The thermal hazard posed by large hydrocarbon fires is dominated by the radiative emission from high temperature soot. Since the optical properties of soot, especially in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, as well as its morphological properties, are not well known, efforts are underway to characterize these properties. Measurements of these soot properties in large fires are important for heat transfer calculations, for interpretation of laser-based diagnostics, and for developing soot property models for fire field models. This research uses extractive measurement diagnostics to characterize soot optical properties, morphology, and composition in 2 m pool fires. For measurement of the extinction coefficient, soot extracted from the flame zone is transported to a transmission cell where measurements are made using both visible and infrared lasers. Soot morphological properties are obtained by analysis via transmission electron microscopy of soot samples obtained thermophoretically within the flame zone, in the overfire region, and in the transmission cell. Soot composition, including carbon-to-hydrogen ratio and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentration, is obtained by analysis of soot collected on filters. Average dimensionless extinction coefficients of 8.4 {+-} 1.2 at 635 nm and 8.7 {+-} 1.1 at 1310 nm agree well with recent measurements in the overfire …

There is a general lack of compact electromagnetic radiation sources between 1 and 10 terahertz (THz). This a challenging spectral region lying between optical devices at high frequencies and electronic devices at low frequencies. While technologically very underdeveloped the THz region has the promise to be of significant technological importance, yet demonstrating its relevance has proven difficult due to the immaturity of the area. While the last decade has seen much experimental work in ultra-short pulsed terahertz sources, many applications will require continuous wave (cw) sources, which are just beginning to demonstrate adequate performance for application use. In this project, we proposed examination of two potential THz sources based on intersubband semiconductor transitions, which were as yet unproven. In particular we wished to explore quantum cascade lasers based sources and electronic based harmonic generators. Shortly after the beginning of the project, we shifted our emphasis to the quantum cascade lasers due to two events; the publication of the first THz quantum cascade laser by another group thereby proving feasibility, and the temporary shut down of the UC Santa Barbara free-electron lasers which were to be used as the pump source for the harmonic generation. The development efforts focused on two …

As part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) Industries of the Future (IOF) Forest Products research program, a collaborative investigation was conducted on the sources, characteristics, and deposition of particles intermediate in size between submicron fume and carryover in recovery boilers. Laboratory experiments on suspended-drop combustion of black liquor and on black liquor char bed combustion demonstrated that both processes generate intermediate size particles (ISP), amounting to 0.5-2% of the black liquor dry solids mass (BLS). Measurements in two U.S. recovery boilers show variable loadings of ISP in the upper furnace, typically between 0.6-3 g/Nm{sup 3}, or 0.3-1.5% of BLS. The measurements show that the ISP mass size distribution increases with size from 5-100 {micro}m, implying that a substantial amount of ISP inertially deposits on steam tubes. ISP particles are depleted in potassium, chlorine, and sulfur relative to the fuel composition. Comprehensive boiler modeling demonstrates that ISP concentrations are substantially overpredicted when using a previously developed algorithm for ISP generation. Equilibrium calculations suggest that alkali carbonate decomposition occurs at intermediate heights in the furnace and may lead to partial destruction of ISP particles formed lower in the furnace. ISP deposition is predicted to occur …

The manipulation of physical interactions between structural moieties on the molecular scale is a fundamental hurdle in the realization and operation of nanostructured materials and high surface area microsystem architectures. These include such nano-interaction-based phenomena as self-assembly, fluid flow, and interfacial tribology. The proposed research utilizes photosensitive molecular structures to tune such interactions reversibly. This new material strategy provides optical actuation of nano-interactions impacting behavior on both the nano- and macroscales and with potential to impact directed nanostructure formation, microfluidic rheology, and tribological control.

A laser hazard analysis and safety assessment was performed for the 3rd Tech model DeltaSphere-3000{reg_sign} Laser 3D Scene Digitizer, infrared laser scanner model based on the 2000 version of the American National Standard Institute's Standard Z136.1, for the Safe Use of Lasers. The portable scanner system is used in the Robotic Manufacturing Science and Engineering Laboratory (RMSEL). This scanning system had been proposed to be a demonstrator for a new application. The manufacture lists the Nominal Ocular Hazard Distance (NOHD) as less than 2 meters. It was necessary that SNL validate this NOHD prior to its use as a demonstrator involving the general public. A formal laser hazard analysis is presented for the typical mode of operation for the current configuration as well as a possible modified mode and alternative configuration.

