High power pulse copper vapor laser systems consist of a master oscillator and numerous power amplifiers. Large systems used in laser isotope separation experiments require several automatic control systems. The rapid development of compact mini computers over the past several years has enabled the implementation of sophisticated computer controlled copper vapor laser systems. Present systems provide automatic time synchronization and input power stabilization. Future systems will incorporate semi-automatic start-up capabilities.

The reshocked single-mode Richtmyer-Meshkov instability is simulated in two spatial dimensions using the fifth- and ninth-order weighted essentially non-oscillatory shock-capturing method with uniform spatial resolution of 256 points per initial perturbation wavelength. The initial conditions and computational domain are modeled after the single-mode, Mach 1.21 air(acetone)/SF{sub 6} shock tube experiment of Collins and Jacobs [J. Fluid Mech. 464, 113 (2002)]. The simulation densities are shown to be in very good agreement with the corrected experimental planar laser-induced fluorescence images at selected times before reshock of the evolving interface. Analytical, semianalytical and phenomenological linear and nonlinear, impulsive, perturbation and potential flow models for single-mode Richtmyer-Meshkov unstable perturbation growth are summarized. The simulation amplitudes are shown to be in very good agreement with the experimental data and with the predictions of linear amplitude growth models for small times and with those of nonlinear amplitude growth models at later times up to the time at which the driver-based expansion in the experiment (but not present in the simulations or models) expands the layer before reshock. The qualitative and quantitative differences between the fifth- and ninth-order simulation results are discussed. Using a local and global quantitative metric, the prediction of the Zhang and Sohn …

Among the olivine-structured metal phosphate family, LiMnPO{sub 4} exhibits a high discharge potential (4V), which is still compatible with common electrolytes, making it interesting for use in the next generation of Li ion batteries. The extremely low electronic conductivity of this material severely limits its electrochemical performance, however. One strategy to overcome this limitation is to make LiMnPO{sub 4} nanoparticulate to decrease the diffusion distance. Another is to add a carbon or other conductive coating in intimate contact with the nanoparticles of the main phase, as is commonly done with LiFePO{sub 4}. The electrochemical performance of LiFePO{sub 4} is highly dependent on the quality of the carbon coatings on the particles [1-2], among other variables. Combustion synthesis allows the co-synthesis of nanoparticles coated with carbon in one step. Hydrothermal synthesis is used industrially to make LiFePO{sub 4} cathode materials [3] and affords a good deal of control over purity, crystallinity, and particle size. A wide range of olivine-structured materials has been successfully prepared by this technique [4], including LiMnPO{sub 4} in this study. In this paper, we report on the new synthesis of nano-LiMnPO{sub 4} by a combustion method. The purity is dependent upon the conditions used for synthesis, including …

In this study we analyze relative contributions to the cause and mechanism of injection-induced micro-earthquakes (MEQs) at The Geysers geothermal field, California. We estimated the potential for inducing seismicity by coupled thermal-hydrological-mechanical analysis of the geothermal steam production and cold water injection to calculate changes in stress (in time and space) and investigated if those changes could induce a rock mechanical failure and associated MEQs. An important aspect of the analysis is the concept of a rock mass that is critically stressed for shear failure. This means that shear stress in the region is near the rock-mass frictional strength, and therefore very small perturbations of the stress field can trigger an MEQ. Our analysis shows that the most important cause for injection-induced MEQs at The Geysers is cooling and associated thermal-elastic shrinkage of the rock around the injected fluid that changes the stress state in such a way that mechanical failure and seismicity can be induced. Specifically, the cooling shrinkage results in unloading and associated loss of shear strength in critically shear-stressed fractures, which are then reactivated. Thus, our analysis shows that cooling-induced shear slip along fractures is the dominant mechanism of injection-induced MEQs at The Geysers.

