The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is developing the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico as a facility for the long-term disposal of defense-related transuranic (TRU) wastes. Use of the WIPP for waste disposal is contingent on demonstrations of compliance with applicable regulations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This paper addresses issues related to modeling gas and brine migration at the WIPP for compliance with both EPA 40 CFR 191 (the Standard) and 40 CFR 268.6 (the RCRA). At the request of the WIPP Project Integration Office (WPIO) of the DOE, the WIPP Performance Assessment (PA) Department of Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has completed preliminary uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of gas and brine migration away from the undisturbed repository. This paper contains descriptions of the numerical model and simulations, including model geometries and parameter values, and a summary of major conclusions from sensitivity analyses. Because significant transport of contaminants can only occur in a fluid (gas or brine) medium, two-phase flow modeling can provide an estimate of the distance to which contaminants can migrate. Migration of gas or brine beyond the RCRA 'disposal-unit boundary' or the Standard's accessible environment constitutes a potential, but not certain, violation and may require additional evaluations of contaminant concentrations.
This paper presents an infinite impulse response (IIR) filtering technique for reducing structural vibration in remotely operated robotic systems. The technique uses a discrete filter between the operator's joy stick and the robot controller to alter the inputs of the system so that residual vibration and swing are reduced. A linearized plant model of the system is analyzed in the discrete time domain, and the filter is designed using pole-zero placement in the z-plane. This technique has been successfully applied to a two link flexible arm and a gantry crane with a suspended payload.
Before disposing of transuranic radioactive waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the United States Department of Energy (DOE) must evaluate compliance with long-term regulations of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is conducting iterative performance assessments (PAs) of the WIPP for the DOE to provide interim guidance while preparing for final compliance evaluations. This paper describes the 1992 preliminary comparison with Subpart B of the Environmental Standards for the Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level and Transuranic Radioactive Wastes (40 CFR 191), which regulates long-term releases of radioactive waste. Results of the 1992 PA are preliminary, and cannot be used to determine compliance or noncompliance with EPA regulations because portions of the modeling system and data base are incomplete. Results are consistent, however, with those of previous iterations of PA, and the SNL WIPP PA Department has high confidence that compliance with 40 CFR 191B can be demonstrated. Comparison of predicted radiation doses from the disposal system also gives high confidence that the disposal system is safe for long-term isolation.
Before disposing of transuranic radioactive waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the United States Department of Energy (DOE) must evaluate compliance with long-term regulations of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), specifically the Environmental Standards for the Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level and Transuranic Radioactive Wastes (40 CFR 191), and the Land Disposal Restrictions (40 CFR 268) of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is conducting iterative performance assessments (PAs) of the WIPP for the DOE to provide interim guidance while preparing for final compliance evaluations. This paper provides background information on the regulations, describes the SNL WIPP PA Department's approach to developing a defensible technical basis for consistent compliance evaluations, and summarizes the major observations and conclusions drawn from the 1991 and 1992 PAs.
Vadose-zone moisture transport near an impermeable barrier has been under study at a field site near Albuquerque, NM since 1990. Moisture content and temperature have been monitored in the subsurface on a regular basis; both undergo a seasonal variation about average values. Even though the slab introduces two-dimensional effects on the scale of the slab, moisture and heat transport is predominantly vertical. Numerical simulations, based on the models developed by Philip and de Vries (1957) and de Vries (1958), indicate that the heat flow is conduction-dominated while the moisture movement is dominated by diffusive vapor distillation. Model predictions of the magnitude and extent of changes in moisture content underneath the slab are in reasonable agreement with observation.
A Sandia National Laboratories/AT&T Bell Laboratories Team is developing a soft x-ray projection lithography tool that uses a compact laser plasma as a source of 14 nm x-rays. Optimization of the 14 nm x-rays source brightness is a key issue in this research. This paper describes our understanding of the source as it has been obtained through the use of computer simulations utilizing the LASNEX radiation-hydrodynamics code.
The Vapnik-Chervonenkis (V-C) dimension is an important combinatorial tool in the analysis of learning problems in the PAC framework. For polynomial learnability, we seek upper bounds on the V-C dimension that are polynomial in the syntactic complexity of concepts. Such upper bounds are automatic for discrete concept classes, but hitherto little has been known about what general conditions guarantee polynomial bounds on V-C dimension for classes in which concepts and examples are represented by tuples of real numbers. In this paper, we show that for two general kinds of concept class the V-C dimension is polynomially bounded as a function of the syntactic complexity of concepts. One is classes where the criterion for membership of an instance in a concept can be expressed as a formula (in the first-order theory of the reals) with fixed quantification depth and exponentially-bounded length, whose atomic predicates are polynomial inequalities of exponentially-bounded degree. The other is classes where containment of an instance in a concept is testable in polynomial time, assuming we may compute standard arithmetic operations on reals exactly in constant time. Our results show that in the continuous case, as in the discrete, the real barrier to efficient learning in the Occam sense is complexity-theoretic and not information-theoretic. We present examples to show how these results apply to concept classes defined by geometrical figures and neural nets, and derive polynomial bounds on the V-C dimension for these classes.
During hydrocarbon reservoir stimulations, such as hydraulic fracturing, the cracking and slippage of the formation results in the emission of seismic energy. The objective of this study was to determine the properties of these induced micro-seisms. A hydraulic fracture experiment was performed in the Piceance Basin of Western Colorado to induce and record micro-seismic events. The formation was subjected to four processes; breakdown/ballout, step-rate test, KCL mini-fracture, and linear-gel mini-fracture. Micro-seisms were acquired with an advanced three-component wall-locked seismic accelerometer package, placed in an observation well 211 ft offset from the fracture well. During the two hours of formation treatment, more than 1200 micro-seisms with signal-to-noise ratios in excess of 20 dB were observed. The observed micro- seisms had a nominally flat frequency spectrum from 100 Hz to 1500 Hz and lack the spurious tool-resonance effects evident in previous attempts to measure micro-seisms. Both p-wave and s-wave arrivals are clearly evident in the data set, and hodogram analysis yielded coherent estimates of the event locations. This paper describes the characteristics of the observed micro- seismic events (event occurrence, signal-to-noise ratios, and bandwidth) and illustrates that the new acquisition approach results in enhanced detectability and event location resolution.
Proceedings - 6th Annual IEEE International ASIC Conference and Exhibit, ASIC 1993
Shen, Hui-Chien; Becker, S.M.
Many designs use EPLDs (Erasable Programmable Logic Devices) to implement control logic and state machines. If the design is slow, timing through the EPLD is not crucial so designers often treat the device as a black box. In high speed designs, timing through the EPLD is critical. In these cases a thorough understanding of the device architecture is necessary. Lessons learned in the implementation of a high-speed design using the Altera EPM5130 are discussed.
