None

Concrete and asbestos-containing materials were widely used in DOE building construction in the 1940s and 1950s. Over the years, many of these porous materials have been contaminated with radioactive sources, on and below the surface. To improve current practice in identifying hazardous materials and in characterizing radioactive contamination, an interdisciplinary team from Rensselaer has conducted research in two aspects: (1) to develop terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and imaging system that can be used to analyze environmental samples such as asbestos in the field, and (2) to develop algorithms for characterizing the radioactive contamination depth profiles in real-time in the field using gamma spectroscopy. The basic research focused on the following: (1) mechanism of generating of broadband pulsed radiation in terahertz region, (2) optimal free-space electro-optic sampling for asbestos, (3) absorption and transmission mechanisms of asbestos in THz region, (4) the role of asbestos sample conditions on the temporal and spectral distributions, (5) real-time identification and mapping of asbestos using THz imaging, (7) Monte Carlo modeling of distributed contamination from diffusion of radioactive materials into porous concrete and asbestos materials, (8) development of unfolding algorithms for gamma spectroscopy, and (9) portable and integrated spectroscopy systems for field testing in DOE. Final results …

The objective of this work was to characterize the physical properties (rheology and calorimetry) of actual tank wastes at various stages of the River Protection Project treatment process.

Savannah River Site has received approval from SCDHEC for disposal of radioactively contaminated equipment with lead shielding or counterweights. The objective of this analysis was to document the technical basis for the administrative limit of 100,000 pounds approved by SCDHEC under alternative disposal strategies.

The use of long shaft vertical pumps is common practice in the nuclear waste processing industry. Unfortunately, when such pumps employ plain cylindrical journal bearings, they tend to suffer from rotordynamic instability problems due to the inherent lightly-loaded condition that the vertical orientation places on the bearings. This paper describes a case study in which the authors utilized rotordynamic analysis and experimental vibration analysis to diagnose such a problem and designed replacement tilting-pad bearings to solve the problem.

Languages in use for high performance computing at the laboratory--Fortran (f77 and f90), C, and C++--have many years of development behind them and are generally considered the fastest available. However, Fortran and C do not readily extend to object-oriented programming models, limiting their capability for very complex simulation software. C++ facilitates object-oriented programming but is a very complex and error-prone language. Java offers a number of capabilities that these other languages do not. For instance it implements cleaner (i.e., easier to use and less prone to errors) object-oriented models than C++. It also offers networking and security as part of the language standard, and cross-platform executables that make it architecture neutral, to name a few. These features have made Java very popular for industrial computing applications. The aim of this paper is to explain the trade-offs in using Java for large-scale scientific applications at LLNL. Despite its advantages, the computational science community has been reluctant to write large-scale computationally intensive applications in Java due to concerns over its poor performance. However, considerable progress has been made over the last several years. The Java Grande Forum [1] has been promoting the use of Java for large-scale computing. Members have introduced efficient …

The US Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory is continuing research into ion sources and injectors that simultaneously provide high current (0.5-1.0 Amps) and high brightness (normalized emittance better than 1.0 {pi}-mm-mr). The central issue of focus is whether to carry on the traditional approach of large surface ionization sources or to adopt a multi-aperture approach that transports many smaller ''beamlets'' separately at low energies before allowing them to merge. For the large surface source, the recent commissioning of the 2-MeV injector for the High Current experiment has increased our understanding of the beam quality limitations for these sources. We have also improved our techniques for fabricating large diameter aluminosilicate sources to improve lifetime and emission uniformity. For the multi-aperture approach we are continuing to study the feasibility of small surface sources and a RF induced plasma source in preparation for beamlet merging experiments, while continuing to run computer simulations for better understanding of this alternate concept. Experiments into both architectures will be performed on a newly commissioned ion source test stand at LLNL called the STS-500. This stand test provides a platform for testing a variety of ion sources and accelerating structures with 500 kV, 17-microsecond pulses. Recent progress …

A scalable fiber laser approach is described based on phase-locking multiple gain cores in an antiguided structure. The waveguide is comprised of periodic sequences of gain- and no-gain-loaded segments having uniform index, within the cladding region. Initial experimental results are presented.

