IN SITU FIELD TESTING OF PROCESSES (open access)

IN SITU FIELD TESTING OF PROCESSES

The purpose of this scientific analysis report is to update and document the data and subsequent analyses from ambient field-testing activities performed in underground drifts and surface-based boreholes through unsaturated zone (UZ) tuff rock units. In situ testing, monitoring, and associated laboratory studies are conducted to directly assess and evaluate the waste emplacement environment and the natural barriers to radionuclide transport at Yucca Mountain. This scientific analysis report supports and provides data to UZ flow and transport model reports, which in turn contribute to the Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) of Yucca Mountain, an important document for the license application (LA). The objectives of ambient field-testing activities are described in Section 1.1. This report is the third revision (REV 03), which supercedes REV 02. The scientific analysis of data for inputs to model calibration and validation as documented in REV 02 were developed in accordance with the Technical Work Plan (TWP) ''Technical Work Plan for: Performance Assessment Unsaturated Zone'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 167969]). This revision was developed in accordance with the ''Technical Work Plan for: Unsaturated Zone Flow Analysis and Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169654], Section 1.2.4) for better integrated, consistent, transparent, traceable, and more complete documentation in …
Date: November 8, 2004
Creator: YANG, J.S.Y.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Off-Highway Transportation-Related Fuel Use (open access)

Off-Highway Transportation-Related Fuel Use

The transportation sector includes many subcategories--for example, on-highway, off-highway, and non-highway. Use of fuel for off-highway purposes is not well documented, nor is the number of off-highway vehicles. The number of and fuel usage for on-highway and aviation, marine, and rail categories are much better documented than for off-highway land-based use. Several sources document off-highway fuel use under specific conditions--such as use by application (e.g., recreation) or by fuel type (e.g., gasoline). There is, however, no single source that documents the total fuel used off-highway and the number of vehicles that use the fuel. This report estimates the fuel usage and number of vehicles/equipment for the off-highway category. No new data have been collected nor new models developed to estimate the off-highway data--this study is limited in scope to using data that already exist. In this report, unless they are being quoted from a source that uses different terminology, the terms are used as listed below. (1) ''On-highway/on-road'' includes land-based transport used on the highway system or other paved roadways. (2) ''Off-highway/off-road'' includes land-based transport not using the highway system or other paved roadways. (3) ''Non-highway/non-road'' includes other modes not traveling on highways such as aviation, marine, and rail. It …
Date: May 8, 2004
Creator: Davis, S. C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Experimental study of 351-nm and 527-nm laser-initiated surface damage on fused silica surfaces due to typical contaminants (open access)

Experimental study of 351-nm and 527-nm laser-initiated surface damage on fused silica surfaces due to typical contaminants

Optics damage under high-intensity illumination may be the direct result of laser light interaction with a contaminant on the surface. Contaminants of interest are small particles of the materials of construction of large laser systems and include aluminum, various absorbing glasses, and fused silica. In addition, once a damage site occurs and begins to grow, the ejecta from the growing damage site create contamination on nearby optic surfaces and may initiate damage on these surfaces via a process we call ''fratricide.'' We report on a number of experiments that we have performed on fused silica optics that were deliberately contaminated with materials of interest. The experiments were done using 527-nm light as well as 351-nm light. We have found that many of the contaminant particles are removed by the interaction with the laser and the likelihood of removal and/or damage is a function of both fluence and contaminant size. We have developed an empirical model for damage initiation in the presence of contaminants.
Date: November 8, 2004
Creator: Honig, J.; Norton, M. A.; Hollingsworth, W. G.; Donohue, E. E. & Johnson, M. A.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unraveling the Structure of Hadrons with Effective Field Theories of QCD (open access)

