This CRADA project involved the cooperative research of investigators in ORNL's Center for Engineering Science Advanced Research (CESAR) with researchers at Caterpillar, Inc. The subject of the research was the development of cooperative control strategies for autonomous vehicles performing applications of interest to Caterpillar customers. The project involved three Phases of research, conducted over the time period of November 1998 through December 2001. This project led to the successful development of several technologies and demonstrations in realistic simulation that illustrated the effectiveness of the control approaches for distributed planning and cooperation in multi-robot teams.

NSTX High Harmonic Fast Wave (HHFW) current drive discharges will require density control for acceptable efficiency. We have compared boronization on hot and cold surfaces, varying helium glow discharge conditioning (HeGDC) durations, and brief morning boronization with between discharge boronization for improving density control. Access to Ohmic H-modes was enabled by boronization on hot surfaces, however, the duration of the effectiveness of hot and cold boronization was comparable. A 15 min HeGDC between discharges was needed for reproducible L-H transitions. Brief morning boronization followed by a comparable duration of applied HeGDC restored and enhanced good conditions. Additional short boronizations between discharges did not improve plasma performance (reduced recycling, reduced impurity luminosities, earlier L-H transitions, longer plasma current flattops, higher stored energies) if conditions were already good. Between discharge boronization requires increases in the duty cycle due to the need for additional HeGDC to remove co-deposited D{sub 2}.

Under the sponsorship of the U.S. DOE and DHS, we have developed a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model for simulating airflow and dispersion of chemical/biological agents released in the urban environment. Our model, FEM3MP, is based on solving the three-dimensional, time-dependent, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations on massively parallel computer platforms. The numerical algorithm uses the finite element method for accurate representation of complex building shapes and variable terrain, together with a semi-implicit projection method and modern iterative solvers for efficient time integration (Gresho and Chan, 1998). Physical processes treated in our code include turbulence modeling via the RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) and LES (Large Eddy Simulation) approaches, atmospheric stability, aerosols, UV radiation decay, surface energy budget, and vegetative canopies, etc.

This report describes the design issues that are associated with a superconducting focusing solenoid that goes around a liquid hydrogen absorber for the Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) proposed for the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The solenoid consists of two superconducting coils that may operated at the same polarity or at opposite polarities. As a result, the coils and their support structure must be designed to carry a 360-ton inter-coil force that is forcing the coils apart along their axis. The basic design parameters for the focusing magnet are discussed. The magnet and its cryostat are designed so that the absorber can be assembled and tested before installation into the pre-tested focusing solenoid. Safety requirements for MICE dictate that the insulating vacuum for the superconducting magnet be separated from the insulating vacuum for the absorber and that both vacuum be separated from the experiment vacuum and the vacuum within adjacent RF cavities. The safety issues associated with the arrangement of the various vacuums in the MICE focusing modules are presented. The effect of magnet operation and magnet quench on the liquid hydrogen absorber is also discussed.

This project addresses the need for methods to remove or degrade subsurface contaminants that are present as dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs), and act as long-term sources of groundwater contamination. The goal is to build on a particle-based approach to subsurface contaminant remediation that is based partly on the recent success in using nanoparticle iron to degrade chlorinated compounds dissolved in groundwater, and knowledge of how colloids migrate in porous media. The objective is to engineer reactive nanoparticles that can decompose and potentially isolate DNAPL pollutants in the subsurface.

Creation of 20-year data set of surface infrared fluxes from satellite measurements. A reliable estimate of the surface downwelling longwave radiation flux (DLF) is a glaring void in available forcing data sets for models of Arctic sea ice and ocean circulation. We have developed a new method to estimate the DLF from a combination of satellite sounder retrievals and brightness temperatures from the TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS), which has flown on NOAA polar-orbiting satellites continuously since late 1979. The overarching goal of this project was to generate a 20-year data set of surface downwelling longwave flux measurements from TOVS data over the Arctic Ocean. Daily gridded fields of DLF were produced with a spatial resolution of (100 km){sup 2} north of 60{sup o}N for 22.5 years rather than only 20. Surface measurements from the field station at Barrow, AK--part of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program --and from the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA) were used to validate the satellite-derived fluxes and develop algorithm improvements for conditions that had resulted in systematic errors in early versions of the algorithm. The resulting data set has already been sent to two other investigators for incorporation into their research, and …

To address the chemical sensing needs of DOE, a new class of chemical sensors is being developed that enables qualitative and quantitative, remote, real-time, optical diagnostics of chemical species in hazardous gas, liquid, and semi-solid phases by employing evanescent wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy (EW-CRDS). The feasibility and sensitivity of EW-CRDS was demonstrated previously under Project No.60231. The objective of this project is to enhance the selectivity and range of application of EW-CRDS. Selectivity is achieved spectroscopically by using vibrational overtones in the near infrared and chemically by using modified surfaces to encourage selective adsorption of analyte while preventing non-selective adsorption. The range of application is expanded by extending EW-CRDS to liquids and by combining EW-CRDS with the unique optical properties of nanoparticles.

