Ir-0.3%W alloys doped with thorium are currently used as post-impact containment material for radioactive fuel in thermoelectric generators that provide stable electrical power for a variety of outer planetary space exploration missions. Welding and weldability of a series of alloys was investigated using arc and laser welding processes. Some of these alloys are prone to severe hot-cracking during welding. Weldability of these alloys was characterized using Sigmajig weldability test. Hot-cracking is influenced to a great extent by the fusion zone microstructure and composition. Thorium content and welding atmosphere were found to be very critical. The weld cracking behavior in these alloys can be controlled by modifying the fusion zone microstructure. Fusion zone microstructure was found to be controlled by welding process, process parameters, and the weld pool shape.

The fate of six volatile organic compounds (VOC) in a 150-meter deep vadose zone was examined in support of a RCRA Corrective Measures Study of the Chemical Waste Landfill at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico. The study focused on the modeling of potential future transport of the VOCs to exposure media upon the completion of two separate voluntary corrective measures--soil vapor extraction and landfill excavation--designed to significantly reduce contaminant levels in subsurface soils. modeling was performed with R-UNSAT, a finite-difference simulator that was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. R-UNSAT facilitated a relatively unique and comprehensive assessment of vapor transport because it (1) simulated the simultaneous movement of all six VOCs, taking into account each constituent's diffusion coefficient as affected by its mole fraction within a mixture of chemicals, and (2) permitted simultaneous assessment of risk to human health via volatilization (air) and drinking water (groundwater) pathways. Modeling results suggested that monitored natural attenuation would represent a viable remedial alternative at the landfill after both voluntary corrective measures were completed.

SNLO is public domain software developed at Sandia National Laboratories. It is intended to assist in the selection of the best nonlinear crystal for a particular application, and in predicting its performance. This paper briefly describes its functions and how to use them.

Implementation of the Federal Tier 2 vehicular emission standards according to the schedule presented in the December, 1999 Final Rule will result in substantial reductions of NMHC, CO, NO{sub x}, and fine particle emissions from motor vehicles. Currently, when compared to Tier 1 and even NLEV certification requirements, the emissions performance of automobiles and light-duty trucks powered by non-petroleum (especially, gaseous) fuels (i.e., vehicles collectively termed AFVs) enjoy measurable advantage over their gasoline- and diesel-fueled counterparts over the full Federal Test Procedure and, especially, in Bag 1 (cold start). For the lighter end of these vehicle classes, this advantage may disappear shortly after 2004 under the new standards, but should continue for a longer period (perhaps beyond 2008) for the heavier end as well as for heavy-duty vehicles relative to diesel-fueled counterparts. Because of the continuing commitment of the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities coalitions to the acquisition and operation of AFVs of many types and size classes, it is important for them to know in which classes their acquisitions will remain clear relative to the petroleum-fueled counterparts they might otherwise procure. This paper provides an approximate timeline for and expected magnitude of such savings, assuming that full implementation …

Aluminum-based spent nuclear fuel (Al-SNF) from foreign and domestic research reactors is being consolidated at the Savannah River Site (SRS) for ultimate disposal in the Mined Geologic Disposal System (MGDS). Most of the aluminum-based fuel material contains highly enriched uranium (HEU) (greater than 20 percent {sup 235}U), which poses a proliferation risk and challenges the preclusion of criticality events for disposal periods exceeding 10,000 years.

Because of their strong internal bonding, S-decorated Cu trimers are a likely agent of S-enhanced Cu transport between islands on Cu(111). According to ab-initio calculations, excellent healing of dangling Cu valence results in an ad-Cu{sub 3}S{sub 3} formation energy of only {approximately}0.28 eV, compared to 0.79 eV for a self-adsorbed Cu atom, and a diffusion barrier {le}0.35 eV.

This paper describes a simplified method for converting wind turbine rotor design loads into equivalent-damage, constant-amplitude loads and load ratios for both flap and lead-lag directions. It is an iterative method that was developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) using Palmgren-Miner's linear damage principles. The general method is unique because it does not presume that any information about the materials or blade structural properties is precisely known. According to this method, the loads are never converted to stresses. Instead, a family of M-N curves (moment vs. cycles) is defined with reasonable boundaries for load-amplitude and slope. An optimization program iterates and converges on the constant amplitude test load and load ratio that minimizes the sensitivity to the range of M-N curves for each blade section. The authors constrained the general method to match the NedWind 25 design condition for the Standards, Measurements, and Testing (SMT) blade testing pro gram. SMT participants agreed to use the fixed S-N slope of m = 10 from the original design to produce consistent test-loads among the laboratories. Unconstrained, the general method suggests that slightly higher test loads should be used for the NedWind 25 blade design spectrum. NedWind 25 blade test loads …

Detailed measurements of CP violation in B meson decay are on the horizon. Here the author reviews the status of current measurements of sin 2{beta} made at LEP and CDF. These yield an average of sin 2{beta} = 0.82 {+-} 0.39, giving 97% confidence that {beta} is greater than 0, evidence that CP violation occurs in B decay. He reviews predictions for the precision one can expect on sin 2{beta} and sin 2{alpha} in the next few years.

