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We have systematically studied the thermodynamic stabilities of various phases of the nitrides of the platinum metal elements using density functional theory. We show that for the nitrides of Rh, Pd, Ir and Pt two new crystal structures, in which the metal ions occupy simple tetragonal lattice sites, have lower formation enthalpies at ambient conditions than any previously proposed structures. The region of stability can extend up to 17 GPa for PtN{sub 2}. Furthermore, we show that according to calculations using the local density approximation, these new compounds are also thermodynamically stable at ambient pressure and thus may be the ground state phases for these materials. We further discuss the fact that the local density and generalized gradient approximations predict different values of the absolute formation enthalpies as well different relative stabilities between simple tetragonal and the pyrite or marcasite structures.

This report provides results from an ongoing project to monitor the migration behavior and survival of wild juvenile spring/summer Chinook salmon in the Snake River Basin. Data reported is from detections of PIT tagged fish during late summer 2007 through mid-2008. Fish were tagged in summer 2007 by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in Idaho and by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) in Oregon. Our analyses include migration behavior and estimated survival of fish at instream PIT-tag monitors and arrival timing and estimated survival to Lower Granite Dam. Principal results from tagging and interrogation during 2007-2008 are: (1) In July and August 2007, we PIT tagged and released 7,390 wild Chinook salmon parr in 12 Idaho streams or sample areas. (2) Overall observed mortality from collection, handling, tagging, and after a 24-hour holding period was 1.4%. (3) Of the 2,524 Chinook salmon parr PIT tagged and released in Valley Creek in summer 2007, 218 (8.6%) were detected at two instream PIT-tag monitoring systems in lower Valley Creek from late summer 2007 to the following spring 2008. Of these, 71.6% were detected in late summer/fall, 11.9% in winter, and 16.5% in spring. Estimated parr-to-smolt survival to Lower …

The purpose of this design calculation is to estimate radiation doses received by personnel working in the Fuel Handling Facility (FHF) of the Monitored Geological Repository (MGR). The FHF is a surface facility supporting waste handling operations i.e. receive transportation casks, transfer wastes, prepare waste packages, and ship out loaded waste packages and empty casks. The specific scope of work contained in this calculation covers both collective doses and individual worker group doses on an annual basis, and includes the contributions due to external and internal radiation. The results are also limited to normal operations only. Results of this calculation will be used to support the FHF design and License Application.

New crystalline materials were investigated for applications in frequency conversion of near-infrared wavelengths and as gain media for tunable mid-infrared solid-state lasers. GaCa{sub 4}O(BO{sub 3}){sub 3} (GdCOB), YCa{sub 4}O(BO{sub 3}){sub 3} (YCOB), LaCa{sub 4}O(BO{sub 3}){sub 3} (LaCOB), and Gd{sub 0.275}Y{sub 0.725}Ca{sub 4}O(BO{sub 3}){sub 3} were characterized for frequency conversion of 1 {micro}m lasers. For type I doubling at 1064 nm, LaCOB, GdCOB, and YCOB were found to have effective coupling coefficients (d{sub eff}) of 0.52 {+-} 0.05, 0.78 {+-} 0.06, and 1.12 {+-} 0.07 pm/V, respectively. LaCOB was measured to have angular and thermal sensitivities of 1224 {+-} 184 (cm-rad){sup -1} and < 0.10 (cm-{sup o}C){sup -1}, respectively. The effective coupling coefficient for type II noncritically phasematched (NCPM) doubling at 1064 nm in Gd{sub 0.275}Y{sub 0.725}Ca{sub 4}O(BO{sub 3}){sub 3} was measured to be 0.37 {+-} 0.04 pm/V. We predict LaCOB to have a type I NCPM fundamental wavelength of 1042 {+-} 1.5 nm. Due to its low angular and thermal sensitivities for doubling near 1047 nm, LaCOB has potential for frequency doubling of high-average power Nd:LiYF{sub 4} and Yb:Sr{sub 5}(P0{sub 4}){sub 3}F lasers. LaCOB, GdCOB, and YCOB were also investigated for optical parametric oscillator applications and we determined that they …

