Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and opticalmeasurements obtained from InN and In1-xGaxNfilms (0<x<0.54)grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy are presented. Energy gaps measuredbyabsorption, PR, and PL for InN films grown on c-plane Al2O3 were in therange of 0.7 eV. No In or otherinclusions were observed in these films,ruling out the possibility of a strong Mie scattering mechanism. IntheIn1-xGaxN films the relationship between the structural properties andthe optical properties, inparticular the presence or absence of a Stokesshift between absorption and PL, is discussed. TEM studiesshow that highquality layers do not have a Stokes shift. Some films had compositionalordering; thesefilms also showed a shift between absorption edge andluminescence peak.

Fish that pass through a hydroelectric turbine may not be killed directly, but may nonetheless experience sublethal stresses that will increase their susceptibility to predators (indirect mortality). There is a need to develop reliable tests for indirect mortality so that the full consequences of passage through turbines (and other routes around a hydroelectric dam) can be assessed. The most commonly used laboratory technique for assessing susceptibility to predation is the predator preference test. In this report, we evaluate the field application of a new technique that may be valuable for assessing indirect mortality, based on changes in a behavioral response to a startling stimulus (akin to perceiving an approaching predator). The behavioral response is a rapid movement commonly referred to as a startle response, escape response, or C-shape, based on the characteristic body position assumed by the fish. When viewed from above, a startled fish bends into a C-shape, then springs back and swims away in a direction different from its original orientation. This predator avoidance (escape) behavior can be compromised by sublethal stresses that temporarily stun or disorient the fish. Initial studies demonstrated that turbulence created in a small laboratory tank can alter escape behavior. As a next step, …

We present a block-structured adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) method for computing solutions to Poisson's equation in two and three dimensions. It is based on a conservative, finite-volume formulation of the classical Mehrstellen methods. This is combined with finite volume AMR discretizations to obtain a method that is fourth-order accurate in solution error, and with easily verifiable solvability conditions for Neumann and periodic boundary conditions.

This research was conducted to investigate the feasibility of applying microbial biodegradation as a treatment technology for wastes containing radioactive elements and organic solvents (mixed wastes). In this study, we focused our efforts on the treatment of wastes generated by biomedical research as the result of purifying tritium labeled compounds by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). These wastes are typically 80 percent water with 20 percent acetonitrile or methanol or a mixture of both. The objective was to determine the potential of using biodegradation to treat the solvent component of tritiated mixed waste to a concentration below the land disposal restriction standard (1mg/L for acetonitrile). Once the standard is reached, the remaining radioactive waste is no longer classified as a mixed waste and it can then be solidified and placed in a secure landfill. This investigation focused on treating a 10 percent acetonitrile solution, which was used as a non-radioactive surrogate for HPLC waste, in a bioreactor. The results indicated that the biodegradation process could treat this solution down to less than 1 mg/L to meet the land disposal restriction standard.

We conducted reversed deliquescence experiments in saturated NaCl-NaNO{sub 3}-H{sub 2}O, KNO{sub 3}-NaNO{sub 3}-H{sub 2}O, and NaCl-KNO{sub 3}-H{sub 2}O systems from 90 to 120 C as a function of relative humidity and solution composition. NaCl, NaNO{sub 3}, and KNO{sub 3} represent members of dust salt assemblages that are likely to deliquesce and form concentrated brines on high-level radioactive waste package surfaces in a repository environment at Yucca Mountain, NV, USA. Discrepancy between model prediction and experimental code can be as high as 8% for relative humidity and 50% for dissolved ion concentration. The discrepancy is attributed primarily to the use of 25 C models for Cl-NO{sub 3} and K-NO{sub 3} ion interactions in the current Yucca Mountain Project high-temperature Pitzer model to describe the non-ideal behavior of these highly concentrated solutions.

