F and H Tank Farms generate supernate and sludge contaminated Low-Level Waste. The waste is collected, characterized, and packaged for disposal. Before the waste can be disposed of, however, it must be properly characterized. Since the radionuclide distribution in typical supernate is well known, its characterization is relatively straight forward and requires minimal effort. Non-routine waste, including potentially sludge contaminated, requires much more effort to effectively characterize. The radionuclide distribution must be determined. In some cases the waste can be contaminated by various sludge transfers with unique radionuclide distributions. In these cases, the characterization can require an extensive effort. Even after an extensive characterization effort, the container must still be prepared for shipping. Therefore a significant amount of time may elapse from the time the waste is generated until the time of disposal. During the time it is possible for a tornado or high wind scenario to occur. The purpose of this report is to determine the effect of a tornado on potential sludge contaminated waste, or Transuranic (TRU) waste in B-25s [large storage containers], to evaluate the potential impact on F and H Tank Farms, and to help establish a B-25 control program for tornado events.

The innovation of a simple, scalable process for manufacturing long-length conductors of HTS is essential to potential commercial applications such as power cables, magnets, and transformers. In this paper the authors demonstrate that melt processing of Yb-123 tapes made by the PIT route is an alternative to the coated conductor and Bi-2223 PIT tape fabrication techniques. Ag-clad Yb-123 tapes were fabricated by groove rolling and subsequently, melt processed in different oxygen partial pressures in a zone-melting furnace with a gradient of 140 C/cm. The transition temperatures measured were found to be around 81 K undermost processing conditions. EPMA of the tapes processed under different conditions show the 123 phase to be Ba deficient and Cu and Yb rich. Critical current was measured at various temperatures from 77 K to 4.2 K. The J{sub c} increased with decrease in pO{sub 2}. The highest I{sub c} obtained was 52 A at 4.2 K.

Planar tunneling spectroscopy is performed into the a-b plane of the high-temperature superconductor Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8}. The tunneling spectra exhibit a zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP). Preliminary studies as a function of temperature, crystallographic orientation, magnetic field magnitude and direction confirm the ZBCP is an Andreev bound state (ABS) at zero energy. Below 5K, a depletion in the density of states at zero energy is observed.

User manual for the TK AZ-101 Waste Retrieval System Data Acquisition System. The purpose of this document is to describe use of the AZ-101 Data Acquisition System (AZ-101 DAS). The AZ-101 DAS is provided to fulfill the requirements for data collection and monitoring as defined in Letters of Instruction (LOI) from Numatec Hanford Corporation (NHC) to Fluor Federal Services (FFS). For a complete description of the system, including design, please refer to the AZ-101 DAS System Description document, RPP-5572.

To facilitate the evaluation of alternate canister designs, 2 canisters were outfitted with thermocouples at elevations of 1/2, 3 1/2, and 6 1/2 inches from the canister bottom. The canisters were fabricated from two inch diameter schedule 10 and two inch diameter schedule 40 stainless steel pipe. Each canister was filled with approximately 2 kilograms of 49 wt percent lanthanide (Ln) loaded 25SrABS glass during 5 inch Cylindrical Induction Melter (CIM5) runs for TTR Tasks 3.03 and 4.03. Melter temperature, total mass of glass poured, and the glass pour rates were almost identical in both runs. The schedule 40 canister has a slightly smaller ID compared to the schedule 10 canister and therefore filled to a level of 9.5 inches compared to 8.0 inches for the schedule 40 canister. The schedule 40 canister had an empty mass of 1906 grams compared to 919 grams for the schedule 10 canister. The schedule 10 canister was found to have a higher maximum surface temperature by about 50--100 C (depending on height) during the glass pour compared to the schedule 40 canister. The additional thermal mass of the schedule 40 canister accounts for this difference. Once filled with glass, each of the canisters …

