We have fabricated diamond anvils specially designed for use in ultra-high pressure electrical transport experiments. These anvils, which we refer to as ''designer anvils'', feature thin-film metal microprobes which are encased in a layer of high-quality, epitaxial, chemically vapor deposited (CVD) diamond. The synthetic diamond film ensures that the microprobes are survivable to Mbar pressures, and also serves to electrically insulate the microprobes from the high-pressure gasket. High-pressure resistivity experiments were performed on KI and FeO to pressures of approximately 1.8 and 1.7 Mbars, respectively. Future possible applications of designer anvils are also discussed. [electrical conductivity, synthetic diamond, band overlap, metallization, designer anvils]

We estimate cross sections and rate coefficients for proton and electron impact ionization, dissociation, and recombination of neutral and ionized hydrocarbon molecules and fragments of the form C{sub x}H{sub y}{sup k}, x = 1-3, y = 1-6, k = 0,1 in a thermalized hydrogen-electron plasma.

This work has been performed as part of the search for possible ways to utilize the capabilities of laser and particle beams techniques in shock wave and equation of state physics. The peculiarity of these techniques is that we have to deal with micron-thick targets and not well reproducible incident shock wave parameters, so all measurements should be of a high resolution and be done in one shot. Besides the Hugoniots, the experimental basis for creating the equations of state includes isentropes corresponding to unloading of shock-compressed matter. Experimental isentrope data are most important in the region of vaporization. With guns or explosive facilities, the unloading isentrope is recovered from a series of experiments where the shock wave parameters in plates of standard low-impedance materials placed behind the sample are measured [1,2]. The specific internal energy and specific volume are calculated from the measured p(u) release curve which corresponds to the Riemann integral. This way is not quite suitable for experiments with beam techniques where the incident shock waves are not well reproducible. The thick foil method [3] provides a few experimental points on the isentrope in one shot. When a higher shock impedance foil is placed on the surface …

This article reports the experimental characterization of a z-pinch driven-vacuum hohlraum. The authors have measured soft x-ray fluxes of 5 x 10{sup 12} W/cm{sup 2} radiating from the walls of hohlraums which are 2.4--2.5 cm in diameter by 1 cm tall. The x-ray source used to drive these hohlraums was a z-pinch consisting of a 300 wire tungsten array driven by a 2 MA, 100 ns current pulse. In this hohlraum geometry, the z-pinch x-ray source can produce energies in excess of 800 kJ and powers in excess of 100 TW to drive these hohlraums. The x-rays released in these hohlraums represent greater than a factor of 25 in energy and more than a factor of three in x-ray power over previous laboratory-driven hohlraums.

To date, the Department of Energy's (DOE) Material Protection, Control, and Accountancy (MPC and A) program has assisted in the implementation of operational site-wide MPC and A systems at several nuclear facilities in Russia. Eleven sites from the civilian sector have completed the site-wide installations and two have completed sub-site installations. By the end of 1999, several additional sites will have completed site-wide and sub-site system installations through DOE assistance. the effort at the completed sites has focused primarily on the design, integration, and installation of upgraded MPC and A systems. In most cases, little work has been performed to ensure that the installed systems will be sustained. Because of concerns that the installed systems would not be operated in the future, DOE established a sustainability pilot program involving the 11 sites. The purpose of DOE's MPC and A Sustainability Program is to ensure that MPC and A upgrades installed at sites in Russia are effective and will continue to operate over the long term. The program mission is to work with sites where rapid upgrades have been completed to cultivate enduring and consistent MPC and A practices. The program attempts to assist the Russian sites to develop MPC and …

Since 1988, wild salmon have been PIT-tagged through monitoring and research programs conducted by the Columbia River fisheries agencies and Tribes. Workers at the University of Washington have used detection data at Lower Granite Dam to generate predictions of arrival distributions for various stocks at the dam. The prediction tool is known as RealTime. In 1996, RealTime predictions were linked to a downstream migration model, CRiSP.1. The composite model, known as CRiSP/RealTime, predicts the arrival distribution and fraction transported at downriver locations.

