Synchrotron-based X-ray microtomography (micro CT) at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) line 8.3.2 at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory produces three-dimensional micron-scale-resolution digital images of the pore space of the reservoir rock along with the spacial distribution of the fluids. Pore-scale visualization of carbon dioxide flooding experiments performed at a reservoir pressure demonstrates that the injected gas fills some pores and pore clusters, and entirely bypasses the others. Using 3D digital images of the pore space as input data, the method of maximal inscribed spheres (MIS) predicts two-phase fluid distribution in capillary equilibrium. Verification against the tomography images shows a good agreement between the computed fluid distribution in the pores and the experimental data. The model-predicted capillary pressure curves and tomography-based porosimetry distributions compared favorably with the mercury injection data. Thus, micro CT in combination with modeling based on the MIS is a viable approach to study the pore-scale mechanisms of CO{sub 2} injection into an aquifer, as well as more general multi-phase flows.

Reliable wireless communication links for local-area (short-range) and regional (long-range) reach capabilities are crucial for emergency response to disasters. Lack of a dependable communication system can result in disruptions in the situational awareness between the local responders in the field and the emergency command and control centers. To date, all wireless communications systems such as cell phones and walkie-talkies use narrowband radio frequency (RF) signaling for data communication. However, the hostile radio propagation environment caused by collapsed structures and rubble in various disaster sites results in significant degradation and attenuation of narrowband RF signals, which ends up in frequent communication breakdowns. To address the challenges of reliable radio communication in disaster fields, we propose an approach to use ultra-wideband (UWB) or wideband RF waveforms for implementation on Software Defined Radio (SDR) platforms. Ultra-wideband communications has been proven by many research groups to be effective in addressing many of the limitations faced by conventional narrowband radio technologies. In addition, LLNL's radio and wireless team have shown significant success in field deployment of various UWB communications system for harsh environments based on LLNL's patented UWB modulation and equalization techniques. Furthermore, using software defined radio platform for UWB communications offers a great deal …

The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) spectrometer solenoid magnets will be the first magnets to be installed within the MICE cooling channel. The spectrometer magnets are the largest magnets in both mass and surface area within the MICE ooling channel. Like all of the other magnets in MICE, the spectrometer solenoids are kept cold using 1.5 W (at 4.2 K) pulse tube coolers. The MICE spectrometer solenoid is quite possibly the largest magnet that has been cooled using small coolers. Two pectrometer magnets have been built and tested. This report discusses the results of current and cooler tests of both magnets.

YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}} (YBCO) tapes carry significant amount of current at fields beyond the limit of Nb-based conductors. This makes the YBCO tapes a possible conductor candidate for insert magnets to increase the bore field of Nb{sub 3}Sn high-field dipoles. As an initial step of the YBCO insert technology development, two subscale racetrack coils were wound using Kapton-insulated commercial YBCO tapes. Both coils had two layers; one had 3 turns in each layer and the other 10 turns. The coils were supported by G10 side rails and waxed strips and not impregnated. The critical current of the coils was measured at 77 K and self-field. A 2D model considering the magnetic-field dependence of the critical current was used to estimate the expected critical current. The measured results show that both coils reached 80%-95% of the expected values, indicating the feasibility of the design concept and fabrication process.

The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) focusing solenoid magnets focus the muon beam within the MICE cooling channel on a liquid or solid absorber that is within the warm bore of solenoid. The focusing magnet has a warm bore of 470 mm. his magnet consists of two coils 210-mm long that is separated by an aluminum mandrel that is 200 mm long. Each of the coils has its own leads. The coils may be operated in either the non-flip mode (solenoid mode with both coils at the same polarity) or the lip mode (quadrupole focusing mode where both coils are at opposite polarity). This report describes the focusing solenoid magnet design that will be built by the vendor. The progress on the construction of the first of the focusing magnets will also be discussed in this report. Ultimately three of these magnets will be built. These magnets will be cooled using a pair 1.5 W (at 4.2 K) pulse tube coolers.