A scalable, distributed modeling and simulation framework has been developed at Argonne National Laboratory to study Intelligent Transportation Systems. The framework can run on a single-processor workstation, or run distributed on a multiprocessor computer or network of workstations. The framework is modular and supports plug-in models, hardware, and live data sources. The initial set of models currently includes road network and traffic flow, probe and smart vehicles, traffic management centers, communications between vehicles and centers, in-vehicle navigation systems, roadway traffic advisories. The modeling and simulation capability has been used to examine proposed ITS concepts. Results are presented from modeling scenarios from the Advanced Driver and Vehicle Advisory Navigation Concept (ADVANCE) experimental program to demonstrate how the framework can be used to evaluate the benefits of ITS and to plan future ITS operational tests and deployment initiatives.

We have chosen silicon carbide (SiC) as a multi-functional material to demonstrate the application of surface intensive processing for device fabrication. We will highlight two devices which are produced in house at the Center for Irradiation of materials of Alabama A and M university: (A) High temperature electronic gas sensor, (B) High temperature optical properties/sensor.

Sensitivity/uncertainty analyses are not commonly performed on complex, finite-element engineering models because the analyses are time consuming, CPU intensive, nontrivial exercises that can lead to deceptive results. To illustrate these ideas, an analytical sensitivity/uncertainty analysis is used to determine the standard deviation and the primary factors affecting the burn velocity of polyurethane foam exposed to firelike radiative boundary conditions. The complex, finite element model has 25 input parameters that include chemistry, polymer structure, and thermophysical properties. The response variable was selected as the steady-state burn velocity calculated as the derivative of the burn front location versus time. The standard deviation of the burn velocity was determined by taking numerical derivatives of the response variable with respect to each of the 25 input parameters. Since the response variable is also a derivative, the standard deviation is essentially determined from a second derivative that is extremely sensitive to numerical noise. To minimize the numerical noise, 50-micron elements and approximately 1-msec time steps were required to obtain stable uncertainty results. The primary effect variable was shown to be the emissivity of the foam.

In this article the authors concisely present several modern strategies that are applicable to drift-dominated carrier transport in higher-order deterministic models such as the drift-diffusion, hydrodynamic, and quantum hydrodynamic systems. The approaches include extensions of upwind and artificial dissipation schemes, generalization of the traditional Scharfetter-Gummel approach, Petrov-Galerkin and streamline-upwind Petrov Galerkin (SUPG), entropy variables, transformations, least-squares mixed methods and other stabilized Galerkin schemes such as Galerkin least squares and discontinuous Galerkin schemes. The treatment is representative rather than an exhaustive review and several schemes are mentioned only briefly with appropriate reference to the literature. Some of the methods have been applied to the semiconductor device problem while others are still in the early stages of development for this class of applications. They have included numerical examples from the recent research tests with some of the methods. A second aspect of the work deals with algorithms that employ unstructured grids in conjunction with adaptive refinement strategies. The full benefits of such approaches have not yet been developed in this application area and they emphasize the need for further work on analysis, data structures and software to support adaptivity. Finally, they briefly consider some aspects of software frameworks. These include dial-an-operator approaches …

The Intelligent Systems and Robotics Center (ISRC) at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is developing technologies for glovebox size reduction in the DOE nuclear complex. A study was performed for Kaiser-Hill (KH) at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS) on the available technologies for size reducing the glovebox lines that require size reduction in place. Currently, the baseline approach to these glovebox lines is manual operations using conventional mechanical cutting methods. The study has been completed and resulted in a concept of the robotic system for in-situ size reduction. The concept makes use of commercially available robots that are used in the automotive industry. The commercially available industrial robots provide high reliability and availability that are required for environmental remediation in the DOE complex. Additionally, the costs of commercial robots are about one-fourth that of the custom made robots for environmental remediation. The reason for the lower costs and the higher reliability is that there are thousands of commercial robots made annually, whereas there are only a few custom robots made for environmental remediation every year. This paper will describe the engineering analysis approach used in the design of the robotic system for glovebox size reduction.

