We simulate fusion power plant driver efficiency by pulsing small induction cores at 5 Hz (a typical projected power plant repetition rate), with a resistive load in the secondary winding that is scaled to simulate the beam loading for induction acceleration. Starting from a power plant driver design that is based on other constraints, we obtain the core mass and acceleration efficiency for several energy ranges of the driver accelerator and for three magnetic alloys. The resistor in the secondary is chosen to give the same acceleration efficiency, the ratio of beam energy gain to energy input to the core module (core plus acceleration gap), as was computed for the driver. The pulser consists of a capacitor switched by FETs, Field Effect Transistors, which are gated on for the desired pulse duration. The energy to the resistor is evaluated during the portion of the pulse that is adequately flat. We present data over a range of 0.6 to 5 {mu}s pulse lengths. With 1 {mu}s pulses, the acceleration efficiency at 5 Hz is measured to be 75%, 52%, and 32% for thin-tape-wound cores of nanocrystalline, amorphous, and 3% silicon steel materials respectively, including only core losses. The efficiency increases for …

The spherical tokamak (ST), because of its slender central column, has very limited volt-second capability relative to a standard aspect ratio tokamak of similar plasma cross-section. Recent experiments on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) have begun to quantify and optimize the ohmic current drive efficiency in a MA-class ST device. Sustainable ramp-rates in excess of 5MA/sec during the current rise phase have been achieved on NSTX, while faster ramps generate significant MHD activity. Discharges with Ip exceeding 1MA have been achieved in NSTX with nominal parameters: aspect ratio A=1.3--1.4, elongation k=2--2.2, triangularity d=0.4, internal inductance li=0.6, and Ejima coefficient CE=0.35. Flux consumption efficiency results, performance improvements associated with first boronization, and comparisons to neoclassical resistivity are described.

Orbitmpi is a parallelized version of Roscoe White's Orbit code. The code has been parallelized using MPI, which makes it portable to many types of machines. The guidelines used for the parallelization were to increase code performance with minimal changes to the code's original structure. This document gives a general description of how the parallel sections of the code run. It discusses the changes made to the original code and comments on the general procedure for future additions to Orbitmpi, as well as describing the effects of a parallelized random number generator on the code's output. Finally, the scaling results from Hecate and from Puffin are presented. Hecate is a 64-processor Origin 2000 machine, with MIPS R12000 processors and 16GB of memory, and Puffin is a PC cluster with 9 dual-processor 450 MHz Pentium III (18 processors max.), with 100Mbits ethernet communication.

Control of the electric field profile in the Hall Thruster through the positioning of an additional electrode along the channel is shown theoretically to enhance the efficiency. The reduction of the potential drop near the anode by use of the additional electrode increases the plasma density there, through the increase of the electron and ion transit times, causing the ionization in the vicinity of the anode to increase. The resulting separation of the ionization and acceleration regions increases the propellant and energy utilizations. An abrupt sonic transition is forced to occur at the axial location of the additional electrode, accompanied by the generation of a large (theoretically infinite) electric field. This ability to generate a large electric field at a specific location along the channel, in addition to the ability to specify the electric potential there, allows one further control of the electric field profile in the thruster. In particular, when the electron temperature is high, a large abrupt voltage drop is induced at the vicinity of the additional electrode, a voltage drop that can comprise a significant part of the applied voltage.

Technologies are being developed by the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Nuclear Facility sites to convert low-level and mixed (hazardous and radioactive) wastes to a solid stabilized waste form for permanent disposal. One of the alternative technologies is vitrification into a borosilicate glass waste form. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared vitrification the Best Demonstrated Available Technology (BDAT) for high-level radioactive mixed waste and produced a Handbook of Vitrification Technologies for Treatment of Hazardous and Radioactive Waste. The DOE Office of Technology Development (OTD) has taken the position that mixed waste needs to be stabilized to the highest level reasonably possible to ensure that the resulting waste forms will meet both current and future regulatory specifications. Stabilization of low level and hazardous wastes in glass are in accord with the 1988 Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC), then the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL), Professional Planning Committee (PPC) recommendation that high nitrate containing (low-level) wastes be incorporated into a low temperature glass (via a sol-gel technology). The investigation into this new technology was considered timely because of the potential for large waste volume reduction compared to solidification into cement.