A new Assembly Test Chip, ATC04, designed to measure mechanical stresses at the die surface has been built and tested. This CMOS chip 0.25 in. on a side, has an array of 25 piezoresistive stress sensing cells, four resistive heaters and two ring oscillators. The ATCO4 chip facilitates making stress measurements with relatively simple test equipment and data analysis. The design, use, and accuracy of the chip are discussed and initial results are presented from three types of stress measurement experiments: four-point bending calibration, single point bending of a substrate with an ATC04 attached by epoxy, and stress produced by a liquid epoxy encapsulant.
The feasibility of utilizing a groundbased laser without an orbital mirror for space debris removal is examined. Technical issues include atmospheric transmission losses, adaptive-optics corrections of wavefront distortions, laser field-of-view limitations, and laser-induced impulse generation. The physical constraints require a laser with megawatt output, long run-time capability, and wavelength with good atmospheric transmission characteristics. It is found that a 5-MW reactor-pumped laser can deorbit debris having masses of the order of one kilogram from orbital altitudes to be used by Space Station Freedom. Debris under one kilogram can be deorbited after one pass over the laser site, while larger debris can be deorbited or transferred to alternate orbits after multiple passes over the site.
Proceedings - 1993 IEEE/Tsukuba International Workshop on Advanced Robotics: Can Robots Contribute to Preventing Environmental Deterioration?, ICAR 1993
Hwang, Yong K.
Automatic motion planning of a spray cleaning robot with collision avoidance is presented in this paper. In manufacturing environments, electronic and mechanical components are traditionally cleaned by spraying or dipping them using chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) solvents. As new scientific data show that such solvents are major causes for stratospheric ozone depletion, an alternate cleaning method is needed. Part cleaning with aqueous solvents is environmentally safe, but can require precision spraying at high pressures for extended time periods. Operator fatigue during manual spraying can decrease the quality of the cleaning process. By spraying with a robotic manipulator, the necessary spray accuracy and consistency to manufacture high-reliability components can be obtained. Our motion planner was developed to automatically generate motions for spraying robots based on the part geometry and cleaning process parameters. For spraying paint and other coatings a geometric description of the parts and robot may be sufficient for motion planning, since coatings are usually done over the visible surfaces. For spray cleaning, the requirement to reach hidden surfaces necessitates the addition of a rule-based method to the geometric motion planning.
The geochemical properties of a porous sand and several tracers (Ni, Br, and Li) have been characterized for use in a caisson experiment designed to validate sorption models used in models of reactive transport. The surfaces of the sand grains have been examined by a combination of techniques including potentiometric titration, acid leaching, optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The surface studies indicate the presence of small amounts of carbonate, kaolinite and iron-oxyhydroxides. Adsorption of nickel, lithium and bromide by the sand was measured using batch techniques. Bromide was not sorbed by the sand. A linear (Kd) or an isotherm sorption model may adequately describe transport of Li; however, a model describing the changes of pH and the concentrations of other solution species as a function of time and position within the caisson and the concomitant effects on Ni sorption may be required for accurate predictions of nickel transport.
For problems where media properties are measured at one scale and applied at another, scaling laws or models must be used in order to define effective properties at the scale of interest. The accuracy of such models will play a critical role in predicting flow and transport through the Yucca Mountain Test Site given the sensitivity of these calculations to the input property fields. Therefore, a research program has been established to gain a fundamental understanding of how properties scale with the aim of developing and testing models that describe scaling behavior in a quantitative manner. Scaling of constitutive rock properties is investigated through physical experimentation involving the collection of suites of gas permeability data measured over a range of discrete scales. Also, various physical characteristics of property heterogeneity and the means by which the heterogeneity is measured and described and systematically investigated to evaluate their influence on scaling behavior. This paper summarizes the approach that is being taken toward this goal and presents the results of a scoping study that was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed research.
Experimental results exploring gravity-driven wetting front instability in a pre-wetted, rough-walled analog fracture are presented. Initial conditions considered include a uniform moisture field wetted to field capacity of the analog fracture and the structured moisture field created by unstable infiltration into an initially dry fracture. As in previous studies performed under dry initial conditions, instability was found to result both at the cessation of stable infiltration and at flux lower than the fracture capacity under gravitational driving force. Individual fingers were faster, narrower, longer, and more numerous than observed under dry initial conditions. Wetting fronts were found to follow existing wetted structure, providing a mechanism for rapid recharge and transport.
In an attempt to achieve completeness and consistency, the performance-assessment analyses developed by the Yucca Mountain Project are tied to scenarios described in event trees. Development of scenarios requires describing the constituent features, events, and processes in detail. Several features and processes occurring at the waste packages and the rock immediately surrounding the packages (i.e., the near field) have been identified: the effects of radiation on fluids in the near-field rock, the path-dependency of rock-water interactions, and the partitioning of contaminant transport between colloids and solutes. This paper discusses some questions regarding these processes that the near-field performance-assessment modelers will need to have answered to specify those portions of scenarios dealing with the near field.
Experiments investigating the behavior of individual, gravity-driven fingers in an initially dry, rough-walled analog fracture are presented. Fingers were initiated from constant flow to a point source. Finger structure is described in detail; specific phenomena observed include: desaturation behind the finger-tip, variation in finger path, intermittent flow structures, finger-tip bifurcation, and formation of dendritic sub-fingers. Measurements were made of finger-tip velocity, finger width, and finger-tip length. Non-dimensional forms of the measured variables are analyzed relative to the independent parameters, flow rate and gravitational gradient.
The potential repository system is intended to isolate high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain according to the performance objective - 10 CFR 60.112. One subsystem that may contribute to achieving this objective is the sealing subsystem. This subsystem is comprised of sealing components in the shafts, ramps, underground network of drifts, and the exploratory boreholes. Sealing components can be rigid, as in the case of a shaft seal, or can be more compressible, as in the case of drift fill comprised of mined rockfill. This paper presents the preliminary seismic response of discrete sealing components in welded and nonwelded tuff. Special consideration is given to evaluating the stress in the seal, and the behavior of the interface between the seal and the rock. The seismic responses are computed using both static and dynamic analyses. Also presented is an evaluation of the maximum seismic response encountered by a drift seal with respect to the angle of incidence of the seismic wave. Mitigation strategies and seismic design considerations are proposed which can potentially enhance the overall response of the sealing component and subsequently, the performance of the overall repository system.
Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference
Frear, D.R.
We present a new methodology for predicting the fatigue life of solder joints for electronics applications. This approach involves the integration of experimental and computational techniques. The first stage involves correlating the manufacturing and processing parameters with the starting microstructure of the solder joint. The second stage involves a series of experiments that characterize the evolution of the microstructure during thermal cycling. The third stage consists of a computer modeling and simulation effort that utilizes the starting microstructure and experimental data to produce a reliability prediction of the solder joint. This approach is an improvement over current methodologies because it incorporates the microstructure and properties of the solder directly into the model and allows these properties to evolve as the microstructure changes during fatigue.
IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference - Digest of Technical Papers
Martin, T.H.; Seamen, J.F.; Jobe, D.O.
