This thesis examines and confirms the feasibility of using non-uranium fuel in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) radial blanket to eliminate plutonium of both weapons and civilian origin. In the equilibrium cycle, the periphery of the PWR is loaded with alternating fresh and once burned non-uranium fuel assemblies, with the interior of the core comprised of conventional three batch UO{sub 2} assemblies. Plutonium throughput is such that there is no net plutonium production: production in the interior is offset by destruction in the periphery. Using this approach a 50 MT WGPu inventory could be eliminated in approximately 400 reactor years of operation. Assuming all other existing constraints were removed, the 72 operating US PWRs could disposition 50 MT of WGPu in 5.6 years. Use of a low fissile loading plutonium-erbium inert-oxide-matrix composition in the peripheral assemblies essentially destroys 100% of the {sup 239}Pu and {ge}90% {sub total}Pu over two 18 month fuel cycles. Core radial power peaking, reactivity vs EFPD profiles and core average reactivity coefficients were found to be comparable to standard PWR values. Hence, minimal impact on reload licensing is anticipated. Examination of potential candidate fuel matrices based on the existing experience base and thermo-physical properties resulted in …

Real time monitoring of toxic metallic effluents in confined gas streams can be accomplished through use of Microwave Induced Plasmas to perform atomic emission spectroscopy, For this diagnostic to be viable it is necessary that it sample from the flowstream of interest in an isokinetic manner. A method of isokinetic sampling was established for this device for use in the exhaust system of a plasma hearth vitrification furnace. The flow and entrained particulate environment were simulated in the laboratory setting using a variable flow duct of the same dimensions (8-inch diameter, schedule 40) as that in the field and was loaded with similar particulate (less than 10 {mu}m in diameter) of lake bed soil typically used in the vitrification process. The flow from the furnace was assumed to be straight flow. To reproduce this effect a flow straightener was installed in the device. An isokinetic sampling train was designed to include the plasma torch, with microwave power input operating at 2.45 GHz, to match local freestream velocities between 800 and 2400 ft/sec. The isokinetic sampling system worked as planned and the plasma torch had no difficulty operating at the required flowrates. Simulation of the particulate suspension was also successful. Steady …

The hydrologic properties of heterogeneous geologic media are estimated by simultaneously inverting multiple observations from well-test data. A set of pressure transients observed during one or more interference tests is compared to the corresponding values obtained by numerically simulating the tests using a mathematical model. The parameters of the mathematical model are varied and the simulation repeated until a satisfactory match to the observed pressure transients is obtained, at which point the model parameters are accepted as providing a possible representation of the hydrologic property distribution. Restricting the search to parameters that represent fractal hydrologic property distributions can improve the inversion process. Far fewer parameters are needed to describe heterogeneity with a fractal geometry, improving the efficiency and robustness of the inversion. Additionally, each parameter set produces a hydrologic property distribution with a hierarchical structure, which mimics the multiple scales of heterogeneity often seen in natural geological media. Application of the IFS inverse method to synthetic interference-test data shows that the method reproduces the synthetic heterogeneity successfully for idealized heterogeneities, for geologically-realistic heterogeneities, and when the pressure data includes noise.

This dissertation describes a numerical technique, Matrix-Free Newton Krylov, for solving a simplified Vlasov-Fokker-Planck equation. This method is both deterministic and fully implicit, and may not have been a viable option before current developments in numerical methods. Results are presented that indicate the efficiency of the Matrix-Free Newton Krylov method for these fully-coupled, nonlinear integro-differential equations. The use and requirement for advanced differencing is also shown. To this end, implementations of Chang-Cooper differencing and flux limited Quadratic Upstream Interpolation for Convective Kinematics (QUICK) are presented. Results are given for a fully kinetic ion-electron problem with a self consistent electric field calculated from the ion and electron distribution functions. This numerical method, including advanced differencing, provides accurate solutions, which quickly converge on workstation class machines. It is demonstrated that efficient steady-state solutions can be achieved to the non-linear integro-differential equation, obtaining quadratic convergence, without incurring the large memory requirements of an integral operator. Model problems are presented which simulate plasma impinging on a plate with both high and low neutral particle recycling typical of a divertor in a Tokamak device. These model problems demonstrate the performance of the new solution method.

