This test plan documents the acceptance testing of the sludge pickup adapter for potential use during PSI Phases 3 and 4 fuel cleanliness inspection activities. The adaptex is attached to the strainer tip of the vacuum wand and used to suction up residual sludge captured in a sludge collection tray. The material is vacuumed into a chamber of known volume in the sludge pickup adapter. The device serves as an aid in helping to determine whether the observed quantity of sludge is within allowable limits (1.4 cm{sup 3} per fuel assembly). This functionality test involves underwater testing in the 305 Building Cold Test Facility to verify that sludge can be successfully vacuumed from a collection tray. Ancillary activities in this acceptance test include demonstration that the sludge pickup adapter CM be successfully attached to and detached from the vacuum wand underwater.

US infrastructures provide essential services that support the economic prosperity and quality of life. Today, the latest threat to these infrastructures is the increasing complexity and interconnectedness of the system. On balance, added connectivity will improve economic efficiency; however, increased coupling could also result in situations where a disturbance in an isolated infrastructure unexpectedly cascades across diverse infrastructures. An understanding of the behavior of complex systems can be critical to understanding and predicting infrastructure responses to unexpected perturbation. Sandia National Laboratories has developed an agent-based model of critical US infrastructures using time-dependent Monte Carlo methods and a genetic algorithm learning classifier system to control decision making. The model is currently under development and contains agents that represent the several areas within the interconnected infrastructures, including electric power and fuel supply. Previous work shows that agent-based simulations models have the potential to improve the accuracy of complex system forecasting and to provide new insights into the factors that are the primary drivers of emergent behaviors in interdependent systems. Simulation results can be examined both computationally and analytically, offering new ways of theorizing about the impact of perturbations to an infrastructure network.

A process monitor is needed by British Nuclear Fuels Limited, Inc. (BNFL Inc.) to measure total {sup 99}Tc levels in column effluents during technetium removal from the aqueous fraction of the Hanford high-level tank wastes. The monitor must achieve detection limits of 1 x 10{sup {minus}8}Ci/mL (0.6 {micro}g/mL). Measurements must be done in near real time, with an analysis frequency of {approximately}15 min. The monitoring technology must be sufficiently simple and robust for unattended continuous operation in the plant settings.

We present a new algorithm for material boundary interface reconstruction from data sets containing volume fractions. We transform the reconstruction problem to a problem that analyzes the dual data set, where each vertex in the dual mesh has an associated barycentric coordinate tuple that represents the fraction of each material present. After constructing the dual tetrahedral mesh from the original mesh, we construct material boundaries by mapping a tetrahedron into barycentric space and calculating the intersections with Voronoi cells in barycentric space. These intersections are mapped back to the original physical space and triangulated to form the boundary surface approximation. This algorithm can be applied to any grid structure and can treat any number of materials per element/vertex.

This technical report summarizes the research conducted and results obtained during the period beginning October 1, 1999 to March 31, 2000. Heat transfer characteristics study and experimental work were continued using the bench-scale CFB system with the heat transfer probe. A copper tube with thermocouples was used as the heat transfer probe which was convenient to measure the temperature changes at different locations of the bed. The heat transfer coefficient at different locations of the heat transferring surface decreases along the slides down the heat transfer surface; its temperature increase, which reducing the temperature difference between the surface of the tube and the bulk of the bed. The radial variation of heat transfer coefficients showed little increase in heat transfer coefficient near the wall. It is believed that a long heat-transferring surface is located in the core region; a boundary layer develops near the wall of the surface. This may cause clusters or streamers to form which slides down the surface. According to the results, heat transfer coefficients in the core region are not affected significantly by the location of the probe. The wall conduction resistance was eliminated and heat transfer coefficients were measured and calculated at different locations along …