This paper extends previous results on nonlinear Schwarz preconditioning ([4]) to unstructured finite element elliptic problems exploiting now nonlocal (but small) subspaces. The non-local finite element subspaces are associated with subdomains obtained from a non-overlapping element partitioning of the original set of elements and are coarse outside the prescribed element subdomain. The coarsening is based on a modification of the agglomeration based AMGe method proposed in [8]. Then, the algebraic construction from [9] of the corresponding non-linear finite element subproblems is applied to generate the subspace based nonlinear preconditioner. The overall nonlinearly preconditioned problem is solved by an inexact Newton method. Numerical illustration is also provided.

A numerical screening study of the interaction between a penetrator and a geological target with a preformed hole has been carried out to identify the main parameters affecting the penetration event. The planning of the numerical experiment was based on the orthogonal array OA(18,7,3,2), which allows 18 simulation runs with 7 parameters at 3 levels each. The strength of 2 of the array allows also for two-factor interaction studies. The seven parameters chosen for this study are: penetrator offset, hole diameter, hole taper, vertical and horizontal velocity of the penetrator, angle of attack of the penetrator and target material. The analysis of the simulation results has been based on main effects plots and analysis of variance (ANOVA), and it has been performed using three metrics: the maximum values of the penetration depth, penetrator deceleration and plastic strain in the penetrator case. This screening study shows that target material has a major influence on penetration depth and penetrator deceleration, while penetrator offset has the strongest effect on the maximum plastic strain.

The activity concentration of Cesium-137 ({sup 137}Cs) and naturally-occurring Polonium-210 ({sup 210}Po) were measured in the muscle tissue, kidney and liver of Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) and bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) collected by native hunters from the Bering Sea. The mean {sup 137}Cs concentrations in muscle, liver and kidney of Pacific walrus were 0.07, 0.09 and 0.07 Bq kg{sup -1} (N= 5, wet weight), respectively, and 0.17, 0.10, and 0.17 Bq kg{sup -1} (N=2, wet weight), respectively, in bearded seal. In general, {sup 137}Cs tissue concentrations are significantly lower than those previously reported for mammals from other regions. By comparison, {sup 210}Po activity concentrations appear to be higher than those reported elsewhere but a larger variation. The mean {sup 210}Po concentration in the muscle tissue, liver and kidney of Pacific walrus (N=5, wet weight) were 28.7, 189, and 174 Bq kg{sup -1}, respectively. This compares with {sup 210}Po concentration values (N=2, wet weight) of 27, 207, and 68 Bq kg{sup -1} measured in the muscle tissue, liver and kidney, of bearded seal, respectively. Estimated bioaccumulation factors--as defined by the radionuclide concentration ratio between the target tissue to that in sea water--were two to three orders of magnitude higher for …

At the request of the Defense Logistics Agency, the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education conducted radiological scoping surveys of the Scotia Depot during the period of September 24 through 27, 2007. The scoping survey included visual inspections and limited radiological surveys performed in accordance with area classification that included surface scans, total and removable activity measurements, and soil sampling.

Experimental evidence and corresponding theoretical analyses have led to the conclusion that the system composed of Xe hollow atom states, that produce a characteristic Xe(L) spontaneous emission spectrum at 1 {at} 2.9 {angstrom} and arise from the excitation of Xe clusters with an intense pulse of 248 nm radiation propagating in a self-trapped plasma channel, closely represents the ideal situation sought for amplification in the multikilovolt region. The key innovation that is central to all aspects of the proposed work is the controlled compression of power to the level ({approx} 10{sup 20} W/cm{sup 3}) corresponding to the maximum achieved by thermonuclear events. Furthermore, since the x-ray power that is produced appears in a coherent form, an entirely new domain of physical interaction is encountered that involves states of matter that are both highly excited and highly ordered. Moreover, these findings lead to the concept of 'photonstaging', an idea which offers the possibility of advancing the power compression by an additional factor of {approx} 10{sup 9} to {approx} 10{sup 29} W/cm{sup 3}. In this completely unexplored regime, g-ray production ({h_bar}{omega}{sub {gamma}} {approx} 1 MeV) is expected to be a leading process. A new technology for the production of very highly penetrating …

