The Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) Problem Solving Environment (PSE) consists of the tools and libraries needed for the development of ASCI simulation codes on ASCI machines. The recently completed ASCI PSE Milepost demonstrated that this software environment is available and functional at the scale used for application mileposts on ASCI White. As part of the PSE Milepost, we performed extensive performance testing of several critical run-time based systems. In this paper, we present microbenchmark results that compare the MPI [5], Pthreads and OpenMP [7, 8] implementations on ASCI White and ASCI Blue Pacific. Our results demonstrate that these run-time systems on White have improved sufficiently to accommodate the machine's approximately four-fold increase in processing capability over Blue Pacific.

The effects of microbiological activities on the surface composition of Alloy 22 was investigated. Prior studies suggesting microbially-generated selective dissolution of chromium from Alloy 22 were based solely on analyzing solubilized Alloy 22 elements. These and other investigations point to the insufficiencies of analyzing solubilized (or solubilized and reprecipitated) alloying elements to discern between homogeneous/stoichiometric dissolution and selective/non-stoichiometric dissolution of alloying elements. Therefore, an approach using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to interrogate the surface layers of treated Alloy 22 specimens was taken to resolve this issue. Sputtering into the surface of the samples, coupled with XPS analysis at given intervals, allowed a high resolution quantitative elemental evaluation of the alloy as a function of depth. Biotically-incubated Alloy 22 show a region that could be depleted of chromium. Surfacial XPS analysis of these same coupons did not detect the presence of re-precipitated Alloy 22 component elements, also supporting the possible occurrence of non-stoichiometric dissolution. Thus, these preliminary data do not exclude the possibility of selective dissolution. It also appears that this experimental approach shows promise to unequivocally resolve this issue. Further tests using smoother-surface, more highly polished coupons should allow for better resolution between surface layers to permit a decisive determination …

Three sets of LX-04 samples of 0.18 and 0.49 mm nominal thicknesses were all dynamically loaded by Sandia's Z-accelerator with a ramp compression wave with a 200 ns rise time and about 150 kb peak stress. The LX-04/lithium fluoride samples interface velocities were measured using VISAR's. Comparisons of experimental and computational results are given. Compression and release isentropes both show some reaction and kinetic behavior of the LX-04. Experiments were also performed on fine-grained TATB. Future experiments on single crystals of HMX that are designed to measure the phase transition at high pressures is discussed.

In [1]the one Higgs doublet standard model was obtained by an orbifold projection of a 5D supersymmetric theory in an essentially unique way, resulting in a prediction for the Higgs mass m_H = 127 +- 8 GeV and for the compactification scale 1/R = 370 +- 70 GeV. The dominant one loop contribution to the Higgs potential was found to be finite, while the above uncertainties arose from quadratically divergent brane Z factors and from other higher loop contributions. In [3], a quadratically divergent Fayet-Iliopoulos term was found at one loop in this theory. We show that the resulting uncertainties in the predictions for the Higgs boson mass and the compactification scale are small, about 25percent of the uncertainties quoted above, and hence do not affect the original predictions. However, a tree level brane Fayet-Iliopoulos term could, if large enough, modify these predictions, especially for 1/R.

Room-temperature impedance measurements of a thin-film LiMn2O4/LiPF6-EC-DMC interface have been used to identify the spontaneous formation Li2Mn2O4 at the interface at room temperature at voltages of 3.7 and higher. The impedance of the LiMn2O4 films exhibited two time constants: at about 14 kHz and 60 to 200 Hz. The high frequency loop is dependent on film morphology and was attributed to the substrate/oxide interface. The low frequency behavior was dependent on both state-of-charge (SOC) and time at a given SOC. At full charge the impedance in this electrolyte was stable at room temperature over several days. At high lithium contents, film OCV and impedance tended to grow logarithmically with time, with lower rates for lower Mn3+ content in the film. The increased impedance was removed by oxidation of the film to 4.5V vs. Li/Li+. The observations are consistent with a reversible disproportionation of part of the LiMn2O4 into Li2Mn2O4 and a lithium-deficient spinel. With extended constant current cycling part of the Li2Mn2O4 degrades to the Mn2O3 and the process is no longer reversible.

