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A complete understanding of actinide interactions in the geosphere is paramount for developing a rational Nuclear and Environmental Materials Management Policy. One of the key challenges towards understanding the fate and transport of actinides is determining their speciation (i.e., oxidation state and structure). Since an element's speciation directly dictates physical properties such as toxicity and solubility, this information is critical for evaluating and controlling the evolution of an actinide element through the environment. Specific areas within nuclear and environmental management programs where speciation is important are (1) waste processing and separations; (2) wasteform materials for long-term disposition; and (3) aqueous geochemistry. The goal of this project was to develop Actinide X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy ( U S ) as a core capability at LLNL and integrate it with existing facilities, providing a multi-technique approach to actinide speciation. XAS is an element-specific structural probe which determines the oxidation state and structure for most atoms. XAS can be more incisive than other spectroscopies because it originates from an atomic process and the information is always attainable, regardless of an element's speciation. Despite the utility, XAS is relatively complex due to the need for synchrotron radiation and significant expertise with data acquisition and analysis. …

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The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory is currently involved in a 1/5 scale testing program on the Mark I BWR pressure suppression system. A key element of the test setup is a pressure vessel that is a 90/sup 0/ sector of a torus. Proper performance of the 90/sup 0/ torus depends on its structural integrity and structural dynamic characteristics. It must sustain the internal pressurization of the planned tests, and its dynamic response to the transient test loads should be minimal. If the structural vibrations are too great, interpretation of important load cell and pressure transducer data will be difficult. The purpose of the report is to bring together under one cover calculations pertaining to the structural dynamic characteristics and structural integrity of 90/sup 0/ torus. The report is divided into the following sections: (1) system description in which the torus and associated hardware are briefly described; (2) structural dynamics in which calculations of natural frequency and dynamic response are presented; and (3) structural integrity in which stress calculations for design purposes are presented; and an appendix which contains an LLL internal report comparing the expected load cell response for a three and four-point supported torus.

This development project addressed the need for a faster, less expensive method of transmission ultrasound. It utilized the principle of frustrated total internal reflection to transduce acoustic pressure into optical modulation. These data were acquired an entire 2D plane at a time. This report described the modeling and verification of a final sensor design.

The primary purpose of the verification enhancement review was for the DOE Richland Operations Office (RL) to verify contractor readiness for the independent DOE Integrated Safety Management System Verification (ISMSV) on the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP). Secondary objectives included: (1) to reinforce the engagement of management and to gauge management commitment and accountability; (2) to evaluate the ''value added'' benefit of direct public involvement; (3) to evaluate the ''value added'' benefit of direct worker involvement; (4) to evaluate the ''value added'' benefit of the panel-to-panel review approach; and, (5) to evaluate the utility of the review's methodology/adaptability to periodic assessments of ISM status. The review was conducted on December 6-8, 1999, and involved the conduct of two-hour interviews with five separate panels of individuals with various management and operations responsibilities related to PFP. A semi-structured interview process was employed by a team of five ''reviewers'' who directed open-ended questions to the panels which focused on: (1) evidence of management commitment, accountability, and involvement; and, (2) consideration and demonstration of stakeholder (including worker) information and involvement opportunities. The purpose of a panel-to-panel dialogue approach was to better spotlight: (1) areas of mutual reinforcement and alignment that could serve as good examples …

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This System Design Description provides: (1) statements of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Projects (SNFP) needs requiring sampling of fuel in the K East and K West Basins, (2) the sampling equipment functions and requirements, (3) a general work plan and the design logic being followed to develop the equipment, and (4) a summary description of the design for the sampling equipment. The report summarizes the integrated application of both the subject equipment and the canister sludge sampler in near-term characterization campaigns at K Basins.

This report summarizes information on the historical uses, current status, and sampling and analysis results of waste stored in single-shell underground tank 241-BY-108.