The evolution of an Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) chamberinvolves a repetition of short, intense depositions of energy (fromtarget ignition) into a reaction chamber, followed by the turbulentrelaxation of that energy through shock waves and thermal conduction tothe vessel walls. We present an algorithm for 2D simulations of the fluidinside an IFE chamber between fueling repetitions. Our finite-volumediscretization for the Navier-Stokes equations incorporates a Cartesiangrid treatment for irregularly-shaped domain boundaries. The discreteconservative update is based on a time-explicit Godunov method foradvection, and a two-stage Runge-Kutta update for diffusion accommodatingstate-dependent transport properties. Conservation is enforced on cutcells along the embedded boundary interface using a local redistributionscheme so that the explicit time step for the combined approach isgoverned by the mesh spacing in the uniform grid. The test problemsdemonstrate second-order convergence of the algorithm on smooth solutionprofiles, and the robust treatment of discontinuous initial data in anIFE-relevant vessel geometry.

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A nondimensional model of the multifrequency radiation diffusion equation is derived. A single material, ideal gas, equation of state is assumed. Opacities are proportional to the inverse of the cube of the frequency. Inclusion of stimulated emission implies a Wien spectrum for the radiation source function. It is shown that the solutions are uniformly bounded in time and that stationary solutions are stable. The spatially independent solutions are asymptotically stable, while the spatially dependent solutions of the linearized equations approach zero.

With rapid developments in wireless sensor networks, there is a growing need for transceiver position estimation independent of GPS, which may not be available in indoor networks. Our approach is to use range estimates from time-of-flight (TOF) measurements, a technique well suited to large bandwidth physical links, such as in ultra-wideband (UWB) systems. In our UWB systems, pulse duration less than 200 psecs can easily be resolved to less than a foot. Assuming an encoded UWB physical layer, we first test positioning accuracy using simulations. We are interested in sensitivity to range errors and the required number of ranging nodes, and we show that in a high-precision environment, such as UWB, the optimal number of transmitters is four. Four transmitters with {+-}20ft. range error can locate a receiver to within one or two feet. We then implement these algorithms on an 802.11 wireless network and demonstrate the ability to locate a network access point to approximately 20 feet.

A vacuum crystal spectrometer with nominal resolving power approaching 1000 is described for measuring emission lines with wavelength in the extreme ultraviolet region up to 60 Angstroms. The instrument utilizes a flat octadecyl hydrogen maleate (OHM) crystal and a thin-window 1-D position-sensitive gas proportional detector. This detector employs a 1 {micro}m-thick 100 x8 mm{sup 2} aluminized polyimide window and operates at one atmosphere pressure. The spectrometer has been implemented on the Livermore electron beam ion traps. The performance of the instrument is illustrated in measurements of the newly discovered magnetic field-sensitive line in Ar{sup 8+}.

Nuclear-optical converters (NOC) are fission chambers based upon fission fragment energy conversion to optical radiation in gas luminescent media. The All-Russia Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF) has demonstrated that it is possible to construct nuclear-optical converters with characteristics appropriate for a wide-range of measuring applications including neutron detection in nuclear power plants. These detectors may be used a number of different modes: pulse count, luminescent (equivalent to current mode in ionization detectors), and lasing (essentially a neutron switch). NOCs offer a number of potential advantages over ionization detectors. The detectors require no power supply. Signals are transmitted via light-pipe or fiber optics rather than insulated electrical cable. The detectors are less sensitive to gamma radiation. NOC can produce large signals, obviating the need for pre-amplifiers near the detector. It is possible to construct a single detector which measures flux at many discrete points and at the same time provides total flux along a line containing these discrete points. This paper describes the construction and testing of NOC at VNIIEF; the range of characteristics thought to be reasonably attainable with nuclear-optical converters, and possible applications to nuclear power plant instrumentation.