The results of experiments on the energy losses in switches are presented. All experiments were circuit code modeled after the development of a new switch loss version based on Braginskii's spark channel theory for gasses. The circuit code predicts switch energy loss and peak currents as a function of time. Slight constant offsets between the theory and data that depended on the switching dielectric were observed. Plasma conductivity for each tested dielectric was modified to lessen this offset. An excellent agreement between the theory and experiment was also observed. The new model successfully predicted the series resistance of Marx generators.
Yucca Mountain, Nevada is a potential site for a high-level radioactive-waste repository. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses were performed to estimate critical factors in the performance of the site with respect to a criterion in terms of pre-waste-emplacement ground-water travel time. The degree of failure in the analytical model to meet the criterion is sensitive to the estimate of fracture porosity in the upper welded unit of the problem domain. Fracture porosity is derived from a number of more fundamental measurements including fracture frequency, fracture orientation, and the moisture-retention characteristic inferred for the fracture domain.
This report contains an outline of the Solar Thermal Design Assistance Center's (STDAC) major activities and accomplishments in Fiscal Year 1992 (FY92). The report describes the resources allocated to fund STDAC and the personnel needed to carry out STDAC activities and accomplishments. It also contains a comprehensive list of persons that called STDAC for consultation in FY92.
Images taken with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) on an airplane were distorted with phase errors generated by a computer program that simulates the propagation of radar waves through the disturbed ionosphere. The simulation is for an orbiting SAR imaging a scene on the ground. Both the spatially-invariant (decorrelation length projected onto the ground much larger than the scene size) and spatially-variant (decorrelation length much smaller than the scene size) cases are described. The spatially-invariant phase errors can be removed using several different algorithms. Problems and strategies in restoring SAR images distorted with spatially-variant phase errors are discussed.
Future challenges facing the nonproliferation community will undoubtedly change the normal way of doing business'' in international safeguards. New technology will emerge in support of compliance concepts such as transparency and openness, regional security assurance, bilateral cooperation, and special. or non-routine inspections. Technologies address in remote unattended monitoring, integrated on-site monitoring, environmental monitoring, satellite and aerial over-flight systems, equipment for special inspectios, and sharable data information fusion and management, are just a few examples of potential technologics for new nonproliferation monitoring regimes.
We describe an algorithm for the static load balancing of scientific computations that generalizes and improves upon spectral bisection. Through a novel use of multiple eigenvectors, our new spectral algorithm can divide a computation into 4 or 8 pieces at once. This leads to balanced partitions that have lower communication overhead and are less expensive to compute than those of spectral bisection. In addition, our approach automatically works to minimize message contention on a hypercube or mesh architecture.
This paper describes a collaborative effort between Sandia National Laboratories and the Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell International Corporation to develop an automated braze paste dispensing system for rocket engine nozzle manufacturing. The motivation for automating this manufacturing process is to reduce the amount of labor and excess material required. A critical requirement for this system is the automatic location of key nozzle features using non-contact sensors. Sandia has demonstrated that the low-cost Multi-Axis Seam Tracking (MAST) capacitive sensor can be used to accurately locate the nozzle surface and tube gaps.
This paper examines some of the metrics that are commonly used to design correlation filter's for optical pattern recognition, including: the Fisher ratio, the signal-to-noise ratio, the equal correlation peak (ECP) constraint, and normalized correlation. Attention is given to the underlying assumptions that are required to move from Bayesian decision theory to a particular metric or design principle. Since a Bayes classifier is statistically optimum, this provides a means for assessing the merit of a particular approach. Although the authors only examine a few metrics in this paper, the approach is general and should be useful for assessing the merit and applicability of any of the numerous filter designs that have been proposed in the optical pattern recognition community.
This report discusses electronic isolators which are used to maintain electrical separation between safety and non-safety systems in nuclear power plants. The concern is that these devices may fail allowing unwanted signals or energy to act upon safety systems, or preventing desired signals from performing their intended function. While operational history shows many isolation device problems requiring adjustments and maintenance, we could not find incidents where there was a safety implication. Even hypothesizing multiple simultaneous failures did not lead to significant contributions to core damage frequency. Although the analyses performed in this study were not extensive or detailed, there seems to be no evidence to suspect that isolation device failure is an issue which should be studied further.
This report documents the fiscal year 1992 activities of the, Utility Battery Storage Systems Program (UBS) of the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Management (OEM). The UBS program is conducted by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). UBS is responsible for the engineering development of integrated battery systems for use in utility-energy-storage (UES) and other stationary applications. Development is accomplished primarily through cost-shared contracts with industrial organizations. An important part of the development process is the identification, analysis, and characterization of attractive UES applications. UBS is organized into five projects: Utility Battery Systems Analyses; Battery Systems Engineering; Zinc/Bromine; Sodium/Sulfur; Supplemental Evaluations and Field Tests. The results of the Utility Systems Analyses are used to identify several utility-based applications for which battery storage can effectively solve existing problems. The results will also specify the engineering requirements for widespread applications and motivate and define needed field evaluations of full-size battery systems.
The sixth experiment of the Integral Effects Test (IET-6) series was conducted to investigate the effects of high pressure melt ejection on direct containment heating. Scale models of the Zion reactor pressure vessel (RPV), cavity, instrument tunnel, and subcompartment structures were constructed in the Surtsey Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratories. The RPV was modeled with a melt generator that consisted of a steel pressure barrier, a cast MgO crucible, and a thin steel inner liner. The melt generator/crucible had a hemispherical bottom head containing a graphite limitor plate with a 4-cm exit hole to simulate the ablated hole in the RPV bottom head that would be formed by ejection of an instrument guide tube in a severe nuclear power plant accident. The cavity contained 3.48 kg of water, which corresponds to condensate levels in the Zion plant, and the containment basement floor was dry. A 43-kg initial charge of iron oxide/aluminum/chromium thermite was used to simulate corium debris on the bottom head of the RPV. Molten thermite was ejected by steam at an initial pressure of 6.3 MPa into the reactor cavity. The Surtsey vessel atmosphere contained pre-existing hydrogen to represent partial oxidation of the zirconium in the Zion core. The initial composition of the vessel atmosphere was 87.1 mol.% N[sub 2], 9.79 mol.% O[sub 2], and 2.59 mol.% H[sub 2], and the initial absolute pressure was 198 kPa. A partial hydrogen burn occurred in the Surtsey vessel. The peak vessel pressure increase was 279 kPa in IET-6, compared to 246 kPa in the IET-3 test. The total debris mass ejected into the Surtsey vessel in IET-6 was 42.5 kg. The gas grab sample analysis indicated that there were 180 g[center dot] moles of pre-existing hydrogen, and that 308[center dot]moles of hydrogen were produced by steam/metal reactions. About 335 g[center dot]moles of hydrogen burned, and 153 g[center dot]moles remained unreacted.
The Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Engineering Analysis Code Access System (SEACAS) is a collection of structural and thermal codes and utilities used by analysts at SNL. The system includes pre- and post-processing codes, analysis codes, database translation codes, support libraries, UNIX{trademark} shell scripts, and an installation system. SEACAS is used at SNL on a daily basis as a production, research, and development system for the engineering analysts and code developers. Over the past year, approximately 180 days of Cray Y-MP{trademark} CPU time have been used at SNL by SEACAS codes. The job mix includes jobs using only a few seconds of CPU time, up to jobs using two and one-half days of CPU time. SEACAS is running on several different systems at SNL including Cray Unicos, Hewlett Packard HP-UX{trademark}, Digital Equipment Ultrix{trademark}, and Sun SunOS{trademark}. This document is a short description of the codes the SEACAS system.
This bulletin from Sandia Laboratories presents current research on testing technology. Fiber optics systems at the Nevada Test Site is replacing coaxial cables. The hypervelocity launcher is being used to test orbital debris impacts with space station shielding. A digital recorder makes testing of high-speed water entries possible. Automobile engine design is aided by an instrumented head gasket that detects the combustion zone. And composite-to-metal strength and fatigue tests provide new data on joint failures in wind turbine joint tests.
The CONTAIN computer code is a best-estimate, integrated analysis tool for predicting the physical, chemical, and radiological conditions inside a nuclear reactor containment building following the release of core material from the primary system. CONTAIN is supported primarily by the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC), and the official code versions produced with this support are intended primarily for the analysis of light water reactors (LWR). The present manual describes CONTAIN LMR/1B-Mod. 1, a code version designed for the analysis of reactors with liquid metal coolant. It is a variant of the official CONTAIN 1.11 LWR code version. Some of the features of CONTAIN-LMR for treating the behavior of liquid metal coolant are in fact present in the LWR code versions but are discussed here rather than in the User`s Manual for the LWR versions. These features include models for sodium pool and spray fires. In addition to these models, new or substantially improved models have been installed in CONTAIN-LMR. The latter include models for treating two condensables (sodium and water) simultaneously, sodium atmosphere and pool chemistry, sodium condensation on aerosols, heat transfer from core-debris beds and to sodium pools, and sodium-concrete interactions. A detailed description of each of the above models is given, along with the code input requirements.
Inelastic material constitutive relations for elastoplasticity coupled with continuum damage mechanics are investigated. For elastoplasticity, continuum damage mechanics, and the coupled formulations, rigorous thermodynamic frameworks are derived. The elastoplasticity framework is shown to be sufficiently general to encompass J{sub 2} plasticity theories including general isotropic and kinematic hardening relations. The concepts of an intermediate undamaged configuration and a fictitious deformation gradient are used to develop a damage representation theory. An empirically-based, damage evolution theory is proposed to overcome some observed deficiencies. Damage deactivation, which is the negation of the effects of damage under certain loading conditions, is investigated. An improved deactivation algorithm is developed for both damaged elasticity and coupled elastoplasticity formulations. The applicability of coupled formulations is validated by comparing theoretical predictions to experimental data for a spectrum of materials and loads paths. The pressure-dependent brittle-to-ductile transitional behavior of concrete is replicated. The deactivation algorithm is validated using tensile and compression data for concrete. For a ductile material, the behavior of an aluminum alloy is simulated including the temperature-dependent ductile-to-brittle behavior features. The direct application of a coupled model to fatigue is introduced. In addition, the deactivation algorithm in conjunction with an assumed initial damage and strain is introduced as a novel method of simulating the densification phenomenon in cellular solids.
Target recognition requires the ability to distinguish targets from non-targets, a capability called one-class generalization. Many neural network pattern classifiers fail as one-class classifiers because they use open decision boundaries. To function as one-class classifier, a neural network must have three types of generalization: within-class, between-class, and out-of-class. We discuss these three types of generalization and identify neural network architectures that meet these requirements. We have applied our one-class classifier ideas to the problem of automatic target recognition in synthetic aperture radar. We have compared three neural network algorithms: Carpenter and Grossberg`s algorithmic version of the Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART-2A), Kohonen`s Learning Vector Quantization (LVQ), and Reilly and Cooper`s Restricted Coulomb Energy network (RCE). The ART 2-A neural network gives the best results, with 100% within-class, between-class, and out-of-class generalization. Experiments show that the network`s performance is sensitive to vigilance and number of training set presentations.
This report discusses the seventh experiment of the Integral Effects Test (IET-7) series. The experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of preexisting hydrogen in the Surtsey vessel on direct containment heating. Scale models of the Zion reactor pressure vessel (RPV), cavity, instrument tunnel, and subcompartment structures were constructed in the Surtsey Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratories. The RPV was modeled with a melt generator that consisted of a steel pressure barrier, a cast MgO crucible, and a thin steel inner liner. The melt generator/crucible had a hemispherical bottom head containing a graphite limitor plate with a 4-cm exit hole to simulate the ablated hole in the RPV bottom head that would be formed by ejection of an instrument guide tube in a severe nuclear power plant accident. The cavity contained 3.48 kg of water, and the containment basement floor inside the cranewall contained 71 kg of water, which corresponds to scaled condensate levels in the Zion plant. A 43-kg initial charge of iron oxide/aluminum/chromium thermite was used to simulate corium debris on the bottom head of the RPV. Molten thermite was ejected by steam at an initial pressure of 5.9 MPa into the reactor cavity.
Charpy V-notch specimens (ASTM Type A) and 5.74-mm diameter tension test specimens of the Shippingport Reactor Neutron Shield Tank (NST) (outer wall material) were irradiated together with Charpy V-notch specimens of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNI), High,, Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) vessel (shell material), to 5.07 {times} 10{sup 17} n/cm{sup 2}, E > 1 MeV. The irradiation was performed in the Ford Nuclear Reactor (FNR), a test reactor, at a controlled temperature of 54{degrees}C (130{degrees}F) selected to approximate the prior service temperatures of the cited reactor structures. Radiation-induced elevations in the Charpy 41-J transition temperature and the ambient temperature yield strength were small and independent of specimen test orientation (ASTM LT vs. TL). The observations are consistent with prior findings for the two materials (A 212-B plate) and other like materials irradiated at low temperature (< 200{degrees}C) to low fluence. The high radiation embrittlement sensitivity observed in HFIR vessel surveillance program tests was not found in the present accelerated irradiation test. Response to 288{degrees}C-168 h postirradiation annealing was explored for the NST material. Notch ductility recovery was found independent of specimen test orientation but dependent on the temperature within the transition region at which the specimens were tested.
A method is presented for determining the nonlinear stability of undamped flexible structures spinning about a principal axis of inertia. Equations of motion are developed for structures that are free of applied forces and moments. The development makes use of a floating reference frame which follows the overall rigid body motion. Within this frame, elastic deformations are assumed to be given functions of n generalized coordinates. A transformation of variables is devised which shows the equivalence of the equations of motion to a Hamiltonian system with n + 1 degrees of freedom. Using this equivalence, stability criteria are developed based upon the normal form of the Hamiltonian. It is shown that a motion which is spin stable in the linear approximation may be unstable when nonlinear terms are included. A stability analysis of a simple flexible structure is provided to demonstrate the application of the stability criteria. Results from numerical integration of the equations of motion are shown to be consistent with the predictions of the stability analysis. A new method for modeling the dynamics of rotating flexible structures is developed and investigated. The method is similar to conventional assumed displacement (modal) approaches with the addition that quadratic terms are retained in the kinematics of deformation. Retention of these terms is shown to account for the geometric stiffening effects which occur in rotating structures. Computational techniques are developed for the practical implementation of the method. The techniques make use of finite element analysis results, and thus are applicable to a wide variety of structures. Motion studies of specific problems are provided to demonstrate the validity of the method. Excellent agreement is found both with simulations presented in the literature for different approaches and with results from a commercial finite element analysis code. The computational advantages of the method are demonstrated.
