We are continuing to study the suitability of modified thermal-battery technology as a potential power source for geothermal borehole applications. Previous work focused on the LiSi/FeS{sub 2} couple over a temperature range of 350 C to 400 C with the LiBr-KBr-LiF eutectic, which melts at 324.5 C. In this work, the discharge processes that take place in LiSi/CsBr-LiBr-KBr eutectic/FeS{sub 2} thermal cells were studied at temperatures between 250 C and 400 C using pelletized cells with immobilized electrolyte. The CsBr-LiBr-KBr eutectic was selected because of its lower melting point (228.5 C). Incorporation of a quasi-reference electrode allowed the determination of the relative contribution of each electrode to the overall cell polarization. The results of single-cell tests and limited battery tests are presented, along with preliminary data for battery stacks tested in a simulated geothermal borehole environment.

The melt-dilute treatment technology is being developed to facilitate the ultimate disposition of highly enriched Al-Base DOE spent nuclear fuels in a geologic repository such as that proposed for Yucca Mountain. Currently, approximately 28 MTHM is expected to be returned to the Savannah River Site from domestic and foreign research reactors. The melt-dilute treatment technology will melt the fuel assemblies to reduce their volume and alloys them with depleted uranium to isotopically dilute the 235U concentration. The resulting alloy is cast into a form for long term geologic repository storage. Benefits accrued from the melt-dilute process include the potential for significant volume reduction; reduced criticality potential, and proliferation concerns. A critical technology element in the development of the melt-dilute process is the development of offgas system requirements. The volatilization of radioactive species during the melting stage of the process primarily constitutes the offgas in this process. Several of the species present following irradiation of a fuel assembly have been shown to be volatile or semi-volatile under reactor core melt-down conditions. Some of the key species that have previously been studied are krypton, iodine, and cesium. All of these species have been shown to volatilize during melting experiments however, the degree …

Orbit correction is now routinely performed at the few-micron level in the Advanced Photon Source (APS) storage ring. Three diagnostics are presently in use to measure and control both AC and DC orbit motions: broad-band turn-by-turn rf beam position monitors (BPMs), narrow-band switched heterodyne receivers, and photoemission-style x-ray beam position monitors. Each type of diagnostic has its own set of systematic error effects that place limits on the ultimate pointing stability of x-ray beams supplied to users at the APS. Limiting sources of beam motion at present are magnet power supply noise, girder vibration, and thermal timescale vacuum chamber and girder motion. This paper will investigate the present limitations on orbit correction, and will delve into the upgrades necessary to achieve true sub-micron beam stability.

A generic vibratory-response modeling program has been developed as a tool for designing high-precision optical positioning systems. Based on multibody dynamics theory, the system is modeled as rigid-body structures connected by linear elastic elements, such as complex actuators and bearings. The full dynamic properties of each element are determined experimentally or theoretically, then integrated into the program as inertial and stiffness matrices. Utilizing this program, the theoretical and experimental verification of the vibratory behavior of a double-multilayer monochromator support and positioning system is presented. Results of parametric design studies that investigate the influence of support floor dynamics and highlight important design issues are also presented. Overall, good matches between theory and experiment demonstrate the effectiveness of the program as a dynamic modeling tool.

With the increasing complexity and interdisciplinary nature of scientific applications, code reuse is becoming increasingly important in scientific computing. One method for facilitating code reuse is the use of components technologies, which have been used widely in industry. However, components have only recently worked their way into scientific computing. Language interoperability is an important underlying technology for these component architectures. In this paper, we present an approach to language interoperability for a high-performance parallel, component architecture being developed by the Common Component Architecture (CCA) group. Our approach is based on Interface Definition Language (IDL) techniques. We have developed a Scientific Interface Definition Language (SIDL), as well as bindings to C and Fortran. We have also developed a SIDL compiler and run-time library support for reference counting, reflection, object management, and exception handling (Babel). Results from using Babel to call a standard numerical solver library (written in C) from C and Fortran show that the cost of using Babel is minimal, where as the savings in development time and the benefits of object-oriented development support for C and Fortran far outweigh the costs.