The threat of nuclear terrorism has become a global concern. Many countries continue to make efforts to strengthen nuclear security by enhancing systems of nuclear material protection, control, and accounting (MPC&A). Though MPC&A systems can significantly upgrade nuclear security, they do not eliminate the "human factor." Gen. Eugene Habiger, a former "Assistant Secretary for Safeguards and Security" at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) nuclear-weapons complex and a former commander of U.S. strategic nuclear forces, has observed that "good security is 20% equipment and 80% people." Although eliminating the "human factor" is not possible, accounting for and mitigating the risk of the insider threat is an essential element in establishing an effective nuclear security culture. This paper will consider the organizational role in mitigating the risk associated with the malicious insider through monitoring and enhancing human reliability and motivation as well as enhancing the nuclear security culture.

Recent TEM studies of deformation substructures developed in tantalum and tantalum-tungsten alloys shock-deformed at a peak pressure {approx}45 GPa have revealed the occurrence of shock-induced phase transformation [i.e., {alpha} (bcc) {yields} {omega} (hexagonal) transition] in addition to shock-induced deformation twinning. The volume fraction of twin and {omega} domains increases with increasing content of tungsten. A controversy arises since tantalum exhibits no clear equilibrium solid-state phase transformation under hydrostatic pressures up to 174 GPa. It is known that phase stability of a material system under different temperatures and pressures is determined by system free energy. That is, a structural phase that has the lowest free energy will be stable. For pressure-induced phase transformation under hydrostatic-pressure conditions, tantalum may undergo phase transition when the free energy of a competing phase {omega} becomes smaller than that of the parent phase {alpha} above a critical pressure (P{sub eq}), i.e., the equilibrium {alpha} {yields} {omega} transition occurs when the pressure increases above P{sub eq}. However, it is also known that material shocked under dynamic pressure can lead to a considerable increase in temperature, and the higher the applied pressure the higher the overheat temperature. This means a higher pressure is required to achieve an equivalent …

A new two-dimensional thermal neutron detector concept that is capable of very high rates is being developed. It is based on neutron conversion in {sup 3}He in an ionization chamber (unity gas gain) that uses only a cathode and anode plane; there is no additional electrode such as a Frisch grid. The cathode is simply the entrance window, and the anode plane is composed of discrete pads, each with their own readout electronics implemented via application specific integrated circuits. The aim is to provide a new generation of detectors with key characteristics that are superior to existing techniques, such as higher count rate capability, better stability, lower sensitivity to background radiation, and more flexible geometries. Such capabilities will improve the performance of neutron scattering instruments at major neutron user facilities. In this paper, we report on progress with the development of a prototype device that has 48 x 48 anode pads and a sensitive area of 24cm x 24cm.

Liquid waste generated by the PUREX process for separation of nuclear materials is concentrated and stored in Type IV single-shell carbon steel tanks at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The Type IV tanks for this waste do not have cooling coils and have not undergone heat treatment to stress-relieve the tanks. After the waste is concentrated by evaporation, it becomes very alkaline and can cause stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and pitting corrosion of the tank materials. SRS has experienced leakage from non-stress-relieved waste tanks constructed of A285 carbon steel and pitting of A212 carbon steel tanks in the vapor space. An investigation of tank materials has been undertaken at SRS to develop a basic understanding of caustic SCC of A285 and A212 grade carbon steels exposed to aqueous solutions, primarily containing sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sodium nitrate (NaNO{sub 3}), and sodium nitrite (NaNO{sub 2}) at temperatures relevant to the operating conditions of both the F and H area plants. This report presents the results of this corrosion testing program. Electrochemical tests were designed using unstressed coupons in a simulated tank environment. The purpose of this testing was to determine the corrosion susceptibility of the tank materials as a function of chemical …

Momentum imaging experiments on dissociative electron attachment to the water molecule are combined with ab initio theoretical calculations of the angular dependence of the quantum mechanical amplitude for electron attachment to provide a detailed picture of the molecular dynamics of dissociation attachment via the two lowest energy Feshbach resonances. The combination of momentum imaging experiments and theory can reveal dissociation dynamics for which the axial recoil approximation breaks down and thus provides a powerful reaction microscope for DEA to polyatomics.