The central research problem of this project is the effective representation and display of surfaces, interpolating to given information, in three or more dimensions. In a typical problem, we wish to create a surface from some discrete information. If this information is itself on another surface, the problem is to determine a ``surface defined on a surface,`` which is discussed below. Often, properties of an already constructed surface are desired: such ``geometry processing`` is described below. The Summary of Proposed Research from our original proposal describes the aims of this research project. This Summary and the Table of Contents from the original proposal are enclosed as an Appendix to this Progress Report. The broad sweep from constructive mathematics through algorithms and computer graphics displays is utilized in the research. The wide range of activity, directed in both theory and applications, makes this project unique. Last month in the first Ardent Titan delivered in the State of Arizona came to our group, funded by the DOE and Arizona State University. Although the Titan is a commercial product, its newness requires our close collaboration with Ardent to maximize results. During the past year, four faculty members and several graduate research assistants have …

The central research problem of this project is the effective representation and display of surfaces, interpolating to given information, in three or more dimensions. In a typical problem, we wish to create a surface from some discrete information. If this information is itself on another surface, the problem is to determine a surface defined on a surface,'' which is discussed below. Often, properties of an already constructed surface are desired: such geometry processing'' is described below. The Summary of Proposed Research from our original proposal describes the aims of this research project. This Summary and the Table of Contents from the original proposal are enclosed as an Appendix to this Progress Report. The broad sweep from constructive mathematics through algorithms and computer graphics displays is utilized in the research. The wide range of activity, directed in both theory and applications, makes this project unique. Last month in the first Ardent Titan delivered in the State of Arizona came to our group, funded by the DOE and Arizona State University. Although the Titan is a commercial product, its newness requires our close collaboration with Ardent to maximize results. During the past year, four faculty members and several graduate research assistants have …

It is desired at this time to present in summary form a factual history of the Building 234-5 operations, encompassing not only the immediate pre-start-up period from April to July, 1949, but including the major obstacles encountered in the succeeding interval to the end of 1949. This report is intended to serve not only as a review of 234-5 operations during this period but also as a documentary evidence of the difficulties experienced and the manner in which they impeded the start-up. This report presupposes a certain familiarity with the background of the 234-5 Building. To one unacquainted with the scope of this project, or for those desiring a background review, reference should be made to Document HM-253, ``234-5 Building Program Review``, by D.D. Streid, dated April 22, 1949. It must be realized that any attempt to discuss in detail all the circumstances and difficulties contributing to the start-up period would be disconcerting to the reader, and would very likely be repetitive. Therefore, although it is far from the writer`s intent that a cursory review will suffice, the presentation will be as nearly as practicable, chronological and comparative. For the sake of clarity it will be necessary to present several …

Concepts were evaluated for the storage of unreprocessed spent fuel in a retrievable surface storage facility. This document provides a systematic format for making a concept selection from the seven alternative concepts presented in RHO-LD-2. Results of the evaluation was that the Drywell concept was rated highest with the Water Basin Concept and the Sealed Storage Cask concept with multiple canisters of SURF coming in a close second and third. (DLC)

The present research program is centered on the experimental and numerical study of two instabilities that develop at the interface between two different fluids when the interface experiences an impulsive or a constant acceleration. The instabilities, called the Richtmyer-Meshkov and Rayleigh-Taylor instability, respectively, adversely affect target implosion in experiments aimed at the achievement of nuclear fusion by inertial confinement by causing the nuclear fuel contained in a target and the shell material to mix, leading to contamination of the fuel, yield reduction or no ignition at all. The laboratory experiments summarized in this report include shock tube experiments to study a shock-accelerated bubble and a shock-accelerated 2-D sinusoidal interface; and experiments based on the use of magnetorheological fluids for the study of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Computational experiments based on the shock tube experimental conditions are also reported.