The measurement of heat flux in hydrocarbon fuel fires (e.g., diesel or JP-8) is difficult due to high temperatures and the sooty environment. Un-cooled commercially available heat flux gages do not survive in long duration fires, and cooled gages often become covered with soot, thus changing the gage calibration. An alternate method that is rugged and relatively inexpensive is based on inverse heat conduction methods. Inverse heat-conduction methods estimate absorbed heat flux at specific material interfaces using temperature/time histories, boundary conditions, material properties, and usually an assumption of one-dimensional (1-D) heat flow. This method is commonly used at Sandia.s fire test facilities. In this report, an uncertainty analysis was performed for a specific example to quantify the effect of input parameter variations on the estimated heat flux when using the inverse heat conduction method. The approach used was to compare results from a number of cases using modified inputs to a base-case. The response of a 304 stainless-steel cylinder [about 30.5 cm (12-in.) in diameter and 0.32-cm-thick (1/8-in.)] filled with 2.5-cm-thick (1-in.) ceramic fiber insulation was examined. Input parameters of an inverse heat conduction program varied were steel-wall thickness, thermal conductivity, and volumetric heat capacity; insulation thickness, thermal conductivity, and …

To implement an AMR incompressible Navier-Stokes with particles algorithm, we have decided to use a non-subcycled algorithm to simplify the implementation of the particle drag forcing term. This requires a fairly broad redesign of the software from what was presented in [1], since we will no longer be using the AMR/AMR Level base classes to manage the AMR hierarchy. The new classes map on to the functionality of the classes in the original design in a fairly straightforward way, as illustrated in Table 1. The new PAmrNS class takes on the functionality of the Particle AMRNS class in the earlier implementation, along with the functionality of the AMR and Amr Level classes in the Chombo AMR Time Dependent library. The new Amr Projector class replaces the original CC Projector class, while the new AMR Particle Projector class replaces the original Particle Projector class. A basic diagram of the class relationships between the AMRINS-particles classes is depicted in Figure 1. The PAmrNS class will manage the AMR hierarchy and the non-subcycled advance. The non-subcycled advance is much simpler than the subcycled case, both in terms of algorithmic complexity (no need for synchronization projections, etc) and in terms of software implementation. The …

Solution-based synthesis is a powerful approach for creating nano-structured materials. Although there have been significant recent successes in its application to fabricating nanomaterials, the general principles that control solution synthesis are not well understood. The purpose of this LDRD project was to develop the scientific principles required to design and build unique nanostructures in crystalline oxides and II/VI semiconductors using solution-based molecular self-assembly techniques. The ability to synthesize these materials in a range of different nano-architectures (from controlled morphology nanocrystals to surface templated 3-D structures) has provided the foundation for new opportunities in such areas as interactive interfaces for optics, electronics, and sensors. The homogeneous precipitation of ZnO in aqueous solution was used primarily as the model system for the project. We developed a low temperature, aqueous solution synthesis route for preparation of large arrays of oriented ZnO nanostructures. Through control of heterogeneous nucleation and growth, methods to predicatively alter the ZnO microstructures by tailoring the surface chemistry of the crystals were established. Molecular mechanics simulations, involving single point energy calculations and full geometry optimizations, were developed to assist in selecting appropriate chemical systems and understanding physical adsorption and ultimately growth mechanisms in the design of oxide nanoarrays. The versatility …

The goal of the Replica Registration Service (RRS) is toprovide a uniform interface to various file catalogs, replica catalogs,and metadata catalogs. It can be thought of as an abstraction of theconcepts used in such systems to register files and their replicas. Someexperiments may prefer to support their own file catalogs (which may havetheir own specialized structures, semantics, and implementations) ratherthan use a standard replica catalog. Providing an RRS that can interactwith such a catalog (for example by invoking a script) can permit thatcatalog to be invoked as a service in the same way that other replicacatalogs do. If at a later time the experiment wishes to change toanother file catalog or an RLS, it is only a matter of developing an RRSfor that new catalog and replacing the existing catalog. In addition,some systems use metadata catalogs or other catalogs to manage the filename spaces. Our goal is to provide a single interface that supports theregistration of files into such name spaces as well as retrieving thisinformation.

