The outer can welder (OCW) in the FB-Line Facility at the Savannah River Site (SRS) is a Gas Tungsten Arc Weld (GTAW) system used to create outer canisters compliant with the Department of Energy 3013 Standard, DOE-STD-3013-2000, Stabilization, Packaging, and Storage of Plutonium-Bearing Materials. The key welding parameters controlled and monitored on the outer can welder Data Acquisition System (DAS) are weld amperage, weld voltage, and weld rotational speed. Inner 3013 canisters from the Bagless Transfer System that contain plutonium metal or plutonium oxide are placed inside an outer 3013 canister. The canister is back-filled with helium and welded using the outer can welder. The completed weld is screened to determine if it is satisfactory by reviewing the OCW DAS key welding parameters, performing a helium leak check, performing a visual examination by a qualified weld inspector, and performing digital radiography of the completed weld. Canisters with unsatisfactory welds are cut open and repackaged. Canisters with satisfactory welds are deemed compliant with the 3013 standard for long-term storage.

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Over the past 2 years the Tevatron peak luminosity steadily progressed and reached the level of 92e30 cm-2s-1 which exceeds the original Run IIa goal. Over 0.57fb-1 have being delivered to each CDF and D0 experiments since the beginning of the Run II. In parallel to the Collider operation, we have started a project of the luminosity upgrade which should lead to peak luminosities of about 270e30 and total integrated luminosity of 4.4-8.5 fb-1 through FY2009. In this paper we describe the status of the Tevatron Collider complex, essence of the upgrades and novel accelerator technologies to be employed.

A radiation dosimeter providing an indication of the dose of radiation to which the radiation sensor has been exposed. The dosimeter contains features enabling the monitoring and evaluating of radiological risks so that a user can concentrate on the task at hand. The dosimeter provides an audible alarm indication that a predetermined time period has elapsed, an audible alarm indication reminding the user to check the dosimeter indication periodically, an audible alarm indicating that a predetermined accumulated dose has been prematurely reached, and an audible alarm indication prior or to reaching the 3/4 scale point.

Saltwater, or brine, underlies fresh water in many aquifers, with a transition zone separating them. Pumping fresh water by wells located above the transition zone produces upconing of the latter, eventually salinizing the pumped water, forcing shut-off. The salinity of the pumped water depends on the pumping rate, on the location of the well's screen, on the fresh water flow regime, and on the difference in density between fresh and salt water, expressed as a dimensionless factor called density difference factor (DDF). Following the well's shut-off, the upconed saltwater mound undergoes decay, tending to return to the pre-pumping regime. In this paper, the upconing-decay processes in an axially symmetrical system are investigated to discover how they are affected by the DDF and by the dispersivities. The code FEAS-Brine, developed for the simulation of coupled density-dependent flow and salt transport, is used. In this code, the flow equation is solved by the Galer:wqkin finite element method (FEM), while the advective-dispersive salt transport equation is solved in the Eulerian-Lagrangian framework. This code does not suffer from the instability constraint on the Peclet number in the vicinity of the pumping well, where advection dominates the salt transport. Simulation results show that upconing is …

We review the physics of nuclear matter at high energy density and the experimental search for the Quark-Gluon Plasma at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The data obtained in the first three years of the RHIC physics program provide several lines of evidence that a novel state of matter has been created in the most violent, head-on collisions of Au nuclei at {radical}s = 200 GeV. Jet quenching and global measurements show that the initial energy density of the strongly interacting medium generated in the collision is about two orders of magnitude larger than that of cold nuclear matter, well above the critical density for the deconfinement phase transition predicted by lattice QCD. The observed collective flow patterns imply that the system thermalizes early in its evolution, with the dynamics of its expansion consistent with ideal hydrodynamic flow based on a Quark-Gluon Plasma equation of state.

The acceleration of the expansion of the universe arises from unknown physical processes involving either new fields in high energy physics or modifications of gravitation theory. It is crucial for our understanding to characterize the properties of the dark energy or gravity through cosmological observations and compare and distinguish between them. In fact, close consistencies exist between a dark energy equation of state function w(z) and changes to the framework of the Friedmann cosmological equations as well as direct spacetime geometry quantities involving the acceleration, such as ''geometric dark energy'' from the Ricci scalar. We investigate these interrelationships, including for the case of super acceleration or phantom energy where the fate of the universe may be more gentle than the Big Rip.

