Resource Type

Analysis of Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) Engines for Cogeneration Applications (open access)

Analysis of Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) Engines for Cogeneration Applications

This paper presents an evaluation of the applicability of Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Engines (HCCI) for small-scale cogeneration (less than 1 MWe) in comparison to five previously analyzed prime movers. The five comparator prime movers include stoichiometric spark-ignited (SI) engines, lean burn SI engines, diesel engines, microturbines and fuel cells. The investigated option, HCCI engines, is a relatively new type of engine that has some fundamental differences with respect to other prime movers. Here, the prime movers are compared by calculating electric and heating efficiency, fuel consumption, nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and capital and fuel cost. Two cases are analyzed. In Case 1, the cogeneration facility requires combined power and heating. In Case 2, the requirement is for power and chilling. The results show that the HCCI engines closely approach the very high fuel utilization efficiency of diesel engines without the high emissions of NOx and the expensive diesel fuel. HCCI engines offer a new alternative for cogeneration that provides a unique combination of low cost, high efficiency, low emissions and flexibility in operating temperatures that can be optimally tuned for cogeneration systems. HCCI engines are the most efficient technology that meets the oncoming 2007 CARB NOx standards for cogeneration …
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: Aceves, S; Martinez-Frias, J & Reistad, G
System: The UNT Digital Library
ASM Conference on Integrating Metabolism and Genomics (IMAGE) (open access)

ASM Conference on Integrating Metabolism and Genomics (IMAGE)

None
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: LaRossa, Robert A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Bounds on Elastic Constants for Random Polycrystals of Laminates (open access)

Bounds on Elastic Constants for Random Polycrystals of Laminates

A well-known result due to Hill provides an exact expression for the bulk modulus of any multicomponent elastic composite whenever the constituents are isotropic and the shear modulus is uniform throughout. Although no precise analog of Hill's result is available for the opposite case of uniform bulk modulus and varying shear modulus, it is shown here that some similar statements can be made for shear behavior of random polycrystals composed of laminates of isotropic materials. In particular, the Hashin-Shtrikman-type bounds of Peselnick, Meister, and Watt for random polycrystals composed of hexagonal (transversely isotropic) grains are applied to the problem of polycrystals of laminates. An exact product formula relating the Reuss estimate of bulk modulus and an effective shear modulus (of laminated grains composing the system) to products of the eigenvalues for quasi-compressional and quasi-uniaxial shear eigenvectors also plays an important role in the analysis of the overall shear behavior of the random polycrystal. When the bulk modulus is uniform in such a system, the equations are shown to reduce to a simple form that depends prominently on the uniaxial shear eigenvalue - as expected from physical arguments concerning the importance of uniaxial shear in these systems. One application of the …
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: Berger, E. L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Drop Tests for the 6M Specification Package Closure Investigation (open access)

Drop Tests for the 6M Specification Package Closure Investigation

Results of tests of drum-type RAM packages employing conventional clamp-ring closures have caused concern over the DOT 6M Specification Package. To clarify these issues, a series of tests were performed to determine the response of the clamp-ring closure to the regulatory Hypothetical Accident Condition (9m) drop tests, for packages at maximum allowable weight. Three enhanced closure designs were also tested: the Clamshell, plywood disk reinforcement, and J-Clip. The results of the tests showed that the standard closure was unable to retain the top for both Center-of-Gravity-Over-Corner and Shallow Angle cases, for the standard package, at its maximum allowed weight. Similar results were found for packages dropped from a reduced height. The Clamshell design provided the best performance of the enhanced closures. It was concluded that the closure ring design employed on the 6M is inadequate to retain the top during the regulatory test sequence, for packages at the maximum allowed weight. For large heavy packages, the Center-of-Gravity- Over-Corner case is more challenging than the Shallow Angle case. The Clamshell design securely retained the top for all HAC test cases, and prevented formation of any opening which could compromise fire test performance.
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: SMITH, AC
System: The UNT Digital Library
Drop Tests of 325 Pound 6M Specification Packages (open access)