The ideal operation of CdZnTe devices entails having a uniformly distributed internal electric field. Such uniformity especially is critical for thick long-drift-length detectors, such as large-volume CPG and 3-D multi-pixel devices. Using a high-spatial resolution X-ray mapping technique, we investigated the distribution of the electric field in real devices. Our measurements demonstrate that in thin detectors, <5 mm, the electric field-lines tend to bend away from the side surfaces (i.e., a focusing effect). In thick detectors, >1 cm, with a large aspect ratio (thickness-to-width ratio), we observed two effects: the electric field lines bending away from or towards the side surfaces, which we called, respectively, the focusing field-line distribution and the defocusing field-line distribution. In addition to these large-scale variations, the field-line distributions were locally perturbed by the presence of extended defects and residual strains existing inside the crystals. We present our data clearly demonstrating the non-uniformity of the internal electric field.

Muon Colliders need intense, very short, proton bunches. The requirements are presented and a number of possible bunching systems discussed. The best solution uses a small super-conducting buncher ring with 6 bunches that are taken though separate transports and combined on the target.

We present our measurements of (Cd,Mn)Te photoconductive detectors (PCDs), fabricated for the goal of measuring both the temporal and spectral dependences of X-ray emissions generated from laser-illuminated targets during the inertial confinement fusion experiments. Our Cd{sub 1-x}Mn{sub x}Te (x = 0.05) single crystals, doped with V, were grown using a vertical Bridgman method and, subsequently, annealed in Cd for the highest resistivity ({approx}10{sup 10} {Omega}cm) and a good mobility-lifetime product ({approx}10{sup -3} cm{sup 2}/V). The 1-mm- and 2.3-mm-thick detectors were placed in the same housing as two 1-mm-thick diamond PCDs. All devices were pre-screened by a 7.6-mm-thick Be X-ray filter with a frequency cutoff of 1 keV. The incident shots from the OMEGA laser were 1-ns-long square pulses with energies ranging from 2.3 kJ to 22.6 kJ, and the PCDs were biased with 5000 V/cm. The response amplitudes and rise times of our (Cd,Mn)Te PCDs were comparable with the diamond detector performance, while the decay times were 4 to 10 times longer and in the 2-5 ns range. We observed two X-ray emission events separated by 1.24 ns. The first was identified as caused by heating of the target and creating a hot corona, while the second one was from …

Researchers at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) examined the stability of Dow Corning Q2-3183A antifoam to radiation and aqueous hydroxide solutions. Initial foam control studies with Hanford tank waste showed the antifoam reduced foaming. The antifoam was further tested using simulated Hanford tank waste spiked with antifoam that was heated and irradiated (2.1 x 10{sup 4} rad/h) at conditions (90 C, 3 M NaOH, 8 h) expected in the processing of radioactive waste through the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at Hanford. After irradiation, the concentration of the major polymer components polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polypropylene glycol (PPG) in the antifoam was determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). No loss of the major polymer components was observed after 24 h and only 15 wt% loss of PDMS was reported after 48 h. The presence of degradation products were not observed by gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) or high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). G values were calculated from the GPC analysis and tabulated. The findings indicate the antifoam is stable for 24 h after exposure to gamma radiation, heat, and alkaline simulated waste.

We suggest that (Cd,Mn)Te is a suitable material for fabricating gamma- and X-ray detectors. Our investigations, reported here, are focused on producing high-quality (Cd,Mn)Te crystals with high resistivity (10{sup 9} {Omega}-cm) by the Bridgman method. As-grown, undoped (Cd,Mn)Te crystals are typically p-type, signifying that they contain excess Cd vacancies (acting as acceptors), accumulated during growth. Doping with vanadium atoms, which function as compensating centers, results in a semi-insulating material (Cd,Mn)Te:V. Properly annealing the platelets in cadmium vapors at uniform temperature reduces the number of cadmium vacancies, and lowers the level of the vanadium doping required for compensation. We found that annealing in cadmium vapors not only decreases the concentration of the native cadmium vacancies but also improves the crystal's quality. Infrared observations of the interior of the samples show that annealing in a temperature gradient perpendicular to the platelet has an additional effect, viz., the tellurium precipitates migrate towards the side where the temperature is higher. We demonstrate, with IR pictures of monocrystalline (Cd,Mn)Te:V platelets cut parallel to the (111) crystal planes, the influence on tellurium inclusions and precipitates of various conditions of annealing in cadmium vapors.

