This paper reports the phase-one results of a planned longitudinal study of the incidence of entrepreneurship among inventors who were employees of national laboratories. A survey of 192 inventors employed by national laboratories and 24 ex-employee inventors who became entrepreneurs provided data for comparison of situational and attitudinal variables. Significant differences in attitudes (as measured by the Entrepreneurial Attitude Orientation Scale) were found between inventors who have not become entrepreneurs and those who have. The differences in perceptions of situational variables between the two groups was significant for only two of the seven dimensions tested.
In order to resolve questions regarding the source of the extended linear viscosity-concentration regime in rod-like systems the distribution of orientations in confined systems has to be determined and related to changes in viscosity. In this work we describe our experimental and computer simulation studies on systems of neutrally buoyant suspensions of rod-like particles confined by the walls of a cylindrical container.
Recent results from light ion fusion experiments on the Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator (PBFA II) are reported. Intense proton beams have been used to drive two different types of targets. In the thermal source targets, the proton beam heated a low-density foam. The specific power deposition of the proton beam in the foam exceeded 100 TW/gm. In the spherical hydrodynamic targets, the proton beam heated a thin-walled deuterium gas-filled target directly, producing a radial convergence of the deuterium of about 6. In order to increase the specific power deposition in the target, we are developing focused lithium beams. A preformed lithium ion source has been produced using a two-step laser evaporation and ionization approach. This preformed source provides the basis for experiments being planned to reduce the divergence of the lithium beam, a critical step in demonstrating the feasibility of light ion fusion.
The first major round of target experiments driven by intense light ion beams was conducted during August and September 1991. In these experiments, intense proton beams were used to drive two different types of targets. We attempted to obtain information on the two separable issues of ion deposition and implosion hydrodynamics. Ion deposition was studied using a low density hydrocarbon foam contained within a cylindrical gold shell. Implosion hydrodynamics was studied using an ion driven exploding pusher configuration in which the ion beam heated the shell directly, exploding it both outward and inward. One of the main objectives of the experiments was to determine the extent to which we could diagnose the ion deposition and the subsequent behavior of the targets. The diagnostics included time-integrated and time-resolved x-ray pinhole cameras, time-integrated and time-resolved grazing incidence x-ray spectrometers, an 11-channel filtered x-ray diode (XRD) array, an 11-channel PIN diode array, an energy-resolved 1-dimensional imaging x-ray streak camera, a transmission grating spectrometer, an elliptical crystal x-ray spectrograph, and a bolometer. Intense beam diagnostics included an ion movie camera and an off-axis 1D slit imaging magnetic spectrograph for obtaining Rutherford-scattered ion images, momenta, and ion power densities.
An improved technology to extract VOCs from the unsaturated zone has developed into a cooperative Environmental Restoration and Technology Development effort. This cooperation is important because the timing of an innovative technology demonstration is critical to the transfer of that technology into an ER remedial action decision. The Mixed-Waste Landfill Integrated Demonstration (MWLID) Program will be demonstrating a Thermal Enhanced Vapor Extraction System that will improve existing vacuum vapor extraction technology by applying in-situ soil heating. Combined demonstrations of vacuum vapor extraction and both powerline frequency and radiofrequency soil heating technologies began in FY92.
SAFSIM (System Analysis Flow SIMulator) is a FORTRAN computer program that provides engineering simulations of user-specified flow networks at the system level. It includes fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and reactor dynamics capabilities. SAFSIM provides sufficient versatility to allow the simulation of almost any flow system, from a backyard sprinkler system to a clustered nuclear reactor propulsion system. In addition to versatility, speed and robustness are primary goals of SAFSIM. The current capabilities of SAFSIM are summarized, and some illustrative example results are presented.
Lost circulation is the loss of drilling fluid from the wellbore to fractures or pores in the rock formation. In geothermal drilling, lost circulation is often a serious problem that contributes greatly to the cost of the average geothermal well. The Lost Circulation Technology Development Program is sponsored at Sandia National Laboratories by the US Department of Energy. The goal of the program is to reduce lost circulation costs by 30--50% through the development of mitigation and characterization technology. This paper describes the technical progress made in this program during the period April 1991--March 1992. 8 refs.
The US Department of Energy`s Office of Technology Development (OTD) has sponsored the development of the Generic Intelligent System Controller (GISC) for application to remote system control. Of primary interest to the OTD is the development of technologies which result in faster, safer, and cheaper cleanup of hazardous waste sites than possible using conventional approaches. The objective of the GISC development project is to support these goals by developing a modular robotics control approach which reduces the time and cost of development by allowing reuse of control system software and uses computer models to improve the safety of remote site cleanup while reducing the time and life cycle costs.
