In a high level waste repository in which temperatures are elevated due to waste decay, concrete structures will be subjected to hydrothermal conditions that will alter their physical and chemical properties. Virtually no studies have examined the interaction of hydrothermally altered concrete with radionuclides. We present the results of experiments in which soluble and colloid-associated actinides, uranium (U) and neptunium (Np), were eluted into a fractured, hydrothermally altered concrete core. Although the fluid residence time in the fracture was estimated to be on the order of 1 minute, U and Np were below detection (10{sup -9}-10{sup -8} M) in the effluent from the core, for both soluble and colloid-associated species. Inorganic colloids and latex microspheres were similarly immobilized within the core. Post-test analysis of the core identified the immobilized U and Np at or near the fracture surface, with a spatial distribution similar to that of the latex microspheres. Because hydrothermal alteration followed fracturing, the growth of crystalline calcium silicate hydrate and clay mineral alteration products on, and possibly across the fracture, resulted in a highly reactive fracture that was effective at capturing both soluble and colloidal radionuclides. Comparison of results from batch experiments [1] with these experiments indicate that …

The investigation of a complex system is often performed using computer generated response data supplemented by system and component test results where possible. Analysts rely on an efficient use of limited experimental resources to test the physical system, evaluate the models and to assure (to the extent possible) that the models accurately simulate the system order investigation. The general problem considered here is one where only a restricted number of system simulations (or physical tests) can be performed to provide additional data necessary to accomplish the project objectives. The levels of variables used for defining input scenarios, for setting system parameters and for initializing other experimental options must be selected in an efficient way. The use of computer algorithms to support experimental design in complex problems has been a topic of recent research in the areas of statistics and engineering. This paper describes a resampling based approach to form dating this design. An example is provided illustrating in two dimensions how the algorithm works and indicating its potential on larger problems. The results show that the proposed approach has characteristics desirable of an algorithmic approach on the simple examples. Further experimentation is needed to evaluate its performance on larger problems.

The authors study the low-temperature in-plane magnetoresistance of tunnel-coupled quasi-one-dimensional quantum wires. The wires are defined by two pairs of mutually aligned split gates on opposite sides of a {le} 1 micron thick AlGaAs/GaAs double quantum well heterostructure, allowing independent control of the width of each quantum well. In the ballistic regime, when both wires are defined and the field is perpendicular to the current, a large resistance peak at {approximately}6 Tesla is observed with a strong gate voltage dependence. The data is consistent with a counting model whereby the number of subbands crossing the Fermi level changes with field due to the formation of an anticrossing in each pair of 1D subbands.

The Statistics and Human Factors Department at SNL has evolved as the Labs' mission has evolved from engineering designs for the non-nuclear parts of nuclear weapons, including the safety and security components, to a multi-program lab focusing on national security. Twenty years ago their client base was the engineers, scientists, and managers of the nuclear weapon stockpile program, at Sandia and other facilities within the DOE complex. Client relationships developed over years of association. Components and systems were assigned to statisticians so that they could develop a knowledge base in that area. Because of the many different component types and system designs in the stockpile, they typically juggled five or six statistical projects at a time. project participation other than statistical consulting was limited. They rarely had the time to lead project teams, and any skills or inclinations in that direction were often undeveloped. This paper describes a (hit-or-miss) selection of some early and recent efforts. This paper also presents their self-assessment metrics and their external assessment metrics. These metrics were selected to track the business aspects of the department; they are systematic (not hit-or-miss). These two types of histories should allow them to judge whether we're doing the right …

Methods are discussed for computing the sensitivity of field variables to changes in material properties and initial/boundary condition parameters for heat transfer problems. The method we focus on is termed the ''Sensitivity Equation Method'' (SEM). It involves deriving field equations for sensitivity coefficients by differentiating the original field equations with respect to the parameters of interest and numerically solving the resulting sensitivity field equations. Uncertainty in the model parameters are then propagated through the computational model using results derived from first-order perturbation theory; this technique is identical to the methodology typically used to propagate experimental uncertainty. Numerical results are presented for the design of an experiment to estimate the thermal conductivity of stainless steel using transient temperature measurements made on prototypical hardware of a companion contact conductance experiment. Comments are made relative to extending the SEM to conjugate heat transfer problems.