Experimental as well as computational analyses have been used to examine the deformation and failure behavior of ring-stretch specimens of Zircaloy-4 cladding tubes. The results show that, at least for plastically anisotropic unirradiated cladding, specimens with a small gauge length l to width w ratio (l/w {approx} 1) exhibit pronounced non-uniform deformation along their length. As a result, specimen necking occurs upon yielding when the specimen is fully plastic. Finite element analysis indicates a minimum l/w of 4 before a significant fraction of the gauge length deforms homogeneously. A brief examination of the contrasting deformation and failure behavior between uniaxial and plane-strain ring tension tests further supports the use of the latter geometry for determining cladding failure ductility data that are relevant to certain reactivity-initiated accident conditions.

The aging of research reactors worldwide has resulted in a heightened awareness in the international technical decommissioning community of the timeliness to review and address the needs of these research institutes in planning for and eventually performing the decommissioning of these facilities. By using the reactors already undergoing decommissioning as test beds for evaluating enhanced or new/innovative technologies for decommissioning, it is possible that new techniques could be made available for those future research reactor decommissioning projects. Potentially, the new technologies will result in: reduced radiation doses to the work force, larger safety margins in performing decommissioning and cost and schedule savings to the research institutes in performing the decommissioning of these facilities. Testing of these enhanced technologies for decontamination, dismantling, characterization, remote operations and worker protection are critical to furthering advancements in the technical specialty of decommissioning. Furthermore, regulatory acceptance and routine utilization for future research reactor decommissioning will be assured by testing and developing these technologies in realistically contaminated environments prior to use in the research reactors. The decommissioning of the CP-5 Research Reactor is currently in the final phase of dismantlement. In this paper the authors present results of work performed at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in …

Radioactive decay of high-level nuclear waste emplaced in a Yucca Mountain repository will produce an initial heat flux on the order of 30 to 50 times the heat flux in the Geysers geothermal reservoir in California (Hardin et al., 1998). Even though the rate of heat production decreases rapidly with time after emplacement, this heat flux will change the thermal and hydrologic environment, affecting both the host rock and conditions within the drifts in ways significant to key repository performance variables.

In this work, a method is proposed for modifying the standard master-slave stiffness matrix so that linear consistency across the interface of the master and slave meshes is achieved. The existence of such a local stiffness modification is implied by the work of [Dohrmann, et al, to appear]. The present work aims at achieving the same linear consistency through a different method of stiffness modification that is based on simply ensuring zero residual force at the interior interface nodes for all non-zero-stress linear displacement fields and zero residual force at all interface nodes for all rigid-body linear displacement fields. These zero residuals ensure that the local stiffness modification results in an interface that passes the patch test. Numerical examples herein demonstrate that the maximum stress error at the interface goes to zero with the proposed method while it does not for the standard master-slave method.

During this funding period, the laboratories of Drs. Anderson and Daunert have performed a considerable amount of work toward addressing the issues associated with small volume analysis necessary for single cell studies. In that respect, their research has been focused on (1) developing new assays that can be miniaturized and are suitable for small volume and single cell analysis; (2) fabricating pL-vials that simulate the volume of single cells and setting up instrumentation capable of low-volume detection; (3) developing reproducible and reliable microinjection techniques; (4) developing methods of analysis for biomolecules in the pL-vials and employing these assays in the detection of biomolecules in single cells. The accomplishments attained in all these areas are described below. A total of 24 publications and 35 presentations have resulted from this work.

At low mean stresses, porous geomaterials fail by shear localization, and at higher mean stresses, they undergo strain-hardening behavior. Cap plasticity models attempt to model this behavior using a pressure-dependent shear yield and/or shear limit-state envelope with a hardening or hardening/softening elliptical end cap to define pore collapse. While these traditional models describe compactive yield and ultimate shear failure, difficulties arise when the behavior involves a transition from compactive to dilatant deformation that occurs before the shear failure or limit-state shear stress is reached. In this work, a continuous surface cap plasticity model is used to predict compactive and dilatant pre-failure deformation. During loading the stress point can pass freely through the critical state point separating compactive from dilatant deformation. The predicted volumetric strain goes from compactive to dilatant without the use of a non-associated flow rule. The new model is stable in that Drucker's stability postulates are satisfied. The study has applications to several geosystems of current engineering interest (oil and gas reservoirs, nuclear waste repositories, buried targets, and depleted reservoirs for possible use for subsurface sequestration of greenhouse gases).

