Integral fuel burnable absorgers (IFBA) are added to some rods in the fuel assembly to counteract excessive reactivity. These IFBA elements (usually boron or gadolinium) are presently incorporated in the U)2 pellets either by mixing in the pellets or as coatings on the pellet surface. In either case, the incorporation of ifba into the fuel has to be performed in a nuclear-regulated facility that is physically separated from the main plant. These operations tend to be costly and can add from 20 to 30% to the manufacturing cost of the fuel. The goal of this NEER research project was to develop an alternative approach that involves incorporation of IFBA element boron at the surface of the fuel cladding material.

The long-term behavior of a CO{sub 2} plume injected into a deep saline formation is investigated, focusing on mechanisms that lead to plume stabilization. Key measures are plume migration distance and the time evolution of CO{sub 2} phase-partitioning, which are examined by developing a numerical model of the subsurface at a proposed power plant with CO{sub 2} capture in the San Joaquin Valley, California, where a large-volume pilot test of CO{sub 2} injection will be conducted. The numerical model simulates a four-year CO{sub 2} injection period and the subsequent evolution of the CO{sub 2} plume until it stabilizes. Sensitivity studies are carried out to investigate the effect of poorly constrained model parameters permeability, permeability anisotropy, and residual gas saturation.

We have developed a certification framework (CF) for certifying that the risks of geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) sites are below agreed-upon thresholds. The CF is based on effective trapping of CO2, the proposed concept that takes into account both the probability and impact of CO2 leakage. The CF uses probability estimates of the intersection of conductive faults and wells with the CO2 plume along with modeled fluxes or concentrations of CO2 as proxies for impacts to compartments (such as potable groundwater) to calculate CO2 leakage risk. In order to test and refine the approach, we applied the CF to (1) a hypothetical large-scale GCS project in the Texas Gulf Coast, and (2) WESTCARB's Phase III GCS pilot in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California.

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is an ambitious National Science Foundation sponsored project intended to accumulate and disseminate ecologically informative sensor data from sites among 20 distinct biomes found within the United States and Puerto Rico over a period of at least 30 years. These data are expected to provide valuable insights into the ecological impacts of climate change, land-use change, and invasive species in these various biomes, and thereby provide a scientific foundation for the decisions of future national, regional, and local policy makers. NEON's objectives are of substantial national and international importance, yet they must be achieved with limited resources. Sandia National Laboratories was therefore contracted to examine four areas of significant systems engineering concern; specifically, alternatives to commercial electrical utility power for remote operations, approaches to data acquisition and local data handling, protocols for secure long-distance data transmission, and processes and procedures for the introduction of new instruments and continuous improvement of the sensor network. The results of these preliminary systems engineering evaluations are presented, with a series of recommendations intended to optimize the efficiency and probability of long-term success for the NEON enterprise.

Twenty five glass compositions were selected for a Phase II study to assess the potential for reducing the conservatism in the nepheline discriminator. The glass compositions were restricted to regions that fell within the validation ranges of the DWPF PCCS models. In addition, the liquidus temperature model was used to restrict the glass compositions so that they could all be melted at the same temperature. The nepheline discriminator was used to force the glass compositions into regions where nepheline formation was predicted to occur. The glasses were fabricated in the laboratory and characterized for crystallization and chemical durability after both quenching and slow cooling. Chemical analysis showed that the fabricated glasses met the target compositions. Nepheline was identified in one of the quenched glasses and several of the CCC glasses. There was no clear relationship between the types of crystallization that occurred in a particular glass and its location on the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Na{sub 2}O-SiO{sub 2} ternary diagram. A partitioning algorithm was used to identify trends in crystallization behavior based on glass composition. Generally, for the CCC glasses MnO influenced the crystallization of spinels and B{sub 2}O{sub 3} and SiO{sub 2} influenced the crystallization of nepheline. Measured durability responses varied …

The Laser Cyclotron Auto-Resonant Accelerator LACARA has successfully operated this year. Results are summarized, an interpretation of operating data is provided in the body of the report, and recommendations are made how the experiment should be carried forward. The Appendix A contains a description of the LACARA apparatus, currently installed at the Accelerator Test Facility, Brookhaven National Laboratory. This report summarizes the project, extending over three grant-years.