Drop Tests of 325 Pound 6M Specification Packages

Testing of 6M specification packages, performed in response to concerns over the integrity of the clamp-ring closure, showed that the clamp-ring was unable to retain the top in thirty foot drop tests of packages having the maximum allowed weight (290 kg or 640 lb). To determine if the clamp-ring closure was adequate for packages with lower contents weight, a series of tests were performed on packages weighing 147 kg (325 lb) at a range of impact angles. The results showed that the standard clamp-ring closure was unable to retain the top in tests of standard 6M packages weighing 147 kg (325 lb). A test employing a plywood disk enhanced closure with impact at 6.5 degrees retained its top successfully.
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: SMITH, AC
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Initial Conditions on Compressible Mixing in Supernova-Relevant Laboratory Experiments (open access)

Effects of Initial Conditions on Compressible Mixing in Supernova-Relevant Laboratory Experiments

In core-collapse supernovae, strong blast waves drive interfaces susceptible to Rayleigh-Taylor (RT), Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM), and Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instabilities. In addition, perturbation growth can result from material expansion in large-scale velocity gradients behind the shock front. Laser-driven experiments are designed to produce a strongly shocked interface whose evolution is a scaled version of the unstable hydrogen-helium interface in core-collapse supernovae such as SN 1987A. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop an understanding of the effect of hydrodynamic instabilities and the resulting transition to turbulence on supernovae observables that remain as yet unexplained. In this paper, we summarize recent results from our computational study of unstable systems driven by high Mach number shock and blast waves. For planar multimode systems, compressibility effects preclude the emergence of a regime of self-similar instability growth independent of the initial conditions (IC's) by allowing for memory of the initial conditions to be retained in the mix-width at all times. With higher-dimensional blast waves, divergence restores the properties necessary for establishment of the self-similar state, but achieving it requires very high initial characteristic mode number and high Mach number for the incident blast wave. Initial conditions predicted by some recent stellar calculations are incompatible …
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: Miles, A R; Edwards, M & Greenough, J
System: The UNT Digital Library
F-Canyon Suspension and Deactivation Safety Analysis Reports (open access)

F-Canyon Suspension and Deactivation Safety Analysis Reports

This paper describes Savannah River Site's compliance with the Department of Energy (DOE) direction to suspend current operations, transition to accommodate revised facility missions, and initiate operations to deactivate F-Canyon using a suspension and deactivation safety basis. This paper integrates multiple Workshop theme topics - Lessons Learned from the Safety Analysis Process, Improvements in Documenting Hazard and Accident Analysis, and Closure Issues - Decontamination and Decommissioning. The paper describes the process used to develop safety documentation to support suspension and deactivation activities for F-Canyon. Embodied are descriptive efforts that include development of intermediate and final ''end states'' (e.g., transitional operations), preparation of safety bases documents to support transition, performance of suspension and deactivation activities (e.g. solvent washing, tank/sump flushing, and laboratory waste processing), and downgrade of Safety Class and Safety Significant equipment. The reduction and/or removal of hazards in the facility result in significant risk (frequency times consequence) reduction to the public, site workers, and the environment. Risk reduction then allows the downgrade of safety class and safety significant systems (e.g., ventilation system) and elimination of associated surveillances. The downgrade of safety systems results in significant cost savings.
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: LOW, JM
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global transcriptome analysis of the heat shock response of shewanella oneidensis (open access)

Global transcriptome analysis of the heat shock response of shewanella oneidensis