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Te inclusions existing at high concentrations in CdZnTe (CZT) material can degrade the performance of CZT detectors. These microscopic defects trap the free electrons generated by incident radiation, so entailing significant fluctuations in the total collected charge and thereby strongly affecting the energy resolution of thick (long-drift) detectors. Such effects were demonstrated in thin planar detectors, and, in many cases, they proved to be the dominant cause of the low performance of thick detectors, wherein the fluctuations in the charge losses accumulate along the charge's drift path. We continued studying this effect using different tools and techniques. We employed a dedicated beamline recently established at BNL's National Synchrotron Light Source for characterizing semiconductor radiation detectors, along with an IR transmission microscope system, the combination of which allowed us to correlate the concentration of defects with the devices performances. We present here our new results from testing over 50 CZT samples grown by different techniques. Our goals are to establish tolerable limits on the size and concentrations of these detrimental Te inclusions in CZT material, and to provide feedback to crystal growers to reduce their numbers in the material.

The threat of nuclear terrorism has become a global concern. Many countries continue to make efforts to strengthen nuclear security by enhancing systems of nuclear material protection, control, and accounting (MPC&A). Though MPC&A systems can significantly upgrade nuclear security, they do not eliminate the "human factor." This paper will describe some of the key elements of a comprehensive, sustainable nuclear security culture enhancement program and how implementation can mitigate the insider threat.

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.

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Soft X-ray imager mirrors have been designed, calibrated and fabricated at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and characterized at the Advanced Light Source for their performance between 200 and 1300 eV. The mirrors are coated with a multilayer coating consisting of 70 bilayers of W/ SiC. The mirrors are to reflect at 22.5 deg from grazing angle at 1.50 nm wavelength and the width of the reflectivity peak should be at least 1.3%. Also, the mirrors should be non-reflective elsewhere. Our multilayer design was optimized to satisfy these requirements. The coating is very challenging since the individual layer thicknesses need to be less than 1 nm thick and reproducibility from layer to layer is crucial. To minimize the second harmonic peak we designed a multilayer with {Gamma} = 0.5 (W and SiC layer thicknesses are the same). This way we end up with a mirror that has only the 1st and 3rd harmonic peak as shown in Figure 1. To suppress reflectivity outside the first peak we used our novel approach, an antireflective coating. Modeling predicted substantial reduction in reflectivity, especially for lower energies as shown in Figure 1. The experimental results of the soft x-ray imager mirror as measured at …

Various internal defects, such as Te inclusions, twin boundaries, dislocation, etc., are prevalent in as-grown CdZnTe (CZT) crystals, which affect the charge transport properties of CZT crystals and, therefore, worsen the performance of CZT detectors. In order to develop high quality CZT detectors, it is imperative to clarify the effects of internal defects on the charge transport properties of CZT. Simple flood illumination with nuclear radiation source cannot reveal the nature of highly localized defects in CZT. Therefore, at Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), we have developed a unique testing system for micro-scale defect investigation of CZT, which employs an X-ray beam collimated with the spatial resolution as small as 3 x 3 {micro}m{sup 2}, a microscopic size comparable to the scale of common defects in CZT. This powerful tool enables us to investigate the effect of internal defects on charge transport properties of CZT in detail.

The 1607-F7, 141-M Building Septic Tank waste site was a septic tank and drain field that received sanitary sewage from the former 141-M Building. Remedial action was performed in August and November 2005. The results of verification sampling demonstrate that residual contaminant concentrations support future unrestricted land uses that can be represented by a rural-residential scenario. These results also show that residual concentrations support unrestricted future use of shallow zone soil and that contaminant levels remaining in the soil are protective of groundwater and the Columbia River.

In a study designed to provide an improved scientific basis for assessing possible health effects from inhaling depleted uranium (DU) aerosols, a series of DU penetrators was fired at an Abrams tank and a Bradley fighting vehicle. A robust sampling system was designed to collect aerosols in this difficult environment and continuously monitor the sampler flow rates. Aerosols collected were analyzed for uranium concentration and particle size distribution as a function of time. They were also analyzed for uranium oxide phases, particle morphology, and dissolution in vitro. The resulting data provide input useful in human health risk assessments.