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Problems encountered in fluctuating flame temperature measurements by thermocouple

Proposed for publication in Sensors.

Gill, Walter; Donaldson, Burl

Some thermocouple experiments were carried out in order to obtain sensitivity of thermocouple readings to fluctuations in flames and to determine if the average thermocouple reading was representative of the local volume temperature for fluctuating flames. The thermocouples considered were an exposed junction thermocouple and a fully sheathed thermocouple with comparable time constants. Either the voltage signal or indicated temperature for each test was recorded at sampling rates between 300-4,096 Hz. The trace was then plotted with respect to time or sample number so that time variation in voltage or temperature could be visualized and the average indicated temperature could be determined. For experiments where high sampling rates were used, the signal was analyzed using Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT) to determine the frequencies present in the thermocouple signal. This provided a basic observable as to whether or not the probe was able to follow flame oscillations. To enhance oscillations, for some experiments, the flame was forced. An analysis based on thermocouple time constant, coupled with the transfer function for a sinusoidal input was tested against the experimental results.

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Molecular models and simulations of layered materials

Proposed for publication in the Journal of Materials Chemistry.

Greathouse, Jeffery A.; Cygan, Randall T.

The micro- to nano-sized nature of layered materials, particularly characteristic of naturally occurring clay minerals, limits our ability to fully interrogate their atomic dispositions and crystal structures. The low symmetry, multicomponent compositions, defects, and disorder phenomena of clays and related phases necessitate the use of molecular models and modern simulation methods. Computational chemistry tools based on classical force fields and quantum-chemical methods of electronic structure calculations provide a practical approach to evaluate structure and dynamics of the materials on an atomic scale. Combined with classical energy minimization, molecular dynamics, and Monte Carlo techniques, quantum methods provide accurate models of layered materials such as clay minerals, layered double hydroxides, and clay-polymer nanocomposites.

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Safety analysis of high pressure 3He-filled micro-channels for thermal neutron detection

Renzi, Ronald F.; Ferko, Scott M.; Galambos, Paul C.; Derzon, Mark S.

This document is a safety analysis of a novel neutron detection technology developed by Sandia National Laboratories. This technology is comprised of devices with tiny channels containing high pressure {sup 3}He. These devices are further integrated into large scale neutron sensors. Modeling and preliminary device testing indicates that the time required to detect the presence of special nuclear materials may be reduced under optimal conditions by several orders of magnitude using this approach. Also, these devices make efficient use of our {sup 3}He supply by making individual devices more efficient and/or extending the our limited {sup 3}He supply. The safety of these high pressure devices has been a primary concern. We address these safety concerns for a flat panel configuration intended for thermal neutron detection. Ballistic impact tests using 3 g projectiles were performed on devices made from FR4, Silicon, and Parmax materials. In addition to impact testing, operational limits were determined by pressurizing the devices either to failure or until they unacceptably leaked. We found that (1) sympathetic or parasitic failure does not occur in pressurized FR4 devices (2) the Si devices exhibited benign brittle failure (sympathetic failure under pressure was not tested) and (3) the Parmax devices failed unacceptably. FR4 devices were filled to pressures up to 4000 + 100 psig, and the impacts were captured using a high speed camera. The brittle Si devices shattered, but were completely contained when wrapped in thin tape, while the ductile FR4 devices deformed only. Even at 4000 psi the energy density of the compressed gas appears to be insignificant compared to the impact caused by the incoming projectile. In conclusion, the current FR4 device design pressurized up to 4000 psi does not show evidence of sympathetic failure, and these devices are intrinsically safe.

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Radioluminescence and scintillation results of horizontal gradient freeze grown aliovalently-doped CeBr3

Proposed for publication in IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

Doty, F.P.