NASA's Stardust mission returned to Earth in January 2006 with ''fresh'' cometary particles from a young Jupiter family comet. The cometary particles were sampled during the spacecraft flyby of comet 81P/Wild-2 in January 2004, when they impacted low-density silica aerogel tiles and aluminum foils on the sample tray assembly at approximately 6.1 km/s. This LDRD project has developed extraction and sample recovery methodologies to maximize the scientific information that can be obtained from the analysis of natural and man-made nano-materials of relevance to the LLNL programs.

This report is a summary of the methods used to determine ultrasonic velocities through the many materials tested at the Acoustic Properties of Materials Laboratory. Ultrasonic velocity techniques enable the determination of material properties, including elastic moduli, without harming the materials being tested, an advantage some over mechanical methods. Ultrasonic modulus determination has other advantages as well: (1) relative ease and low cost of material preparation; and (2) comparative analysis to physical testing as a function of material loading rate dependence. In addition, ultrasonic measurement provides clues to determine grain size and orientation, and provides a relative indication of material anisotropy with respect to the material geometry. The authors usually perform ultrasonic measurements on materials in ambient atmospheric conditions, and in a relatively free-free condition. However, the authors can perform them in other environments, as required. This paper describes some of the techniques used in this laboratory and shows how ultrasonic velocities are used to establish elastic constants. It also includes a sample test report for a homogeneous isotropic solid, along with a list of references.

The objective of our research program was to determine whether novel receptors can be induced in solid cancers as a target for therapy with radiolabeled unmodified peptides that bind to the receptors. The hypothesis was that induction of a high number of receptors on the surface of these cancer cells would result in an increased uptake of the radiolabeled monomeric peptides as compared to published results with radiolabeled antibodies or peptides to naturally expressed antigens or receptors, and therefore a better therapeutic outcome. The following is a summary of published results.

To pursue the development of radiolabeled immunotoxins (RIT) for colon cancer, it was first necessary to identify an immunotoxin (IT) that could selectively kill colon cancer cell lines. Recently, our collaborators in the Vallera laboratory have observed that potent recombinant IT can be synthesized using recombinant single chain antibodies (sFv) spliced to truncated diphtheria toxin (DT) consisting of the first 390 amino acids of native DT. DT was chosen as a toxin because it is a catalytic bacterial toxin that is easily manipulated in genetic engineering studies. Also, the Vallera lab has developed new procedures for preparing the sFv fusion toxins from bacterial inclusion bodies such as DT and another good genetic engineering toxin pseudomonas exotoxin (PE) based on detergent refolding. This allows for enhanced yields and higher purity that is essential for generating the protein that will be needed for preparation of larger amounts of RIT for therapy. Many potential sFvs were considered for targeting colon cancer. The best results have been obtained with an sFv recognizing EpCam. EpCam, also known as ESA or EGP40, is a 40 kDa epithelial transmembrane glycoprotein found on the basolateral surface of simple, pseudostratified, and transitional epithelia. It has been found overexpressed on …

This report documents the results of the weld development and abbreviated weld qualification efforts performed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for refractory metal and superalloy biaxial creep specimens. Biaxial creep specimens were to be assembled, electron beam welded, laser-seal welded, and pressurized at PNNL for both in-pile (JOYO reactor, O-arai, Japan) and out-of-pile creep testing. The objective of this test campaign was to evaluate the creep behavior of primary cladding and structural alloys under consideration for the Prometheus space reactor. PNNL successfully developed electron beam weld parameters for six of these materials prior to the termination of the Naval Reactors program effort to deliver a space reactor for Project Prometheus. These materials were FS-85, ASTAR-811C, T-111, Alloy 617, Haynes 230, and Nirnonic PE16. Early termination of the NR space program precluded the development of laser welding parameters for post-pressurization seal weldments.

This cleanup verification package documents completion of remedial action for the 600-259 waste site. The site was the former site of the Special Waste Form Lysimeter, consisting of commercial reactor isotope waste forms in contact with soils within engineered caissons, and was used by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to collect data regarding leaching behavior for target analytes. A Grout Waste Test Facility also operated at the site, designed to test leaching rates of grout-solidified low-level radioactive waste.

