Publications

Sampling during environmental drilling is essential to fully characterize the spatial distribution and migration of subsurface contaminants. However, analysis of the samples is expensive and time-consuming: off-site laboratory analysis can take weeks or months. Real-time information on environmental conditions, drill bit location and temperature during drilling is valuable in many environmental restoration operations. This type of information can be used to provide field screening data and improved efficiency of site characterization activities. The Environmental Measurement-While-Drilling (EMWD) System represents an innovative blending of new and existing technology in order to obtain real-time data during drilling. The system consists of two subsystems. The down-hole subsystem (at the drill bit) consists of sensors, a power supply, a signal conditioning and transmitter board, and a radio-frequency (RF) coaxial cable. The up-hole subsystem consists of a battery pack/coil, pickup coil, receiver, and personal computer. The system is compatible with fluid miser drill pipe, a directional drilling technique that uses minimal drilling fluids and generates little to no secondary waste. In EMWD, downhole sensors are located behind the drill bit and linked by a high-speed data transmission system to a computer at the surface. Sandia-developed Windows{trademark}-based software is used for data display and storage. As drilling is conducted, data is collected on the nature and extent of contamination, enabling on-the-spot decisions regarding drilling and sampling strategies. Initially, the downhole sensor consisted of a simple gamma radiation detector, a Geiger-Mueller tube (GMT). The design includes data assurance techniques to increase safety by reducing the probability of giving a safe indication when an unsafe condition exists. The EMWD system has been improved by the integration of a Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) in place of the GMT. The GRS consists of a sodium iodide-thallium activated crystal coupled to a photomultiplier tube (PMT). The output of the PMT goes to a multichannel analyzer (MCA).The MCA data is transmitted to the surface via a signal conditioning and transmitter board similar to that used with the GMT. The EMWD system is described and the results of the GRS field tests and field demonstration are presented.

The Environmental Measurement-While-Drilling-Gamma Ray Spectrometer (EMWD-GRS) system represents an innovative blend of new and existing technology that provides real-time environmental and drill bit data during drilling operations. The EMWD-GRS technology was demonstrated at Savannah River Site (SRS) F-Area Retention Basin. The EMWD-GRS technology demonstration consisted of continuously monitoring for gamma-radiation-producing contamination while drilling two horizontal boreholes below the backfilled waste retention basin. These boreholes passed near previously sampled locations where concentrations of contaminant levels of cesium had been measured. Contaminant levels continuously recorded by the EMWD-GRS system during drilling were compared to contaminant levels previously determined through quantitative laboratory analysis of soil samples. The demonstration of the EMWD-GRS was a complete success. The results show general agreement between the soil sampling and EMWD-GRS techniques for CS-137. It was recognized that the EMWD-GRS tool would better satisfy our customers' needs if the instrument location could be continuously monitored. During the demonstration at SRS, an electromagnetic beacon with a walkover monitor (Subsite{reg_sign}) was used to measure bit location at depth. To use a beacon locator drilling must be stopped, thus it is normally only used when a new section of pipe was added. The location of contamination could only be estimated based on the position of the EMED-GRS package and the distance between locator beacon readings. A continuous location system that would allow us to know the location of each spectrum as it is obtained is needed.

The iterative advanced mean value algorithm (AMV+), introduced nearly ten years ago, is now widely used as a cost-effective probabilistic structural analysis tool when the use of sampling methods is cost prohibitive (Wu et al., 1990). The need to establish confidence bounds on calculated probabilities arises because of the presence of uncertainties in measured means and variances of input random variables. In this paper an algorithm is proposed that makes use of the AMV+ procedure and analytically derived probability sensitivities to determine confidence bounds on calculated probabilities.

Several ultrasonic inspection methods were developed at the Federal Aviation Administration's Airworthiness Assurance NDI Validation Center (AANC) to easily and rapidly detect hidden stress corrosion cracks in all vertical windshield posts on the US Coast Guard (USCG) HU-25 Guardian aircraft. The inspection procedure locates cracks as small as 2.0 millimeters emanating from internal fastener holes and determines their length. A test procedure was developed and a baseline assessment of the USCG fleet was conducted. Inspection results on twenty-five aircraft revealed a good correlation with results made during subsequent structural disassembly and visual inspection.