The large number of government and industry activities supporting the Unit of Action (UA), with attendant documents, reports and briefings, can overwhelm decision-makers with an overabundance of information that hampers the ability to make quick decisions often resulting in a form of gridlock. In particular, the large and rapidly increasing amounts of data and data formats stored on UA Advanced Collaborative Environment (ACE) servers has led to the realization that it has become impractical and even impossible to perform manual analysis leading to timely decisions. UA Program Management (PM UA) has recognized the need to implement a Decision Support System (DSS) on UA ACE. The objective of this document is to research the commercial Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDDM) market and publish the results in a survey. Furthermore, a ranking mechanism based on UA ACE-specific criteria has been developed and applied to a representative set of commercially available KDDM solutions. In addition, an overview of four R&D areas identified as critical to the implementation of DSS on ACE is provided. Finally, a comprehensive database containing detailed information on surveyed KDDM tools has been developed and is available upon customer request.

Reducing agricultural water use in arid regions while maintaining or improving economic productivity of the agriculture sector is a major challenge. Controlled environment agriculture (CEA, or, greenhouse agriculture) affords advantages in direct resource use (less land and water required) and productivity (i.e., much higher product yield and quality per unit of resources used) relative to conventional open-field practices. These advantages come at the price of higher operating complexity and costs per acre. The challenge is to implement and apply CEA such that the productivity and resource use advantages will sufficiently outweigh the higher operating costs to provide for overall benefit and viability. This project undertook an investigation of CEA for livestock forage production as a water-saving alternative to open-field forage production in arid regions. Forage production is a large consumer of fresh water in many arid regions of the world, including the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. With increasing competition among uses (agriculture, municipalities, industry, recreation, ecosystems, etc.) for limited fresh water supplies, agricultural practice alternatives that can potentially maintain or enhance productivity while reducing water use warrant consideration. The project established a pilot forage production greenhouse facility in southern New Mexico based on a relatively modest and passive (no …

The Hanford External Dosimetry Technical Basis Manual PNL-MA-842 documents the design and implementation of the external dosimetry system used at Hanford. The manual describes the dosimeter design, processing protocols, dose calculation methodology, radiation fields encountered, dosimeter response characteristics, limitations of dosimeter design under field conditions, and makes recommendations for effective use of the dosimeters in the field. The manual describes the technical basis for the dosimetry system in a manner intended to help ensure defensibility of the dose of record at Hanford and to demonstrate compliance with 10 CFR 835, DOELAP, DOE-RL, ORP, PNSO, and Hanford contractor requirements. The dosimetry system is operated by PNNL’s Hanford External Dosimetry Program which provides dosimetry services to all Hanford contractors. The primary users of this manual are DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford using the dosimetry services of PNNL. Development and maintenance of this manual is funded directly by DOE and DOE contractors. Its contents have been reviewed and approved by DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford through the Hanford Personnel Dosimetry Advisory Committee which is chartered and chaired by DOE-RL and serves as means of coordinating dosimetry practices across contractors at Hanford. This manual was established in 1996. Since inception, it has …

Effective, high-performance, networked file systems and storage is needed to solve I/O bottlenecks between large compute platforms. Frequently, parallel techniques such as PFTP, are employed to overcome the adverse effect of TCP's congestion avoidance algorithm in order to achieve reasonable aggregate throughput. These techniques can suffer from end-system bottlenecks due to the protocol processing overhead and memory copies involved in moving large amounts of data during I/O. Moreover, transferring data using PFTP requires manual operation, lacking the transparency to allow for interactive visualization and computational steering of large-scale simulations from distributed locations. This paper evaluates the emerging Internet SCSI (iSCSI) protocol [2] as the file/data transport in order that remote clients can transparently access data through a distributed global file system available to local clients. We started our work characterizing the performance behavior of iSCSI in Local Area Networks (LANs). We then proceeded to study the effect of propagation delay on throughput using remote iSCSI storage and explored optimization techniques to mitigate the adverse effects of long delay in high-bandwidth Wide Area Networks (WANs). Lastly, we evaluated iSCSI in a Storage Area Network (SAN) for a Global Parallel Filesystem. We conducted our benchmark based on typical usage model of large-scale …

