The project ''Creating an Educational Consortium to Support the Recruitment and Retention of Expertise for the Nuclear Weapons Complex'' was also known as the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) University Fellowship Program. Since its inception, the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative program and its predecessor, the Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) program, have engaged university researchers and students in the sciences necessary to answer technical questions related to reducing high-level waste volumes, optimizing the economics and performance of Yucca Mountain, reducing the technical need for a second repository, reducing the long-term inventories of plutonium in spent fuel, and enabling the proliferation-resistant recovery of the energy contained in spent fuel. The Advanced Fuel Cycle University Fellowship Program is intended to support top students across the nation in a variety of disciplines that will be required to support transmutation research and technology development in the coming decades.

Today's typical multi-criteria decision analysis is based on classical expected utility theory that assumes a mythical ''Rational Individual'' immune to psychological influences such as anticipated regret. It is therefore in conflict with rational individuals who trade-off some benefits and forgo the alternative with the highest total classical utility for a more balanced alternative in order to reduce their levels of anticipated regret. This paper focuses on decision making under certainty. It presents a reference-dependent regret model (RDRM) in which the level of regret that an individual experiences depends on the absolute values rather than the differences of the utilities of the chosen and forgone alternatives. The RDRM best choice may differ from the conventional linear additive utility model, the analytic hierarchy process, and the regret theory of Bell and Loomes and Sugden. Examples are presented that indicate that RDRM is the better predictive descriptor for decision making under certainty. RDRM satisfies transitivity of the alternatives under pairwise comparisons and models rank reversal consistent with observed reasonable choices under dynamic or distinct situations. Like regret theory, the RDRM utilities of all the alternatives under consideration are interrelated. For complex trade-off studies regret is incorporated as an element of a cost-utility-regret analysis …

The Next Linear Collider (NLC) accelerator proposal at SLAC requires a highly efficient and reliable, low cost, pulsed-power modulator to drive the klystrons. A solid-state induction modulator has been developed at SLAC to power the klystrons; this modulator uses commercial high voltage and high current Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) modules. Testing of these IGBT modules under pulsed conditions was very successful; however, the IGBTs failed when tests were performed into a low inductance short circuit. The internal electrical connections of a commercial IGBT module have been analyzed to extract self and mutual partial inductances for the main current paths as well as for the gate structure. The IGBT module, together with the partial inductances, has been modeled using PSpice. Predictions for electrical paths that carry the highest current correlate with the sites of failed die under short circuit tests. A similar analysis has been carried out for a SLAC proposal for an IGBT module layout. This paper discusses the mathematical model of the IGBT module geometry and presents simulation results.

Recent studies suggest that mineral dissolution/precipitation and clay swelling effects could have a major impact on the performance of hot dry rock (HDR) and hot fractured rock (HFR) reservoirs. A major concern is achieving and maintaining adequate injectivity, while avoiding the development of preferential short-circuiting flow paths. A Pitzer ionic interaction model has been introduced into the publicly available TOUGHREACT code for solving non-isothermal multi-phase reactive geochemical transport problems under conditions of high ionic strength, expected in typical HDR and HFR systems. To explore chemically-induced effects of fluid circulation in these systems, we examine ways in which the chemical composition of reinjected waters can be modified to improve reservoir performance. We performed a number of coupled thermo-hydrologic-chemical simulations in which the fractured medium was represented by a one-dimensional MINC model (multiple interacting continua). Results obtained with the Pitzer activity coefficient model were compared with those using an extended Debye-Hueckel equation. Our simulations show that non-ideal activity effects can be significant even at modest ionic strength, and can have major impacts on permeability evolution in injection-production systems. Alteration of injection water chemistry, for example by dilution with fresh water, can greatly alter precipitation and dissolution effects, and can offer a powerful …

Fractures and faults are brittle structural heterogeneities that can act both as conduits and barriers with respect to fluid flow in rock. This range in the hydraulic effects of fractures and faults greatly complicates the challenges faced by geoscientists working on important problems: from groundwater aquifer and hydrocarbon reservoir management, to subsurface contaminant fate and transport, to underground nuclear waste isolation, to the subsurface sequestration of CO2 produced during fossil-fuel combustion. The research performed under DOE grant DE-FG03-94ER14462 aimed to address these challenges by laying a solid foundation, based on detailed geological mapping, laboratory experiments, and physical process modeling, on which to build our interpretive and predictive capabilities regarding the structure, patterns, and fluid flow properties of fractures and faults in sandstone reservoirs. The material in this final technical report focuses on the period of the investigation from July 1, 2001 to October 31, 2004. The Aztec Sandstone at the Valley of Fire, Nevada, provides an unusually rich natural laboratory in which exposures of joints, shear deformation bands, compaction bands and faults at scales ranging from centimeters to kilometers can be studied in an analog for sandstone aquifers and reservoirs. The suite of structures there has been documented and studied …

