Spectra from the “at-line” spectrometer were obtained during the ferrous sulfamate (FS) valence adjustment step of AFS-2 Batch #3 on 9/18/2013. These spectra were analyzed by mathematical principal component regression (PCR) techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment. Despite the complications from Pu(IV), we conclude that all Pu(VI) was consumed during the FS treatment, and that by the end of the treatment, about 85% was as Pu(IV) and about 15% was as Pu(III). Due to the concerns about the “odd” shape of the Pu(IV) peak and the possibility of this behavior being observed in the future, a follow-up sample was sent to SRNL to investigate this further. Analysis of this sample confirmed the previous results and concluded that it “odd” shape was due to an intermediate acid concentration. Since the spectral evidence shows complete reduction of Pu(VI) we conclude that it is appropriate to proceed with processing of this the batch of feed solution for HB-Line including the complexation of the fluoride with aluminum nitrate.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management selected Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) contract, to perform independent verification (IV) at Zone 2 of the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ORAU has concluded IV surveys, per the project-specific plan (PSP) (ORAU 2013a) covering exposure units (EUs) Z2-24, -31, -32, and -36. The objective of this effort was to verify the following. • Target EUs comply with requirements in the Zone 2 Record of Decision (ROD) (DOE 2005), as implemented by using the dynamic verification strategy presented in the dynamic work plan (DWP) (BJC 2007) • Commitments in the DWP were adequately implemented, as verified via IV surveys and soil sampling The Zone 2 ROD establishes maximum remediation level (RLmax) values and average RL (RLavg) values for the primary contaminants of concern (COCs) U-234, U-235, U-238, Cs-137, Np-237, Ra-226, Th-232, arsenic, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Table 1.1 lists Zone 2 COCs with associated RLs. Additional radiological and chemical contaminants were also identified during past characterization and monitoring actions, though the ROD does not present RLs for these potential contaminants. IV activities focused …

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The supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle is gaining importance for power conversion in the Generation IV fast reactor system because of its high conversion efficiencies. When used in conjunction with a sodium fast reactor, the supercritical CO{sub 2} cycle offers additional safety advantages by eliminating potential sodium-water interactions that may occur in a steam cycle. In power conversion systems for Generation IV fast reactors, supercritical CO{sub 2} temperatures could be in the range of 30°C to 650°C, depending on the specific component in the system. Materials corrosion primarily at high temperatures will be an important issue. Therefore, the corrosion performance limits for materials at various temperatures must be established. The proposed research will have four objectives centered on addressing corrosion issues in a high-temperature supercritical CO{sub 2} environment: Task 1: Evaluation of corrosion performance of candidate alloys in high-purity supercritical CO{sub 2}: The following alloys will be tested: Ferritic-martensitic Steels NF616 and HCM12A, austenitic alloys Incoloy 800H and 347 stainless steel, and two advanced concept alloys, AFA (alumina forming austenitic) steel and MA754. Supercritical CO{sub 2} testing will be performed at 450°C, 550°C, and 650°C at a pressure of 20 MPa, in a test facility that is already in place …

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The objective of this project was to design and develop a prototype very energy efficient high density compute platform with 100% pumped refrigerant liquid cooling using commodity components and high volume manufacturing techniques. Testing at SLAC has indicated that we achieved a DCIE of 0.93 against our original goal of 0.85. This number includes both cooling and power supply and was achieved employing some of the highest wattage processors available.

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In collaboration with participants of the Coordinating Research Council (CRC) Advanced Vehicle/Fuels/Lubricants (AVFL) Committee, and project AVFL-19, the characteristics of fuels from advanced and renewable sources were compared to commercial diesel fuels. The main objective of this study was to highlight similarities and differences among the fuel types, i.e. ULSD, renewables, and alternative fuels, and among fuels within the different fuel types. This report summarizes the carbon-type analysis from 1H and 13C{1H} nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) of 14 diesel fuel samples. The diesel fuel samples come from diverse sources and include four commercial ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels (ULSD), one gas-to-liquid diesel fuel (GTL), six renewable diesel fuels (RD), two shale oil-derived diesel fuels, and one oil sands-derived diesel fuel. Overall, the fuels examined fall into two groups. The two shale oil-derived samples and the oil-sand-derived sample closely resemble the four commercial ultra-low sulfur diesels, with SO1 and SO2 most closely matched with ULSD1, ULSD2, and ULSD4, and OS1 most closely matched with ULSD3. As might be expected, the renewable diesel fuels, with the exception of RD3, do not resemble the ULSD fuels because of their very low aromatic content, but more closely resemble the gas-to-liquid sample (GTL) in this …

