The United States Department of Energy’s Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Development and Qualification Program will be irradiating up to seven separate low enriched uranium (LEU) tri-isotopic (TRISO) particle fuel (in compact form) experiments in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The ATR has a long history of irradiation testing in support of reactor development and the INL has been designated as the United States Department of Energy’s lead laboratory for nuclear energy development. The ATR is one of the world’s premiere test reactors for performing long term, high flux, and/or large volume irradiation test programs. These irradiations and fuel development are being accomplished to support development of the next generation reactors in the United States, and will be irradiated over the next several years to demonstrate and qualify new TRISO coated particle fuel for use in high temperature gas reactors. The goals of the irradiation experiments are to provide irradiation performance data to support fuel process development, to qualify fuel for normal operating conditions, to support development and validation of fuel performance and fission product transport models and codes, and to provide irradiated fuel and materials for post …

Complexation of neodymium(III) and europium(III) with lactate was studied at variable temperatures by potentiometry, absorption spectrophotometry, luminescence spectroscopy and microcalorimetry. Stability constants of three successive lactate complexes (ML{sup 2+}, ML{sup 2+} and ML{sub 3}(aq), where M stands for Nd and Eu, and L stands for lactate) at 10, 25, 40, 55 and 70 C were determined. The enthalpies of complexation at 25 C were determined by microcalorimetry. Thermodynamic data show that the complexation of trivalent lanthanides (Nd{sup 3+} and Eu{sup 3+}) with lactate is exothermic, and the complexation becomes weaker at higher temperatures. Results from optical absorption and luminescence spectroscopy suggest that the complexes are inner-sphere chelate complexes in which the protonated {alpha}-hydroxyl group of lactate participates in the complexation.

Complexation of Np(V) with N-methyl-iminodiacetic acid (MIDA) in 1 M NaClO{sub 4} solution was studied with multiple techniques including potentiometry, spectrophotometry, and microcalorimetry. The 1:2 complex, NpO{sub 2}(MIDA){sub 2}{sup 3-} was identified for the first time in aqueous solution. The correlation between its optical absorption properties and symmetry was discussed, in comparison with Np(V) complexes with two structurally related nitrilo-dicarboxylic acids, iminodiacetic acid (IDA) and dipicolinic acid (DPA). The order of the binding strength (DPA > MIDA > IDA) is explained by the difference in the structural and electronic properties of the ligands. In general, the nitrilo-dicarboxylates form stronger complexes with Np(V) than oxy-dicarboxylates due to a much more favorable enthalpy of complexation.

The purpose of this compliance study was to estimate dam passage survival of yearling Chinook salmon and steelhead smolts at The Dalles Dam during spring 2010. Under the 2008 Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) Biological Opinion (BiOp), dam passage survival should be greater than or equal to 0.96 and estimated with a standard error (SE) less than or equal 0.015. The study also estimated smolt passage survival from the forebay boat-restricted zone (BRZ) to the tailrace BRZ at The Dalles Dam, as well as the forebay residence time, tailrace egress, and spill passage efficiency (SPE), as required in the Columbia Basin Fish Accords. A virtual/paired-release design was used to estimate dam passage survival at The Dalles Dam. The approach included releases of acoustic-tagged smolts above John Day Dam that contributed to the formation of a virtual release at the face of The Dalles Dam. A survival estimate from this release was adjusted by a paired release below The Dalles Dam. A total of 4,298 yearling Chinook salmon and 4,309 steelhead smolts were tagged and released in the investigation. The Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) tag model number ATS-156dB, weighing 0.438 g in air, was used in this investigation. …

In this article we will review the computational challenges in the beam-beam simulation for the polarized proton run of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The difficulties in our multi-particle and million turn tracking to calculate the proton beam lifetime and proton beam emittance growth due to head-on beam-beam interaction and head-on beam-beam compensation are presented and discussed. Solutions to obtain meaningful physics results from these trackings are proposed and tested. In the end we will present the progress in the benchmarking of the RHIC operational proton beam lifetime.

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This conceptual design report addresses development of replacement remote-handled low-level waste disposal capability for the Idaho National Laboratory. Current disposal capability at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex is planned until the facility is full or until it must be closed in preparation for final remediation (approximately at the end of Fiscal Year 2017). This conceptual design report includes key project assumptions; design options considered in development of the proposed onsite disposal facility (the highest ranked alternative for providing continued uninterrupted remote-handled low level waste disposal capability); process and facility descriptions; safety and environmental requirements that would apply to the proposed facility; and the proposed cost and schedule for funding, design, construction, and operation of the proposed onsite disposal facility.

