High-Resolution Source Parameters using Calibration from Ambient Seismic Noise (ASN) Zhongwen Zhan, Shengji Wei, Sidao Ni, and Don V. Helmberger Abstract Several new methods have been developed to retrieve local Green's functions based on the cross-correlation of ambient seismic noise (station-to-station) and conventional (source-to-station) inversions. The latter methods provide the most broadband results but require accurate source parameters for phase-delay recovery which depends on the starting model. Considerable progress is being made in providing such information from 3D modeling, Tape et al. (2008), using Adjoint Tomography. But to match waveforms for the recent Chino Hills event still requires shifting synthetics to align on data. This means that it is difficult to use 3D simulations to refine source locations in near-real time. We can avoid the 3D problems by applying the CAP method and storing shifts from past events, Tan (2006), and/or using ASN, Shapiro et al. (2005), to predict lags for surface waves. Here, we directly compare results from CAP predictions with ASN results using stations near the Chino Hills event. We use the same SC seismic model as used in the Library of Earthquakes to generate Green's functions for noise (single force) for comparison with ASN correlations and allow …

In August of 1999, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved a standard for clearance of materials contaminated with residual levels of radioactivity. "Clearance," as used in the standard, means the movement of material from the control of a regulatory agency to a use or disposition that has no further regulatory controls of any kind. The standard gives derived screening levels (DSLs) in Bq/g and Bq/cm2 for 50 radionuclides. Items or materials with residual surface and volume radioactivity levels below the DSLs can be cleared, that is, managed without regard to their residual radioactivity. Since federal agencies are to use voluntary, industry standards developed by the private sector whenever possible, the standard should play an important role in DOE's regulatory process. The thrust of this report is to explain the standard, make simple observations on its usefulness to DOE, and to explore uses of the standard within DOE facilities beyond the clearance of radioactive materials.

The Ecological Monitoring and Compliance Program, funded through the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO), monitors the ecosystem of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and ensures compliance with laws and regulations pertaining to NTS biota. This report summarizes the program’s activities conducted by National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec), during calendar year 2008. Program activities included (a) biological surveys at proposed construction sites, (b) desert tortoise compliance, (c) ecosystem mapping and data management, (d) sensitive plant species monitoring, (e) sensitive and protected/regulated animal monitoring, (f) habitat monitoring, (g) habitat restoration monitoring, and (h) monitoring of the Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex (NPTEC).

Recent changes to the NDCX beamline offer the promise of higher charge compressed bunches (>15nC), with correspondingly large intensities (>500kW/cm2), delivered to the target plane for ion-beam driven warm dense matter experiments. We report on commissioning results of the upgraded NDCX beamline that includes a new induction bunching module with approximately twice the volt-seconds and greater tuning flexibility, combined with a longer neutralized drift compression channel.

CO{sub 2} captured from coal-fired power plants represents three-quarters of the total cost of an entire carbon sequestration process. Conventional amine absorption or cryogenic separation requires high capital investment and is very energy intensive. Our novel membrane process is energy efficient with great potential for economical CO{sub 2} capture. Three classes of microporous sol-gel derived silica-based membranes were developed for selective CO{sub 2} removal under simulated flue gas conditions (SFG), e.g. feed of 10% vol. CO{sub 22} in N{sub 2}, 1 atm total pressure, T = 50-60 C, RH>50%, SO2>10 ppm. A novel class of amine-functional microporous silica membranes was prepared using an amine-derivatized alkoxysilane precursor, exhibiting enhanced (>70) CO{sub 2}:N{sub 2} selectivity in the presence of H{sub 2}O vapor, but its CO{sub 2} permeance was lagging (<1 MPU). Pure siliceous membranes showed higher CO{sub 2} permeance (1.5-2 MPU) but subsequent densification occurred under prolonged SFG conditions. We incorporated NiO in the microporous network up to a loading of Ni:Si = 0.2 to retard densification and achieved CO2 permeance of 0.5 MPU and CO{sub 2}:N{sub 2} selectivity of 50 after 163 h exposure to SFG conditions. However, CO{sub 2} permeance should reach greater than 2.0 MPU in order to achieve …