Iodine is an important element in studies of environmental protection and human health, global-scale hydrologic processes and nuclear nonproliferation. Biogeochemical cycling of iodine is complex, because iodine occurs in multiple oxidation states and as inorganic and organic species that may be hydrophilic, atmophilic, and biophilic. In this study, we focused on the sorption and transport behavior of iodine species (iodide, iodate, and 4-iodoaniline) in sediments collected at the Savannah River and Hanford Sites, where anthropogenic {sup 129}I from prior nuclear fuel processing activities poses an environmental risk. We conducted both column and batch experiments to investigate the sorption and transport behavior of iodine, and the sediments we examined exhibit a wide range in organic matter, clay mineralogy, soil pH, and texture. The results of our experiments illustrate complex behavior with various processes occurring, including iodate reduction, irreversible retention or mass loss of iodide, and rate-limited and nonlinear sorption. There was an appreciable iodate reduction to iodide, presumably mediated by the structural Fe(II) in some clay minerals; therefore, careful attention must be given to potential interconversion among species when interpreting the biogeochemical behavior of iodine in the environment. The different iodine species exhibited dramatically different sorption and transport behavior in three …

Detection and tracking of moving objects is important in the analysis of video data. One approach is to maintain a background model of the scene and subtract it from each frame to detect the moving objects which can then be tracked using Kalman or particle filters. In this paper, we consider simple techniques based on salient points to identify moving objects which are tracked using motion correspondence. We focus on video with a large field of view, such as a traffic intersection with several buildings nearby. Such scenes can contain several salient points, not all of which move between frames. Using public domain video and two types of salient points, we consider how to make these techniques computationally efficient for detection and tracking. Our early results indicate that salient regions obtained using the Lowe keypoints algorithm and the Scale-Saliency algorithm can be used successfully to track vehicles in moderate resolution video.

Composites of sludge from Tanks 241-B-203, 241-T-203, 241 T 204, and 241-T-110 at the Hanford Site were prepared at the Hanford 222-S Laboratory from core samples retrieved from these tanks. These tank composites may not be representative of the entire contents of the tank but provide some indication of the properties of the waste within these underground storage tanks. The composite samples were diluted with water at the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to represent the slurries that are expected to be received from tank retrieval operations and processed to produce a final waste stream. The dilutions were vacuum dried at 60 C and 26 in. of mercury ({approx} 100 torr). Semi-quantitative measurements of stickiness and cohesive strength were made on these dilutions as a function of drying time. Mass loss as a function of drying time and total solids concentration of the initial dilution and at the conclusion of drying were also measured. Visual observations of the sludge were recorded throughout the drying process.

The heavy-ion fusion (HIF) community recently developed a power-plant design that meets the various requirements of accelerators, final focus, chamber transport, and targets. The point design is intended to minimize physics risk and is certainly not optimal for the cost of electricity. Recent chamber-transport simulations, however, indicate that changes in the beam ion species, the convergence angle, and the emittance might allow more-economical designs.

It has recently been reported that several high power, diode-pumped laser systems have been developed based on crystals of Yb:S-FAP [Yb{sup 3+}:Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F]. The Mercury Laser, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is the most prominent system using Yb:S-FAP and is currently producing 23J at 5 Hz in a 15 nsec pulse, based on partial activation of the system. In addition, a regenerative amplifier is being developed at Waseda University in Japan and has produced greater than 12 mJ with high beam quality at 50Hz repetition rate. Q-peak has demonstrated 16 mJ of maximum energy/output pulse in a multi-pass, diode side-pumped amplifier and ELSA in France is implementing Yb:S-FAP in a 985 nm pump for an EDFA, producing 250 mW. Growth of high optical quality crystals of Yb:S-FAP is a challenge due to multiple crystalline defects. However, at this time, a growth process has been developed to produce high quality 3.5 cm diameter Yb:S-FAP crystals and a process is under development for producing 6.5 cm diameter crystals.

We observe a dramatic dependence of the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) reflectivity of Mo/Y multilayers on the oxygen content of yttrium. This is explained by a change in microstructure, increase in roughness of the Y layers and not by an increase in absorption due to oxygen in Y layers. We find best reflectivity of 38.4% is achieved with an oxygen content of 25%, which reduces to 32.6% and 29.6% for multilayers manufactured from oxygen free yttrium and 39%-oxygen yttrium, respectively. These results highlight the importance of experimentally determined optical constants as well as interface roughness in multilayer calculations. In addition, lifetime stability of Mo/Y multilayers with different capping layers was monitored for one year. The molybdenum- and palladium-capped samples exhibited low surface roughness and about 4% relative reflectivity loss in one year. The relative reflectivity loss on yttrium-capped sample (yttrium with 39% oxygen) was about 8%. However, the reflectivity loss in all three capping layers occurred within the first 100 days after the deposition and the reflectivity remained stable afterwards.

