'The report, Technical Basis for Safe Operations with Pu-239 Polymer in NMS S Operating Facilities (F H Areas), (WSRC-TR-99-00008) was issued in an effort to upgrade the Authorization Basis (AB) for H Area facilities relative to nuclear criticality. At the time, insufficient data were found in the literature to quantify the adsorption of Pu polymer onto the surfaces of stainless steel tanks. Additional experimental or literature information on the adsorption of Pu(IV) polymer and its removal was deemed necessary to support the H Area AB. The results obtained are also applicable to processing in F Area facilities.Additional literature sources suggest that adsorption on the tank walls should not be a safety concern. The sources show that the amount of Pu polymer that adsorbs from a solution comes to a limiting amount in 5 to 7 days after which no additional Pu is adsorbed. Adsorption increases with Pu concentration and decreases with acid concentration. The adsorbed amounts are small varying from 0.5 mg/cm2 for a 0.5 g/l Pu / 0.5M HNO3 solution to 11 mg/cm2 for a 1-3 g/l Pu / 0.1M HNO3 solution. Additionally, acid concentrations greater than 0.1M will remove a percentage of adsorbed Pu.The experimental results have generally …

This document reports results from an ion exchange column heat transfer analysis requested by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The object of the analysis is to demonstrate that the decay heat from the Pu-238 will not cause resin bed temperatures to increase to a level where the resin significantly degrades.

The purpose of this analysis is to identify and analyze concepts for the acquisition of data in support of the Performance Confirmation (PC) program at the potential subsurface nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. This analysis is being prepared to document an investigation of design concepts, current available technology, technology trends, and technical issues associated with data acquisition during the PC period. This analysis utilizes the ''Performance Confirmation Plan'' (CRWMS M&O 2000b) to help define the scope for the PC data acquisition system. The focus of this analysis is primarily on the PC period for a minimum of 30 years after emplacement of the last waste package. The design of the data acquisition system shall allow for a closure deferral up to 300 years from initiation of waste emplacement. (CRWMS M&O 2000h, page 5-1). This analysis is a revision to and supercedes analysis, ''Performance Confirmation Data Acquisition System'', DI No. BCAI00000-017 17-0200-00002 Rev 00 (CRWMS M&O 1997), and incorporates the latest repository design changes following the M&O & DOE evaluation of a series of Enhanced Design Alternatives (EDAs), as described in the ''Enhanced Design Alternatives II Report'' (CRWMS M&O 1999d). Significant design changes include: thermal line loading of the emplacement …

The fourth international LTE opacity workshop and code comparison study, WorkOp-IV, was held in Madrid in 1997. Results of this workshop are summarized with a focus on iron opacities. In particular, the astrophysically important photon absorption region between 50 and 80 eV is emphasized for a sequence of iron plasmas at densities and temperatures that produce nearly the same average ionization stage (Z* {approximately} 8.6). Experimental data that addressed this spectral region is also reviewed.

Extending early work, we formulate the large N matrix mechanics of general bosonic, fermionic and supersymmetric matrix models, including Matrix theory: The Hamiltonian framework of large N matrix mechanics provides a natural setting in which to study the algebras of the large N limit, including (reduced) Lie algebras, (reduced) supersymmetry algebras and free algebras. We find in particular a broad array of new free algebras which we call symmetric Cuntz algebras, interacting symmetric Cuntz algebras, symmetric Bose/Fermi/Cuntz algebras and symmetric Cuntz superalgebras, and we discuss the role of these algebras in solving the large N theory. Most important, the interacting Cuntz algebras are associated to a set of new (hidden!) local quantities which are generically conserved only at large N. A number of other new large N phenomena are also observed, including the intrinsic nonlocality of the (reduced) trace class operators of the theory and a closely related large N field identification phenomenon which is associated to another set (this time nonlocal) of new conserved quantities at large N.

The basis is described that establishes a pressure criterion for casks received at the canister storage building.

This report evaluates different drop heights, concrete and other impact media to which the transport package and/or the MCO is dropped. A prediction method is derived for estimating the resultant impact factor for determining the bounding drop case for the SNF Project.

Testing activities on the Prototype Vertical Denitration Calciner at Plutonium Finish Plant (PFP) were suspended in January 1997 due to the hold on fissile material handling in the facility. The restart of testing activities will require a review through an activity based startup process based upon Integrated Safety Management (ISM) principles to verify readiness. The Activity Based Startup Plan for the Prototype vertical Denitration Calciner has been developed for this process.

A recent revision of the US. Department of Energy privatization contract for the immobilization of high-level waste (HLW) at Hanford necessitates the investigation of alternative waste feed sources to meet contractual feed requirements. This analysis identifies wastes to be considered as HLW feeds and develops and conducts alternative analyses to comply with established criteria. A total of 12,426 cases involving 72 waste streams are evaluated and ranked in three cost-based alternative models. Additional programmatic criteria are assessed against leading alternative options to yield an optimum blended waste feed stream.