This design analysis has shown that, on a conceptual level, the emplacement of drip shields is feasible with current technology and equipment. A plan for drip shield emplacement was presented using a Drip Shield Transporter, a Drip Shield Emplacement Gantry, a locomotive, and a Drip Shield Gantry Carrier. The use of a Drip Shield Emplacement Gantry as an emplacement concept results in a system that is simple, reliable, and interfaces with the numerous other exising repository systems. Using the Waste Emplacement/Retrieval System design as a basis for the drip shield emplacement concept proved to simplify the system by using existing equipment, such as the gantry carrier, locomotive, Electrical and Control systems, and many other systems, structures, and components. Restricted working envelopes for the Drip Shield Emplacement System require further consideration and must be addressed to show that the emplacement operations can be performed as the repository design evolves. Section 6.1 describes how the Drip Shield Emplacement System may use existing equipment. Depending on the length of time between the conclusion of waste emplacement and the commencement of drip shield emplacement, this equipment could include the locomotives, the gantry carrier, and the electrical, control, and rail systems. If the exisiting equipment …

The authors report and analyze the results of numerical studies of dense granular flows in two and three dimensions, using both linear damped springs and Hertzian force laws between particles. Chute flow generically produces a constant density profile that satisfies scaling relations suggestive of a Bagnold grain inertia regime. The type for force law has little impact on the behavior of the system. Failure is not initiated at the surface, consistent with the absence of surface flows and different principal stress directions at vs. below the surface.

The hazard model described in this paper is designed to accept data over the Internet from distributed databases. A hazard object template is used to ensure that all necessary descriptors are collected for each object. Three methods for combining the data are compared and contrasted. Three methods are used for handling the three types of interactions between the hazard objects.

Numerous investigations have demonstrated that intense plastic deformation is an attractive procedure for producing an ultrafine grain size in metallic materials. Torsional deformation under high pressure and equal-channel angular extrusion are two techniques that can produce microstructures with grain sizes in the submicrometer and nanometer range. Materials with these microstructures have many attractive properties. The microstructures formed by these two processing techniques are essentially the same and thus the processes occurring during deformation should be the same. Most previous studies have examined the final microstructures produced as a result of severe plastic deformation and the resulting properties. Only a limited number of studies have examined the evolution of microstructure. As a result, some important aspects of ultra-fine grain formation during severe plastic deformation remain unknown. There is also limited data on the influence of the initial state of the material on the microstructural evolution and mechanisms of ultra-fine grain formation. This limited knowledge base makes optimization of processing routes difficult and retards commercial application of these techniques. The objective of the present work is to examine the microstructure evolution during severe plastic deformation of a 2219 aluminum alloy. Specific attention is given to the mechanism of ultrafine grain formation as …

As part of a program intended to replace the present evaporative coolant at the gaseous diffusion plants (GDPs) with a non-ozone-depleting alternate, a series of investigations of the suitability of candidate substitutes is under way. This report summarizes studies directed at estimating the chemical and thermal stability of three candidate coolants, c-C{sub 4}F{sub 8}, n-C{sub 4}F{sub 10}, and c-C{sub 4}F{sub 8}O, in a few specific environments to be found in gaseous diffusion plant operations. One issue concerning the new coolants is the possibility that they might produce the highly toxic compound perfluoroisobutylene (PFIB) in high-temperature environments. Two specific high-temperature thermal environments are examined, namely the use of a flame test for the presence of coolant vapors and welding in the presence of coolant vapors. A second issue relates to the thermal or chemical decomposition of the coolants in the gaseous diffusion process environment. The primary purpose of the study was to develop and evaluate available data to provide information that will allow the technical and industrial hygiene staff at the GDPs to perform appropriate safety evaluations and to determine the need for field testing or experimental work. The scope of this study included a literature search and an evaluation of …

This Environmental Program Plan was developed in support of the Integrated Environment, Safety, and Health Management System Plan (ISMS) (RPP-MP-003), which establishes a single, defined environmental, safety, and health management system that integrates requirements into the work planning and execution processes to protect workers, the public, and the environment. The ISMS also provides mechanisms for increasing worker involvement in work planning, including hazard and environmental impact identification, analysis, and control; work execution; and feedback/improvement processes. The ISMS plan consists of six core functions. Each section of this plan describes the activities of the River Protection Project (RPP) (formerly known as the Tank Waste Remediation System) Environmental organization according to the following core functions: Establish Environmental Policy; Define the Scope of Work; Identify Hazards, Environmental Impacts, and Requirements; Analyze Hazards and Environmental Impacts and Implement Controls; Perform Work within Controls; and Provide Feedback and Continuous Improvement.

