This Record of Technical Change provides updates to the technical information included in ``Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 143: Area 25 Contaminated Waste Dumps, Nevada Test Site, Nevada.''

There are two ways in which the testing may be initiated, remotely or locally. If the remote operation is desired, an external TTL level signal must be provided to the test jig with the remotellocal switch on the side of the test jig switched to remote. A logic high will initiate the test. A logic low will terminate the test. In the event that an external signal is connected to the test jig while local operation occurs, the local control takes precedence over remote control. Once a DVT has been locked in the ZIF socket and the DIP switches are selected, the Push-to-Test button may be depressed. Momentarily depressing the button will initiate a test with a minimum 400 ms duration. At the same time a PBCLOCK and PBLATCH pulses will be initiated and the power rails +12V, +8V, and -6V will be ramped to full voltage. The time at which the power rails reach the full voltage is about 13 ms and it is synchronized with bypass capacitors placed on COMP input of U20 and U22 and on the output of U23 voltage regulators. The voltage rails are supplied to a {+-}10% window comparator. A red LED indicates the …

This paper uses the HCT (Hydrodynamics, Chemistry and Transport) chemical kinetics code to analyze natural gas HCCI combustion in an engine. The HCT code has been modified to better represent the conditions existing inside an engine, including a wall heat transfer correlation. Combustion control and low power output per displacement remain as two of the biggest challenges to obtaining satisfactory performance out of an HCCI engine, and these are addressed in this paper. The paper considers the effect of natural gas composition on HCCI combustion, and then explores three control strategies for HCCI engines: DME (dimethyl ether) addition, intake heating and hot EGR addition. The results show that HCCI combustion is sensitive to natural gas composition, and an active control may be required to compensate for possible changes in composition. The three control strategies being considered have a significant effect in changing the combustion parameters for the engine, and should be able to control HCCI combustion.

The ability to provide safe, habitable, comfortable housing for very low income residents within the target budget of $10,000 presents unique design and construction challenges. However, a number of preliminary conclusions have been inferred as being important concepts relative to the study of affordable housing. The term affordable housing can have many meanings and research is needed to define this explicitly. As it is most often used, affordable housing refers to an economic relationship between the price of housing, household income and current interest rates available from a lending institution. There is no direct relationship between architectural style, construction technology or user needs and the concept of affordability. For any home to be affordable, the home owner must balance the combination of housing needs and desires within the limits of an actual budget. There are many misconceptions that affordable housing must be defined as housing for those who cannot afford the free-market price. The concept of affordable housing must also include a component that recognizes the quality of the housing as an important element of the design and construction. In addition, responses to local climate impacts are necessary and are always part of a regional expression of architectural design. By …

In today's manufacturing environment, plants, systems, and equipment are being asked to perform at levels not thought possible a decade ago. The intent is to improve process operations and equipment reliability, availability, and maintainability without costly upgrades. Of course these gains must be achieved without impacting operational performance. Downsizing is also taking its toll on operations. Loss of personnel, particularly those who represent the corporate history, is depleting US industries of their valuable experiential base which has been relied on so heavily in the past. These realizations are causing companies to rethink their condition-based maintenance policies by moving away from reacting to equipment problems to taking a proactive approach by anticipating needs based on market and customer requirements. This paper describes a different approach to condition-based maintenance-context-dependent prognostics and health assessment. This diagnostic capability is developed around a context-dependent model that provides a capability to anticipate impending failures and determine machine performance over a protracted period of time. This prognostic capability links operational requirements to an economic performance model. In this context, a system may provide 100% operability with less than 100% functionality. This paradigm is used to facilitate optimal logistic supply and support.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) offer great promise in improving fuel economy. In this paper, we analyze why, how, and by how much vehicle hybridization can reduce energy consumption and improve fuel economy. Our analysis focuses on efficiency gains associated solely with vehicle hybridization. We do not consider such other measures as vehicle weight reduction or air- and tire-resistance reduction, because such measures would also benefit conventional technology vehicles. The analysis starts with understanding the energy inefficiencies of light-duty vehicles associated with different operation modes in US and Japanese urban and highway driving cycles, with the corresponding energy-saving potentials. The potential for fuel economy gains due to vehicle hybridization can be estimated almost exclusively on the basis of three elements: the reducibility of engine idling operation, the recoverability of braking energy losses, and the capability of improving engine load profiles to gain efficiency associated with specific HEV configurations and control strategies. Specifically, we evaluate the energy efficiencies and fuel economies of a baseline MY97 Corolla-like conventional vehicle (CV), a hypothetical Corolla-based minimal hybrid vehicle (MHV), and a MY98 Prius-like full hybrid vehicle (FHV). We then estimate energy benefits of both MHVs and FHVs over CVs on a performance-equivalent basis. We conclude …