During the past three years US monitoring at Russian nuclear facilities, subject to the HEU Purchase Agreement, has evolved as MINATOM and DOE negotiators worked to improve transparency rights and as additional Russian facilities began processing HEU. The number of Russian nuclear facilities subject to US monitoring has increased from two in 1996 to the current four. In that time, physical monitoring, which only permitted visual inspections and access to process forms is being supplemented by instrumentation which detects U-235 enrichment of material in containers and instrumentation which is used to confirm that blending of HEU into LEU at the blending facilities is taking place. This paper summarizes the US HEU Transparency monitoring activities performed in Russian facilities. It then summarizes the process used to certify the Blend Down Monitoring System (BDMS) that is currently in use at one of these facilities.

This presentation will examine international aspects of the Year 2000 (Y2K) issue, in terms of how various countries are managing the problem and how international organizations are involved in that process. The paper notes that while international cooperation is essential in dealing with part of the problem, it is at the national level that preventive measures are undertaken and emergency services provided. Most NATO and OECD states have recognized that by now it will not be possible to find and fix all problems in software and embedded chips. Their focus, therefore, is shifting to the planning of contingency measures, that is, what to do when disruptions occur so that the physical safety of persons is protected, damage to physical assets is minimized (e.g., extensive networks of energy supplies and telecommunications), and resources for the common good are protected (e.g., water supplies). Not only is this conference timely, but the experience of various sectors can be shared to enable cross-sector comparisons to be made, for example, there might be lessons from within air transportation that might be applicable to the energy industry. In addition, while most countries have tended to focus on their national situation, this conference brings together persons from …

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) detection, {alpha}-spectrometry ({alpha}-S), and {gamma}-spectrometry ({gamma}-S) were used for the determination of nuclide content in five samples excised from a high-burnup fuel rod taken from a pressurized water reactor (PWR). The samples were prepared for analysis by dissolution of dry-powdered samples. The measurement techniques required no separation of the plutonium, uranium, and fission products. The sample preparation and analysis techniques showed promise for in-line analysis of highly-irradiated spent fuels in a dry-powdered process. The analytical results allowed the determination of fuel burnup based on {sup 148}Nd, Pu, and U content. A goal of this effort is to develop the HPLC-ICPMS method for direct fissile material accountancy in the dry-powdered processing of spent nuclear fuel.

The authors have synthesized and characterized two novel Sr compounds: [Sr({mu}-ONc){sub 2}(HONc){sub 4}]{sub 2} (1, ONc = O{sub 2}CCH{sub 2}CMe{sub 3}), and Sr{sub 5}({mu}{sub 4}-O)({mu}{sub 3}-ONep){sub 4}({mu}-ONep){sub 4}(HONep)(solv){sub 4} [ONep = OCH{sub 2}CMe{sub 3}, solv = tetrahydrofuran (THF), 2a; 1-methyl-imidazole (MeIm), (2b)], that demonstrate increased solubility in comparison to the commercially available Sr precursors. The two metal centers of 1 share 4 unidentate bridging {mu}-ONc ligands and complete their octahedral geometry through the coordination of 4 monodentate terminal HONc ligands. The structure arrangement of the central core of 2a and b are identical, wherein 4 octahedral Sr atoms are arranged in a square geometry around a {mu}{sub 4}-O ligand. An additional 7-coordinated Sr atom sits directly atop the {mu}{sub 4}-O to form a square base pyramidal arrangement of the Sr atoms but the apical Sr-O distance is too long to be considered a bond. In solution, compound 1 is disrupted forming a monomer but 2a and b retain their structures.

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Earlier electrolyte segregation tests of Li/Na carbonate used chemical analysis such as inductively coupled plasma/atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP/AES) of matrix strips wetted with carbonate and exposed to 5- to 20-V potential gradients. A segregation factor was correlated to the Li/Na carbonate composition. While fairly substantial segregation occurs at the eutectic composition of 52% Li, it is minimal at 60% to 75% Li. Such lithium-rich Li/Na carbonates may not be practical because the melting points are too high (i.e., liquidus point is 625 C). By adding calcium and barium to the lithium/sodium carbonates, we were able to lower the melting point and maintain nonsegregating behavior. This work is directed at examining the long-term stability of the quaternary Li/Na/Ba/Ca electrolytes. Electrolyte optimization work evaluates Li/Na ratio and Ba/Ca level to improve cell performance at 320 mA/cm{sup 2} and reduce temperature sensitivity. A number of cells with quaternary Li/Na/Ba/Ca electrolytes ranging from 3 to 5% Ba/Ca have operated well with stable, long-term performance. Congruent melting carbonate is important for commercial development. The best so far is 3.5% Ba/Ca/Na/Li (3.5 mol%/3.5 mol% Ba/Ca) carbonate (m.p. 440 C). Performance at 160 mA/cm{sup 2} is increased up to 150mV as compared with the baseline cell containing …