Laser technology has advanced dramatically and is an integral part of today's healthcare delivery system. Lasers are used in the laboratory analysis of human blood samples and serve as surgical tools that kill, burn or cut tissue. Recent semiconductor microtechnology has reduced the size o f a laser to the size of a biological cell or even a virus particle. By integrating these ultra small lasers with biological systems, it is possible to create micro-electrical mechanical systems that may revolutionize health care delivery.

This Corrective Action Investigation Plan contains the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office's approach to collect the data necessary to evaluate corrective action alternatives appropriate for the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 409 under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Corrective Action Unit 409 consists of three Corrective Action Sites (CASs): TA-53-001-TAB2, Septic Sludge Disposal Pit No.1; TA-53-002-TAB2, Septic Sludge Disposal Pit No.2; and RG-24-001-RGCR, Battery Dump Site. The Septic Sludge Disposal Pits are located near Bunker Two, close to Area 3, on the Tonopah Test Range. The Battery Dump Site is located at the abandoned Cactus Repeater Station on Cactus Peak. The Cactus Repeater Station was a remote, battery-powered, signal repeater station. The two Septic Sludge Disposal Pits were suspected to be used through the late 1980s as disposal sites for sludge from septic tanks located in Area 3. Based on site history collected to support the Data Quality Objectives process, contaminants of potential concern are the same for the disposal pits and include: volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semivolatile organic compounds, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) as gasoline- and diesel-range organics, polychlorinated biphenyls, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act metals, and radionuclides (including plutonium and depleted uranium). The …

One of the most challenging aspects of ion beam driven inertial fusion energy is the reliable and efficient generation of low emittance, high current ion beams. The primary ion source requirements include a rise time of order 1-msec, a pulse width of at least 20-msec, a flattop ripple of less than 0.1% and a repetition rate of at least 5-Hz. Naturally, at such a repetition rate, the duty cycle of the source must be greater than 108 pulses. Although these specifications do not appear to exceed the state-of-the-art for pulsed power, considerable effort remains to develop a suitable high current ion source. Therefore, we are constructing a 500-kV test stand specifically for studying various ion source concepts including surface, plasma and metal vapor arc. This paper will describe the test stand design specifications as well as the details of the various subsystems and components.

High intensity muon sources are needed in exploring neutrino factories, lepton flavor violating muon processes, and lower energy experiments as the stepping phase towards building higher energy {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup {minus}} colliders. We present a brief overview, sketch of a neutrino source, and an example of a muon storage ring at BNL with detector(s) at Fermilab, Sudan, etc. Physics with low energy neutrino beams based on muon storage rings ({mu}SR) and conventional Horn Facilities are described and compared. CP violation Asymmetries and a new Statistical Figure of Merit to be used for comparison is given. Improvements in the sensitivity of low energy experiments to study Flavor changing neutral currents are also included.

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A method and apparatus are provided for aligning the facets of a solar concentrator. A first laser directs a first laser beam onto a selected facet of the concentrator such that a target board positioned adjacent to the first laser at approximately one focal length behind the focal point of the concentrator is illuminated by the beam after reflection thereof off of the selected facet. A second laser, located adjacent to the vertex of the optical axis of the concentrator, is used to direct a second laser beam onto the target board at a target point thereon. By adjusting the selected facet to cause the first beam to illuminate the target point on the target board produced by the second beam, the selected facet can be brought into alignment with the target point. These steps are repeated for other selected facets of the concentrator, as necessary, to provide overall alignment of the concentrator.

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Automatic grouping of voluminous data into meaningful structures is a challenging task frequently encountered in broad areas of science, engineering and information processing. These data clustering tasks are frequently performed in Euclidean space or a subspace chosen from principal component analysis (PCA). Here we describe a space obtained by a nonlinear scaling of PCA in which data objects self-aggregate automatically into clusters. Projection into this space gives sharp distinctions among clusters. Gene expression profiles of cancer tissue subtypes, Web hyperlink structure and Internet newsgroups are analyzed to illustrate interesting properties of the space.