Strengthening the crystal lattice of lanthanide halides, which are brittle, anisotropic, ionic crystals, may prove to increase the availability and ruggedness of these scintillators for room-temperature gamma-ray spectroscopy applications. Eight aliovalent dopants for CeBr{sub 3} were explored in an effort to find the optimal aliovalent strengthening agent. Eight dopants, CaBr{sub 2}, SrBr{sub 2}, BaBr{sub 2}, ZrBr{sub 4}, HfBr{sub 4}, ZnBr{sub 2}, CdBr[sub 2}, and PbBr{sub 2}, were explored at two levels of doping, 500 and 1000 ppm. From each ingot, samples were harvested for radioluminescence spectrum measurement and scintillation testing. Of the eight dopants explored, only BaBr{sub 2} and PbBr{sub 2} were found to clearly decrease total light yield. ZnBr{sub 2} and CdBr{sub 2} dopants both affected the radioluminescence emission spectrum very little as compared to undoped CeBr{sub 3}. HfBr{sub 2}- and ZnBr{sub 4}-doped CeBr{sub 3} exhibited the highest light yields.

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Treatment of acoustic fluid-structure interaction by Localized Lagrange Multipliers and comparison to alternative interface coupling methods

Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering

This paper is a sequel on the topic of localized Lagrange multipliers (LLM) for applications of fluid-structure interaction (FSI) between finite-element models of an acoustic fluid and an elastic structure. The prequel paper formulated the spatial-discretization methods, the LLM interface treatment, the time-marching partitioned analysis procedures, and the application to 1D benchmark problems. Here, we expand on formulation aspects required for successful application to more realistic 2D and 3D problems. Additional topics include duality relations at the fluid-structure interface, partitioned vibration analysis, reduced-order modeling, handling of curved interface surfaces, and comparison of LLM with other coupling methods. Emphasis is given to non-matching fluid-structure meshes. We present benchmark examples that illustrate the benefits and drawbacks of competing interface treatments. Realistic application problems involving the seismic response of two existing dams are considered. These include 2D modal analyses of the Koyna gravity dam, transient-response analyses of that dam with and without reduced-order modeling, incorporation of nonlinear cavitation effects, and the 3D transient-response analysis of the Morrow Point arch dam.

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Predicting the lifetime of fluorosilicone O-rings

Proposed for publication in Polymer Degradation and Stability.

Long-term (up to 1000 days) accelerated oven-aging studies on a commercial fluorosilicone o-ring seal are used to predict the sealing lifetime at room temperature (23 C). The study follows force decay (relaxation) on squeezed o-ring material using isothermal compression stress relaxation (CSR) techniques. The relaxation is normally a complex mix of reversible physical effects and non-reversible chemical effects but we utilize an over-strain approach to quickly achieve physical equilibrium. This allows us to concentrate the measurements on the chemical relaxation effects of primary interest to lifetime assessment. The long-term studies allow us to access a fairly broad temperature range (80-138 C) which results in improved modeling of the temperature dependence of the accelerated data. Non-Arrhenius behavior is observed with evidence of a significant lowering of the activation energy at the lowest accelerated aging temperature (80 C). This observation is consistent with numerous recent accelerated aging studies that probed temperature ranges large enough to observe similar non-Arrhenius behavior. The extrapolated predictions imply that significant loss of sealing force requires on the order of 50-100 years at 23 C. Field aging results out to 25 years at 23 C are shown to be in reasonable accord with the significant change in Arrhenius slope observed from the accelerated aging study.

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Shaping the output pulse of a linear-transformer-driver module

Proposed for publication in Physical Review Special Topics: Accelerators and Beams.

Stygar, William A.; Stoltzfus, Brian; Woodworth, Joseph R.; Fowler, William E.; LeChien, Keith R.; Long, Finis W.; Mazarakis, Michael G.; Mckee, G.R.; Mckenney, John; Savage, Mark E.

We demonstrate that a wide variety of current-pulse shapes can be generated using a linear-transformer-driver (LTD) module that drives an internal water-insulated transmission line. The shapes are produced by varying the timing and initial charge voltage of each of the module's cavities. The LTD-driven accelerator architecture outlined in [Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 10, 030401 (2007)] provides additional pulse-shaping flexibility by allowing the modules that drive the accelerator to be triggered at different times. The module output pulses would be combined and symmetrized by water-insulated radial-transmission-line impedance transformers [Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 11, 030401 (2008)].