As III-V nitride device structures become more complicated and design rules shrink, well-controlled etch processes are necessary. Due to limited wet chemical etch results for the group-III nitrides, a significant amount of effort has been devoted to the development of dry etch processing. Dry etch development was initially focused on mesa structures where high etch rates, anisotropic profiles, smooth sidewalls, and equi-rate etching of dissimilar materials were required. For example, commercially available LEDs and laser facets for GaN-based laser diodes have been patterned using reactive ion etching (RIE). With the recent interest in high power, high temperature electronic devices, etch characteristics may also require smooth surface morphology, low plasma-induced damage, and selective etching of one layer over another. The principal criteria for any plasma etch process is its utility in the fabrication of a device. In this study, we will report plasma etch results for the group-III nitrides and their application to device structures.

The experimentally determined creep responses of a number of domal salts have been reported in, the literature. Some of these creep results were obtained using standard (conventional) creep tests. However, more typically, the creep data have come from multistage creep tests, where the number of specimens available for testing was small. An incremental test uses abrupt changes in stress and temperature to produce several time increments (stages) of different creep conditions. Clearly, the ability to analyze these limited data and to correlate them with each other could be of considerable potential value in establishing the mechanical characteristics of salt domes, both generally and specifically. In any analysis, it is necessary to have a framework of rules to provide consistency. The basis for the framework is the Multimechanism-Deformation (M-D) constitutive model. This model utilizes considerable general knowledge of material creep deformation to supplement specific knowledge of the material response of salt. Because the creep of salt is controlled by just a few micromechanical mechanisms, regardless of the origin of the salt, certain of the material parameters are values that can be considered universal to salt. Actual data analysis utilizes the methodology developed for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) program, and the response of a bedded pure WIPP salt as the baseline for comparison of the domal salts. Creep data from Weeks Island, Bryan Mound, West Hackberry, Bayou Choctaw, and Big Hill salt domes, which are all sites of Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) storage caverns, were analyzed, as were data from the Avery Island, Moss Bluff, and Jennings salt domes. The analysis permits the parameter value sets for the domal salts to be determined in terms of the M-D model with various degrees of completeness. In turn this permits detailed numerical calculations simulating cavern response. Where the set is incomplete because of the sparse database, reasonable assumptions permit the set to be completed. From the analysis, two distinct response groups were evident, with the salts of one group measurably more creep resistant than the other group. Interestingly, these groups correspond well with the indirectly determined creep closure of the SPR storage caverns, a correlation that probably should be expected. Certainly, the results suggest a simple laboratory determination of the creep characteristics of a salt material from a dome site can indicate the relative behavior of any potential cavern placed within that dome.

Three-dimensional imaging techniques, numerical methods for simulating flow and transport, and emergent computational architectures are combined to enable fundamental studies of fluid flow at the pore scale. High resolution reconstructions of porous media obtained using laser scanning confocal microscopy reduce sampling artifacts to sub-micron features, and simultaneously capture multiple grain length scales. However, the volumetric image data sets are extremely large, and there are significant computational challenges in utilizing this information effectively. The principal problem lies in the complexity of the geometry and the retention of this structure in numerical analyses. Lattice Boltzmann (LB) methods provide a direct means to simulate transport processes in complex geometric domains due to the unique ability to treat accurately and efficiently the multitude of discrete boundary conditions. LB methods are numerically explicit as formulated, and this characteristic is exploited through a mapping of the numerical domain to distributed computing architectures. These techniques are applied to perform single phase flow simulations in 3D data sets obtained from cores of Berea sandstone using confocal microscopy. Simulations are performed using both a purpose-built distributed processor computer and a massively parallel processer (MPP) platform.

The authors designed and conducted experiments in a heterogeneous sand pack where gravity-destabilized nonwetting phase invasion (CO{sub 2} and TCE) could be recorded using high resolution light transmission methods. The heterogeneity structure was designed to be reminiscent of fluvial channel lag cut-and-fill architecture and contain a series of capillary barriers. As invasion progressed, nonwetting phase structure developed a series of fingers and pools; behind the growing front they found nonwetting phase saturation to pulsate in certain regions when viscous forces were low. Through a scale analysis, they derive a series of length scales that describe finger diameter, pool height and width, and regions where pulsation occurs within a heterogeneous porous medium. In all cases, they find that the intrinsic pore scale nature of the invasion process and resulting structure must be incorporated into the analysis to explain experimental results. The authors propose a simple macro-scale structural growth model that assembles length scales for sub-structures to delineate nonwetting phase migration from a source into a heterogeneous domain. For such a model applied at the field scale for DNAPL migration, they expect capillary and gravity forces within the complex subsurface lithology to play the primary roles with viscous forces forming a perturbation on the inviscid phase structure.