The surface structure of three molecular adsorbate systems on transition metal surfaces, ({radical}3 x {radical}3)R30{degrees} and (1.5 x 1.5)R18{degrees} CO adsorbed on Cu(111), and c(2x2) N2/Ni(100), have been determined using Angle-Resolved Photoemission Extended Fine Structure (ARPEFS). The adsorption site and bond lengths are reported for the adsorbate-metal bond and the first two substrate layers. The ARPEFS diffraction pattern of the shake-up peak for c(2x2) N2/Ni(100) is also discussed. A unique method of experimentally determining the angular momentum and intrinsic/extrinsic origin of core-level satellites is presented. We show for the first time that satellite peaks not associated with chemically differentiated atomic species display an ARPEFS intensity oscillation. Specifically, we present data for the C 1s from ({radical}3x{radical}3)R30 CO/Cu(111) and p2mg(2x1)CO/Ni(110), N is from c(2x2) N2/Ni(100), and Ni 3p from clean nickel(111). The satellite peaks in all cases exhibit ARPEFS curves which indicate an angular momentum identical to the main peak and are of an intrinsic nature. A Fourier Transform Soft X-ray spectrometer (FF-SX) has been designed and is under construction for the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The spectrometer is designed for ultra-high resolution theoretical resolving power E/{Delta}E{approx}-10{sup 6} in the photon energy region of 60-120 eV. …

The hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of ethylene, propylene, and isobutene were monitored in situ during heterogeneous catalysis over Pt(111) between 10{sup -10} Torr and 1000 Torr with infrared-visible sum frequency generation (SFG). SFG is a surface specific vibrational spectroscopy capable of achieving submonolayer sensitivity under reaction conditions in the presence of hundreds of Toff of reactants and products. Olefin dehydrogenation experiments were carried out with SFG under ultra high vacuum (UHV) conditions on the (111) crystal face of platinum Ethylene chemisorbed on Pt(111) below 230 K in the di-{sigma} bonded conformation (Pt-CH{sub 2}CH{sub 2}-Pt). Upon annealing the system to form the dehydrogenation product, ethylidyne (M=CCH{sub 3}), evidence was found for an ethylidene intermediate (M=CHCH{sub 3}) from its characteristic v{sub as}(CH{sub 3}) near 2960 cm{sup -1}. Hydrogenation of ethylene was carried out between 1 Toff and 700 Torr of H{sub 2} while the vibrational spectrum of surface species was monitored with SFG. Simultaneously, gas chromatography was used to obtain the turnover rate for the catalytic reaction, which could be correlated with the adsorbed intermediate concentration to determine the reaction rate per surface intermediate. Di-{sigma} bonded ethylene, {pi}-bonded ethylene, ethyl groups and ethylidyne resided on the surface during reaction. The mechanistic pathway for …

International environmental accords frequently contain obligations that may be easily satisfied by their signatories. Observers have speculated why it is in a state`s interests to sign agreements that lack strict conditions, but policy analysts lack a coherent model explaining how such agreements are formalized. Knowledge, values, and authority are key forces that elucidate how environmental accords are developed with provisions that are easily executable. This dissertation examines the formulation of Helsinki Commission recommendations to reduce emissions of organochlorines from Nordic kraft pulp mills. The kraft pulp industry, the largest industrial pollution emitter to the Baltic Sea, is also a crucial foreign exchange earner for both Sweden and Finland. Hence, Swedes and Finns were the most active participants in regional negotiations to reduce organochlorine emissions. Key variable analysis explains how obstacles in various regional negotiations were overcome, and how parties constructed a recommendation with obligations that could be easily accommodated. The two sides never agreed about the level of risk posed by organochlorines in the marine environment. This problem influenced the strictness of pollution limits specified in the final agreement. But, the parties overcame formidable obstacles in the negotiations, including: (1) concerns about costs to industry and competitive disadvantages in the …