Unraveling the Structure of Hadrons with Effective Field Theories of QCD

Effective Field theory is a powerful framework based on controlled expansions for problems with a natural separation of energy scales. This technique is particularly important for QCD, the theory of strong interactions, due to the vast diversity of phenomena that it describes. Stewart and collaborators have invented a new class of effective theories that can be used in processes with energetic hadrons. These Soft-Collinear Effective Theories provide a unified framework for describing hadronic processes which involve hard probes or the release of a large amount of energy. Many interesting issues about hadronic physics can be addressed with the soft-collinear effective theory. Examples include the size and shape of hadronic form factors, the universality of hadronic distribution functions for a plethora of processes, and the importance of subleading corrections at intermediate energy scales. Effective field theories allow these issues to be addressed using only the underlying symmetries and scales in QCD. Understanding these issues also has a direct impact on other areas of physics, such as on devising clean methods for the measurement of CP violation in the decay of B-mesons. Current progress on the soft-collinear effective theory and related methods is discussed in this report.
Date: June 8, 2004
Creator: Stewart, Iain
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
5th Biotechnological Investigations Ocean Margins Program (open access)

5th Biotechnological Investigations Ocean Margins Program

BI-OMP supports DOE's mission in Climate Change Research. The program provides the fundamental understanding of the linkages between carbon and nitrogen cycles in ocean margins. Researchers are providing a mechanistic understanding of these cycles, using the tools of modern molecular biology. The models that will allow policy makers to determine safe levels of greenhouse gases for the Earth System.
Date: January 8, 2004
Creator: Massol, Arturo & Buxeda, Rosa
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Economics and Feasibility of Rankine Cycle Improvements for Coal Fired Power Plants: Final Report (open access)

Economics and Feasibility of Rankine Cycle Improvements for Coal Fired Power Plants: Final Report

ALSTOM Power Inc.'s Power Plant Laboratories (ALSTOM) has teamed with the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL), American Electric Company (AEP) and Parsons Energy and Chemical Group to conduct a comprehensive study evaluating coal fired steam power plants, known as Rankine Cycles, equipped with three different combustion systems: Pulverized Coal (PC), Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB), and Circulating Moving Bed (CMB{trademark}). Five steam cycles utilizing a wide range of steam conditions were used with these combustion systems. The motivation for this study was to establish through engineering analysis, the most cost-effective performance potential available through improvement in the Rankine Cycle steam conditions and combustion systems while at the same time ensuring that the most stringent emission performance based on CURC (Coal Utilization Research Council) 2010 targets are met: > 98% sulfur removal; < 0.05 lbm/MM-Btu NO{sub x}; < 0.01 lbm/MM-Btu Particulate Matter; and > 90% Hg removal. The final report discusses the results of a coal fired steam power plant project, which is comprised of two parts. The main part of the study is the analysis of ten (10) Greenfield steam power plants employing three different coal combustion technologies: Pulverized Coal (PC), Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB), and …
Date: September 8, 2004
Creator: Waryasz, Richard E. & Liljedahl, Gregory N.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library

Rail Alignment Environmental Impact Statement Information Session

None
Date: July 8, 2004
Creator: Sweeney, Robin
Object Type: Presentation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Three-dimensional poisson solver for a charged beam with large aspect ratio in a conducting pipe (open access)

Three-dimensional poisson solver for a charged beam with large aspect ratio in a conducting pipe

In this paper, we present a three-dimensional Poisson equation solver for the electrostatic potential of a charged beam with large longitudinal to transverse aspect ratio in a straight and a bent conducting pipe with open-end boundary conditions. In this solver, we have used a Hermite-Gaussian series to represent the longitudinal spatial dependence of the charge density and the electric potential. Using the Hermite-Gaussian approximation, the original three-dimensional Poisson equation has been reduced into a group of coupled two-dimensional partial differential equations with the coupling strength proportional to the inverse square of the longitudinal-to-transverse aspect ratio. For a large aspect ratio, the coupling is weak. These two-dimensional partial differential equations can be solved independently using an iterative approach. The iterations converge quickly due to the large aspect ration of the beam. For a transverse round conducting pipe, the two-dimensional Poisson equation is solved using a Bessel function approximation and a Fourier function approximation. The three-dimensional Poisson solver can have important applications in the study of the space-charge effects in the high intensity proton storage ring accelerator or induction linear accelerator for heavy ion fusion where the ration of bunch length to the transverse size is large.
Date: January 8, 2004
Creator: Qiang, Ji & Gluckstern, Robert L.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Review of Corrosion Inhibition in High Level Radioactive Waste Tanks in the DOE Complex (open access)

