This document reports on a series of tests to assess the proposed air sampling locations for the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Group 5-6 exhaust stacks with respect to the applicable criteria regarding the placement of an air sampling probe. The LB-C2, LV-S1, and LB S2 exhaust stacks were tested together as a group (Test Group 5-6) because the common factor in their design is that the last significant flow disturbance upstream of the air sampling probe is a reduction in duct diameter. Federal regulations( ) require that a sampling probe be located in the exhaust stack according to the criteria of the American National Standards Institute/Health Physics Society (ANSI/HPS) N13.1-1999, Sampling and Monitoring Releases of Airborne Radioactive Substances from the Stack and Ducts of Nuclear Facilities. These criteria address the capability of the sampling probe to extract a sample that represents the effluent stream. The testing on scale models of the stacks conducted for this project was part of the River Protection Project—Waste Treatment Plant Support Program under Contract No. DE-AC05-76RL01830 according to the statement of work issued by Bechtel National Inc. (BNI, 24590-QL-SRA-W000-00101, N13.1-1999 Stack Monitor Scale Model Testing and Qualification, Revision 1, 9/12/2007) and …

This is the final report for DOE contract DE-EE0000590. The purpose of this work was to determine the feasibility of the reduction of the reflection from the front of solar photovoltaic modules. Reflection accounts for a power loss of approximately 4%. A solar module having an area of one square meter with an energy conversion efficiency of 18% generates approximately 180 watts. If reflection loss can be eliminated, the power output can be increased to 187 watts. Since conventional thin-film anti-reflection coatings do not have sufficient environmental stability, we investigated the feasibility of ion beam modification of the glass surface to obtain reduction of reflectance. Our findings are generally applicable to all solar modules that use glass encapsulation, as well as commercial float glass used in windows and other applications. Ion implantation of argon, fluorine, and xenon into commercial low-iron soda lime float glass, standard float glass, and borosilicate glass was studied by implantation, annealing, and measurement of reflectance. The three ions all affected reflectance. The most significant change was obtained by argon implantation into both low-iron and standard soda-lime glass. In this way samples were formed with reflectance lower than can be obtained with a single-layer coatings of magnesium …

The overall objective of this project was to quantify the energy, environmental, and economic performance of industrial facilities that would coproduce electricity and transportation fuels or chemicals from a mixture of coal and biomass via co-gasification in a single pressurized, oxygen-blown, entrained-flow gasifier, with capture and storage of CO{sub 2} (CCS). The work sought to identify plant designs with promising (Nth plant) economics, superior environmental footprints, and the potential to be deployed at scale as a means for simultaneously achieving enhanced energy security and deep reductions in U.S. GHG emissions in the coming decades. Designs included systems using primarily already-commercialized component technologies, which may have the potential for near-term deployment at scale, as well as systems incorporating some advanced technologies at various stages of R&D. All of the coproduction designs have the common attribute of producing some electricity and also of capturing CO{sub 2} for storage. For each of the co-product pairs detailed process mass and energy simulations (using Aspen Plus software) were developed for a set of alternative process configurations, on the basis of which lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, Nth plant economic performance, and other characteristics were evaluated for each configuration. In developing each set of process configurations, focused …

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In the standard ideal MHD energy principle for equilibria with no flows, the stability criterion, which is the defi niteness of the perturbed potential energy, is usually constructed from the linearized equation of motion. Equivalently while more straightforwardly, it can also be obtained from the second variation of the Hamiltonian calculated with proper constraints. For equilibria with flows, a stability criterion was proposed from the linearized equation of motion, but not explained as an energy principle1. In this paper, the second variation of the Hamiltonian is found to provide a stability criterion equivalent to, while more straightforward than, what was constructed from the linearized equation of motion. To calculate the variations of the Hamiltonian, a complete set of constraints on the dynamics of the perturbations is derived from the Euler-Poincare structure of the ideal MHD. In addition, a previous calculation of the second variation of the Hamiltonian was claimed to give a different stability criterion2, and in this paper we argue such a claim is incorrect.

