Vol. 51, No. 3        February 12, 1999

Engineering science and systems analysis

After developing Architectural Surety^SM awareness among potential customers and partners, the program is now adapting Sandia surety services and products to the marketplace, including: (1) vulnerability assessment of the Ronald Reagan Building for the Federal Protective Service; (2) threat identification, vulnerability assessment, and risk management for the Interagency Forum on Infrastructure Protection; (3) risk management work for the General Services Administration; (4) intense interest in applying structural/blast code coupling and window fragmentation modeling for federal buildings; and (5) surety curriculum development with two departments at the University of New Mexico. (5800, 6300, 9100)

Surety Components and Instrumentation Center 2600 combined entertainment industry software with traditional data collection techniques to create an interactive visualization tool called TeleKnoSysTM. By replacing the usual flight simulator joystick with a telemetry data stream, experimental data is combined with existing three-dimensional engineering models. Users are immersed in the experiment, allowing interaction and increased understanding of complex data sets. Customer interest has been outstanding, with pilot projects completed for Centers 2100, 2400, and 9200. (2600)

Developing risk analysis models is difficult and expensive because each analysis must be developed by hand. Department 6412 has developed a new method by combining concepts from object-oriented analysis and probabilistic risk assessment where one encapsulates a system's behavior in a common object model and then queries that model to obtain many different kinds of risk analysis models. The analyst can also build objects to represent individual components. This method can dramatically reduce the costs associated with risk analysis studies. (6400, 6200, 6500)

In December 1997, the FAA announced ATOS (Air Transportation Oversight System), developed in partnership with Sandia. ATOS is a significantly different approach to airline certification and oversight, the first major change in decades. ATOS uses a joint FAA/Sandia-developed closed-loop process tying certification to oversight, including inspector teams dedicated to each airline. The goal: apply system safety principles and systematic processes to assure airlines build safety into their systems. Our partnership provides system safety, information science, operations research, quality engineering, human factors, and statistical analysis expertise. (6300/6500/12300)

A multidisciplinary team at Sandia has developed a nonpolluting low-toxicity rocket fuel based on hydrogen peroxide. Thirty-one percent-pure hydrogen peroxide was vacuum-distilled to concentrations as high as 96 percent. The latter was catalytically decomposed to form steam and hot oxygen, which was then expanded through a supersonic nozzle to produce thrusts of 50 to 400 pounds-force. The team developed the fuel processing procedures, equipment, high-speed digital fuel control valve, thin film catalyst pack, and rocket engine and performed all static test firings. (1400, 1500, 1800, 2400, 7900)

A biaxial active boring bar developed in the Smart Structures and Materials Program demonstrated 100-fold reductions in tool vibration during metal machining operations. Structurally integrated piezoelectric actuators in the bar provided feedback control to mitigate normal vibrations during metal cutting. This broadens the stable machining envelope and allows the use of previously unattainable speeds and feed rates. In tests conducted on the shop floor at Sandia, the technology has yielded a three-fold improvement in workpiece surface finishes. (9200, 9100, 1400)

The Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative and Model Accreditation Via Experimental Sciences for Nuclear Weapons Encapsulation Project has recently aided in the design of neutron generator encapsulation processes through computational modeling and experiments. Process design changes were implemented in large part due to information provided by these two programs, ranging from redesign of the mold-filling process to a shortened encapsulant cure schedule. The work is the first step in developing a virtual prototyping capability for encapsulation processes that will minimize expensive build-test cycles. (9000, 1400, 1800, 8700, 14000)

Last modified: February 12, 1999

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