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Report of tritide study at the Responsive Neutron Generator Product Deployment Center

Coffey, Jaime

This report documents a study of sample counting results for wipes from routine surface area monitoring conducted at the Responsive Neutron Generator Product Deployment Center (RNGPDC) at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The study was initiated in November 2006, with two samples suspected of containing erbium tritide, after some samples were found to exhibit higher tritium counting rates upon recount at a later time. The main goal of the study was to determine whether the current practice of analyzing tritium wipe samples once, within a few days of sample collection, is adequate to accurately quantify the amount of tritium on the sample when tritides may be present. Recommendations are made toward routine recounting of vials suspected of containing particulate forms of tritium.

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Computational and Experimental Study of Nanoporous Membranes for Water Desalination and Decontamination

Debusschere, Bert; Zendejas, Frank Z.; Adalsteinsson, Helgi; Tran, Huu; Najm, Habib N.; Chinn, Douglas A.; Kent, Michael S.; Simmons, Blake

Fundamentals of ion transport in nanopores were studied through a joint experimental and computational effort. The study evaluated both nanoporous polymer membranes and track-etched nanoporous polycarbonate membranes. The track-etched membranes provide a geometrically well characterized platform, while the polymer membranes are more closely related to ion exchange systems currently deployed in RO and ED applications. The experimental effort explored transport properties of the different membrane materials. Poly(aniline) membranes showed that flux could be controlled by templating with molecules of defined size. Track-etched polycarbonate membranes were modified using oxygen plasma treatments, UV-ozone exposure, and UV-ozone with thermal grafting, providing an avenue to functionalized membranes, increased wettability, and improved surface characteristic lifetimes. The modeling effort resulted in a novel multiphysics multiscale simulation model for field-driven transport in nanopores. This model was applied to a parametric study of the effects of pore charge and field strength on ion transport and charge exclusion in a nanopore representative of a track-etched polycarbonate membrane. The goal of this research was to uncover the factors that control the flux of ions through a nanoporous material and to develop tools and capabilities for further studies. Continuation studies will build toward more specific applications, such as polymers with attached sulfonate groups, and complex modeling methods and geometries.

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Fundamental Materials Issues for Thermochemical H2O and CO2 Splitting: Final Report (FY08)

Coker, Eric N.; Rodriguez, Mark A.; Ambrosini, Andrea A.; Stumpf, Roland R.; Stechel, Ellen B.

Hydrogen and carbon monoxide may be produced using solar-thermal energy in two-stage reactions of water and carbon dioxide, respectively, over certain metal oxide materials. The most active materials observed experimentally for these processes are complex mixtures of ferrite and zirconia based solids, and it is not clear how far the ferrites, the zirconia, or a solid solution between the two participate in the change of oxidation state during the cycling. Identification of the key phases in the redox material that enable splitting is of paramount importance to developing a working model of the materials. A three-pronged approach was adopted here: computer modeling to determine thermodynamically favorable materials compositions, bench reactor testing to evaluate materials’ performance, and in-situ characterization of reactive materials to follow phase changes and identify the phases active for splitting. For the characterization and performance evaluation thrusts, cobalt ferrites were prepared by co-precipitation followed by annealing at 1400 °C. An in-situ X-ray diffraction capability was developed and tested, allowing phase monitoring in real time during thermochemical redox cycling. Key observations made for an un-supported cobalt ferrite include: 1) ferrite phases partially reduce to wustite upon heating to 1400 °C in helium; 2) exposing the material to air at 1100 °C causes immediate re-oxidation; 3) the re-oxidized material may be thermally reduced at 1400 °C under inert; 4) exposure of a reduced material to CO2 results in gradual re-oxidation at 1100 °C, but minimization of background O2-levels is essential; 5) even after several redox cycles, the lattice parameters of the ferrites remain constant, indicating that irreversible phase separation does not occur, at least over the first five cycles; 6) substituting chemical (hydrogen) reduction for thermal reduction resulted in formation of a CoFe metallic alloy. Materials were also evaluated for their CO2-splitting performance in bench reactor systems utilizing chemical reduction in place of thermal reduction. These tests lead to the following general conclusions: 1) despite over-reduction of the cobalt ferrite phase to CoFe alloy on chemical reduction, splitting of CO2 still occurs; 2) the kinetics of chemical reduction follow the sequence: un-supported < ZrO2-supported < yttria-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ)-supported ferrite; 3) ferrite/YSZ re-oxidizes faster than ferrite/ZrO2 under CO2 in the range 400 – 700 °C. The temperature and pressure regimes in which the thermal reduction and water-splitting steps are thermodynamically favorable in terms of the enthalpy and entropy of oxide reduction, were determined. These metrics represent a useful design goal for any proposed water-splitting cycle. Applying this theoretical framework to available thermodynamic data, it was shown that none of the 105 binary oxide redox couples that were screened possess both energetically favorable reduction and oxidation steps. However, several driving forces, including low pressure and a large positive solid-state entropy of reduction of the oxide, have the potential to enable thermodynamically-favored two-step cycles.