Severe localized corrosion of a 316 stainless steel autoclave occurred during investigating Type H Portland cement stability in 0.16 M CaCl{sub 2} + 0.02 M MgCl{sub 2} + 0.82 M NaCl brine in contact with supercritical CO{sub 2} containing 4% O{sub 2}. The system operated at 85 C and pressure of 29 MPa. However, no corrosion was observed in the same type of autoclave being exposed to the same environment, containing Type H Portland cement cylindrical samples, also operating at pressure of 29 MPa but at 50 C. The operation time for the 85 C autoclave was 53 days (1272 hours) while that for the 50 C autoclave was 66 days (1584 hours). Debris were collected from the base of both autoclaves and analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Corrosion products were only found in the debris from the 85 C autoclave. The cement samples were analyzed before and after the exposure by X-ray florescence (XRF) methods. Optical microscopy was used to estimate an extent of the 316 stainless steel corrosion degradation.

The activity reported in this presentation is to provide the mechanical and physical property information needed to allow rational design, development and/or choice of alloys, manufacturing approaches, and environmental exposure and component life models to enable oxy-fuel combustion boilers to operate at Ultra-Supercritical (up to 650{degrees}C & between 22-30 MPa) and/or Advanced Ultra-Supercritical conditions (760{degrees}C & 35 MPa).

Here we conduct a mask-roughness-induced line-edge-roughness (LER) aberrations sensitivity study both as a random distribution amongst the first 16 Fringe Zernikes (for overall aberration levels of 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75nm rms) as well as an individual aberrations sensitivity matrix over the first 37 Fringe Zernikes. Full 2D aerial image modeling for an imaging system with NA = 0.32 was done for both the 22-nm and 16-nm half-pitch nodes on a rough mask with a replicated surface roughness (RSR) of 100 pm and a correlation length of 32 nm at the nominal extreme-ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) wavelength of 13.5nm. As the ideal RSR value for commercialization of EUVL is 50 pm and under, and furthermore as has been shown elsewhere, a correlation length of 32 nm of roughness on the mask sits on the peak LER value for an NA = 0.32 imaging optic, these mask roughness values and consequently the aberration sensitivity study presented here, represent a worst-case scenario. The illumination conditions were chosen based on the possible candidates for the 22-nm and 16-nm half-pitch nodes, respectively. In the 22-nm case, a disk illumination setting of {sigma} = 0.50 was used, and for the 16-nm case, crosspole illumination with {sigma} = …

The Dothideomycetes are one of the largest and most diverse groups of fungi. Many are plant pathogens and pose a serious threat to agricultural crops grown for biofuel, food or feed. Most Dothideomycetes have only a single host and related Dothideomycete species can have very diverse host plants. Twelve Dothideomycete genomes have currently been sequenced by the Joint Genome Institute and other sequencing centers. They can be accessed via Mycocosm which has tools for comparative analysis

Concern over the quality of environmental management and restoration has motivated the model development for predicting water and solute transport in the vadose zone. Soil hydraulic properties are required inputs to subsurface models of water flow and contaminant transport in the vadose zone. Computer models are now routinely used in research and management to predict the movement of water and solutes into and through the vadose zone of soils. Such models can be used successfully only if reliable estimates of the soil hydraulic parameters are available. The hydraulic parameters considered in this project consist of the saturated hydraulic conductivity and four parameters of the water retention curves. To quantify hydraulic parameters for heterogeneous soils is both difficult and time consuming. The overall objective of this project was to better quantify soil hydraulic parameters which are critical in predicting water flows and contaminant transport in the vadose zone through a comprehensive and quantitative study to predict heterogeneous soil hydraulic properties and the associated uncertainties. Systematic and quantitative consideration of the parametric heterogeneity and uncertainty can properly address and further reduce predictive uncertainty for contamination characterization and environmental restoration at DOE-managed sites. We conducted a comprehensive study to assess soil hydraulic parameter …

Integrating the Molecular Machines of Mercury Detoxification into Host Cell Biology The bacterial mercury resistance (mer) operon, one of the most evolutionarily successful genetic loci in any defined organism, detoxifies organic and inorganic mercury compounds. Several major biotic processes in the global Hg(II) cycle are carried out by bacteria with this highly mobile detoxification locus that occurs in Gram negative and high and low GC Gram positive bacteria. The functions of many individual mer operon components are well described, so we aim to dissect the higher order interactions of the enzymes, transporters, and regulators of this paradigm metal metabolizing system with each other and with the larger metabolism of the host cell. Understanding how this ubiquitous detoxification system fits into the biology and ecology of its bacterial host is essential to guide interventions that support and enhance Hg remediation. Specifically, we will test the hypotheses that: (a) the organomercurial lyase, MerB, and the mercuric reductase, MerA, act synergistically together and with the membrane-bound Hg(II) transporters, MerT and MerC, to detoxify mercurials; (b) the interaction of the metalloregulator MerR with RNA polymerase (RNAP) and with its DNA binding site, MerO, modulates its metal response, and interaction with its antagonist, MerD, prevents …