Rapid developments in time-resolved optical spectroscopy have led to renewed interest in the nonequilibrium state of superconductors and other highly correlated electron materials. In these experiments, the nonequilibrium state is prepared by the absorption of short (less than 100 fs) laser pulses, typically in the near-infrared, that perturb the density and energy distribution of quasiparticles. The evolution of the nonequilibrium state is probed by time resolving the changes in the optical response functions of the medium that take place after photoexcitation. Ultimately, the goal of such experiments is to understand not only the nonequilibrium state, but to shed light on the still poorly understood equilibrium properties of these materials. We report nonequilibrium experiments that have revealed aspects of the cup rates that have been inaccessible by other techniques. Namely, the diffusion and recombination coefficients of quasiparticles have been measured in both YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 6.5} and Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+x} using time-resolved optical spectroscopy. Dependence of these measurements on doping, temperature and laser intensity is also obtained. To study the recombination of quasiparticles, we measure the change in reflectivity {Delta}R which is directly proportional to the nonequilibrium quasiparticle density created by the laser. From the intensity dependence, we estimate …

The creation of an excavation disturbed zone or excavation damaged zone is expected around all man-made openings in geologic formations. Macro- and micro-fracturing, and in general a redistribution of in situ stresses and rearrangement of rock structures, will occur in this zone, resulting in drastic changes of permeability to flow, mainly through the fractures and cracks induced by excavation. Such an EDZ may have significant implications for the operation and long-term performance of an underground nuclear waste repository. Various issues of concern need to be evaluated, such as processes creating fractures in the excavation damaged zone, the degree of permeability increase, and the potential for sealing or healing (with permeability reduction) in the zone. In recent years, efforts along these lines have been made for a potential repository in four rock types-crystalline rock, salt, indurated clay, and plastic clay-and these efforts have involved field, laboratory, and theoretical studies. The present work involves a synthesis of the ideas and issues that emerged from presentations and discussions on EDZ in these four rock types at a CLUSTER Conference and Workshop held in Luxembourg in November, 2003. First, definitions of excavation disturbed and excavation damaged zones are proposed. Then, an approach is suggested …

It is a well-established fact that cardiovascular health requires periodic exercise during which the human body often experiences significant physical discomfort. It is not obvious to the exerciser that the short-term pain and discomfort has a long-term positive health impact. Many cultures have well-established practices that involve exposing the body to periodic thermal discomfort. Scandinavian saunas and American Indian sweat lodges are two examples. Both are believed to promote health and well-being. Vacations often intentionally include significant thermal discomfort as part of the experience (e.g., sunbathing, and downhill skiing). So people often intentionally make themselves thermally uncomfortable yet the entire foundation of providing the thermal environment in our buildings is done to minimize the percentage of people thermally dissatisfied. We must provide an environment that does not negatively impact short-term health and we need to consider productivity but are our current thermal comfort standards too narrowly defined and do these standards actually contribute to longer-term negative health impacts? This paper examines the possibility that the human body thermoregulatory system has a corollary relationship to the cardiovascular system. It explores the possibility that we have an inherent need to exercise our thermoregulatory system. Potential, physiological, sociological and energy ramifications of these …

New disposal limits have been computed for the IL vaults based on several revisions to the performance assessment. The most important changes are implementation of a 1,000 year time for compliance, rather than 10,000 years, and consideration of additional radon precursors. Other revisions include refinement of the aquifer mesh to more accurately model the footprint of two intermediate level (IL) vaults, a new Pu chemistry model accounting for the different transport properties of oxidation states III/IV and V/VI, and implementation of a timed sum-of-fractions approach to setting limits. A significant decrease in the groundwater pathway limits for I-129 was speculated in the FY2003 interim measures assessment, in response to refinement of the aquifer mesh and source node definition. In fact, the new limits for these nuclides are only slightly lower. Based on the IL vault inventory as of 7/2/04 and disposal limits developed herein, the largest inventory fractions are 30 per cent for Ra-226 and the radon analysis, 11 per cent for I-129 (generic) and the groundwater pathway, and 9 percent for C-14 and the air pathway. For comparison the volume-filled fraction is at about 36 percent. Continued operation of the IL vault should not challenge performance objectives, assuming future …

The primary goal was to enter Phase 2 by analyzing geophysical logs and sidewall cores from a verification well drilled into the Trenton/Black River section along lineaments. However, the well has not yet been drilled; Phase 2 has therefore not been accomplished. Secondary goals, not dependent upon well drilling, were completed. In the structure task, the objectives for this reporting period were to: (1) add additional sites along the west side of Cayuga Lake where we had critical gaps in our data set, and (2) complete analyses of structure data along the west side of Cayuga Lake. We have completed data input and analyses for this goal, and discuss the results. The additional data from the 2003 field season (and additional revised data from the previous season) demonstrate that zones of closely-spaced NNW- and N-striking fractures (FIDs) occur west of Cayuga Lake. EarthSat (1997) did not recognize NNW- or N-striking Landsat lineaments in this area. Packets of E-and ENE-striking EarthSat (1997) lineaments coincide with FIDs observed in outcrop, but the bedrock FIDs are significantly more numerous than the lineaments. West of Cayuga Lake, NE-striking EarthSat (1997) were not confirmed by FIDs. It appears that Landsat lineaments (EarthSat, 1997) indicate parts …

