Vol. 51, No. 3        February 12, 1999

Energy and Environment

We have initiated and completed about one-third of the excavation of the Classified Waste Landfill. This action is required to ensure acceptable future use of the land and no loss of control of classified material. More than 200,000 items have been removed to date, including two nuclear weapons mockups (B53 and B14). A number of organizations, particularly 2111, are helping identify and demilitarize components. Much of the recovered precious metals is being recycled. (6100, 2100, others)

Four Sandians had an all-expense paid "Arctic cruise" courtesy of DOE. The catchŠ it was on a Canadian icebreaker intentionally stuck in an ice floe over a one-year period. The Sandians and other participants each spent about six weeks conducting experiments designed to better understand and model radiant energy flows and their effects on ice coverage. The National Science Foundation and Office of Naval Research were the principal funding organizations, with participation by DOE's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program. (6200, 9600, 5900)

Back-contact crystalline-silicon (c-Si) solar cells potentially have high energy conversion efficiency (no contact shading on the front surface) and simpler, lower-cost module assembly. We made substantial progress in developing a new back-contact cell structure using laser-drilled holes and in simplifying module assembly using back-contact cells. We demonstrated the world's first c-Si photovoltaic module where the module's encapsulation and solar cell circuit and soldered interconnects were assembled in a single step. (6200, 1400)

Exploration for geothermal energy and deep oil and gas resources requires high temperature (300° C) electronics for downhole applications. None currently exists in industry. Geothermal Research Dept. 6211 recently assembled and demonstrated a microprocessor-controlled circuit for use in high-temperature geothermal well logging and measurement-while-drilling applications. The prototype, based on silicon-on-insulator technology that originated in the weapons programs, was oven-tested while operating at 315 °C. This evolution into high-temperature electronics will make possible unshielded, unlimited operation of electronic instruments inside active geothermal wells. (6200)

In May the Environmental Protection Agency certified the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad. This decision makes WIPP the world's first certified repository for disposing of radioactive waste deep underground. Much of the decision rested on Sandia's estimates of the repository's ability to isolate the waste for thousands of years. As scientific advisor to the WIPP Project, Sandia supplied full documentation for the estimates and worked extensively with EPA staff during its decision process. (6800)

An important issue for fusion energy is plasma-facing components that can remove the plasma energy without contaminating the plasma. The problem is finding reliable methods for joining tungsten to a water-cooled copper heat sink. Sandia teamed with industry partners Boeing, Plasma Processes, and Surmet to fabricate tungsten joined to copper using a hot isostatic pressing technique. Prototypes of the component have been tested up to 30MW/m2 for 500 cycles, a new international record. Five years ago, the capability of tungsten components was only 3-4MW/m2. (6400, 8200, 8700)

In partnership with Baker Oil Tools (the world's largest supplier of oil and gas completion equipment), Sandia has developed a prototype communication tool for monitoring subterranean production-zone conditions in oil and gas wells. Data collected by this tool are transmitted more than 10,000 feet back to the surface via sound waves in the steel tubulars of the well. Sandia's six patents for this technology have a variety of applications to both production and drilling. (6200)

In response to the DOE FY98 request to provide the capacity for 100 percent of the US demand for the medical isotope 99Mo, Sandia developed an innovative approach to modify the Labs' research reactor to meet this request. The 6000/7000 team decontaminated and completed major construction activities at the Hot Cell Facility to provide the basis for establishing this capability. The Nuclear Facility Operations Team successfully completed the first Operational Readiness Review of a DOE reactor and restarted the ACRR after completing modifications for medical isotope production. (6000, 7000)

The Combustion Research Facility Phase II (CRF II) construction project, completed within budget and schedule, provides 21,200 square feet of new modern laboratory space and offers major new capabilities for research and for partnerships with industry. CRF II is crucial to the development of the next generation of nonintrusive optical diagnostic techniques for combustion research. New laboratory space will enable advances in basic and applied research, building the knowledge base of combustion and related problems into the next century. (8300, 8500)

The Environmental Measurement-While-Drilling (EMWD) system is an innovative blend of off-the-shelf sensors with data transmission, reduction, and display capabilities transitioned from defense programs. EMWD provides real-time environmental data during drilling operations at contaminated sites. A successful demonstration of the EMWD tool was conducted at Hanford, Wash., in September 1998. The EMWD system tracked the drillbit location to within two feet of the reference provided by a commercial tracking system. (6100, 6200, 6800, 9300, Lockheed Martin Hanford Corporation/Tank Waste Remediation System, and A & L Underground)

Last modified: February 12, 1999

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