Linde's Low Temperature Oxidation (LoTOx{trademark}) process has been demonstrated successfully to remove more than 90% of the NOx emitted from coal-fired boilers. Preliminary findings have shown that the LoTOx{trademark} process can be as effective for mercury emissions control as well. In the LoTOx{trademark} system, ozone is injected into a reaction duct, where NO and NO{sub 2} in the flue gas are selectively oxidized at relatively low temperatures and converted to higher nitrogen oxides, which are highly water soluble. Elemental mercury in the flue gas also reacts with ozone to form oxidized mercury, which unlike elemental mercury is water-soluble. Nitrogen oxides and oxidized mercury in the reaction duct and residual ozone, if any, are effectively removed in a wet scrubber. Thus, LoTOx{trademark} appears to be a viable technology for multi-pollutant emission control. To prove the feasibility of mercury oxidation with ozone in support of marketing LoTOx{trademark} for multi-pollutant emission control, Linde has performed a series of bench-scale tests with simulated flue gas streams. However, in order to enable Linde to evaluate the performance of the process with a flue gas stream that is more representative of a coal-fired boiler; one of Linde's bench-scale LoTOx{trademark} units was installed at WRI's combustion test …

The synthesis of a cyclen derivative containing four isophthalamide groups (L{sup 1}) is described. The spectroscopic properties of the Ln(III) complexes of L{sup 1} (Ln = Gd, Tb, Yb, Eu) reveal changes of the UV/visible absorption, circular dichroism absorption, luminescence and circularly polarized luminescence properties. It is shown that at least two metal complex species are present in solution, whose relative amounts are pH dependent. When at pH > 8.0, an intense long lived emission is observed (for [L{sup 1}Tb] and [L{sup 1}Yb]) while at pH < 8.0, a weaker, shorter-lived species predominates. Unconventional Ln(III) emitters (Pr, Nd, Sm, Dy and Tm) were sensitized in basic solution, both in the visible and in the near infra-red, to measure the emission of these ions.

Performing sorbent testing for mercury control at a large scale is a very expensive endeavor and requires months of planning and careful execution. Even with good planning, there are plant limitations on what operating/design parameters can be varied/tested and when. For parameters that cannot be feasibly tested at the full scale (lower/higher gas flow, different bag material, cleaning methods, sorbents, etc.), an alternative approach is used to perform tests on a slipstream unit using flue gas from the plant. The advantage that a slipstream unit provides is the flexibility to test multiple operating and design parameters and other possible technology options without risking major disruption to the operation of the power plant. Additionally, the results generated are expected to simulate full-scale conditions closely, since the flue gas used during the tests comes directly from the plant in question. The Energy & Environmental Research Center developed and constructed a mobile baghouse that allows for cost-effective testing of impacts related to variation in operating and design parameters, as well as other possible mercury control options. Multiple sorbents, air-to-cloth ratios, bag materials, and cleaning frequencies were evaluated while flue gas was extracted from Big Brown when it fired a 70% Texas lignite-30% Powder …

Gas turbine reheat is a well-known technique for increasing the power output of gas turbine, as well as the efficiency in combined cycle operation with higher heat recovery inlet temperatures. The technique also could allow development of an advanced high efficiency turbine with an additional stage, but without a higher inlet temperature. A novel reheat approach, with fuel added via internal passages in turbine airfoils, has been proposed [1]. This avoids the bulky and possible high-NOx discrete reheat combustors used in traditional approaches. The key questions regarding this approach are whether there is sufficient residence time at high temperature for fuel burnout, and whether increased emissions of NOx and CO result. This project examines the chemical kinetics basis of these questions. In the present task detailed chemical kinetics models were used to evaluate injection reheat combustion. Models used included a Siemens Westinghouse diffusion flame model, the set of CHEMKIN gas-phase kinetics equation solvers, and the GRI 3.0 detailed kinetics data base. These modules are called by a reheat-specific main program, which also provides them with data, including gas path conditions that change with distance through the turbine. Conceptually, injection could occur in either of two ways: (1) direct injection via …

In calculating cosmic-ray exposure ages of meteorites it is generally assumed that the meteoroids were expelled from a shielded position within their parent body and then experienced a single stage exposure before colliding with Earth. The combination of noble gas and radionuclide measurements in several large meteorites, such as Jilin and Bur Ghelaui, have revealed complex exposure histories: i.e. an initial exposure on the surface of an asteroid (or within meter-sized meteoroid), followed by a second exposure as a smaller object. In fact, orbital dynamics calculations predicted that at least 30% of the meteorites arriving on Earth experienced two- or multiple-stage exposure histories [1]. More recently, after the recognition that the Yarkovsky effect plays an important role in delivering meteorites from the asteroid belt to Earth-crossing orbits, it was confirmed that complex exposure histories should be common [2]. Nevertheless, despite the ability to measure a wide range of radionuclides with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), only a few meteorites with complex exposure histories have been identified [e.g. 3,4]. The question is whether the relatively paucity of complex exposure histories is real or have we simply overlooked complex-exposure histories. In this work we focus on meteorites with low {sup 3}He/{sup 21}Ne ratios, …