The Portable Acoustic Monitoring Package (PAMP) has been designed to record and monitor the acoustic signal in natural gas transmission lines. In particular the three acoustic signals associated with a line leak. The system is portable ({approx}30 lbs) and is designed for line pressures up to 1000 psi. It has become apparent that cataloging of the various background acoustic signals in natural gas transmission line is very important if a system to identify leak signals is to be developed. The low-pressure (0-200 psig) laboratory test phase has been completed and a number of field trials have been conducted. Before the cataloging phase could begin, a few problems identified in field trials identified had to be corrected such as: (1) Decreased microphone sensitivity at line pressures above 250 psig. (2) The inability to deal with large data sets collected when cataloging the variety of signals in a transmission line. (3) The lack of an available online acoustic calibration system. These problems have been solved and the WVU PAMP is now fully functional over the entire pressure range found in the Natural Gas transmission lines in this region. Field portability and reliability have been greatly improved. Data collection and storage have also …

The authors report on a search for B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -} and B{sub d}{sup 0} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -} decays in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV using 171 pb{sup -1} of data collected by the CDF II experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The decay rates of these rare processes are sensitive to contributions from physics beyond the Standard Model. One event survives all the selection requirements, consistent with the background expectation. They derive branching ratio limits of {Beta}(B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -}) < 5.8 x 10{sup -7} and {Beta}(B{sub d}{sup 0} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -}) < 1.5 x 10{sup -7} at 90% confidence level.

The Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) has been requested to perform sulfur (S) analysis on digested radioactive sludge and supernatant samples by Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectrometry (ICP-ES). The amount of sulfur is a concern because there are sulfur limits for the incoming feed, due to glass melter, process vessel, and off-gas line corrosion concerns and limited sulfur solubility in the glass wasteform. Recent changes in the washing strategy and stream additions change the amount of sulfur in the sludge. Increasing the sulfur concentration in the sludge challenges the current limits, so accurately determining the amount of sulfur present in a sludge batch is paramount. There are two important figures of merit that need to be evaluated for this analysis. The first is the detection limit (LOD), the smallest concentration of an element that can be detected with a defined certainty. This issue is important since the sulfur concentration in these process streams is l ow. Another critical analytical parameter is the effect on the S quantitation from potential spectral interferences. Spectral interferences are caused by background emission from plasma recombination events, scattered and stray light from the line emission of high concentration elements, or molecular band emission and from …

Herein we report the aqueous polymerization of acrylamide using reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to perform a comprehensive study on the polymerization of acrylamide. More specifically, the effect of polymerization conditions on the polymerization kinetics, molecular weight control, and blocking ability were examined. With this in mind, it was necessary to prepare ''A'' block (corona of the micelle) from a hydrophilic monomer. The responsive ''B'' block present in the core will be disclosed in the next two reports.

We derive two formulae relating the variation in closed orbit in a storage ring to variations in quadrupole strength, neglecting nonlinear and dispersive effects. These formulae correct results previously reported [1,2,3]. We compare the results of the formulae applied to the ATF with simulations using MAD, and consider their application to beam-based alignment.

The purpose of this report is to document the development of a model for calculating the release rate for radionuclides and other key elements from high-level radioactive waste (HLW) glasses under exposure conditions relevant to the performance of the repository. Several glass compositions are planned for the repository, some of which have yet to be identified (i.e., glasses from Hanford and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory). The mechanism for glass dissolution is the same for these glasses and the glasses yet to be developed for the disposal of DOE wastes. All of these glasses will be of a quality consistent with the glasses used to develop this report.

Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) researchers modeled ion exchange removal of cesium from dissolved salt waste solutions. The results assist in evaluating proposed configurations for an ion exchange process to remove residual cesium from low curie waste streams. A process for polishing (i.e., removing small amounts) of cesium may prove useful should supernate draining fail to meet the Low Curie Salt (LCS) target limit of 0.1 Ci of Cs-137 per gallon of salt solution. Cesium loading isotherms and column breakthrough curves for Low Curie dissolved salt solutions were computed to provide performance predictions for various column designs.