We have investigated the potential for intense particle beam surface modification to improve the mechanical properties of materials commonly used in the human body for contact surfaces in, for example, hip and knee implants. The materials studied include Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), Ti-6Al-4Al (titanium alloy), and Co-Cr-Mo alloy. Samples in flat form were exposed to both ion and electron beams (UHMWPE), and to ion beam treatment (metals). Post-analysis indicated a degradation in bulk properties of the UHMWPE, except in the case of the lightest ion fluence tested. A surface-alloyed Hf/Ti layer on the Ti-6Al-4V is found to improve surface wear durability, and have favorable biocompatibility. A promising nanolaminate ceramic coating is applied to the Co-Cr-Mo to improve surface hardness.

Over the last decade, ORNL has developed and patented a novel approach for forewarning of a large variety of machine and biomedical events. The present implementation uses desktop computers to analyze archival data. This report describes the next logical step in this effort, namely use of a hand-held device for the analysis.

Worldwide data on terrorist incidents between 1968 and 2004 gathered by the RAND corporation and the Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) were assessed for patterns and trends in morbidity/mortality. Adjusted data analyzed involve a total of 19,828 events, 7,401 ''adverse'' events (each causing {ge}1 victim), and 86,568 ''casualties'' (injuries) of which 25,408 were fatal. Most terror-related adverse events, casualties and deaths involved bombs and guns. Weapon-specific patterns and terror-related risk levels in Israel (IS) have differed markedly from those of all other regions combined (OR). IS had a fatal fraction of casualties about half that of OR, but has experienced relatively constant lifetime terror-related casualty risks on the order of 0.5%--a level 2 to 3 orders of magnitude more than those experienced in OR that increased {approx}100-fold over the same period. Individual event fatality has increased steadily, the median increasing from 14 to 50%. Lorenz curves obtained indicate substantial dispersion among victim/event rates: about half of all victims were caused by the top 2.5% (or 10%) of harm-ranked events in OR (or IS). Extreme values of victim/event rates were approximated fairly well by generalized Pareto models (typically used to fit to data on forest …

This report describes the Cladding Degradation Summary for La.

Factors affecting sensing of small quantities of fissionable material in large sea-going cargo containers by neutron interrogation and detection of {beta}-delayed photons are explored. The propagation of variable-energy neutrons in cargos, subsequent fission of hidden nuclear material and production of the {beta}-delayed photons, and the propagation of these photons to an external detector are considered explicitly. Detailed results of Monte Carlo simulations of these stages in representative cargos are presented. Analytical models are developed both as a basis for a quantitative understanding of the interrogation process and as a tool to allow ready extrapolation of the results to cases not specifically considered here.

In the current hybrid vehicle market, the Toyota Prius drive system is considered the leader in electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing innovations. It is a significant accomplishment that Toyota is able to manufacture and sell the vehicle for a profit. The Toyota Prius traction motor design approach for reducing manufacturing costs and the motor s torque capability have been studied and tested. The findings were presented in two previous Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) reports. The conclusions from this report reveal, through temperature rise tests, that the 2004 Toyota Prius (THSII) motor is applicable only for use in a hybrid automobile. It would be significantly undersized if used in a fuel cell vehicle application. The power rating of the Prius motor is limited by the permissible temperature rise of the motor winding (170 C) and the motor cooling oil (158 C). The continuous ratings at base speed (1200 rpm) with different coolant temperatures are projected from test data at 900 rpm. They are approximately 15 kW with 105 C coolant and 21 kW with 35 C coolant. These continuous ratings are much lower than the 30 kW specified as a technical motor target of the U.S. Department of Energy FreedomCAR Program. …