Laser-induced damage mechanisms that can occur during high-intensity fiber transmission have been under study for a number of years. Our particular interest in laser initiation of explosives has led us to examine damage processes associated with the transmission of Q-switched, Nd:YAG pulses at 1.06 {micro}m through step-index, multimode, fused silica fiber. Laser breakdown at the fiber entrance face is often the first process to limit fiber transmission but catastrophic damage can also occur at either fiber end face, within the initial entry segment of the fiber, and at other internal sites along the fiber path. Past studies have examined how these various damage mechanisms depend upon fiber end-face preparation, fiber fixturing and routing, laser characteristics, and laser-to-fiber injection optics. In some applications of interest, however, a fiber transmission system may spend years in storage before it is used. Consequently, an important additional issue for these applications is whether or not there are aging processes that can result in lower damage thresholds over time. Fiber end-face contamination would certainly lower breakdown and damage thresholds at these surfaces, but careful design of hermetic seals in connectors and other end-face fixtures can minimize this possibility. A more subtle possibility would be a process for the slow growth of internal defects that could lead to lower thresholds for internal damage. In the current study, two approaches to stimulating the growth of internal defects were used in an attempt to produce observable changes in internal damage thresholds. In the first approach test fibers were subjected to a very high tensile stress for a time sufficient for some fraction to fail from static fatigue. In the second approach, test fibers were subjected to a combination of high tensile stress and large, cyclic temperature variations. Both of these approaches were rather arbitrary due to the lack of an established growth mechanism for internal defects. Damage characteristics obtained from fibers subjected to each of these aging environments were compared to results from fresh fibers tested under identical conditions. A surprising result was that internal damage was not observed in any of the tested fibers. Only breakdown at the fiber entrance face and catastrophic damage at both end faces were observed. Fiber end faces were not sealed during the accelerated aging environments, and thresholds at these faces were significantly lower in the aged fibers. However, most fibers transmitted relatively high pulse energies before damaging, and a large fraction never damaged before we reached the limits of our test laser. The absence of any observable affect on internal damage thresholds is encouraging, but the current results do not rule out the possibility that some other approach to accelerated aging could reveal a growth mechanism for internal defects.

The time-dependence of the wet oxidation of high-Al-content AlGaAs can be either linear, indicating reaction-rate limitation, or parabolic, indicating diffusion-limited rates. The transition from linear to parabolic time dependence can be explained by the increased rate of the formation of intermediate As{sub 2}O{sub 3} vs. its reduction to elemental As. A steadily increasing thickness of the As{sub 2}O{sub 3}-containing region at the oxidation front will shift the process from the linear to the parabolic regime. This shift from reaction-rate-limited (linear) to diffusion-limited (parabolic) time dependence is favored by increasing temperature or increasing Al mole fraction.

The work functions of polycrystalline metals are often used to systematize Schottky barrier height data for rectifying contacts to semiconductors. Rectifying contacts to silicon devices are predominantly formed using conductive metal silicides with work functions which are not as well characterized as metal work functions. The present work has two objectives. First, it classifies the transition metals using correlations between the metal work function and the atomic chemical potential. Second, the available data for metal silicides is collected and interpreted using an average charge transfer (ACT) model. The ACT model accounts for the electronic hardness of the component elements in addition to their chemical potentials. New trends in the behavior of silicide work functions are identified.

We discuss the role of localized high electric fields in the modification of Au surfaces with a W probe using the Interfacial Force Microscope. Upon bringing a probe close to a Au surface, we measure both the interfacial force and the field emission current as a function of separation with a constant potential of 100 V between tip and sample. The current initially increases exponentially as the separation decreases. However, at a distance of less than {approximately} 500{angstrom} the current rises sharply as the surface begins to distort and rapidly close the gap. Retraction of the tip before contact is made reveals the formation of a mound on the surface. We propose a simple model, in which the localized high electric field under the tip assists the production of mobile Au adatoms by detachment from surface steps, and a radial field gradient causes a net flux of atoms toward the tip by surface diffusion. These processes give rise to an unstable surface deformation which, if left unchecked, results in a destructive mechanical contact. We discuss our findings with respect to earlier work using voltage pulses in the STM as a means of nanofabrication.

