On July 18, 2001, a freight train carrying hazardous (non-nuclear) materials derailed and caught fire while passing through the Howard Street railroad tunnel in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC), one of the agencies responsible for ensuring the safe transportation of radioactive materials in the United States, undertook an investigation of the train derailment and fire to determine the possible regulatory implications of this particular event for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel by railroad. Shortly after the accident occurred, the USNRC met with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB, the U.S. agency responsible for determining the cause of transportation accidents), to discuss the details of the accident and the ensuing fire. Following these discussions, the USNRC assembled a team of experts from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (CNWRA), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to determine the thermal conditions that existed in the Howard Street tunnel fire and analyze the effects of this fire on various spent fuel transportation package designs. The Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) code, developed by NIST, was used to determine the thermal environment present in the Howard Street tunnel during the …

Fuel cell power generation promises to be an efficient, pollution-free, reliable power source in both large scale and small scale, remote applications. DOE formed the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance with the intention of breaking one of the last barriers remaining for cost effective fuel cell power generation. The Alliance’s goal is to produce a core solid-state fuel cell module at a cost of no more than $400 per kilowatt and ready for commercial application by 2010. With their inherently high, 60-70% conversion efficiencies, significantly reduced carbon dioxide emissions, and negligible emissions of other pollutants, fuel cells will be the obvious choice for a broad variety of commercial and residential applications when their cost effectiveness is improved. In a research program funded by the Department of Energy, the research team has been investigating smart fuel cell-operated residential micro-grid communities. This research has focused on using smart control systems in conjunction with fuel cell power plants, with the goal to reduce energy consumption, reduce demand peaks and still meet the energy requirements of any household in a micro-grid community environment. In Phases I and II, a SEMaC was developed and extended to a micro-grid community. In addition, an optimal configuration was …

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The status of groundwater level monitoring at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in 2005 is provided in this report. The Groundwater Level Monitoring Project was instituted in 2005 to provide a framework for the collection and processing of quality controlled groundwater level data. This report summarizes groundwater level data for 137 monitoring wells, including 41 regional aquifer wells, 22 intermediate wells, and 74 alluvial wells. Pressure transducers were installed in 118 monitoring wells for continuous monitoring of groundwater levels. Time-series hydrographs of groundwater level data are presented along with pertinent construction and location information for each well.

Investigations on the behavior of the radioactive element technetium frequently use a stable isotope of rhenium as an analogue. This is justified by citing the elements similar radii and major oxidation states of +7 and +4. However, at least one study [1] has shown this analogy to be imperfect. Therefore, one goal of our study is to compare the adsorption behavior of perrhenate and pertechnetate (the major forms of Re and Tc in natural waters) on a number of different mineral surfaces. Quantum mechanical calculations were performed on the adsorption of these two anions on a series of iron oxides and sulfides. With these calculations, we gain insight into any differences between the anions adsorption behavior, including geometry, adsorption energies, and electronic structure such as density of states and orbital shapes and energies at the adsorption site. Differences between interactions on terraces and step edges, the effects of co-adsorbates such as Na{sup +} or H{sup +}, and possible reduction mechanisms are also explored. The influence of water was calculated using homogeneous dielectric fluids and explicit water molecules. As a complement to the calculations, batch sorption tests are in progress involving ReO{sub 4}{sup -}/TcO{sub 4}{sup -} solution in contact with Fe …

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This project was awarded under U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Program Solicitation DE-PS26-02NT41422 and specifically addresses Technical Topical Area 2-Gasification Technologies. The project team includes Enertechnix, Inc. as the main contractor and ConocoPhillips Company as a technical partner, who also provides access to the SG Solutions Gasification Facility (formerly Wabash River Energy Limited), host for the field-testing portion of the research. Since 1989 the U.S. Department of Energy has supported development of advanced coal gasification technology. The Wabash River and TECO IGCC demonstration projects supported by the DOE have demonstrated the ability of these plants to achieve high levels of energy efficiency and extremely low emissions of hazardous pollutants. However, a continuing challenge for this technology is the tradeoff between high carbon conversion which requires operation with high internal gas temperatures, and limited refractory life which is exacerbated by those high operating temperatures. Attempts to control internal gas temperature so as to operate these gasifiers at the optimum temperature have been hampered by the lack of a reliable technology for measuring internal gas temperatures. Thermocouples have serious survival problems and provide useful temperature information for only a few days or weeks after startup before burning …