The goal of this proposed work is to directly address the need for rapid on-line characterization of the physical properties of HLW slurries during all phases of the remediation process, from in-tank characterization of sediments to monitoring of the concentration, particle size, and degree of agglomeration and gelation of slurries during transport. Current technologies are not capable of characterizing the HLW waste stream without dilution. The results from this work will be utilized to develop new methodologies to characterize the HLW stream in-situ. There are three tasks: (1) develop new optical and acoustic scattering measurements to provide the fundamental science needed for successful device development and implementation, (2) develop theories that describe the interrelationship between wave propagation and the physical properties of the slurry, and (3) perform inversions of the theories and compare them with the experimental measurements to non-intrusively characterize slurries.

An efficient new method is presented to calculate the quantum transports using periodic boundary conditions. This method allows the use of conventional ground state ab initio programs without big changes. The computational effort is only a few times of a normal groundstate calculations, thus is makes accurate quantum transport calculations for large systems possible.

On-farm conversion of poultry litter into energy is a unique market connected opportunity for commercialization of small modular bioenergy systems. The United States Department of Energy recognized the need in the poultry industry for alternative litter management as an opportunity for bioenergy. The DOE created a relevant topic in the December 2000 release of the small business innovative research (SBIR) grant solicitation. Community Power Corporation responded to this solicitation by proposing the development of a small modular gasification and gas cleanup system to produce separate value streams of clean producer gas and mineral rich solids. This phase II report describes our progress in the development of an on-farm litter to energy system.

Radionuclide and metal contaminants are present in the vadose zone and groundwater throughout the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) weapons complex. In situ containment and stabilization of these contaminants in vadose zones or groundwater is a cost-effective treatment strategy. Our facilitated approach relies upon the hydrolysis of introduced urea to cause the acceleration of calcium carbonate precipitation (and trace metal coprecipitation) by increasing groundwater pH and alkalinity (Fujita et al., 2000; Warren et al., 2001). Subsurface urea hydrolysis is catalyzed by the urease enzyme, which may be either introduced with the urea or produced in situ by ubiquitous subsurface urea hydrolyzing microorganisms. Because the precipitation processes are irreversible and many western aquifers are saturated with respect to calcite, the co-precipitated metals and radionuclides will be effectively removed from groundwater. The rate at which trace metals are incorporated into calcite is a function of calcite precipitation kinetics, adsorption interactions between the calcite surface and the trace metal in solution (Zachara et al., 1991), solid solution properties of the trace metal in calcite (Tesoriero and Pankow, 1996), and also the surfaces upon which the calcite is precipitating. A fundamental understanding of the coupling of calcite precipitation and trace metal partitioning, and how …

The scale-up of deposition in next-step devices such as ITER will pose new diagnostic challenges. Codeposition of hydrogen with carbon needs to be characterized and understood in the initial hydrogen phase in order to mitigate tritium retention and qualify carbon plasma facing components for DT operations. Plasma facing diagnostic mirrors will experience deposition that is expected to rapidly degrade their reflectivity, posing a new challenge to diagnostic design. Some eroded particles will collect as dust on interior surfaces and the quantity of dust will be strictly regulated for safety reasons - however diagnostics of in-vessel dust are lacking. We report results from two diagnostics that relate to these issues. Measurements of deposition on NSTX with 4 Hz time resolution have been made using a quartz microbalance in a configuration that mimics that of a typical diagnostic mirror. Often deposition was observed immediately following the discharge suggesting that diagnostic shutters should be closed as soon as possible after the time period of interest. Material loss was observed following a few discharges. A novel diagnostic to detect surface particles on remote surfaces was commissioned on NSTX.

Organic ligands that exhibit a high degree of metal ion recognition are essential precursors for developing separation processes and sensors for metal ions. Since the beginning of the nuclear era, much research has focused on discovering ligands that target specific radionuclides. Members of the Group 1A and 2A cations (e.g., Cs, Sr, Ra) and the f-block metals (actinides and lanthanides) are of primary concern to DOE. Although there has been some success in identifying ligand architectures that exhibit a degree of metal ion recognition, the ability to control binding affinity and selectivity remains a significant challenge. The traditional approach for discovering such ligands has involved lengthy programs of organic synthesis and testing that, in the absence of reliable methods for screening compounds before synthesis, have resulted in much wasted research effort. This project seeks to enhance and strengthen the traditional approach through computer-aided design of new and improved host molecules. Accurate electronic structure calculations are coupled with experimental data to provide fundamental information about ligand structure and the nature of metal-donor group interactions (design criteria). This fundamental information then is used in a molecular mechanics model (MM) that helps us rapidly screen proposed ligand architectures and select the best members …

