In support of CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc.'s (CHG) preparation of a Field Investigative Report (FIR) for the closure of the Hanford Site Single-Shell Tank (SST) Waste Management Area (WMA) tank farms, a set of numerical simulations of flow and solute transport was executed to predict the performance of surface barriers for reducing long-term risks from potential groundwater contamination at the C Farm WMA. This report documents the simulation of 14 cases (and two verification cases) involving two-dimensional cross sections through the C Farm WMA tanks C-103 – C-112. Utilizing a unit release scenario at Tank C-112, four different types of leaks were simulated. These simulations assessed the impact of leakage during retrieval, past leaks, and tank residual wastes and tank ancillary equipment following closure activities. . Two transported solutes were considered: uranium-238 (U-238) and technetium-99 (Tc-99). To evaluate the impact of sorption to the subsurface materials, six different retardation coefficients were simulated for U-238. Overall, simulations results for the C Farm WMA showed that only a small fraction of the U-238 with retardation factors greater than 0.6 migrated from the vadose zone in all of the cases. For the conservative solute, Tc-99, results showed that the simulations investigating leakages …

Predictions of increasing levels of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) and the specter of global warming have intensified research efforts to identify ways to sequester carbon. A number of novel avenues of research are being considered, including bioprocessing methods to promote and accelerate biosequestration of CO{sub 2} from the environment through the growth of organisms such as coccolithophorids, which are capable of sequestering CO{sub 2} relatively permanently. Calcium and magnesium carbonates are currently the only proven, long-term storage reservoirs for carbon. Whereas organic carbon is readily oxidized and releases CO{sub 2} through microbial decomposition on land and in the sea, carbonates can sequester carbon over geologic time scales. This proposal investigates the use of coccolithophorids--single-celled, marine algae that are the major global producers of calcium carbonate--to sequester CO{sub 2} emissions from power plants. Cultivation of coccolithophorids for calcium carbonate (CaCO{sub 3}) precipitation is environmentally benign and results in a stable product with potential commercial value. Because this method of carbon sequestration does not impact natural ecosystem dynamics, it avoids controversial issues of public acceptability and legality associated with other options such as direct injection of CO{sub 2} into the sea and ocean fertilization. Consequently, cultivation of coccolithophorids could be carried …

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The CARAT program, carried out by Kinetic Art & Technology Corporation (KAT), has been one of the most commercially successful KAT R&D programs to date. Based on previous development of its technology, KAT designed, constructed and tested a highly efficient motor and controller system under this CARAT program with supplemental commercial funding. Throughout this CARAT effort, the technical objectives have been refined and refocused. Some objectives have been greatly expanded, while others have been minimized. The determining factor in all decisions to refocus the objectives was the commercial need, primarily the needs of KAT manufacturing partners. Several companies are employing the resulting CARAT motor and controller designs in prototypes for commercial products. Two of these companies have committed to providing cost share in order to facilitate the development. One of these companies is a major manufacturing company developing a revolutionary new family of products requiring the ultra-high system efficiency achievable by the KAT motor and controller technologies (known as Segmented ElectroMagnetic Array, or SEMA technology). Another company requires the high efficiency, quiet operation, and control characteristics afforded by the same basic motor and controller for an advanced air filtration product. The combined annual production requirement projected by these two companies …

A research effort was undertaken to determine the need for any changes to USNRC's seismic regulatory practice to reflect the move, in the earthquake engineering community, toward using expected displacement rather than force (or stress) as the basis for assessing design adequacy. The research explored the extent to which displacement based seismic design methods, such as given in FEMA 273, could be useful for reviewing nuclear power stations. Two structures common to nuclear power plants were chosen to compare the results of the analysis models used. The first structure is a four-story frame structure with shear walls providing the primary lateral load system, referred herein as the shear wall model. The second structure is the turbine building of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The models were analyzed using both displacement based (pushover) analysis and nonlinear dynamic analysis. In addition, for the shear wall model an elastic analysis with ductility factors applied was also performed. The objectives of the work were to compare the results between the analyses, and to develop insights regarding the work that would be needed before the displacement based analysis methodology could be considered applicable to facilities licensed by the NRC. A summary of the research …

The performance of the SuperLig(R) 644 resin loading and elution was evaluated at 25, 35, and 45 degree C using a single-column containing 2.25 g of oven-dry, hydrogen form of SuperLig(R) 664 resin. A simulated Envelope A solution was used to mimic the composition of low-activity waste solution from Tank 241-AN-105 supernate in the Hanford Site waste tank. The simulant was spiked with small quantities of trace metals (cadmium, chromium, iron, and lead) to evaluate the effects of these metals on cesium sorption. The results from column tests performed at 25, 35, and 45 degree C showed that more than 100 BVs of simulated Envelope A solution could be processed at each temperature before 50 percent breakthrough of the cesium occurred.