Shewanella oneidensis is an important model organism for bioremediation studies because of its diverse respiratory capabilities. However, the genetic basis and regulatory mechanisms underlying the ability of S. oneidensis to survive and adapt to various environmentally relevant stresses is poorly understood. To define this organism's molecular response to elevated growth temperatures, temporal gene expression profiles were examined in cells subjected to heat stress using whole-genome DNA microarrays for S. oneidensis MR-1. Approximately 15 percent (711) of the predicted S. oneidensis genes represented on the microarray were significantly up- or down-regulated (P < 0.05) over a 25-min period following shift to the heat shock temperature (42 C). As expected, the majority of S. oneidensis genes exhibiting homology to known chaperones and heat shock proteins (Hsps) were highly and transiently induced. In addition, a number of predicted genes encoding enzymes in glycolys is and the pentose cycle, [NiFe] dehydrogenase, serine proteases, transcriptional regulators (MerR, LysR, and TetR families), histidine kinases, and hypothetical proteins were induced in response to heat stress. Genes encoding membrane proteins were differentially expressed, suggesting that cells possibly alter their membrane composition or structure in response to variations in growth temperature. A substantial number of the genes encoding ribosomal …
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: Gao, Haichun; Wang, Sarah; Liu, Xueduan; Yan, Tinfeng; Wu, Liyou; Alm, Eric et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hydrogen Storage Properties of Magnesium Base Nanostructured Composite Materials (open access)

Hydrogen Storage Properties of Magnesium Base Nanostructured Composite Materials

In this work, nanostructured composite materials have been synthesized using the mechanical alloying process. The new materials produced have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transition electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electron energy dispersion spectrum (EDS) for their phase compositions, crystal structure, grain size, particle morphology and the distribution of catalyst element. Hydrogen storage capacities and the hydriding-dehydriding kinetics of the new materials have been measured at different temperatures using a Sieverts apparatus. It is observed that mechanical alloying accelerates the hydrogenation kinetics of the magnesium based materials at low temperature, but a high temperature must be provided to release the absorbed hydrogen from the hydrided magnesium based materials. It is believed that the dehydriding temperature is largely controlled by the thermodynamic configuration of magnesium hydride. Doping Mg-Ni nano/amorphous composite materials with lanthanum reduces the hydriding and dehydriding temperature. Although the stability of MgH2 can not be easily reduced by ball milling alone, the results suggest the thermodynamic properties of Mg-Ni nano/amorphous composite materials can be alternated by additives such as La or other effective elements. Further investigation toward understanding the mechanism of additives will be rewarded.
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: AU, M
System: The UNT Digital Library
The next Linear collider (open access)

The next Linear collider

None
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: Hinchliffe, I. & Battaglia, M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Stress-dependent permeability of fractured rock masses: A numerical study (open access)

Stress-dependent permeability of fractured rock masses: A numerical study

We investigate the stress-dependent permeability issue in fractured rock masses considering the effects of nonlinear normal deformation and shear dilation of fractures using a two-dimensional distinct element method program, UDEC, based on a realistic discrete fracture network realization. A series of ''numerical'' experiments were conducted to calculate changes in the permeability of simulated fractured rock masses under various loading conditions. Numerical experiments were conducted in two ways: (1) increasing the overall stresses with a fixed ratio of horizontal to vertical stresses components; and (2) increasing the differential stresses (i.e., the difference between the horizontal and vertical stresses) while keeping the magnitude of vertical stress constant. These numerical experiments show that the permeability of fractured rocks decreases with increased stress magnitudes when the stress ratio is not large enough to cause shear dilation of fractures, whereas permeability increases with increased stress when the stress ratio is large enough. Permeability changes at low stress levels are more sensitive than at high stress levels due to the nonlinear fracture normal stress-displacement relation. Significant stress-induced channeling is observed as the shear dilation causes the concentration of fluid flow along connected shear fractures. Anisotropy of permeability emerges with the increase of differential stresses, and this …
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: Min, Ki-Bok; Rutqvist, J.; Tsang, Chin-Fu & Jing, Lanru
System: The UNT Digital Library
A ''Toolbox''21 Equivalent Process for Safety Analysis Software (open access)