We report on a study of inclusive B{sup -} and {bar B}{sup 0} meson decays to D{sup 0}X, {bar D}{sup 0}X, D{sup +}X, D{sup -}X, D{sub s}{sup +}X, D{sub s}{sup -}X, {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +}X, {bar {Lambda}}{sub c}{sup -}X, based on a sample of 231 million B{bar B} events recorded with the BABAR detector at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance. Events are selected by completely reconstructing one B and searching for a reconstructed charm particle in the rest of the event. From the measured branching fractions of these decays, we infer the number of charm and anti-charm particles per {bar B} decay, separately for charged and neutral parents. We derive the total charm yield per B{sup -} decay, n{sub c}{sup -} = 1.202 {+-} 0.023 {+-} 0.040{sub -0.029}{sup +0.035}, and per {bar B}{sup 0} decay, n = 1.193 {+-} 0.030 {+-} 0.034{sub -0.035}{sup +0.044} where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third reflects the charm branching-fraction uncertainties. We also present the charm momentum distributions measured in the {bar B} rest frame.

In-situ reductive biotransformation of subsurface U(VI) to U(IV) (as ?UO2?) has been proposed as a bioremediation method to immobilize uranium at contaminated DOE sites. The chemical stability of bacteriogenic ?UO2? is the seminal issue governing its success as an in-situ waste form in the subsurface. The structure and properties of chemically synthesized UO2+x have been investigated in great detail. It has been found to exhibit complex structural disorder, with nonstoichiometry being common, hence the designation ?UO2+x?, where 0 < x < 0.25. Little is known about the structures and properties of the important bacteriogenic analogs, which are believed to occur as nanoparticles in the environment. Chemically synthesized UO2+x exhibits an open fluorite structure and is known to accommodate significant doping of divalent cations. The extent to which bacteriogenic UO2+x incorporates common ground water cations (e.g., Ca2+) has not been investigated, and little is known about nonstoichiometry and structure defects in the bacteriogenic material. Particle size, nonstoichiometry, and doping may significantly alter the reactivity, and hence stability, of bacteriogenic UO2+x in the subsurface. The presence of associated sulfide minerals, and solid phase oxidants such as bacteriogenic Mn oxides may also affect the longevity of bacteriogenic UO2 in the subsurface.

Synchrotron radiation (SR)-based techniques provide unique capabilities to address scientific issues underpinning environmental remediation science and have emerged as major research tools in this field. The high intensity of SR sources and x-ray photon-in/photon-out detection allow noninvasive in-situ analysis of dilute, hydrated, and chemically/structurally complex natural samples. SR x-rays can be focused to beams of micron and sub-micron dimension, which allows the study of microstructures, chemical microgradients, and microenvironments such as in biofilms, pore spaces, and around plant roots, that may control the transformation of contaminants in the environment. The utilization of SR techniques in environmental remediation sciences is often frustrated, however, by an ''activation energy barrier'', which is associated with the need to become familiar with an array of data acquisition and analysis techniques, a new technical vocabulary, beam lines, experimental instrumentation, and user facility administrative procedures. Many investigators find it challenging to become sufficiently expert in all of these areas or to maintain their training as techniques evolve. Another challenge is the dearth of facilities for hard x-ray micro-spectroscopy, particularly in the 15 to 23 KeV range, which includes x-ray absorption edges of the priority DOE contaminants Sr, U, Np, Pu, and Tc. Prior to the current program, …

Seismic borehole C4998 was cored through the upper portion of the Columbia River Basalt Group and Ellensburg Formation to provide detailed lithologic information and intact rock samples that represent the geology at the Waste Treatment Plant. This report describes the drilling of borehole C4998 and documents the geologic data collected during the drilling of the cored portion of the borehole.