Residual environmental sound can mask intrusive4 (unwanted) sound. It is a factor that can affect noise impacts and must be considered both in noise-impact studies and in noise-mitigation designs. Models for quantitative prediction of sensation level (audibility) and psychological effects of intrusive noise require an input with 1/3 octave-band spectral resolution of environmental masking noise. However, the majority of published residual environmental masking-noise data are given with either octave-band frequency resolution or only single A-weighted decibel values. A model has been developed that enables estimation of 1/3 octave-band residual environmental masking-noise spectra and relates certain environmental parameters to A-weighted sound level. This model provides a correlation among three environmental conditions: measured residual A-weighted sound-pressure level, proximity to a major roadway, and population density. Cited field-study data were used to compute the most probable 1/3 octave-band sound-pressure spectrum corresponding to any selected one of these three inputs. In turn, such spectra can be used as an input to models for prediction of noise impacts. This paper discusses specific algorithms included in the newly developed computer program ENMASK. In addition, the relative audibility of the environmental masking-noise spectra at different A-weighted sound levels is discussed, which is determined by using the methodology …

Radionuclide transport in soils and groundwaters is routinely calculated in performance assessment (PA) codes using simplified conceptual models for radionuclide sorption, such as the K{sub D} approach for linear and reversible sorption. Model inaccuracies are typically addressed by adding layers of conservativeness (e.g., very low K{sub D}'s), and often result in failed transport predictions or substantial increases in site cleanup costs. Realistic assessments of radionuclide transport over a wide range of environmental conditions can proceed only from accurate, mechanistic models of the sorption process. They have focused on the sorption mechanisms and partition coefficients for Cs{sup +}, Sr{sup 2+} and Ba{sup 2+} (analogue for Ra{sup 2+}) onto iron oxides and clay minerals using an integrated approach that includes computer simulations, sorption/desorption measurements, and synchrotron analyses of metal sorbed substrates under geochemically realistic conditions. Sorption of Ba{sup 2+} and Sr{sup 2+} onto smectite is strong, pH-independent, and fully reversible, suggesting that cation exchange at the interlayer basal sites controls the sorption process. Sr{sup 2+} sorbs weakly onto geothite and quartz, and is pH-dependent. Sr{sup 2+} sorption onto a mixture of smectite and goethite, however, is pH- and concentration dependent. The adsorption capacity of montmorillonite is higher than that of goethite, which …

Titanate ceramics have been selected as the preferred waste form for the immobilization of excess plutonium. Corrosion tests are underway to try to understand the long-term behavior of this material. In this paper, results from PCT-B static dissolution tests are used to provide an explanation of the observed corrosion behavior of a zirconolite-based ceramic. Two important observations are made. First, Ca is released at a constant rate [7 x 10{sup {minus}5} g/(m{sup 2} day)] in PCT-B tests for up to two years. Second, the release rates for Pu and Gd increase with time (up to two years) in PCT-B tests. The first observation suggests that the ceramics continue to corrode at a low rate for at least two years in PCT-B tests. The second observation suggests that the release rates of Pu and Gd are controlled by some process or processes that do not affect the release rate of other elements. Evidence indicates that this is due to the preferential dissolution of brannerite from the ceramic.

The effects of varying the input for the CAP88PC Version 2.0 program on the total effective dose equivalents (TEDEs) were determined for hypothetical releases from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) located at the Argonne National Laboratory site on the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). Values for site specific meteorological conditions and agricultural production parameters were determined for the 80 km radius surrounding the HFEF. Four nuclides, {sup 3}H, {sup 85}Kr, {sup 129}I, and {sup 137}Cs (with its short lived progeny, {sup 137m}Ba) were selected for this study; these are the radioactive materials most likely to be released from HFEF under normal or abnormal operating conditions. Use of site specific meteorological parameters of annual precipitation, average temperature, and the height of the inversion layer decreased the TEDE from {sup 137}Cs-{sup 137m}Ba up to 36%; reductions for other nuclides were less than 3%. Use of the site specific agricultural parameters reduced TEDE values between 7% and 49%, depending on the nuclide. Reductions are associated with decreased committed effective dose equivalents (CEDEs) from the ingestion pathway. This is not surprising since the HFEF is located well within the INEEL exclusion area, and the surrounding area closest to the release point …