Following recommendations made in Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7, which established a national policy for the identification and increased protection of critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR) by Federal departments and agencies, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2006 developed the Enhanced Critical Infrastructure Protection (ECIP) program. The ECIP program aimed to provide a closer partnership with state, regional, territorial, local, and tribal authorities in fulfilling the national objective to improve CIKR protection. The program was specifically designed to identify protective measures currently in place in CIKR and to inform facility owners/operators of the benefits of new protective measures. The ECIP program also sought to enhance existing relationships between DHS and owners/operators of CIKR and to build relationships where none existed (DHS 2008; DHS 2009). In 2009, DHS and its protective security advisors (PSAs) began assessing CIKR assets using the ECIP program and ultimately produced individual protective measure and vulnerability values through the protective measure and vulnerability indices (PMI/VI). The PMI/VI assess the protective measures posture of individual facilities at their 'weakest link,' allowing for a detailed analysis of the most vulnerable aspects of the facilities (Schneier 2003), while maintaining the ability to produce an overall protective measures …

In mirrors with E × B rotation, a fixed azimuthal perturbation in the lab frame can appear as a wave in the rotating frame. If the rotation frequency varies with radius, the plasma-frame wave frequency will also vary radially due to the Doppler shift. A wave that propagates in the high rotation plasma region might therefore be evanescent at the plasma edge. This can lead to radially localized Alfven eigenmodes with high azimuthal mode numbers. Contained Alfven modes are found both for peaked and non-peaked rotation profiles. These modes might be useful for alpha channeling or ion heating, as the high azimuthal wave number allows the plasma wave frequency in the rotating frame to exceed the ion cyclotron frequency. __________________________________________________

Final report for CRADA 234 with ADMA PRoducts Inc.

Porous materials such as zeolites, activated carbon, silica gels, alumina and a number of industrial catalysts are compared and ranked for hydrogen and deuterium adsorption at liquid nitrogen temperature. All samples show higher D{sub 2} adsorption than that of H{sub 2}, in which a HY sample has the greatest isotopic effect while 13X has the highest hydrogen uptake capacity. Material's moisture content has significant impact to its hydrogen uptake. A material without adequate drying could result in complete loss of its adsorption capacity. Even though some materials present higher H{sub 2} adsorption capacity at full pressure, their adsorption at low vapor pressure may not be as good as others. Adsorption capacity in a dynamic system is much less than in a static system. A sharp desorption is also expected in case of temperature upset.

NREL's Solar Advisor Model (SAM) is employed to estimate the current and future costs for parabolic trough and molten salt power towers in the US market. Future troughs are assumed to achieve higher field temperatures via the successful deployment of low melting-point, molten-salt heat transfer fluids by 2015-2020. Similarly, it is assumed that molten salt power towers are successfully deployed at 100MW scale over the same time period, increasing to 200MW by 2025. The levelized cost of electricity for both technologies is predicted to drop below 11 cents/kWh (assuming a 10% investment tax credit and other financial inputs outlined in the paper), making the technologies competitive in the marketplace as benchmarked by the California MPR. Both technologies can be deployed with large amounts of thermal energy storage, yielding capacity factors as high as 65% while maintaining an optimum LCOE.

The current density in the vicinity of a rational surface of a force-free magnetic field subjected to an ideal perturbation is shown to be the sum of both a smooth and a delta-function distribution, which give comparable currents. The maximum perturbation to the smooth current density is comparable to a typical equilibrium current density and the width of the layer in which the current flows is shown to be proportional to the perturbation amplitude. In the standard linearized theory, the plasma displacement has an unphysical jump across the rational surface, but the full theory gives a continuous displacement.

Abstract – High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs) featuring particle fuel reached the stage of commercial deployment in the mid-1980s with the Fort St.Vrain and Thorium HochTemperatur Reaktor feeding electricity to the grids in the United States and West Germany, respectively. The technology was then adopted by Japan and China with the operation of the High Temperature Test Reactor in Oarai, Japan and the High Temperature Reactor (HTR-10) in China. Increasing the outlet temperature of the HTGR to even higher temperatures above 900°C will improve the thermodynamic efficiency of the system and enable application of a new class of gas reactor, the very high temperature reactor, to provide process heat, electricity, and hydrogen to chemical industries with the attendant benefits of improved energy security and reduced CO2 emissions. However, the increase in coolant outlet temperature presents a number of technical challenges associated with fuel, materials, power conversion, and analysis methods for the reactor and hydrogen production. The U.S. Department of Energy is sponsoring a broad program of research and development with a goal of addressing the technical challenges over a broad range of outlet temperatures as part of the Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project. This paper describes the research and development …