A capillary puffing array has been installed on Alcator C-Mod which allows localized introduction of gaseous species in the scrape-off layer. This system has been utilized in experiments to elucidate both global and local properties of edge transport. Deuterium fueling and recycling impurity screening are observed to be characterized by non-dimensional screening efficiencies which are independent of the location of introduction. In contrast, the behavior of non-recycling impurities is seen to be characterized by a screening time which is dependent on puff location. The work of this thesis has focused on the use of the capillary array with a camera system which can view impurity line emission plumes formed in the region of an injection location. The ionic plumes observed extend along the magnetic field line with a comet-like asymmetry, indicative of background plasma ion flow. The flow is observed to be towards the nearest strike-point, independent of x-point location, magnetic field direction, and other plasma parameters. While the axes of the plumes are generally along the field line, deviations are seen which indicate cross-field ion drifts. A quasi-two dimensional fluid model has been constructed to use the plume shapes of the first charge state impurity ions to extract information …

The {sup 129}Xe-induced reactions on {sup nat}Cu, {sup 89}Y, {sup 165}Ho, and {sup 197}Au at bombarding energies of E/A = 40 & 60 MeV have been studied theoretically and experimentally in order to establish the underlying mechanism of multifragmentation at intermediate energy heavy-Ion collisions. Nuclear disks formed in central heavy-ion collisions, as simulated by means of Boltzmann-like kinetic equations, break up into several fragments due to a new kind of Rayleigh-like surface instability. A sheet of liquid, stable in the limit of non-interacting surfaces, is shown to become unstable due to surface-surface interactions. The onset of this instability is determined analytically. A thin bubble behaves like a sheet and is susceptible to the surface instability through the crispation mode. The Coulomb effects associated with the depletion of charges in the central cavity of nuclear bubbles are investigated. The onset of Coulomb instability is demonstrated for perturbations of the radial mode. Experimental intermediate-mass-fragment multiplicity distributions for the {sup 129}Xe-induced reactions are shown to be binomial at each transverse energy. From these distributions, independent of the specific target, an elementary binary decay probability p can be extracted that has a thermal dependence. Thus it is inferred that multifragmentation is reducible to a …

The cationic peptide ligands distamycin and netropsin bind noncovalently to the minor groove of DNA. The binding site, orientation, stoichiometry, and qualitative affinity of distamycin binding to several short DNA oligomers were investigated by NMR spectroscopy. The oligomers studied contain A,T-rich or I,C-rich binding sites, where I = 2-desaminodeoxyguanosine. I{center_dot}C base pairs are functional analogs of A{center_dot}T base pairs in the minor groove. The different behaviors exhibited by distamycin and netropsin binding to various DNA sequences suggested that these ligands are sensitive probes of DNA structure. For sites of five or more base pairs, distamycin can form 1:1 or 2:1 ligand:DNA complexes. Cooperativity in distamycin binding is low in sites such as AAAAA which has narrow minor grooves, and is higher in sites with wider minor grooves such as ATATAT. The distamycin binding and base pair opening lifetimes of I,C-containing DNA oligomers suggest that the I,C minor groove is structurally different from the A,T minor groove. Molecules which direct chemistry to a specific DNA sequence could be used as antiviral compounds, diagnostic probes, or molecular biology tools. The author studied two ligands in which reactive groups were tethered to a distamycin to increase the sequence specificity of the reactive agent.