We propose a novel method for tailoring the current distribution of relativistic electron bunches. The technique relies on a recently proposed transverse-to-longitudinal phase space exchange. The bunch is transversely shaped and the phase space exchange mechanism converts this transverse profile into a current profile. The technique provides a tool for generating arbitrary current profiles in a tunable fashion.We demonstrate, via computer simulations, the method and its application to tailor specific current profiles such as, e.g., linearly ramped profiles and train of femtosecond micro-bunches that have application in plasma and dielectric wakefield accelerators.

This paper describes a suggested tariff or payment for the local supply of reactive power from distributed energy resources. The authors consider four sample customers, and estimate the cost of supply of reactive power for each customer. The power system savings from the local supply of reactive power are also estimated for a hypothetical circuit. It is found that reactive power for local voltage regulation could be supplied to the distribution system economically by customers when new inverters are installed. The inverter would be supplied with a power factor of 0.8, and would be capable of local voltage regulation to a schedule supplied by the utility. Inverters are now installed with photovoltaic systems, fuel cells and microturbines, and adjustable-speed motor drives.

This paper presents the most recent results of experiments conducted at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) studying electrolysis of steam and coelectrolysis of steam / carbon dioxide in solid-oxide electrolysis stacks. Single button cell tests as well as multi-cell stack testing have been conducted. Multi-cell stack testing used 10 x 10 cm cells (8 x 8 cm active area) supplied by Ceramatec, Inc (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA) and ranged from 10 cell short stacks to 240 cell modules. Tests were conducted either in a bench-scale test apparatus or in a newly developed 5 kW Integrated Laboratory Scale (ILS) test facility. Gas composition, operating voltage, and operating temperature were varied during testing. The tests were heavily instrumented, and outlet gas compositions were monitored with a gas chromatograph. The ILS facility is currently being expanded to 15 kW testing capacity (H2 production rate based upon lower heating value).

Our recent novel finding, involving a synergistic experiment and first-principles theory, shows that carbon nanostructures can be used as catalysts for hydrogen uptake/release in aluminum based complex metal hydrides (sodium alanate) and also provides an unambiguous understanding of how the catalysts work. Here we show that the same concepts can be applied to boron based complex hydride such as lithium borohydride, LiBH{sub 4}. Taking into account electronegativity and curvature effect a fullerene-LiBH{sub 4} composite demonstrates catalytic properties with not only lowered hydrogen desorption temperatures, but regenerative rehydriding at relatively lower temperature of 350 C. This catalytic effect likely originates from interfering with the charge transfer from Li to the BH4 moiety, resulting in an ionic bond between Li{sup +} and BH{sub 4}{sup -}, and a covalent bond between B and H. Interaction of LiBH{sub 4} with an electronegative substrate such as carbon fullerene affects the ability of Li to donate its charge to BH{sub 4}, consequently weakening the B-H bond and causing hydrogen to desorb at lower temperatures as well as facilitating the absorption of H{sub 2} to reverse the dehydrogenation reaction. Degradation of cycling capacity is observed and is attributed to forming irreversible intermediates or diboranes.

Wellbores have been identified as the most likely conduit for CO{sub 2} and brine leakage from geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) sites, especially those in sedimentary basins with historical hydrocarbon production. In order to quantify the impacts of leakage of CO{sub 2} and brine through wellbores, we have developed a wellbore simulator capable of describing non-isothermal open well flow dynamics of CO{sub 2}-brine mixtures. The mass and thermal energy balance equations are solved numerically by a finite difference scheme with wellbore heat transmission handled semianalytically. This new wellbore simulator can take as input the pressure, saturation, and composition conditions from reservoir simulators and calculate CO{sub 2} and brine fluxes needed to assess impacts to vulnerable resources. This new capability is being incorporated into the Certification Framework (CF) developed for risk assessment of GCS sites.

The goal of this project was to perform simulations of beam transport in linear colliders, with an emphasis on emittance dilution, spin polarization transport, and development and testing of beam based tuning algorithms. Our simulations are based on an existing object-oriented particle-tracking library, Bmad. To facilitate the efficient development of simulations, an accelerator design and analysis program based on Bmad has been developed called Tao (Tool for Accelerator Optics). The three beam-based alignment algorithms, Dispersion Free Steering, Ballistic Alignment (BA), and the Kubo Method have been implemented in Tao. We have studied the effects of magnet misalignments, BPM resolution, beam jitter, stray fields, BPM and steering magnet failure and the effects of various cavity shape wakefields. A parametric study has been conducted in the presence of the above types of errors for all three alignment algorithms. We find that BPM resolution has only modest impact on the effectiveness of beam based alignment. The DFS correction algorithm was found to be very robust in situations where there were BPM and/or steering magnet failures. The wakefields in the main linac are very weak and cause negligible emittance growth. Spin tracking was extended to study all accelerator components between the damping ring and …