This report describes the results of an independent review team brought in to assess CH2M Hill Hanford Group's readiness and ability to support the RPP's move into its next major phase - retrieval and delivery of tank waste to the Privatization Contractor

This Acceptance Test Report (ATR) provides the test results for the inspection and testing of the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skid designed as ''P''. The ATR summaries the results and provides a copy of the ATP and inspections in the Appendix.

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This Waste Encapsulation Storage Facility (WESF) Dangerous Waste Training Plan (DWTP) applies to personnel who perform work at, or in support of WESF. The plan, along with the names of personnel, may be given to a regulatory agency inspector upon request. General workers, subcontractors, or visiting personnel who have not been trained in the management of dangerous wastes must be accompanied by an individual who meets the requirements of this training plan. Dangerous waste management includes handling, treatment, storage, and/or disposal of dangerous and/or mixed waste. Dangerous waste management units covered by this plan include: less-than-90-day accumulation area(s); pool cells 1-8 and 12 storage units; and process cells A-G storage units. This training plan describes general requirements, worker categories, and provides course descriptions for operation of the WESF permitted miscellaneous storage units and the Less-than-90-Day Accumulation Areas.

This case study highlights the technical challenges of creating an application that uses a multithreaded scene graph toolkit for rendering and uses a software environment for management of tiled display systems. Scene graph toolkits simplify and streamline graphics applications by providing data management and rendering services. Software for tiled display environments typically performs device and event management by opening windows on displays, by gathering and processing input device events, and by orchestrating the execution of application rendering code. These environments serve double-duty as frameworks for creating parallel rendering applications. We explore technical issues related to interfacing scene graph systems with software that manages tiled projection systems in the context of an implementation, and formulate suggestions for the future growth of such systems.

The Alternative Fuels Field Test Unit (AFFTU) is a portable laboratory designed specifically to provide on-site evaluation of potential feedstocks for processes that produce alternative fuels from indigenous raw materials such as coal, natural gas or environmentally disadvantaged carbonaceous feedstocks. Since conversion of these raw materials into feed gas streams can produce a variety of bulk gas compositions, which furthermore can contain a myriad of trace components, it is necessary to evaluate each new feedstock on an individual basis. While it is possible to prepare blended gas mixtures to simulate the bulk composition of a known feedstock, it is neither possible nor cost-effective to simulate adequately the variety of trace chemicals present in that feedstock--some of which may not even be detected by routine analysis. Additionally, the transient composition of the gas during upsets or routine process changes may have an impact on the proposed process that is not foreseen in standard design. To address these concerns, the AFFTU was constructed with the following experimental capabilities: (1) A state-of-the-art gas chromatograph system to perform semi-continuous monitoring of both bulk composition and the concentration of key trace poisons down to one part per billion (ppb). (2) A 30-mL reactor system that …

An important component of the Pu aging programs both here at LLNL and at LANL is the development of models for the aging processes. These models will, in the foreseeable future, be validated with more and more data from different experiments, and eventually enable us to predict the lifetime of pits. The processes of aging from within the material are mainly caused by the radioactive decay of Pu, and this produces three drivers for changes in properties: (1) Radiation damage in the form of displacements, of defects, of dislocations, and voids. (2) Helium will aggregate in the form of bubbles and cavities. (3) Uranium, Americium, and Neptunium will change the chemical composition and perhaps the phase stability. All the three drivers act synergistically, no doubt. But it is useful to approach the complexity of Pu aging with the strategy of ''first divide, conquer, and then unify''. In this spirit, we have divided the program into three major task areas with individual subtasks to be conquered by various researchers. The subtasks and staffing has changed somewhat from last year, and this is indicated on the viewgraph by underlines. Undoubtedly, it will change in the future, but the objectives of the major …

The 24 chamber instrument, called the PolyHanaa, is designed to perform rapid, real-time detection of biological agents using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) process. Liquid samples are pipetted into small, disposable polypropylene inserts which are placed into each of the 24 thermal cycling chambers.