We describe how the Production Code Control System (pCCS), written in Perl, has been used to control and monitor the execution of a large hydrodynamics simulation code in a production environment. We have been able to integrate new, disparate, and often independent, applications into the PCCS framework without the need to modify any of our existing application codes. Both users and code developers see a consistent interface to the simulation code and associated applications regardless of the physical platform, whether an MPP, SMP, server, or desktop workstation. We will also describe our use of Perl to develop a configuration management system for the simulation code, as well as a code usage database and report generator. We used Perl to write a backplane that allows us plug in preprocessors, the hydrocode, postprocessors, visualization tools, persistent storage requests, and other codes. We need only teach PCCS a minimal amount about any new tool or code to essentially plug it in and make it usable to the hydrocode. PCCS has made it easier to link together disparate codes, since using Perl has removed the need to learn the idiosyncrasies of system or RPC programming. The text handling in Perl makes it easy to …

The heat stress management program at the Department of Energy''s Savannah River Site (SRS) requires implementation of protective controls on outdoor work based on observed values of wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT). To ensure continued compliance with heat stress program requirements, a computer algorithm was developed which calculates an estimate of WBGT using standard meteorological measurements. In addition, scripts were developed to generate a calculation every 15 minutes and post the results to an Intranet web site.

Mechanical properties and microstructural characteristics of laser and electron-beam welds of a 500-kg heat of V4Cr4Ti were investigated in as-welded condition and after postwelding heat treatment by impact testing, microhardness measurement, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Ductile-brittle transition temperatures of the laser and electron-beam welds were significantly higher than that of the base metal. However, excellent impact properties could be restored in both types of welds by postwelding annealing at 1000 C for 1 h in vacuum. Analysis by TEM revealed that annealed weld zones were characterized by extensive networks of fine V(C,O,N) precipitates, which clean away O, C, and N interstitial from the grain matrices. This process is accompanied by simultaneous annealing-out of the dense dislocations present in the weld zone. This finding could be useful in identifying an optimal welding procedure by controlling and adjusting the cooling rate of the weld zone by an innovative method to maximize the precipitation of V(C,O,N).

We give a description for the production of {sup 13}C foils and the preparation of an approximately 1 mg/cm{sup 2} thick target. A recent experiment to measure the mass of {sup 36}Ca via the {sup 40}Ca({sup 4}He,{sup 8}He){sup 36}Ca reaction at the S800 magnetic spectrometer at MSU, needed a precise determination of the beam energy and calibration of the focal plane of the magnetic spectrometer in order to achieve the most accurate value for the {sup 36}Ca mass. The 1 mg/cm{sup 2} {sup 13}C target was essential for these purposes. Target performance along with some preliminary results will also be discussed.

This paper reports the development of 350 MHz niobium superconducting cavities for the velocity range 0.2< v/c <0.6. Such cavities could be used to form a linac of exceptional flexibility, capable of efficiently accelerating beams of either protons, deuterons, or any of a wide range of light ions, at intensities sufficient for a production beam for a radioactive beam facility. Results of numerical modeling for several resonator geometries are presented. The design and construction status of prototype niobium cavities is discussed.

Petroleum production activities sometimes result in the accumulation of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) at elevated concentrations in by-product waste streams, such as scale and sludge. In the past, the petroleum industry commonly disposed of these wastes via landspreading, a practice consisting of spreading the waste over the soil surface and, sometimes, mixing it into the top layer of soil. Potential radiological doses to workers and the general public from landspreading of NORM waste have been assessed for a variety of scenarios, including the landspreading worker scenario and future residential, industrial, recreational, and agricultural scenarios. The exposure pathways evaluated include external radiation, inhalation of resuspended dust and radon, ingestion of soil and groundwater, and ingestion of contaminated foodstuff grown on the property. In general, potential doses to landspreading workers and members of the general public exposed through future recreational or agricultural use of the property are negligible. Potential doses to future residential or industrial users can vary greatly, depending on such factors as type of building construction, presence or absence of clean cover material, and on-site erosion rates. On the basis of the results presented in this paper, it is recommended that (a) any landspreading activity that would result in …

