As a follow-on to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) effort to calibrate the LLNL passive-active neutron drum (PAN) shuffler for measurement of highly enriched uranium (HEU) oxide, a method has been developed to extend the use of the PAN shuffler to the measurement of HEU in mixed uranium-plutonium (U-Pu) oxide. This method uses the current LLNL HEU oxide calibration algorithms, appropriately corrected for the mixed U-Pu oxide assay time, and recently developed PuO{sub 2} calibration algorithms to yield the mass of {sup 235}U present via differences between the expected count rate for the PuO{sub 2} and the measured count rate of the mixed U-Pu oxide. This paper describes the LLNL effort to use PAN shuffler measurements of units of certified reference material (CRM) 149 [uranium (93% Enriched) Oxide - U{sub 3}O{sub 8} Standard for Neutron Counting Measurements] and CRM 146 [Uranium Isotopic Standard for Gamma Spectrometry Measurements] and a selected set of LLNL PuO{sub 2}-bearing containers in consort with Monte Carlo simulations of the PAN shuffler response to each to (1) establish and validate a correction to the HEU calibration algorithm for the mixed U-Pu oxide assay time, (2) develop a PuO{sub 2} calibration algorithm that includes the effect …

Heavy-ion accelerators for heavy-ion inertial fusion energy (HIF) will operate at high aperture-fill factors with high beam current and long durations. (Injected currents of order 1 A and 20 {micro}s at a few MeV for each of {approx}100 beams, will be compressed to the order of 100 A and 0.2 {micro}s, reaching GeV energies in a power plant driver.) This will be accompanied by beam ions impacting walls, liberating gas molecules and secondary electrons. Without special preparation, the {approx}10% electron population predicted for driver-scale experiments will affect beam transport; but wall conditioning and other mitigation techniques should result in substantial reduction. Theory and particle-in-cell simulations suggest that electrons, from ionization of residual and desorbed gas and secondary electrons from vacuum walls, will be radially trapped in the {approx}4 kV ion beam potential. Trapped electrons can modify the beam space charge, vacuum pressure, ion transport dynamics, and halo generation, and can potentially cause ion-electron instabilities. Within quadrupole (and dipole) magnets, the longitudinal electron velocity is limited to drift velocities (E x B and {del}B) and the electron density can vary azimuthally, radially, and longitudinally. These variations can cause centroid misalignment, emittance growth and halo growth. Diagnostics are being developed to measure …

The transient heat load on divertor surfaces from Edge-Localized Modes (ELMs) in tokamaks can be very large and thus of concern for a large device such as ITER. Models for kinetic modifications to fluid models are discussed that should allow them to reasonably describe the long mean-free path regime encountered owing to the high electron and ion temperatures in the SOL during large ELMs. A set of two-dimensional (2D) simulations of the dynamic response of the scrape-off layer (SOL) plasma to an ELM is presented. The role of plasma currents and E x B motion is emphasized, which cause large changes in the response compared to models neglecting them.

A 3-D surface seismic reflection survey, covering an area of over 3 square miles, was conducted at the Rye Patch geothermal reservoir (Nevada) to explore the structural features that may control geothermal production in the area. In addition to the surface sources and receivers, a high-temperature three-component seismometer was deployed in a borehole at a depth of 3900 ft within the basement below the reservoir, which recorded the waves generated by all surface sources. A total of 1959 first-arrival travel times were determined out of 2134 possible traces. Two-dimensional ray tracing was performed to simulate wave propagation from the surface sources to the receiver at depth. Travel time differences between observed and calculated times were mapped to topographic changes in the elevation of the interface between the carbonate basement and the sedimentary and volcanic unit above. Results indicate the presence of two dominant geologic features. The first confirms the regional trend of the geologic units in the Basin and Range province with a north-south strike and dip to the west, as expected for normal faulting encountered in an extensional regime. The second is a local disturbance of this regional pattern in form of an elevation of the interface between the …