Scientists in the Physical Biosciences Division of the Ernest Orlando Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) studying transition metals in proteins with fluorescence-detected L-edge absorption spectroscopy have found the measurements to be extremely challenging. The difficulty is that the metal centers are present in very dilute concentrations so that their weak fluorescence is often obscured by strong background signals carbon and oxygen. To solve this problem, the Berkeley group has been working with researchers from the Advanced Detector Group at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on an energy-dispersive superconducting tunnel junction x-ray detector. These devices in principle have the energy resolution needed to reveal the metal signal. The most recent results with the latest version of the detector on Beamline 4.0.1-2 at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) illustrate the promise of the cryogenic detector strategy not only for this application but also for spectroscopy of other types of dilute samples. Transition-metal complexes are key elements in many biologically important processes that are catalyzed by proteins (enzymes), photosynthesis being a prime example. The changes in that occur in electronic structure throughout a catalytic cycle are the subject of much research aimed at understanding the mechanisms of these processes. L-edge x-ray spectroscopy offers …

An automatic data-smoothing algorithm for data from digital oscilloscopes is described. The algorithm adjusts the bandwidth of the filtering as a function of time to provide minimum mean squared error at each time. It produces an estimate of the root-mean-square error as a function of time and does so without any statistical assumptions about the unknown signal. The algorithm is based on least-squares fitting to the data of cubic spline functions.

A major concern for large tokamaks like ITER is the presence of edge localized modes (ELMs) that repeatedly send large bursts of particles and heat into the divertor plates. Operation with resonant magnetic perturbations (RMP) at the boundary of DIII=D has suppressed ELMs for values of q95 {approx} 3.7. At the target plate, the conditions during ELM suppressed operation for both high and low collisionality are observed by a set of radially distributed Langmuir probes. At high collisionality (n*{approx}1), the target plate particle flux and temperature drops by > 30% during ELM suppression. At low collisionality (n*{approx}0.1), the core density, target plate density, and target plate particle flux drop but the plate electron temperature increases after the ELMs are suppressed. The ELM-suppressed target plate heat flux is nearly the same as the heat flux between ELMs but the (5X higher) transient heat flux peaks due to ELMs are eliminated.

A numerical field line integration code is used to study the structure of divertor footprints produced by small non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbation in the DIII-D tokamak. The numerical modeling results are compared to experimental infrared camera data which show a splitting of the divertor target plate heat flux into several distinct peaks when an n=3 magnetic perturbation from the DIII-D I-coil is applied. The heat flux splitting consistently appears when the n=3 perturbation is applied and disappears when the perturbation is removed. The magnitude of the splitting implied by the numerical modeling is a factor of 3 smaller than the splitting seen in the experimental data. These results suggest that the plasma response to the edge resonant applied n=3 magnetic perturbation produces an amplification of the vacuum magnetic footprint structure on the divertor target plates. These results may have significant implications for the ITER divertor design.

As one of the measures to achieve the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions agreed to in the"Kyoto Protocol," an institutional scheme for determining energy efficiency standards for energy-consuming appliances, called the"Top-Runner Approach," was developed by the Japanese government. Its goal is to strengthen the legal underpinnings of various energy conservation measures. Particularly in Japan's residential sector, where energy demand has grown vigorously so far, this efficiency standard is expected to play a key role in mitigating both energy demand growth and the associated CO2 emissions. This paper presents an outlook of Japan's residential energy demand, developed by a stochastic econometric model for the purpose of analyzing the impacts of the Japan's energy efficiency standards, as well as the future stochastic behavior of income growth, demography, energy prices, and climate on the future energy demand growth to 2030. In this analysis, we attempt to explicitly take into consideration more than 30 kinds of electricity uses, heating, cooling and hot water appliances in order to comprehensively capture the progress of energy efficiency in residential energy end-use equipment. Since electricity demand, is projected to exhibit astonishing growth in Japan's residential sector due to universal increasing ownership of electric and other appliances, it is …

The interactions between two plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 and Paenibacillus brasilensis PB177, two arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (Glomus mosseae and G. intraradices) and one pathogenic fungus (Microdochium nivale) were investigated on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum cultivar Tarso) in a greenhouse trial. PB177, but not SBW25, had strong inhibitory effects on M. nivale in dual culture plate assays. The results from the greenhouse experiment show very specific interactions; e.g. the two AM fungi react differently when interacting with the same bacteria on plants. G. intraradices (single inoculation or together with SBW25) increased plant dry weight on M. nivale infested plants, suggesting that the pathogenic fungus is counteracted by G. intraradices, but PB177 inhibited this positive effect. This is an example of two completely different reactions between the same AM fungus and two species of bacteria, previously known to enhance plant growth and inhibit pathogens. When searching for plant growth promoting microorganisms it is therefore important to test for the most suitable combination of plant, bacteria and fungi in order to get satisfactory plant growth benefits.