Review of Corrosion Inhibition in High Level Radioactive Waste Tanks in the DOE Complex

Radioactive waste is stored in underground storage tanks at the Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS). The waste tanks store supernatant liquid salts, consisting primarily of sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, sodium hydroxide, and sludge. An assessment of the potential degradation mechanisms of the high level waste (HLW) tanks determined that nitrate- induced pitting corrosion and stress corrosion cracking were the two most significant degradation mechanisms. Controls on the solution chemistry (minimum nitrite and hydroxide concentrations) are in place to prevent the initiation and propagation of pitting and stress corrosion cracking in the tanks. These controls are based upon a series of experiments performed using simulated solutions on materials used for construction of the tanks. The technical bases and evolution of these controls is presented.
Date: March 8, 2004
Creator: Subramanian, K.H.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Statistically meaningful data on the chemical state of ironprecipitates in processed multicrystalline silicon usingsynchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy (open access)

Statistically meaningful data on the chemical state of ironprecipitates in processed multicrystalline silicon usingsynchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy

X-ray fluorescence microscopy (mu-XRF), x-ray beam induced current (XBIC), and x-ray absorption spectromicroscopy (mu-XAS) were performed on fully-processed Bay Six cast multicrystalline silicon and aluminum-gettered AstroPower Silicon-Film(TM) sheet material. Over ten iron precipitates--predominantly of iron silicide--were identified at low lifetime regions in both materials, both at grain boundaries and intragranular defects identified by XBIC. In addition, large (micron-sized) particles containing oxidized iron and other impurities (Ca, Cr, Mn) were found in BaySix material. The smaller iron silicide precipitates were more numerous and spatially distributed than their larger oxidized iron counterparts, and thus deemed more detrimental to minority carrier diffusion length.
Date: November 8, 2004
Creator: Buonassisi, T.; Heuer, M.; Istratov, A.A.; Weber, E.R.; Cai, Z.; Lai, B. et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Helical rays in two-dimensional resonant wave conversion (open access)

Helical rays in two-dimensional resonant wave conversion

The process of resonant wave conversion (often called linear mode conversion) has traditionally been analyzed with a spatially one-dimensional slab model, for which the rays propagate in a two-dimensional phase space. However, it has recently been shown [E.R. Tracy and A.N. Kaufman, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 130402 (2003)] that multidimensional rays have a helical structure for conversion in two or more spatial dimensions (if their dispersion matrix is generic). In that case, a one-dimensional model is inadequate; a correct analysis requires two spatial dimensions and, thus, four-dimensional phase space. In this paper we show that a cold plasma model will exhibit ray helicity in conversion regions where the density and magnetic field gradients are significantly non-parallel. For illustration, we examine a model of the poloidal plane of a deuterium-tritium tokamak plasma, and identify such a region. In this region, characterized by a six-sector topology, rays in the sector for incident and reflected magnetosonic waves exhibit significant helicity. We introduce a ''symmetric-wedge'' model, to develop a detailed analytic and numerical study of helical rays in this sector.
Date: December 8, 2004
Creator: Kaufman, Allan N.; Tracy, Eugene R. & Brizard, Alain J.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Synchrotron-based investigations of the nature and impact of ironcontamination in multicrystalline silicon solar cell materials (open access)

Synchrotron-based investigations of the nature and impact of ironcontamination in multicrystalline silicon solar cell materials