This paper provides a review and synthesis of current knowledge about the associations of ventilation system types in office buildings with sick building syndrome symptoms and discusses potential explanations for the associations. Relative to natural ventilation, air conditioning, with or without humidification, was consistently associated with a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of one or more SBS symptoms. Prevalences were typically higher by approximately 30% to 200% in the air conditioned buildings. In two of three assessments from a single study, symptom prevalences were also significantly higher in air conditioned buildings than in buildings with simple mechanical ventilation and no humidification. In approximately half of assessments, SBS symptom prevalences were significantly higher in buildings with simple mechanical ventilation than in buildings with natural ventilation. Insufficient information was available for conclusions about the potential increased risk of SBS symptoms with humidification. The statistically significant associations of mechanical ventilation and air conditioning with SBS symptoms are much more frequent than expected from chance and also not likely to be a consequence of confounding by several potential personal, job, or building related confounders. The reasons for the increases in symptom prevalences with mechanical ventilation and particularly with air conditioning remain unclear. Multiple …

A hybrid terawatt-amplification scheme combining optical-parametric-chirped-pulse amplification and amplification in active laser media is demonstrated for the first time. This simple technique uses a single pump pulse and eliminates gain narrowing, allows efficient energy conversion and does not require electro-optic devices.

Selecting the model is an important and essential step in model based fault detection and diagnosis (FDD). Factors that are considered in evaluating a model include accuracy, training data requirements, calibration effort, generality, and computational requirements. The objective of this study was to evaluate different modeling approaches for their applicability to model based FDD of vapor compression chillers. Three different models were studied: the Gordon and Ng Universal Chiller model (2nd generation) and a modified version of the ASHRAE Primary Toolkit model, which are both based on first principles, and the DOE-2 chiller model, as implemented in CoolTools{trademark}, which is empirical. The models were compared in terms of their ability to reproduce the observed performance of an older, centrifugal chiller operating in a commercial office building and a newer centrifugal chiller in a laboratory. All three models displayed similar levels of accuracy. Of the first principles models, the Gordon-Ng model has the advantage of being linear in the parameters, which allows more robust parameter estimation methods to be used and facilitates estimation of the uncertainty in the parameter values. The ASHRAE Toolkit Model may have advantages when refrigerant temperature measurements are also available. The DOE-2 model can be expected to …

Three sets of LX-04 samples of 0.18 and 0.49 mm nominal thicknesses were all dynamically loaded by Sandia's Z-accelerator with a ramp compression wave with a 200 ns rise time and about 150 kb peak stress. The LX-04/lithium fluoride samples interface velocities were measured using VISAR's. Comparisons of experimental and computational results will be given. Compression and release isentropes both show some reaction and kinetic behavior of the LX-04. Experiments were also performed on fine-grained TATB. Future experiments on single crystals of HMX that are designed to measure the phase transition at high pressures will be discussed.

A toroidally-asymmetric potential structure in the scrape-off layer (SOL) plasma may be formed by toroidally distributed electrical biasing of the divertor target tiles. The resulting ExB convective motions should increase the plasma radial transport in the SOL and thereby reduce the heat load at the divertor [1]. In this paper we develop theoretical modeling and describe the implementation of this concept to the COMPASS-D divertor. We show that strong magnetic shear near the X-point should cause significant squeezing of the convective cells preventing convection from penetrating above the X-point. This should result in reduced heat load at the divertor target without increasing the radial transport in the portion of the SOL in direct contact with the core plasma, potentially avoiding any confinement degradation. implementation of divertor biasing is in hand on COMPASS-D involving insulation of, and modifications to, the present divertor tiles. Calculations based on measured edge parameters suggest that modest currents {approx} 8 A/tile are required, at up to 150V, to drive the convection. A technical test is preceeding full bias experiments.

We present an elegant and simple to implement framework for performing out-of-core visualization and view-dependent refinement of large terrain surfaces. Contrary to the recent trend of increasingly elaborate algorithms for large-scale terrain visualization, our algorithms and data structures have been designed with the primary goal of simplicity and efficiency of implementation. Our approach to managing large terrain data also departs from more conventional strategies based on data tiling. Rather than emphasizing how to segment and efficiently bring data in and out of memory, we focus on the manner in which the data is laid out to achieve good memory coherency for data accesses made in a top-down (coarse-to-fine) refinement of the terrain. We present and compare the results of using several different data indexing schemes, and propose a simple to compute index that yields substantial improvements in locality and speed over more commonly used data layouts. Our second contribution is a new and simple, yet easy to generalize method for view-dependent refinement. Similar to several published methods in this area, we use longest edge bisection in a top-down traversal of the mesh hierarchy to produce a continuous surface with subdivision connectivity. In tandem with the refinement, we perform view frustum …

We have grown and characterized LaCOB, a new member to the GdCOB family of nonlinear crystals. LaCOB has a d{sub eff} of 0.52 {plus_minus} 0.05 pm/V and an angular sensitivity of 1224 {plus_minus} 184 (cm-rad){sup -1} for type I frequency doubling at 1064 nm. The d{sub {alpha}{beta}{beta}} and d{sub {gamma}{beta}{beta}} coefficients of the nonlinear optical tensor for LaCOB, GdCOB, and YCOB were determined to have values of {vert_bar}0.26 {plus_minus} 0.04{vert_bar} pm/V and |1.69 {plus_minus} 0.17| pm/V, respectively. Results of phase-matching angle measurements at 1064 nm and 1047 nm predict LaCOB to be non-critically phase-matched (NCPM) at 1042 {plus_minus} 1.5 nm. We also estimate the thermal sensitivity of LaCOB to be less than 0.1 (cm- C){sup -1}.