Electric cables are passive components used extensively throughout nuclear power stations to perform numerous safety and non-safety functions. It is known that the polymers commonly used to insulate the conductors on these cables can degrade with time; the rate of degradation being dependent on the severity of the conditions in which the cables operate. Cables do not receive routine maintenance and, since it can be very costly, they are not replaced on a regular basis. Therefore, to ensure their continued functional performance, it would be beneficial if condition monitoring techniques could be used to estimate the remaining useful life of these components. A great deal of research has been performed on various condition monitoring techniques for use on electric cables. In a research program sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, several promising techniques were evaluated and found to provide trendable information on the condition of low-voltage electric cables. These techniques may be useful for predicting remaining life if well defined limiting values for the aging properties being measured can be determined. However, each technique has advantages and limitations that must be addressed in order to use it effectively, and the necessary limiting values are not always easy to obtain. …

SRI International is conducting experiments to develop and evaluate hydrothermal extraction technology or hot water extraction (HWE) technology for remediating petroleum-contaminated soils. Most current remediation practices either fail to remove the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in petroleum-contaminated sites, are too costly, or require the use of organic solvents at the expense of additional contamination and with the added cost of recycling solvents. Hydrothermal extraction offers the promise of efficiently extracting PAHs and other kinds of organics from contaminated soils at moderate temperatures and pressures, using only water and inorganic salts such as carbonate. SRI has conducted experiments to measure the solubility and rate of solubilization of selected PAHs (fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, 9,10-dimethylanthracene) in water using SRI's hydrothermal optical cell with the addition of varying amounts of sodium carbonate to evaluate the efficiency of the technology for removing PAHs from the soil. SRI data shows a very rapid increase in solubility of PAHs with increase in temperature in the range 25-275 C. SRI also measured the rate of solubilization, which is a key factor in determining the reactor parameters. SRI results for fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, and 9,10-dimethylanthracene show a linear relationship between rate of solubilization and equilibrium solubility. Also, we …

Analytical expressions for three P-wave attenuation mechanisms in rocks are given and numerically-compared. The mechanisms are: (1) Biot loss, in which flow occurs at the scale of the wavelength between the peaks and troughs of a P wave; (2) squirt loss, in which flow occurs at the grain scale between microcracks the grains and the adjacent pores; and (3) mesoscopic loss, in which flow occurs at intermediate scales between the various lithological bodies that are present in an averaging volume of earth material. Each mechanism is of importance over different frequency bands. Typically, Biot loss is only important at the highest of ultrasonic frequencies (> 1 MHz), squirt-loss (when it occurs) is important in the range of 10 kHz to 1 MHz, while mesoscale loss dominates at the lower frequencies (<10 kHz) employed in seismology.

This document provides information on the construction of three new RCRA wells at Waste Management Area U in September 2001.

The full-flow mechanical safeguard device (FFMSGD) has been developed under contract to the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to address problems with the reliability of ceramic candle filter elements installed on high-temperature, high-pressure (HTHP) Hot Gas Cleanup (HGCU) filters. Although systems candle filters are expected to perform satisfactorily when in good operating condition, the failure of even a single filter element can increase the filter system outlet dust loading enough to potentially damage gas turbine blades, contaminate other downstream processes, and limit the availability of the power system. Filter failure safeguard devices that are installed on each individual candle filter element are envisioned as a guarantee of a candle filter system's ability to withstand some number of element failures and continue operation without these negative consequences. The intention of the FFMSGD is to provide this guarantee without incurring any significant pressure drop penalty or constraining the filter system's reverse-pulse cleaning procedures. The FFMSGD provides a clear flow path for filtered and reverse-flow cleaning gases when its filter element is intact, and activates to provide a positive mechanical seal against gas flow in either direction when its filter element breaks or fails. This activation is induced by the increase in the …