The objective of this program was to investigate cyclic variations in spark-ignition (SI) engines under lean fueling conditions and to develop options to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) in compression-ignition direct-injection (CIDI) engines at high exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rates. The CIDI activity builds upon an earlier collaboration between ORNL and Ford examining combustion instabilities in SI engines. Under the original CRADA, the principal objective was to understand the fundamental causes of combustion instability in spark-ignition engines operating with lean fueling. The results of this earlier activity demonstrated that such combustion instabilities are dominated by the effects of residual gas remaining in each cylinder from one cycle to the next. A very simple, low-order model was developed that explained the observed combustion instability as a noisy nonlinear dynamical process. The model concept lead to development of a real-time control strategy that could be employed to significantly reduce cyclic variations in real engines using existing sensors and engine control systems. This collaboration led to the issuance of a joint patent for spark-ignition engine control. After a few years, the CRADA was modified to focus more on EGR and CIDI engines. The modified CRADA examined relationships between …

The Hanford River Protection Project Waste Treatment Plant (RPP-WTP) will be performing cesium and technetium ion exchange using SuperLig 644 and 639, respectively. Earlier work with LAW Envelope A (AN-105) simulant indicated that cesium adsorption by SuperLig 644 and perrhenate (pertechnetate analog) adsorption by SuperLig 639 are dependent on liquid volumetric flow rate during column loading. Acceptable lead column operation for both resins was attained (50 percent breakthrough at 100 column volumes) at maximum RPP-WTP design basis superficial velocities, but these results indicate that sorption kinetics could be limiting. As a follow-up to this previous work, LAW Envelope B (AZ-102) simulant was tested to verify column operability within the design basis. The simulant mimics the composition of low-activity waste solution from Tank 241-AZ-102 supernate in the Hanford waste tanks, which has higher cesium concentration than Envelopes A and C.

Roof bolting is the most popular method for underground openings in the mining industry, especially in the bedded deposits such as coal, potash, salt etc. In fact, all U.S. underground coal mine entries are roof-bolted as required by law. However, roof falls still occur frequently in the roof bolted entries. The two possible reasons are: the lack of knowledge of and technology to detect the roof geological conditions in advance of mining, and lack of roof bolting design criteria for modern roof bolting systems. This research is to develop a method for predicting the roof geology and stability condition in real time during roof bolting operation. Based on such information, roof bolting design criteria for modern roof bolting systems will be developed for implementation in real time. In this quarter, the field, theoretical and programming works have been performed toward achieving the research goals set in the proposal. The selected site and the field testing plan enabled us to test all three aspects of roof geological features. The development of the data interpretation methodologies and the geology mapping computer program have also been preceding well.

We report the first kinematically complete study of the four-body fragmentation of the D2 molecule following absorption of a single photon. For equal energy sharing of the two electrons and a photon energy of 75.5 eV, we observed the relaxation of one of the selection rules valid for He photo-double ionization and a strong dependence of the electron angular distribution on the orientation of the molecular axis. This effect is reproduced by a model in which a pair of photoionization amplitudes is introduced for the light polarization parallel and perpendicular to the molecular axis.

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QCDOC is a massively parallel supercomputer whose processing nodes are based on an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). This ASIC was custom-designed so that crucial lattice QCD kernels achieve an overall sustained performance of 50% on machines with several 10,000 nodes. This strong scalability, together with low power consumption and a price/performance ratio of $1 per sustained MFlops, enable QCDOC to attack the most demanding lattice QCD problems. The first ASICs became available in June of 2003, and the testing performed so far has shown all systems functioning according to specification. We review the hardware and software status of QCDOC and present performance figures obtained in real hardware as well as in simulation.

Run-II at Fermilab is progressing steadily. In the Run-II scheme, 36 antiproton bunches collide with 36 proton bunches at the CDF and D0 interaction regions in the Tevatron at 980 GeV per beam. The current status and performance of the Fermilab Accelerator complex is reviewed. The plan for Run-II, accelerator upgrades and integration of the Recycler in the accelerator chain will be presented.

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We present new data on the unreacted approximate isentrope of the HMX-based explosive LX-04, measured to 170 kbar, using newly developed long pulse isentropic compression techniques at the Sandia National Laboratories Z Machine facility. This study extends in pressure by 70% the previous state of the art on unreacted LX-04 using this technique. This isentrope will give the unreacted Hugoniot from thermodynamic relations using a Gruneisen equation of state model. The unreacted Hugoniot of LX-04 is important in understanding the structure of the reaction front in the detonating explosive. We find that a Hugoniot given by U{sub s}= 2950 m/s + 1.69 u{sub p} yields for an isentrope a curve which fits our LX-04 ICE data well.