Cracks found in many of the double-shell tank (DST) pump and valve pits bring into question the ability of the pits to provide secondary containment and remain in compliance with State and Federal regulations. This study was commissioned to identify viable options for maintain/restoring secondary containment capability in these pits. The basis for this study is the decision analysis process which identifies the requirements to be met and the desired goals (decision criteria) that each option will be weighed against. A facilitated workshop was convened with individuals knowledgeable of Tank Farms Operations, engineering practices, and safety/environmental requirements. The outcome of this workshop was the validation or identification of the critical requirements, definition of the current problem, identification and weighting of the desired goals, baselining of the current repair methods, and identification of potential alternate solutions. The workshop was followed up with further investigations into the potential solutions that were identified in the workshop and through other efforts. These solutions are identified in the body of this report. Each of the potential solutions were screened against the list of requirements and only those meeting the requirements were considered viable options. To expand the field of viable options, hybrid concepts that combine …

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Many common scrap substitutes such as direct reduced iron pellets (DRI), hot briquetted iron (HBI), iron carbide, etc., contain significantly higher levels of phosphorus steelmaking for the production of higher quality steels, control of phosphorus levels in the metal will become a concern. This study has developed a more complete understanding of the behavior of phosphorus in DRI during EAF steelmaking, through a thorough investigation of the kinetics and thermodynamics of phosphorus transfer in the EAF based upon laboratory and plant experiments and trials. Laboratory experiments have shown that phosphorus mass transfer between oxide and metallic phases within commercial direct reduced iron pellets occurs rapidly upon melting according to the local equilibrium for these phases. Laboratory kinetic experiments indicate that under certain conditions, phosphorus mass transfer between slag and metal is influenced by dynamic phenomena, which affect the mass transfer coefficient for the reaction and/or the slag metal interfacial area. Plant trials were conducted to directly evaluate the conditions of mass transfer in the electric furnace and to determine the effects of different scrap substitute materials upon the slag chemistry, the behavior of phosphorus in the steel, and upon furnace yield. The data from these trials were also used to …

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to help design new experiments by modeling the cooling of small numbers of trapped multiply charged ions by Coulomb interactions with laser-cooled Be{sup +} ions. A Verlet algorithm is used to integrate the equations of motion of two species of point ions interacting in an ideal Penning trap. We use a time step short enough to follow the cyclotron motion of the ions. Axial and radial temperatures for each species are saved periodically. Direct heating and cooling of each species in the simulation can be performed by periodically rescaling velocities. Of interest are Fe{sup 11+} due to a EUV-optical double resonance for imaging and manipulating the ions, and Ca{sup 14+} since a ground state fine structure transition has a convenient wavelength in the tunable laser range.

This presentation discusses the economic future of nuclear power.

Algorithms for the treatment of special positions in 3-dimensional crystallographic space groups are presented. These include an algorithm for the determination of the site-symmetry group given the coordinates of a point, an algorithm for the determination of the exact location of the nearest special position, an algorithm for the assignment of a Wyckoff letter given the site-symmetry group, and an alternative algorithm for the assignment of a Wyckoff letter given the coordinates of a point directly. All algorithms are implemented in ISO C++ and are integrated into the Computational Crystallography Toolbox. The source code is freely available.

The new Isotope Production Facility (IPF) at Los Alamos National Laboratory has been commissioned during the spring of 2004. Commissioning activities focused on the establishment of a radionuclide database, the review and approval of two specific target stack designs, and four trial irradiation runs with subsequent chemical processing and data analyses. This paper highlights some aspects of the facility and the targetry of the two approved target stacks used during the commissioning process.

The radiation effects on the physical characteristic of the sewage sludge were studied in order to obtain information which will be used for study on the enhancement of the sludge's dewaterability. Water contents, capillary suction time, zeta potential, irradiation dose, sludge acidity, total solid concentration, sludge particle size and microbiology before and after irradiation were investigated. Irradiation gave an effect on physical characteristics sludge. Water content in sludge cake could be reduced by irradiation at the dose of 10kGy.

This presentation is a part of the panel discussion on isotope production in light of increasing demand.

The purpose of this work is to settle a laboratory for Iridium -192 sources production, that is, to determine a wire activation method and to build a hot cell for the wires manipulation, quality control and packaging. The paper relates, mainly, the wire activation method and its quality control. The wire activation is carried out in our nuclear reactor, IEA- R1m.