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (EM-OR) requested that Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), working under the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) contract, provide technical and independent waste management planning support under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Specifically, DOE EM-OR requested that ORAU plan and implement a sampling and analysis campaign targeting certain URS|CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC (UCOR) surveillance and maintenance (S&M) process inventory waste. Eight populations of historical and reoccurring S&M waste at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have been identified in the Waste Handling Plan for Surveillance and Maintenance Activities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, DOE/OR/01-2565&D2 (WHP) (DOE 2012) for evaluation and processing to determine a final pathway for disposal. Population 7 (POP 7) consists of 56 containers of aged, low-level and potentially mixed S&M waste that has been staged in various locations around ORNL. Several of these POP 7 containers primarily contain personal protective equipment (PPE) and dry active waste (DAW), but may contain other miscellaneous debris. This data sharing report addresses the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) specified waste in a 13-container subpopulation (including eight steel boxes, three …

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Water Cherenkov detectors have been used for many years as inexpensive, effective detectors for neutrino interactions and nucleon decay searches. While many important measurements have been made with these detectors a major drawback has been their inability to detect the absorption of thermal neutrons. We believe an inexpensive, effective technique could be developed to overcome this situation via the addition to water of a solute with a large neutron cross section and energetic gamma daughters which would make neutrons detectable. Gadolinium seems an excellent candidate especially since in recent years it has become very inexpensive, now less than $8 per kilogram in the form of commercially-available gadolinium trichloride, GdCl{sub 3}. This non-toxic, non-reactive substance is highly soluble in water. Neutron capture on gadolinium yields a gamma cascade which would be easily seen in detectors like Super-Kamiokande. We have been investigating the use of GdCl{sub 3} as a possible upgrade for the Super-Kamiokande detector with a view toward improving its performance as a detector for atmospheric neutrinos, supernova neutrinos, wrong-sign solar neutrinos, reactor neutrinos, proton decay, and also as a target for the coming T2K long-baseline neutrino experiment. This focused study of selective water filtration and GdCl{sub 3} extraction techniques, conducted …

BES grant DE-FG02-06ER15819 supported efforts at Oregon State University (OSU) to develop improved inversion methods for 3D subsurface electromagnetic (EM) imaging. Three interrelated activities have been supported by this grant, and its predecessor (DE-FG02-06ER15818): (1) collaboration with a former student of the PI, Dr. Weerachai Siripunvaraporn (now Professor at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand) on developing and refining inversion methods for 3D Magnetotelluric (MT) data . (2) Development at Oregon State University of a new modular system of computer codes for EM inversion, and initial testing and application of this inversion on several large field data sets. (3) Research on more efficient approaches to multi-transmitter EM inverse problems, to optimize use of expensive data sensitivity calculations needed for gradient based inversion schemes. The last of these activities was the main motivation for this research project, but the first two activities were important enabling steps that produced useful products and results in their own right, including freely avaialable software for 3D inversion of EM geophysical data.

In tokamak plasmas with low levels of toroidal rotation, the radial electric fi eld Er is a combination of pressure gradient and toroidal and poloidal rotation components, all having similar magnitudes. In order to assess the validity of neoclassical poloidal rotation theory for determining the poloidal rotation contribution to Er , Dα emission from neutral beam heated tokamak discharges in DIII-D [J.L. Luxon, Nucl. Fusion 42 , 614 (2002)] has been evaluated in a sequence of low torque (electron cyclotron resonance heating and balanced diagnostic neutral beam pulse) discharges to determine the local deuterium toroidal rotation velocity. By invoking the radial force balance relation the deuterium poloidal rotation can be inferred. It is found that the deuterium poloidal low exceeds the neoclassical value in plasmas with collisionality #23;#3; νi < 0: 1, being more ion diamagnetic, and with a stronger dependence on collisionality than neoclassical theory predicts. At low toroidal rotation, the poloidal rotation contribution to the radial electric fi eld and its shear is signi cant. The eff ect of anomalous levels of poloidal rotation on the radial electric fi eld and cross fi eld heat transport is investigated for ITER parameters.

The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) operates the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and North Las Vegas Facility (NLVF). From 1951 through 1992, the NNSS was the continental testing location for U.S. nuclear weapons. The release of radionuclides from NNSS activities has been monitored since the initiation of atmospheric testing. Limitation to underground detonations after 1962 greatly reduced radiation exposure to the public surrounding the NNSS. After nuclear testing ended in 1992, NNSS radiation monitoring focused on detecting airborne radionuclides from historically contaminated soils. These radionuclides are derived from re-suspension of soil (primarily by wind) and emission of tritium-contaminated soil moisture through evapotranspiration. Low amounts of legacy-related tritium are also emitted to air at the NLVF, an NNSS support complex in North Las Vegas. To protect the public from harmful levels of man-made radiation, the Clean Air Act, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) (Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Part 61 Subpart H) (CFR 2010a) limits the release of radioactivity from a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facility to that which would cause 10 millirem per year (mrem/yr) effective dose equivalent to any member of the public. This limit …

Appropriate photodetectors are a major challenge for liquid xenon technology as proposed by the next generation of double beta decay, solar neutrino, and dark matter searches. The primary photon signal is tiny and in the hard ultraviolet, the installation is cryogenic, and the sensors themselves must not introduce background. Hybrid photodiodes (HPDs) provide an easy substitute for a conventional PMT with the added advantages of low radioactivity, better area coverage, and single photoelectron counting. A computer-controlled test setup capable of characterizing optical properties of ultraviolet photodetectors was installed. It was used to compare photomultiplier tubes, silicon photomultipliers, avalanche photodiodes, and a novel-design custom HPD developed by the DEP company under this proposal.