Back contact solar cells hold significant promise for increased performance in photovoltaics for the near future. Two major advantages which these cells possess are a lack of grid shading loss and coplanar interconnection. Front contacted cells can have up to 10% shading loss when using screen printed metal grids. A front contact cell must also use solder connections which run from the front of one cell to the back of the next for series interconnection. This procedure is more difficult to automate than the case of co-planar contacts. The back contact cell design is not a recent concept. The earliest silicon solar cell developed by Bell Labs was a back contact device. There have been many design modifications to the basic concept over the years. To name a few, there is the Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) cell, the Stanford Point contact solar cell, the Emitter Wrap Through (EWT), and its many variations. A number of these design concepts have demonstrated high efficiency. The SunPower back contact solar cell holds the efficiency record for silicon concentrator cells. The challenge is to produce a high efficiency cell at low cost using high throughput techniques. This has yet to be achieved with a …

The optical gain spectra for compressive-strained and lattice-matched GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells are computed using a microscopic laser theory. From these spectra, the peak gain and carrier radiative decay rate as functions of carrier density are determined. These dependences allow the study of lasing threshold current density for different GAInNAs/GaAs laser structures.

CDF has recently published [1] a search for Higgs bosons produced in association with vector bosons in 91 ± 7 pb^-1 of Run I data. Observations are consistent with background expectation. 95% confidence level upper limits are set as a function of the Higgs mass on {sigma}(p{anti p} {yields} H⁰ V )·{beta}, with {beta} the branching ratio of the Higgs decays to b{anti b} and V = W; Z. The sensitivity of the search is limited by statistics to a cross section approximately two orders of magnitude larger than the predicted cross section for standard model Higgs production. In this paper we extrapolate the results from [1] to the next Tevatron Run II where we hope for an approximately twenty-fold increase in the total integrated luminosity as well as a significant improvement in the total acceptances.

This paper presents an overview of the ozone human exposure and health risk analyses developed under sponsorship of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These analyses are being used in the current review of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone. The analyses consist of three principal steps: (1) estimating short-term ozone exposure for particular populations (exposure model); (2) estimating population response to exposures or concentrations (exposure-response or concentration-response models); and (3) integrating concentrations or exposure with concentration-response or exposure-response models to produce overall risk estimates (risk model). The exposure model, called the probabilistic NAAQS exposure model for ozone (pNEM/03), incorporates the following factors: hourly ambient ozone concentrations; spatial distribution of concentrations; ventilation state of individuals at time of exposure; and movement of people through various microenvironments (e.g., outdoors, indoors, inside a vehicle) of varying air quality. Exposure estimates are represented by probability distributions. Exposure-response relationships have been developed for several respiratory symptom and lung function health effects, based on the results of controlled human exposure studies. These relationships also are probabilistic and reflect uncertainties associated with sample size and variability of response among subjects. The analyses also provide estimates of excess hospital admissions in the New York …

Motivated by the problem of determining stress distributions in granular materials, we study the effect of finite transport correlation times on the propagation of nonlinear wavefronts in reaction diffusion systems. We obtain new results such as the possibility of spatial oscillations in the wavefront shape for certain values of the system parameters and high enough wavefront speeds. We also generalize earlier known results concerning the minimum wavefront speed and shape-speed relationships stemming from the finiteness of the correlation times. Analytic investigations are made possible by a piece-wise linear representation of the nonlinearity.