A better understanding of the fraction of contaminants irreversibly sorbed by minerals is necessary to effectively quantify bioavailability. Ferrihydrite, a poorly crystalline iron oxide, is a natural sink for sorbed contaminants. Contaminants may be sorbed/occluded as ferrihydrite precipitates in natural waters or as it ages and transforms to more crystalline iron oxides such as goethite or hematite. Laboratory studies indicate that Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Np, Pb, Sr, U, and Zn are irreversibly sorbed to some extent during the aging and transformation of synthetic ferrihydrite. Barium, Ra and Sr are known to sorb on ferrihydrite in the pH range of 6 to 10 and sorb more strongly at pH values above its zero point of charge (pH> 8). We will review recent literature on metal retardation, including our laboratory and modeling investigation of Ba (as an analogue for Ra) and Sr adsorption/resorption, during ferrihydrite transformation to more crystalline iron oxides. Four ferrihydrite suspensions were aged at pH 12 and 50 °C with or without Ba in 0.01 M KN03 for 68 h or in 0.17 M KN03 for 3424 h. Two ferrihydrite suspensions were aged with and without Sr at pH 8 in 0.1 M KN03 at 70°C. Barium …

The purpose of this engineering calculation is to document the MCNP4B2LV evaluations of Laboratory Critical Experiments (LCEs) performed as part of the Disposal Criticality Analysis Methodology program. LCE evaluations documented in this report were performed for 22 different cases with varied design parameters. Some of these LCEs (10) are documented in existing references (Ref. 7.1 and 7.2), but were re-run for this calculation file using more neutron histories. The objective of this analysis is to quantify the MCNP4B2LV code system's ability to accurately calculate the effective neutron multiplication factor (k{sub eff}) for various critical configurations. These LCE evaluations support the development and validation of the neutronics methodology used for criticality analyses involving Naval reactor spent nuclear fuel in a geologic repository.

Wet oxidation of high-Al-content AIGaAs semiconductor layers in vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELS) has produced devices with record low threshold currents and voltages and with wall-plug efficiencies greater than 50%. Wet oxidation of buried AlGaAs layers has been employed to reduce the problems associated with substrate current leakage in GaAs-on- insulator (GOI) MESFETS. Wet oxidation of high-Al-content AlGaAs semiconductor layers in vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELS) has produced devices with record low threshold currents and voltages and with wall-plug efficiencies greater than 50%. Wet oxidation of buried AlGaAs layers has been employed to reduce the problems associated with substrate current leakage in GaAs-on- insulator (GOI) MESFETS. Wet oxidation has also been considered as a route to the long-sought goal of a IH-V MIS technology. To continue improving device designs for even higher performance and to establish a truly manufacturable technology based on wet oxidation, the effect of oxidation of a given layer on the properties of the entire device structure must be understood. The oxidation of a given layer can strongly affect the electrical and chemical properties of adjacent layers. Many of these effects are derived from the production of large amounts of elemental As during the oxidation …

{sup 13}C-enriched polyethylene was subjected to {gamma}-irradiation in the presence of air at 25 and 80 C for total doses ranging from 71 to 355 kGy. Significant quantities of hydroperoxides were detected in the 25 C irradiated sample by {sup 13}C magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy. This method of detection was performed on the solid polymer and required no chemical derivatization or addition of solvent. The chemical stability and subsequent products of the hydroperoxide species were studied by annealing the irradiated samples in air at temperatures ranging from 22 to 110 C. A time-temperature superposition analysis provided an activation energy of 108 kJ/mol for the hydroperoxide decomposition process. The primary products of hydroperoxide decomposition were ketones and secondary alcohols with lesser amounts of acids and esters. EPR measurements suggest that the reactive hydroperoxide species reside in the amorphous phase of polyethylene, consistent with degradation occurring in the amorphous phase.

Junction field effect transistors (JFET) are fabricated on a GaN epitaxial structure grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The DC and microwave characteristics of the device are presented. A junction breakdown voltage of 56 V is obtained corresponding to the theoretical limit of the breakdown field in GaN for the doping levels used. A maximum extrinsic transconductance (g_m) of 48 mS/mm and a maximum source-drain current of 270 mA/mm are achieved on a 0.8 µ m gate JFET device at V_GS= 1 V and V_DS=15 V. The intrinsic transconductance, calculated from the measured g_m and the source series resistance, is 81 mS/mm. The f_T and f_max for these devices are 6 GHz and 12 GHz, respectively. These JFETs exhibit a significant current reduction after a high drain bias is applied, which is attributed to a partially depleted channel caused by trapped hot-electrons in the semi-insulating GaN buffer layer. A theoretical model describing the current collapse is described, and an estimate for the length of the trapped electron region is given.

