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{l_brace}311{r_brace} defects and dislocation loops are formed after ion-implantation and annealing of a silicon wafer. Recent Transmission Electron Microscopy studies by Li and Jones have shown that sub-threshold dislocation loops nucleate from {l_brace}311{r_brace} defects. In our study, the conjugate gradient method with the Stillinger Weber potential is used to relax different configurations such as {l_brace}311{r_brace} defects with a maximum of five chains and perfect dislocation loops. From the formation energies thus obtained we find that there is an optimal width for each length of the {l_brace}311{r_brace} defects. Moreover the relative stability of {l_brace}311{r_brace}s and loops is studied as a function of defect size. We observe that at very small sizes the perfect loops are more stable than the {l_brace}311{r_brace}s. This may provide an explanation for the experimental observation by Robertson et al that, in an annealing study of end of range damage of amorphized samples, 45% of the loops had nucleated in the first 10 minutes of anneal. We propose that homogeneous nucleation, as against unfaulting of the {l_brace}311{r_brace}s, could be the source of these loops.

A novel handheld time-domain array GPR antipersonnel mine detection system using an offset paraboloidal reflector antenna is described. The reflector collimates rays from an ultra-wideband transmitting feed, directing the microwave impulse forward, in front of the antenna structure. As such, much of the ground reflected wave is directed further forward, away from the operator, the reflector, and the receiving antennas, and thereby reducing the major source of clutter. The wave transmitted into the ground that interacts with the target, generating significant backscatter returning toward the receiving antennas. These receiving antennas are configured in a 2 by 2 array to provide spatial focusing in both the along- and cross-track directions. This system has been built and tested at both Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and GeoCenters, Inc. In both cases, custom-built wideband antenna elements generate narrow pulse shapes, which allow for resolving small non-metallic targets buried at shallow depths. The LLNL's Micro-Power Impulse Radar (MIR) operates in the 1.5 to 5 GHz range a very narrow pulse shape. The Geo-Centers wideband TEMR antenna elements have higher power, though lower frequency range (850 to 1700 MHz), and generate less residual ringing in the time signal. Preliminary measured data from both systems indicate that …

Surfaces of steel structures that enclose high-fluence, large-beam lasers have conventional and unconventional requirements. Aside from rust prevention, the surfaces must resist laser-induced degradation and the contamination of the optical components. The latter requires a surface that can be precision cleaned to low levels of particulate and organic residue. In addition, the surface treatment for the walls should be economical to apply because of the large surface areas involved, and accommodating with intricate joint geometries. Thermal sprayed coatings of aluminum (Al) and stainless steel are candidate surface materials. Coatings are produced and characterized for porosity, smoothness, and hardness. These properties have a bearing on the cleanliness of the coating. The laser resistance of Al and 3 16L coatings are given. The paper summarizes the characterization of twin-wire-arc deposited Al, high-velocity-oxygen-fueled (HVOF) deposited Al, flame-sprayed 316L, and HVOF deposited316L. The most promising candidate coating is that of HVOF Al. This Al coating has the lowest porosity (8%) compared the other three coatings and relatively low hardness (100 VHN). The as-deposited roughness (Ra) is 433 pinches, but after a quick sanding by hand, the roughness decreased to 166 pinches. Other post-coat treatments are discussed. HVOF aluminum coatings are demonstrated. Al coatings are …

Seven improved decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) technologies were successfully deployed at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) during the Accelerated Site Technology Deployment (ASTD) Integrated Decontamination and Decommissioning (ID&D) project. The use of these improved technologies saved the INEEL $462K in fiscal year 1999, and is projected to save about $14M over the next ten years. Since deploying new technologies on D&D projects shows great potential for cost-savings, factors that led to successful deployment have been documented. These factors are described here as they apply to the seven deployments at the INEEL to assist with deployments at other DOE sites.