A methodology for nondestructive assay of drum packaged radioactive waste materials is investigated using Emission Computed Tomography procedures. A requirement of this method is accurate gamma attenuation correction. This is accomplished by the use of a constant density distribution for the drum content, thereby requiring the need for a homogeneous medium. The current predominant NDA technique is the use of the Segmented Gamma Scanner. Tomographic Gamma Scanning improves upon this method by providing a low resolution three-dimensional image of the source distribution, yielding both spatial and activity information. Reconstruction of the source distribution is accomplished by utilization of algebraic techniques with a nine by six voxel model with detector information gathered over scanning intervals of ninety degrees. Construction of a linear system to describe the scenario was accomplished using a point-source response function methodology, where a 54 {times} 120 matrix contained the projected detector responses for each source-detector geometry. Entries in this matrix were calculated using the point-kernal shielding code QAD-CGGP. Validation was performed using the MCNP photon transport code. Solutions to the linear system were determined using the Non-Negative Least Squares (NNLS) algorithm and the LSMOD algorithm. A series of four scans were performed, each reconstructing the source distribution …

A polarization dependence technique has been developed as a tool to investigate phonon scattering (PS), electronic Raman scattering (ERS), and two-photon absorption (TPA) transition intensities in vanadate and phosphate crystals. A general theory for the polarization dependence (PD) of two-photon transition intensities has been given. Expressions for the polarization dependent behavior of two-photon transition intensities have been tabulated for the 32 crystallographic point groups. When the wavefunctions for the initial and final states of a rare-earth doped in crystals are known, explicit PD expressions with no unknown parameters can be obtained. A spectroscopic method for measuring and interpreting phonon and ERS intensities has been developed to study PrVO{sub 4}, NdVO{sub 4}, ErVO{sub 4}, and TmVO{sub 4} crystals. Relative phonon intensities with the polarization of the incident and scattered light arbitrarily varied were accurately predicted and subsequently used for alignment and calibration in ERS measurements in these systems for the first time. Since ERS and PS intensities generally follow different polarization curves as a function of polar angles, the two can be uniquely identified by comparing their respective polarization behavior. The most crucial application of the technique in ERS spectroscopy is the establishment of a stringent test for the Axe theory. …

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the addition of an air scrubber to an already existing delay line and whether it would scrub {sup 11}CO{sub 2}. There were three main objectives of this study. The first objective was to determine the scrubbing efficiency of the scrubber. The scrubbing efficiency was then used to predict the dose rates in the scrubber area and compare those values with measurements from radiological surveys. The third objective was to determine if the shield blocks were effective in reducing the dose rates in the scrubber area. The activities were measured before and during scrubber operation and this information was used to calculate the scrubbing efficiency and the efficiency of {sup 11}CO{sub 2} removal was determined to be around 50%. Microshield was then used to predict dose rates and compared those values with measurements from radiological surveys. This was also used to determine the that the shield blocks around the scrubber were effective in reducing the dose rates from the radiation field produced by the radionuclides in the scrubber.

An improved understanding of the factors that control radon entry into buildings is needed in order to reduce the public health risks caused by exposure to indoor radon. This dissertation examines three issues associated with radon entry into buildings: (1) the influence of a subslab gravel layer and the size of the openings between the soil and the building interior on radon entry; (2) the effect of atmospheric pressure fluctuations on radon entry; and (3) the development and validation of mathematical models which simulate radon and soil-gas entry into houses. Experiments were conducted using two experimental basements to examine the influence of a subslab gravel layer on advective radon entry driven by steady indoor-outdoor pressure differences. These basement structures are identical except that in one the floor slab lies directly on native soil whereas in the other the slab lies on a high-permeability gravel layer. The measurements indicate that a high permeability subslab gravel layer increases the advective radon entry rate into the structure by as much as a factor of 30. The magnitude of the enhancement caused by the subslab gravel layer depends on the area of the openings in the structure floor; the smaller the area of these …