The objective of Task 1.2 has only partly been achieved as the work on Pu/U-formulations and to a significant degree on Th/U-formulations has been performed under grinding/blending conditions that did not replicate plant-like fabrication processes, particularly in the case with the small glovebox attritor. Nevertheless the results do show that actinide-rich particles, not present in specimens made via the alkoxide-route (equilibrium conditions), occur when the grinding process is not efficient enough to ensure that high-fired PuO{sub 2}, ThO{sub 2} and UO{sub 2} particles are below a critical size. Our current perception is that the critical size for specimens sintered at 1350 C for 4 hours is about 5 {micro}m in diameter. The critical size is difficult to estimate, as it is equal to the starting diameter of actinide oxides just visible within brannerite regions. Our larger scale attritor experiments as well as experience with wet and dry ball milling suggests that acceptable mineralogy and microstructure can be obtained by dry milling via attritor and ball mills. This is provided that appropriate attention is paid to the size and density of the grinding media, grinding additives that reduce caking of the powder, and in the case of attritors the grinding speed …

In core-collapse supernovae, strong blast waves drive interfaces susceptible to Rayleigh-Taylor (RT), Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM), and Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instabilities. In addition, perturbation growth can result from material expansion in large-scale velocity gradients behind the shock front. Laser-driven experiments are designed to produce a strongly shocked interface whose evolution is a scaled version of the unstable hydrogen-helium interface in core-collapse supernovae such as SN 1987A. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop an understanding of the effect of hydrodynamic instabilities and the resulting transition to turbulence on supernovae observables that remain as yet unexplained. In this paper, we summarize recent results from our computational study of unstable systems driven by high Mach number shock and blast waves. For planar multimode systems, compressibility effects preclude the emergence of a regime of self-similar instability growth independent of the initial conditions (IC's) by allowing for memory of the initial conditions to be retained in the mix-width at all times. With higher-dimensional blast waves, divergence restores the properties necessary for establishment of the self-similar state, but achieving it requires very high initial characteristic mode number and high Mach number for the incident blast wave. Initial conditions predicted by some recent stellar calculations are incompatible …

Two different structural solutions have been proposed and studied for the D0 Run2b stave. The way the stave structural stiffness is achieved in both designs is essentially the same: the structural material is displaced as far as possible from the neutral axis in order to increase the bending moment of the stave. The agreement of the measured data with what has been theoretically predicted is excellent. The C channel stave with dog-bones glued on top of the sensor (stave No.2) has outperformed the other mockups with a predicted sag of 51{micro}m for a distributed load of 2.28 N/m [0.013 lbf/in] and a consequent natural frequency of 89.2Hz. The other three C channel staves with the dog-bones not glued on the sensor have a bending stiffness that is -19.0%, -10.8%, +4.0% of that of stave No.2, being 11.0%, 7.8%, 15.1% lighter respectively. An optimized stave structural proposal with 130.5% of the design stiffness within the mass budget is presented at the end of this paper.

A well-known result due to Hill provides an exact expression for the bulk modulus of any multicomponent elastic composite whenever the constituents are isotropic and the shear modulus is uniform throughout. Although no precise analog of Hill's result is available for the opposite case of uniform bulk modulus and varying shear modulus, it is shown here that some similar statements can be made for shear behavior of random polycrystals composed of laminates of isotropic materials. In particular, the Hashin-Shtrikman-type bounds of Peselnick, Meister, and Watt for random polycrystals composed of hexagonal (transversely isotropic) grains are applied to the problem of polycrystals of laminates. An exact product formula relating the Reuss estimate of bulk modulus and an effective shear modulus (of laminated grains composing the system) to products of the eigenvalues for quasi-compressional and quasi-uniaxial shear eigenvectors also plays an important role in the analysis of the overall shear behavior of the random polycrystal. When the bulk modulus is uniform in such a system, the equations are shown to reduce to a simple form that depends prominently on the uniaxial shear eigenvalue - as expected from physical arguments concerning the importance of uniaxial shear in these systems. One application of the …

To investigate the long-term alteration behavior of brannerite, we have undertaken a study of 13 natural samples from various geological environments, including granites, granitic pegmatites, quartz veins, and placer deposits. Literature data and U-Th-Pb chemical dating carried out in this work indicate that the samples range in age from approximately 20 Ma to 1580 Ma. Where independent age data or estimates are available for comparison, the U-Th-Pb chemical ages are in reasonable agreement for the younger samples, but the older samples tend to show evidence for Pb loss (up to about 80%), a common feature of metamict Nb, Ta, and Ti oxide minerals. Our results show that many of the samples exhibit only minor alteration, usually within small patches, microfractures, or around the rims of the brannerite crystals. Other samples consist of variable amounts of unaltered and altered brannerite. Heavily altered samples may contain anatase and thorite as fine-grained alteration products. Certain samples exhibited fracturing of the associated rock matrix or mineral phase in the immediate vicinity of the brannerite grains. These fractures contain U bearing material and indicate that some U migrated locally from the source brannerite.