Laser-based ultrasonic (LBU) measurement shows great promise for on-line monitoring of weld quality in tailor-welded blanks. Tailor-welded blanks are steel blanks made from plates of differing thickness and/or properties butt-welded together; they are used in automobile manufacturing to produce body, frame, and closure panels. LBU uses a pulsed laser to generate the ultrasound and a continuous wave (CW) laser interferometer to detect the ultrasound at the point of interrogation to perform ultrasonic inspection. LBU enables in-process measurements since there is no sensor contact or near-contact with the workpiece. The authors are using laser-generated plate (Lamb) waves to propagate from one plate into the weld nugget as a means of detecting defects. This paper reports the results of the investigation of a number of inspection architectures based on processing of signals from selected plate waves, which are either reflected from or transmitted through the weld zone. Bayesian parameter estimation and wavelet analysis (both continuous and discrete) have shown that the LBU time-series signal is readily separable into components that provide distinguishing features which describe weld quality. The authors anticipate that, in an on-line industrial application, these measurements can be implemented just downstream from the weld cell. Then the weld quality data …

Analysis of directed flow observable for protons and pions from Au+Au collisions at 10.8 GeV/nucleon from experiment E917 at the AGS is presented. Using a Fourier series expansion, the first Fourier component, {nu}{sub 1},was extracted as a function of rapidity for mid-central collisions (17-24%). Clear evidence for positive directed flow is found in the proton data, and a weak, possibly negative directed flow signal is observed for {pi}{sup +} and {pi}{sup {minus}}.

Until relatively recent advances in technology, astronomical observations from the ground were limited in image resolution by the blurring effects of earth's atmosphere. The blur extent, ranging typically from 0.5 to 2 seconds of arc at the best astronomical sights, precluded ground-based observations of the details of the solar system's moons, asteroids, and outermost planets. With the maturing of a high resolution image processing technique called speckle imaging the resolution limitation of the atmosphere can now be largely overcome. Over the past three years they have used speckle imaging to observe Titan, a moon of Saturn with an atmospheric density comparable to Earth's, Io, the volcanically active innermost moon of Jupiter, and Neptune, a gas giant outer planet which has continually changing planet-encircling storms. These observations were made at the world's largest telescope, the Keck telescope in Hawaii and represent the highest resolution infrared images of these objects ever taken.

An air-inductively coupled plasma (air-ICP) system has been developed for continuous sampling and monitoring of metals as a continuous emission monitor (CEM). The plasma is contained in a metal enclosure to allow reduced-pressure operation. The enclosure and plasma are operated at a pressure slightly less than atmospheric using a Roots blower, so that sample gas is continuously drawn into the plasma. A Teflon sampling chamber, equipped with a sampling pump, is connected to the stack that is to be monitored to isokinetically sample gas from the exhaust line and introduce the sample into the air-ICP. Optical emission from metals in the sampled gas stream is detected and monitored using an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF)--echelle spectrometer system. A description of the continuous sampling air-ICP system is given, along with some preliminary laboratory data for continuous monitoring of metals.

In this study, lipid biomarker characterization of the bacterial and eukaryotic communities was combined with PCR-DGGE analysis of the eubacterial community to evaluate correlation between JP-4 fuel concentration and community structure shifts. Vadose, capillary fringe and saturated-soils were taken from cores within, up- and down-gradient of the contaminant plume. Significant differences in biomass and proportion of Gram negative bacteria were found inside and outside the plume. Sequence analysis of DGGE bands from within the spill site suggested dominance by a limited number of phylogenetically diverse bacteria. Used in tandem with pollutant quantification, these molecular techniques should facilitate significant improvements over current assessment procedures for determination of remediation end points.