Research on nuclear thermal propulsion systems (NTP) have been in forefront of the space nuclear power and propulsion due to their design simplicity and their promise for providing very high thrust at reasonably high specific impulse. During NERVA-ROVER program in late 1950's till early 1970's, the United States developed and ground tested about 18 NTP systems without ever deploying them into space. The NERVA-ROVER program included development and testing of NTP systems with very high thrust (~250,000 lbf) and relatively high specific impulse (~850 s). High thrust to weight ratio in NTP systems is an indicator of high acceleration that could be achieved with these systems. The specific impulse in the lowest mass propellant, hydrogen, is a function of square root of absolute temperature in the NTP thrust chamber. Therefor optimizing design performance of NTP systems would require achieving the highest possible hydrogen temperature at reasonably high thrust to weight ratio. High hydrogen exit temperature produces high specific impulse that is a diret measure of propellant usage efficiency.

The US National Energy Policy of 2001 advocated the development of advanced fuel and fuel cycle technologies that are cleaner, more efficient, less waste-intensive, and more proliferation resistant. The need for advanced fuel development is emphasized in on-going DOE-supported programs, e.g., Global Nuclear Energy Initiative (GNEI), Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI), and GEN-IV Technology Development. The Directorates of Energy & Environment (E&E) and Chemistry & Material Sciences (C&MS) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are interested in advanced fuel research and manufacturing using its multi-disciplinary capability and facilities to support a design concept of a small, secure, transportable, and autonomous reactor (SSTAR). The E&E and C&MS Directorates co-sponsored this Laboratory Directed Research & Development (LDRD) Project on Mono-Uranium Nitride Fuel Development for SSTAR and Space Applications. In fact, three out of the six GEN-IV reactor concepts consider using the nitride-based fuel, as shown in Table 1. SSTAR is a liquid-metal cooled, fast reactor. It uses nitride fuel in a sealed reactor vessel that could be shipped to the user and returned to the supplier having never been opened in its long operating lifetime. This sealed reactor concept envisions no fuel refueling nor on-site storage of spent fuel, and as a …

In recent assessments of climate forcing, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lists aerosol as one o f the most important anthropogenic agents that influence climate. Atmospheric aerosols directly affect the radiative fluxes at the surface and top of the Earth's atmosphere by scattering and/or absorbing radiation. Further, aerosols indirectly change cloud microphysical properties (such as cloud drop effective radius) that also affect the radiative fluxes. However, the estimate of the magnitude of aerosol climatic effect varies widely, and aerosol/cloud interactions remain one of the most uncertain aspects of climate models today. The Atmospheric Sciences Division has formulated a plan to enhance and expand our modeling expertise in aerosol/cloud/climate interactions. Under previous LDRD support, we successfully developed a computationally efficient version of IMPACT to simulate aerosol climatology. This new version contains a compact chemical mechanism for the prediction of sulfate and also predicts the distributions of organic carbon (OC), black carbon (BC), dust, and sea salt. Furthermore, we implemented a radiation package into IMPACT to calculate the radiative forcing and heating/cooling rates by aerosols. This accomplishment built the foundation of our currently funded projects under the NASA Global Modeling and Analysis Program as well as the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Program. …

The amount of tritium remaining within and the release rate out of stainless steel process waste from the 232-F Tritium Facility at SRS is calculated as a function of time using the historical exposure of pipe during operation of the facility (1955-1958) and its subsequent deactivation and lay-up. The solution and diffusion of tritium in the wall is the mechanism that governs both the tritium contamination of the pipe during operation and its gradual release after deactivation, including radioactive decay while in the metal. This analysis applies to Segment 6 of the so-called Components in Grout waste form. Results of these calculations will be used in the Groundwater Transport assessment, part of the analysis of the Components in Grout.