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As part of the Department of Energy's (DOE) initiative on developing new technologies for storage of carbon dioxide in geologic reservoirs, Battelle has been awarded a project to investigate the feasibility of CO{sub 2} sequestration in the deep saline reservoirs in the Ohio River Valley region. This project is the Phase III of Battelle's work under the Novel Concepts in Greenhouse Gas Management grant. In addition to the DOE, the project is being sponsored by American Electric Power (AEP), BP, The Ohio Coal Development Office (OCDO) of the Ohio Department of Development, and Schlumberger. The main objective of the project is to evaluate the geology of deep formations in the Ohio River Valley region in general and in the vicinity of AEP's Mountaineer Power Plant in particular, in order to determine their potential use for conducting a long-term test of CO{sub 2} disposal in deep saline formations and potentially in nearby deep coal seams. This work supports the overall project objective of demonstrating that CO{sub 2} sequestration in deep formations is feasible from engineering and economic perspectives, as well as being an inherently safe practice and one that will be acceptable to the public. The current technical progress report summarizes …

The most important requirement for high-level waste glass acceptance for disposal in a geological repository is the chemical durability, expressed as a glass dissolution rate. During the early stages of glass dissolution in near static conditions that represent a repository disposal environment, a gel layer resembling a membrane forms on the glass surface through which ions exchange between the glass and the leachant. The hydrated gel layer exhibits acid/base properties which are manifested as the pH dependence of the thickness and nature of the gel layer. The gel layer has been found to age into either clay mineral assemblages or zeolite mineral assemblages. The formation of one phase preferentially over the other has been experimentally related to changes in the pH of the leachant and related to the relative amounts of Al{sup +3} and Fe{sup +3} in a glass. The formation of clay mineral assemblages on the leached glass surface layers ,lower pH and Fe{sup +3} rich glasses, causes the dissolution rate to slow to a long-term steady state rate. The formation of zeolite mineral assemblages ,higher pH and Al{sup +3} rich glasses, on leached glass surface layers causes the dissolution rate to increase and return to the initial high …

The original proposal described the construction and operation of a 1 MMscfd nitrogen removal/gas treatment system to be operated at a Butcher Energy gas field in Ohio. The gas produced at this field contained 17% nitrogen. During pre-commissioning of the project, a series of well tests showed that the amount of gas in the field was significantly smaller than expected and that the nitrogen content of the wells was very high (25 to 30%). After evaluating the revised cost of the project, Butcher Energy decided that the plant would not be economical and withdrew from the project. Since that time, Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) has signed a marketing and sales partnership with ABB Lummus Global, a large multinational corporation. MTR will be working with the company's Randall Gas Technology group, a supplier of equipment and processing technology to the natural gas industry. Randall's engineering group has found a new site for the project field test at a North Texas Exploration (NTE) gas processing plant. The plant produces about 1 MMscfd of gas containing 24% nitrogen. The membrane unit will bring this gas to 4% nitrogen for delivery to the pipeline. The membrane skid is being built by ABB. …

Natural-gas hydrates have been encountered beneath the permafrost and considered a nuisance by the oil and gas industry for years. Engineers working in Russia, Canada and the USA have documented numerous drilling problems, including kicks and uncontrolled gas releases, in arctic regions. Information has been generated in laboratory studies pertaining to the extent, volume, chemistry and phase behavior of gas hydrates. Scientists studying hydrate potential agree that the potential is great--on the North Slope of Alaska alone, it has been estimated at 590 TCF. However, little information has been obtained on physical samples taken from actual rock containing hydrates. This gas-hydrate project is a cost-shared partnership between Maurer Technology, Anadarko Petroleum, Noble Corporation, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Methane Hydrate R&D program. The purpose of the project is to build on previous and ongoing R&D in the area of onshore hydrate deposition to help identify, quantify and predict production potential for hydrates located on the North Slope of Alaska. As part of the project work scope, team members drilled and cored a well (the Hot Ice No. 1) on Anadarko leases beginning in January 2003 and completed in March 2004. Due to scheduling constraints imposed by the Arctic drilling …

The flow and transport model of Shoal is used to design a three-well monitoring network to be part of the long-term monitoring network for the site and achieve two objectives: (1) detect the presence of radionuclides in case they migrate to the monitoring well locations, and (2) provide field data to compare with model predictions as part of the model validation process. Using three different quantitative approaches and the numerical groundwater flow and transport model developed for Shoal, three new monitoring well locations were identified from 176 different networks. In addition to the quantitative analyses using the numerical model, the development of the monitoring network for Shoal will also be subject to qualitative hydrogeologic interpretation during implementation. information will only be available during the fieldwork, it will be incorporated in the monitoring well design at the time of well installation. Finally, it should be noted that the CADD-CAP for Shoal, including the compliance boundary, is not yet approved. Should the compliance boundary change from the 1,000-year MCL contaminant boundary, well locations may also need to change. However, the analysis reported here provides a number of alternatives with reasonable detection efficiency.