This project developed software tools for the automation of grid computing. In particular, the project focused in visualization and imaging tools (VTK, ParaView and ITK); i.e., we developed tools to automatically create Grid services from C++ programs implemented using the open-source VTK visualization and ITK segmentation and registration systems. This approach helps non-Grid experts to create applications using tools with which they are familiar, ultimately producing Grid services for visualization and image analysis by invocation of an automatic process.

Query-driven visualization and analytics is a unique approach for high-performance visualization that offers new capabilities for knowledge discovery and hypothesis testing. The new capabilities akin to finding needles in haystacks are the result of combining technologies from the fields of scientific visualization and scientific data management. This approach is crucial for rapid data analysis and visualization in the petascale regime. This article describes how query-driven visualization is applied to a hero-sized network traffic analysis problem.

This work focuses on research and development activities that bridge a gap between fundamental data management technology index, query, storage and retrieval and use of such technology in computational and computer science algorithms and applications. The work has resulted in a streamlined applications programming interface (API) that simplifies data storage and retrieval using the HDF5 data I/O library, and eases use of the FastBit compressed bitmap indexing software for data indexing/querying. The API, which we call HDF5-FastQuery, will have broad applications in domain sciences as well as associated data analysis and visualization applications.

This study was undertaken to understand the practicalities of determine K differences in the undulator modules by measuring single-shot x-ray spectra of the spontaneous radiation with a transmissive grating spectrometer under development to measure FEL spectra. Since the quality of the FEL is dependent on a uniform K value in all the undulator modules, being able to measure the relative undulator K values is important. Preliminary results were presented in a presentation, ''Use of FEL Off-Axis Zone Plate Spectrometer to Measure Relative K by the Pinhole/Centroid Method'', at the ''LCLS Beam-Based Undulator K Measurements Workshop'' on November 14, 2005 (UCRL-PRES-217281). This study applies equally well to reflective gratings of the appropriate period and inclinations.

Models are developed and solved to describe the flow of and deposition from low and high concentration turbidity currents. The shallow water equations are amended to include particle transport to describe the low concentration turbidity currents. The suspension balance model is used to describe the high concentration turbidity currents. Numerical simulations are developed to solve the highly non-linear, free boundary problems associated with these models. Simpler, algebraic scaling relationships are also developed for these models. The models are successfully validated against field observations of turbidites. With these models, one can take seismic information on the shape of the turbiditic deposit and estimate the particle size, which can be used to determine the porosity and permeability.

Black & Veatch Corporation has prepared this report for Arizona Public Service Company, Salt River Project, and Tucson Electric Power Company (APS/SRP/TEP). The purpose of this report is to assess the prospects for significant renewable energy development in Arizona. The scope of the study is limited to Arizona projects that would export power to the grid (that is, not distributed energy projects). This study includes a review of the current status of renewable energy in Arizona, characterization of renewable power generation technologies, assessment of Arizona''s renewable resources, and an assessment of key risk factors. This section summarizes the key findings in these areas.

In an effort to promote clean energy projects and aid in the commercialization of new fuel cell technologies the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) initiated a Fuel Cell Demonstration Program in 1999 with six month deployments of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) non-commercial Beta model systems at partnering sites throughout Long Island. These projects facilitated significant developments in the technology, providing operating experience that allowed the manufacturer to produce fuel cells that were half the size of the Beta units and suitable for outdoor installations. In 2001, LIPA embarked on a large-scale effort to identify and develop measures that could improve the reliability and performance of future fuel cell technologies for electric utility applications and the concept to establish a fuel cell farm (Farm) of 75 units was developed. By the end of October of 2001, 75 Lorax 2.0 fuel cells had been installed at the West Babylon substation on Long Island, making it the first fuel cell demonstration of its kind and size anywhere in the world at the time. Designed to help LIPA study the feasibility of using fuel cells to operate in parallel with LIPA's electric grid system, the Farm operated 120 fuel cells over its lifetime of …