A ''Toolbox''21 Equivalent Process for Safety Analysis Software

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Recommendation 2002-1 (Quality Assurance for Safety-Related Software) identified a number of quality assurance issues on the use of software in Department of Energy (DOE) facilities for analyzing hazards, and designing and operating controls that prevent or mitigate potential accidents. The development and maintenance of a collection, or ''toolbox,'' of multiple-site use, standard solution, Software Quality Assurance (SQA)-compliant safety software is one of the major improvements identified in the associated DOE Implementation Plan (IP). The DOE safety analysis toolbox will contain a set of appropriately quality-assured, configuration-controlled, safety analysis codes, recognized for DOE-broad, safety basis applications. Currently, six widely applied safety analysis computer codes have been designated for toolbox consideration. While the toolbox concept considerably reduces SQA burdens among DOE users of these codes, many users of unique, single-purpose, or single-site software may still have sufficient technical justification to continue use of their computer code of choice, but are thwarted by the multiple-site condition on toolbox candidate software. The process discussed here provides a roadmap for an equivalency argument, i.e., establishing satisfactory SQA credentials for single-site software that can be deemed ''toolbox-equivalent''. The process is based on the model established to meet IP Commitment 4.2.1.2: …
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: O'KULA, KR
System: The UNT Digital Library
Top quark physics at CDF (open access)

Top quark physics at CDF

The existence of the top quark, discovered by CDF and D0 in 1995, has been re-established in the burgeoning dataset being collected in Run 2 of the Tevatron at Fermilab. Results from CDF on the top quark production cross section and top quark mass are consistent with the Standard Model expectations. The well-characterized top data samples will make it possible in the future to probe further for new physics in the top quark sector. This report summarizes recent CDF top quark physics results.
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: Nielsen, Jason
System: The UNT Digital Library
Characterization of Uranium Solids Precipitated with Aluminosilicates (open access)

Characterization of Uranium Solids Precipitated with Aluminosilicates

At the Savannah River Site (SRS), the High-Level Waste (HLW) Tank Farms store and process high-level liquid radioactive wastes from the Canyons and recycle water from the Defense Waste Processing Facility. The waste is concentrated using evaporators to minimize the volume of space required for HLW storage. Recently, the 2H Evaporator was shutdown due to the crystallization of sodium aluminosilicate (NAS) solids (such as cancrinite and sodalite) that contained close to 10 weight percent of elementally-enriched uranium (U). Prior to extensive cleaning,the evaporator deposits resided on the evaporator walls and other exposed internal surfaces within the evaporator pot. Our goal is to support the basis for the continued safe operation of SRS evaporators and to gain more information that could be used to help mitigate U accumulation during evaporator operation.
Date: April 29, 2004
Creator: Duff, M. C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Flavor violation in warped extra dimensions and CP Asymmetries in B decays (open access)

Flavor violation in warped extra dimensions and CP Asymmetries in B decays

We show that CP asymmetries in b {yields} s hadronic decays are potentially affected by the presence of massive color-octet particles strongly coupled to the third generation quarks. Theories with warped extra dimensions provide natural candidates in the Kaluza-Klein excitations of gluons in scenarios where flavor-breaking by bulk fermion masses results in the localization of fermion wave-functions. Topcolor models, in which a new gauge interaction leads to top-condensation and a large top mass, also result in the presence of these color-octet states with TeV masses. We find that large effects are possible in modes such as B {yields} {phi}K{sub s}, B {yields} {eta}{prime}K{sub s} and B {yields} {pi}{sup 0}K{sub s} among others.
Date: April 29, 2004
Creator: Burdman, Gustavo
System: The UNT Digital Library
High Resolution Transmission Grating Spectrometer for Edge Toroidal Rotation Measurements of Tokamak Plasmas (open access)

High Resolution Transmission Grating Spectrometer for Edge Toroidal Rotation Measurements of Tokamak Plasmas