A detector for time-resolved small-angle x-ray scattering includes a nearly constant diameter, evacuated linear tube having an end plate detector with a first fluorescent screen and concentric rings of first fiber optic bundles for low angle scattering detection and an annular detector having a second fluorescent screen and second fiber optic bundles concentrically disposed about the tube for higher angle scattering detection. With the scattering source, i.e., the specimen under investigation, located outside of the evacuated tube on the tube's longitudinal axis, scattered x-rays are detected by the fiber optic bundles, to each of which is coupled a respective photodetector, to provide a measurement resolution, i.e., dq/q, where q is the momentum transferred from an incident x-ray to an x-ray scattering specimen, of 2% over two (2) orders of magnitude in reciprocal space, i.e., qmax/qmin approx=lO0.

Technetium, as pertechnetate (TcO4 -), is a mobile species in the environment. This characteristic, along with its long half-life, (99Tc, t1/2 = 213,000 a) makes technetium a major contributor to the long-term hazard associated with low level waste (LLW) disposal. Technetium partitioning from the nuclear waste at DOE sites may be required so that the LLW forms meet DOE performance assessment criteria. Technetium separations assume that technetium exists as TcO4 - in the waste. However, years of thermal, chemical, and radiolytic digestion in the presence of organic material, has transformed much of the TcO4 - into unidentified, stable, reduced, technetium complexes. To successfully partition technetium from tank wastes, it will be necessary to either remove these technetium species with a new process, or reoxidize them to TcO4 - so that conventional pertechnetate separation schemes will be successful.

Various forms of general and localized corrosion represent principal threats to the integrity of DOE liquid waste storage tanks. These tanks, which are of a single wall or double wall design, depending upon their age, are fabricated from welded carbon steel and contain a complex waste-form comprising NaOH and NaNO3, among other chemicals. Because waste leakage can have a profound environmental impact, considerable interest exists in predicting the accumulation of corrosion damage, so as to more effectively schedule maintenance and repair.

This report covers a one-year, no-cost extension that was requested and received in 2003; the extension runs through September 14, 2004. The extension has been used to continue data analysis and prepare additional manuscripts for submission to refereed journals. The primary research focus of the original three-year period of funding was to develop and demonstrate an automated method of conducting two-dimensional (2D) shallow-seismic surveys with the goal of saving time, effort, and money. Tests involving the second generation of the hydraulic geophone-planting device dubbed the ''Autojuggie'' showed that large numbers of geophones can be placed quickly and automatically and can acquire high-quality data, although not under all conditions (please see the Status and Results of Experiments sections for details). In some easy-access environments, this device could make shallow seismic surveying considerably more efficient and less expensive. The most recent research analyzed the difference in seismic response of the geophones with variable geophone spike length and geophones attached to various steel media. Experiments investigated the azimuthal dependence of the quality of data relative to the orientation of the rigidly attached geophones. Other experiments designed to test the hypothesis that the data are being amplified in much the same way that an …

The overall goal of the proposed research is to provide an improved understanding and predictive capability of the mechanisms that allow metal-reducing bacteria to be effective in the bioremediation of redox sensitive toxic metals and radionuclides. The study is motivated by the likelihood that subsurface metal-reducing bacteria can be stimulated to effectively alter the redox state of contaminants so that they are immobilized in situ for long time periods. The work described in this proposal will advance the technological and scientific needs associated with the long-term management of the enormous inground inventories of Cr, U, Tc, and Co present at numerous DOE installations throughout the country. The objectives of our project are to (1) develop an improved understanding and predictive capability of the rates and mechanisms controlling microbially mediated reduction of toxic metals and radionuclides in heterogeneous field settings, (2) quantify the impacts of hydrological and geochemical processes on the effectiveness of indigenous microorganisms to transform and immobilize radionuclides and metals in situ, (3) provide an improved understanding of the importance of microbial consortia interactions in the bacterial immobilization of radionuclides and toxic metals, and (4) determine intrinsic bioreduction rate parameters to improve our generic predictive capability of in situ …