The time-temperature-transformation (TTT) curve for the {delta} {yields} {alpha}{prime} isothermal martensitic transformation in a Pu-1.9 at. % Ga alloy is peculiar because it is reported to have a double-C curve. Recent work suggests that an ambient temperature conditioning treatment enables the lower-C curve. However, the mechanisms responsible for the double-C are still not fully understood. When the {delta} {yields} {alpha}{prime} transformation is induced by pressure, an intermediate {gamma}{prime} phase is observed in some alloys. It has been suggested that transformation at upper-C temperatures may proceed via this intermediate phase, while lower-C transformation progresses directly from {delta} to {alpha}{prime}. To investigate the possibility of thermally induced transformation via the intermediate {gamma}{prime} phase, in situ x-ray diffraction at the Advanced Photon Source was performed. Using transmission x-ray diffraction, the {delta} {yields} {alpha}{prime} transformation was observed in samples as thin at 30 {micro}m as a function of time and temperature. The intermediate {gamma}{prime} phase was not observed at -120 C (upper-C curve) or -155 C (lower-C curve). Results indicate that the bulk of the {alpha}{prime} phase forms relatively rapidly at -120 C and -155 C.

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To quantify the roughness contributions to speckle, a programmed roughness substrate was fabricated with a number of areas having different roughness magnitudes. The substrate was then multilayer coated. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) surface maps were collected before and after multilayer deposition. At-wavelength reflectance and total integrated scattering measurements were also completed. Angle resolved scattering based power spectral densities are directly compared to the AFM based power spectra. We show that AFM overpredicts the roughness in the picometer measurements range. The mask was then imaged at-wavelength for the direct characterization of the aerial image speckle using the SEMATECH Berkeley Actinic Inspection Tool (AIT). Modeling was used to test the effectiveness of the different metrologies in predicting the measured aerial-image speckle. AIT measured contrast values are 25% or more than the calculated image contrast values obtained using the measured rms roughness input. The extent to which the various metrologies can be utilized for specifying tolerable roughness limits on EUV masks is still to be determined. Further modeling and measurements are being planned.

For this paper, we evaluated the impact of repetitive cleans on a photomask that was fabricated and patterned for extreme ultraviolet lithography exposure. The lithographic performance of the cleaned mask, in terms of process window and line edge roughness, was monitored with the SEMATECH Berkeley micro-exposure tool (MET). Each process measurement of the cleaned mask was compared to a reference mask with the same mask architecture. Both masks were imaged on the same day in order to eliminate any process-related measurement uncertainties. The cleaned mask was periodically monitored with atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements and pattern widths were monitored using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, reflectivity changes were also tracked with the aid of witness plate measurements. At the conclusion of this study, the mask under evaluation was cleaned 22 times; with none of the evaluation techniques showing any significant degradation in performance.

Throughout the past decade, frequent discussions and debates have centered on the geological sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}). For sequestration to have a reasonably positive impact on atmospheric carbon levels, the anticipated volume of CO{sub 2} that would need to be injected is very large (many millions of tons per year). Many stakeholders have expressed concern about elevated formation pressure following the extended injection of CO{sub 2}. The injected CO{sub 2} plume could potentially extend for many kilometers from the injection well. If not properly managed and monitored, the increased formation pressure could stimulate new fractures or enlarge existing natural cracks or faults, so the CO{sub 2} or the brine pushed ahead of the plume could migrate vertically. One possible tool for management of formation pressure would be to extract water already residing in the formation where CO{sub 2} is being stored. The concept is that by removing water from the receiving formations (referred to as 'extracted water' to distinguish it from 'oil and gas produced water'), the pressure gradients caused by injection could be reduced, and additional pore space could be freed up to sequester CO{sub 2}. Such water extraction would occur away from the CO{sub 2} plume …