We develop a Bayesian model to invert spectral induced polarization (SIP) data for Cole-Cole parameters using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling methods. We compare the performance of the MCMC based stochastic method with an iterative Gauss-Newton based deterministic method for Cole-Cole parameter estimation through inversion of synthetic and laboratory SIP data. The Gauss-Newton based method can provide an optimal solution for given objective functions under constraints, but the obtained optimal solution generally depends on the choice of initial values and the estimated uncertainty information is often inaccurate or insufficient. In contrast, the MCMC based inversion method provides extensive global information on unknown parameters, such as the marginal probability distribution functions, from which we can obtain better estimates and tighter uncertainty bounds of the parameters than with the deterministic method. Additionally, the results obtained with the MCMC method are independent of the choice of initial values. Because the MCMC based method does not explicitly offer single optimal solution for given objective functions, the deterministic and stochastic methods can complement each other. For example, the stochastic method can first be used to obtain the means of the unknown parameters by starting from an arbitrary set of initial values and the deterministic …

CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., has expanded the scope and increased the formality of process hazards analyses performed on new or modified Tank Farm facilities, designs, and processes. The CH2M HILL process hazard analysis emphasis has been altered to reflect its use as a fundamental part of the engineering and change control process instead of simply being a nuclear safety analysis tool. The scope has been expanded to include identification of accidents/events that impact the environment, or require emergency response, in addition to those with significant impact to the facility worker, the offsite, and the 100-meter receptor. Also, there is now an expectation that controls will be identified to address all types of consequences. To ensure that the process has an appropriate level of rigor and formality, a new engineering standard for process hazards analysis was created. This paper discusses the role of process hazards analysis as an information source for not only nuclear safety, but also for the worker-safety management programs, emergency management, environmental programs. This paper also discusses the role of process hazards analysis in the change control process, including identifying when and how it should be applied to changes in design or process.

We describe charge-coupled device (CCD) developmentactivities at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).Back-illuminated CCDs fabricated on 200-300 mu m thick, fully depleted,high-resistivity silicon substrates are produced in partnership with acommercial CCD foundry.The CCDs are fully depleted by the application ofa substrate bias voltage. Spatial resolution considerations requireoperation of thick, fully depleted CCDs at high substrate bias voltages.We have developed CCDs that are compatible with substrate bias voltagesof at least 200V. This improves spatial resolution for a given thickness,and allows for full depletion of thicker CCDs than previously considered.We have demonstrated full depletion of 650-675 mu m thick CCDs, withpotential applications in direct x-ray detection. In this work we discussthe issues related to high-voltage operation of fully depleted CCDs, aswell as experimental results on high-voltage-compatible CCDs.

The presence of an unsaturated region beneath a streambedduring groundwater pumping near streams reduces the pumping capacity whenit reaches the well screens, changes flow paths, and alters the types ofbiological transformations in the streambed sediments. Athree-dimensional, multi-phase flow model of two horizontal collectorwells along the Russian River near Forestville, California was developedto investigate the impact of varying the ratio of the aquifer tostreambed permeability on (1) the formation of an unsaturated regionbeneath the stream, (2) the pumping capacity, (3) stream-water fluxesthrough the streambed, and (4) stream-water travel times to the collectorwells. The aquifer to streambed permeability ratio at which theunsaturated region was initially observed ranged from 10 to 100. The sizeof the unsaturated region beneath the streambed increased as the aquiferto streambed permeability ratio increased. The simulations also indicatedthat for a particular aquifer permeability, decreasing the streambedpermeability by only a factor of 2-3 from the permeability wheredesaturation initially occurred resulted in reducing the pumpingcapacity. In some cases, the stream-water fluxes increased as thestreambed permeability decreased. However, the stream water residencetimes increased and the fraction of stream water that reached that thewells decreased as the streambed permeability decreased, indicating thata higher streambed flux does not necessarily correlate to greaterrecharge of stream …