We describe an algorithm for the static load balancing of scientific computations that generalizes and improves upon spectral bisection. Through a novel use of multiple eigenvectors, our new spectral algorithm can divide a computation into 4 or 8 pieces at once. These multidimensional spectral partitioning algorithms generate balanced partitions that have lower communication overhead and are less expensive to compute than those produced by spectral bisection. In addition, they automatically work to minimize message contention on a hypercube or mesh architecture. These spectral partitions are further improved by a multidimensional generalization of the Kernighan-Lin graph partitioning algorithm. Results on several computational grids are given and compared with other popular methods.
A robotic rover vehicle designed for use in the exploration of the Lunar surface is described. The Robotic All-Terrain Lunar Exploration Rover (R-A.T.L.E.R-) is a four wheeled all-wheel-drive dual-body vehicle. A uniquely simple method of chassis articulation is employed which allows all four wheels to remain in contact with the ground, even while climbing over step-like obstacles as large as [approximately]1.3 wheel diameters. Skid steering and modular construction are used to produce a simple, rugged, highly agile mobility chassis with fewer parts required compared to other designs being considered for planetary exploration missions. The design configuration, mobility parameters, and performance of several existing R.A.T.L.E.R prototypes are discussed, with emphasis on an analysis of the configuration parameters which directly affect the designs mobility performance.
This report describes preliminary experiments to investigate the feasibility of using electron beam (e-beam) radiolysis to destroy the organic compounds in simulated Hanford tank waste. For these experiments a simulated Hanford Tank 101-SY waste mixture was radiolyzed in a {sup 60}Co facility to simulate radiolysis in the waste tank. This slurry was then exposed without dilution to dose levels up to 1600 Mrad at instantaneous dose rates of 2.5 {times} 10{sup 8} and 2. 7 {times} 10{sup 11} rad/s. The inferred dose to destroy all the organic material in the simulated waste, assuming destruction is linear with dose, is 1000 Mrads for the higher dose rate. The cost for organic destruction of Hanford waste at a treatment rate of 20 gpm is roughly estimated to be $10. 60 per gallon. Such a system would treat all the waste in a 1 million gallon Hanford tank in about 40 days. Estimates of capital costs are given in the body of this report. While ferrocyanide destruction was not experimentally investigated in this work, previous experiments by others suggest that ferrocyanide would also be destroyed in such a system.
Artman, W.D.; Sullivan, J.J.; De La O, R.V.; Zawadzkas, G.A.
This report describes the Training and Qualification Program at the Saturn Facility. The main energy source at Saturn is the Saturn accelerator which is used to test military hardware for vulnerability to X-rays, as well as to perform various types of plasma radiation source experiments. The facility is operated and maintained by a staff of twenty scientists and technicians. This program is designed to ensure these personnel are adequately trained and qualified to perform their jobs in a safe and efficient manner. Copies of actual documents used in the program are included as appendices. This program meets all the requirements for training and qualification in the DOE Orders on Conduct of Operations and Quality Assurance, and may be useful to other organizations desiring to come into compliance with these orders.
Experiments were run to determine if oxidized Kovar could be chemically cleaned so that copper would wet the Kovar in a wet hydrogen atmosphere at 1100{degrees}C. We found that a multi-stepped acid etch process cleaned the Kovar so that copper would wet it. We also found that the degree of copper cracking after melting and cool-down correlated well with the degree of wetting.
The relatively thin web of salt that separates Bayou Choctaw Caverns 15 and 17 was evaluated using the finite-element method. The stability calculations provided insight as to whether or not any operationrestrictions or recommendations are necessary. Because of the uncertainty in the exact dimensions of the salt web, various web thicknesses were examined under different operating scenarios that included individual cavern workovers and drawdowns. Cavern workovers were defined by a sudden drop in the oil side pressure at the wellhead to atmospheric. Workovers represent periods of low cavern pressure. Cavern drawdowns were simulated by enlargening the cavern diameters, thus decreasing the thickness of the web. The calculations predict that Cavern 15 dominates the behavior of the web because of its larger diameter. Thus, giventhe choice of caverns, Cavern 17 should be used for oil withdrawal in order to minimize the adverse impacts on web resulting from pressure drops or cavern enlargement. From a stability point of view, maintaining normal pressures in Cavern 15 was found to be more important than operating the caverns as a gallery where both caverns are maintained at the same pressure. However, during a workover, it may be prudent to operate the caverns under similar pressures to avoid the possibility of a sudden pressure surge at the wellhead should the web fail.
A feasibility study for developing an improved tool and improved models for performing event assessments is described. The study indicates that the IRRAS code should become the base tool for performing event assessments, but that modifications would be needed to make it more suitable for routine use. Alternative system modeling approaches are explored and an approach is recommended that is based on improved train-level models. These models are demonstrated for Grand Gulf and Sequoyah. The insights that can be gained from importance measures are also demonstrated. The feasibility of using Individual Plant Examination (IPE) submittals as the basis for train-level models for precursor studies was also examined. The level of reported detail was found to vary widely, but in general, the submittals did not provide sufficient information to fully define the model. The feasibility of developing an industry risk profile from precursor results and of trending precursor results for individual plants were considered. The data sparsity would need to be considered when using the results from these types of evaluations, and because of the extremely sparse data for individual plants we found that trending evaluations for groups of plants would be more meaningful than trending evaluations for individual plants.
The discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is used frequently used in the computation of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and harmonic distortion. To estimate the SNR or harmonic distortion, a sine wave is applied to the digitizing system under test. When the data record contains an integer number of cycles of the sine wave, energy from the sine wave and its harmonics does not leak into adjacent DFT frequency bins. Each harmonic occupies one an only one DFT frequency bin. To find the root-mean-square (RMS) value of a harmonic from its DFT, one computes the magnitude of the DFT value at the single frequency of the harmonic. When the DFTs of the fundamental and its harmonics are single lines, the SNR and harmonic distortion are easy to compute. When the data record contains a non-integer number of cycles of the sine wave, energy leaks from the sine wave and its harmonics to adjacent frequencies. The literature contains several approaches to problem of determining which DFT components correspond to a sine wave harmonic. This paper describes how to estimate the RMS value of a sine wave from its DFT with special attention to the selection of the DFT window. The set of DFT frequencies which comprise a harmonic depends on the DFT window, the length of the DFT, and the number of bits of the digitizer. Criteria are developed for choosing the DFT frequencies that correspond to a sine wave. These criteria lead to better choices of DFT windows for SNR and harmonic distortion calculations.