In order to better understand and model the phase segregation of binary fluids we opted for a mesoscopic description that proves to be simplifying both conceptually and computationally. The system that we studied is a mixture of two kinds of particles. All particles interact with each other through strong short-range interactions modeled by hard spheres with the same mass and diameter. There is also a smooth long-range repulsion between particles of different kinds. At low overall densities and weak enough repulsion the natural dynamical description for this system is given in terms of two coupled, energy and momentum conserving Vlasov- Boltzmann equations, making it what we call a dynamical mean-field model. The computational scheme that we used is a combination of direct sim- ulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) and particle-in-the-cell (PIC) evolution, that inherits the efficiency and robustness of these two algorithms. The DSMC is a stochastic algorithm due to Bird that consistently incorporates the as- sumptions behind the Boltzmann equation into the particle dynamics. The method is essentially the following: the physical space is divided into a net- work of cells containing typically tens of particles and the free flow of the particles over a small time interval {Delta}t is …

The performance of a sodium laser guide star adaptive optics system depends crucially on the characteristics of the laser guide star in the sodium layer. System performance is quite sensitive to sodium layer spot radiance, that is, return per unit sterradian on the sky, hence we have been working to improve projected beam quality via improvements to the laser and changes to the launched beam format. The laser amplifier was reconfigured to a ''bounce-beam'' geometry, which considerably improves wavefront quality and allows a larger round instead of square launch beam aperture. The smaller beacon makes it easier to block the unwanted Rayleigh light and improves the accuracy of Hartmann sensor wavefront measurements in the A0 system. We present measurements of the beam quality and of the resulting sodium beacon and compare to similar measurements from last year.

Sandia National Laboratories has undertaken an ambitious, multiyear effort to greatly improve our parachute system modeling and analysis capabilities. The impetus for this effort is twofold. First, extending the stockpile lifetime raises serious questions regarding the ability of the parachutes to meet their requirements in the future due to material aging. These aging questions cannot currently be answered using available tools and techniques which are based upon the experience of expert staff and full-scale flight tests and are, therefore, not predictive. Second, the atrophy of our parachute technology base and the loss of our experienced staff has eroded our ability to respond to any future problems with stockpiled parachutes or to rapidly design a new parachute system on an experience base alone. To assure a future in-house capability for technical oversight of stockpile nuclear weapon parachutes, Sandia must move from our present empirically based approach to a computationally based, predictive methodology. This paper discusses the current status of the code development and experimental validation activities. Significant milestones that have been achieved and those that are coming up in the next year are discussed.

Experimental results from a new single-transient optical recorder with < 300 fs resolution are presented. The system uses a 103x temporal imaging system to expand the waveform which is then recorded with a streak camera.

We summarize the status of next-to-leading order perturbative quantum chromodynamics (pQCD) calculations of the cross sections for the production of squarks, gluinos, neutralinos, charginos, and sleptons as a function of the produced particle masses in proton-antiproton collisions at the hadronic center-of-mass energy 2 TeV.

Environmental scientists have long appreciated that the distribution coefficient (the ''K{sub d}'' or ''constant K{sub d}'') approach predicts the partitioning of heavy metals between sediment and groundwater inaccurately; nonetheless, transport models applied to problems of environmental protection and groundwater remediation almost invariably employ this technique. To examine the consequences of this practice, we consider transport in one dimension of Pb and other heavy metals through an aquifer containing hydrous ferric oxide, onto which heavy metals sorb strongly. We compare the predictions of models calculated using the K{sub d} approach to those given by surface complexation theory, which is more realistic physically and chemically. The two modeling techniques give qualitatively differing results that lead to divergent cleanup strategies. The results for surface complexation theory show that water flushing is ineffective at displacing significant amounts of Pb from the sorbing surface. The effluent from such treatment contains a ''tail'' of small but significant levels of contamination that persists indefinitely. Subsurface zones of Pb contamination, furthermore, are largely immobile in flowing groundwater. These results stand in sharp contrast to the predictions of models constructed using the k{sub d} approach, yet are consistent with experience in the laboratory and field.

We have begun building the ''Mercury'' laser system as the first in a series of new generation diode-pumped solid-state lasers for inertial fusion research. Mercury will integrate three key technologies: diodes, crystals, and gas cooling, within a unique laser architecture that is scalable to kilojoule energy levels for fusion energy applications. The primary performance goals include 10% electrical efficiencies at 10 Hz and 100 J with a 2-10 ns pulse length at 1.047 pm wavelength. When completed, Mercury will allow rep-rated target experiments with multiple target chambers for high energy density physics research.

When atomic photoionization is treated beyond the dipole approximation, photoelectron angular distributions are asymmetric forward and backward with respect to the direction of the photon beam. We have measured forward-backward asymmetries of Ar 1s and Kr 1s and 2s photoelectrons using 2-19 keV x-rays. The measured asymmetries compare well with calculations which include interference between electric-dipole and electric-quadrupole amplitudes within the nonrelativistic, independent-particle approximations.