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The High Energy and Nuclear Physics Data Access GrandChallenge project has developed an optimizing storage access softwaresystem that was prototyped at RHIC. It is currently undergoingintegration with the STAR experiment in preparation for data taking thatstarts in mid-2000. The behavior and lessons learned in the RHIC MockData Challenge exercises are described as well as the observedperformance under conditions designed to characterize scalability. Up to250 simultaneous queries were tested and up to 10 million events across 7event components were involved in these queries. The system coordinatesthe staging of "bundles" of files from the HPSS tape system, so that allthe needed components of each event are in disk cache when accessed bythe application software. The caching policy algorithm for thecoordinated bundle staging is described in the paper. The initialprototype implementation interfaced to the Objectivity/DB. In this latestversion, it evolved to work with arbitrary files and use CORBA interfacesto the tag database and file catalog services. The interface to the tagdatabase and the MySQL-based file catalog services used by STAR aredescribed along with the planned usage scenarios.

This paper will discuss the methods used at a depleted uranium facility to develop a hazard categorization and a limiting condition for operation (LCO) for the inventory based on increased Category 2 threshold quantity values (TV) from DOE Standard 1027-92. A revision to the safety analysis report (SAR) for a Category 3 depleted uranium facility was required to meet current methodologies and isotope content. The previous SAR first approved in 1992, allowed an inventory of depleted uranium that exceeded the Category 2 threshold quantity values in the material storage warehouses using an accident analysis methodology for final hazard categorization. New information regarding the isotopic content of the depleted uranium required an updated hazard categorization evaluation. The DOE Standard 1027-92 requires the evaluation to be based on inventory (Reference 1, 3.1, page 5), therefore, the previous method of performing a hazard consequence and probability analysis could not be used. The standard (1027) requires a facility to be designated as a Category 3 Nuclear facility when the inventory levels in the facility, or facility segments, are greater than Category 3 thresholds and below Category 2 thresholds. A Category 2 Nuclear Facility requires a more in depth hazard and accident analysis. Our categorization …

A model is described for the movement of melted metallic material through a ceramic porous debris bed. The model is designed for the analysis of severe accidents in LWRs, wherein melted core plate material may slump onto the top of a porous bed of relocated core material supported by the lower head. The permeation of the melted core plate material into the porous debris bed influences the heatup of the debris bed and the heatup of the lower head supporting the debris. A model for mass transport of melted metallic material is applied that includes terms for viscosity and turbulence but neglects inertial and capillary terms because of their small value relative to gravity and viscous terms in the momentum equation. The relative permeability and passability of the porous debris are calculated as functions of debris porosity, particle size, and effective saturation. An iterative numerical solution is used to solve the set of nonlinear equations for mass transport. The effective thermal conductivity of the debris is calculated as a function of porosity, particle size, and saturation. The model integrates the equations for mass transport with a model for the two-dimensional conduction of heat through porous debris. The integrated model has …

The INEEL and MIT are investigating the suitability of lead-bismuth cooled fast reactor for producing low-cost electricity as well as for actinide burning. This paper is concerned with the general area of thermal-hydraulics of lead-bismuth cooled reactors. The ATHENA code is being used in the thermal-hydraulic design and analysis of lead-bismuth cooled reactors. The ATHENA code was reviewed to determine its applicability for simulating lead-bismuth cooled reactors. Two modifications were made to the code as a result of this review. Specifically, a correlation to represent heat transfer from rod bundles to a liquid metal and a void correlation based on data taken in a mixture of lead-bismuth and steam were added the code. The paper also summarizes the analytical work that is being performed with the code and plans for future analytical work.

This report is the description of saving carbon in residences using the microCHP.

There is a need for an efficient, durable technology to reduce NOx emissions from oxidative exhaust streams such as those produced by compression-ignition, direct injection (CIDI) diesel or lean-burn gasoline engines. A partnership formed between the DOE Office of Advanced Automotive Technology, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the USCAR Low Emission Technologies Research and Development Partnership is evaluating the effectiveness of a non-thermal plasma in conjunction with catalytic materials to mediate NOx and particulate emissions from diesel fueled light duty (CIDI) engines. Preliminary studies showed that plasma-catalyst systems could reduce up to 70% of NOx emissions at an equivalent cost of 3.5% of the input fuel in simulated diesel exhaust. These studies also showed that the type and concentration of hydrocarbon play a key role in both the plasma gas phase chemistry and the catalyst surface chemistry. More recently, plasma/catalyst systems have been evaluated for NOx reduction and particulate removal on a CIDI engine. Performance results for select plasma-catalyst systems for both simulated and actual CIDI exhaust will be presented. The effect of NOx and hydrocarbon concentration on plasma-catalyst performance will also be shown. SAE Paper SAE-2000-01-1601 {copyright} 2000 SAE International. This paper is published on …