The ~15 members of the Aspergillus section Nigri species complex (the "Black Aspergilli") are significant as platforms for bioenergy and bioindustrial technology, as members of soil microbial communities and players in the global carbon cycle, and as food processing and spoilage agents and agricultural toxigens. Despite their utility and ubiquity, the morphological and metabolic distinctiveness of the complex's members, and thus their taxonomy, is poorly defined. We are using short read pyrosequencing technology (Roche/454 and Illumina/Solexa) to rapidly scale up genomic and transcriptomic analysis of this species complex. To date we predict 11197 genes in Aspergillus niger, 11624 genes in A. carbonarius, and 10845 genes in A. aculeatus. A. aculeatus is our most recent genome, and was assembled primarily from 454-sequenced reads and annotated with the aid of >2 million 454 ESTs and >300 million Solexa ESTs. To most effectively deploy these very large numbers of ESTs we developed 2 novel methods for clustering the ESTs into assemblies. We have also developed a pipeline to propose orthologies and paralogies among genes in the species complex. In the near future we will apply these methods to additional species of Black Aspergilli that are currently in our sequencing pipeline.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has established a mechanism for partnership that integrates the high-performance computing capabilities of the National Labs, the network and cyber technology expertise of leading information technology companies, and the long-term research vision of leading academic cyber programs. The Cyber Science and Security Center is designed to be a working partnership among Laboratory, Industrial, and Academic institutions, and provides all three with a shared R&D environment, technical information sharing, sophisticated high-performance computing facilities, and data resources for the partner institutions and sponsors. The CSSC model is an institution where partner organizations can work singly or in groups on the most pressing problems of cyber security, where shared vision and mutual leveraging of expertise and facilities can produce results and tools at the cutting edge of cyber science.

Replication Protein A (RPA) is the primary eukaryotic ssDNA binding protein utilized in diverse DNA transactions in the cell. RPA is a heterotrimeric protein with seven globular domains connected by flexible linkers, which enable substantial inter-domain motion that is essential to its function. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments on two multi-domain constructs from the N-terminus of the large subunit (RPA70) were used to examine the structural dynamics of these domains and their response to the binding of ssDNA. The SAXS data combined with molecular dynamics simulations reveal substantial interdomain flexibility for both RPA70AB (the tandem high affinity ssDNA binding domains A and B connected by a 10-residue linker) and RPA70NAB (RPA70AB extended by a 70-residue linker to the RPA70N protein interaction domain). Binding of ssDNA to RPA70NAB reduces the interdomain flexibility between the A and B domains, but has no effect on RPA70N. These studies provide the first direct measurements of changes in orientation of these three RPA domains upon binding ssDNA. The results support a model in which RPA70N remains structurally independent of RPA70AB in the DNA bound state and therefore freely available to serve as a protein recruitment module.

X-ray absorption spectra of 1M aqueous solutions of indium (III) chloride, yttrium (III) bromide, lanthanum (III) chloride, tin (IV) chloride and chromium (III) chloride have been measured at the oxygen K-edge. Relatively minor changes are observed in the spectra compared to that of pure water. SnCl{sub 4} and CrCl{sub 3} exhibit a new onset feature which is attributed to formation of hydroxide or other complex molecules in the solution. At higher energy, only relatively minor, but salt-specific changes in the spectra occur. The small magnitude of the observed spectral changes is ascribed to offsetting perturbations by the cations and anions.

Vacuum ultraviolet photoionization coupled to secondary neutral mass spectrometry (VUV-SNMS) of deposited tryptophan and thymine films are performed at the Chemical Dynamics Beamline. The resulting mass spectra show that while the intensity of the VUV-SNMS signal is lower than the corresponding secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) signal, the mass spectra are significantly simplified in VUV-SNMS. A detailed examination of tryptophan and thymine neutral molecules sputtered by 25 keV Bi3 + indicates that the ion-sputtered parent molecules have ~;;2.5 eV of internal energy. While this internal energy shifts the appearance energy of the photofragment ions for both tryptophan and thymine, it does not change the characteristic photoionizaton efficiency (PIE) curves of thymine versus photon energy. Further analysis of the mass spectral signals indicate that approximately 80 neutral thymine molecules and 400 tryptophan molecules are sputtered per incident Bi3 + ion. The simplified mass spectra and significant characteristic ion contributions to the VUV-SNMS spectra indicate the potential power of the technique for organic molecule surface analysis.

Our previous work estimated the expected out-of-band (OOB) flare contribution at the wafer level assuming that there is a given amount of OOB at the collector focus. We found that the OOB effects are wavelength, resist, and pattern dependent. In this paper, results from rigorous patterning evaluation of multiple OOB-exposed resists using the SEMATECH Berkeley 0.3-NA MET are presented. A controlled amount of OOB is applied to the resist films before patterning is completed with the MET. LER and process performance above the resolution limit and at the resolution limits are evaluated and presented. The results typically show a negative impact on LER and process performance after the OOB exposures except in the case of single resist formulation, where resolution and performance improvement was observed.