This paper describes the Sets and Fields (SAF) scientific data modeling system. It is a revolutionary approach to interoperation of high performance, scientific computing applications based upon rigorous, math-oriented data modeling principles. Previous technologies have required all applications to use the same data structures and/or meshes to represent scientific data or lead to an ever expanding set of incrementally different data structures and/or meshes. SAF addresses this problem by providing a small set of mathematical building blocks--sets, relations and fields--out of which a wide variety of scientific data can be characterized. Applications literally model their data by assembling these building blocks. A short historical perspective, a conceptual model and an overview of SAF along with preliminary results from its use in a few ASCI codes are discussed.

The atmospheric forecast model of the Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) has been developed into a parallel, scalable model in a joint collaborative effort with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The new version of COAMPS has become the standard model of use at NRL and in LLNL's Atmospheric Science Division. The main purpose of this enterprise has been to take advantage of emerging scalable technology, to treat finer spatial and temporal resolutions needed in complex topographical or atmospheric conditions, as well as to allow the utilization of improved but computationally expensive physics packages. The parallel implementation facilitates the ability to provide real-time, high-resolution, multi-day numerical weather predictions for forecaster guidance, input to atmospheric dispersion simulations, and forecast ensembles.

To replace a hard tube design, a solid-state kicker pulser for the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test facility (DARHT-2) has been designed and tested. This kicker modulator uses multiple solid-state modules stacked in an inductive-adder configuration where the energy is switched into each section of the adder by a parallel array of MOSFETs. The modulator features very fast rise and fall times, pulse width agility and a high pulse-repetition rate in burst mode. The modulator can drive a 50{Omega} load with voltages up to 20 kV and can be easily configured for either positive or negative polarity. The presentation will include test and operational data.

Flowing liquid walls have been proposed as the first wall and/or divertor plates for magnetic fusion energy devices because they may solve a number of technological problems for fusion power plants. A key question for their successful use is the edge-plasma shielding of wall-vapor impurities from the core plasma. A self-consistent analysis of the combined hydrogen/impurity edge plasmas for distributed wall impurity sources is performed using the two-dimension fluid transport code UEDGE for tokamak parameters. Three regimes of edge-plasma response are identified. Comparisons are made between previous results for lithium (from Li or SnLi walls) and fluorine (from the molten salt Flibe walls), and new results for Sn (from Sn walls). Owing to its lower vapor pressure, Sn is found to have the lowest impact on the edge and core plasma. For the Sn wall, the effects of toroidal versus slab geometries are studied, as well as the influence of spatial variations in evaporation fluxes.

A technique for inhibiting the growth of laser-induced surface damage on fused silica, initiated and propagated at the 351 nm laser wavelength, has been investigated. The technique exposes the damage sites to single pulses of a CO{sub 2} laser operating at the 10.6 {micro}m wavelength at or near beam focus. This method results in a very localized treatment of the laser damage site and modifies the site such that laser damage does not propagate further. A laser damage site initiated with a single pulse of 355 nm laser light at {approx} 45 J cm{sup -2} and 7.5 ns pulse duration grows rapidly upon further illumination at 8 J cm{sup -2} with 100% probability. Treatment of these sites with single pulses of 10.6 {micro}m laser light for one second at a power level of between 17 and 37 Watts with a beam diameter of 5 mm alters the damage site such that it does not grow with subsequent 351 nm laser illumination at 8 J cm{sup -2} 10 ns pulse duration for > 1000 shots. The technique has been found to be 100% effective at stopping the growth of the laser damage.

Initial measurements are reported for the Mercury laser system, a scalable driver for rep-rated high energy density physics research. The performance goals include 10% electrical efficiency at 10 Hz and 100 J with a 2-10 ns pulse length. This laser is an angularly multiplexed 4-pass gas-cooled amplifier system based on image relaying to minimize wavefront distortion and optical damage risk at the 10 Hz operating point. The efficiency requirements are fulfilled using diode laser pumping of ytterbium doped strontium fluorapatite crystals.