The Programmable Fluidic Processor (PFP), a device conceived of by researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center, is a reconfigurable and programmable bio-chemical analysis system designed for handheld operation in a variety of applications. Unlike most microfluidic systems which utilize channels to control fluids, the PFP device is a droplet-based system. The device is based on dielectrophoresis; a fluid transport phenomenon that utilizes mismatched polarizability between a droplet and its medium to induce droplet mobility. In the device, sample carrying droplets are polarized by an array of electrodes, individually addressable by subsurface microelectronics. My research focused on the development of a polymer-based microfluidic injection system for injecting these droplets onto the electrode array. The first of two device generations fabricated at LLNL was designed using extensive research and modeling performed by MD Anderson and Coventor. Fabricating the first generation required several iterations and design changes in order to generate an acceptable device for testing. Difficulties in planar fabrication of the fluidic system and a narrow channel design necessitated these changes. The second generation device incorporated modifications of the previous generation and improved on deficiencies discovered during experimentation with the initial device. Extensive modeling of the injection channels and fluid storage chamber …

ARAP s integrated suite of research, development, and operational programs is focused on the creation of capabilities for predicting the consequences of atmospheric releases of hazardous materials. The foundation of ARAP lies in its science and technology base in multi-scale meteorological and dispersion modeling, field experiments, and software systems (databases, real-time data acquisition software, and remote-access tools). Scientific and technological advancements are integrated into DOENNSA s operational National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC) at LLNL to support emergency response, pre-event planning, preparedness, and consequence analysis. Some recent ARAP development highlights are described below.

During the 2001 Fiscal year, funds from the DOE Matching Grant Program, along with matching funds from the industrial sponsors have been used to support both research (in the area of thermal-hydraulics) and educational missions. Experimental research has been performed in the area of axial offset anomaly in pressurized water reactors. Numerical research has also been performed in the area of multi-fluid modeling of two-phase flow. Details of activities in these two areas are given below. As for the educational component, funds were used to support the Georgia Tech Nuclear and Radiological Engineering (NRE) Scholarship Program. This Scholarship Program has allowed Georgia Tech to substantially increase the freshman class size and to populate it with outstanding students.

An estimated 330 metric tons of uranium have been buried in the radioactive waste Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA) at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). An assessment of uranium transport parameters is being performed to decrease the uncertainty in risk and dose predictions derived from computer simulations of uranium fate and transport to the underlying Snake River Plain Aquifer. Uranium adsorption isotherms have been measured in the laboratory and fit with a Freundlich isotherm. The Freundlich n parameter was statistically identical for 14 sediment samples. The Freundlich Kf for seven samples, where material properties have been measured, is correlated to sediment surface area. Based on these empirical observations, a model has been derived for adsorption of uranium on INEEL sedimentary materials using surface complexation theory. The model was then used to predict the range of adsorption conditions to be expected at the SDA. Adsorption in the deep vadose zone is predicted to be stronger than in near-surface sediments because the total dissolved carbonate decreases with depth.

The concept for the system described herein is an active/passive Nuclear Materials Identification System{sup 2} (NMIS) that incorporates gamma ray spectrometry{sup 3}. This incorporation of gamma ray spectrometry would add existing capability into this system. This Multiple Attribute System can determine a wide variety of attributes for Pu and highly enriched uranium (HEU) of which a selected subset could be chosen. This system can be built using commercial off the shelf (COTS) components. NMIS systems are at All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF) and Russian Federal Nuclear Center Institute of Technical Physics, (VNIITF) and measurements with Pu have been performed at VNIIEF and analyzed successfully for mass and thickness of Pu. NMIS systems are being used successfully for HEU at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The use of active gamma ray spectrometry for high explosive HE and chemical agent detection is a well known activation analysis technique, and it is incorporated here. This report describes the system, explains the attribute determination methods for fissile materials, discusses technical issues to be resolved, discusses additional development needs, presents a schedule for building from COTS components, and assembly with existing components, and discusses implementation issues such as lack of need for …

Migration of contaminants through the complex subsurface at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory's Subsurface Disposal Area was simulated for an ongoing Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability (CERCLA) assessment. A previously existing model for simulating flow and transport through the vadose zone for this site was updated to incorporate information obtained from recent characterization activities. Given the complexity of the subsurface at this site, the simulation results were acknowledged to be uncertain. Rather than attempt parametric approaches to quantify uncertainty, it was recognized that conceptual uncertainty involving the controlling processes was likely dominant. So, the effort focused on modeling different scenarios to evaluate the impact of the conceptual uncertainty.