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FCLib: The Feature Characterization Library

Gentile, Ann C.; Kegelmeyer, William P.; Ulmer, Craig

The Feature Characterization Library (FCLib) is a software library that simplifies the process of interrogating, analyzing, and understanding complex data sets generated by finite element applications. This document provides an overview of the library, a description of both the design philosophy and implementation of the library, and examples of how the library can be utilized to extract understanding from raw datasets.

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A conformal decomposition finite element method for modeling stationary fluid interface problems

Proposed for publication in the International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids.

Noble, David R.; Newren, Elijah; Lechman, Jeremy B.

A method is developed for modeling fluid transport in domains that do not conform to the finite element mesh. One or more level set functions are used to describe the fluid domain. A background, non-conformal mesh is decomposed into elements that conform to the level set interfaces. Enrichment takes place by adding nodes that lie on the interfaces. Unlike other enriched finite element methods, the proposed technique requires no changes to the underlying element assembly, element interpolation, or element quadrature. The complexity is entirely contained within the element decomposition routines. It is argued that the accuracy of the method is no less than that for eXtended Finite Element Methods (XFEM) with Heaviside enrichment. The accuracy is demonstrated using multiple numerical tests. In all cases, optimal rates of convergence are obtained for both volume and surface quantities. Jacobi preconditioning is shown to remove the ill-conditioning that may result from the nearly degenerate conformal elements.

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Toxicological studies of semiconductor quantum dots on immune cells

Bachand, George D.; Greene, Adrienne C.; Poschet, Jens F.

Nanoengineered materials hold a vast promise of enabling revolutionary technologies, but also pose an emerging and potentially serious threat to human and environmental health. While there is increasing knowledge concerning the risks posed by engineered nanomaterials, significant inconsistencies exist within the current data based on the high degree of variability in the materials (e.g., synthesis method, coatings, etc) and biological test systems (e.g., cell lines, whole organism, etc). In this project, we evaluated the uptake and response of two immune cell lines (RAW macrophage and RBL mast cells) to nanocrystal quantum dots (Qdots) with different sizes and surface chemistries, and at different concentrations. The basic experimental design followed a 2 x 2 x 3 factorial model: two Qdot sizes (Qdot 520 and 620), two surface chemistries (amine 'NH{sub 2}' and carboxylic acid 'COOH'), and three concentrations (0, 1 nM, and 1 {micro}M). Based on this design, the following Qdots from Evident Technologies were used for all experiments: Qdot 520-COOH, Qdot 520-NH{sub 2}, Qdot 620-COOH, and Qdot 620-NH{sub 2}. Fluorescence and confocal imaging demonstrated that Qdot 620-COOH and Qdot 620-NH{sub 2} nanoparticles had a greater level of internalization and cell membrane association in RAW and RBL cells, respectively. From these data, a two-way interaction between Qdot size and concentration was observed in relation to the level of cellular uptake in RAW cells, and association with RBL cell membranes. Toxicity of both RBL and RAW cells was also significantly dependent on the interaction of Qdot size and concentration; the 1 {micro}M concentrations of the larger, Qdot 620 nanoparticles induced a greater toxic effect on both cell lines. The RBL data also demonstrate that Qdot exposure can induce significant toxicity independent of cellular uptake. A significant increase in TNF-{alpha} and decrease in IL-10 release was observed in RAW cells, and suggested that Qdot exposure induced a pro-inflammatory response. In contrast, significant decreases in both TNF-{alpha} and IL-4 releases were observed in RBL cells, which is indicative of a suppressed inflammatory response. The changes in cytokine release observed in RAW and RBL cells were primarily dependent on Qdot concentration and independent of size and surface chemistry. Changes in the activity of superoxide dismutase were observed in RAW, but not RBL cells, suggesting that RAW cells were experiencing oxidative stress induced by Qdot exposure. Overall, our results demonstrate that the uptake/association and biomolecular response of macrophage and mast cells is primarily driven by an interaction between Qdot size and concentration. Based on these findings, a more detailed understanding of how size directly impacts cellular interactions and response will be critical to developing predictive models of Qdot toxicity.