This document provides the procedures and guidelines necessary for computer software configuration management activities during the operation and maintenance phases of the Saltwell PIC Skids as required by LMH-PRO-309, Rev. 0, Computer Software Quality Assurance, Section 2.6, Software Configuration Management. The software configuration management plan (SCMP) integrates technical and administrative controls to establish and maintain technical consistency among requirements, physical configuration, and documentation for the Saltwell PIC Skid Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) software during the Hanford application, operations and maintenance. This SCMP establishes the Saltwell PIC Skid PLC Software Baseline, status changes to that baseline, and ensures that software meets design and operational requirements and is tested in accordance with their design basis.

This document provides the functional design criteria for the installation of the Canberra Alpha Sentry System at selected locations within the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP). The equipment being installed is identified by part number in Section 3 and the locations are given in Section 5. The design, procurement and installation are assigned to Fluor Federal Services.

Dissolution testing performed to date on a titanate waste form under development for plutonium immobilization reveals the following: (1) The wasteform is very durable. Many of the test results have shown the dissolution rate to be below detection or less than background levels of the constituent elements; (2) elemental release is non-stoichiometric with Pu, U, Ca, and Gd released faster than Ti and Hf at most pH conditions; (3) dissolution rates measured in flow-through tests sometimes show a continuous decrease with time in tests of up to two years duration; (4) attempts to model the dissolution as a transport-controlled process with diffusion through a leached layer as the rate limiting mechanism show reasonable agreement at low pH conditions but poor agreement at neutral to alkaline pHs. Based on present uncertainties in our understanding of rate control, we have provided conservative estimates of radionuclide release rates based on the fastest observed release rates measured in short-term tests. These dissolution rates under repository-relevant conditions are in the range of 10{sup -3} to 10{sup -6}g/m{sup 2}/day.

This functions, requirements and specifications document defines the baseline requirements and criteria for the design, purchase, fabrication, construction, installation, and operation of the system to replace the Computer Automated Surveillance System (CASS) alarm monitoring.

Members in the wind-energy research, development, deployment, and production communities use computer codes for many things. They base important decisions on the results from the codes. It is important that the developers of these codes scrutinize them to assure an appropriate level for quality. The National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) and its subcontractors have developed many computer codes now in use in the United States and around the world. This document will present some guidelines for ensuring the quality of programs that are developed for the NWTC.

Radio continuum emission at cm wavelengths is relatively little affected by extinction. When combined with far-infrared (FIR) surveys this provides for a convenient and unbiased method to select (radio-loud) AGN and starbursts deeply embedded in gas and dust-rich galaxies. Such radio-selected FIR samples are useful for detailed investigations of the complex relationships between (radio) galaxy and starburst activity, and to determine whether ULIRGs are powered by hidden quasars (monsters) or young stars (babies). We present the results of a large program to obtain identifications and spectra of radio-sleected, optically faint IRAS/FSC objects using the FIRST/VLA 20 cm survey (Becker, White and Helfand 1995). These objects are all radio-'quiet' in the sense that their radio power/FIR luminosities follow the well-known radio/FIR relationship for star forming galaxies. We compare these results to a previous study by our group of a sample of radio-'loud' IRAS/FSC ULIRGs selected from the Texas 365 MHz survey (Douglas et al. 1996). Many of these objects also show evidence for dominant, A-type stellar populations, as well as high ionization lines usually associated with AGN. These radio-loud ULIRGs have properties intermediate between those of starbursts and quasars, suggesting a possibile evolutionary connection. Deep Keck spectroscopic observations of three ULIRGs …

Ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation is an extremely powerful tool for characterizing materials and detecting defects. A majority of the ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation is performed with piezoelectric transducers that generate and detect high frequency acoustic energy. The liquid needed to couple the high frequency acoustic energy from the piezoelectric transducers restricts the applicability of ultrasonics. For example, traditional ultrasonics cannot evaluate parts at elevated temperatures or components that would be damaged by contact with a fluid. They are developing a technology that remotely generates and detects the ultrasonic pulses with lasers and consequently there is no requirement for liquids. Thus the research in laser-based ultrasound allows them to solve inspection problems with ultrasonics that could not be done before. This technology has wide application in many Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory programs, especially when remote and/or non-contact sensing is necessary.

The purpose of this task was to gather and assemble information that will provide a synthesis of seafood catch, distribution and consumption patterns for the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) region. This task was part of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-sponsored project entitled ''Environmental and Economic Assessment of Discharges from Gulf of Mexico Region Oil and Gas Operations.'' Personal interviews were conducted with a total of 905 recreational fishermen and 218 commercial fishermen (inclusive of shrimpers, crabbers, oystermen and finfishermen) in Louisiana and Texas using survey questionnaires developed for the study. Results of these interviews detail the species and quantities caught, location of catch, mode of fishing, distribution of catch, family consumption patterns and demographics of the fishermen.

