This is a probabilistic analysis of the rail car accidents at the 204- AR Waste Unloading Facility.

Acceptance for test for RFAR installation for facility fire alarm and suppression system.

This study is a summary report that examines and evaluates the feasibility of consolidating irradiated fuel and sludge currently in KE Basin with that in the KW Basin. This study was conducted in support of TPA Milestone (target date) M-34-00-T03. The report summarizes three supporting engineering studies involving: (1) spent fuel consolidation into the single basin, (2) transport of the encapsulated fuel between KE and KW Basins, and (3) dispositioning contaminated water remaining in KE Basin. From the three reports, and preferred storage method, transfer method and water disposition method were defined. These consolidation methods were then evaluated against the no action alternative of continued storage using both KE and KW Basins. The report concluded that the fuel and sludge currently stored in KE Basin not be consolidated in the KW Basin, primarily due to increased cost and radiation exposure required to consolidate the fuel and sludge. Consolidation is more attractive for storage periods beyond the year 2002, which is the study period of the report.

In support of CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc.'s (CHG) closure of the Hanford Site Single-Shell Tank (SST) Waste Management Area (WMA) tank farms, numerical simulations of flow and solute transport were executed to investigate different potential contaminant source scenarios that may pose long-term risks to groundwater from the closure of the C Tank Farm. These simulations were based on the initial assessment effort (Zhang et al., 2003), but implemented a revised approach that examined a range of key parameters and multiple base cases. Four different potential source types were identified to represent the four base cases, and included past leaks, diffusion releases from residual wastes, leaks during retrieval, and ancillary equipment sources. Using a two-dimensional cross section through the C Tank Farm (Tanks C-103–C-112) and a unit release from Tank C-112, two solutes (uranium-238 (U-238) and technetium-99 (Tc 99)) were transported through the problem domain. To evaluate the effect of sorption on contaminant transport, seven different sorption coefficients were simulated for U 238. Apart from differences in source releases, all four base cases utilized the same median parameter values to describe flow and contaminant transport at the WMA C. Forty-six additional cases were also run that examined individual transport responses …

Acceptance for test for RFAR installation for fire alarm suppression system.

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Cleanup of the Hanford Site is currently planned to take until 2046 and another approximately $SOB. In the summer of 1999, Fluor Hanford initiated an ''Accelerated Closure Team'' to evaluate opportunities to reduce this long schedule and high cost for the parts of the Hanford Site which they manage. To-date, this breakthrough team has developed two approaches which will move > 50 million curies away from the Columbia River sooner than planned and at a significantly reduced cost. The approaches successfully applied so far are presently being applied to other opportunities at Hanford.

The laser acceleration of small (mass of order 1 gram) solid particles has been computationally analyzed. Acceleration is caused by a one sided laser illumination of a solid particle producing heating of the material, an ablation wave and the resulting ablative reaction force. Laser intensity is constrained to produce an ablation pressure less than the yield strength of the material (typically a few kbar). Preliminary results indicate the possibility of converting absorbed laser energy to solid density kinetic energy with an efficiency greater than 10 percent. Results of LASNEX calculations and comparison with an analytical model are presented which characterize the physics important to the process.

In order to reduce exergy losses, gas cleaning at high temperatures is favored in IGFC systems. As shown by thermodynamic data, separation efficiencies of common sorbents decrease with increasing temperature. Therefore, acid gas removal systems have to be developed for IGFC applications considering sorbent capacity, operation temperature, gasification feedstock composition and fuel cell threshold values.