Simulations of a tritium tracer experiment in fractured shale saprolite, conducted at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, were performed using 1D and 2D equivalent porous medium (EPM) and discrete-fracture/matrix-diffusion (DFMD) models. The models successfully reproduced the general shape of the breakthrough curves in down-gradient monitoring wells which are characterized by rapid first arrival, a slow-moving center of mass, and a persistent ``tail`` of low concentration. In plan view, the plume shows a large degree of transverse spreading with the width almost as great as the length. EPM models were sensitive to dispersivity coefficient values which had to be large (relative to the 3.7m distance between the injection and monitoring wells) to fit the tail and transverse spreading. For example, to fit the tail a longitudinal dispersivity coefficient, {alpha}{sub L}, of 0.8 meters for the 2D simulations was used. To fit the transverse spreading, a transverse dispersivity coefficient, {alpha}{sub T}, of 0.8 to 0.08 meters was used indicating an {alpha}{sub L}/{alpha}{sub T} ratio between 10 and 1. Transverse spreading trends were also simulated using a 2D DFMD model using a few larger aperture fractures superimposed onto an EPM. Of the fracture networks studied, only those with truncated fractures caused transverse spreading. …

Solution NMR was primarily used to characterize structure and dynamics in two different eukaryotic protein systems: the {delta}-Al-{var_epsilon} activation domain from c-jun and the Drosophila RNA-binding protein Sex-lethal. The second system is the Drosophila Sex-lethal (Sxl) protein, an RNA-binding protein which is the ``master switch`` in sex determination. Sxl contains two adjacent RNA-binding domains (RBDs) of the RNP consensus-type. The NMR spectrum of the second RBD (Sxl-RBD2) was assigned using multidimensional heteronuclear NMR, and an intermediate-resolution family of structures was calculated from primarily NOE distance restraints. The overall fold was determined to be similar to other RBDs: a {beta}{alpha}{beta}-{beta}{alpha}{beta} pattern of secondary structure, with the two helices packed against a 4-stranded anti-parallel {beta}-sheet. In addition {sup 15}N T{sub 1}, T{sub 2}, and {sup 15}N/{sup 1}H NOE relaxation measurements were carried out to characterize the backbone dynamics of Sxl-RBD2 in solution. RNA corresponding to the polypyrimidine tract of transformer pre-mRNA was generated and titrated into 3 different Sxl-RBD protein constructs. Combining Sxl-RBD1+2 (bht RBDs) with this RNA formed a specific, high affinity protein/RNA complex that is amenable to further NMR characterization. The backbone {sup 1}H, {sup 13}C, and {sup 15}N resonances of Sxl-RBD1+2 were assigned using a triple-resonance approach, and {sup …

Multidimensional heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy was used to investigate the N-terminal domain of the transcriptional enhancer NTRC (NiTrogen Regulatory protein C). This domain belongs to the family of receiver domains of two-component regulatory systems involved in signal transduction. Phosphorylation of NTRC at D54 leads to an activated form of the molecule which stimulates transcription of genes involved in nitrogen regulation. Three and four dimensional NMR techniques were used to determine an intermediate resolution structure of the unphosphorylated, inactive form of the N-terminal domain of NTRC. The structure is comprised of five {alpha}-helices and a five-stranded {beta}-sheet in a ({beta}/{alpha}){sub 5} topology. Analysis of the backbone dynamics of NTRC indicate that helix 4 and strand 5 are significantly more flexible than the rest of the secondary structure of the protein and that the loops making up the active site are flexible. The short lifetime of phospho-NTRC hampers the study of this form. However, conditions for determining the resonance assignments and, possibly, the three dimensional structure of phosphorylated NTRC have been obtained. Tentative assignments of the phosphorylated form indicate that the majority of the changes that NTRC experiences upon phosphorylation occur in helix 3, strand 4, helix 4, strand 5, and the loop …

Maximum cross-correlation techniques have been used with satellite data to estimate winds and sea surface velocities for several years. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is currently using a variation of the basic maximum cross-correlation technique, coupled with a deterministic application of a vector median filter, to measure transverse winds as a function of range and altitude from incoherent elastic backscatter lidar (light detection and ranging) data taken throughout large volumes within the atmospheric boundary layer. Hourly representations of three-dimensional wind fields, derived from elastic lidar data taken during an air-quality study performed in a region of complex terrain near Sunland Park, New Mexico, are presented and compared with results from an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved laser doppler velocimeter. The wind fields showed persistent large scale eddies as well as general terrain-following winds in the Rio Grande valley.