Synchrotron-based microprobe techniques were used to obtain precise and systematic information about the size distribution, spatial distribution, shape, electrical activity, and chemical states of iron-rich impurity clusters in multicrystalline silicon materials used for cost-effective solar cells. These experimentally observed properties of iron-rich clusters allow one to derive conclusions about the origins of iron contamination, the mechanisms for incorporating large amounts of Fe into mc-Si, quantitative information about the distribution of Fe in mc-Si and the impacts of such contamination on solar cell performance. Two distinct groups of iron-rich clusters have been identified in both materials: (a) the occasional large (diameter greater than or equal to 1 mu-m) particles, either oxidized and/or present with multiple other metal species reminiscent of stainless steels or ceramics, which are believed to originate from a foreign source such as the growth surfaces, production equipment, or feedstock, and (b) the more numerous, homogeneously distributed, and smaller iron silicide precipitates (dia. less than or equal to 800 nm, often < 100 nm), originating from a variety of possible formation mechanisms involving atomically dissolved iron in the melt or in the crystal. It was found that iron silicide nanoprecipitates account for bulk Fe concentrations as high as 1014-15cm-3 …
Date: November 8, 2004
Creator: Buonassisi, Tonio; Istratov, Andrei A.; Heuer, Matthias; Marcus,Matthew A.; Jonczyk, Ralf; Lai, Barry et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Impact of iron contamination in multicrystalline silicon solarcells: origins, chemical states, and device impacts (open access)

Impact of iron contamination in multicrystalline silicon solarcells: origins, chemical states, and device impacts

Synchrotron-based microprobe techniques have been applied to study the distribution, size, chemical state, and recombination activity of Fe clusters in two types of mc-Si materials: block cast mc-Si, and AstroPower Silicon Film(TM) sheet material. In sheet material, high concentrations of metals were found at recombination-active, micron-sized intragranular clusters consisting of micron and sub-micron sized particles. In addition, Fe nanoparticles were located in densities of {approx}2'107 cm-2 along recombination-active grain boundaries. In cast mc-Si,two types of particles were identified at grain boundaries: (1) micron-sized oxidized Fe particles accompanied by other metals (Cr, Mn, Ca, Ti), and (2) a higher number of sub-micron FeSi2 precipitates that exhibited a preferred orientation along the crystal growth direction. In both materials, it is believed that the larger Fe clusters are inclusions of foreign particles, from which Fe dissolves in the melt to form the smaller FeSi2 nanoprecipitates, which by virtue of their more homogeneous distribution are deemed more dangerous to solar cell device performance. Based on this understanding, strategies proposed to reduce the impact of Fe on mc-Si electrical properties include gettering, passivation, and limiting the dissolution of foreign Fe-rich particles in the melt.
Date: November 8, 2004
Creator: Buonassisi, Tonio; Heuer, Matthias; Istratov, Andrei A.; Marcus,Matthew A.; Jonczyk, Ralf; Lai, Barry et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Preliminary Evaluation of Techniques to Fabricate Beryllium, Polyimide, and Ge-doped CH/CD Ablator Materials (open access)

Preliminary Evaluation of Techniques to Fabricate Beryllium, Polyimide, and Ge-doped CH/CD Ablator Materials

This report including appendices provides information to complete this deliverable. It summarizes the important features of each ablator material, with particular focus to its usefulness for ignition capsules. More detailed discussions of each ablator type are in the Appendix. Included at the end of each separate discussion in the Appendix is a list of all published work with an ICF focus on that ablator type. This report is organized into Be based and polymer (C) based ablators. We summarize status, outstanding issues, and how we plan to address them. Details are in the Appendix. For Be there are two fabrication routes, one by machining bulk pieces into hemi-shells which are then bonded together, and the other by sputtering Be with Cu dopant onto spherical plastic mandrels to build up a wall. This method allows for radial variation in the Cu dopant concentration, while the machining approach is best suited to a uniform doping level. For plastic, we have already made a down select, eliminating polyimide because its performance as an ablator has been seen to be significantly different from that predicted by simulations. The other polymer, GDP (glow discharge polymer or sometimes called plasma polymer) comes in both a normal …
Date: November 8, 2004
Creator: Cook, Bob; Letts, Steve; Nikroo, Abbas; Nobile, Art; McElfresh, Mike; Cooley, Jason et al.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Innovative Technologies to Protect Water Supplies (open access)