High sensitivity acoustic wave chemical microsensors are being developed on GaAs substrates. These devices take advantage of the piezoelectric properties of GaAs as well as its mature microelectronics fabrication technology and nascent micromachining technology. The design, fabrication, and response of GaAs SAW chemical microsensors are reported. Functional integrated GaAs SAW oscillators, suitable for chemical sensing, have been produced. The integrated oscillator requires 20 mA at 3 VK, operates at frequencies up to 500 MHz, and occupies approximately 2 mmz. Discrete GaAs sensor components, including IC amplifiers, SAW delay lines, and IC phase comparators have been fabricated and tested. A temperature compensation scheme has been developed that overcomes the large temperature dependence of GaAs acoustic wave devices. Packaging issues related to bonding miniature flow channels directly to the GaAs substrates have been resolved. Micromachining techniques for fabricating FPW and TSM microsensors on thin GaAs membranes are presented and GaAs FPW delay line performance is described. These devices have potentially higher sensitivity than existing GaAs and quartz SAW sensors.

The Livermore Computational Nuclear Physics group is charged with producing updated neutron incident cross section evaluations for all the actinides in the coming year, concentrating on neutron induced fission, neutron capture and (n,2n) cross sections. We attack this daunting task either by adopting other recent evaluations or by performing our own. Owing to the large number of nuclei involved, we seek to automate this process as much as possible. For this purpose, we have developed a series of computer codes: x41, an interface to the EXFOR database, fete, a code that translates ENDF/B formatted evaluations into a computationally convenient form, and da{_}fit, a fitting code that takes all relevant EXFOR data for a reaction or set of reactions and performs a generalized least square fit to them, subject to various constraints and other prior information.

A technological break through for supporting rotating shafts is the active magnetic bearing (AMB). Active magnetic bearings offer some important advantages over conventional ball, roller or journal bearings such as reduced frictional drag, no physical contact in the bearing, no need for lubricants, compatibility with high vacuum and ultra-clean environments, and ability to control shaft position within the bearing. The disadvantages of the AMB system are the increased cost and complexity, reduced bearing stiffness and the need for a controller. Still, there are certain applications, such as high speed machining, biomedical devices, and gyroscopes, where the additional cost of an AMB system can be justified. The inherent actuator capabilities of the AMB offer the potential for active balancing of spindles and micro-shaping capabilities for machine tools, The work presented in this paper concentrates on an AMB test program that utilizes the actuator capability to dynamically balance a spindle. In this study, an unbalanced AMB spindle system was enhanced with an LMS (Least Mean Squares) algorithm combined with an existing PID (proportional, integral, differential) control. This enhanced controller significantly improved the concentricity of an intentionally unbalanced shaft. The study included dynamic system analysis, test validation, control design and simulation, as well …

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Located in the 200 Areas is the inactive 202-S Reduction Oxidation (REDOX) Facility, which is managed by the Bechtel Hanford, Inc. Surveillance/Maintenance and Transition project. This facility is contaminated from nuclear material processes related to nuclear material separation from Hanford Site facility operations. This alternative evaluation report describes the alternatives and selection criteria based on the necessary protective requirements to maintain the REDOX Plutonium Loadout Hood in a safe and stable condition awaiting a final waste response action.

This report was prepared as part of a task supporting the deployment of the retained gas sampler (RGS) system in Flammable Gas Watch List Tanks. The emphasis of this report is on presenting supplemental information about the ammonia measurements resulting from retained gas sampling of Tanks 241-AW-101, A-101, AN-105, AN-104, AN-103, U-103, S-106, BY-101, BY-109, SX-106, AX-101, S-102, S-111, U-109, and SY-101. This information provides a better understanding of the accuracy of past RGS ammonia measurements, which will assist in determining flammable and toxicological hazards.