Comparative experiments using high energy (10 MeV) electrons and test reactor neutrons have been undertaken to understand the role that primary damage state has on hardening (embrittlement) induced by irradiation at 300 C. Electrons produce displacement damage primarily by low energy atomic recoils, while fast neutrons produce displacements from considerably higher energy recoils. Comparison of changes resulting from neutron irradiation, in which nascent point defect clusters can form in dense cascades, with electron irradiation, where cascade formation is minimized, can provide insight into the role that the in-cascade point defect clusters have on the mechanisms of embrittlement. Tensile property changes induced by 10 MeV electrons or test reactor neutron irradiations of unalloyed iron and an Fe-0.9 wt.% Cu-1.0 wt.% Mn alloy were examined in the damage range of 9.0 x 10{sup {minus}5} dpa to 1.5 x 10{sup {minus}2} dpa. The results to date showed the ternary alloy experienced substantially greater embrittlement in both the electron and neutron irradiated samples relative to unalloyed iron. Surprisingly, despite their disparate nature of defect production, similar embrittlement trends with increasing radiation damage were observed for electrons and neutrons in both the ternary and unalloyed iron.

Electron storage rings generate energetic bremsstrahlung photons through radiative interaction of the particle beam with the residual gas molecules and other components inside the storage ring. At the Advanced Photon Source (APS), where the stored beam energy is 7 GeV, bremsstrahlung generated in the straight sections of the insertion devices comes down through the beamlines. The resulting absorbed dose distributions by, this radiation in a 300 mm x 300 mm x 300 mm tissue substitute phantom were measured with LiF:Mg,Ti (TLD-700) thermoluminescent dosimeters. The average normalized absorbed dose, in a cross sectional area of 100 mm{sup 2} at a depth of 150 mm of the PMMA phantom, was measured as 3.3 x 10{sup 6} mGy h{sup {minus}1}W{sup {minus}1} for a 7-GeV bremsstrahhmg spectrum.

Polarized neutron reflectivity measurements were conducted on [Nb(100{angstrom})/Si(15{angstrom})]xN superconducting multilayers with a T{sub c} {approximately} 7.5 K. Scope of the experiment was to verify the existence of arrays of vortices parallel to the surface above the critical field H{sub cl} = 400 Oe when a magnetic field was applied parallel to the film plane. Measurements at 1.6 K and 700 Oe in the zero-field-cooled condition, and at 30 Oe after field cooling, indicated that reflectivity close to the first Bragg reflection of the multilayer was significantly dependent on the neutron spin. This effect was interpreted as due to Josephson type vortices at and around the silicon layers.

This report describes results from a seven-day demonstration of the use of 3M Empore(r) membrane filter loaded with ion exchange material potassium cobalt hexacynoferrate (CoHex) for cesium uptake from the R-Disassembly Basin at the Savannah River Site.

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), currently under construction at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is expected to employ a Hg target encased in a stainless steel. Little is known about the metallurgical behavior of this materials engineering system, which will occur in a service environment involving elevated temperatures and intense radiation. Under normal equilibrium conditions, however, Hg is known to be insoluble in and non-reactive with solid Fe and Cr but to form one or more intermetallics with Ni. Hg has been implanted into alloy 304L. For implantations at 400 and 500 C to a fluence of 3 x 10{sup 16} cm{sup {minus}2} sub-micron sized precipitates of Hg are formed, as judged, for example, from their solidification behavior on cooling during TEM observation. The formation of such a system of microtargets and possible studies employing them as in situ TEM specimens are discussed, which can provide useful empirical information in conjunction with SNS target development.

The effects of baryon stopping and its resulting energy deposition on the dynamics of Au + Au collisions at 6, 8 and 10.8 GeV/nucleon are explored with recent results from the AGS experiment E917. Current analyses of stopping, collective flow signals and HBT parameters are presented. Strangeness and anti-baryon production is examined using the yields of anti-lambdas and anti-protons.