The short-lived K(892)* resonance provides an efficient tool to probe properties of the hot and dense medium produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. We report measurements of K* in {radical}s{sub NN} = 200 GeV Au+Au and p+p collisions reconstructed via its hadronic decay channels K(892)*{sup 0} {yields} K{pi} and K(892)*{sup +-} {yields} K{sub S}{sup 0}{pi}{sup +-} using the STAR detector at RHIC. The K*{sup 0} mass has been studied as function of p{sub T} in minimum bias p + p and central Au+Au collisions. The K* p{sub T} spectra for minimum bias p + p interactions and for Au+Au collisions in different centralities are presented. The K*/K ratios for all centralities in Au+Au collisions are found to be significantly lower than the ratio in minimum bias p + p collisions, indicating the importance of hadronic interactions between chemical and kinetic freeze-outs. The nuclear modification factor of K* at intermediate p{sub T} is similar to that of K{sub S}{sup 0}, but different from {Lambda}. This establishes a baryon-meson effect over a mass effect in the particle production at intermediate p{sub T} (2 < p{sub T} {le} 4 GeV/c). A significant non-zero K*{sup 0} elliptic flow (v{sub 2}) is observed in Au+Au collisions …

On-site application of the MMD process offers an economical method for converting weapons usable Former Soviet Union (FSU) High Enriched Uranium (HEU) research reactor fuel to a safe and secure Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) ingot. The objective of the MMD Project is to develop the mobile melt and dilute technology in preparation for active equipment deployment in the Newly Independent States (NIS) of the FSU.

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) performed pilot-scale hydraulic/chemical testing of spherical resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) ion exchange (IX) resin for the River Protection Project Hanford Tank Waste Treatment & Immobilization Plant (WTP) Project. The RF resin cycle testing was conducted in two pilot-scale IX columns, 1/4 and 1/2 scale. A total of twenty-three hydraulic/chemical cycles were successfully completed on the spherical RF resin. Seven of the cycles were completed in the 12-inch IX Column and sixteen cycles were completed in the 24-inch IX Column. Hydraulic testing showed that the permeability of the RF resin remained essentially constant, with no observed trend in the reduction of the permeability as the number of cycles increased. The permeability during the pilot-scale testing was 2 1/2 times better than the design requirements of the WTP full-scale system. The permeability of the resin bed was uniform with respect to changes in bed depth. Upflow Regeneration and Simulant Introduction in the IX columns revealed another RF resin benefit; negligible radial pressures to the column walls from the swelling of resin beads. In downflow of the Regeneration and Simulant Introduction steps, the resin bed particles pack tightly together and produce higher hydraulic pressures than that found in upflow. …

Development of a metal media standard (FI) for ASME AG-1 (Code on Nuclear Air and Gas Treatment) has been under way for almost ten years. This paper will provide a brief history of the development process of this section and a detailed overview of its current content/status. There have been at least two points when dramatic changes have been made in the scope of the document due to feedback from the full Committee on Nuclear Air and Gas Treatment (CONAGT). Development of the proposed section has required resolving several difficult issues associated with scope; namely, filtering efficiency, operating conditions (media velocity, pressure drop, etc.), qualification testing, and quality control/acceptance testing. A proposed version of Section FI is currently undergoing final revisions prior to being submitted for balloting. The section covers metal media filters of filtering efficiencies ranging from medium (less than 99.97%) to high (99.97% and greater). Two different types of high efficiency filters are addressed; those units intended to be a direct replacement of Section FC fibrous glass HEPA filters and those that will be placed into newly designed systems capable of supporting greater static pressures and differential pressures across the filter elements. Direct replacements of FC HEPA filters …

Since the ITRP recommendation in August 2004 to use superconducting rf technology for a next generation linear collider, the former NLC Group at SLAC has been actively pursuing a broad range of R&D for this collider (the ILC). In this paper, the programs concerning linac technology are reviewed. Current activities include the development of a Marx-style modulator and a 10 MW sheet-beam klystron, operation of an L-band (1.3 GHz) rf source using an SNS HVCM modulator and commercial klystrons, design of a more efficient and less costly rf distribution system, construction of a coupler component test stand, fabrication of a prototype positron capture cavity, beam tests of prototype S-band linac beam position monitors and preparations for magnetic center stability measurements of a prototype SC linac quad.

A study of the accurate electron density distribution in molecular crystals at subatomic resolution, better than {approx} 1.0 {angstrom}, requires more detailed models than those based on independent spherical atoms. A tool conventionally used in small-molecule crystallography is the multipolar model. Even at upper resolution limits of 0.8-1.0 {angstrom}, the number of experimental data is insufficient for the full multipolar model refinement. As an alternative, a simpler model composed of conventional independent spherical atoms augmented by additional scatterers to model bonding effects has been proposed. Refinement of these mixed models for several benchmark datasets gave results comparable in quality with results of multipolar refinement and superior of those for conventional models. Applications to several datasets of both small- and macro-molecules are shown. These refinements were performed using the general-purpose macromolecular refinement module phenix.refine of the PHENIX package.