The self-diffusion of Ca and the tracer diffusion of Mg in calcite have been experimentally measured using isotopic tracers of {sup 25}Mg and {sup 44}Ca. Natural single crystals of calcite were coated with a thermally-sputtered oxide thin film and then annealed in a CO{sub 2} gas at one atmosphere total pressure and temperatures from 550 to 800 C. Diffusion coefficient values were derived from the depth profiles obtained by ion microprobe analysis. The resultant activation energies for Mg tracer diffusion and Ca self-diffusion are respectively: E{sub a}(Mg) = 284 {+-} 74 kJ/mol and E{sub a}(Ca) = 271 {+-} 80 kJ/mol. For the temperature ranges in these experiments, the diffusion of Mg is faster than Ca. The results are generally consistent in magnitude with divalent cation diffusion rates obtained in previous studies and provide a means of interpreting the thermal histories of carbonate minerals, the mechanism of dolomitization, and other diffusion-controlled processes. The results indicate that cation diffusion in calcite is relatively slow and cations are the rate-limiting diffusing species for the deformation of calcite and carbonate rocks. Application of the calcite-dolomite geothermometer to metamorphic assemblages will be constrained by cation diffusion and cooling rates. The direct measurement of Mg tracer diffusion in calcite indicates that dolomitization is unlikely to be accomplished by Mg diffusion in the solid state but by a recrystallization process.

Calorimetric studies by Chai and Navrotsky (1996) on dolomite-ankerite energetic have been extended by including two additional types of samples: a very disordered stoichiometric MgCa(CO{sub 3}){sub 2} prepared from low temperature aqueous solution and three largely ordered natural samples of intermediate iron content. Combining these data with previous work, three distinct trends of energetic can be seen: those for samples with nearly complete order, nearly complete disorder, and intermediate order. From these trends, the enthalpy of complete disordering is estimated to be 33 {+-} 6 kJ/mol for MgCa(CO{sub 3}){sub 2} and 18 {+-} 5 kJ/mol for FeCa(CO{sub 3}){sub 2}.

Evolutionary pattern search algorithms (EPSAs) are a class of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) that have convergence guarantees on a broad class of nonconvex continuous problems. In previous work we have analyzed the empirical performance of EPSAs. This paper revisits that analysis and extends it to a more general model of mutation. We experimentally evaluate how the choice of the set of mutation offsets affects optimization performance for EPSAs. Additionally, we compare EPSAs to self-adaptive EAs with respect to robustness and rate of optimization. All experiments employ a suite of test functions representing a range of modality and number of multiple minima.

Evolutionary programs (EPs) and evolutionary pattern search algorithms (EPSAS) are two general classes of evolutionary methods for optimizing on continuous domains. The relative performance of these methods has been evaluated on standard global optimization test functions, and these results suggest that EPSAs more robustly converge to near-optimal solutions than EPs. In this paper we evaluate the relative performance of EPSAs and EPs on a real-world application: flexible ligand binding in the Autodock docking software. We compare the performance of these methods on a suite of docking test problems. Our results confirm that EPSAs and EPs have comparable performance, and they suggest that EPSAs may be more robust on larger, more complex problems.

As part of a pollution prevention program, a study was conducted at Sandia National Laboratories and at the Amarillo, ''Pantex Plant'' to identify a suitable replacement solvent(s) for cleaning hardware during routine maintenance operations. Current cleaning is performed using solvents (e.g. acetone, toluene, MEK, alcohols) that are classified as Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCW) materials. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has assigned four characteristics as the criteria for determining whether a material is identified as hazardous under RCRA: Ignitability, Corrosivity, Reactivity and Toxicity. Within the DOE and DoD sector, these solvents are used with hand wipes to clean surfaces prior to O-ring replacement, to remove decals for new labeling, to clean painted surfaces prior to reconditioning, and for other general maintenance purposes. In some cases, low level radioactive contamination during cleaning necessitates that the RCIL4 solvent-containing wipes be classified as mixed waste. To avoid using RCRA materials, cleaning candidates were sought that had a flashpoint greater than 140 F, a pH between 2.5 and 12.5, and did not fail the reactivity and toxicity criteria. Three brominated cleaners, two hydrofluoroether azeotropes and two aliphatic hydrocarbon cleaner formulations were studied as potential replacements. Cleaning efficacy, materials compatibility, corrosion and accelerated aging studies were conducted and used to screen potential candidates. Hypersolve NPB (an n-propyl bromide based formulation) consistently ranked high in removing typical contaminants for weapons applications.

Deep and shallow electron traps form in irradiated thermal SiO{sub 2} as a natural response to hole transport and trapping. The density and stability of these defects are discussed, as are their implications for total-dose modeling.

Techniques for modeling oil well sand production have been developed using the formulations for superquadric discrete elements and Darcy fluid flow. Discrete element models are generated using the new technique of particle cloning. Discrete element sources and sinks allow simulation of sand production from the initial state through the transition to an equilibrium state where particles are created and removed at the same rate.