Sandia has developed an advanced operational control system approach, caged Graphical Programming, to design and operate robotic waste cleanup and other hazardous duty robotic systems. The Graphical Programming approach produces robot systems that are faster to develop and use, safer in operation, and cheaper overall than altemative teleoperation or autonomous robot control systems. The Graphical Programming approach uses 3-D visualization and simulation software with intuitive operator interfaces for the programming and control of complex robotic systems. Graphical Programming Supervisor software modules allow an operator to command and simulate complex tasks in a graphic preview mode and, when acceptable, command the actual robots and monitor their motions with the graphic system. Graphical Progranuning Supervisors maintain registration with the real world and allow the robot to perform tasks that cannot be accurately represented with models alone by using a combination of model and sensor-based control. This paper describes the Graphical Programming approach, several example control systems that use Graphical Programming, and key features necessary for implementing successful Graphical Programming systems.
Hazardous operations which in the past have been completed by technicians are under increased scrutiny due to high costs and low productivity associated with providing protective clothing and environments. As a result, remote systems are needed to accomplish many hazardous materials handling tasks such as the clean up of waste sites in which the exposure of personnel to radiation, chemical, explosive, and other hazardous constituents is unacceptable. Traditional remote manual operations have proven to have very low productivity when compared with unencumbered humans. Computer models augmented by sensing and structured, modular computing environments are proving to be effective in automating many unstructured hazardous tasks.
Testing and analysis of shock wave characteristics such as produced by detonators and ground shock propagation frequently require a method of measuring velocity and displacement of the surface of interest. One method of measurement is doppler interferometry. The VISAR (Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector) uses doppler interferometry and has pined wide acceptance as the preferred tool for shock measurement. An important asset of VISAR is that it measures velocity and displacement non intrusively. The conventional VISAR is not well suited for portability because of its sensitive components, large power and cooling requirements, and hazardous laser beam. A new VISAR using the latest technology in solid state lasers and detectors has been developed and tested. To further enhance this system's versatility, the unit is fiber optic coupled which allows remote testing, permitting the VISAR to be placed over a kilometer away from the target being measured. Because the laser light is contained in the fiber optic, operation of the system around personnel is far less hazardous. A software package for data reduction has also been developed for use with a personal computer. These new advances have produced a very versatile system with full portability which can be totally powered by batteries or a small generator. This paper describes the solid state VISAR and its peripheral components, fiber optic coupling methods and the fiber optic coupled sensors used for sending and receiving laser radiation.
Thick film Au metallizations are commonly used as conductors in hybrid microelectronics that operate at high frequencies. Discrete components are attached to these conductors with 5OPb/5OIn solder. Intermetallic compounds form and grow in the solid state with time; AuIn[sub 2] is the primary compound formed in the Au-5OPb/50In system. A hybrid failed after being artificially aged to consume all of the Au and then subjected to normal thermal cycle and vibration testing. Postmortem analysis revealed that three capacitors had debonded. The failed parts were studied to determine the failure mechanism(s) and define a parametric study to characterize the mechanisms that bond the Au thick film to the ceramic substrate.
This is a peer review report of the Environmental and Molecule Sciences Laboratory. Although the Pretreatment, Treatment, and Waste Forms comments are focused specifically on pretreatment treatment, and waste forms, the group recognizes that the life cycle designation is a somewhat arbitrary breakdown of a series of activities that form a continuum in the environmental restoration and waste management program. Consequently, some of the comments made here are relevant in a broader context or even for EM as a whole. particular, characterization activities pervade all life cycles in environmental restoration/waste management. As we use the term in this section, characterization'' refers to the process monitoring and control that are required during pretreatment and treatment. Most of the technology presentations during the review identified links to support this area and delineated to varying degrees the specific ties to the Hanford Site cleanup requirements. Overall, the EMSL especially its planned facilities, are most impressive, and DOE and PNL are urged to proceed with all due haste toward its completion. Specific issues or concerns identified during the review are included in the following section.
Scientific visualization is playing an increasingly important role in the analysis and interpretation of massively parallel CFD simulations due to the enormous volume of data that can be generated on these machines. In this paper we will describe the development of a visualization technique based on a parallel analogue to the Marching Cubes algorithm. The algorithm has been developed for Multiple-Instruction, Multiple-Data (MIMD) massively parallel computers and is designed to take advantage of the heterogeneous programming capabilities of the MIMD architecture. We examine several different configurations and conclude that for producing animations the best one, in terms of both frame generation time and disk usage, is to run the two applications heterogeneously and send the resulting geometry description directly to a workstation for rendering, thereby totally eliminating the use of files from the animation process.
Sandia National Laboratories is prototyping a service for providing a distributed visualization capability between its Albuquerque, New Mexico and Livermore, California sites. The service will allow TCP/EP LAN users to process computationally intensive codes on the Cray Y-MP 8/864 and use the Application Visualization System, (AVS) running on a visualization server to display the results to desktops in Livermore (or Albuquerque). The long-haul environment presents several technical challenges such as high delays (up to 42 milliseconds), potential error rates, and security concerns which can affect the quality of the services. The network design requires low latency switch gear and high speed LAN connections (FDDI) to make the visualization/computational services useful to the customer. This paper will describe tie network design used and will report performance characteristics of the applications utilizing this service.
AC impedance and x-ray diffraction measurements versus temperature and pressure ternary intercalation compounds are reported. Results support our previously established empirical correlation between superconducting onset temperature and 300K fcc lattice constant. Compounds which do not follow this correlation either phase separate or are otherwise unstable at low T and/or high P.
We have demonstrated removal of H from a H-passivated Si(100) surface by low energy ([approximately]50 eV) He ion bombardment. The extent of the removal of H from the surface can be controlled by varying the duration of He bombardment and plasma parameters. This, in turn, means that the growth rate by this method can also be controlled. Si[sub 2]H[sub 6] was shown to adsorb in a self-limiting manner on the Si(100) surface.
The earth`s ionosphere consists of an ionized plasma which will interact with any electromagnetic wave propagating through it. The interaction is particularly strong at vhf and uhf frequencies but decreases for higher microwave frequencies. These interaction effects and their relationship to the operation of a wide-bandwidth, synthetic-aperture, space-based radar are examined. Emphasis is placed on the dispersion effects and the polarimetric effects. Results show that high-resolution (wide-bandwidth) and high-quality coherent polarimetrics will be very difficult to achieve below 1 GHz.
SAFSIM (System Analysis Flow SIMulator) is a FORTRAN computer program that provides engineering simulations of user-specified flow networks at the system level. It includes fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and reactor dynamics capabilities. SAFSIM provides sufficient versatility to allow the simulation of almost any flow system, from a backyard sprinkler system to a clustered nuclear reactor propulsion system. In addition to versatility, speed and robustness are primary goals of SAFSIM development. The current capabilities of SAFSIM are summarized and some sample applications are presented. It is applied here to a nuclear thermal propulsion system and nuclear rocket engine test facility.