The addition of storage technologies such as flow batteries, conventional batteries, and heat storage can improve the economic as well as environmental attractiveness of on-site generation (e.g., PV, fuel cells, reciprocating engines or microturbines operating with or without CHP) and contribute to enhanced demand response. In order to examine the impact of storage technologies on demand response and carbon emissions, a microgrid's distributed energy resources (DER) adoption problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear program that has the minimization of annual energy costs as its objective function. By implementing this approach in the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS), the problem is solved for a given test year at representative customer sites, such as schools and nursing homes, to obtain not only the level of technology investment, but also the optimal hourly operating schedules. This paper focuses on analysis of storage technologies in DER optimization on a building level, with example applications for commercial buildings. Preliminary analysis indicates that storage technologies respond effectively to time-varying electricity prices, i.e., by charging batteries during periods of low electricity prices and discharging them during peak hours. The results also indicate that storage technologies significantly alter the residual load profile, which can contribute to lower …

Polyurethane foam has been widely used as an impact absorbing and thermal insulating material for large radioactive materials packages, since the 1980's. With the adoption of the regulatory crush test requirement, for smaller packages, polyurethane foam has been adopted as a replacement for cane fiberboard, because of its ability to withstand the crush test. Polyurethane foam is an engineered material whose composition is much more closely controlled than that of cane fiberboard. In addition, the properties of the foam can be controlled by controlling the density of the foam. The conditions under which the foam is formed, whether confined or unconfined have an affect on foam properties. The study reported here reviewed the application of polyurethane foam in RAM packagings and compared property values reported in the literature with published property values and test results for foam specimens taken from a prototype 9977 packaging. The study confirmed that, polyurethane foam behaves in a predictable and consistent manner and fully satisfies the functional requirements for impact absorption and thermal insulation.

We determined the composite thermal conductivity (ktheta) ofa porous methanehydrate sample (composedof hydrate, water, and methan egas) as a function of density using iTOUGH2. X-ray computed tomography(CT) was used to visualize and quantify the density changes that occurredduring hydrate formation from granular ice. The composite thermalconductivity was estimated and validated by minimizing the differencesbetween the observed and the predicted thermal response using historymatching. The estimated density-dependent composite thermal conductivityranged between 0.25 and 0.58 W/m/K.

To better understand the role of groundwater-level changes on rock-slope deformation and damage, a carbonate rock slope (30 m x 30 m x 15 m) was extensively instrumented for mesoscale hydraulic and mechanical measurements during water-level changes. The slope is naturally drained by a spring that can be artificially closed or opened by a water gate. In this study, a 2-hour slope-dewatering experiment was analyzed. Changes in fluid pressure and deformation were simultaneously monitored, both at discontinuities and in the intact rock, using short-base extensometers and pressure gauges as well as tiltmeters fixed at the slope surface. Field data were analyzed with different coupled hydromechanical (HM) codes (ROCMAS, FLAC{sup 3D}, and UDEC). Field data indicate that in the faults, a 40 kPa pressure fall occurs in 2 minutes and induces a 0.5 to 31 x 10{sup -6} m normal closure. Pressure fall is slower in the bedding-planes, lasting 120 minutes with no normal deformation. No pressure change or deformation is observed in the intact rock. The slope surface displays a complex tilt towards the interior of the slope, with magnitudes ranging from 0.6 to 15 x 10{sup -6} rad. Close agreement with model for both slope surface and internal measurements …

Oxidation resistant nickel-aluminide coatings are designed to develop a protective alumina scale during high temperature exposure. It is well established that platinum additions, typically about 6-8 at%, provide substantial improvements in oxidation resistance of such coatings, yet the nature of the platinum effect is still not fully understood. In this work, the oxidation behavior of two commercial NiAl and NiPtAl coatings deposited on the same Ni-base single crystal alloy CMSX-4 was analyzed. Cyclic and isothermal oxidation tests were conducted at 1150 C in air. Microstructure development and alumina/coating interface chemistry were studied as a function of oxidation time. Numerous voids developed at the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/NiAl interface, and sulfur was found to segregate at the void surfaces and at the contact interface, leading to spallation of the scale over the convex areas along ridges on the coating surface. The presence of platinum prevented sulfur segregation and void formation at the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/NiPtAl interface. As a result, the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} scale on the NiPtAl coating remained adherent and virtually no spallation was observed even after prolonged cyclic oxidation.