We compared estimates of population abundance and size structure for Yellowstone cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri obtained by electrofishing 77 stream segments across southeastern Idaho in the 1980s and again in 1999-2000 to test whether populations of Yellowstone cutthroat trout had changed. Sites sampled in the 1980s were relocated in 1999-2000 by using maps and photographs or by finding original site-boundary stakes, so that the same reach of stream was sampled during both periods. Abundance of Yellowstone cutthroat trout longer than 10 cm did not change, averaging 41 fish/100 m of stream during both the 1980s and 1999-2000. The proportion of the total catch of trout composed of Yellowstone cutthroat trout also did not change, averaging 82% in the 1980s and 78% in 1999-2000. At the 48 sites where size structure could be estimated for both periods, the proportion of Yellowstone cutthroat trout that were 10-20 cm long declined slightly (74% versus 66%), but the change was due entirely to the shift in size structure at the Teton River sites. The number of sites that contained rainbow trout O. mykiss or cutthroat trout 3 rainbow trout hybrids rose from 23 to 37, but the average proportion of the catch composed …

The Handling and Sorting System for 55-Gallon Drums (HANDSS-55) is a DOE project to develop an automated method for retrieving items that are not acceptable at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) from 55-gallon drums of low-level waste. The HANDSS-55 is a modular system that opens drums, sorts the waste, and then repackages the remaining waste in WIPP compliant barrels. The Sorting Station module relies on a non-contact measurement system to quickly provide a 3D profile of the sorting area. It then analyses the 3D profile and a color image to determine the position and orientation of an operator selected waste item. The item is then removed from the sorting area by a robotic arm. The use of both image and profile information for object determination provides a fast, effective method of finding and retrieving selected objects in the unstructured environment of the sorting module.

A new edge plasma code BoRiS [1] has a fully 3D fluid plasma model. We supplement BoRiS with a 3D fluid neutral model including equations for parallel momentum and collisional perpendicular diffusion. This makes BoRiS an integrated plasma-neutral model suitable for a variety of applications. We present modeling results for a localized gas source in the geometry of the NCSX stellarator.

The quiescent high confinement (QH-mode) and quiescent double barrier (QDB) modes in DIII-D have long-duration H-mode confinement without ELMs, possibly an alternative operating mode in future tokamaks for avoiding damage by ELMS. Instead of ELMs, there is an edge harmonic oscillation (EHO), which is a continuous electromagnetic mode with associated density fluctuations. The edge pedestal is similar to ELMing H-mode, but at very low density to daw. We see C{sup +6} ion temperatures of 3-7 keV in scrape-off layer (SOL), 100 kV/m radial electric fields just inside the separatrix, and a hot area on the divertor baffle whose heating correlates with the presence of the EHO. We attribute the baffle heating to perturbation of trapped ion orbits by the EHO, allowing particles to strike the baffle. The outboard scrape-off layer is wider than the inboard, probably due to lack of trapped ions on the inside.

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of plutonium and americium from soil was successfully demonstrated using supercritical fluid carbon dioxide solvent augmented with organophosphorus and beta-diketone complexants. Spiked Idaho soils were chemically and radiologically characterized, then extracted with supercritical fluid carbon dioxide at 2,900 psi and 65 C containing varying concentrations of tributyl phosphate (TBP) and thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA). A single 45 minute SFE with 2.7 mol% TBP and 3.2 mol% TTA provided as much as 88% {+-} 6.0 extraction of americium and 69% {+-} 5.0 extraction of plutonium. Use of 5.3 mol% TBP with 6.8 mol% of the more acidic beta-diketone hexafluoroacetylacetone (HFA) provided 95% {+-} 3.0 extraction of americium and 83% {+-} 5.0 extraction of plutonium in a single 45 minute SFE at 3,750 psi and 95 C. Sequential chemical extraction techniques were used to chemically characterize soil partitioning of plutonium and americium in pre-SFE soil samples. Sequential chemical extraction techniques demonstrated that spiked plutonium resides primarily (76.6%) in the sesquioxide fraction with minor amounts being absorbed by the oxidizable fraction (10.6%) and residual fractions (12.8%). Post-SFE soils subjected to sequential chemical extraction characterization demonstrated that 97% of the oxidizable, 78% of the sesquioxide and 80% of the residual plutonium could …