series of supplemental documents that present the full texts from the technical analyses within the …

The Office of Space and Defense Power Systems of the Department of Energy (DOE) provides Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) for applications where conventional power systems are not feasible. For example, radioisotope thermoelectric generators were supplied by the DOE to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for deep space missions including the Cassini Mission launched in October of 1997 to study the planet Saturn. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been involved in developing materials and technology and producing components for the DOE for more than three decades. For the Cassini Mission, for example, ORNL was involved in the production of carbon-bonded carbon fiber (CBCF) insulator sets, iridium alloy blanks and foil, and clad vent sets (CVS). This report has been divided into three sections to reflect program guidance from the Office of Space and Defense Power Systems for fiscal year (FY) 2003. The first section deals primarily with maintenance of the capability to produce flight quality (FQ) CBCF insulator sets, iridium alloy blanks and foil, and CVS. In all three cases, production maintenance is assured by the manufacture of limited quantities of FQ components. The second section deals with several technology activities to improve the manufacturing processes, characterize materials, …

The rotation of a plasma is one of the most fundamental global modes of plasma behavior. It is the zeroth order plasma response to a transverse electric field. In its simplest kinetic form, the so-called E x B drift (here, E is the electric field vector and B is the magnetic field vector), both the ions and the electrons will undergo a drift in the same direction. This motion is considered a universal mode of a plasma since the mechanism of the E x B drift is, to zero-order, independent of both the mass and the charge of the particles.

MARS is a Monte Carlo code for simulation of three-dimensional hadronic and electromagnetic cascades, muon and low-energy neutron transport in shielding and in accelerator and detector components in the energy range from a fraction of an eV up to 100 TeV. This report uses MARS to both transport the 120 GeV primary proton beam from the NuMI extraction Lambertsons through the NuMI Pre-target Hall and calculate the radiological effect of beam losses at various locations and for a variety of conditions. These results are used to: anticipate where beam losses will be significant; determine the level of activation of components; and calculate ground water activation and confirm adequacy of shielding. The results are presented in tables and figures along with drawings of the magnets as they were modeled in MARS. Details of the model elements are found in Appendix A. Further details of beam loss case studies are included in Appendix B.

This paper provides experimental results on the dependence of the output signal from small-area silicon photodetectors, such as MRS (Metal-Resistive layer-Semiconductor) photodiodes, on the fiber alignment.

This report is on Broadband Internet Access and the Digital Divide: Federal Assistance Programs.

A long-reach tool was developed to remove discrete objects from the silos at the Fernald Environmental Management Project in Ohio. If they are not removed, these objects can potentially cause problems during the retrieval and transfer of waste from the silos. Most of the objects are on top of the Bentogrout cap inside the silos at or near the primary opening into the tank and will therefore require only vertical lifting. The objects are located about 20 ft from the top of the silo. Although most of the objects can be retrieved from 20 ft, the long-reach tool was designed to for a reach up to 40 ft in case objects roll towards the walls of the tank or need to be removed during heel retrieval operations. This report provides a detailed description of the tool that was developed, tested, and demonstrated at the Tanks Technology Cold Test Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Scaffolding was erected over two experimental cells to simulate the 40-ft maximum working depth anticipated in the silos at Fernald. Plastic bottles and plastic sheeting simulated the debris that could be encountered during waste retrieval operations.

This report provides background information on the main immigration-related border security issues that have been raised as a result of the terrorist attacks and resulting concern for homeland security. It describes enacted legislation in the 107th Congress as well as in previous Congresses that focus on immigration-related border security issues. The report also poses possible immigration-related border security issues the 108th Congress may consider.