To facilitate investigations of moisture dynamics inunsaturated soil, we have developed a technique to qualitatively monitorpatterns of saturation changes. Field results suggest that this device,the sensor array system (SAS), is suitable for determining changes inrelative wetness along vertical soil profiles. The performance of theseprobes was compared with that of the time domain reflectometry (TDR)technique under controlled and field conditions. Measurements from bothtechniques suggest that by obtaining data at high spatial and temporalresolution, the SAS technique was effective in determining patterns ofsaturation changes along a soil profile. In addition, hardware used inthe SAS technique was significantly cheaper than the TDR system, and thesensor arrays were much easier to install along a soilprofile.

Bioreduction-based strategies for remediating uranium (U)-contaminated sediments face the challenge of maintaining the reduced status of U for long times. Because groundwater influxes continuously bring in oxidizing terminal electron acceptors (O{sub 2}, NO{sub 3}{sup -}), it is necessary to continue supplying organic carbon (OC) to maintain the reducing environment after U bioreduction is achieved. We tested the influence of OC supply rates on mobility of previously microbial reduced uranium U(IV) in contaminated sediments. We found that high degrees of U mobilization occurred when OC supply rates were high, and when the sediment still contained abundant Fe(III). Although 900 days with low levels of OC supply minimized U mobilization, the sediment redox potential increased with time as did extractable U(VI) fractions. Molecular analyses of total microbial activity demonstrated a positive correlation with OC supply and analyses of Geobacteraceae activity (RT-qPCR of 16S rRNA) indicated continued activity even when the effluent Fe(II) became undetectable. These data support our earlier hypothesis on the mechanism responsible for re-oxidation of microbial reduced U(IV) under reducing conditions; that microbial respiration caused increased (bi)carbonate concentrations and formation of stable uranyl carbonate complexes, thereby shifted U(IV)/U(VI) equilibrium to more reducing potentials. The data also suggested that low OC …

A self-contained gas injection system for the Divertor Material Evaluation System (DiMES) on DIII-D has been employed for in-situ study of chemical erosion in the tokamak divertor environment. The Porous Plug Injector (PPI) releases methane, a major component of molecular influx due to chemical sputtering of graphite, from the tile surface into the plasma at a controlled rate through a porous graphite surface. Perturbation to local plasma is minimized, while also simulating the immediate environment of methane molecules released from a solid graphite surface. The release rate was chosen to be of the same order of magnitude as natural sputtering. Photon efficiencies of CH{sub 4} for measured local plasma conditions are reported. The contribution of chemical versus physical sputtering to the source of C{sup +} at the target is assessed through measurement of CII and CD/CH band emissions during release of CH{sub 4} from the PPI, and due to intrinsic emission.

Well blowout rates in oil fields undergoing thermally enhanced recovery (via steam injection) in California Oil and Gas District 4 from 1991 to 2005 were on the order of 1 per 1,000 well construction operations, 1 per 10,000 active wells per year, and 1 per 100,000 shut-in/idle and plugged/abandoned wells per year. This allows some initial inferences about leakage of CO2 via wells, which is considered perhaps the greatest leakage risk for geological storage of CO2. During the study period, 9% of the oil produced in the United States was from District 4, and 59% of this production was via thermally enhanced recovery. There was only one possible blowout from an unknown or poorly located well, despite over a century of well drilling and production activities in the district. The blowout rate declined dramatically during the study period, most likely as a result of increasing experience, improved technology, and/or changes in safety culture. If so, this decline indicates the blowout rate in CO2-storage fields can be significantly minimized both initially and with increasing experience over time. Comparable studies should be conducted in other areas. These studies would be particularly valuable in regions with CO2-enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and natural gas …

The U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) is building a new long-range (to 2050) forecasting model for use in budgetary and management applications called the Stochastic Energy Deployment System (SEDS), which explicitly incorporates uncertainty through its development within the Analytica(R) platform of Lumina Decision Systems. SEDS is designed to be a fast running (a few minutes), user-friendly model that analysts can readily run and modify in its entirety through a visual programming interface. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is responsible for implementing the SEDS Buildings Module. The initial Lite version of the module is complete and integrated with a shared code library for modeling demand-side technology choice developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lumina. The module covers both commercial and residential buildings at the U.S. national level using an econometric forecast of floorspace requirement and a model of building stock turnover as the basis for forecasting overall demand for building services. Although the module is fundamentally an engineering-economic model with technology adoption decisions based on cost and energy performance characteristics of competing technologies, it differs from standard energy forecasting models by including considerations of passive building systems, interactions between technologies (such as internal heat gains), and on-site power generation.