Innovative Technologies to Protect Water Supplies

None
Date: July 8, 2004
Creator: Newmark, R. L.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aspects of the Tribology of the Plastic Bonded Explosive LX-04 (open access)

Aspects of the Tribology of the Plastic Bonded Explosive LX-04

The coefficient of friction, {mu}, of the plastic bonded explosive (PBX) LX-04 was measured on stainless steel, aluminum, Teflon and the explosive itself as a function of temperature between ambient and 135 C at a rotational speed of 0.0025 rad/sec{sup -1}. An optical profilometer was used to analyze the mean surface roughness, R{sub a}, of the various materials. LX-04 is a composite of the explosive 1,3,5,7-tetranitroazacyclooctane (HMX) and Viton A in an 85/15 weight ratio. The average roughness of the pressed explosive surface was R{sub a} = 0.55 {micro}m. The coefficient of friction for LX-04 on stainless steel of R{sub a} = 0.40 {micro}m decreased from 0.38 at ambient to 0.18 at 95 C. Above this temperature {mu} was nearly constant to about 125 C, where the coefficient began to increase again. The opposite behavior was observed with aluminum with R{sub a} = 0.31 {micro}m. The coefficient of friction increased from about 0.3 at ambient to 0.46 at 125 C. At this temperature or above, {mu} tended to increase during the measurement, indicating that the sample may have been sticking to the counter surface. The coefficient of friction against Teflon of R{sub a} = 0.054 {micro}m was nearly constant from …
Date: July 8, 2004
Creator: Hoffman, D. M. & Chandler, J. B.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aspects of the Tribology of the Plastic Bonded Explosive (PBX) 9404 (open access)

Aspects of the Tribology of the Plastic Bonded Explosive (PBX) 9404

The coefficient of friction, {mu}, of the plastic bonded explosive (PBX) 9404 was measured on stainless steel, aluminum, Teflon and the explosive itself as a function of temperature between ambient and 135 C at a rotational speed of 0.0025 rad/sec{sup -1}. An optical profilometer was used to analyze the mean surface roughness, R{sub a}, of the various materials. PBX 9404 is a composite of the explosive 1,3,5,7-tetranitroazacyclooctane (HMX) chloroethyl phosphate (CEF) and nitrocellulose in an 96/3/3 weight ratio. The average roughness of the pressed explosive surface was R{sub a} = 1.37 {micro}m. The coefficient of friction for PBX 9404 on stainless steel of R{sub a} = 0.40 {micro}m increased from 0.22 at ambient to 0.34 at 95 C. Above this temperature {mu} decreased to about 0.23 at 125 C. Similar behavior was observed with aluminum with R{sub a} = 0.31 {micro}m. The coefficient of friction increased from about 0.08 at ambient to 0.48 at 115 C. Above this temperature, {mu} tended to decrease slightly. The coefficient of friction against Teflon of R{sub a} = 0.054 {micro}m was sigmoidal, increasing from about 0.3 at ambient to about at 0.49 {+-} 0.002 above 115 C. Against a PBX 9404 counter surface, the …
Date: July 8, 2004
Creator: Hoffman, D. M. & Chandler, J. B.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ion Recognition Approach to Volume Reduction of Alkaline Tank Waste by Separation and Recycle of Sodium Hydroxide and Sodium Nitrate (open access)