Stimulated reactions on Pt(111) surfaces containing coadsorbates have been probed using laser resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy of the neutral products. In particular, the electron stimulated dissociation products of NO{sub 2}(a) coadsorbed with up to 0.75 ML of atomic O on Pt(111) has been studied. The coadsorbed O causes a large enhancement of the specific dissociation yield, a narrowing of the NO translational energy, a reduction of the NO internal energy, and the release of the O dissociation fragment into the gas phase. Reactive scattering between coadsorbates has also been studied. Specifically, NO{sub 2}(d) production has been observed during electron-beam irradiation of NO coadsorbed with O{sub 2} on Pt(1211). The NO{sub 2}(d) was indirectly observed as NO({upsilon}=5) and O({sup 3}P{sub J}) gas phase photodissociation fragments. We assign NO{sub 2} production to an electron-stimulated surface reaction involving a collision between energetic O atoms and adsorbed NO.
Heat-Pipe reflux receivers have been identified as a desirable interface to couple a Stirling engine with a parabolic dish solar concentrator. The reflux receiver provides power uniformly and nearly isothermally to the engine heater heads while de-coupling the heater head design from the solar absorber surface design. Therefore, the heat pipe reflux receiver allows the receiver and heater head to be independently thermally optimized, leading to high receiver thermal transport efficiency. Dynatherm Corporation designed and fabricated a screen-wick heat-pipe receiver for possible application to the Cummins Power Generation, Inc. first-generation 4 kW{sub e} free-piston dish-Stirling system, which required up to 30 kW{sub t}. The receiver features a composite absorber wick and a homogeneous sponge-wick on the aft dome to provide sodium to the absorber during hot restarts. The screen wick is attached to the absorber dome by spot welds. Refluxing troughs collect the condensate in a cylindrical condenser and return it directly to the absorber surface. The receiver was fabricated and lamp tested to 16 kW{sub t} throughput by Dynatherm. The receiver has been tested on Sandia`s 60 kW{sub t} solar furnace to a throughput power of 27.5 kW{sub t} and vapor space temperature up to 780{degrees}C. Infrared thermography was used to monitor the entire absorber dome for impending dryout while the receiver was tested. The receiver was started using solar input, without the assistance of electrical pre-heaters. The power was extracted with a gas-gap cold-water calorimeter to simulate the operation of a Stirling engine. The receiver design, thermal performance analysis, flux distribution analysis, test results, and post-test analysis are presented. 11 refs.
Nuclear thermal propulsion systems are envisioned as a fast and efficient form of transportation for the exploration of space. Several nuclear reactor concepts have been proposed. This document discusses SAFSIM (System Analysis Flow SIMulator) which is an engineering computer program that allows the fluid mechanic, heat transfer, and reactor dynamic simulation of the entire propulsion system. SAFSIM currently contains three basic physics modules: (1) fluid mechanics, (2) heat transfer, and (3) reactor dynamics. All three modules are coupled to allow the prediction of system performance. The analyst can employ any or all of the physics modules as the problem dictates.
A summary of the plans to test a prestressed concrete containment vessel (PCCV) model to failure is provided in this paper. The test will be conducted as a part of a joint research program between the Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation (NUPEC), the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The containment model will be a scaled representation of a PCCV for a pressurized water reactor (PWR). During the test, the model will be slowly pressurized internally until failure of the containment pressure boundary occurs. The objectives of the test are to measure the failure pressure, to observe the mode of failure, and to record the containment structural response up to failure. Pre- and posttest analyses will be conducted to forecast and evaluate the test results. Based on these results, a validated method for evaluating the structural behavior of an actual PWR PCCV will be developed. The concepts to design the PCCV model are also described in the paper.
The transient transmission of laser activity cavity materials has been measured when they are subjected to 20 ms, fat, and nominal $3 nuclear radiation pulses from Sandia National Laboratories ACRR reactor. Infrasil and 7940 fused silica, and AR and high reflectance coatings have been transient tested at 1.06, 1.73, and 2.03 microns for gamma doses ranging from 0.3 to 0.65 Mrad and neutron fluences ranging from 4.0 to 1.5 10{sup 14} n/cm{sup 2}. pulse widths range from 12 to 250 ms. Transient absorption in 7940 silica and the AR coatings is less than the noise for the conditions of this experiment. At the wavelengths listed above the upper bound for the absorption coefficient of 17940 is 0.00158 cm{sup {minus}1} for single pulse operation. The reflectivity of the HR coating does not change when it is irradiated. Infrasil has both a transient and a permanent induced absorption when it is subjected to radiation. For single pulse operation the absorption coefficients at 1.06, 1.73, and 2.03 microns are 0.0115, 0.0026, and 0.0039 cm{sup {minus}1}, respectively.