The purpose of this data package is to summarize our conceptual understanding of atmospheric transport and deposition, describe how this understanding will be simplified for numerical simulation as part of the 2004 Composite Analysis (i.e., implementation model), and finally to provide the input parameters needed for the simulations.

This 2003 Annual Report describes the research and accomplishments of staff and users of the W.R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), located in Richland, Washington. EMSL is a multidisciplinary, national scientific user facility and research organization, operated by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. The resources and opportunities within the facility are an outgrowth of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) commitment to fundamental research for understanding and resolving environmental and other critical scientific issues.

Nucleosynthesis of heavy elements such as carbon in stars allowed the formation of organic molecules in space, which appear to be widespread in our Galaxy. The physical and chemical conditions - including density, temperature, ultraviolet radiation and energetic particles - determine reaction pathways and the complexity of organic molecules in different space environments. Dense interstellar clouds are the birth sites of stars of all masses and their planetary systems. During the protostellar collapse, gaseous and solid interstellar organic molecules are integrated into protostellar disks from which planets and smaller solar system bodies form. After the formation of the planets in our own solar system, 4.6 billion years ago, all of them, including the Earth, were subjected to frequent impacts for several hundred million years. First indications for life on Earth are dated 3.8-3.5 billion years ago. That life arose very shortly after this heavy bombardment phase raises many questions. A prebiotic non-reducing atmosphere predicts that building blocks of macromolecules--such as amino acids, sugars, purines and pyrimidines were not formed in abundance. A part of the prebiotic organic content of the early Earth could have been delivered by asteroids, comets and smaller fragments such as meteorites and interplanetary dust particles (IDPs). …

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This paper presents an evaluation of the applicability of Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Engines (HCCI) for small-scale cogeneration (less than 1 MWe) in comparison to five previously analyzed prime movers. The five comparator prime movers include stoichiometric spark-ignited (SI) engines, lean burn SI engines, diesel engines, microturbines and fuel cells. The investigated option, HCCI engines, is a relatively new type of engine that has some fundamental differences with respect to other prime movers. Here, the prime movers are compared by calculating electric and heating efficiency, fuel consumption, nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and capital and fuel cost. Two cases are analyzed. In Case 1, the cogeneration facility requires combined power and heating. In Case 2, the requirement is for power and chilling. The results show that the HCCI engines closely approach the very high fuel utilization efficiency of diesel engines without the high emissions of NOx and the expensive diesel fuel. HCCI engines offer a new alternative for cogeneration that provides a unique combination of low cost, high efficiency, low emissions and flexibility in operating temperatures that can be optimally tuned for cogeneration systems. HCCI engines are the most efficient technology that meets the oncoming 2007 CARB NOx standards for cogeneration …

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An ultrasonic technique was developed to detect and characterize laser damage in critical optics. During normal usage, sub critical flaws induced by high laser fluence can grow to critical size and potentially can cause unanticipated failure of the optics. This ultrasonic technique monitors the optic in situ and provides a quick, reliable way to quantify the location, number and, ultimately, the size of defects that may initiate and grow during firing of the laser. The feasibility of detecting and sizing laser-induced damage with an ultrasonic technology was theoretically and experimentally demonstrated. An experiment was conducted whereby ultrasonic data was acquired in situ on an optic as it was damaged by a laser. This monitoring of laser induced damage clearly demonstrated the potential for ultrasonic monitoring of critical optics for laser-induced damage.

A study of the heat and mass transfer, flow, and thermodynamics of the reacting flow in a catalytic microreactor is presented. Methanol reforming is utilized in the fuel processing system driving a micro-scale proton exchange membrane fuel cell. Understanding the flow and thermal transport phenomena as well as the reaction mechanisms is essential for improving the efficiency of the reforming process as well as the quality of the processed fuel. Numerical studies have been carried out to characterize the transport in a silicon microfabricated reactor system. On the basis of these results, optimized conditions for fuel processing are determined.