We have compiled a topical reference on the phenomena, experiences, experiments, and prediction of uranium pyrophoricity for the Hanford Spent Nuclear Fuel Project (SNFP) with specific applications to SNFP process and situations. The purpose of the compilation is to create a reference to integrate and preserve this knowledge. Decades ago, uranium and zirconium fires were commonplace at Atomic Energy Commission facilities, and good documentation of experiences is surprisingly sparse. Today, these phenomena are important to site remediation and analysis of packaging, transportation, and processing of unirradiated metal scrap and spent nuclear fuel. Our document, bearing the same title as this paper, will soon be available in the Hanford document system [Plys, et al., 2000]. This paper explains general content of our topical reference and provides examples useful throughout the DOE complex. Moreover, the methods described here can be applied to analysis of potentially pyrophoric plutonium, metal, or metal hydride compounds provided that kinetic data are available. A key feature of this paper is a set of straightforward equations and values that are immediately applicable to safety analysis.

The DIRC (acronym for Detection of Internally Reflected Cherenkov (light)) is a new type of Cherenkov ring imaging detector based on total internal reflection that is used for the first time in the BaBar detector at PEP-II ring of SLAC. The Cherenkov radiators are long rectangular bars made of synthetic fused silica. The photon detector is a water tank equipped with an array of 10,752 conventional photomultipliers. The first year operational experience in the BaBar detector is presented using cosmic data and collision data in the energy region of the Y(4s) resonance.

There are several studies of optimal allocation of research and development resources over the time horizon of a project. The primary result of the basic noncompetitive models in this literature is that the optimal strategy is to choose a research intensity and ending date for the project such that the marginal costs of accelerating the project equals the marginal benefits of introducing the product sooner. This literature provides useful insights for the government planner who must allocate R&D resources for renewable energy development. However, several characteristics distinguish the process from the typical R&D planning problem. Specifically, with PV development, where the goal is to maximize the net present value of activities leading to cost reduction in commercial modules, there are (1) significant lag-times between investment in laboratory research and resulting effects in the marketplace, (2) a learning curve associated with the manufacturing process that also reduces the cost s of PV modules, (3) interim benefits from technical advances, (4) no clear end point to the R&D process, but rather a tapering off of the value of advances in technical efficiency, (5) significant uncertainty in the R&D process, (6) a family of products rather than an individual technology, (7) a co-mingling …

Monitoring of geologic sequestration projects will require the measurement of many different parameters and processes at many different locations at the surface and in the subsurface. The greatest need for technology development is for monitoring of processes in the subsurface in the region between wells. The approach to fitting this need is to build upon decades of experience in use of geophysics in the oil and gas industry. These methods can be optimized for CO2 monitoring, and customized and extended in order to meet the need for cost-effective methods applicable to saline disposal sites, coal bed methane sites, as well as oil and gas reservoir sequestration sites. The strategy for development of cost-effective methods follows a three step iterative process of sensitivity analysis using numerical and experimental techniques, field testing at a range of scale in different formations, and analysis and integration of complimentary types of data.

Creep of zirconium and zirconium alloys has been labeled ''anomalous.'' Researchers often report that zirconium and its alloys never reach true steady state creep and have stress exponents that continuously change with stress and temperature. Many varied interpretations have been offered explaining the creep behavior of zirconium. Some have suggested that creep is diffusion controlled, while others maintain that creep is dislocation glide controlled. Cumulative zirconium creep data will be presented based on an extensive literature review. An interpretation of results will be presented and compared to previous interpretations.

A model of energy gain induced by fast ignition of thermonuclear burn in compressed deuterium-tritium fuel, is used to show the potential for 300x gain with a driver energy of 1 M J, if the National Ignition Facility (NIF) were to be adapted for fast ignition. The physics of fast ignition has been studied using a petawatt laser facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Laser plasma interaction in a preformed plasma on a solid target leads to relativistic self-focusing evidenced by x-ray images. Absorption of the laser radiation transfers energy to an intense source of relativistic electrons. Good conversion efficiency into a wide angular distribution is reported. Heating by the electrons in solid density CD{sub 2} produces 0.5 to 1/keV temperature, inferred from the D-D thermo-nuclear neutron yield.

Scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have generated 300-femtosecond pulses of bend-magnet synchrotron radiation at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) with the aid of a laser ''time-slicing'' technique. This technique allows an ultrashort portion of an electron bunch in the ALS storage ring to be spatially displaced in such a way that the synchrotron radiation from the displaced portion can then be collected separately. Their proof-of-principle experiment demonstrates that this technique is a viable one for producing ultra-short pulses of x-rays. An ALS bend-magnet beamline is already under construction that will be dedicated to time-resolved x-ray diffraction, EXAFS, and other techniques capable of probing the long-range and local structure of matter on a femtosecond time scale. A proposed undulator beamline based on the same technique would further enhance the flux and brightness by orders of magnitude.

Total photofission cross sections for 238U, 235U, 233U, 237Np, 232Th, and natPb have been measured simultaneously, using tagged photons in the energy range Egamma=0.17-3.84 GeV. This was the first experiment performed using the Photon Tagging Facility in Hall B at Jefferson Lab. Our results show that the photofission cross section for 238U relative to that for 237Np is about 80%, implying the presence of important processes that compete with fission. We also observe that the relative photofission cross sections do not depend strongly on the incident photon energy over this entire energy range. If we assume that for 237Np the photofission probability is equal to unity, we observe a significant shadowing effect starting below 1.5 GeV.

The advanced spectroscopic capabilities of the new X-ray telescopes Chandra and XMM lead to a need for improved benchmarking of models for the photoionized accretion-disk plasmas which represent over half of known astrophysical X-ray sources. They report the first laboratory experimental results using 120 TW, 180 eV Z-pinch plasmas to drive iron samples into the photoionized equilibrium. The pinch spectrum, temperature, power and uniformity have been characterized in order to qualify it as a photoionization driver. Preliminary time-integrated (8 {angstrom} to 18 {angstrom}) and time-resolved (12.5 {angstrom} to 16 {angstrom}) absorption and emission spectra of photoionized L-shell Fe and K-shell Na and F were observed using X-ray crystal spectrometers. Plans for upcoming experiments are also discussed.

This paper presents our early results in applying data mining techniques to the problem of finding radio-emitting galaxies with a bent-double morphology. In the past, astronomers on the FIRST (Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm) survey have detected such galaxies by first inspecting the radio images visually to identify probable bent-doubles, and then conducting observations to confirm that the galaxy is indeed a bent-double. Our goal is to replace this visual inspection by a semi-automated approach. In this paper, we present a brief overview of data mining, describe the features we use to discriminate bent-doubles from non-bent-doubles, and discuss the challenges faced in defining meaningful features in a robust manner. Our experiments show that data mining, using decision trees, can indeed be a viable alternative to the visual identification of bent-double galaxies.

The effectiveness of aquifer remediation is typically expressed in terms of a reduction in contaminant concentrations relative to a regulated maximum contaminant level (MCL), and is usually confined by sparse monitoring data and/or simple model calculations. Here, the effectiveness of remediation is examined from a risk-based perspective that goes beyond the traditional MCL concept. A methodology is employed to evaluate the health risk to individuals exposed to contaminated household water that is produced from groundwater. This approach explicitly accounts for differences in risk arising from variability in individual physiology and water use, the uncertainty in estimating chemical carcinogenesis for different individuals, and the uncertainties and variability in contaminant concentrations within groundwater. A hypothetical contamination scenario is developed as a case study in a saturated, alluvial aquifer underlying a real Superfund site. A baseline (unremediated) human exposure and health risk scenario, as induced by contaminated groundwater pumped from this site, is predicted and compared with a similar estimate based upon pump-and-treat exposure intervention. The predicted reduction in risk in the remediation scenario is not an equitable one--that is, it is not uniform to all individuals within a population and varies according to the level of uncertainty in prediction. The importance of …

Migration of individuals between populations may increase the selection pressure. This has the desirable consequence of speeding up convergence, but it may result in an excessively rapid loss of variation that may cause the search to fail. This paper investigates the effects of migration on the distribution of fitness. It considers arbitrary migration rates and topologies with different number of neighbors, and it compares algorithms that are configured to have the same selection intensity. The results suggest that migration preserves more diversity as the number of neighbors of a deme increases.