This report is a waste generation data report for year 2009.

Human performance models (HPMs) are simulations of human behavior with which we can predict human performance. Designers use them to support their human factors engineering (HFE) programs for a wide range of complex systems, including commercial nuclear power plants. Applicants to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) can use HPMs for design certifications, operating licenses, and license amendments. In the context of nuclear-plant safety, it is important to assure that HPMs are verified and validated, and their usage is consistent with their intended purpose. Using HPMs improperly may generate misleading or incorrect information, entailing safety concerns. The objective of this research was to develop guidance to support the NRC staff's reviews of an applicant's use of HPMs in an HFE program. The guidance is divided into three topical areas: (1) HPM Verification, (2) HPM Validation, and (3) User Interface Verification. Following this guidance will help ensure the benefits of HPMs are achieved in a technically sound, defensible manner. During the course of developing this guidance, I identified several issues that could not be addressed; they also are discussed.

The Laser Inertial Fusion-based Energy (LIFE) system uses a laser-based fusion source for electricity production. The (D,T) reaction, beside a pure fusion system, allows the option to drive a sub-critical fission blanket in order to increase the total energy gain. In a typical fusion-fission LIFE engine the fission blanket is a spherical shell around the fusion source, preceded by a beryllium shell for neutron multiplications by means of (n,2n) reactions. The fuel is in the form of TRISO particles dispersed in carbon pebbles, cooled by flibe. The optimal design features 80 cm thick blanket, 16 cm multiplier, and 20% TRISO packing factor. A blanket loaded with depleted uranium and depleted in a single batch with continuous mixing can achieve burnup as high as {approx}85% FIMA while generating 2,000 MW of total thermal power and producing enough tritium to be used for fusion. A multi-segment blanket with a central promotion shuffling scheme enhances burnup to {approx}90% FIMA, whereas a blanket that is operated with continuous refueling achieves only 82% FIMA under the same constraints of thermal power and tritium self-sufficiency. Both, multi-segment and continuous refueling eliminate the need for a fissile breeding phase.

This paper reports the results of preliminary analyses that show the feasibility of developing a fuel flexible (natural gas, syngas and high-hydrogen fuel) combustion system for IGCC gas turbines. Of particular interest is the use of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's DLN low swirl combustion technology as the basis for the IGCC turbine combustor. Conceptual designs of the combustion system and the requirements for the fuel handling and delivery circuits are discussed. The analyses show the feasibility of a multi-fuel, utility-sized, LSI-based, gas turbine engine. A conceptual design of the fuel injection system shows that dual parallel fuel circuits can provide range of gas turbine operation in a configuration consistent with low pollutant emissions. Additionally, several issues and challenges associated with the development of such a system, such as flashback and auto-ignition of the high-hydrogen fuels, are outlined.

For more than 20 years the NRC has sponsored research studying electric cable aging degradation, condition monitoring, and environmental qualification testing practices for electric cables used in nuclear power plants. This report summarizes several of the most effective and commonly used condition monitoring techniques available to detect damage and measure the extent of degradation in electric cable insulation. The technical basis for each technique is summarized, along with its application, trendability of test data, ease of performing the technique, advantages and limitations, and the usefulness of the test results to characterize and assess the condition of electric cables.

The major research objectives of this project included the formulation of flow and heat transfer modeling framework for the analysis of flow-induced instabilities in advanced light water nuclear reactors such as boiling water reactors. General multifield model of two-phase flow, including the necessary closure laws. Development of neurton kinetics models compatible with the proposed models of heated channel dynamics. Formulation and encoding of complete coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics models for the analysis of spatially-dependent local core instabilities. Computer simulations aimed at testing and validating the new models of reactor dynamics.