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Re-thinking linearized coupled-cluster theory

Proposed for publication in the Journal of Chemical Physics.

Taube, Andrew G.

Hermitian linearized coupled-cluster methods have several advantages over more conventional coupled-cluster methods including facile analytical gradients for searching a potential energy surface. A persistent failure of linearized methods, however, is the presence of singularities on the potential energy surface. A simple Tikhonov regularization procedure is introduced that can eliminate this singularity. Application of the regularized linearized coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) method to both equilibrium structures and transition states shows that it is competitive with or better than conventional CCSD, and is more amenable to parallelization.

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Direct measurement of the percolation probability in carbon nanofiber-polyimide nanocomposites

Proposed for publication in the Physical Review Letters.

Trionfi, Aaron T.; Hsu, Julia W.

We present the first experimental measurement of the geometric critical exponent {beta} associated with the percolation probability, the probability a metallic filler belongs to the conducting network, of an electrical composite. The technique employs conducting-tip atomic force microscopy to obtain a conducting areal density, and is demonstrated on polyimide nanocomposites containing different concentrations of carbon nanofibers. We find {beta} {approx} 1 and t (the exponent for bulk conductivity) {approx} 3. These values are consistent with the predictions for the Bethe lattice and larger than the values predicted in the 3D lattice percolation model. Hence, this electrical composite likely belongs to the same universality class as the Bethe lattice. The ability to measure geometric and transport critical exponents on the same material is critical to drawing this conclusion.

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Assessment of radiography for diagnosing short wavelength instability growth and mix in NIF ignition capsules

Peterson, K.J.; Vesey, Roger A.; Herrmann, Mark H.

Understanding and controlling hydrodynamic instabilities is critical to achieving ignition at National Ignition Facility (NIF). High resolution x-ray radiography of a NIF capsule may be able to measure key aspects of short wavelength instability growth including time dependent areal density variations, the dominant wavelength of growth, amount of growth from isolated capsule defects on the ablator and ice surfaces, and growth of perturbations as a result of the fill tube or dust contaminants. Radiography of the capsule limb may also place constraints on the width of the ice/ablator mix layer. Measurement of these various observables are important to determine what effect target design changes has on instability growth and to validate code predictions. We present an analysis of 2D and 3D HYDRA simulations and demonstrate how radiography can be used to diagnose signatures of mix in NIC capsules.

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Optimizing multiscale networks for transient transport in nanoporous materials

Technical Proceedings of the 2008 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, NSTI-Nanotech, Nanotechnology 2008

Nilson, Robert H.; Griffiths, Stewart K.

Hierarchical nanoporous materials afford the opportunity to combine the high surface area and functionality of nanopores with the superior charge/discharge characteristics of wider transport channels. In the present paper we optimize the apertures and spacing of a family of transport channels providing access to a surrounding nanoporous matrix during recharge/discharge cycles of materials intended for storage of gas or electric charge. A diffusive transport model is used to describe alternative processes of viscous gas flow, Knudsen gas flow, and ion diffusion. The coupled transport equations for the nanoporous matrix and transport channels are linearized and solved analytically for a periodic variation in external gas pressure or ion density using a separation-of-variables approach in the complex domain. Channel apertures and spacing are optimized to achieve maximum inflow/outflow from the functional matrix material for a fixed system volume.

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Scalar filtered mass density functions in nonpremixed turbulent jet flames

Combustion and Flame

Drozda, Tomasz D.; Wang, Guanghua H.; Sankaran, Vaidyanathan S.; Mayo, Jackson R.; Oefelein, Joseph C.; Barlow, R.S.

