August report of the U.S. Congressional Oversight Panel describing their activities and findings regarding the global effects of the 2007 financial crisis and the impacts of the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) on the international economy.

Report on the status of Hawaiian insular false killer whales in relation to the Endangered Species Act and its status evaluation.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting research and development to support the resurgence of nuclear power in the United States for both electrical power generation and production of process heat required for industrial processes such as the manufacture of hydrogen for use as a fuel in automobiles. The project is called the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project, which is based on a Generation IV reactor concept called the very high temperature reactor (VHTR). The VHTR will be of the prismatic or pebble bed type; the former is considered herein. The VHTR will use helium as the coolant at temperatures ranging from 250°C to perhaps 1000°C. While computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has not previously been used for the safety analysis of nuclear reactors in the United States, it is being considered for existing and future reactors. It is fully recognized that CFD simulation codes will have to be validated for flow physics reasonably close to actual fluid dynamic conditions expected in normal operational and accident situations. The “Standard Problem” is an experimental data set that represents an important physical phenomenon or phenomena, whose selection is based on a phenomena identification and ranking table (PIRT) for the reactor in …

Fact sheet describing NREL CSP Program capabilities in the area of advanced reflector and absorber materials: evaluating performance, determining degradation rates and lifetime, and developing new coatings.

One of the options for future particle accelerators are photonic band gap (PBG) fiber accelerators. PBG fibers are specially designed optical fibers that use lasers to excite an electric field that is used to accelerate electrons. To improve PBG accelerators, the basic parameters of the fiber were tested to maximize defect size and acceleration. Using the program CUDOS, several accelerating modes were found that maximized these parameters for several wavelengths. The design of multiple defects, similar to having closely bound fibers, was studied to find possible coupling or the change of modes. The amount of coupling was found to be dependent on distance separated. For certain distances accelerating coupled modes were found and examined. In addition, several non-periodic fiber structures were examined using CUDOS. The non-periodic fibers produced several interesting results and promised more modes given time to study them in more detail.

A new set of analytic formulae describes the transmission of soft X-ray (SXR) continuum radiation through a metallic foil for its application to fast electron temperature measurements in fusion plasmas. This novel approach shows good agreement with numerical calculations over a wide range of plasma temperatures in contrast with the solutions obtained when using a transmission approximated by a single-Heaviside function [S. von Goeler, Rev. Sci. Instrum., 20, 599, (1999)]. The new analytic formulae can improve the interpretation of the experimental results and thus contribute in obtaining fast teperature measurements in between intermittent Thomson Scattering data.

The LINAC Coherent Light Source (LCLS), an X-Ray free-electron laser(FEL) based on the self amplified spontaneous emission principle, has recently come on-line. For many users it is desirable to have an idea of the level of transverse coherence of the X-Ray beam produced. In this paper, we analyze the output of GENESIS simulations of electrons traveling through the FEL. We first test the validity of an approach that ignores the details of how the beam was produced, and instead, by assuming a Gaussian-Schell model of transverse coherence, predicts the level of transverse coherence simply through looking at the beam radius at several longitudinal slices. We then develop a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach to calculating the degree of transverse coherence, which offers a {approx}100-fold speedup compared to the brute-force algorithm previously in use. We find the beam highly coherent. Using a similar Markov chain Monte Carlo approach, we estimate the reasonability of assuming the beam to have a Gaussian-Schell model of transverse coherence, with inconclusive results.

PAGOSA is a computational fluid dynamics computer program developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for the study of high-speed compressible flow and high-rate material deformation. PAGOSA is a three-dimensional Eulerian finite difference code, solving problems with a wide variety of equations of state (EOSs), material strength, and explosive modeling options.

