Publications

We describe the implementation and performance of Archimedes 2, an integrated mechanical assembly planning system. Archimedes 2 includes two planners, two assembly sequence animation facilities, and an associated robotic workcell. Both planners use full 3 dimensional data. A rudimentary translator from high level assembly plans to control code for the robotic workcell has also been implemented. We can translate data from a commercial CAD system into input data for the system, which has allowed us to plan assembly sequences for many industrial assemblies. Archimedes 2 has been used to plan sequences for assemblies consisting of 5 to 109 parts. We have also successfully taken a CAD model of an assembly, produced an optimized assembly sequence for it, and translated the plan into robot code, which successfully assembles the device specified in the model.

This work provides a method of mechanical alignment of an array of single mode fibers to an array of optical devices. The technique uses a micromachined metal spring, which captures a vertical, pre- positioned fiber, moves it into accurate alignment, and holds it for attachment. The spring is fabricated from electroplated mickel, using photodefined polyimide as a plating mask. The nickel is plated about 80 {mu}m thick, so that a large fiber depth is captured. In one application, the nickel springs can be aligned to optics on the back side of the substrate. This entire concept is referred to as CLASP (Capture and Locking Alignment Spring Positioner). These springs can be used for general alignment and capture of any fiber to any optical input or output device. Passive alignment of fiber arrays to {plus}/{minus} 2{mu}m accuracy has been demonstrated, with a clear path to improved accuracy.

In conjunction with the affected States as part of their interactions required by the Federal Facilities Compliance Act, the Department of Energy has been developing a process for a disposal configuration for its mixed low-level waste (MLLW). This effort, spanning more than two years, has reduced the potential disposal sites from 49 to 15. The remaining 15 sites have been subjected to a performance evaluation to determine their strengths and weaknesses for disposal of MLLW. The process has included institutional and policy factors as well as strictly technical analyses, and technical analyses must be supported by technical analyses, and technical analyses must be performed within a framework which includes some institutional considerations, with the institutional considerations selected for inclusion largely a matter of policy. While the disposal configuration process is yet to be completed, the experience to date offers a viable approach for solving some of these issues. Additionally, several factors remain to be addressed before an MLLW disposal configuration can be developed.

The integration of optical components with polysilicon surface micromechanical actuation mechanisms show significant promise for signal switching, fiber alignment, and optical sensing applications. Monolithically integrating the manufacturing process for waveguide structures with the processing of polysilicon actuators allows actuated waveguides to take advantage of the economy of silicon manufacturing. The optical and stress properties of the oxides and nitrides considered for the waveguide design along with design, fabrication, and testing details for the polysilicon actuators are presented.

The Environmental Restoration Project at Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico is tasked with assessment and remediation of the Mixed Waste Landfill in Technical Area 3. The Mixed Waste Landfill is an inactive radioactive and mixed waste disposal site. The landfill contains disposal pits and trenches of questionable location and dimension. Non-intrusive geophysical techniques were utilized to provide an effective means of determining the location and dimension of suspected waste disposal trenches before Resource Conservation and Recovery Act intrusive assessment activities were initiated. Geophysical instruments selected for this investigation included a Geonics EM-31 ground conductivity meter, the new Geonics EM-61 high precision, time-domain metal detector, and a Geometrics 856 total field magnetometer. The results of these non-intrusive geophysical techniques were evaluated to enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of future waste-site investigations at Environmental Restoration Project sites.

This report provides a summary of the field operations associated with the installation of the MRN-1 and MRN-2 test/monitoring wells. These wells were installed in December 1994 and January 1995 as part of the Site-Wide Hydrogeologic Characterization (SWHC) task field program. The SWHC task is part of the Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico, Environmental Restoration Project carried out by the Environmental Operations Center, 7500. MRN-1 and MRN-2 are paired wells located near the western edge of Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB), west of Technical Area 3 (TA3), and north of Magazine Road. (Note: MRN stands for Magazine Road North). During the MRN field operations, important subsurface geologic, hydrologic, chemical, and radiological data were obtained. Subsurface geologic data include descriptions of drill cuttings, core, and geophysical logs of the upper unit of the Santa Fe Group. The geology identified here can help determine the eastern limit of the ancestral Rio Grande lithofacies. Subsurface hydrologic data include borehole geophysical logs, and qualitative information obtained during well completion and development. In addition, future aquifer testing at the MRN site will generate data for the interpretation of aquifer parameters such as transmissivity. Samples were taken from core every 100 feet at MRN-1 for chemical and radiological analysis to provide background data for the Environmental Restoration Project.