Mercury fulminate completely decomposed in a gamma source (0.86 Mrad/h) after a dose of 208 Mrad. This exposure equates to approximately 2.4 years in Tank 15H and 4 years in Tank 12H, one of the vessels of concern. Since the tanks lost the supernatant cover layer more than a decade ago, this study suggests that any mercury fulminate or closely related energetic species decomposed long ago if ever formed.

A finite element model of polarization switching in a polycrystalline ferroelectric/ferroelastic ceramic is developed. It is assumed that a crystallite switches if the reduction in potential energy of the polycrystal exceeds a critical energy barrier per unit volume of switching material. Each crystallite is represented by a finite element with the possible dipole directions assigned randomly subject to crystallographic constraints. The model accounts for both electric field induced (i.e. ferroelectric) switching and stress induced (i.e. ferroelastic) switching with piezoelectric interactions. Experimentally measured elastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric constants are used consistently, but different effective critical energy barriers are selected phenomenologically. Electric displacement versus electric field, strain versus electric field, stress versus strain, and stress versus electric displacement loops of a ceramic lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) are modeled well below the Curie temperature.

This report details the results of a scoping study funded by the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) for the measurement of melt viscosities for simulated glasses representative of Macrobatch 2 (Tank 42/51 feed).

The focus of this report is the summer 1999 investigation of the shallow groundwater system using cone penetrometer technology characterization methods to determine if the water table is perched beneath the R Reactor Seepage Basins (RRSBs).

Reliably processing, imaging, and interpreting seismic data from areas with complicated structures, such as sub-salt, requires a thorough understanding of elastic as well as acoustic wave propagation. Elastic numerical modeling is an essential tool to develop that understanding. While 2-D elastic modeling is in common use, 3-D elastic modeling has been too computationally intensive to be used routinely. Recent advances in computing hardware, including commodity-based hardware, have substantially reduced computing costs. These advances are making 3-D elastic numerical modeling more feasible. A series of example 3-D elastic calculations were performed using a complicated structure, the SEG/EAGE salt structure. The synthetic traces show that the effects of shear wave propagation can be important for imaging and interpretation of images, and also for AVO and other applications that rely on trace amplitudes. Additional calculations are needed to better identify and understand the complex wave propagation effects produced in complicated structures, such as the SEG/EAGE salt structure.

The effective I/O bandwidth benchmark (b{_}eff{_}io) covers two goals: (1) to achieve a characteristic average number for the I/O bandwidth achievable with parallel MPI-I/O applications, and (2) to get detailed information about several access patterns and buffer lengths. The benchmark examines ''first write'', ''rewrite'' and ''read'' access, strided (individual and shared pointers) and segmented collective patterns on one file per application and non-collective access to one file per process. The number of parallel accessing processes is also varied and wellformed I/O is compared with non-wellformed. On systems, meeting the rule that the total memory can be written to disk in 10 minutes, the benchmark should not need more than 15 minutes for a first pass of all patterns. The benchmark is designed analogously to the effective bandwidth benchmark for message passing (b{_}eff) that characterizes the message passing capabilities of a system in a few minutes. First results of the b{_}elf{_}io benchmark are given for IBM SP and Cray T3E systems and compared with existing benchmarks based on parallel Posix-I/O.