Filtered mass density functions (FMDFs) of mixture fraction and temperature are studied by analyzing experimental data obtained from one-dimensional Raman/Rayleigh/LIF measurements of nonpremixed CH4/H2/N2 turbulent jet flames at Reynolds numbers of 15,200 and 22,800 (DLR-A and -B). The experimentally determined FMDFs are conditioned on the Favré filtered values of the mixture fraction and its variance. Filter widths are selected as fixed multiples of the experimentally determined dissipation length scale at each measurement location. One-dimensional filtering using a top-hat filter is performed to obtain the filtered variables used for conditioning. The FMDFs are obtained by binning the mass and filter kernel weighted samples. Emphasis is placed on the shapes of the FMDFs in the fuel-rich, fuel-lean, and stoichiometric intervals for the Favré filtered mixture fraction, and low, medium, and high values for the Favré filtered mixture fraction variance. It is found that the FMDFs of mixture fraction are unimodal in samples with low mixture fraction variance and bimodal in samples with high variance. However, the FMDFs of mixture fraction at the smallest filter size studied are unimodal for all values of the variance. The FMDFs of temperature are unimodal in samples with low mixture fraction variance, and either unimodal or bimodal, depending on the mixture fraction mean, in samples with high variance. The influence of the filter size and the jet Reynolds number on the FMDFs is also considered. © 2008 The Combustion Institute.

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High energy arcing fault fires in switchgear equipment : a literature review

Nowlen, Steven P.; Wyant, Francis J.

In power generating plants, switchgear provide a means to isolate and de-energize specific electrical components and buses in order to clear downstream faults, perform routine maintenance, and replace necessary electrical equipment. These protective devices may be categorized by the insulating medium, such as air or oil, and are typically specified by voltage classes, i.e. low, medium, and high voltage. Given their high energy content, catastrophic failure of switchgear by means of a high energy arcing fault (HEAF) may occur. An incident such as this may lead to an explosion and fire within the switchgear, directly impact adjacent components, and possibly render dependent electrical equipment inoperable. Historically, HEAF events have been poorly documented and discussed in little detail. Recent incidents involving switchgear components at nuclear power plants, however, were scrupulously investigated. The phenomena itself is only understood on a very elementary level from preliminary experiments and theories; though many have argued that these early experiments were inaccurate due to primitive instrumentation or poorly justified methodologies and thus require re-evaluation. Within the past two decades, however, there has been a resurgence of research that analyzes previous work and modern technology. Developing a greater understanding of the HEAF phenomena, in particular the affects on switchgear equipment and other associated switching components, would allow power generating industries to minimize and possibly prevent future occurrences, thereby reducing costs associated with repair and downtime. This report presents the findings of a literature review focused on arc fault studies for electrical switching equipment. The specific objective of this review was to assess the availability of the types of information needed to support development of improved treatment methods in fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) for nuclear power plant applications.

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AWS breaks new ground with soldering specification

Welding Journal (Miami, Fla)

Vianco, Paul T.

The American Welding Society (AWS) standards and specifications plays an important role in qualification of solders and soldering procedures. AWS first approved document in 2008 addresses specifically soldering technology. That document is titled AWS B2.3/B2.3M:2008, Specification for Soldering Procedure and Performance Qualification. This specification provides the requirements for qualification of soldering procedure specifications, solderers, and soldering operators for manual, mechanized, and automatic soldering. AWS B2.3 also lists inorganic acid fluxes according to the applicable base material. The document consists two sections titled, 'Soldering Procedure Qualification' and 'Soldering Performance Qualification.' The first section establishes the specimen geometry, fabrication procedures, and solder joint test and evaluation data. The second title addresses the ability of a solderer, a person who performs the manual soldering process, or the soldering operator.

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CHARICE version 1.1 update

Davis, Jean-Paul

CHARICE (CHARacteristics-based inverse analysis of Isentropic Compression Experiments) is a computer application, previously documented in SAND2007-4948, that analyzes velocity waveform data from ramp-wave experiments to determine a material's quasi-isentropic loading response in stress and density using an iterative characteristics-based approach. This short report documents only the changes in CHARICE release version 1.1 relative to release version 1.0, and is not intended to stand alone. CHARICE version 1.1 corrects an error in the algorithm of the method, fixes several bugs, improves robustness and performance, provides more useful error descriptions, and adds a number of minor features.