The purposes for which this grant was provided were specifically (1) to construct a tandem instrument that combined a low energy electron microscope (LEEM) with an ion beam source capably of irradiating a sample during observation of the surface using LEEM; and (2) to employ the new machine to whatever degree possible to observe the evolution of clean crystal surfaces during ion beam irradiation. A principal motivation was to investigate the fundamental behavior of radiation damage under circumstances for which the damage can be observed directly in real time as it occurs. A second main motivation was to create tunable perturbations of the defect (adatom and advacancy) equilibrium on clean crystal planes and in this way explore the fundamental kinetics of surface behavior that enters into numerous phenomena of interest to DOE including surface erosion, catalysis, and the damage to crystals caused by impacts of energetic particles. The funding has been employed to successfully pursue all the original goals, and additional opportunities that developed as a result of discoveries made in this research.

We search for a light scalar particle produced in single-photon decays of the {Upsilon}(3S) resonance through the process {Upsilon}(3S) {yields} {gamma} + A{sup 0}, A{sup 0} {yields} invisible. Such an object appears in Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model, where a light CP-odd Higgs boson naturally couples strongly to b-quarks. If, in addition, there exists a light, stable neutralino, decays of A{sup 0} could be preferentially to an invisible final state. We search for events with a single high-energy photon and a large missing mass, consistent with a 2-body decay of {Upsilon}(3S). We find no evidence for such processes in a sample of 122 x 10{sup 6} {Upsilon}(3S) decays collected by the BABAR collaboration at the PEP-II B-factory, and set 90% C.L. upper limits on the branching fraction {Beta}({Upsilon}(3S) {yields} {gamma}A{sup 0}) x {Beta}(A{sup 0} {yields} invisible) at (0.7-31) x 10{sup -6} in the mass range m{sub A{sup 0}} {le} 7.8 GeV. The results are preliminary.

We propose a dark matter model with standard model singlet extension of the universal extra dimension model (sUED) to explain the recent observations of ATIC, PPB-BETS, PAMELA and DAMA. Other than the standard model fields propagating in the bulk of a 5-dimensional space, one fermion field and one scalar field are introduced and both are standard model singlets. The zero mode of the new fermion is identified as the right-handed neutrino, while its first KK mode is the lightest KK-odd particle and the dark matter candidate. The cosmic ray spectra from ATIC and PPB-BETS determine the dark matter particle mass and hence the fifth dimension compactification scale to be 1.0-1.6 TeV. The zero mode of the singlet scalar field with a mass below 1 GeV provides an attractive force between dark matter particles, which allows a Sommerfeld enhancement to boost the annihilation cross section in the Galactic halo to explain the PAMELA data. The DAMA annual modulation results are explained by coupling the same scalar field to the electron via a higher-dimensional operator. We analyze the model parameter space that can satisfy the dark matter relic abundance and accommodate all the dark matter detection experiments. We also consider constraints from …

The Hanford Site's 200 Area Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF) processes contaminated aqueous wastes derived from Hanford Site facilities. The treated wastewater occasionally contains tritium, which cannot be removed by the ETF prior to the wastewater being discharged to the 200 Area State-Approved Land Disposal Site (SALDS). During the first 11 months of fiscal year 2008 (FY08) (September 1, 2007, to July 31, 2008), approximately 75.15 million L (19.85 million gal) of water were discharged to the SALDS. Groundwater monitoring for tritium and other constituents, as well as water-level measurements, is required for the SALDS by State Waste Discharge Permit Number ST-4500 (Ecology 2000). The current monitoring network consists of three proximal (compliance) monitoring wells and nine tritium-tracking wells. Quarterly sampling of the proximal wells occurred in October 2007 and in January/February 2008, April 2008, and August 2008. The nine tritium-tracking wells, including groundwater monitoring wells located upgradient and downgradient of the SALDS, were sampled in January through April 2008. Water-level measurements taken in the three proximal SALDS wells indicate that a small groundwater mound is present beneath the facility, which is a result of operational discharges. The mound increased in FY08 due to increased ETF discharges from treating groundwater from …

The maintenance of the magnetic configuration of a Reversed Field Pinch (RFP) is an unsolved problem. Even a toroidal loop voltage does not suffice to maintain the magnetic configuration in axisymmetry but could if the plasma had helical shaping. The theoretical tools for plasma optimization using helical shaping have advanced, so an RFP could be relatively easily designed for optimal performance with a spatially constant toroidal loop voltage. A demonstration that interesting solutions exist is given.