Two-phase flow and transport of reactants and products in the air cathode of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells is studied analytically and numerically. Four regimes of water distribution and transport are classified by defining three threshold current densities and a maximum current density. They correspond to first appearance of liquid water at the membrane/cathode interface, extension of the gas-liquid two-phase zone to the cathode/channel interface, saturated moist air exiting the gas channel, and complete consumption of oxygen by the electrochemical reaction. When the cell operates above the first threshold current density, liquid water appears and a two-phase zone forms within the porous cathode. A two-phase, multi-component mixture model in conjunction with a finite-volume-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique is applied to simulate the cathode operation in this regime. The model is able to handle the situation where a single-phase region co-exists with a two-phase zone in the air cathode. For the first time, the polarization curve as well as water and oxygen concentration distributions encompassing both single- and two-phase regimes of the air cathode are presented. Capillary action is found to be the dominant mechanism for water transport inside the two-phase zone. The liquid water saturation within the cathode …

A ceramic waste form composed of glass-bonded sodalite is being developed at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for immobilization and disposition of the molten salt waste stream from the electrometallurgical treatment process for metallic DOE spent nuclear fuel. As part of the spent fuel treatment program at ANL, a model is being developed to predict the long-term release of radionuclides under repository conditions. Dissolution tests using dilute, pH-buffered solutions have been conducted at 40, 70, and 90 C to determine the temperature and pH dependence of the dissolution rate. Parameter values measured in these tests have been incorporated into the model, and preliminary repository performance assessment modeling has been completed. Results indicate that the ceramic waste form should be acceptable in a repository environment.

The Boltzmann transport equation can be solved to give analytical solutions to the resistivity, Hall, Seebeck, and Nernst coefficients. These solutions may be solved simultaneously to give the density-of-states (DOS) effective mass, the Fermi energy relative to either the conduction or valence band, and a scattering parameter that is related to a relaxation time and the Fermi energy. The Nernst coefficient is essential for determining the scattering parameter and, thereby, the effective scattering mechanism(s). The authors constructed equipment to measure these four transport coefficients simultaneously over a temperature range of 30-350 K for thin, semiconducting films deposited on insulating substrates.

This presentation covers the process of commissioning a new 150,000 sq. ft. research facility at Sandia National Laboratories. The laboratory being constructed is a showcase of modern design methods being built at a construction cost of less than $180 per sq. ft. This is possible in part because of the total commissioning activities that are being utilized for this project. The laboratory's unique approach to commissioning will be presented in this paper. The process will be followed through from the conceptual stage on into the actual construction portion of the laboratory. Lessons learned and cost effectiveness will be presented in a manner that will be usable for others making commissioning related decisions. Commissioning activities at every stage of the design will be presented along with the attributed benefits. Attendees will hear answers to the what, when, who, and why questions associated with commissioning of this exciting project.

The authors show how one may define baryon constituent quarks in a rigorous manner, given physical assumptions that hold in the large-N{sub c} limit of QCD. This constituent picture gives rise to an operator expansion that has been used to study large-N{sub c} baryon observables; here they apply it to the case of charge radii of the N and {Delta} states. For example, one finds the relation r{sub p}{sup 2} {minus} r{sub {Delta}{sup +}}{sup 2} = r{sub n}{sup 2} {minus} r{sub {Delta}{sup 0}}{sup 2} to be broken only by three-body, O(1/N{sub c}{sup 2}) effects for any N{sub c}.

Interferometric SAR (IFSAR) can be shown to be a special case of 3-D SAR image formation. In fact, traditional IFSAR processing results in the equivalent of merely a super-resolved, under-sampled, 3-D SAR image. However, when approached as a 3-D SAR problem, a number of IFSAR properties and anomalies are easily explained. For example, IFSAR decorrelation with height is merely ordinary migration in 3-D SAR. Consequently, treating IFSAR as a 3-D SAR problem allows insight and development of proper motion compensation techniques and image formation operations to facilitate optimal height estimation. Furthermore, multiple antenna phase centers and baselines are easily incorporated into this formulation, providing essentially a sparse array in the elevation dimension. This paper shows the Polar Format image formation algorithm extended to 3 dimensions, and then proceeds to apply it to the IFSAR collection geometry. This suggests a more optimal reordering of the traditional IFSAR processing steps.

As part of the Formerly Utilized Site Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP), the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Buffalo District, is responsible for overseeing the remediation of several sites within its jurisdiction. FUSRAP sites are largely privately held facilities that were contaminated by activities associated with the nuclear weapons program in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. The presence of soils and structures contaminated with low levels of radionuclides is a common problem at these sites. Typically, contaminated materials must be disposed of off-site at considerable expense (up to several hundred dollars per cubic yard of waste material). FUSRAP is on an aggressive schedule, with most sites scheduled for close-out in the next couple of years. Among the multitude of tasks involved in a typical remediation project is the need to inform and coordinate with active stakeholder communities, including local, state, and federal regulators.