Complex special nuclear material (SNM) storage systems can benefit from automated monitoring and data integration systems that maximize safety and security and optimize system maintainability. Current methods of verification, which rely on physical access, are costly and labor intensive. A prototype data analysis. system for nuclear material monitoring is being developed through a joint effort by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company (LMITCO). The system synthesizes information from various sources and applies advanced data analysis to predict sensor faults and detect material instabilities and security/safeguards problems. The system makes use of Argonne's Multivariate State Estimation Technique, or MSET, to provide an early warning system for the performance of sensors and processes, The system is being implemented and tested at the Safeguard Technology Evaluation Laboratory (STEL) at ANL-W. The STEL was installed at a Fuel Manufacturing Facility (FMF) special nuclear materials vault at ANL-W in 1997 as part of a DOE Plutonium Focus Area Project. The STEL provides the infrastructure for the demonstration and integration of technologies for monitoring plutonium-bearing materials in various storage configurations. Real sensors located within the STEL are being used to ''calibrate'' and validate. software while simulated sensors are used to mockup larger-scale …

The Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS) was the first high energy spallation neutron source in the US dedicated to materials research. It has operated for sixteen years, and in that time has had a very prolific record concerning the development of new target and moderator systems for pulsed spallation sources. IPNS supports a very productive user program on its thirteen instruments, which are oversubscribed by more than two times, meanwhile having an excellent overall reliability of 95%. Although the proton beam power is relatively low at 7 kW, the target and moderator systems are very efficient. The typical beam power which gives an equivalent flux for long-wavelength neutrons is about 60 kW, due to the use of a uranium target and liquid and solid methane moderators, precluded at some sources due to a higher accelerator power. The development of new target and moderator systems is by no means stagnant at IPNS. They are presently considering numerous enhancements to the target and moderators that offer prospects for increasing the useful neutron production by substantial factors. Many of these enhancements could be combined, although their combined benefit has not yet been well established. Meanwhile, IPNS is embarking on a coherent program of …

We have designed and fabricated a system using micromachining technologies that represents the first phase of an effort to develop a miniaturized or micro trajectory safety subsystem. Two Surface Micromachined (SMM) devices have been fabricated. The first is a device, denoted the Shuttle Mechanism, that contains a suspended shuttle that has a unique code imbedded in its surface. The second is a mechanical locking mechanism, denoted a Stronglink, that uses the code imbedded in the Shuttle Mechanism for unlocking. The Stronglink is designed to block a beam of optical energy until unlocked. A Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) fabricated in Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and an ASIC have been designed to read the code contained in the Shuttle Mechanism. The ASIC interprets the data read by the PIC and outputs low-level drive signals for the actuators used by the Stronglink. An off-chip circuit amplifies the drive signals. Once the Stronglink is unlocked, a laser array that is assembled beneath the device is energized and light is transmitted through an aperture.

The I/O channels of the control system of the LHC experiments are distributed over the whole detector volume with distances of up to 100 meters. Special requirements on the I/O system arise due to the inaccessibility of the equipment and the hostile environment due to radiation and magnetic field. A general purpose I/O system based on the fieldbus CAN and using the CANopen software protocol has been developed using standard electronic components. Each of these distributed fieldbus nodes can monitor and control up to some hundred channels. The performance of a low-cost high precision ADC system will be presented together with the results of extensive tests.

Article on the gas-phase kinetics of reactions of alkali metal atoms with nitric oxide.

Neural networks (NNs) provide a powerful and flexible tool for selecting a signal from a larger background. The D0 collaboration has used them extensively in studying t{anti t} decays. NNs were essential to the measurement of the t{anti t} production cross section in the all-jets channel (t{anti t} {yields} b {anti b}qqqq), and were also used in the measurement of the mass of the top quark in the lepton+jets channel (t{anti t} {yields} b{anti b}l{nu}q{anti q}). This paper will describe two new applications of neural networks to top quark analysis: the search for single top quark production, and an effort to increase the sensitivity in the dilepton channel t{anti t} {yields} b{anti b}e{anti {mu}}{nu}{anti {nu}} beyond that achieved in the published analysis.

This paper will focus on the required growth conditions for self-doping metals and the various lifetime issues. Recent results for a novel self-doping metal system will be discussed briefly.

Solar Two was a 10-MWe prototype central receiver plant east of Barstow, California. Solar Two, which was sponsored by a consortium of utilities and industry in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, began regular electricity production in February 1997 and completed its last day of regular electricity production in March 1999. This paper presents preliminary results from the most recent Solar Two performance evaluation.