From approximately 1949 until 1970, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) operated a grain storage facility on federally owned property approximately 0.25 mi northwest of Savannah, Missouri (Figure 1.1). During this time, commercial grain fumigants containing carbon tetrachloride were commonly used by the CCC/USDA and the private grain storage industry to preserve grain in their facilities. In November 1998, carbon tetrachloride was detected in a private well (Morgan) roughly 50 ft south of the former CCC/USDA facility, as a result of statewide screening of private wells near former CCC/USDA facilities, conducted in Missouri by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 1999). The 1998 and subsequent investigations by the EPA and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) confirmed the presence of carbon tetrachloride in the Morgan well, as well as in a second well (on property currently occupied by the Missouri Department of Transportation [MoDOT]) described as being approximately 400 ft east of the former CCC/USDA facility. The identified concentrations in these two wells were above the EPA maximum contaminant level (MCL) and the Missouri risk-based corrective action default target level (MRBCA DTL) values of 5.0 {micro}g/L for carbon tetrachloride in water used for domestic …

The MuCool Test Area (MTA) is an intense primary beam facility derived directly from the Fermilab Linac to test heat deposition and other technical concerns associated with the liquid hydrogen targets, gas-filled RF cavities, and other apparatus being developed to cool intense, large-emittance muon beams. In this study the results of Monte Carlo modeling of several beam loss scenarios are presented. The MTA facility was designed to test targets and other muon cooling apparatus using the intense Fermilab Linac beam. The requested intensity of the proton beam for the MTA is essentially full Linac capability, or 1.6 x 10{sup 13} protons per pulse and an energy of 400 MeV. Two modes of operation will be supported in the MuCOOL beamline: one mode for emittance measurements (and beamline studies) and a second mode for MTA experiments. Maximum beam intensity for these two modes is: 9.6 x 10{sup 15} protons/hr - 600 beam pulses/hour of full Linac beam pulse intensity (1.6 x 10{sup 13} protons/pulse) to the emittance beam absorber and 9.6 x 10{sup 14} protons/hour - 60 beam pulses/hour of full Linac beam pulse intensity to experiments in the MTA experimental hall. This extremely high intensity implies careful investigation into and …

This case study enhances the understanding of open automated demand response opportunities in municipal wastewater treatment facilities. The report summarizes the findings of a 100 day submetering project at the San Luis Rey Wastewater Treatment Plant, a municipal wastewater treatment facility in Oceanside, California. The report reveals that key energy-intensive equipment such as pumps and centrifuges can be targeted for large load reductions. Demand response tests on the effluent pumps resulted a 300 kW load reduction and tests on centrifuges resulted in a 40 kW load reduction. Although tests on the facility?s blowers resulted in peak period load reductions of 78 kW sharp, short-lived increases in the turbidity of the wastewater effluent were experienced within 24 hours of the test. The results of these tests, which were conducted on blowers without variable speed drive capability, would not be acceptable and warrant further study. This study finds that wastewater treatment facilities have significant open automated demand response potential. However, limiting factors to implementing demand response are the reaction of effluent turbidity to reduced aeration load, along with the cogeneration capabilities of municipal facilities, including existing power purchase agreements and utility receptiveness to purchasing electricity from cogeneration facilities.

The U.S. wind power industry experienced yet another record year in 2009, once again surpassing even optimistic growth projections from years past. At the same time, 2009 was a year of upheaval, with the global financial crisis impacting the wind power industry and with federal policy changes enacted to push the industry toward continued aggressive expansion. The year 2010, meanwhile, is anticipated to be one of some retrenchment, with expectations for fewer wind power capacity additions than seen in 2009. The rapid pace of development and change within the industry has made it difficult to keep up with trends in the marketplace, yet the need for timely, objective information on the industry and its progress has never been greater. This report - the fourth in an ongoing annual series - attempts to meet this need by providing a detailed overview of developments and trends in the United States wind power market, with a particular focus on 2009.

Geological repositories for disposal of high-level nuclear wastes generally rely on a multi-barrier system to isolate radioactive wastes from the biosphere. The multi-barrier system typically consists of a natural barrier system, including repository host rock and its surrounding subsurface environment, and an engineering barrier system (EBS). EBS represents the man-made, engineered materials placed within a repository, including the waste form, waste canisters, buffer materials, backfill and seals (OECD, 2003). EBS plays a significant role in the containment and long-term retardation of radionuclide release. EBS is involved in complex thermal, hydrogeological, mechanical, chemical and biological processes, such as heat release due to radionuclide decay, multiphase flow (including gas release due to canister corrosion), swelling of buffer materials, radionuclide diffusive transport, waste dissolution and chemical reactions. All these processes are related to each other. An in-depth understanding of these coupled processes is critical for the performance assessment (PA) for EBS and the entire repository. Within the EBS group of Used Fuel Disposition (UFD) Campaign, LBNL is currently focused on (1) thermal-hydraulic-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes in buffer materials (bentonite) and (2) diffusive transport in EBS associated with clay host rock, with a long-term goal to develop a full understanding of (and needed modeling capabilities …

The U.S. Department of Energy tasked NREL to develop a process for testing the reliability of models that predict retrofit energy savings, including their associated calibration methods. DOE asked NREL to conduct the work in phases so that a test procedure would be ready should DOE need it to meet legislative requirements related to residential retrofits in FY 2010. This report documents the initial 'Phase 1' test procedure.