This report summarizes field operations and hydrogeologic data obtained during installation of the Powerline monitoring/test wells near the western boundary of Kirtland Air Force Base. These wells were installed in 1994 as part of the Site-Wide Hydrogeologic Characterization Project saturated zone investigation. The Site-Wide Hydrogeologic Characterization Project is part of Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico, Environmental Restoration Project. Three wells were drilled and completed at this location, and named PL-1, PL-2, and PL-3. They are located northwest of Tech Area 3, and are named after a high-voltage powerline located just south of the wells. The objectives of the Powerline wells were to determine the depth to water, complete 2 water table wells and a deeper Santa Fe Group well, to determine the geologic provenance of Santa Fe Group sediments at this location, and to obtain background core samples for radiological analysis. During these field operations, important subsurface hydrogeologic data were obtained. These data include drill cuttings and lithologic descriptions, core samples with background analytical data, geophysical logs, water quality parameters, and water levels. Aquifer tests at the Powerline location will generate data that may yield information on anisotropy in the Santa Fe Group and constrain numerical modeling results that indicate that there is a major northward component of groundwater flow from McCormick Ranch and Tech Area 3 test sites toward City of Albuquerque and KAFB well fields.

Sandia`s STP program is a thallium-based high-temperature superconductor (HTS) research and development program consisting of efforts in powder synthesis and process development, open-system thick film conductor development, wire and tape fabrication, and HTS motor design. The objective of this work is to develop high-temperature superconducting conductors (wire and tape) capable of meeting requirements for high-power electrical devices of interest to industry. The research efforts currently underway are: (1) process development and characterization of thallium-based high-temperature superconducting closed system wire and tape; (2) investigation of the synthesis and processing of thallium-based thick films using two-zone processing; and (3) cryogenic design of a 30K superconducting motor. This report outlines the research that has been performed during FY95 in each of these areas.

In this paper, the authors report values of ion energy distributions and ion angular distributions measured at the grounded electrode of an inductively-coupled discharge in pure chlorine gas. The inductive drive in the GEC reference cell produced high plasma densities (10{sup 11}/cm{sup 3} electron densities) and stable plasma potentials. As a result, ion energy distributions typically consisted of a single peak well separated from zero energy. Mean ion energy varied inversely with pressure, decreasing from 13 to 9 eV as the discharge pressure increased from 20 to 60 millitorr. Half-widths of the ion angular distributions in these experiments varied from 6 to 7.5 degrees, corresponding to transverse energies from 0.13 to 0.21 eV. Ion energies gradually dropped with time, probably due to the buildup of contaminants on the chamber walls. Cell temperature also was an important variable, with ion fluxes to the lower electrode increasing and the ion angular distribution narrowing as the cell temperature increased. Plasmas discharges are widely used to etch semiconductors, oxides and metals in the fabrication of integrated circuits.

A user-defined boundary condition subroutine has been implemented within P3/THERMAL to represent the heat flux between a noncombusting object and an engulfing fire. The heat flux calculations includes a simple 2D fire model in which energy and radiative heat transport equations are solved to produce estimates of the heat fluxes at the fire-object interface. These estimates reflect radiative coupling between a cold object and the flow of hot combustion gases which has been observed in fire experiments. The model uses a database of experimental pool fire measurements for far field boundary conditions and volumetric heat release rates. Taking into account the coupling between a structure and the fire is an improvement over the {sigma}T{sup 4} approximation frequently used as a boundary condition for engineered system response and is the preliminary step in the development of a fire model with a predictive capability. This paper describes the implementation of the fire model as a P3/THERMAL boundary condition and presents the results of a verification calculation carried out using the model.

The development of a constitutive model for representing inelastic flow due to coupled creep, damage, and healing in rock salt is present in this paper. This model, referred to as Multimechanism Deformation Coupled Fracture model, has been formulated by considering individual mechanisms that include dislocation creep, shear damage, tensile damage, and damage healing. Applications of the model to representing the inelastic flow and fracture behavior of WIPP salt subjected to creep, quasi-static loading, and damage healing conditions are illustrated with comparisons of model calculations against experimental creep curves, stress-strain curves, strain recovery curves, time-to-rupture data, and fracture mechanism maps.