In an effort to promote clean energy projects and aid in the commercialization of new fuel cell technologies, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) initiated a Fuel Cell Demonstration Program in 1999 with six month deployments of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) non-commercial Beta model systems at partnering sites throughout Long Island. These projects facilitated significant developments in the technology, providing operating experience that allowed the manufacturer to produce fuel cells that were half the size of the Beta units and suitable for outdoor installations. In 2001, LIPA embarked on a large-scale effort to identify and develop measures that could improve the reliability and performance of future fuel cell technologies for electric utility applications and the concept to establish a fuel cell farm (Farm) of 75 units was developed. By the end of October of 2001, 75 Lorax 2.0 fuel cells had been installed at the West Babylon substation on Long Island, making it the first fuel cell demonstration of its kind and size anywhere in the world at the time. Designed to help LIPA study the feasibility of using fuel cells to operate in parallel with LIPA's electric grid system, the Farm operated 120 fuel cells over its lifetime of …

Cyclotides are an emerging family of naturally occurring circular mini-proteins ({approx}30-40 amino acids) characterized by six conserved Cys residues (forming 3 disulfide bridges) that create a topologically unique structure designated as a cyclic cysteine knot (CCK). The cysteine knot motif, which is embedded within the macrocylic backbone, is described as two disulfide bridges that form a ring that is penetrated by the third disulfide bridge. The cyclic backbone and CCK motif together confer cyclotides with a remarkable stability and resistance to proteolytic, chemical, and thermal degradation. Further, cyclotides are functionally diverse and display a wide range of functions including uterotonic activity, trypsin inhibition, cytotoxicity, neurotensin binding, anti-HIV, antimicrobial, and insecticidal activity. Together, these characteristics make cyclotides attractive candidates for both drug design and agricultural applications, both in their native forms and as molecular scaffolds for the incorporation of novel bioactivities. [1] The ability to manipulate production of cyclotides within biological systems is critical for mutagenesis studies, production of grafted products, and the mass production of cyclotides with novel activities. My adviser's hope is to achieve this capability by employing recombinant DNA expression techniques to generate large combinatorial libraries of cyclotides. The advantage in creating a biosynthetic library (containing {approx}10{sup 6}-10{sup …

The possibility of producing hot dense matter has important applications for the understanding of transport processes in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) [1] and laboratory astrophysics experiments [2]. While the success of ICF requires the correct solution of a complex interaction between laser coupling, equation-of-state, and particle transport problems, the possibility of experimentally recreating conditions found during the ignition phase in a simplified geometry is extremely appealing. In this paper we will show that hot dense plasma conditions found during ICF ignition experiments can be reproduced by illuminating a tamped foil with a high intensity laser. We will show that temperatures on the order of kiloelectronvolts at solid densities can be achieved under controlled conditions during the experiment. Hydrodynamic tamping by surface coatings allows to reach higher density regimes by enabling the diagnosis of matter that has not yet begun to decompress, thus opening the possibility of directly investigating strongly coupled systems [3]. Our experimental diagnostics is based on K-shell spectroscopy coupled to x-ray imaging techniques. Such techniques have recently become prevalent in the diagnosis of hot dense matter [4]. By looking at the presence, and relative strengths, of lines associated with different ionization states, spectroscopy provides considerable insight into plasma …

A method is presented showing that a 5-level cascade multilevel inverter for a three-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor drive can be implemented using only a single DC link to supply a standard 3-leg inverter along with three full H-bridges supplied by capacitors. It is shown that the capacitor voltages can be regulated while achieving an output voltage waveform that is 20% greater than that obtained using the standard 3-leg inverter alone. Finally conditions are given in terms of the power factor and modulation index that determine when the capacitor voltage can regulated.

In this paper we present a model to estimate the nationalenergy and economic impacts of the Department of Energy Building Americaprogram. The program goal is to improve energy performance in newresidential construction, by working with builders to design andconstruct energy-efficient homes at minimal cost. The model is anadaptation of the method used to calculate the national energy savingsfor appliance energy efficiency standards. The main difference is thatthe key decision here is not the consumer decision to buy anefficienthouse, but rather the builder decision to offer such a house inthe market. The builder decision is treated by developing a number ofscenarios in which the relative importance of first costs vs. energysavings is varied.