Level densities and radiative strength functions in {sup 171}Yb and{sup 170}Yb nuclei have been measured with the {sup 171}Yb({sup 3}He, {sup 3}He{prime}{gamma}){sup 171}Yb and {sup 171}Yb({sup 3}He,{alpha}{gamma}){sup 170}Yb reactions. A simultaneous determination of the nuclear level density and the radiative strength function was made. The present data adds to and is consistent with previous results for several other rare earth nuclei. The method will be briefly reviewed and the result from the analysis will be presented. The radiative strength function for {sup 171}Yb is compared to previously published work.

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This report focuses on the creation of the Transatlantic Economic Council; the role of legislatures in the regulatory process; and the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue and its new role as an advisor to transatlantic regulatory efforts.

One aspect of Science Based Stockpile Stewardship (SBSS) is to improve the quality of neutron cross section data for certain isotopes. The isotopes of interest are used to monitor neutron and charged particle fluxes in environments of brief, intense neutron fluxes. The accuracy of flux determination is dependent on the accuracy of cross section data for the stable isotopes loaded into the system and the unstable isotopes produced when the neutrons are incident on the monitor. For isotopes with a half-life greater than one day it is possible, given the production rates of RIA, to make radioactive targets for neutron irradiation. This would require the ability to harvest isotopes at RIA, an onsite radiochemistry facility for processing the harvested material into a target, and an onsite neutron source facility. The radiochemistry facility will need to handle activity levels on the order of 100's of Curie's while the neutron source facility will need to provide high intensity ''monoenergetic'' neutrons from 10's keV to 20 MeV. For isotopes with a half-life much less than one day, only indirect methods can be used to get information on the neutron cross sections because of the lack of a target. Both experimental techniques will be …

The stability of the superheavy elements depends on the shell corrections which are governed by the single-particle spectra. Ideally one would like to experimentally determine the single-particle levels in the superheavy nuclei but the production of only a few atoms of these nuclides precludes such measurements. One therefore has to identify single-particle levels in the heaviest nuclei which are available in at least nanoCurie amounts. They have studied the structure of such heavy nuclei in the Z=98 region and identified many single-particle states. In particular, they have studied the structure of {sup 251}Cf and {sup 249}Bk by measuring the radiations emitted in the {alpha} decay of {sup 255}Fm and {sup 253}Es. These single-particle spectra can be used to test theoretical models for superheavy elements.

Releasing the energy stored in an isomeric nuclear state in a controlled way with an atomic or electromagnetic trigger is an attractive speculation: the energy gain may be on the order of the ratio of nuclear/atomic energies - MeV/keV. (Nuclear isomers are loosely defined as excited nuclear states with lifetimes longer than 10{sup -9} s.) Nuclear isomers, therefore, represent an opportunity for a stand-alone energy source if suitable schemes for trigger and control of the energy release can be found. Potential applications include space drive, as well as very bright {gamma}-ray sources. The nucleus {sup 178}Hf has a nuclear isomer with excitation energy E{sub x} = 2.447 MeV. The 2.447-MeV isomeric state decays slowly (t{sub 1/2} = 31 y) to the nearby state at 2.433 MeV. The J{sup {pi}} = 13{sup -} state loses energy in a rapid (t {approx} 10{sup -12} s) {gamma}-ray cascade ending at the 8{sup -} rotational band head which in turn decays via the ground-state rotational band cascade. The {gamma}-ray cascade is delayed at the 8{sup -} state at 1.147 MeV, since the 8{sup -} state is also isomeric, with t{sub 1/2} = 4 s. Very scarce quantities of the 16{sup +}, 31-yr isomer are …

The overall objective of this project is the three phase development of an Early Entrance Coproduction Plant (EECP) which produces at least one product from at least two of the following three categories: (1) electric power (or heat), (2) fuels, and (3) chemicals. The objective is to have these products produced by technologies capable of using synthesis gas derived from coal and/or other carbonaceous feedstocks. The objectives of Phase I were to determine the feasibility and define the concept for the EECP located at a specific site; develop a Research, Development, and Testing (RD&T) Plan for implementation in Phase II; and prepare a Preliminary Project Financing Plan. The objective of Phase II is to implement the work as outlined in the Phase I RD&T Plan to enhance the development and commercial acceptance of coproduction technology that produces high-value products, particularly those that are critical to our domestic fuel and power requirements. The project will resolve critical knowledge and technology gaps on the integration of gasification and downstream processing to coproduce some combination of power, fuels, and chemicals from coal and/or other carbonaceous feedstocks. The objective of Phase III is to develop an engineering design package and a financing and testing …