Evidence for capillary waves at a liquid/vapor interface are presented from extensive molecular dynamics simulations of a system containing up to 1.24 million Lennard-Jones particles. Careful measurements show that the total interfacial width depends logarithmically on L{sub {parallel}}, the length of the simulation cell parallel to the interface, as predicted theoretically. The strength of the divergence of the interfacial width on L{sub {parallel}} depends inversely on the surface tension {gamma}. This allows us to measure {gamma} two ways since {gamma} can also be obtained from the difference in the pressure parallel and perpendicular to the interface. These two independent measures of {gamma} agree provided that the interfacial order parameter profile is fit to an error function and not a hyperbolic tangent, as often assumed. We explore why these two common fitting functions give different results for {gamma}.

This research and development contract has resulted in several benefits for Trace Engineering and the PV industry that are directly attributable to the PVMaT program: Application of the hardware based protection circuit developed in Phase I was completed on Trace's existing DR and SW series product lines. This additional protection circuit was phased into full production starting in April of 1997. This resulted in a substantial improvement in factory yields and a very significant reduction of field failures - a drop of as much as 80% on some product models. Accelerated development and introduction of the Power Module enclosure/balance of systems package. This product is a big step towards the standardization of system and equipment design for Trace's customers. Developed the cost reduced 2.5-kW modular inverter based on the current SW series software and topology. This new inverter/charger uses many new construction and manufacturing methods to reduce cost by 40%, simplify production, decrease parts count by over 20%, reduce labor required by 30%, and increase the flexibility in the manufacturing process. It will enter production in the first quarter of 1999 as the Trace Engineering PS series inverter/charger.

The performance of transparent optics in high fluence applications is often dominated by inhomogeneities in the first few hundred nanometers of material. Defects undetectable with optical methods can cause catastrophic failures when used in critical applications where high strength, chemical or mechanical resistance or extreme smoothness is required. Not only are these defects substantially smaller than the wavelength of visible light, they are often concealed below a layer of glass-like material deposited during the polishing process. In high quality glass, the chemical and material properties of the outermost layer are modified by the grinding, lapping and polishing processes used in fabrication. Each succeeding step in a process is designed to remote damage from the previous operation. However, any force against the surface, no matter how slight will leave evidence of this damage. These processes invariably create dislocations, cracks and plastic deformation in the subsurface region.

This report presents the results of a study of terminated produced water discharge sites in the coastal waters of Louisiana. Environmental recovery at the sites is documented by comparing pre-termination and post-termination (six months and one year) data. Produced water, sediments, and sediment interstitial water samples were analyzed for radionuclides, metals, and hydrocarbons. Benthic infauna were identified from samples collected in the vicinity of the discharge and reference sites. Radium isotope activities were determined in fish and crustacean samples. In addition, an environmental risk assessment is made on the basis of the concentrations of metals and hydrocarbons determined in the samples.

The purpose of this analysis is to identify the preliminary design basis events (DBEs) for consideration in the design of the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR). For external events and natural phenomena (e.g., earthquake), the objective is to identify those initiating events that the MGR will be designed to withstand. Design criteria will ensure that radiological release scenarios resulting from these initiating events are beyond design basis (i.e., have a scenario frequency less than once per million years). For internal (i.e., human-induced and random equipment failures) events, the objective is to identify credible event sequences that result in bounding radiological releases. These sequences will be used to establish the design basis criteria for MGR structures, systems, and components (SSCs) design basis criteria in order to prevent or mitigate radiological releases. The safety strategy presented in this analysis for preventing or mitigating DBEs is based on the preclosure safety strategy outlined in ''Strategy to Mitigate Preclosure Offsite Exposure'' (CRWMS M&O 1998f). DBE analysis is necessary to provide feedback and requirements to the design process, and also to demonstrate compliance with proposed 10 CFR 63 (Dyer 1999b) requirements. DBE analysis is also required to identify and classify the SSCs that are important to …

Tainter, F.H., and J.W. McMinn. 1999. Early deterioration of coarse woody debris. In: Proc. Tenth Bien. South. Silv. Res. Conf. Shreveport, LA, February 16-18, 1999. Pp. 232-237 Abstract - Coarse woody debris (CWD) is an important structural component of southern forest ecosystems. CWD loading may be affected by different decomposition rates on sites of varying quality. Bolts of red oak and loblolly pine were placed on plots at each of three (hydric, mesic. and xerlc) sites at the Savannah River Site and sampled over a I6-week period. Major changes were in moisture content and nonstructural carbohydrate content (total carbohydrates, reducing sugars, and starch) of sapwood. Early changes in nonstructural carbohydrate levels following placement of the bolts were likely due to reallocation of these materials by sapwood parenchyma cells. These carbohydrates later formed pools increasingly metabolized by bacteria and invading fungi. Most prevalent fungi in sapwood were Ceratocysfis spp. in pine and Hypoxy/on spp. in oak. Although pine sapwood became blue stained and oak sapwood exhibited yellow soft decay with black zone lines, estimators of decay (specific gravity, sodium hydroxide solubility, and holocellulose content) were unchanged during the 16-week study period. A small effect of site was detected for starch content …

This document describes the condition of the multi-sensor cone penetrometer probe system at project termination.