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Distributed micro-releases of bioterror pathogens : threat characterizations and epidemiology from uncertain patient observables

Adams, Brian M.; Devine, Karen; Najm, Habib N.; Marzouk, Youssef M.

Terrorist attacks using an aerosolized pathogen preparation have gained credibility as a national security concern since the anthrax attacks of 2001. The ability to characterize the parameters of such attacks, i.e., to estimate the number of people infected, the time of infection, the average dose received, and the rate of disease spread in contemporary American society (for contagious diseases), is important when planning a medical response. For non-contagious diseases, we address the characterization problem by formulating a Bayesian inverse problem predicated on a short time-series of diagnosed patients exhibiting symptoms. To keep the approach relevant for response planning, we limit ourselves to 3.5 days of data. In computational tests performed for anthrax, we usually find these observation windows sufficient, especially if the outbreak model employed in the inverse problem is accurate. For contagious diseases, we formulated a Bayesian inversion technique to infer both pathogenic transmissibility and the social network from outbreak observations, ensuring that the two determinants of spreading are identified separately. We tested this technique on data collected from a 1967 smallpox epidemic in Abakaliki, Nigeria. We inferred, probabilistically, different transmissibilities in the structured Abakaliki population, the social network, and the chain of transmission. Finally, we developed an individual-based epidemic model to realistically simulate the spread of a rare (or eradicated) disease in a modern society. This model incorporates the mixing patterns observed in an (American) urban setting and accepts, as model input, pathogenic transmissibilities estimated from historical outbreaks that may have occurred in socio-economic environments with little resemblance to contemporary society. Techniques were also developed to simulate disease spread on static and sampled network reductions of the dynamic social networks originally in the individual-based model, yielding faster, though approximate, network-based epidemic models. These reduced-order models are useful in scenario analysis for medical response planning, as well as in computationally intensive inverse problems.

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Microfabricated wire arrays for Z-pinch

Cich, Michael J.; Klem, John F.; Spahn, Olga B.; Peake, Gregory M.; Rowen, Adam M.; Nash, Thomas J.

Microfabrication methods have been applied to the fabrication of wire arrays suitable for use in Z. Self-curling GaAs/AlGaAs supports were fabricated as an initial route to make small wire arrays (4mm diameter). A strain relief structure that could be integrated with the wire was designed to allow displacements of the anode/cathode connections in Z. Electroplated gold wire arrays with integrated anode/cathode bus connections were found to be sufficiently robust to allow direct handling. Platinum and copper plating processes were also investigated. A process to fabricate wire arrays on any substrate with wire thickness up to 35 microns was developed. Methods to handle and mount these arrays were developed. Fabrication of wire arrays of 20mm diameter was demonstrated, and the path to 40mm array fabrication is clear. With some final investment to show array mounting into Z hardware, the entire process to produce a microfabricated wire array will have been demonstrated.

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Shear horizontal surface acoustic wave microsensor for Class A viral and bacterial detection

Branch, Darren W.; Edwards, Thayne L.; Huber, Dale L.; Brozik, Susan M.

The rapid autonomous detection of pathogenic microorganisms and bioagents by field deployable platforms is critical to human health and safety. To achieve a high level of sensitivity for fluidic detection applications, we have developed a 330 MHz Love wave acoustic biosensor on 36{sup o} YX Lithium Tantalate (LTO). Each die has four delay-line detection channels, permitting simultaneous measurement of multiple analytes or for parallel detection of single analyte containing samples. Crucial to our biosensor was the development of a transducer that excites the shear horizontal (SH) mode, through optimization of the transducer, minimizing propagation losses and reducing undesirable modes. Detection was achieved by comparing the reference phase of an input signal to the phase shift from the biosensor using an integrated electronic multi-readout system connected to a laptop computer or PDA. The Love wave acoustic arrays were centered at 330 MHz, shifting to 325-328 MHz after application of the silicon dioxide waveguides. The insertion loss was -6 dB with an out-of-band rejection of 35 dB. The amplitude and phase ripple were 2.5 dB p-p and 2-3{sup o} p-p, respectively. Time-domain gating confirmed propagation of the SH mode while showing suppression of the triple transit. Antigen capture and mass detection experiments demonstrate a sensitivity of 7.19 {+-} 0.74{sup o} mm{sup 2}/ng with a detection limit of 6.7 {+-} 0.40 pg/mm{sup 2} for each channel.

