Current regulations require RPV steels to maintain conservative margins of fracture toughness so that postulated flaws do not threaten the integrity of the RPV during either normal operation and maintenance cycles or under accident transients, like pressurized thermal shock. Neutron irradiation degrades fracture toughness, in some cases severely. Thermal aging, while not generally considered a significant issue for a 40-y operating life, must be an additional consideration for operation to 60 or 80 years. Regulations, codified in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Regulatory Guide 1.99 Rev 2, etc., recognize that embrittlement has a potential for reducing toughness below acceptable levels. The last few decades have seen remarkable progress in developing a mechanistic understanding of irradiation embrittlement. This understanding has been exploited in formulating robust, physically-based and statistically-calibrated models of CVN-indexed transition-temperature shifts (TTS). These semi-empirical models account for key embrittlement variables and variable interactions, including the effects of copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), phosphorous (P), fluence ({phi}t), flux ({phi}), and irradiation temperature (T{sub i}). However, these models and our present understanding of radiation damage are not fully quantitative, and do not treat all potentially significant variables and issues. Over the past three decades, developments in fracture mechanics have led …

Model and experimental estimates of the Multi-Isotope Process Monitor performance for determining burnup after dissolution and acid concentration during solvent extraction steps during reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel are presented.

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The purpose of this Phased Construction Completion Report (PCCR) is to present fiscal year (FY) 2009 results of Dynamic Verification Strategy (DVS) characterization activities for exposure unit (EU) Z2-36 in Zone 2 at the East Tennessee technology Park (ETTP). The ETTP is located in the northwest corner of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and encompasses approximately 5000 acres that have been subdivided into three zones--Zone 1 ({approx} 1400 acres), Zone 2 ({approx} 800 acres), and the Boundary Area ({approx} 2800 acres). Zone 2 comprises the highly industrial portion of ETTP and consists of all formerly secured areas of the facility, including the large processing buildings and direct support facilities; experimental laboratories and chemical and materials handling facilities; materials storage and waste disposal facilities; secure document records libraries; and shipping and receiving warehouses. The Record of Decision for Soil, Buried Waste, and Subsurface Structure Actions in Zone 2, East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (DOE 2005) (Zone 2 ROD) specifies the future end use for Zone 2 acreage as uncontrolled industrial for the upper 10 ft of soils. Characterization activities in these areas were conducted in compliance with the Zone 2 ROD …

Progress in MEMS fabrication has enabled a wide variety of force and displacement sensing devices to be constructed. One device under intense development at Sandia is a passive shock switch, described elsewhere (Mitchell 2008). A goal of all MEMS devices, including the shock switch, is to achieve a high degree of reliability. This, in turn, requires systematic methods for validating device performance during each iteration of design. Once a design is finalized, suitable tools are needed to provide quality assurance for manufactured devices. To ensure device performance, measurements on these devices must be traceable to NIST standards. In addition, accurate metrology of MEMS components is needed to validate mechanical models that are used to design devices to accelerate development and meet emerging needs. Progress towards a NIST-traceable calibration method is described for a next-generation, 2D Interfacial Force Microscope (IFM) for applications in MEMS metrology and qualification. Discussed are the results of screening several suitable calibration methods and the known sources of uncertainty in each method.

This report is a waste generation data report for year 2009.