The initial performance of five different types of Li-ion rechargeable batteries, from Quallion Corp, UltraLife Battery and Toshiba, was measured and compared. Cell characterization included variable-rate constant-current cycling, various USDOE pulse-test protocols and full-spectrum electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Changes in impedance and capacity were monitored during electrochemical cycling under various conditions, including constant-current cycling over 100 percent DOD at a range of temperature and pulse profile cycling over a very narrow range of DOD at room temperature. All cells were found to maintain more than 80 percent of their rated capacity for more than 400 constant current 100 percent DOD cycles. The power fade (or impedance rise) of the cells varied considerably. New methods for interpreting the pulse resistance data were evaluated for their usefulness in interpreting performance mechanism as a function of test protocol and cell design.

The Risk Based End State Vision Report for the Savannah River Site includes a variance that proposes on-site near surface disposal of waste from the program to produce Pu-238 heat sources for deep space probes. On-site disposal would greatly reduce the risk to workers by eliminating the need to repackage the waste in order to characterize it and ship it to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Significant cost savings can also be realized. A legacy inventory of 6145 m3 containing 590,000 curies of Heat Source plutonium exists at the Savannah River Site. Our plan is to ship as much of this material as possible to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant using currently available facilities and equipment. We estimate that most of the volume can be safely packaged and transported to WIPP. The remainder, 1813 m3 containing 280,000 curies, is proposed to be disposed of at the SRS after demonstrating that all applicable environmental protection regulations can be met. A technical analysis has been done u sing the overall methodology developed for low-level waste disposal performance assessments. The results to date show that groundwater protection will be maintained, but that enhanced engineering measures are needed to meet the performance measures for …

The COB Energy Facility would be constructed on a site near the rural community of Bonanza, in Klamath County, Oregon. Generating components of the project would be constructed in either one or two phases, including four air-cooled combustion turbine generators fueled with natural gas, four heat recovery steam generators, and two steam turbines. Additional facilities include a new 7.2-mile-long 500-kV transmission line, a new 4.1-mile-long natural gas pipeline, a 2.8-mile-long water pipeline, a 20-acre wastewater evaporation pond or a 3,770-foot-long irrigation pipeline to deliver wastewater to a 31-acre pasture, a 4.7-acre stormwater infiltration basin, a 1.5-acre stormwater retention pond, and various tanks, buildings, exhaust stacks, parking, and storage areas. Natural gas to fuel the combustion turbines would be supplied by way of a new 4.1-mile-long, 20-inch-diameter pipeline from a Gas Transmission Northwest's Bonanza Compressor Station. The new pipeline would be constructed within private easements adjacent to or near Klamath County road rights-of-way. Although COB Energy Facility generators would use air-cooled condensers, the project would use an average of 72 gallons per minute for steam production and station service, up to a maximum of 210 gallons per minute. The source of this water would be one existing and two new wells …

In today's well-connected environments of the Internet, intranets, and extranets, protecting the Microsoft Windows network can be a daunting task for the security engineer. Intrusion Detection Systems are a must-have for most companies, but few have either the financial resources or the people resources to implement and maintain full-scale intrusion detection systems for their networks and hosts. Many will at least invest in intrusion detection for their Internet presence, but others have not yet stepped up to the plate with regard to internal intrusion detection. Unfortunately, most attacks will come from within. Microsoft Windows server operating systems are widely used across both large and small enterprises. Unfortunately, there is no intrusion detection built-in to the Windows server operating system. The security logs are valuable but can be difficult to manage even in a small to medium sized environment. So the question arises, can one effectively detect and identify an in side intruder using the native tools that come with Microsoft Windows Server operating systems? One such method is to use Net Logon Service debug logging to identify and track malicious user activity. This paper discusses how to use Net Logon debug logging to identify and track malicious user activity both …

In today's well-connected environments of the Internet, intranets, and extranets, protecting the Microsoft Windows network can be a daunting task for the security engineer. Intrusion Detection Systems are a must-have for most companies, but few have either the financial resources or the people resources to implement and maintain full-scale intrusion detection systems for their networks and hosts. Many will at least invest in intrusion detection for their Internet presence, but others have not yet stepped up to the plate with regard to internal intrusion detection. Unfortunately, most attacks will come from within. Microsoft Windows server operating systems are widely used across both large and small enterprises. Unfortunately, there is no intrusion detection built-in to the Windows server operating system. The security logs are valuable but can be difficult to manage even in a small to medium sized environment. So the question arises, can one effectively detect and identify an in side intruder using the native tools that come with Microsoft Windows Server operating systems? One such method is to use Net Logon Service debug logging to identify and track malicious user activity. This paper discusses how to use Net Logon debug logging to identify and track malicious user activity both …