A mechanical shutter which operates on demand is used to isolate a single pulse from a 120 Hz X-ray source. This is accomplished with a mechanical shutter which is triggered on demand with frequencies ranging from 0 to 10 Hz. The single pulse shutter is an iron blade that oscillates on a pivot in response to a force generated by a pair of pulsed electromagnets (current driven teeter-totter). To isolate an individual pulse from the X-ray beam, the motion of the mechanical shutter should be synchronized in such a way that it allows a single pulse to pass through the aperture and blocks the other incoming pulses. Two consecutive pulses are only {approx} 8 ms apart and the shutter is required to complete one full cycle such that no two pulses pass through the opening. Also the opening of the shutter blade needs to be at least 4 mm so that a 1 mm diameter rms Gaussian beam can pass through without modulation. However, the 4 mm opening is difficult to obtain due to blade rebound and oscillation of the blade after colliding with the electromagnet. The purpose of this project is to minimize and/or totally eliminate the rebound of …

The project described in this report seeks to promote effective diesel particulate filter technology with minimum fuel penalty by enhancing fundamental understanding of filtration mechanisms through targeted experiments and computer simulations. The overall backpressure of a filtration system depends upon complex interactions of particulate matter and ash with the microscopic pores in filter media. Better characterization of these phenomena is essential for exhaust system optimization. The acicular mullite (ACM) diesel particulate filter substrate is under continuing development by Dow Automotive. ACM is made up of long mullite crystals which intersect to form filter wall framework and protrude from the wall surface into the DPF channels. ACM filters have been demonstrated to effectively remove diesel exhaust particles while maintaining relatively low backpressure. Modeling approaches developed for more conventional ceramic filter materials, such as silicon carbide and cordierite, have been difficult to apply to ACM because of properties arising from its unique microstructure. Penetration of soot into the high-porosity region of projecting crystal structures leads to a somewhat extended depth filtration mode, but with less dramatic increases in pressure drop than are normally observed during depth filtration in cordierite or silicon carbide filters. Another consequence is greater contact between the soot and …

Fact sheet describing NREL CSP Program capabilities in the area of thermal storage and advanced heat transfer fluids: measuring thermophysical properties, measuring fluid flow and heat transfer, and simulating flow of thermal energy and fluid.

Materials behaviors caused by neutron irradiation under fission and/or fusion environments can be little understood without practical examination. Easily accessible material information system with large material database using effective computers is necessary for design of nuclear materials and analyses or simulations of the phenomena. The developed Embrittlement Data Base (EDB) at ORNL is this comprehensive collection of data. EDB database contains power reactor pressure vessel surveillance data, the material test reactor data, foreign reactor data (through bilateral agreements authorized by NRC), and the fracture toughness data. The lessons learned from building EDB program and the associated database management activity regarding Material Database Design Methodology, Architecture and the Embedded QA Protocol are described in this report. The development of IAEA International Database on Reactor Pressure Vessel Materials (IDRPVM) and the comparison of EDB database and IAEA IDRPVM database are provided in the report. The recommended database QA protocol and database infrastructure are also stated in the report.

Precision measurement and control of the betatron tunes and betatron coupling in RHIC are required for establishing and maintaining both good operating conditions and, particularly during the ramp to high beam energies, high proton beam polarization. While the proof-of-principle for simultaneous tune and coupling feedback was successfully demonstrated earlier, routine application of these systems has only become possible recently. Following numerous modifications for improved measurement resolution and feedback control, the time required to establish full-energy beams with the betatron tunes and coupling regulated by feedback was reduced from several weeks to a few hours. A summary of these improvements, select measurements benefitting from the improved resolution and a review of system performance are the subject of this report.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the extent of technology development, design and licensing maturity anticipated to be required to credibly identify differences that could make a technical choice practical between the prismatic and pebble bed reactor designs. This paper does not address a business decision based on the economics, business model and resulting business case since these will vary based on the reactor application. The selection of the type of reactor, the module ratings, the number of modules, the configuration of the balance of plant and other design selections will be made on the basis of optimizing the Business Case for the application. These are not decisions that can be made on a generic basis.