Low Swirl Injector (LSI) technology is a lean premixed combustion method that is being developed for fuel-flexible gas turbines. The objective of this study is to characterize the fuel effects and influences of combustor geometry on the LSI's overall acoustic signatures and flowfields. The experiments consist of 24 flames at atmospheric condition with bulk flows ranging between 10 and 18 m/s. The flames burn CH{sub 4} (at {phi} = 0.6 & 0.7) and a blend of 90% H{sub 2} - 10% CH{sub 4} by volume (at {phi} = 0.35 & 0.4). Two combustor configurations are used, consisting of a cylindrical chamber with and without a divergent quarl at the dump plane. The data consist of pressure spectral distributions at five positions within the system and 2D flowfield information measured by Particle Imaging Velocimetry (PIV). The results show that acoustic oscillations increase with U{sub 0} and {phi}. However, the levels in the 90% H{sub 2} flames are significantly higher than in the CH{sub 4} flames. For both fuels, the use of the quarl reduces the fluctuating pressures in the combustion chamber by up to a factor of 7. The PIV results suggest this to be a consequence of the quarl restricting …

A new method of detecting radiation which can allow for long distance measurements is being investigated. The device is primarily for neutrons detection althought it could, in principle, be used for gamma ray detection. The neutron detection medium is a solid, transparent, electro-optical material, such as lithium niobate, lithium tantalite, or barium borate. Crystals of these materials act as optical gates to laser light, allowing light to pass through only when a neutron interaction occurs in the crystal. Typical light detection devices, such as CCD cameras or photomultiplier tubes, can be used to signal when light passes through the crystal. The overall goal of the project is to investigate the feasibility of such devices for the detection of neutron radiation and to quantify their capabilities and limitations.

The US DOE was and is instrumental to NFRC's beginning and its continued success. The 2005 to 2009 funding enables NFRC to continue expanding and create new, improved ratings procedures. Research funded by the US DOE enables increased fenestration energy rating accuracy. International harmonization efforts supported by the US DOE allow the US to be the global leader in fenestration energy ratings. Many other governments are working with the NFRC to share its experience and knowledge toward development of their own national fenestration rating process similar to the NFRC's. The broad and diverse membership composition of NFRC allows anyone with a fenestration interest to come forward with an idea or improvement to the entire fenestration community for consideration. The NFRC looks forward to the next several years of growth while remaining the nation's resource for fair, accurate, and credible fenestration product energy ratings. NFRC continues to improve its rating system by considering new research, methodologies, and expanding to include new fenestration products. Currently, NFRC is working towards attachment energy ratings. Attachments are blinds, shades, awnings, and overhangs. Attachments may enable a building to achieve significant energy savings. An NFRC rating will enable fair competition, a basis for code references, and …

Work related to this project introduced the idea of an “effective monopole strength” Q* that acted as the effective angular momentum of the lowest shell of composite Fermions (CF). This allowed us to predict the angular momentum of the lowest band of energy states for any value of the applied magnetic field simply by determining N{sub QP} the number of quasielectrons (QE) or quasiholes (QH) in a partially filled CF shell and adding angular momenta of the N{sub QP} Fermions excitations. The approach reported treated the filled CF level as a “vacuum state” which could support QE and QH excitations. Numerical diagonalization of small systems allowed us to determine the angular momenta, the energy, and the pair interaction energies of these elementary excitations. The spectra of low energy states could then be evaluated in a Fermi liquid‐like picture, treating the much smaller number of quasiparticles and their interactions instead of the larger system of N electrons with Coulomb interactions.

We study the region of the QCD phase transition using 2+1 flavors of domain wall fermions (DWF) and a 16{sup 3} x 8 lattice volume with a fifth dimension of L{sub s} = 32. The disconnected light quark chiral susceptibility, quark number susceptibility and the Polyakov loop suggest a chiral and deconfining crossover transition lying between 155 and 185 MeV for our choice of quark mass and lattice spacing. In this region the lattice scale deduced from the Sommer parameter r{sub 0} is a{sup -1} {approx} 1.3 GeV, the pion mass is {approx} 300 MeV and the kaon mass is approximately physical. The peak in the chiral susceptibility implies a pseudo critical temperature T{sub c} = 171(10)(17) MeV where the first error is associated with determining the peak location and the second with our unphysical light quark mass and non-zero lattice spacing. The effects of residual chiral symmetry breaking on the chiral condensate and disconnected chiral susceptibility are studied using several values of the valence L{sub s}.