Photovoltaic (PV) systems offer a cost-effective solution to provide electrical power for a wide variety of applications, with battery performance playing a major role in their success. This paper presents some of the results of an industry meeting regarding battery specifications and ratings that photovoltaic system designers require, but do not typically have available to them. Communications between the PV industry and the battery industry regarding appropriate specifications have been uncoordinated and poor in the past. This paper also discusses the effort under way involving the PV industry and battery manufacturers, and provides a working draft of specifications to develop and outline the information sorely needed on batteries. The development of this information is referred to as ``Application Notes for Batteries in Photovoltaic Systems.`` The content of these ``notes`` has been compiled from various sources, including the input from the results of a survey on battery use in the photovoltaic industry. Only lead-acid batteries are discussed
In one design of molten-salt central receivers, the molten salt flows in a serpentine path, down one panel of tubes then up the next and down again continuing in this fashion through the receiver. There have been concerns about this design because in the down flow sections, the heat flux incident on the tubes can cause flow instability since the flow is in direct opposition to the buoyant forces. In extreme cases the buoyant forces can cause flow stagnation or reversal. An analysis of flow stability within individual tubes and down flow sections of receiver panels is presented. When the partial derivative of the pressure drop with respect to mass flow rate is negative ({partial_derivative}{Delta}P/{partial_derivative}{sup {lg_bullet}} < 0), the flow is unstable and could cause serious damage to the receiver. Stability maps are developed that show safe operating regimes where inertial forces dominate over buoyant forces. The data is then normalized using the Grashof and Reynolds numbers.
United States Department of Energy has established its first Advanced Research Objective in the Solids Transport Program. The scientific, engineering, and management goals are discussed in some detail. Scientific progress to date is summarized. Comments are made on the technical direction of further Advanced Research Objectives.
We have developed a Li/SOCl{sub 2} ``D`` cell for applications requiring 10 to 15 years life at very low drain rates, typically less than 150 {mu}A. Maximizing cell safety and reliability, while delivering very good energy density, have been the goals of our study. We have achieved these goals by designing the cell to be application specific. The low-rate cell has been optimized to deliver up to 16 Ah at drain rates of less than 70 mA. By virtue of its low surface area, 145 cm{sub 2}, the cell has demonstrated excellent safety behavior. Safety testing has been performed on individual cells as well as on two-cell and four-cell batteries. Single cells did not vent when short-circuited. We were able to produce benign venting in a two cell string, but only when the string was partially discharged before shorting. The vent mechanism is a 300 psi rupture pressure burst disc manufactured by BS&B Safety Systems. We define benign venting as full opening of the 3/8 in. dia vent hole without deformation of the case. Material is expelled from the cell without flame, and the cell stack remains largely intact. We have not produced venting of the Sandia-designed low rate cell under any other abuse test conditions. The vent functions as an ultimate safety mechanism in the case of severe abuse, but resistance to venting under normal use and mild abuse conditions is key to the achievement of high reliability.
A new class of ion-exchange materials that can selectively separate low parts per million level concentrations of Cs{sup +} from 3--6 molar concentrations of Na{sup +} over a wide pH range has recently been developed as a result of a collaborative effort between Sandia National Laboratories and Texas A&M University. The materials, called crystalline silicotitanates, show potential for application in the treatment of aqueous nuclear waste solutions.
In order to develop a procedure for measuring cation diffusion coefficients below 1000{degrees}C, we have examined the suitability of several diffusion couple configurations involving single crystals of garnet. Initial experiments using an enriched {sup 25}MgCl{sup 2} proved ineffective in providing a uniform and coherent surface for analysis by ion microprobe. A technique was developed using thin film deposition. Thin films ({approximately} 1000 {Angstrom}) of MgO{sub x} (x < 1) can be applied to polished mineral surfaces by evaporating MgO powder under high vacuum with a thermal-resistance strip heater. Thermal resistance evaporation is efficient. Samples of single crystal grossular and pyrope garnets with thin films of MgO, as created by these techniques, were annealed for various times at 800, 900, and 1000{degrees}C, at several log fO{sub 2} values, and 1 atm. Optical, SEM, and ion microprobe analyses reveal no disruption of the interface. Profiles of elemental counts vs depth exhibit expected patterns going through the thin film into the garnet substrate. Our experimental matrix of garnet diffusion runs includes over 60 cut and polished crystals of pyrope composition that are being run at various oxygen fugacity conditions from 600 to 1000{degrees}C.
The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Mechanical Engineering and Electronics Division, in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories and Programmed Composites, is advancing the development of thin-walled, high modulus short-fiber compression-molded composite materials fabrication. In this paper, we investigate component uniformity, structural integrity, thermal conductivity, and radiation resistance; discuss the scanning-electron microscopic inspection of the graphite fiber distribution and orientation, and describe the process used in selecting the reinforcement fiber length and modulus and for choosing the hydrophobic, cyanate-ester resin.
During the last two decades there has been considerable interest in developing alternatives to conventional chemical propulsion for space missions. Laser propulsion has been identified as a serious contender for the task of inexpensively delivering small payloads to low-earth orbit. Recent advances in the development of lasers powered directly by nuclear reaction products offer the potential for new propulsion methods, namely, reactor-laser propulsion. Such systems would allow ``nuclear propulsion`` without placing nuclear systems in space.
Alternate organometallic Sb sources are being investigated to improve the characteristics of InSb grown by MOCVD. InSb grown using trimethylindium (TMIn) and trimethylantimony (TMSb) or triethylantimony (TESb) yielded similar quality materials under similar growth conditions. InSb grown using triethylindium (TEIn) and TESB under similar growth conditions yielded very poor quality n-type material. Three new organometallic Sb sources, triisopropyl-antimony (TIPSb), tris(dimethylamino)antimony (TDMASb), and tertiarybutyldimethylantimony (TBDMSb) are being investigated. Growth of InSb using TIPSb, TDMASb, or TBDMSb and TMIn was investigated over 350 to 475{degrees}C. InSb grown from TDMASb had similar properties to InSb grown from TMIn and TMSb when using a similar temperature and V/III ratio range. Growth rates of InSb using TMIn and either TIPSb or TBDMSb at temperatures {le} 425{degrees}C were proportional to both TMIn flow rate and temperature. Surface morphology of InSb grown using either TIPSb or TBDMSb was rough for growth temperatures {le} 425{degrees}C; this may be due to complex decomposition and methyl groups on surface. The InSb with the highest mobility was grown at 400{degrees}C and a V/III ratio of 3 using TIPSb. It was n-type with a carrier concentration of 2.5 {times} 10{sup 15} cm{sup {minus}3} and a mobility of 78,160 cm{sup 2}/Vs at 77 K. Both n- and p-type InSb were grown using TBDMSb with mobilities up to 67,530 and 7773 cm{sup 2}/Vs, respectively at 77 K. Mobility for InSb using either TIPSb or TBDMSb was optimized by going to lower temperatures, pressures, V/III ratios; however, surface morphology improved with higher temperature, pressure, V/III ratio. High mobility InSb with smooth surfaces at T {le} 425{degrees}C was not obtained with TIPSb or TBDMSb and TMIn.