The use of permanent magnets instead of electromagnet coils for low power Hall thrusters can offer a significant reduction of both the total electric power consumption and the thruster mass. Two permanent magnet versions of the miniaturized cylindrical Hall thruster (CHT) of different overall dimensions were operated in the power range of 50W-300 W. The discharge and plasma plume measurements revealed that the CHT thrusters with permanent magnets and electromagnet coils operate rather differently. In particular, the angular ion current density distribution from the permanent magnet thrusters has an unusual halo shape, with a majority of high energy ions flowing at large angles with respect to the thruster centerline. Differences in the magnetic field topology outside the thruster channel and in the vicinity of the channel exit are likely responsible for the differences in the plume characteristics measured for the CHTs with electromagnets and permanent magnets. It is shown that the presence of the reversing-direction or cusp-type magnetic field configuration inside the thruster channel without a strong axial magnetic field outside the thruster channel does not lead to the halo plasma plume from the CHT. __________________________________________________

We analyze the first two years of data from the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope from the direction of the inner 10{sup o} around the Galactic Center with the intention of constraining, or finding evidence of, annihilating dark matter. We find that the morphology and spectrum of the emission between 1.25{sup o} and 10{sup o} from the Galactic Center is well described by a the processes of decaying pions produced in cosmic ray collisions with gas, and the inverse Compton scattering of cosmic ray electrons in both the disk and bulge of the Inner Galaxy, along with gamma rays from known points sources in the region. The observed spectrum and morphology of the emission within approximately 1.25{sup o} ({approx}175 parsecs) of the Galactic Center, in contrast, cannot be accounted for by these processes or known sources. We find that an additional component of gamma ray emission is clearly present which is highly concentrated around the Galactic Center, but is not point-like in nature. The observed morphology of this component is consistent with that predicted from annihilating dark matter with a cusped (and possibly adiabatically contracted) halo distribution ({rho} {proportional_to} r{sup -1.34{+-}0.04}). The observed spectrum of this component, which peaks at …

The DB Program monthly highlights report for August 2010, ORNL/TM-2010/184, was distributed to program participants by email on September 17. This report discusses: (1) Core and Fuel Analysis - (a) Core Design Optimization in the HTR (high temperature helium-cooled reactor) Prismatic Design (Logos), (b) Core Design Optimization in the HTR Pebble Bed Design (INL), (c) Microfuel analysis for the DB HTR (INL, GA, Logos); (2) Spent Fuel Management - (a) TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) repository behavior (UNLV), (b) Repository performance of TRISO fuel (UCB); (3) Fuel Cycle Integration of the HTR (high temperature helium-cooled reactor) - Synergy with other reactor fuel cycles (GA, Logos); (4) TRU (transuranic elements) HTR Fuel Qualification - (a) Thermochemical Modeling, (b) Actinide and Fission Product Transport, (c) Radiation Damage and Properties; (5) HTR Spent Fuel Recycle - (a) TRU Kernel Development (ORNL), (b) Coating Development (ORNL), (c) Characterization Development and Support, (d) ZrC Properties and Handbook; and (6) HTR Fuel Recycle - (a) Graphite Recycle (ORNL), (b) Aqueous Reprocessing, (c) Pyrochemical Reprocessing METROX (metal recovery from oxide fuel) Process Development (ANL).

Since the 1960's, the Department of Transportation Specification (DOT Spec) 6M packages have been used extensively for transportation of Type B quantities of radioactive materials between Department of Energy (DOE) facilities, laboratories, and productions sites. However, due to the advancement of packaging technology, the aging of the 6M packages, and variability in the quality of the packages, the DOT implemented a phased elimination of the 6M specification packages (and other DOT Spec packages) in favor of packages certified to meet federal performance requirements. DOT issued the final rule in the Federal Register on October 1, 2004 requiring that use of the DOT Specification 6M be discontinued as of October 1, 2008. A main driver for the change was the fact that the 6M specification packagings were not supported by a Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP) that was compliant with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 71 (10 CFR 71). Therefore, materials that would have historically been shipped in 6M packages are being identified as contents in Type B (and sometimes Type A fissile) package applications and addenda that are to be certified under the requirements of 10 CFR 71. The requirements in 10 CFR 71 include …