The contents of Tank 48 that include the tetraphenylborate (TPB) precipitates of potassium and cesium will be grouted and stored in the Saltstone vault. The grouting process is exothermic, which should accelerate the decomposition of TPB precipitates eventually to benzene. Because the vault is not currently outfitted with an active ventilation system, there is a concern that a mixture of flammable gases may form in the vapor space of each cell filled with the curing grout. The purpose of this study was to determine if passive breathing induced by the diurnal oscillations of atmospheric pressure would provide any mitigating measure against potential flammability. Specifically, it was requested that a set of algorithms be developed that would predict the equilibrium concentration of benzene as a function of benzene generation rate, fill height, and the amplitude of the barometric pressure oscillations. These algorithms were to be derived based on several simplifying assumptions so that order of magnitude estimates could be made quickly for scoping purposes. This memo documents the resulting algorithms along with those key assumptions made. These algorithms were then applied to simulate several test cases, including the baseline case where the cell was filled to the maximum height of 25 …

The overall objective of the project was to develop advanced innovative mercury control technologies to reduce mercury emissions by 50%-90% in flue gases typically found in North Dakota lignite-fired power plants at costs from one-half to three-quarters of current estimated costs. Power plants firing North Dakota lignite produce flue gases that contain >85% elemental mercury, which is difficult to collect. The specific objectives were focused on determining the feasibility of the following technologies: Hg oxidation for increased Hg capture in dry scrubbers, incorporation of additives and technologies that enhance Hg sorbent effectiveness in electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) and baghouses, the use of amended silicates in lignite-derived flue gases for Hg capture, and the use of Hg adsorbents within a baghouse. The approach to developing Hg control technologies for North Dakota lignites involved examining the feasibility of the following technologies: Hg capture upstream of an ESP using sorbent enhancement, Hg oxidation and control using dry scrubbers, enhanced oxidation at a full-scale power plant using tire-derived fuel and oxidizing catalysts, and testing of Hg control technologies in the Advanced Hybrid{trademark} filter.

The purpose of this design calculation is to estimate radiation doses received by personnel working in the Transportation Cask Receipt and Return Facility (TCRRF) of the repository including the personnel at the security gate and cask staging areas. This calculation is required to support the preclosure safety analysis (PCSA) to ensure that the predicted doses are within the regulatory limits prescribed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The Cask Receipt and Return Facility receives NRC licensed transportation casks loaded with spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). The TCRRF operation starts with the receipt, inspection, and survey of the casks at the security gate and the staging areas, and proceeds to the process facilities. The transportation casks arrive at the site via rail cars or trucks under the guidance of the national transportation system. This calculation was developed by the Environmental and Nuclear Engineering organization and is intended solely for the use of Design and Engineering in work regarding facility design. Environmental and Nuclear Engineering personnel should be consulted before using this calculation for purposes other than those stated herein or for use by individuals other than authorized personnel in the Environmental and Nuclear Engineering organization.

The design concept is designated the ''Porous Wall Radiation Barrier'' heating mantle. In this design, combustion gas flows through a porous wall surrounding the retort, transferring its heat to the porous wall, which then radiates heat energy to the retort. Experiments demonstrate that heat transfer rates of 1.8-2.4 times conventional gas fired mantles are achievable in the temperature range of 1600-2350 degrees fahrenheit.

We present the results of an ab initio study of elastic scattering and vibrational excitation of NO by electron impact in the low-energy (0-2 eV) region where the cross sections are dominated by resonance contributions. The 3Sigma-, 1Delta and 1Sigma+ NO- resonance lifetimes are taken from our earlier study [Phys. Rev. A 69, 062711 (2004)], but the resonance energies used here are obtained from new configuration-interaction studies. Here we employ a more elaborate nonlocal treatment of the nuclear dynamics, which is found to remedy the principal deficiencies of the local complex potential model we employed in our earlier study, and gives cross sections in better agreement with the most recent experiments. We also present cross sections for dissociative electron attachment to NO leading to groundstate products. The calculations show that, while the peak cross sections starting from NO in its ground vibrational state are very small, the cross sections are extremely sensitive to vibrational excitation of the target and should be readily observable for target NO molecules excited to v = 10 and above.