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High-resolution spectral gamma logging in steel-cased boreholes is used to detect and quantify transuranic radionuclides in the subsurface. Pu-239, Pu-241, Am-241, and Np-237 are identified based on characteristic decay gammas. Typical minimum detectable levels are on the order of 20 to 40 nCi/g. In intervals of high transuranic concentrations, gamma rays from other sources may complicate analysis and interpretation. Gamma rays detected in the borehole may originate from three sources: decay of the parent transuranic radionuclide or a daughter; alpha interactions; and interactions with neutrons resulting from either spontaneous fission or alpha particle interactions.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has teamed with cities across the country through the Solar America Cities (SAC) partnership program to help reduce barriers and accelerate implementation of solar energy. The New York City SAC team is a partnership between the City University of New York (CUNY), the New York City Mayor s Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC).The New York City SAC team is working with DOE s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Con Edison, the local utility, to develop a roadmap for photovoltaic (PV) installations in the five boroughs. The city set a goal to increase its installed PV capacity from1.1 MW in 2005 to 8.1 MW by 2015 (the maximum allowed in 2005). A key barrier to reaching this goal, however, is the complexity of the interconnection process with the local utility. Unique challenges are associated with connecting distributed PV systems to secondary network distribution systems (simplified to “networks” in this report). Although most areas of the country use simpler radial distribution systems to distribute electricity, larger metropolitan areas like New York City typically use networks to increase reliability in large load centers. Unlike the radial …

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Membrane-Associated Methane Monooxygenases from Type X and Type I Methanotrophs A.A. DiSirito and W.E. Antholine Project Number: DE-FG02-00ER15446 Final project report.

The goal of this work was to use electrochemically driven pH control to develop a second generation, enzyme-based contained liquid membrane (CLM) permeator to extract CO{sub 2} from a variety of coal-based flue gas streams more efficiently than does the CLM current design, while achieving performance coincident with DOE targets of less than 45% Cost of electricity (COE) in 2007 and less than 20% COE in 2012. Central to this goal the CLM would be alkaline (>pH 8) at the feed gas side and acid (<pH 6) at the permeate side. Argonne demonstrated the technical feasibility for CO{sub 2} capture and release using Argonne's resin-wafer electrode ionization (RW-EDI) system integrated with Carbozyme's carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzyme. Argonne developed RW-EDI for pH controlled desalination of process streams (e.g. Patents 7,452,920 & 7,306,934). In the current work, Argonne captured CO{sub 2} as HCO{sub 3}{sup -} and released it as CO{sub 2}. The goal is to both capture CO{sub 2} from a simulated flue gas stream and release it within the DOE targets for increase in COE. Initial performance results indicate that the 2012 COE targets are achievable with the developed technology. The design is subject to patent-hold. This task was funded in …

In 2009, we continued to address barriers to fungal fermentation in the primary areas of morphology control, genomics, proteomics, fungal hyperproductivity, biomass-to-products via fungal based consolidated bioprocesses, and filamentous fungal ethanol. “Alternative renewable fuels from fungi” was added as a new subtask. Plans were also made to launch a new advanced strain development subtask in FY2010.

Abstract Active interrogation methods are being investigated to detect shielded special nuclear material (SNM). These approaches utilize either neutron or photon beams to excite the SNM in concert with either neutron or gamma ray detectors to observe the stimulated emissions. The two primary methodologies with photon beams are photofission and nuclear resonance florescence (NRF). Photofission requires photons energies of 7-10 MeV while NRF requires photon energies around 2 MeV. For both techniques, photons that are not in the appropriate energy band, e.g. the low energy tail of a Bremsstrahlung photon beam, contribute unwanted additional radiation dose to cargo. Typically less than 10% of the photons are in the usable energy band. The additional photon production generates a commensurate amount of additional radiation dose in the source and target areas, impacting shielding requirements and/or dose to operators and equipment and at the expense of a similar increase in power consumption. Hence it is highly desirable to produce narrow energy (“monoenergetic”) photon beams with tunable energy in the range of ~2-20 MeV.