Space-charge neutralization is required to compress and focus a pulsed, high-current ion beam on a target for warm dense matter physics or heavy ion fusion experiments. We described approaches to produce dense plasma in and near the final focusing solenoid through which the ion beam travels, thereby providing an opportunity for the beam to acquire the necessary space-charge compensating electrons. Among the options are plasma injection from pulsed vacuum arc sources located outside the solenoid, and using a high current (> 4 kA) pulsed vacuum arc plasma from a ring cathode near the edge of the solenoid. The plasma distribution is characterized by photographic means, by an array of movable Langmuir probes, by a small single probe, and by evaluating Stark broadening of the Balmer H beta spectral line. In the main approach described here, the plasma is produced at several cathode spots distributed azimuthally on the ring cathode. It is shown that the plasma is essentially hollow, as determined by the structure of the magnetic field, though the plasma density exceeds 1014 cm-3 in practically all zones of the solenoid volume if the ring electrode is placed a few centimeters off the center of the solenoid. The plasma is …

Knowing the ultimate surface morphology resulting from CO{sub 2} laser mitigation of induced laser damage is important both for determining adequate treatment protocols, and for preventing deleterious intensification upon subsequent illumination of downstream optics. Physical effects such as evaporation, viscous flow and densification can strongly affect the final morphology of the treated site. Evaporation is a strong function of temperature and will play a leading role in determining pit shapes when the evaporation rate is large, both because of material loss and redeposition. Viscous motion of the hot molten material during heating and cooling can redistribute material due to surface tension gradients (Marangoni effect) and vapor recoil pressure effects. Less well known, perhaps, is that silica can densify as a result of structural relaxation, to a degree depending on the local thermal history. The specific volume shrinkage due to structural relaxation can be mistaken for material loss due to evaporation. Unlike evaporation, however, local density change can be reversed by post annealing. All of these effects must be taken into account to adequately describe the final morphology and optical properties of single and multiple-pass mitigation protocols. We have investigated, experimentally and theoretically, the significance of such densification on residual stress …

A new Fission Gas Monitoring System (FGMS) has been designed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for use of monitoring online fission gas-released during fuel heating tests. The FGMS will be used with the Fuel Accident Condition Simulator (FACS) at the Hot Fuels Examination Facility (HFEF) located at the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) within the INL campus. Preselected Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) TRISO (Tri-isotropic) fuel compacts will undergo testing to assess the fission product retention characteristics under high temperature accident conditions. The FACS furnace will heat the fuel to temperatures up to 2,000ºC in a helium atmosphere. Released fission products such as Kr and Xe isotopes will be transported downstream to the FGMS where they will accumulate in cryogenically cooledcollection traps and monitored with High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors during the heating process. Special INL developed software will be used to monitor the accumulated fission products and will report data in near real-time. These data will then be reported in a form that can be readily available to the INL reporting database. This paper describes the details of the FGMS design, the control and acqusition software, system calibration, and the expected performance of the FGMS. Preliminary online data may …

This presentation describes a battery optimization and trade-off analysis for Li-ion batteries used in EVs and PHEVs to extend their life and/or reduce cost.

Solar Advisor Model (SAM) is a free software package made available by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratory, and the US Department of Energy. SAM contains hourly system performance and economic models for concentrating solar power (CSP) systems, photovoltaic, solar hot-water, and generic fuel-use technologies. Versions of SAM prior to 2010 included only the parabolic trough model based on Excelergy. This model uses top-level empirical performance curves to characterize plant behavior, and thus is limited in predictive capability for new technologies or component configurations. To address this and other functionality challenges, a new trough model; derived from physical first principles was commissioned to supplement the Excelergy-based empirical model. This new 'physical model' approaches the task of characterizing the performance of the whole parabolic trough plant by replacing empirical curve-fit relationships with more detailed calculations where practical. The resulting model matches the annual performance of the SAM empirical model (which has been previously verified with plant data) while maintaining run-times compatible with parametric analysis, adding additional flexibility in modeled system configurations, and providing more detailed performance calculations in the solar field, power block, piping, and storage subsystems.

There are no accepted standards for determining how many measurements to take during part inspection or where to take them, or for assessing confidence in the evaluation of acceptance based on these measurements. The goal of this work was to develop a standard method for determining the number of measurements, together with the spatial distribution of measurements and the associated risks for false acceptance and false rejection. Two paths have been taken to create a standard method for selecting sampling points. A wavelet-based model has been developed to select measurement points and to determine confidence in the measurement after the points are taken. An adaptive sampling strategy has been studied to determine implementation feasibility on commercial measurement equipment. Results using both real and simulated data are presented for each of the paths.