In September 2005, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) initiated periodic sampling of groundwater in the vicinity of a grain storage facility formerly operated by the CCC/USDA at Morrill, Kansas. The sampling at Morrill is being performed on behalf of the CCC/USDA by Argonne National Laboratory, in accord with a monitoring program approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), to monitor levels of carbon tetrachloride contamination identified in the groundwater at this site (Argonne 2004, 2005a). This report provides results for the most recent monitoring event, in April 2008. Under the KDHE-approved monitoring plan (Argonne 2005b), groundwater was initially sampled twice yearly for a recommended period of two years (in fall 2005, in spring and fall 2006, and in spring and fall 2007). The samples were analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as for selected geochemical parameters to aid in the evaluation of possible natural contaminant degradation (reductive dechlorination) processes in the subsurface environment. During the recommended two-year period, the originally approved scope of the monitoring was expanded to include vegetation sampling (initiated in October 2006) and surface water and stream bed sediment sampling (initiated in March 2007, after a …

We provide a systematic treatment of possible corrections to the inflaton potential for D-brane inflation in the warped deformed conifold. We consider the D3-brane potential in the presence of the most general possible corrections to the throat geometry sourced by coupling to the bulk of a compact Calabi-Yau space. This corresponds to the potential on the Coulomb branch of the dual gauge theory, in the presence of arbitrary perturbations of the Lagrangian. The leading contributions arise from perturbations by the most relevant operators that do not destroy the throat geometry. We find a generic contribution from a non-chiral operator of dimension {Delta} = 2 associated with a global symmetry current, resulting in a negative contribution to the inflaton mass-squared. If the Calabi-Yau preserves certain discrete symmetries, this is the dominant correction to the inflaton potential, and fine-tuning of the inflaton mass is possible. In the absence of such discrete symmetries, the dominant contribution comes from a chiral operator with {Delta} = 3/2, corresponding to a {phi}{sup 3/2} term in the inflaton potential. The resulting inflationary models are phenomenologically identical to the inflection point scenarios arising from specific D7-brane embeddings, but occur under far more general circumstances. Our strategy extends immediately …

A team comprised of governmental, academic and industrial partners led by the Savannah River National Laboratory developed and demonstrated a regenerative fuel cell system for backup power applications. Recent market assessments have identified emergency response and telecommunication applications as promising near-term markets for fuel cell backup power systems. The Regenerative Fuel Cell System (RFC) consisted of a 2 kg-per-day electrolyzer, metal-hydride based hydrogen storage units and a 5 kW fuel cell. Coupling these components together created a system that can produce and store its own energy from the power grid much like a rechargeable battery. A series of test were conducted to evaluate the performance of the RFC system under both steady-state and transit conditions that might be encountered in typical backup power applications. In almost all cases the RFC functioned effectively. Test results from the demonstration project will be used to support recommendations for future fuel cell and hydrogen component and system designs and support potential commercialization activities. In addition to the work presented in this report, further testing of the RFC system at the Center for Hydrogen Research in Aiken County, SC is planned including evaluating the system as a renewable system coupled with a 20kW-peak solar photovoltaic …

Focus on player interfacial assessment using Schottky barrier and heterojunction theory, and analysis of p-windows for CIGS and CdTe cells.

We report on a measurement of the rapidity distribution, d{sigma}/dy, for Z=Drell-Yan {yields} ee events produced in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. The data sample consists of 2.13 fb{sup -1} corresponding to about 160,000 Z/Drell-Yan {yields} ee candidates in the Z boson mass region collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. The d{sigma}/dy distribution, which is measured over the full kinematic range for e{sup +}e{sup -} pairs in the invariant mass range 66 < M{sub ee} < 116 GeV/c{sup 2}, is compared with theory predictions. There is good agreement between the data and predictions of Quantum Chromodynamics in Next to Leading Order with the CTEQ6.1M Parton Distribution Functions.

This document describes the process used at the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) High Temperature Test Laboratory (HTTL) for measuring specific heat capacity using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The document is divided into four sections: Approach, in which the technique is described; Setup, in which the physical system is described; Procedure, in which the testing steps are listed and detailed; and Example Test, in which a typical test is outlined following the steps listed in the Procedure section. Example data, results, photos, and curves are provided throughout the document to assist other users of this system.

Document features photos and specs on the model year 2009 alternative fuel vehicles.