We present a high throughput (f/3) visible (3500 - 7000 Angstrom) Doppler spectrometer for toroidal rotation velocity measurements of the Alcator C-Mod tokamak plasma. The spectrometer has a temporal response of 1 ms and a rotation velocity sensitivity of {approx}10{sup 5} cm/s. This diagnostic will have a tangential view and map out the plasma rotation at several locations along the outer half of the minor radius (r/a > 0.5). The plasma rotation will be determined from the Doppler shifted wavelengths of D{sub alpha} and magnetic and electric dipole transitions of highly ionized impurities in the plasma. The fast time resolution and high spectral resolving power are possible due to a 6' diameter circular transmission grating that is capable of {lambda}/{Delta}{lambda} {approx} 15500 at 5769 Angstrom in conjunction with a 50 {micro}m slit.
Date: April 29, 2004
Creator: Graf, A.; May, M.; Beiersdorfer, P.; Magee, E.; Lawrence, M.; Terry, J. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
ParaDiS on BlueGene/L: scalable line dynamics (open access)

ParaDiS on BlueGene/L: scalable line dynamics

We describe an innovative highly parallel application program, ParaDiS, which computes the plastic strength of materials by tracing the evolution of dislocation lines over time. We discuss the issues of scaling the code to tens of thousands of processors, and present early scaling results of the code run on a prototype of the BlueGene/L supercomputer being developed by IBM in partnership with the US DOE's ASC program.
Date: April 29, 2004
Creator: Bulatov, V.; Cai, W.; Fier, J.; Hiratani, M.; Pierce, T.; Tang, M. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Potential-well distortion in barrier Rf (open access)

Potential-well distortion in barrier Rf

Head-tail asymmetry has been observed in the longitudinal beam profiles in the Fermilab Recycler Ring where protons or antiprotons are stored in rf barrier buckets. The asymmetry is caused by the distortion of the rf potential well in the presence of resistive impedance. Gaussian energy distribution can fit the observed asymmetric beam profile but not without discrepancy. It can also fit the measured energy distribution. On the other hand, generalized elliptic distribution gives a better fit to the beam profile. However, it fails to reproduce the observed energy distribution.
Date: April 29, 2004
Creator: Ng, King
System: The UNT Digital Library
Studies of laser-driven radiative blast waves (open access)

Studies of laser-driven radiative blast waves

We have performed two sets of experiments looking at laser-driven radiating blast waves. In one set of experiments the effect of a drive laser's passage through a background gas on the hydrodynamical evolution of blast waves was examined. It was found that the laser's passage heats a channel in the gas, creating a region where a portion of the blast wave front had an increased velocity, leading to the formation of a bump-like protrusion on the blast wave. The second set of experiments involved the use of regularly spaced wire arrays to induce perturbations on a blast wave surface. The decay of these perturbations as a function of time was measured for various wave number perturbations and found to be in good agreement with theoretical predictions.
Date: April 29, 2004
Creator: Edwards, M J; Hansen, J; Edens, A; Ditmire, T; Adams, R; Rambo, P et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Beyond the standard model in many directions (open access)

Beyond the standard model in many directions

These four lectures constitute a gentle introduction to what may lie beyond the standard model of quarks and leptons interacting through SU(3){sub c} {direct_product} SU(2){sub L} {direct_product} U(1){sub Y} gauge bosons, prepared for an audience of graduate students in experimental particle physics. In the first lecture, I introduce a novel graphical representation of the particles and interactions, the double simplex, to elicit questions that motivate our interest in physics beyond the standard model, without recourse to equations and formalism. Lecture 2 is devoted to a short review of the current status of the standard model, especially the electroweak theory, which serves as the point of departure for our explorations. The third lecture is concerned with unified theories of the strong, weak, and electromagnetic interactions. In the fourth lecture, I survey some attempts to extend and complete the electroweak theory, emphasizing some of the promise and challenges of supersymmetry. A short concluding section looks forward.
Date: April 28, 2004
Creator: Quigg, Chris
System: The UNT Digital Library
Direct synthesis of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 from nitrateprecursors (open access)

