Engineered trenches (ETs) are considered to be a cost-effective method for disposing Low Level Waste (LLW). Based on waste forecasts from waste generators, the last engineered trench in operation (ET No.2) is anticipated to close in FY14, requiring development of a new ET. Solid Waste requested that SRNL develop an assessment report that reviews four disposal options for this new ET (ET No.3) and determine which option would provide the 'best' Performance Assessment (PA) disposal limits for LLW (Appendix A). Those four options (see option footprint locations in Figure 1-1) are: (1) Disposal at grade on TRU Pads 7-13 where soil would be mounded over waste packages; (2) Excavation at a slightly modified SLIT No.13 location - near the Used Equipment Storage Area; (3) Excavation at a modified SLIT No.12 location - near the 643-26E Naval Reactor Component Disposal Area; and (4) Excavation east of TRU Pad No.26 that replaces northeast portions of four slit trench (ST) disposal units in the eastern set of STs. The assessment consisted of both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The quantitative analysis captured key aspects that were readily quantifiable and had predictable impacts on limits and doses. A simplified modeling strategy stemming from current Special …

Thermal energy confinement times in NSTX dimensionless parameter scans increase with decreasing collisionality. While ion thermal transport is neoclassical, the source of anomalous electron thermal transport in these discharges remains unclear, leading to considerable uncertainty when extrapolating to future ST devices at much lower collisionality. Linear gyrokinetic simulations find microtearing modes to be unstable in high collisionality discharges. First non-linear gyrokinetic simulations of microtearing turbulence in NSTX show they can yield experimental levels of transport. Magnetic flutter is responsible for almost all the transport ({approx}98%), perturbed field line trajectories are globally stochastic, and a test particle stochastic transport model agrees to within 25% of the simulated transport. Most significantly, microtearing transport is predicted to increase with electron collisionality, consistent with the observed NSTX confinement scaling. While this suggests microtearing modes may be the source of electron thermal transport, the predictions are also very sensitive to electron temperature gradient, indicating the scaling of the instability threshold is important. In addition, microtearing turbulence is susceptible to suppression via sheared E-B flows as experimental values of E-B shear (comparable to the linear growth rates) dramatically reduce the transport below experimental values. Refinements in numerical resolution and physics model assumptions are expected to minimize …

The Doppler lidar (DL) is an active remote sensing instrument that provides range- and time-resolved measurements of radial velocity and attenuated backscatter. The principle of operation is similar to radar in that pulses of energy are transmitted into the atmosphere; the energy scattered back to the transceiver is collected and measured as a time-resolved signal. From the time delay between each outgoing transmitted pulse and the backscattered signal, the distance to the scatterer is inferred. The radial or line-of-sight velocity of the scatterers is determined from the Doppler frequency shift of the backscattered radiation. The DL uses a heterodyne detection technique in which the return signal is mixed with a reference laser beam (i.e., local oscillator) of known frequency. An onboard signal processing computer then determines the Doppler frequency shift from the spectra of the heterodyne signal. The energy content of the Doppler spectra can also be used to determine attenuated backscatter.

This project demonstrated microwave cracking of ethane with good product conversion and ethylene selectivity, with a short residence time ({approx}0.001 sec). The laboratory scale equipment was designed and built, along with concept designs for larger scale implementation. The system was operated below atmospheric pressures, in the range of 15-55 torr, with argon as a carrier gas. The measured products included hydrogen, methane, acetylene, and ethylene. The results followed similar trends to those predicted by the modeling software SPYRO{reg_sign}, with the exception that the microwave appeared to produce slightly lower amounts of ethylene and methane, although enhanced analytical analysis should reduce the difference. Continued testing will be required to verify these results and quantify the energy consumption of microwave vs. conventional. The microwave cracking process is an attractive option due to the possibility of selectively heating the reaction volume rather than the reactor walls, which may allow novel reactor designs that result in more efficient production of ethylene. Supplemental studies are needed to continue the laboratory testing and refine processing parameters.

1.4 MW of 30 MHz high-harmonic fast wave (HHFW) heating, with current drive antenna phasing, has generated a Ip = 300kA, BT (0) = 0.55T deuterium H-mode plasma in the National Spherical Torus Experiment that has a non-inductive plasma current fraction, fNI = 0.7-1. Seventy-five percent of the non-inductive current was generated inside an internal transport barrier that formed at a normalized minor radius, r/a {approx} 0.4 . Three quarters of the non-inductive current was bootstrap current and the remaining non-inductive current was generated directly by HHFW power inside r/a {approx} 0.2.