Radionuclide and metal contaminants are present in the vadose zone and groundwater throughout the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) weapons complex. In situ containment and stabilization of these contaminants in vadose zones or groundwater is a cost-effective treatment strategy. Our facilitated approach relies upon the hydrolysis of introduced urea to cause the acceleration of calcium carbonate precipitation (and trace metal coprecipitation) by increasing groundwater pH and alkalinity (Fujita et al., 2000; Warren et al., 2001). Subsurface urea hydrolysis is catalyzed by the urease enzyme, which may be either introduced with the urea or produced in situ by ubiquitous subsurface urea hydrolyzing microorganisms. Because the precipitation processes are irreversible and many western aquifers are saturated with respect to calcite, the co-precipitated metals and radionuclides will be effectively removed from groundwater. The rate at which trace metals are incorporated into calcite is a function of calcite precipitation kinetics, adsorption interactions between the calcite surface and the trace metal in solution (Zachara et al., 1991), solid solution properties of the trace metal in calcite (Tesoriero and Pankow, 1996), and also the surfaces upon which the calcite is precipitating. A fundamental understanding of the coupling of calcite precipitation and trace metal partitioning, and how …

The objective of this project is to quantify the ability of the electrical induced polarization (IP) method to noninvasively monitor the reduction in reactive iron performance that is known to reduce the effectiveness of the permeable reactive barrier (PRB) with time. The primary scientific goals include: (A) fundamental laboratory studies to evaluate the sensitivity of the IP method to: Fe0 total surface area Fe0 surface chemistry physical/chemical changes to the Fe0 surface resulting from oxidation and precipitation; (B) monitoring of the electrical tomographic response of the Kansas City PRB over a three-year period and assessment, via correlation with aqueous geochemical data and extracted iron cores, of whether electrical signatures associated with reduced PRB performance are resolvable in field studies; (C) optimization of a three-dimensional tomographic imaging algorithm for application to highly conductive, high electrical contrast environments as represented by a PRB.

We examine the efficiency with which supernova-enriched gas may be ejected from dwarf disk galaxies, using a methodology previously employed to study the self-enrichment efficiency of dwarf spheroidal systems. Unlike previous studies that focused on highly concentrated starbursts, in the current work we consider discrete supernova events spread throughout various fractions of the disk. We model disk systems having gas masses of 10{sup 8} and 10{sup 9} M{sub {circle_dot}} with supernova rates of 30, 300, and 3000 Myr{sup -1}. The supernova events are confined to the midplane of the disk, but distributed over radii of 0, 30, and 80% of the disk radius, consistent with expectations for Type II supernovae. In agreement with earlier studies, we find that the enriched material from supernovae is largely lost when the supernovae are concentrated near the nucleus, as expected for a starburst event. In contrast, we find the loss of enriched material to be much less efficient (as low as 21%) when the supernovae occur over even a relatively small fraction of the disk. The difference is due to the ability of the system to relax following supernova events that occur over more extended regions. Larger physical separations also reduce the likelihood of …

During the epoch of large galaxy formation, thermal instability leads to the formation of a population of cool fragments which are embedded within a background of tenuous hot gas. The hot gas attains a quasi hydrostatic equilibrium. Although the cool clouds are pressure confined by the hot gas, they fall into the galactic potential, subject to drag from the hot gas. The release of gravitational energy due to the infall of the cool clouds is first converted into their kinetic energy which is subsequently dissipated as heat. The cool clouds therefore represent a potentially significant energy source for the background hot gas, depending upon the ratio of thermal energy deposited within the clouds versus the hot gas. In this paper, we show that most of dissipated energy is deposited in to the tenuous hot halo gas, which provides a source of internal energy to replenish its loss in the hot gas through Bremsstrahlung cooling and conduction into the cool clouds. Through this process, the multi-phase structure of the interstellar medium is maintained.

Climate models, numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, and atmospheric dispersion models often rely on parameterizations of planetary boundary layer height. In the case of a stable boundary layer, errors in boundary layer height estimation can result in gross errors in boundary-layer evolution and in prediction of turbulent mixing within the boundary layer.

We analyze simulations of present and future climates in the western U.S. performed with four regional climate models (RCMs) nested within two global ocean-atmosphere climate models. Our primary goal is to assess the range of regional climate responses to increased greenhouse gases in available RCM simulations. The four RCMs used different geographical domains, different increased greenhouse gas scenarios for future-climate simulations, and (in some cases) different lateral boundary conditions. For simulations of the present climate, we compare RCM results to observations and to results of the GCM that provided lateral boundary conditions to the RCM. For future-climate (increased greenhouse gas) simulations, we compare RCM results to each other and to results of the driving GCMs. When results are spatially averaged over the western U.S., we find that the results of each RCM closely follow those of the driving GCM in the same region, in both present and future climates. In present-climate simulations, the RCMs have biases in spatially-averaged simulated precipitation and near-surface temperature that seem to be very close to those of the driving GCMs. In future-climate simulations, the spatially-averaged RCM-projected responses in precipitation and near-surface temperature are also very close to those of the respective driving GCMs. Precipitation responses …