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Post-processing V&V Level II ASC Milestone (2843) results

Moreland, Kenneth D.; Wilke, Jason; Attaway, Stephen W.; Karelitz, David B.

The 9/30/2008 ASC Level 2 Post-Processing V&V Milestone (Milestone 2843) contains functionality required by the user community for certain verification and validation tasks. These capabilities include fragment detection from CTH simulation data, fragment characterization and analysis, and fragment sorting and display operations. The capabilities were tested extensively both on sample and actual simulations. In addition, a number of stretch criteria were met including a comparison between simulated and test data, and the ability to output each fragment as an individual geometric file.

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Peer review of the National Transportation Safety Board structural analysis of the I-35W bridge collapse

Gwinn, Kenneth W.; Wellman, Gerald W.; Redmond, James M.

The Engineering Sciences Center at Sandia National Laboratories provided an independent peer review of the structural analysis supporting the National Transportation Safety Board investigation of the August 1, 2007 collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis. The purpose of the review was to provide an impartial critique of the analysis approach, assumptions, solution techniques, and conclusions. Subsequent to reviewing numerous supporting documents, a SNL team of staff and management visited NTSB to participate in analysis briefings, discussions with investigators, and examination of critical elements of the bridge wreckage. This report summarizes the opinion of the review team that the NTSB analysis effort was appropriate and provides compelling supporting evidence for the NTSB probable cause conclusion.

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Data validation and security for reprocessing

Cipiti, Benjamin B.; Duran, Felicia A.; Merkle, Peter B.; Tolk, Keith M.

Next generation nuclear fuel cycle facilities will face strict requirements on security and safeguards of nuclear material. These requirements can result in expensive facilities. The purpose of this project was to investigate how to incorporate safeguards and security into one plant monitoring system early in the design process to take better advantage of all plant process data, to improve confidence in the operation of the plant, and to optimize costs. An existing reprocessing plant materials accountancy model was examined for use in evaluating integration of safeguards (both domestic and international) and security. International safeguards require independent, secure, and authenticated measurements for materials accountability--it may be best to design stand-alone systems in addition to domestic safeguards instrumentation to minimize impact on operations. In some cases, joint-use equipment may be appropriate. Existing domestic materials accountancy instrumentation can be used in conjunction with other monitoring equipment for plant security as well as through the use of material assurance indicators, a new metric for material control that is under development. Future efforts will take the results of this work to demonstrate integration on the reprocessing plant model.

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Herringbone and triangular patterns of dislocations in Ag, Au, and AgAu alloy films on Ru(0001)

Proposed for publication in Surface Science.

Bartelt, Norman C.; Thurmer, Konrad; Thayer, Gayle E.

We have studied the dislocation structures that occur in films of Ag, Au, and Ag{sub 0.5}Au{sub 0.5} alloy on a Ru(0001) substrate. Monolayer (ML) films form herringbone phases while films two or more layers thick contain triangular patterns of dislocations. We use scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) to determine how the film composition affects the structure and periodicity of these ordered structures. One layer of Ag forms two different herringbone phases depending on the exact Ag coverage and temperature. Low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) establishes that a reversible, first-order phase transition occurs between these two phases at a certain temperature. We critically compare our 1 ML Ag structures to conflicting results from an X-ray scattering study [H. Zajonz et al., Phys. Rev. B 67 (2003) 155417]. Unlike Ag, the herringbone phases of Au and AgAu alloy are independent of the exact film coverage. For two layer films in all three systems, none of the dislocations in the triangular networks thread into the second film layer. In all three systems, the in-plane atomic spacing of the second film layer is nearly the same as in the bulk. Film composition does, however, affect the details of the two layer structures. Ag and Au films form interconnected networks of dislocations, which we refer to as 'trigons.' In 2 ML AgAu alloy, the dislocations form a different triangular network that shares features of both trigon and moire structures. Yet another well-ordered structure, with square symmetry, forms at the boundaries of translational trigon domains in 2 ML Ag films but not in Au films.

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Results 76401–76600 of 99,299
Results 76401–76600 of 99,299