This paper provides a summary introduction to the emerging area of Architectural Surety{trademark} applications for buildings and infrastructures that are subjected to dynamic loads from blast and naturally occurring events. This technology area has been under investigation to assist with the definition of risks associated with dynamic loads and to provide guidance for determining the required upgrading and retrofitting techniques suggested for reducing building and infrastructure vulnerabilities to such dynamic forces. This unique approach involves the application of risk management techniques for solving problems of the as-built environment through the application of security, safety, and reliability principles developed in the nuclear weapons programs of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and through the protective structures programs of the German Ministry of Defense (MOD). The changing responsibilities of engineering design professionals are addressed in light of the increased public awareness of structural and facility systems' vulnerabilities to malevolent, normal, and abnormal environment conditions. Brief discussions are also presented on (1) the need to understand how dynamic pressures are affected by the structural failures they cause, (2) the need to determine cladding effects on columns, walls, and slabs, and (3) the need to establish effective standoff distance for perimeter barriers. A summary description is presented of selected technologies to upgrade and retrofit buildings by using high-strength concrete and energy-absorbing materials and by specifying appropriately designed window glazing and special masonry wall configurations and composites. The technologies, material performance, and design evaluation procedures presented include super-computational modeling and structural simulations, window glass fragmentation modeling, risk assessment procedures, instrumentation and health monitoring systems, three-dimensional CAD virtual reality visualization techniques, and material testing data.

{sup 6}Li and {sup 7}Li solid state magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been used to investigate the local coordination environment of lithium in a series of xLi{sub 2}O {center_dot} (1-x)P{sub 2}O{sub 5} glasses, where 0.05 {le} x {le} 0.55. Both the {sup 6}Li and {sup 7}Li show chemical shift variations with changes in the Li{sub 2}O concentration, but the observed {sup 6}Li NMR chemical shifts closely approximate the true isotropic chemical shift and can provide a measure of the lithium bonding environment. The {sup 6}Li NMR results indicate that in this series of lithium phosphate glasses the Li atoms have an average coordination between four and five. The results for the metaphosphate glass agree with the coordination number and range of chemical shifts observed for crystalline LiPO{sub 3}. An increase in the {sup 6}Li NMR chemical shift with increasing Li{sub 2}O content was observed for the entire concentration range investigated, correlating with increased cross-linking of the phosphate tetrahedral network by O-Li-O bridges. The {sup 6}Li chemical shifts were also observed to vary monotonically through the anomalous glass transition temperature (T{sub g}) minimum. This continuous chemical shift variation shows that abrupt changes in the Li coordination environment do not occur as the Li{sub 2}O concentration is increased, and such abrupt changes can not be used to explain the T{sub g} minimum.

Evolutionary algorithms have been successfully applied to a variety of molecular structure prediction problems. In this paper we reconsider the design of genetic algorithms that have been applied to a simple protein structure prediction problem. Our analysis considers the impact of several algorithmic factors for this problem: the confirmational representation, the energy formulation and the way in which infeasible conformations are penalized, Further we empirically evaluated the impact of these factors on a small set of polymer sequences. Our analysis leads to specific recommendations for both GAs as well as other heuristic methods for solving PSP on the HP model.

Abstract not provided.

A partially-depleted SOI transistor structure has been designed that does not require the use of specially-processed hardened buried oxides for total-dose hardness and maintains the intrinsic SEU and dose rate hardness advantages of SOI technology.

We conducted depth of penetration experiments with 7.11-mm-diameter, 74.7-mm-long, spherical-nose, 4340 steel projectiles launched into 250-mm-diameter, 6061-T6511 aluminum targets. To show the effect of projectile strength, we used projectiles that had average Rockwell harnesses of R{sub c} = 36.6, 39.5, and 46.2. A powder gun and two-stage, light-gas guns launched the 0.023 kg projectiles at striking velocities between 0.5 and 3.0 km/s. Post-test radiographs of the targets showed three response regions as striking velocities increased: (1) the projectiles remained visibly undeformed, (2) the projectiles permanently deformed without erosion, and (3) the projectiles eroded and lost mass. To show the effect of projectile strength, we compared depth-of-penetration data as a function of striking velocity for spherical-nose rods with three Rockwell harnesses at striking velocities ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 km/s. To show the effect of nose shape, we compared penetration data for the spherical-nose projectiles with previously published data for ogive-nose projectiles.