In this paper we propose three simple, but significant improvements to the OoCS (Out-of-Core Simplification) algorithm of Lindstrom [20] which increase the quality of approximations and extend the applicability of the algorithm to an even larger class of compute systems. The original OoCS algorithm has memory complexity that depends on the size of the output mesh, but no dependency on the size of the input mesh. That is, it can be used to simplify meshes of arbitrarily large size, but the complexity of the output mesh is limited by the amount of memory available. Our first contribution is a version of OoCS that removes the dependency of having enough memory to hold (even) the simplified mesh. With our new algorithm, the whole process is made essentially independent of the available memory on the host computer. Our new technique uses disk instead of main memory, but it is carefully designed to avoid costly random accesses. Our two other contributions improve the quality of the approximations generated by OoCS. We propose a scheme for preserving surface boundaries which does not use connectivity information, and a scheme for constraining the position of the ''representative vertex'' of a grid cell to an optimal position …

In the positron source of the Stanford Linear Collider (SLC), the electron beam collides with a tungsten-rhenium target. As the beam passes into the material, thermal energy is created that heats the material to several hundred degrees centigrade on a time scale of nanoseconds. The heating of the material results in thermal stresses that may be large enough to cause material failure. The analyses calculate the thermal shock pressure and stress pulses as they move throughout the material due to the rapid energy deposition. Failure of the target occurred after three years of operation with an elevated power deposition toward the end of the three years. The calculations were made with the LLNL coupled heat transfer and dynamic solid mechanics analysis codes, TOPAZ3D and DYNA3D, and the thermal energy deposition was calculated with the SLAC Electron Gamma Shower (EGS) code simulating the electron-induced cascade. Material fatigue strength, experimentally measured properties for the non-irradiated and irradiated material, as well as the calculated stress state are evaluated in assessing the cause for the target failure.

Using electromagnetic (EM) and seismic travel time data and a least-square criteria, a two-dimensional joint inversion algorithm is under development to assess the feasibility of directly mapping subsurface hydrological properties in a crosswell setup. A simplified Archie's law combined with the time average equation relates the magnetic fields and seismic travel time to two hydrological parameters; rock porosity and pore fluid electrical conductivity. For simplicity, the hydrological parameter distributions are assumed to be two-dimensional. Preliminary results show that joint inversion does have better resolving power for the interpretation than using the EM method alone. Various inversion scenarios have been tested, and it has been found that alternately perturbing just one of the two parameters at each iteration gives the best data fit.

A new, very high magnetic field superconducting ECR ion source, VENUS, is under construction at the LBNL 88-Inch Cyclotron [1,2]. The paper describes the VENUS extraction system and discusses the ion beam formation in the strong axial magnetic field (3 T) of the ECR ion source. Emittance values as expected from theory, which assumes a uniform plasma density across the plasma outlet hole, are compared with actual measurements from the AECR-U ion source. Results indicate that highly charged heavier ions are concentrated on the source axis. They are extracted from an ''effective'' plasma outlet hole, whose smaller radius must be included in ion optics simulations.

We introduce a concept for efficient conversion of fossil fuels to electricity that entails the decomposition of fossil-derived hydrocarbons into carbon and hydrogen, and electrochemical conversion of these fuels in separate fuel cells. Carbon/air fuel cells have the advantages of near zero entropy change and associated heat production (allowing 100% theoretical conversion efficiency). The activities of the C fuel and CO{sub 2} product are invariant, allowing constant EMF and full utilization of fuel in single pass mode of operation. System efficiency estimates were conducted for several routes involving sequential extraction of a hydrocarbon from the fossil resource by (hydro) pyrolysis followed by thermal decomposition. The total energy conversion efficiencies of the processes were estimated to be (1) 80% for direct conversion of petroleum coke; (2) 67% HHV for CH{sub 4}; (3) 72% HHV for heavy oil (modeled using properties of decane); (4) 75.5% HHV (83% LHV) for natural gas conversion with a Rankine bottoming cycle for the H{sub 2} portion; and (5) 69% HHV for conversion of low rank coals and lignite through hydrogenation and pyrolysis of the CH{sub 4} intermediate. The cost of carbon fuel is roughly $7/GJ, based on the cost of the pyrolysis step in the industrial …

Fusion energy is one of only a few truly long-term energy options. Since its inception in the 1950s, the vision of the fusion energy research program has been to develop a viable means of harnessing the virtually unlimited energy stored in the nuclei of light atoms--the primary fuel deuterium is present as one part in 6,500 of all hydrogen. This vision grew out of the recognition that the immense power radiated by the sun is fueled by nuclear fusion in its hot core. Such high temperatures are a prerequisite for driving significant fusion reactions. The fascinating fourth state of matter at high temperatures is known as plasma. It is only in this fourth state of matter that the nuclei of two light atoms can fuse, releasing the excess energy that was needed to separately bind each of the original two nuclei. Because the nuclei of atoms carry a net positive electric charge, they repel each other. Hydrogenic nuclei, such as deuterium and tritium, must be heated to approximately 100 million degrees Celsius to overcome this electric repulsion and fuse. There have been dramatic recent advances in both the scientific understanding of fusion plasmas and in the generation of fusion power …