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The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a new tokamak design project with joint participation from Japan, the European Community, the Union of the Soviet Union, and the United States. This paper examines the effects of a quench within the toroidal field (TF) coils based on current ITER design. It is a preliminary, rough analysis. Its intent is to assist ITER designers while more accurate computer codes are being developed and to provide a check against these more rigorous solutions. Rigorous solutions to the quench problem are very complex involving three- dimensional heat transfer, extreme changes in heat capacities and copper resistivity, and varying flow dynamics within the conductors. This analysis addresses all these factors in an approximate way. The result is much less accurate than a rigorous analysis. Results here could be in error as much as 30 to 40 percent. However, it is believed that this paper can still be very useful to the coil designer. Coil pressures and temperatures vs time into a quench are presented. Rate of helium vent, energy deposition in the coil, and depletion of magnetic stored energy are also presented. Peak pressures are high (about 43 MPa). This is due to the very …

An U/Fe benchmark, designated as HEU-MET-FAST-035, has been approved for inclusion in the International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments. The SCALE code and cross sections performed poorly in calculating this critical experiment. Deficiencies in both the ENDF/B-V representation of the resonance region for Fe and in the Nordheim integral treatment when applied to Fe were identified. The combination of these deficiencies led to an almost 10% over-prediction of k(eff). Problems involving a large percentage of Fe and intermediate-energy spectrums present special cross-section processing difficulties for SCALE. In ENDF/B-V, resonance data for Fe only go to 400 keV, although resonances are present well above 1 MeV. Significant resonance data are stored as file 3 data instead of as resonance parameters. The Nordheim Integral Treatment used in NITAWL to process cross sections assume: resonances are widely spaced and all relevant information is contained in the resonance parameters (file 3 data is not processed). These limitations and assumptions result in poor solutions for this class of problems.

A number of published numerical solutions to analytic eigenvalue (k{sub eff}) and eigenfunction equations are summarized for the purpose of creating a criticality verification benchmark test set. The 75-problem test set allows the user to verify the correctness of a criticality code for infinite medium and simple geometries in one- and two-energy groups, one- and two-media, and both isotropic and linearly anisotropic neutron scattering. A three- and six-energy group infinite medium problem are also included in the test set. The problem specifications will produce both k{sub eff}=1 and the quoted k{sub {infinity}} to at least five decimal places. Additional uses of the test set for code verification are also discussed. Los Alamos report LA-13511 contains the details of all 75 test problems.

The code ANISN-L solves the one-dimensional, multigroup, time-independent Boltzmann transport equation by the method of discrete ordinates. In problems involving a fissionable system, it can calculate the system multiplication or alpha. In such cases, it is also capable of determining isotopic concentrations, radii, zone widths, or buckling in order to achieve a given multiplication or alpha. The code may also calculate fluxes caused by a specified fixed source. Neutron, gamma, and coupled neutron--gamma problems may be solved in either the forward or adjoint (backward) modes. Cross sections describing upscatter, as well as the usual downscatter, may be employed. This report describes the use of ANISN-L; this is a revised version of ANISN which handles both large and small problems efficiently on CDC-7600 computers. (RWR)

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Implementation of remote monitoring systems has become a priority area for the International Atomic Energy Agency and other international inspection regimes. For the past three years, DOE2000 has been the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) initiative to develop innovative applications to exploit the capabilities of broadband networks and media integration. The aim is to enhance scientific collaboration by merging computing and communications technologies. These Internet-based telepresence technologies could be easily extended to provide remote monitoring and control for confidence building and transparency systems at nuclear facilities around the world. One of the original DOE2000 projects, the Materials Microcharacterization Collaboratory is an interactive virtual laboratory, linking seven DOE user facilities located across the US. At these facilities, external collaborators have access to scientists, data, and instrumentation, all of which are available to varying degrees using the Internet. Remote operation of the instruments varies between passive (observational) to active (direct control), in many cases requiring no software at the remote site beyond a Web browser. Live video streams are continuously available on the Web so that participants can see what is happening at a particular location. An X.509 certificate system provides strong authentication, The hardware and software are commercially available and are …

An important technique used to characterize field emission is the measurement of the emitted current against electric field (IxE). In this work we discuss a procedure for obtaining IxE data based on multiple approach curves. We show that the simulated features obtained for an idealized uniform surface matches available experimental data for small anode-cathode distances, while for large distances the simulation predicts a departure from the linear regime. We also discuss the shape of the approach curves for large anode-cathode distances for a cathode made of carbon nanotubes.