Indoor air exposures to gaseous contaminants originating in soil can cause large human health risks. To predict and control these exposures, the mechanisms that affect vapor transport in near-surface soils need to be understood. In particular, radon exposure is a concern since average indoor radon concentrations lead to much higher risks than are generally accepted for exposure to other environmental contaminants. This dissertation examines an important component of the indoor radon problem: the impacts of wind on soil-gas and radon transport and entry into buildings. The research includes experimental and modeling studies of wind`s interactions with a building`s superstructure and the resulting soil-gas and radon flows in the surrounding soil. In addition to exploring the effects of steady winds, a novel modeling technique is developed to examine the impacts of fluctuating winds on soil-gas and radon transport.

Currently one of the most widely used high {Tc} superconductors is the Bi-based compounds Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub z} and Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub z} (known as BSCCO 2212 and 2223 compounds) with {Tc} values of about 85 K and 110 K respectively. Lengths of high performance conductors ranging from 100 to 1000 m long are routinely fabricated and some test magnets have been wound. An additional difficulty here is that although Bi-2212 and Bi-2223 phases exist over a wide range of stoichiometries, neither has been prepared in phase-pure form. So far the most successful method of constructing reliable and robust wires or tapes is the so called powder-in-tube (PIT) technique [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] in which oxide powder of the appropriate stoichiometry and phase content is placed inside a metal tube, deformed into the desired geometry (round wire or flat tape), and annealed to produce the desired superconducting properties. Intermediate anneals are often incorporated between successive deformation steps. Silver is the metal used in this process because it is the most compatible with the reacting phase. In all of the commercial processes for BSCCO, Ag seems to play a special catalytic role promoting the growth …

Various geometrical aspects of quantum spaces are presented showing the possibility of building physics on quantum spaces. In the first chapter the authors give the motivations for studying noncommutative geometry and also review the definition of a Hopf algebra and some general features of the differential geometry on quantum groups and quantum planes. In Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 the noncommutative version of differential calculus, integration and complex structure are established for the quantum sphere S{sub 1}{sup 2} and the quantum complex projective space CP{sub q}(N), on which there are quantum group symmetries that are represented nonlinearly, and are respected by all the aforementioned structures. The braiding of S{sub q}{sup 2} and CP{sub q}(N) is also described. In Chapter 4 the quantum projective geometry over the quantum projective space CP{sub q}(N) is developed. Collinearity conditions, coplanarity conditions, intersections and anharmonic ratios is described. In Chapter 5 an algebraic formulation of Reimannian geometry on quantum spaces is presented where Riemannian metric, distance, Laplacian, connection, and curvature have their quantum counterparts. This attempt is also extended to complex manifolds. Examples include the quantum sphere, the complex quantum projective space and the two-sheeted space. The quantum group of general coordinate transformations on some …

The main theme of this thesis is a study of the geometry of quantum groups and quantum spaces, with the hope that they will be useful for the construction of quantum field theory with quantum group symmetry. The main tool used is the Faddeev-Reshetikhin-Takhtajan description of quantum groups. A few content-rich examples of quantum complex spaces with quantum group symmetry are treated in details. In chapter 1, the author reviews some of the basic concepts and notions for Hopf algebras and other background materials. In chapter 2, he studies the vector fields of quantum groups. A compact realization of these vector fields as pseudodifferential operators acting on the linear quantum spaces is given. In chapter 3, he describes the quantum sphere as a complex quantum manifold by means of a quantum stereographic projection. A covariant calculus is introduced. An interesting property of this calculus is the existence of a one-form realization of the exterior differential operator. The concept of a braided comodule is introduced and a braided algebra of quantum spheres is constructed. In chapter 4, the author considers the more general higher dimensional quantum complex projective spaces and the quantum Grassman manifolds. Differential calculus, integration and braiding can be …

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