To address the current and future needs for nuclear materials management and safeguards information, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory envisions an integrated nuclear information system that will support several functions. The vision is to link distributed information systems via a common communications infrastructure designed to address the information interdependencies between two major elements: Domestic, with information about specific nuclear materials and their properties, and International, with information pertaining to foreign nuclear materials, facility design and operations. The communication infrastructure will enable data consistency, validation and reconciliation, as well as provide a common access point and user interface for a broad range of nuclear materials information. Information may be transmitted to, from, and within the system by a variety of linkage mechanisms, including the Internet. Strict access control will be employed as well as data encryption and user authentication to provide the necessary information assurance. The system can provide a mechanism not only for data storage and retrieval, but will eventually provide the analytical tools necessary to support the U.S. government's nuclear materials management needs and non-proliferation policy goals.

The SMQIE is the newest member of the QIE family of integrated circuits. It has been developed specifically for the Shower Max Detector upgrade of the CDF Plug and Central Calorimeters at Fermilab. Like its predecessors, it converts charges over a wide dynamic range with a variable resolution. Unlike its predecessors it contains its own Flash, trigger delay pipeline and buffer area. Furthermore, it operates both at a lower frequency and with only a simple 5-volt power supply. The simultaneous requirements of low frequency and reduced voltage force the front end into a low current, high impedance regime. Specialized circuitry is necessary to prevent charge slopped-over into subsequent time slices. The considerable amount of digital circuitry monolithic with the analog front end makes for a noisy substrate. Specialized circuitry and layout techniques are necessary to keep this chip from being noise-limited. The final design is a two-channel single-ended Charge Integrator and Encoder (QIE) that operates at a frequency of 7.6MHz with a least significant bit resolution of 15 fC in its lowest range.

An intermediate-scale experiment is being carried out to evaluate instrumentation and models that might be used for transport-model validation for the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project. The experimental test bed is a 6-m high {times} 3-m diameter caisson filled with quartz sand with a sorbing layer at an intermediate depth. The experiment involves the detection and prediction of the migration of fluid and tracers through an unsaturated porous medium. Pre-test design requires estimation of physical properties of the porous medium such as the relative permeability, saturation/pressure relations, porosity, and saturated hydraulic conductivity as well as geochemical properties such as surface complexation constants and empircial K{sub d}`S. The pre-test characterization data will be used as input to several computer codes to predict the fluid flow and tracer migration. These include a coupled chemical-reaction/transport model, a stochastic model, and a deterministic model using retardation factors. The calculations will be completed prior to elution of the tracers, providing a basis for validation by comparing the predictions to observed moisture and tracer behavior.

We review the basic theoretical methods used to treat small-angle scattering from porous materials, treated as general two-phase systems, and also the basic experimental techniques for carrying out such experiments. We discuss the special forms of the scattering when the materials exhibit mass or surface fractal behavior, and review the results of recent experiments on several types of porous media and also SANS experiments probing the phase behavior of binary fluid mixtures or polymer solutions confined in porous materials. Finally, we discuss the analogous technique of off-specular scattering from surfaces and interfaces which is used to study surface roughness of various kinds.

Recent developments in theories of pion production in nucleon-nucleon collisions are reviewed.

We use the gradient of the energy-integrated angle resolved photoemission (ARPES) intensity in order to define precisely the Fermi surface (FS) in BSCCO superconductors. We show that, independent of the photon energy, the FS is a hole barrel centered at ({pi},{pi}), Then, the superconducting gap along the FS is precisely determined from ARPES measurements on over-doped and underdoped samples of Bi2212. As the doping decreases, the maximum gap increases, but the slope of the gap near the nodes decreases. Though consistent with d-wave symmetry, the gap with underdoping cannot be fit by the simple cos(k{sub x})-cos(k{sub y}) form. A comparison of our ARPES results with available penetration depth data indicates that the renormalization of the linear T suppression of the superfluid density at low temperatures due to quasiparticle excitations around the d-wave nodes is large and doping dependent.

Studies of defects generated by high energy (>1 GeV) heavy ion irradiation in high-Tc superconductors have been performed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Our study shows that high dose irradiation leads to the formation of nano-twins, by which the columnar defects are connected. An analysis of the local Fourier components of the image intensity in [001] lattice images indicates that these new ''twin'' boundaries are much more diffuse than pre-existing twin boundaries in YBCO. The mechanism of the formation of nano-twin boundaries on {l_brace}110{r_brace} planes and their possible relation to superconducting properties are discussed.