Recent dijet results from CDF are presented. The preliminary dijet mass distribution measured by CDF is presented and compared to QCD calculations. Measurements of dijet angular distributions are used to place limits on quark compositness. A preliminary measurement of the inclusive dijet differential cross section is presented.

The paper reports data on the kinetics of anodic oxide films growth on silicon in aqueous solutions of phosphoric acids as well as a study of the morphology of the oxides grown in a special regime of the oscillating anodic potential. X-ray reflectivity measurements were performed on the samples of anodic oxides using an intense synchrotron radiation source. They have a multilayer structure as revealed by theoretical fitting of the reflectivity data. The oscillations of the anodic potential are explained in terms of synchronized oxidation/dissolution reactions at the silicon surface and accumulation of mechanic stress in the oxide film.

Synchrotron x-ray-scattering technique studies of copper and silicon electrochemical interfaces are reported. These two examples illustrate the application of synchrotron x-ray techniques for oxidation, passivation, and dissolution of metals and semiconductors.

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed on dense liquids of polyethylene chains of 24 and 66 united atom CH{sub 2} units. A series of models was studied ranging in atomistic detail from coarse-grained, freely-jointed, tangent site chains to realistic, overlapping site models subjected to bond angle restrictions and torsional potentials. These same models were also treated with the self-consistent, polymer reference interaction site model (PRISM) theory. The intramolecular and total structure factors, as well as, the intermolecular radial distribution functions g(r) and direct correlation functions C(r) were obtained from theory and simulation. Angular correlation functions were also simulation obtained from the MD simulations. Comparisons between theory and reveal that PRISM theory works well for computing the intermolecular structure of coarse-grained chain models, but systematically underpredicts the extent of intermolecular packing as more atomistic details are introduced into the model. A consequence of g(r) having insufficient structure is that the theory yields an isothermal compressibility that progressively becomes larger, relative to the simulations, as overlapping the PRISM sites and angular restrictions are introduced into the model. We found that theory could be considerably improved by adding a tail function to C(r) beyond the effective hard core diameter. The range of this …

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Ceramic hot gas candle filters are currently under development for hot gas particulate cleanup in advanced coal-based power systems. The ceramic materials for these filters include nonoxide monolithic, nonoxide-fiber-reinforced composites, and nonoxide reticulated foam. A concern is the lack of reliable data on which to base decisions for reusing or replacing hot gas filters during plant shutdowns. The work in this project is aimed at developing nondestructive evaluation (FIDE) technology to allow detection, and determination of extent, of life-limiting characteristics such as thermal fatigue, oxidation, damage from ash bridging such as localized cracking, damage from local burning, and elongation at elevated temperature. Although in-situ NDE methods are desirable in order to avoid disassembly of the candle filter vessels, the current vessel designs, the presence of filter cakes and possible ash bridging, and the state of NDE technology prevent this. Candle filter producers use a variety of NDE methods to ensure as-produced quality. While impact acoustic resonance offers initial promise for examining new as-produced filters and for detecting damage in some monolithic filters when removed from service, it presents difficulties in data interpretation, it lacks localization capability, and its applicability to composites has yet to be demonstrated. Additional NDE technologies being …

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A novel solution method has been developed to solve the linear Boltzmann equation on an unstructured triangular mesh. Instead of tackling the first-order form of the equation, this approach is based on the even/odd-parity form in conjunction with the conventional mdtigroup discrete-ordinates approximation. The finite element method is used to treat the spatial dependence. The solution method is unique in that the space-direction dependence is solved simultaneously, eliminating the need for the conventional inner iterations, and the method is well suited for massively parallel computers.

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