The Naval Surface Weapons Laboratory has constructed a small electrical subsystem for the purpose of evaluating electrical upset from various electromagnetic sources. The subsystem consists of three boxes, two of which are intended to be illuminated by electromagnetic waves. The two illuminated boxes are connected by two unshielded cable bundles. The goal of the Navy test series is to expose the subsystem to electromagnetic illumination from several different types of excitation, document upset levels, and compare the results. Before its arrival at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) the system was illuminated in a mode stirred chamber and in an anechoic chamber. This effort was a continuation of that test program. The Sandia tests involved the test methodology referred to as bulk current injection (BCI). Because this is a poorly-shielded, multiple-aperture system, the method was not expected to compare closely to the other test methods. The test results show that. The BCI test methodology is a useful test technique for a subset of limited aperture systems; the methodology will produce incorrect answers when used improperly on complex systems; the methodology can produce accurate answers on simple systems with a well-controlled electromagnetic topology. This is a preliminary study and the results should be interpreted carefully.
This report describes how small threaded fasteners should be used in threaded connections. Considerable test experience gives many insights into how small threaded fasteners should be used. The test evidence is summarized in this report. The test methods and procedures are described for tension tests to determine strength and ductility. Small threaded fasteners have been used successfully for many years in Sandia applications. Problems have been encountered in manufacturing parts using three fasteners. This report addresses these manufacturing problems and offers recommendations in five areas: (1) design and layout of threaded connections, (2) required depths for tapped holes, (3) characteristics of mating (clamped) surfaces, (4) tensile strength testing procedures and lengths of engagement needed to achieve the full tensile strength of these small fasteners, and (5) installation procedures. 15 refs.
This document serves as the proceedings for the annual project review meeting held by Sandia National Laboratories` Photovoltaic Technology and Photovoltaic Evaluation Departments. It contains information supplied by organizations making presentations at the meeting, which was held July 14--15, 1992 at the Sheraton Old Town Hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Overview sessions covered the Department of Energy (DOE) program, including those at Sandia and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and non-DOE programs, including the EPRI concentrator collector program, The Japanese crystalline silicon program, and some concentrating photovoltaic activities in Europe. Additional sessions included papers on Sandia`s Photovoltaic Device Fabrication Laboratory`s collaborative research, cell processing research, the activities of the participants in the Concentrator Initiative Program, and photovoltaic technology evaluation at Sandia and NREL.
Laser ablation studies of copper oxide using fiber optics to deliver the radiation have been made. A tapered fiber with a 600 micron input and a 200 micron output is used. For continuous operation the damage threshold at the input end is observed to be 2.5 mJ. The Dektak traces indicate the output beem is spatially uniform.
The purification of pyrite (FeS{sub 2}) used in Li-alloy/FeS{sub 2} thermal batteries by the physical process of flotation was evaluated for reduction of the quartz impurity. The process was compared to the standard process of leaching with concentrated hydrofluoric acid. Flotation was an attractive alternative because it avoided many of the safety and environmental concerns posed by the use of concentrated HF. The effects of particle size and initial purity of the pyrite feed material upon the final purity and yield of the product concentrate were examined for batch sizes from 3.5 kg to 921 kg. Feed materials as coarse as 8 mm and as fine as -325 mesh were treated; the coarse pyrite was ground wet in a rod mill or dry in a vibratory mill to -230 mesh prior to flotation. Both the HF-leached and the flotation-treated pyrite were leached with HCI (1:1 v/v) to remove acid-soluble impurities. The flotation-purified pyrite concentrates were formulated into catholytes; their electrochemical performance was evaluated in both single cells and 5-cell batteries for comparison to data generated under the same discharge conditions for catholytes formulated with HF/HCI-purified pyrite.
Diethyltoluenediamine (DETDA) (Ethyl Corp.'s Ethacure 100) was evaluated as a curing agent to replace methylenedianiline (MDA) (Shell's Agent Z), which is a suspected carcinogen. Shell Z and Ethacure 100 are used to cure Epon 828 epoxy resin for encapsulation of headers for thermal batteries at Sandia. The physical properties of the alumina-filled epoxies cured with Shell Z and Ethacure 100 were characterized to determine if the material strengths were comparable. The study also included epoxies that were aged at 130{degrees}C for one month, to simulate storage at 40{degrees}C for 25 years. Properties that were measured included tensile strength, elastic modulus, shear strength, butt tensile strength, and elongation. The. specific heats of the alumina-filled epoxies were measured for use in thermal-modeling programs for thermal batteries. Batteries built with the Ethacure 100-cured epoxy encapsulation were aged for up to one year at 74{degrees}C and were subjected to severe (1,800 g/50 ms) lateral shock to test the adhesion to the stainless steel header.