The present research program is centered on the experimental and numerical study of two instabilities that develop at the interface between two different fluids when the interface experiences an impulsive or a constant acceleration. The instabilities, called the Richtmyer-Meshkov and Rayleigh-Taylor instability, respectively, adversely affect target implosion in experiments aimed at the achievement of nuclear fusion by inertial confinement by causing the nuclear fuel contained in a target and the shell material to mix, leading to contamination of the fuel, yield reduction or no ignition at all. The laboratory experiments summarized in this report include shock tube experiments to study a shock-accelerated bubble and a shock-accelerated 2-D sinusoidal interface; and experiments based on the use of magnetorheological fluids for the study of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Computational experiments based on the shock tube experimental conditions are also reported.

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The Savannah River Site, SRS, is currently pursuing an aggressive program to empty its High Level Waste, HLW, tanks and immobilize its radioactive waste into a durable borosilicate glass in the Defense Waste Processing Facility, DWPF. To create a batch of feed for the DWPF, several tanks of sludge slurry are combined into one of the million gallon, i.e. 3.79E06 liters, feed tanks for DWPF. A batch of feed nominally consists of 500,000 gallons, i.e. 1.89E06 liters. After a batch of feed is prepared, a portion of the batch, 26,500 liters, is transferred to DWPF. This batch is then chemically adjusted in the Chemical Processing Cell, CPC, prior to being fed to the melter to make the final product; canisters filled with glass. During the processing of the third batch, or Sludge Batch 2, of feed through the DWPF CPC, pumping and transfer problems were noted. These problems hindered the processing of the feed through the CPC, and thus impacted canister production in DWPF. In order to investigate the root cause of these problems, data were collected and evaluated for possible trends. One trend noted was the relationship between the pH, solids loading concentration, and temperature of the feed. As …

Natural-gas hydrates have been encountered beneath the permafrost and considered a nuisance by the oil and gas industry for years. Engineers working in Russia, Canada and the USA have documented numerous drilling problems, including kicks and uncontrolled gas releases, in arctic regions. Information has been generated in laboratory studies pertaining to the extent, volume, chemistry and phase behavior of gas hydrates. Scientists studying hydrate potential agree that the potential is great--on the North Slope of Alaska alone, it has been estimated at 590 TCF. However, little information has been obtained on physical samples taken from actual rock containing hydrates. This gas-hydrate project was a cost-shared partnership between Maurer Technology, Noble Corporation, Anadarko Petroleum, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Methane Hydrate R&D program. The purpose of the project is to build on previous and ongoing R&D in the area of onshore hydrate deposition to identify, quantify and predict production potential for hydrates located on the North Slope of Alaska. The work scope included drilling and coring a well (Hot Ice No. 1) on Anadarko leases beginning in FY 2003 and completed in 2004. During the first drilling season, operations were conducted at the site between January 28, 2003 to April …

The objective of this project is to increase oil recovery from fractured reservoirs through improved fundamental understanding of the process of spontaneous imbibition by which oil is displaced from the rock matrix into the fractures. Spontaneous imbibition is fundamentally dependent on the reservoir surface free energy but this has never been investigated for rocks. In this project, the surface free energy of rocks will be determined by using liquids that can be solidified within the rock pore space at selected saturations. Thin sections of the rock then provide a two-dimensional view of the rock minerals and the occupant phases. Saturations and oil/rock, water/rock, and oil/water surface areas will be determined by advanced petrographic analysis and the surface free energy which drives spontaneous imbibition will be determined as a function of increase in wetting phase saturation. The inherent loss in surface free energy resulting from capillary instabilities at the microscopic (pore level) scale will be distinguished from the decrease in surface free energy that drives spontaneous imbibition. A mathematical network/numerical model will be developed and tested against experimental results of recovery versus time over broad variation of key factors such as rock properties, fluid phase viscosities, sample size, shape and boundary …

The Standard Model predictions for W{gamma} and Z{gamma} production are tested using an integrated luminosity of 200 pb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collision data collected at the Collider Detector at Fermilab. The cross sections are measured by selecting leptonic decays of the W and Z bosons, and photons with transverse energy E{sub T} > 7 GeV that are well separated from leptons. The production cross sections and kinematic distributions for the W{gamma} and Z{gamma} data are compared to SM predictions.

We present a search for excited and exotic electrons (e*) decaying to an electron and a photon, both with high transverse momentum. We use 202 pb{sup -1} of data collected in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV with the CDF II detector. No signal above standard model expectation is seen for associated ee* production. We discuss the e* sensitivity in the parameter space of the excited electron mass M{sub e*} and the compositeness energy scale {Lambda}. In the contact interaction model, we exclude 132 GeV/c{sup 2} < M{sub e*} < 879 GeV/c{sup 2} for {Lambda} = M{sub e*} at 95% confidence level (C.L.). In the gauge-mediated model, we exclude 126 GeV/c{sup 2} < M{sub e*} < 430 GeV/c{sup 2} at 95% C.L. for the phenomenological coupling f/{Lambda} {approx} 10{sup -2} GeV{sup -1}.