A formal description of the structure of several recent performance assessments (PAs) for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is given in terms of the following three components: a probability space (S{sub st}, S{sub st}, p{sub st}) for stochastic uncertainty, a probability space (S{sub su}, S{sub su}, p{sub su}) for subjective uncertainty and a function (i.e., a random variable) defined on the product space associated with (S{sub st}, S{sub st}, p{sub st}) and (S{sub su}, S{sub su}, p{sub su}). The explicit recognition of the existence of these three components allows a careful description of the use of probability, conditional probability and complementary cumulative distribution functions within the WIPP PA. This usage is illustrated in the context of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency`s standard for the geologic disposal of radioactive waste (40 CFR 191, Subpart B). The paradigm described in this presentation can also be used to impose a logically consistent structure on PAs for other complex systems.

A solution of a spacecraft optimal control problem, whose cost function relies on an attitude description, usually depends on the choice of attitude coordinates used. A problem could be solved using 3-2-1 Euler angles or using classical Rodriguez parameters and yield two different ``optimal`` solutions, unless the performance index in invariant with respect to the attitude coordinate choice. Another problem arising with many attitude coordinates is that they have no sense of when a body has tumbled beyond 180{degrees} from the reference attitude. In many such cases it would be easier (i.e. cost less) to let the body complete the revolution than to force it to reverse the rotation and return to the desired attitude. This paper develops a universal attitude penalty function g() whose value is independent of the attitude coordinates chosen to represent it. Furthermore, this function will achieve its maximum value only when a principal rotation of {plus_minus}180{degrees} from the target state is performed. This will implicitly permit the g() function to sense the shortest rotational distance back to the reference state. An attitude penalty function which depends on the Modified Rodriguez Parameters (MRP) will also be presented. These recently discovered MRPs are a non-singular three-parameter set which can describe any three-attitude. This MRP penalty function is simpler than the attitude coordinate independent g() function, but retains the useful property of avoiding lengthy principal rotations of more than {plus_minus}180{degrees}.

The ability to make cost effective, timely decisions associated with waste management and environmental remediation problems has been the subject of considerable debate in recent years. On one hand, environmental decision makers do not have unlimited resources that they can apply to come to resolution on outstanding and uncertain technical issues. On the other hand, because of the possible impending consequences associated with these types of systems, avoiding making a decision is usually not an alternative either. Therefore, a structured, quantitative process is necessary that will facilitate technically defensible decision making in light of both uncertainty and resource constraints. An environmental decision support framework has been developed to provide a logical structure that defines a cost-effective, traceable, and defensible path to closure on decision regarding compliance and resource allocation. The methodology has been applied effectively to waste disposal problems and is being adapted and implemented in subsurface environmental remediation problems.

This paper describes the design of a moving mass trim control system for maneuvering axisymmetric reentry vehicles. The moving mass trim controller is composed of three equal masses that are independently positioned in order to deliver a desired center of mass position. For a slowly spinning reentry vehicle, the mass offset creates a trim angle-of-attack to generate modest flight path corrections. The control system must maintain the desired position of each mass in the face of large disturbances. A novel algorithm for determining the desired mass positions is developed in conjunction with a preliminary controller design. The controller design is based on classical frequency domain techniques where a bound on the disturbance magnitude is used to formulate the disturbance rejection problem. Simulation results for the controller are presented for a typical reentry vehicle.

TRN-1 was drilled near the SE corner of Kirtland Air Force Base to a depth of 510 feet. This well is in the Site-Wide Hydrogeologic Characterization task field program, which is part of Sandia`s Environmental Restoration Project. After drilling, the borehole was logged, plugged to a depth of 352 ft, and completed as a monitoring well. Sand pack interval is from 305 to 352 ft and the screen interval is from 320 to 340 ft. During field operations, important subsurface geologic and hydrologic data were obtained (drill cuttings, geophysical logs of alluvial cover). Identification of the Abo formation in the subsurface will be useful. The subsurface hydrologic data will help define the local hydrostratigraphic framework within the bedrock. Future aquifer testing will be conducted for transmissivity, etc.