This is the second of three papers (in addition to an introductory summary) aimed at providing a framework for evaluating future reductions or modifications of the U.S. nuclear force, first by considering previous instances in which nuclear-force capabilities were eliminated; second by looking forward into at least the foreseeable future at the features of global and regional deterrence (recognizing that new weapon systems currently projected will have expected lifetimes stretching beyond our ability to predict the future); and third by providing examples of past or possible undesirable outcomes in the shaping of the future nuclear force, as well as some closing thoughts for the future. This paper begins with a discussion of the current nuclear force and the plans and procurement programs for the modernization of that force. Current weapon systems and warheads were conceived and built decades ago, and procurement programs have begun for the modernization or replacement of major elements of the nuclear force: the heavy bomber, the air-launched cruise missile, the ICBMs, and the ballistic-missile submarines. In addition, the Nuclear Weapons Council has approved a new framework for nuclear-warhead life extension � not fully fleshed out yet � that aims to reduce the current number of nuclear …

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The biochemistry of bacterial proteins involved in redox transformations of metals and minerals is, without dispute, an important area of research. Nevertheless, most studies on bacterial metal transformation have focused not on biochemistry but on genetics and genomics. The objective of this research is to better understand the role of conformation change in electron transfer from cytochromes to minerals, a process that underpins respiratory metal reduction by bacteria in nature and in bioremediation strategies, including reductive immobilization of radioactive contaminants. Our DOE-funded work is specifically focused on answering long-standing questions about the biochemical behavior of these very interesting proteins, and our findings thus far have already made impacts in the fields of environmental microbiology and biogeochemistry. Among the key findings from the project are 1) Successful large-scale production of biomass for protein isolation; 2) Purification of several c-type cytochromes for biochemical study; 3) Characterization of these proteins using spectrophotometric and electrochemical techniques; 4) Examination of protein conformational change and redox activity towards metal oxides using a small mass cytochrome c from Acidiphilium cryptum; 5) Proteomic characterization of A. cryptum biofilms; 6) Training of 2 undergraduate research assistants; 7) Publications and several meeting presentations.

High rate laser pitting technique for solar cell texturing Efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells can be improved by creating a texture on the surface to increase optical absorption. Different techniques have been developed for texturing, with the current state-of-the-art (SOA) being wet chemical etching. The process has poor optical performance, produces surfaces that are difficult to passivate or contact and is relatively expensive due to the use of hazardous chemicals. This project shall develop an alternative process for texturing mc-Si using laser micromachining. It will have the following features compared to the current SOA texturing process: -Superior optical surfaces for reduced front-surface reflection and enhanced optical absorption in thin mc-Si substrates -Improved surface passivation -More easily integrated into advanced back-contact cell concepts -Reduced use of hazardous chemicals and waste treatment -Similar or lower cost The process is based on laser pitting. The objective is to develop and demonstrate a high rate laser pitting process which will exceed the rate of former laser texturing processes by a factor of ten. The laser and scanning technologies will be demonstrated on a laboratory scale, but will use inherently technologies that can easily be scaled to production rates. The drastic increase in process …

A new disposal unit, designated as Saltstone Disposal Unit 6 (SDU6), is being designed for support of site accelerated closure goals and salt waste projections identified in the new Liquid Waste System Plan. The unit is a cylindrical disposal cell of 375 ft in diameter and 43 ft in height, and it has a minimum 30 million gallons of capacity. SRNL was requested to evaluate the impact of an increased grout placement height on the flow patterns radially spread on the floor and to determine whether grout quality is impacted by the height. The primary goals of the work are to develop the baseline Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model and to perform the evaluations for the flow patterns of grout material in SDU6 as a function of elevation of grout discharge port and grout rheology. Two transient grout models have been developed by taking a three-dimensional multiphase CFD approach to estimate the domain size of the grout materials radially spread on the facility floor and to perform the sensitivity analysis with respect to the baseline design and operating conditions such as elevation height of the discharge port and fresh grout properties. For the CFD modeling calculations, air-grout Volume of Fluid …

Several numerical methods were produced and analyzed. The main thrust of the work relates to inexact Krylov subspace methods for the solution of linear systems of equations arising from the discretization of partial di#11;erential equa- tions. These are iterative methods, i.e., where an approximation is obtained and at each step. Usually, a matrix-vector product is needed at each iteration. In the inexact methods, this product (or the application of a preconditioner) can be done inexactly. Schwarz methods, based on domain decompositions, are excellent preconditioners for thise systems. We contributed towards their under- standing from an algebraic point of view, developed new ones, and studied their performance in the inexact setting. We also worked on combinatorial problems to help de#12;ne the algebraic partition of the domains, with the needed overlap, as well as PDE-constraint optimization using the above-mentioned inexact Krylov subspace methods.