Preliminary experiments on the transmission properties of optical fibers exposed to nuclear radiations has been performed. Three wavelengths, 400, 1730 and 2030 nm, were observed for silica fibers. The long term goal of this effort is to develop a method using fiber optics to determine transmission and reflection properties of laser cavity components while being exposed to nuclear radiations. 5 refs.
The aqueous concentration of a radionuclide is one factor that determines the rate at which the radionuclide might be transported away from a nuclear waste repository should a repository breach occur. This study documents research examining the solubility of plutonium in a brine composition of interest for performance assessment for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico. Solutions starting with five different forms of plutonium, Pu(III), Pu(IV), Pu(IV)-polymer, Pu(V), and Pu(VI), were allowed to equilibrate in a brine with composition similar to that measured from the Culebra Member of the Rustler Formation in the Air Intake Shaft to the WIPP. Nearsteady-state conditions were reached within a year of reaction time. The resulting concentrations represent an upper bound on the amount of plutonium that can remain dissolved in solution under the experimental conditions (e.g., exclusive of colloids) and can thus be transported with the aqueous phase.
The Integral Effects Test (IET) series was designed to investigate the effects of subcompartment structures on direct containment heating (DCH). Scale models of the Zion reactor pressure vessel (RPV), cavity, instrument tunnel, and subcompartment structures were constructed in the Surtsey Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratories. The RPV was modelled with a melt generator that consisted of a steel pressure barrier, a cast MgO crucible, and a thin steel inner liner. The melt generator/crucible had a hemispherical bottom head containing a graphite limiter plate with a 4 cm exit hole to simulate the ablated hole in the RPV bottom head that would be formed by tube ejection in a high pressure melt ejection (HPME) accident. The reactor cavity model contained an amount of water (3.48 kg) that was scaled to condensate levels in the Zion plant. Iron oxide, aluminum, chromium thermite (43 kg) was used to simulate molten corium. The driving gas was 440 g{center dot}moles of steam at an initial absolute pressure of 7.1 MPa in IET-1 and 477 g{center dot}moles of steam at an initial pressure of 6.3 MPa in IET-1R. Steam blowdown entrained debris into the Sorts vessel resulting in a peak pressure increase in Sorts of 98 kPa in IET-1 and 110 kPa in IET-1R. The total debris mass ejected into the Sorts vessel was 43.0 kg in IET-1, compared to 36.2 kg in IET-1R. The Sorts vessel had been previously inerted with N{sub 2}. The total quantity of hydrogen produced by steam/metal reactions was 223 g{center dot}moles in IET-1 and 252 g{center dot}moles in IET-1R.
The purpose of this study is to investigate transient pressure loads form hydrogen combustion. Specifically, this study relates pressure loads to variations in mixture and initial conditions, mixture heterogeneities, ignition location, and variations in geometry. This study has shown that initial conditions and variations in mixture have a large effect upon the adiabatic isochoric complete combustion, detonation, and reflected detonation pressures. An inert gas layer between a detonable gas mixture and surface can give rise to reflected pressures higher than in the homogeneous case. A deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) event near a surface gives rise to higher reflected pressures, and lower impulses, than if the DDT occurred far from the surface. Edges and corners focus detonation waves, which increases both pressures and impulses over those seen from a normally reflected detonation. The loads at points behind an obstacle is less than the load that would be seen if the obstacle were not there.
The Transportation Systems Center at Sandia Laboratory performs research, development, and implementation of technologies that enhance the safe movement of people, goods, and information. Our focus is on systems engineering. However, we realize that to understand the puzzle, you must also understand the pieces. This brochure describes some of the activities currently underway at the Center and presents the breadth and depth of our capabilities. Please contact the noted, individuals for more, information.
The mission of our Center is to enhance the security, prosperity and well-being of our citizens by the application of a security systems approach incorporating the concepts of protection-in-depth, balance, and cost-effective protection. We will build upon the expertise gained through decades of providing security for the DOE nuclear weapons complex and DoD nuclear weapons storage facilities and solve security problems of national importance. Our mission will be accomplished while: Enhancing our ability to fulfill our role as the lead DOE Laboratory in physical security R D; enhancing our ability to fulfill our role in nuclear weapons surety; enhancing our ability to respond to security requests from other federal, state,, and local agencies; and providing taxpayers a substantial return on investment, both directly in cost savings and indirectly in leveraged benefits. A brief description of research on security systems is described.