This paper presents a field modeling study characterizing fluid flow and tracer transport in the unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, a proposed underground repository for storing high-level radioactive waste. The 500 to 700 meter thick unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain consists of highly heterogeneous layers of anisotropic, fractured ash flow and air fall tuffs. Characterization of fluid flow and heat transfer through such a system has been a challenge due to the heterogeneities prevalent on various scales. Quantitative evaluation of water, gas, and heat flow by means of numerical simulation is essential for design and performance assessment of the repository. A three-dimensional numerical flow and transport model will be discussed. The model has been calibrated against field-measured data and takes into account the coupled processes of unsaturated flow and tracer transport in the highly heterogeneous, unsaturated fractured porous rock. The modeling approach of the model is based on a dual-continuum formulation of coupled multiphase fluid and tracer transport through fractured porous rock. As application examples, effects of current and future climates on the unsaturated zone processes are evaluated to aid in the assessment of the proposed repository's system performance.

Two biodegradation models are developed to represent natural attenuation of fuel-hydrocarbon contaminants as observed in a comprehensive natural-gradient tracer test in a heterogeneous aquifer on the Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi. The first, a first-order mass loss model, describes the irreversible losses of BTEX and its individual components, i.e., benzene (B), toluene (T), ethyl benzene (E), and xylene (X). The second, a reactive pathway model, describes sequential degradation pathways for BTEX utilizing multiple electron acceptors, including oxygen, nitrate, iron and sulfate, and via methanogenesis. The heterogeneous aquifer is represented by multiple hydraulic conductivity (K) zones delineated on the basis of numerous flowmeter K measurements. A direct propagation artificial neural network (DPN) is used as an inverse modeling tool to estimate the biodegradation rate constants associated with each of the K zones. In both the mass loss model and the reactive pathway model, the biodegradation rate constants show an increasing trend with the hydraulic conductivity. The finding of correlation between biodegradation kinetics and hydraulic conductivity distributions is of general interest and relevance to characterization and modeling of natural attenuation of hydrocarbons in other petroleum-product contaminated sites.

The design and synthesis of novel new high energy density materials (HEDM) is more art than science. Many potential molecular systems have been identified computationally. Most computational studies are performed using traditional gas-phase quantum chemistry methods, which determine high-energy structures of a particular cluster of atoms that are geometrically constrained. At first, a minimum energy optimization of the molecular structure is sought. Once located, the adiabatic stability to decomposition via several channels is explored by locating energy barriers to decomposition. These calculations could then suggest whether a particular cluster is stable and is a viable HEDM candidate. This computational procedure offers nothing in way of practical steps about the synthesis of the HEDM molecule starting from currently existing materials, and therefore is disconnected from experimental undertakings for the realization of novel HEDMs. We propose to apply a new multiscale simulation method for the study of shocked high energy density materials enabling, for the first time, the elucidation of chemistry under shock conditions on the 100 ps timescale. (E. J. Reed, L. E. Fried, J. D. Joannopoulos, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 235503 (2003)) The method combines molecular dynamics and the Euler equations for compressible flow. The method allows the molecular dynamics …

We propose to investigate the possible configurations, electronic, conducting and energetic properties of nitrogen-containing carbon fullerenes and single-walled nanotubes with nitrogen contents up to 30% using first principle density functional theoretical calculations. The proposed research allows for a predictive method to control the electronic properties of fullerenes and nanotubes that could pave the way for controlled fabrication of molecular circuits and nanotube networks.

We simulate quenched QCD with the overlap Dirac operator. We work with the Wilson gauge action at {beta} = 6 on an 18{sup 3} x 64 lattice. We calculate quark propagators for a single source point and quark mass ranging from am{sub 4} = 0.03 to 0.75. We present here preliminary results based on the propagators for 60 gauge field configurations.

The Radiological Standards and Calibrations Laboratory, a part of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)(a) performs calibrations and upholds reference standards necessary to maintain traceability to national standards. The facility supports U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) programs at the Hanford Site, programs sponsored by DOE Headquarters and other federal agencies, radiological protection programs at other DOE and commercial nuclear sites and research and characterization programs sponsored through the commercial sector. The laboratory is located in the 318 Building of the Hanford Site's 300 Area. The facility contains five major exposure rooms and several laboratories used for exposure work preparation, low-activity instrument calibrations, instrument performance evaluations, instrument maintenance, instrument design and fabrication work, thermoluminescent and radiochromic Dosimetry, and calibration of measurement and test equipment (M&TE). The major exposure facilities are a low-scatter room used for neutron and photon exposures, a source well room used for high-volume instrument calibration work, an x-ray facility used for energy response studies, a high-exposure facility used for high-rate photon calibration work, a beta standards laboratory used for beta energy response studies and beta reference calibrations and M&TE laboratories. Calibrations are routinely performed for personnel dosimeters, health physics instrumentation, photon and neutron transfer standards alpha, beta, and gamma …

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