Many systematically-derived nodal methods have been developed for Cartesian geometry due to the extensive interest in Light Water Reactors. These methods typically model the transverse-integrated flux as either an analytic or low order polynomial function of position within the node. Recently, quadratic nodal methods have been developed for R-Z and hexagonal geometry. A static and transient quadratic nodal method is developed for triangular-Z geometry. This development is particularly challenging because the quadratic expansion in each node must be performed between the node faces and the triangular points. As a consequence, in the 2-D plane, the flux and current at the points of the triangles must be treated. Quadratic nodal equations are solved using a non-linear iteration scheme, which utilizes the corrected, mesh-centered finite difference equations, and forces these equations to match the quadratic equations by computing discontinuity factors during the solution. Transient nodal equations are solved using the improved quasi-static method, which has been shown to be a very efficient solution method for transient problems. Several static problems are used to compare the quadratic nodal method to the Coarse Mesh Finite Difference (CMFD) method. The quadratic method is shown to give more accurate node-averaged fluxes. However, it appears that the …

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a useful tool for obtaining structural and chemical information about the active sites of metalloproteins and metalloenzymes. Information may be obtained from both the edge region and the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) or post-edge region of the K-edge X-ray absorption spectrum of a metal center in a compound. The edge contains information about the valence electronic structure of the atom that absorbs the X-rays. It is possible in some systems to infer the redox state of the metal atom in question, as well as the geometry and nature of ligands connected to it, from the features in the edge in a straightforward manner. The EXAFS modulations, being produced by the backscattering of the ejected photoelectron from the atoms surrounding the metal atom, provide, when analyzed, information about the number and type of neighbouring atoms, and the distances at which they occur. In this thesis, analysis of both the edge and EXAFS regions has been used to gain information about the active sites of various metalloproteins. The metalloproteins studied were plastocyanin (Pc), laccase and nickel carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (Ni CODH). Studies of Cu(I)-imidazole compounds, related to the protein hemocyanin, are also reported here.

The purpose of this study is to assess whether the carbon supporting stream food webs comes principally from terrestrial sources or is produced within the stream. Lacking data to resolve the allochthonous/autochthonous issue with any finality, stream ecologists have alternately postulated that stream carbon was principally autochthonous or principally allochthonous. Others argued that autochthonous and allochthonous carbon resources cannot be separated and that the allochthonous/autochthonous dependence issue is unresolvable. Many investigators have seized upon stable carbon isotopes technology as the tool to resolve the controversy. Unfortunately most investigators have conceded that the results are rarely quantitative and that the qualitative relationships are ambiguous. This study points out the fallacies of trying to conjure single isotopic values for either allochthonous or autochthonous carbon. It suggests that stable carbon isotope technology is not reliable in establishing specific consumer/food source relations and that it is not suitable for assessing allochthonous/autochthonous carbon dependence in freshwater streams.

Analysis of the literature indicated that radon transport models significantly and consistently underpredict the advective entry into houses of soil-gas borne radon. Advective entry is the dominant mechanism resulting in high concentrations of radon indoors. My dissertation research investigated the source of the model-measurement discrepancy via carefully controlled field experiments conducted at an experimental basement located in natural soil in Ben Lomond, California. Early experiments at the structure confirmed the existence and magnitude of the model-measurement discrepancy, ensuring that it was not merely an artifact of inherently complex and poorly understood field sites. The measured soil-gas entry rate during structure depressurization was found to be an order of magnitude larger than predicted by a current three-dimensional numerical model of radon transport. The exact magnitude of the discrepancy depends on whether the arithmetic or geometric mean of the small-scale measurements of permeability is used to estimate the effective permeability of the soil. This factor is a critical empirical input to the model and was determined for the Ben Lomond site in the typical fashion using single-probe static depressorization measurements at multiple locations. The remainder of the dissertation research tests a hypothesis to explain the observed discrepancy: That soil permeability assessed using …