Efficient separation of metal species from aqueous streams by precipitation techniques requires a fundamental understanding of the processes that occur during precipitation. These processes include particle nucleation, particle growth by solute deposition, agglomerate formation, and agglomerate breakup. Population balance method has been used to develop a kinetic model that accounts for these competing kinetic processes. The usefulness of the model is illustrated through its application to precipitation of yttrium hydroxynitrate, YHN. Kinetic parameters calculated from the model equations and system-specific solution chemistry are used to describe several aspects of the effect of pH on YHN precipitation. Implications for simultaneous precipitation of more than one cation type are discussed with examples. Effects of solution chemistry, precipitator design, and solvent choice are considered.

This paper presents preliminary work in the development of an avatar driver. An avatar is the graphical embodiment of a user in a virtual world. In applications such as small team, close quarters training and mission planning and rehearsal, it is important that the user`s avatar reproduce his or her motions naturally and with high fidelity. This paper presents a set of special purpose algorithms for driving the motion of the avatar with minimal information about the posture and position of the user. These algorithms utilize information about natural human motion and posture to produce solutions quickly and accurately without the need for complex general-purpose kinematics algorithms. Several examples illustrating the successful applications of these techniques are included.

There has been much recent algorithmic work on the problem of reconstructing the evolutionary history of biological species. Computer virus specialists are interested in finding the evolutionary history of computer viruses--a virus is often written using code fragments from one or more other viruses, which are its immediate ancestors. A phylogeny for a collection of computer viruses is a directed acyclic graph whose nodes are the viruses and whose edges map ancestors to descendants and satisfy the property that each code fragment is ``invented`` only once. To provide a simple explanation for the data, we consider the problem of constructing such a phylogeny with a minimal number of edges. In general, this optimization problem cannot be solved in quasi-polynomial time unless NQP=QP; we present positive and negative results for associated approximated problems. When tree solutions exist, they can be constructed and randomly sampled in polynomial time.

Capacitance-voltage and thermally stimulated current methods are used to investigate radiation induced charge trapping in bipolar base oxides. Results are compared with models of oxide and interface trap charge buildup at low electric fields.

The physical mechanisms for gain degradation in laterals PNP bipolar transistors are examined experimentally and through simulation. The effect of increased surface recombination velocity at the base surface is moderated by positive oxide charge.

Nanostructured materials can be synthesized by utilizing the domain growth that accompanies first-order phase separation. Structural control can be achieved by appropriately selecting the quench depth and the quench time, but in order to do this in a mindful fashion one must understand the kinetics of domain growth. The authors have completed detailed light scattering studies of the evolution of structure in both temperature- and field-quenched phase transitions in two and three dimensional systems. They have studied these systems in the quiescent state and in shear and have developed theoretical models that account for the experimental results.

Low dose rate gain degradation of lateral pnp bipolar transistors can be simulated by accelerated irradiations performed at approximately 135 degrees C. Degradation enhancement is explained by temperature- dependent radiation-induced interface trap formation above the transistor`s base.

A vorticity formulation is described that satisfies the velocity boundary conditions for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Velocity boundary conditions are satisfied by determining the appropriate vortex sheets that must be created on the boundary. Typically, the vortex sheet strengths are determined by solving a set of linear equations that is over-specified. The over-specification arises because an integral constraint on the vortex sheets is imposed. Vortex sheets determined this way do not accurately satisfy both components of the velocity boundary conditions because over-specified systems do not have unique solutions. An integral collocation technique is applied to a generalized Helmholtz decomposition. This formulation implicitly satisfies an integral constraint that is more general that constraints typically used. Improvements in satisfying velocity boundary conditions are shown.

To monitor compliance with a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), a sensing network, referred to as the International Monitoring System (IMS), is being deployed. Success of the IMS depends on both its ability to preform its function and the international community`s confidence in the system. To ensure these goals, steps must be taken to secure the system against attacks that would undermine it; however, it is not clear that consensus exists with respect to the security requirements that should be levied on the IMS design. In addition, CTBT has not clearly articulated what threats it wishes to address. This paper proposes four system-level threats that should drive IMS design considerations, identifies potential threat agents, and collects into one place the security requirements that have been suggested by various elements of the IMS community. For each such requirement, issues associated with the requirement are identified and rationale for the requirement is discussed.