A program has been initiated for the purpose of developing the chemical separations technologies necessary to support a large Accelerator Transmutation of Waste (ATW) system capable of dealing with the projected inventory of spent fuel from the commercial nuclear power stations in the United States. The baseline process selected combines aqueous and pyrochemical processes to enable the efficient separation of uranium, technetium, iodine, and the transuranic elements from LWR spent fuel. The diversity of processing methods was chosen for both technical and economic factors. A six-year technology evaluation and development program is foreseen, by the end of which an informed decision can be made on proceeding with demonstration of the ATW system.

The overall objective of this program, SRD-98-08, is to design and test suitable materials, which can be used to close high-level waste tanks at the Savannah River Site. Fill materials can be designed to perform several functions. They can be designed to chemically stabilize and/or physically encapsulate incidental waste so that the potential for transport of contaminants into the environment is reduced. Also they are needed to physically stabilize the void volume in the tanks to prevent/minimize future subsidence and inadvertent intrusion.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for a number of large sites across the country that were radioactively and chemically contaminated by past nuclear research, development, and production activities. Multiple risk assessments are being conducted for these sites to evaluate current conditions and determine what measures are needed to protect human health and the environment from today through the long term. Integrating the risks associated with multiple contaminants in different environmental media across extensive areas, over time periods that extend beyond 1,000 years, and for a number of different impact categories--from human health and ecological to social and economic--represents a considerable challenge. A central element of these integrated analyses is the ability to reflect key interrelationships among environmental resources and human communities that may be adversely affected by the actions or inactions being considered for a given site. Complicating the already difficult task of integrating many kinds of risk is the importance of reflecting the diverse values and preferences brought to bear by the multiple parties interested in the risk analysis process and outcome. An initial conceptual framework has been developed to provide an organized structure to this risk integration, with the aim of supporting effective environmental management …

A large giant magnetoresistance (GMR) value of 7.5% has been measured in simple NiFeCo(1)/Cu/NiFeCo(2) sandwich films grown on a 30 {angstrom} Cr seed layer. This spin-valve GMR effect is consistent with the differential switching of the two NiFeCo layers due to an enhanced coercivity of the NiFeCo(1) layer grown on the Cr seed layer. A change in growth texture of the NiFeCo(1) layer from fcc (111) to bcc (110) crystallographic orientation leads to an increase in magnetic anisotropy and an enhancement in coercivity. The GMR value increases to 8.7% when a thin CoFe interfacial enhancing layer is incorporated. Further enhancement in GMR values up to 14% is seen in the sandwich films by nano-oxide layer formation. The specular reflection at oxide/magnetic layer interface further extends the mean free path of spin-polarized electrons.

Advances in the biomedical sciences, especially in human genomics, will dramatically influence law, medicine, public health, and many other sectors of our society in the decades ahead. The public already senses the revolutionary nature of genomic knowledge. In the US and Europe, we have seen widespread discussions about genetic discrimination in health insurance; privacy issues raised by the proliferation of DNA data banks; the challenge of interpreting new DNA diagnostic tests; changing definitions of what it means to be healthy; and the science and ethics of cloning animals and human beings. The primary goal of the Whitehead/ASLME Policy Symposium was to provide a bridge between the research community and professionals, who were just beginning to grasp the potential impact of new genetic technologies on their fields. The ''Human Genome Project: Science, Law, and Social Change in the 21st Century'' initially was designed as a forum for 300-500 physicians, lawyers, consumers, ethicists, and scientists to explore the impact of new genetic technologies and prepare for the challenges ahead.

This project is nearing completion. Since the last progress report (November, 1999), all experimental tests have been completed. Preliminary analysis shows the refrigerant pressure drops through the reversing valve were reduced by an average of about 60{percent}, when compared to traditional reversing valves. Also, the prototype reversing valve reduced the overall coefficient of performance (COP) by an average of only 0.45{percent}.

Sub-Angstrom transmission electron microscopy to a resolution of 0.89 has been achieved at the National Center for Electron Microscopy and is available to electron microscopists who have a requirement for this level of resolution.