Direct synthesis of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 from nitrateprecursors

Two novel methods for synthesis of the title compound directly from metal nitrates are described. Phase-pure materials are produced when precursors are calcined between 600 and 1000 C, with little to no ion mixing exhibited for products heated to 900 C or above. The electrochemical characteristics of these materials depended upon calcination temperature and synthesis method, with results comparable to a commercial sample for the materials made at high temperatures in a one-step process without combustion. The sample prepared by combustion also exhibited very stable capacity retention upon cycling.
Date: April 28, 2004
Creator: Patoux, Sebastien & Doeff, Marca M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Integrated Accident & Consequence Analysis Approach for Accidental Releases through Multiple Leak Paths (open access)

An Integrated Accident & Consequence Analysis Approach for Accidental Releases through Multiple Leak Paths

This paper presents a consequence analysis for a postulated fire accident on a building containing plutonium when the resulting outside release is partly through the ventilation/filtration system and partly through other pathways such as building access doorways. When analyzing an accident scenario involving the release of radioactive powders inside a building, various pathways for the release to the outside environment can exist. This study is presented to guide the analyst on how the multiple building leak path factors (combination of filtered and unfiltered releases) can be evaluated in an integrated manner starting with the source term calculation and proceeding through the receptor consequence determination. The analysis is performed in a two-step process. The first step of the analysis is to calculate the leak path factor, which represents the fraction of respirable radioactive powder that is made airborne that leaves the building through the various pathways. The computer cod e of choice for this determination is MELCOR. The second step is to model the transport and dispersion of powder material released to the atmosphere and to estimate the resulting dose that is received by the downwind receptors of interest. The MACCS computer code is chosen for this part of the analysis. …
Date: April 28, 2004
Creator: Polizzi, L. M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A New Detailed Term Accounting Opacity Code: TOPAZ (open access)

A New Detailed Term Accounting Opacity Code: TOPAZ

A new opacity code, TOPAZ, which explicitly includes configuration term structure in the bound-bound transitions is being developed. The goal is to extend the current capabilities of detailed term accounting opacity codes such as OPAL that are limited to lighter elements of astrophysical interest. At present, opacity calculations of heavier elements use statistical methods that rely on the presence of myriad spectral lines for accuracy. However, statistical approaches have been shown to be inadequate for astrophysical opacity calculations. An application of the TOPAZ code will be to study the limits of statistical methods. Comparisons of TOPAZ to other opacity codes as well as experiments are presented.
Date: April 28, 2004
Creator: Iglesias, C A; Chen, M H; Isaacs, W; Sonnad, V & Wilson, B G
System: The UNT Digital Library
Probing the Planck Scale with Proton Decay (open access)

Probing the Planck Scale with Proton Decay

We advocate the idea that proton decay may probe physics at the Planck scale instead of the GUT scale. This is possible because supersymmetric theories have dimension-5 operators that can induce proton decay at dangerous rates, even with R-parity conservation. These operators are expected to be suppressed by the same physics that explains the fermion masses and mixings. We present a thorough analysis of nucleon partial lifetimes in models with a string-inspired anomalous U(1)_X family symmetry which is responsible for the fermionic mass spectrum as well as forbidding R-parity violating interactions. Protons and neutrons can decay via R-parity conserving non-renormalizable superpotential terms that are suppressed by the Planck scale and powers of the Cabibbo angle. Many of the models naturally lead to nucleon decay near present limits without any reference to grand unification.
Date: April 28, 2004
Creator: Harnik, Roni; Larson, Daniel T.; Murayama, Hitoshi & Thormeier, Marc
System: The UNT Digital Library