The overall objective of this project is the three phase development of an Early Entrance Coproduction Plant (EECP) which uses petroleum coke to produces at least one product from at least two of the following three categories: (1) electric power (or heat), (2) fuels, and (3) chemicals. The objective is to have these products produced by technologies capable of using synthesis gas derived from coal and/or other carbonaceous feedstocks. The objectives of Phase I were to determine the feasibility and define the concept for the EECP located at a specific site; develop a Research, Development, and Testing (RD&T) Plan for implementation in Phase II; and prepare a Preliminary Project Financing Plan. The objective of Phase II is to implement the work as outlined in the Phase I RD&T Plan to enhance the development and commercial acceptance of coproduction technology that produces high-value products, particularly those that are critical to our domestic fuel and power requirements. The project will resolve critical knowledge and technology gaps on the integration of gasification and downstream processing to coproduce some combination of power, fuels, and chemicals from coal and/or other carbonaceous feedstocks. The objective of Phase III is to develop an engineering design package and …

In the absence of a hydrogen-refueling infrastructure, the success of the fuel cell system in the market will depend on fuel processors to enable the use of available fuels, such as gasoline, natural gas, etc. The fuel processor includes several catalytic reactors, scrubbers to remove chemical species that can poison downstream catalysts or the fuel cell electrocatalyst, and heat exchangers. Most fuel cell power applications seek compact, lightweight hardware with rapid-start and load- following capabilities. Although packaging can partially address the size and volume, balancing the performance parameters while maintaining the fuel conversion (to hydrogen) efficiency requires careful integration of the unit operations and processes. Argonne National Laboratory has developed integrated fuel processors that are compact and light, and that operate efficiently. This paper discusses some of the difficulties encountered in the development process, focusing on the factors/components that constrain performance, and areas that need further research and development.

The family of R{sub 5}Si{sub x}Ge{sub 4-x} alloys demonstrates a variety of unique physical phenomena related to magneto-structural transitions associated with reversible breaking and reforming of specific bonds that can be controlled by numerous external parameters such as chemical composition, magnetic field, temperature, and pressure. Therefore, R{sub 5}Si{sub x}Ge{sub 4-x} systems have been extensively studied to uncover the mechanism of the extraordinary magneto-responsive properties including the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) and colossal magnetostriction, as well as giant magnetocaloric effect (GMCE). Until now, more than a half of possible R{sub 5}Si{sub x}Ge{sub 4-x} pseudobinary systems have been completely or partially investigated with respect to their crystallography and phase relationships (R = La, Pr, Nd, Gd, Tb, Dy, Er, Lu, Y). Still, there are other R{sub 5}Si{sub x}Ge{sub 4-x} systems (R = Ce, Sm, Ho, Tm, and Yb) that are not studied yet. Here, we report on phase relationships and structural, magnetic, and thermodynamic properties in the Yb{sub 5}Si{sub x}Ge{sub 4-x} and Sm{sub 5}Si{sub x}Ge{sub 4-x} pseudobinary systems, which may exhibit mixed valence states. The crystallography, phase relationships, and physical properties of Yb{sub 5}Si{sub x}Ge{sub 4-x} alloys with 0 {le} x {le} 4 have been examined by using single crystal and powder x-ray …

The stochastic engine uses modern computational capabilities to combine simulations with observations. We integrate the general knowledge represented by models with specific knowledge represented by data, using Bayesian inferencing and a highly efficient staged Metropolis-type search algorithm. From this, we obtain a probability distribution characterizing the likely configurations of the system consistent with existing data. The primary use will be optimizing knowledge about the configuration of a system for which sufficient direct observations cannot be made. Programmatic applications include underground systems ranging from environmental contamination to military bunkers, optimization of complex nonlinear systems, and timely decision-making for complex, hostile environments such as battlefields or the detection of secret facilities. We create a stochastic ''base representation'' of system configurations (states) from which the values of measurable parameters can be calculated using forward simulators. Comparison of these predictions to actual measurements drives embedded Bayesian inferencing, updating the distributions of states in the base representation using the Metropolis method. Unlike inversion methods that generate a single bestcase deterministic solution, this method produces all the likely solutions, weighted by their likelihoods. This flexible method is best applied to highly non-linear, multi-dimensional problems. Staging of the Metropolis searches permits us to run the simplest model …

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