Tensile and impact properties were investigated at <430 C on V-Cr-Ti, V-Ti-Si, and V-Ti alloys after irradiation to {approx}2-46 dpa at 205-430 C in lithium or helium in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II), and Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). A 500-kg heat of V-4Cr-4Ti exhibited high ductile-brittle transition temperature and minimal uniform elongation as a result of irradiation-induced loss of work-hardening capability. Work-hardening capabilities of 30- and 100-kg heats of V-4Cr-4Ti varied significantly with irradiation conditions, although the 30-kg heat exhibited excellent impact properties after irradiation at {approx}390-430 C. The origin of the significant variations in the work-hardening capability of V-4Cr-4Ti is not understood, although fabrication variables, annealing history, and contamination from the irradiation environment are believed to play important roles. A 15-kg heat of V-3Ti-1Si exhibited good work-hardening capability and excellent impact properties after irradiation at {approx}390-430 C. Helium atoms, either charged dynamically or produced via transmutation of boron in the alloys, promote work-hardening capability in V-4Cr-4Ti and V-3Ti-1Si.

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In the United States today, governments at all levels and the citizenry are paying increasing attention to the effects, both real and hypothetical, of industrial activity on the environment. Responsible modem industries, reflecting this heightened public and regulatory awareness, are either substituting benign materials for hazardous ones, or using hazardous materials only under carefully controlled conditions. In addition, present-day environmental consciousness dictates that we deal responsibly with legacy wastes. The decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of facilities at which mercury was used or processed presents a variety of challenges. Elemental mercury is a liquid at room temperature and readily evaporates in air. In large mercury-laden buildings, droplets may evaporate from one area only to recondense in other cooler areas. The rate of evaporation is a function of humidity and temperature; consequently, different parts of a building may be sources or sinks of mercury at different times of the day or even the year. Additionally, although mercury oxidizes in air, the oxides decompose upon heating. Hence, oxides contained within pipes or equipment, may be decomposed when those pipes and equipment are cut with saws or torches. Furthermore, mercury seeps through the pores and cracks in concrete blocks and pads, and collects as …

Because of the reduction in the nation`s stockpile of weapon systems a large amount of tritium is being returned to the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC. Due to the increased quantity of tritium returning to SRS, the SRS Tritium Facility was tasked to determine the most cost effective means to safely store the tritium gas in a short period of time. This paper presents results of the risk assessment developed to evaluate the safe storage of tritium at SRS, and highlights the structural design of the HIVES used as the cost-effective short term NPH mitigation solution.

In this paper we present experimental measurements and theoretical modeling of third harmonic (3{omega}) conversion efficiency with optical bandwidth. Third harmonic conversion efficiency drops precipitously as the input bandwidth significantly exceeds the phase matching limitations of the conversion crystals. For Type I/Type II frequency tripling, conversion efficiency be-gins to decrease for bandwidths greater than {approximately}60 GHz. However, conversion efficiency corresponding to monochromatic phase-matched beams can be recovered provided that the instantaneous Propagation vectors are phase matched at all times. This is achieved by imposing angular spectral dispersion (ASD) on the input beam via a diffraction grating, with a dispersion such that the phase mismatch for each frequency is zero. Experiments were performed on the Optical Sciences Laser (OSL), a 1--100 J class laser at LLNL. These experiments used a 200 GHz bandwidth source produced by a multipassed electro-optic phase modulator. The spectrum produced was composed of discrete frequency components spaced at 3 GHz intervals. Angular dispersion was incorporated by the addition of a 1200 gr/mm diffraction grating oriented at the Littrow angle, and capable of rotation about the beam direction. Experiments were performed with a pulse length of 1-ns and a 1{omega} input intensity of {approximately} 4 GW/cm{sup 2} for …

The experimental vortex phase diagram of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} is reviewed, with emphasis on first order vortex melting, the upper and lower critical points on the melting line, and the effect of disorder arising from twin boundary and point defect pinning.