The duration that saltstone retains its ability to immobilize some key radionuclides, such as technetium (Tc), plutonium (Pu), and neptunium (Np), depends on its capacity to maintain a low redox status (or low oxidation state). The reduction capacity is a measure of the mass of reductants present in the saltstone; the reductants are the active ingredients that immobilize Tc, Pu, and Np. Once reductants are exhausted, the saltstone loses its ability to immobilize these radionuclides. The reduction capacity values reported here are based on the Ce(IV)/Fe(II) system. The Portland cement (198 {micro}eq/g) and especially the fly ash (299 {micro}eq/g) had a measurable amount of reduction capacity, but the blast furnace slag (820 {micro}eq/g) not surprisingly accounted for most of the reduction capacity. The blast furnace slag contains ferrous iron and sulfides which are strong reducing and precipitating species for a large number of solids. Three saltstone samples containing 45% slag or one sample containing 90% slag had essentially the same reduction capacity as pure slag. There appears to be some critical concentration between 10% and 45% slag in the Saltstone formulation that is needed to create the maximum reduction capacity. Values from this work supported those previously reported, namely that …

Cementitious barriers for nuclear applications are one of the primary controls for preventing or limiting radionuclide release into the environment. At the present time, performance and risk assessments do not fully incorporate the effectiveness of engineered barriers because the processes that influence performance are coupled and complicated. Better understanding the behavior of cementitious barriers is necessary to evaluate and improve the design of materials and structures used for radioactive waste containment, life extension of current nuclear facilities, and design of future nuclear facilities, including those needed for nuclear fuel storage and processing, nuclear power production and waste management. The focus of the Cementitious Barriers Partnership (CBP) literature review is to document the current level of knowledge with respect to: (1) mechanisms and processes that directly influence the performance of cementitious materials (2) methodologies for modeling the performance of these mechanisms and processes and (3) approaches to addressing and quantifying uncertainties associated with performance predictions. This will serve as an important reference document for the professional community responsible for the design and performance assessment of cementitious materials in nuclear applications. This review also provides a multi-disciplinary foundation for identification, research, development and demonstration of improvements in conceptual understanding, measurements and performance …

This month's issue has the following articles: (1) Innovative Materials Rise to the Radiation Challenge - Commentary by Bruce Warner; (2) The Hunt for Better Radiation Detection - New materials will help radiation detectors pick up weak signals and accurately identify illicit radioactive sources; (3) Time-Critical Technology Identifies Deadly Bloodborne Pathogens - A portable device can simultaneously distinguish up to five bloodborne pathogens in just minutes; (4) Defending Computer Networks against Attack - A Laboratory effort takes a new approach to detecting increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks; and (5) Imaging Cargo's Inner Secrets - Livermore-University of California collaborators are modeling a new radiographic technique for identifying nuclear materials concealed inside cargo containers.

Zeolites are an economical mineral used in several applications, primarily as molecular sieves because of their crystalline structure. Southwestern North Dakota has several localities of volcanic ash deposits (tuffs) that have undergone physical and chemical changes forming some zeolites in the process. Of particular interest is the zeolite mineral erionite, but not because of its economic potential. Erionite is highly carcinogenic and was found to be responsible for extremely high mortality rates in two Turkish villages in close proximity to erionite rock and dust. Erionite has traditionally been identified using x-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The presence of swelling clays can interfere with the identification of erionite by XRD giving false positive results. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to identify the distinctive needlelike form of erionite. In some cases, erionite was identified using SEM techniques where erionite was present, but in quantities that are lower than the lower detection limits. Conversely, erionite was identified by XRD in some instances where the erionite was somewhat masked in a clay matrix. Both XRD and SEM methods should be used to properly identify erionite. Erionite was identified in sandstones and siltstones from buttes in Dunn, Stark, and Slope Counties of North Dakota, but …

Research is being conducted for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to assess the effectiveness and reliability of advanced nondestructive examination (NDE) methods for the inspection of light-water reactor components. The scope of this research encom¬passes primary system pressure boundary materials including dissimilar metal welds (DMWs), cast austenitic stainless steels (CASS), piping with corrosion-resistant cladding, weld overlays, inlays and onlays, and far-side examinations of austenitic piping welds. A primary objective of this work is to evaluate various NDE methods to assess their ability to detect, localize, and size cracks in steel components that challenge standard and/or conventional inspection methodologies. This interim technical letter report provides a summary of a technical evaluation aimed at assessing the capabilities of phased-array (PA) ultrasonic testing (UT) methods as applied to the inspection of small-bore DMW components that exist in the reactor coolant systems (RCS) of pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Operating experience and events such as the circumferential cracking in the reactor vessel nozzle-to-RCS hot leg pipe at V.C. Summer nuclear power station, identified in 2000, show that in PWRs where primary coolant water (or steam) are present under normal operation, Alloy 82/182 materials are susceptible to pressurized water stress …