The study reported herein was funded as part of the Anadromous Fish Evaluation Program, which is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The Anadromous Fish Evaluation Program study code is EST P 02 01: A Study of Salmonid Survival and Behavior through the Columbia River Estuary Using Acoustic Tags. The study was conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries for the USACE Portland District. Estimated survival of acoustic-tagged juvenile Chinook salmon and steelhead through the lower Columbia River and estuary in 2009 was lowest in the final 50 km of the estuary. Probability of survival was relatively high (>0.90) for yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon from the Bonneville Dam forebay (rkm 236) to Three-tree Point (rkm 49.6). Survival of juvenile Chinook salmon declined sharply through the lower 50 km of the estuary. Acoustic-tagged steelhead smolts did not survive as well as juvenile Chinook salmon between Bonneville Dam and the mouth of the Columbia River. Steelhead survival began to decline farther upstream (at rkm 86) relative to that of the Chinook salmon stocks. Subyearling Chinook salmon survival decreased markedly as the season progressed. It remains to be determined whether …

Creep is the slow, time-dependent strain that occurs in a material under a constant strees (or load) at high temperature. High temperature is a relative term, dependent on the materials being evaluated. A typical creep curve is shown in Figure 1-1. In a creep test, a constant load is applied to a tensile specimen maintained at a constant temperature. Strain is then measured over a period of time. The slope of the curve, identified in the figure below, is the strain rate of the test during Stage II or the creep rate of the material. Primary creep, Stage I, is a period of decreasing creep rate due to work hardening of the material. Primary creep is a period of primarily transient creep. During this period, deformation takes place and the resistance to creep increases until Stage II, Secondary creep. Stage II creep is a period with a roughly constant creep rate. Stage II is referred to as steady-state creep because a balance is achieved between the work hardening and annealing (thermal softening) processes. Tertiary creep, Stage III, occurs when there is a reduction in cross sectional area due to necking or effective reduction in area due to internal void formation; …

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project is intended to be the prototype for multi-module commercial high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs) for process heat and/or electricity generation. Part of the objectives of the project are to establish the conditions that would govern or enhance the design, licensing, construction and operation of numerous, modular nuclear plants, particularly suited for industrial applications or that could reduce the risk of such projects. A determination is desired regarding whether a multi-module reactor plant can be licensed with a single Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) review, hearing, and safety evaluation report. If it is determined that a multi-modular reactor plant can be licensed under a single review/hearing process, the structure and the duration of the license for each module will also need to be determined. The purpose of this paper is to describe for the NRC the NGNP position on these two issues and obtain either NRC general concurrence or comments on the approach to these issues. While the current NGNP planning provides for only a single reactor module, the project is intended to provide the basis and establish a licensing framework that can be used by future commercial HTGRs and other reactor designs, including a …

The monitoring and system analysis of high performance computing (HPC) clusters is of increasing importance to the HPC community. Analysis of HPC job data can be used to characterize system usage and diagnose and examine failure modes and their effects. This analysis is not straightforward, however, due to the complex relationships that exist between jobs. These relationships are based on a number of factors, including shared compute nodes between jobs, proximity of jobs in time, etc. Graph-based techniques represent an approach that is particularly well suited to this problem, and provide an effective technique for discovering important relationships in job queuing and execution data. The efficacy of these techniques is rooted in the use of a semantic graph as a knowledge representation tool. In a semantic graph job data, represented in a combination of numerical and textual forms, can be flexibly processed into edges, with corresponding weights, expressing relationships between jobs, nodes, users, and other relevant entities. This graph-based representation permits formal manipulation by a number of analysis algorithms. This report presents a methodology and software implementation that leverages semantic graph-based techniques for the system-level monitoring and analysis of HPC clusters based on job queuing and execution data. Ontology development …