Ion Recognition Approach to Volume Reduction of Alkaline Tank Waste by Separation and Recycle of Sodium Hydroxide and Sodium Nitrate

This research was intended to provide the scientific foundation upon which the feasibility of liquid-liquid extraction chemistry for bulk reduction of the volume of high-activity tank waste can be evaluated. Primary focus has been on sodium hydroxide separation, with potential Hanford application. Value in sodium hydroxide separation can potentially be found in alternative flowsheets for treatment and disposal of low-activity salt waste. Additional value can be expected in recycle of sodium hydroxide for use in waste retrieval and sludge washing, whereupon additions of fresh sodium hydroxide to the waste can be avoided. Potential savings are large both because of the huge cost of vitrification of the low-activity waste stream and because volume reduction of high-activity wastes could obviate construction of costly new tanks. Toward these ends, the conceptual development begun in the original proposal was extended with the formulation of eight fundamental approaches that could be undertaken for extraction of sodium hydroxide.
Date: June 8, 2004
Creator: Moyer, Bruce A.; Marchand, Alan P.; Bonnesen, Peter V.; Bryan, Jeffrey C. & Haverlock, Tamara J.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Urban Wood/Coal Co-Firing in the Bellefield Boilerplant (open access)

Urban Wood/Coal Co-Firing in the Bellefield Boilerplant

An Environmental Questionnaire for the demonstration at the Bellefield Boiler Plant (BBP) was submitted to the national Energy Technology Laboratory. An R&D variance for the air permit at the BBP was sought from the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). R&D variances for the solid waste permits at the J. A. Rutter Company (JARC), and Emery Tree Service (ETS) were sought from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). Construction wood was acquired from Thompson Properties and Seven D Corporation. Verbal authorizations were received in all cases. Memoranda of understanding were executed by the University of Pittsburgh with BBP, JARC and ETS. Construction wood was collected from Thompson Properties and from Seven D Corporation. Forty tons of pallet and construction wood were ground to produce BioGrind Wood Chips at JARC and delivered to Mon Valley Transportation Company (MVTC). Five tons of construction wood were hammer milled at ETS and half of the product delivered to MVTC. Blends of wood and coal, produced at MVTC by staff of JARC and MVTC, were shipped by rail to BBP. The experimental portion of the project was carried out at BBP in late March and early April 2001. Several preliminary tests were successfully conducted using …
Date: April 8, 2004
Creator: Cobb, James T., Jr.; Geiger, Gene E.; III, William W. Elder; Barry, William P.; Wang, Jun & Li, Hongming
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Deterministic, Nanoscale Fabrication of Mesoscale Objects (open access)

Deterministic, Nanoscale Fabrication of Mesoscale Objects

Neither LLNL nor any other organization has the capability to perform deterministic fabrication of mm-sized objects with arbitrary, {micro}m-sized, 3-D features and with 100-nm-scale accuracy and smoothness. This is particularly true for materials such as high explosives and low-density aerogels, as well as materials such as diamond and vanadium. The motivation for this project was to investigate the physics and chemistry that control the interactions of solid surfaces with laser beams and ion beams, with a view towards their applicability to the desired deterministic fabrication processes. As part of this LDRD project, one of our goals was to advance the state of the art for experimental work, but, in order to create ultimately a deterministic capability for such precision micromachining, another goal was to form a new modeling/simulation capability that could also extend the state of the art in this field. We have achieved both goals. In this project, we have, for the first time, combined a 1-D hydrocode (''HYADES'') with a 3-D molecular dynamics simulator (''MDCASK'') in our modeling studies. In FY02 and FY03, we investigated the ablation/surface-modification processes that occur on copper, gold, and nickel substrates with the use of sub-ps laser pulses. In FY04, we investigated laser …
Date: December 8, 2004
Creator: Mariella, R., Jr.; Gilmer, J.; Rubenchik, A. & Shirk, M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library