Ceramic bearing balls are desired for high-temperature, nonlubricated use, but because of brittleness, it is important to inspect them for small (1--10 {mu}m) surface defects. Resonance spectrum of a sphere can provide information about its material properties (shear, longitudinal wave velocities); surface wave resonant modes at high frequencies provide information about surface crack density. As surface waves encounter a defect, the resonant energy will be attenuated. By comparing the surface wave mode Quality factors (Q) between a perfect and an imperfect sphere, one can quickly detect the existence of surface imperfection; a single defect will reduce the surface wave resonant Q by about 30%. A non-contacting detection method is presented for measuring resonances of a sphere. A computer controlled system was constructed to excite resonances on a sphere with a transducer by a single Hertzian contact, and an optical heterodyne interferometer is used to detect both amplitude and phase of surface variations on the opposite pole of the sphere. This system can inspect bearing balls with diameters 12 to 1 mm.

We study multiple muon events (muon bundles) recorded underground at a depth of 2090 mwe. To penetrate to this depth, the muons must have energies above 0.8 TeV at the Earth`s surface; the primary cosmic ray nuclei which give rise to the observed muon bundles have energies at incidence upon the upper atmosphere of 10 to 10{sup 5}TeV. The events are detected using the Soudan 2 experiment`s fine grained tracking calorimeter which is surrounded by a 14 m {times}10 m {times} 31 m proportional tube array (the ``active shield``). Muon bundles which have at least one muon traversing the calorimeter, are reconstructed using tracks in the calorimeter together with hit patterns in the proportional tube shield. All ionization pulses are required to be coincident within 3 microseconds. A goal of this study is to investigate the relative nuclear abundances in the primary cosmic radiation around the ``knee`` region (10{sup 3} {minus} 10{sup 4} TeV) of the incident energy spectrum. Four models for the nuclear composition of cosmic rays are considered: The Linsley model, the Constant Mass Composition model (CMC), the Maryland model and the Proton-poor model. A Monte Carlo which incorporates one model at a time is used to simulate …

This dissertation describes nuclear magnetic resonance experiments and theory which have been developed to study quadrupolar nuclei (those nuclei with spin greater than one-half) in the solid state. Primarily, the technique of dynamic-angle spinning (DAS) is extensively reviewed and expanded upon in this thesis. Specifically, the improvement in both the resolution (two-dimensional pure-absorptive phase methods and DAS angle choice) and sensitivity (pulse-sequence development), along with effective spinning speed enhancement (again through choice of DAS conditions or alternative multiple pulse schemes) of dynamic-angle spinning experiment was realized with both theory and experimental examples. The application of DAS to new types of nuclei (specifically the {sup 87}Rb and {sup 85}Rb nuclear spins) and materials (specifically amorphous solids) has also greatly expanded the possibilities of the use of DAS to study a larger range of materials. This dissertation is meant to demonstrate both recent advances and applications of the DAS technique, and by no means represents a comprehensive study of any particular chemical problem.

After extensive investigations over three decades, the linear-coupling model and its equivalents have become the standard microscopic models for quantum harmonic Brownian motion, in which a harmonically bound Brownian particle is coupled to a quantum dissipative heat bath of general type modeled by infinitely many harmonic oscillators. The dynamics of these models have been studied by many authors using the quantum Langevin equation, the path-integral approach, quasi-probability distribution functions (e.g., the Wigner function), etc. However, the quantum Langevin equation is only applicable to some special problems, while other approaches all involve complicated calculations due to the inevitable reduction (i.e., contraction) operation for ignoring/eliminating the degrees of freedom of the heat bath. In this dissertation, the author proposes an improved methodology via a modified phase-space approach which employs the characteristic function (the symplectic Fourier transform of the Wigner function) as the representative of the density operator. This representative is claimed to be the most natural one for performing the reduction, not only because of its simplicity but also because of its manifestation of geometric meaning. Accordingly, it is particularly convenient for studying the time evolution of the Brownian particle with an arbitrary initial state. The power of this characteristic function is …