The lateral organization of lipids and membrane-associated proteins in biological membranes is often detected by fluorescence microscopy. Although extremely sensitive, fluorescent labels, particularly those attached to lipid molecules, may alter their physical properties.

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The objective of this document is to report results in the detection and characterization of special behavior in large electric power systems. Such behavior is usually dynamic in nature, but not always. This is also true for the underlying sources of special behavior. At the device level, a source of special behavior might be an automatic control system, a dynamic load, or even a manual control system that is operated according to some sharply defined policy. Other possible sources include passive system conditions, such as the state of a switched device or the amount of power carried on some critical line. Detection and characterization are based upon “signature information” that is extracted from the behavior observed. Characterization elements include the signature information itself, the nature of the behavior and its likely causes, and the associated implications for the system or for the public at large. With sufficient data and processing, this characterization may directly identify a particular condition or device at a specific location. Such conclusive results cannot always be done from just one observation, however. Information environments that are very sparse may require multiple observations, comparative model studies, and even direct testing of the system.

The use of isoconversional, sometimes called model-free, kinetic analysis methods have recently gained favor in the thermal analysis community. Although these methods are very useful and instructive, the conclusion that model fitting is a poor approach is largely due to improper use of the model fitting approach, such as fitting each heating rate separately. The current paper shows the ability of model fitting to correlate reaction data over very wide time-temperature regimes, including simultaneous fitting of isothermal and constant heating rate data. Recently published data on cellulose pyrolysis by Capart et al. (TCA, 2004) with a combination of an autocatalytic primary reaction and an nth-order char pyrolysis reaction is given as one example. Fits for thermal decomposition of Estane, Viton-A, and Kel-F over very wide ranges of heating rates is also presented. The Kel-F required two parallel reactions--one describing a small, early decomposition process, and a second autocatalytic reaction describing the bulk of pyrolysis. Viton-A and Estane also required two parallel reactions for primary pyrolysis, with the first Viton-A reaction also being a minor, early process. In addition, the yield of residue from these two polymers depends on the heating rate. This is an example of a competitive reaction between …

COGEMA Engineering Corporation (COGEMA), under a contract from CH2M Hill Hanford Group (CH2M Hill), has performed an ultrasonic nondestructive examination of selected portions of Double-Shell Tank 241-SY-103. The purpose of this examination was to provide information that could be used to evaluate the integrity of the wall of the primary tank. The requirements for the ultrasonic examination of Tank 241-SY-103 were to detect, characterize (identify, size, and locate), and record measurements made of any wall thinning, pitting, or cracks that might be present in the wall of the primary tank. Any measurements that exceed the requirements set forth in the Engineering Task Plan (ETP), RPP-17750 (Jensen 2003) and summarized on page 1 of this document, are reported to CH2M Hill and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for further evaluation. Under the contract with CH2M Hill, all data is to be recorded on disk and paper copies of all measurements are provided to PNNL for third-party evaluation. PNNL is responsible for preparing a report that describes the results of the COGEMA ultrasonic examinations.

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) has received high attention as it contributed to cleaner air and contaminated thousands of underground storage tank sites. Because MTBE is very water soluble, it is more difficult to remove from water by conventional remediation techniques. Therefore, biodegradation of MTBE has become a remediation alternative. In order to understand the transport and transformation processes, they present a closed form solution as a screening tool in this paper. The possible reaction pathways of first-order reactions are described as a reaction matrix. The singular value decomposition is conducted analytically to decouple the partial differential equations of the multi-species transport system coupled by the reaction matrix into multiple independent subsystems. Therefore, the complexity of mathematical description for the reactive transport system is significantly reduced and analytical solutions may be previously available or easily derived.