We present the use of an STM to make quantitative observations of time-dependent mass flow associated with the decay of two-dimensional clusters on the Au(lll) surface. When formed and observed in air, layered islands with well-defined edges located on larger terraces are generally found to decay in such a way that their areas decrease linearly in time over periods ranging from minutes to several hours depending on the island size. This is in contrast to the behavior of similar features formed and observed under ultra high vacuum conditions, which do not appear to decay over experimental periods of several days. The linear decay is consistent with models that have been used previously to describe growth of 2-dimensional clusters on surfaces. We discuss possible decay mechanisms`, and the role that adsorbates may play in influencing the decay.
In support of the UST, WeDID, VOC/Non-Arid, and VOC/Arid, and VOC/Arid Integrated Demonstrations, organic contaminants and nitrates in Hanford Underground Storage Tank (UST) wastes, polymeric organics in weapon components, and chlorocarbon soil contaminants have been destroyed by exposure to high-temperature steam during bench tests with a quartz reactor and full-scale tests that used the Synthetica Detoxifier, a commercial one-ton-per-day steam reforming waste destruction system. Reactivation of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) in the Detoxifier and Thermal Gravimetric Analyses (TGA) of the decomposition of sodium nitrate have also been performed.
We have successfully grown ZnMnTe alloys by molecular beam epitaxy using GaAs as a substrate. Bulk MnTe has the wurtzite crystal structure but the structural phase of the material was confirmed to be zinc-blende by standard {theta}-2{theta} x-ray diffraction techniques. The composition was also determined using x-ray diffraction techniques. Manganese concentration was also estimated from magnetization measurements taken as a function of temperature. Magnetoluminescence studies were performed at 1.4K on the acceptor-bound exciton in the semimagnetic semiconductor ZnMnTe alloys. As expected, the photoluminescence peak energy decreased with increasing magnetic field.
At some landfills, hazardous wastes were placed into disposal pits with other waste oils. Volatile organic wastes, such as cleaning solvents, when combined with oil are much more difficult to remove from the soils because the oil makes the volatile organic chemical evaporate much slower. The typical vacuum extraction remediation method could become a lengthy campaign. Since all chemicals evaporate faster when they are heated, if the contaminated soil could be heated, the chemicals would be easier to remove from the soil. By using heating techniques developed by the Oil and Gas Industry to enhance the removal of oil and gas resources from the soil, the problem of removing contamination from the soils could be solved. The Thermal Enhanced Vapor Extraction System (TEVES) demonstration will combine vacuum vapor extraction technology with powerline frequency soil heating and radiofrequency soil heating to accelerate the soil decontamination process. The premise that soil heating technology can actually reduce the costs of soil decontamination is complicated by the high capital costs of the soil heating equipment and the cost of electrode installation. By performing this field demonstration, Sandia will be able to collect the information needed to see if this new technology will improve the decontamination of soils.
Sandia National Laboratories is a large multiprogram Research and Development laboratory which is operated by a contractor for the US Department of Energy. In the Laboratories, lasers are both the subject of research and the tools that are used in other research, development, and testing activities. Since 1979, laser safety training has been the primary focus of the Laboratories` laser safety program. Approximately 1 100 personnel have been trained in formal courses during that time period. The formal course, presented on site by a contractor, consists of two full days of instruction. The course contents include the following topics: Laser technology and safety overview; Federal and ANSI laser standards summaries; Biological effects of laser radiation; Classification of lasers; Laser hazard analysis; Review of ANSI Z136.1 control measures; Laser eye protection. Recent emphasis on regulatory requirements, conduct of operations, and quality management has revealed a need to change the laser safety training curriculum. A new course for users of low power lasers (Class 2 and 3a) is being developed. A refresher course, a management awareness (self-study) course, and major changes in the current course are planned.
A solar photocatalytic process has been under development at both Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (formerly the Solar Energy Research Institute). This process uses solar ultraviolet light to activate a titanium dioxide catalyst which oxidizes organic contaminants in water. In the summer of 1991, a solar photocatalytic detoxification of water system was installed and tested at a California Superfund Site located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The site was designated a Superfund Site because of widespread groundwater contamination which resulted from the release of chlorinated solvents, principally trichloroethylene, when the site was a Naval Air Station in the early 1940s. The objectives of these experiments were to measure the effects of process variables and the process efficiency in an actual remediation setting, to collect experimental data and operating experience in photocatalytic oxidation of organic contaminants, to develop accurate models of the system operation and to develop control strategies.
The Materials Interface Interaction Tests (MIIT) program involves the comparative performance-evaluation testing of multiple US and foreign nuclear waste glasses (nonradioactive), potential canister and overpack metals, brine, and geologic materials in the rock salt repository environment at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility. We emplaced about 2000 materials specimens onto fiftn, separate test assemblies and exposed them to a heated, salt-brine environment at the WIPP for multi-year periods. We successfully terminated the in situ conduct of the MIIT in July 1991, after five years of testing, and retrieved all samples for posttest laboratory analyses. These 5-year glass and metal samples, along with samples previously retrieved after 0.5, 1, and 2 years, are being analyzed in multiple international laboratories, in a cooperative testing effort. Individual test participants will present available laboratory results, and interpretations, on MIIT specimens in this workshop. Our focus in this paper is to summarize technical details and repository-relevant observations on the in situ conduct, sampling, and termination operations of the MIIT experimental program. Such information should be useful for the interpretation of the laboratory-based analyses. This information also will be relevant and instructive for other organizations contemplating, planning, or conducting additional materials-related, in situ tests.
A comparison between numerical calculations with use of commercial thermal analysis software packages and experimental data simulating a horizontally oriented spent fuel rod array was performed. Twelve cases were analyzed using air and helium for the fill gas, with three different heat dissipation levels. The numerically predicted temperatures are higher than the experimental data for all levels of heat dissipation with air as the fill gas. The temperature differences are 4{degree}C and 23{degree}C for the low heat dissipation and high heat dissipation, respectively. The temperature predictions using helium as a fill gas are lower than the experimental data for the low and medium heat dissipation levels. The temperature predictions are 1{degree}C and 6{degree}C lower than the experimental data for the low and medium heat dissipation, respectively. For the high heat dissipation level, the temperature predictions are 16{degree}C higher than the experimental data. Differences between the predicted and experimental temperatures can be attributed to several factors. These factors include experimental uncertainty in the temperature and heat dissipation measurements, actual convection effects not included in the model, and axial heat flow in the experimental data. This work demonstrates that horizontally oriented spent fuel rod surface temperature predictions can be made using existing commercial software packages. This work also shows that end effects, such as axial heat transfer through the spent fuel rods, will be increasingly important as the amount of dissipated heat increases.
Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) has been applied to image currents in internal IC conductors. We present a model for the MFM imaging of IC currents, describe MFM signal generation, and demonstrate the ability to analyze current direction and magnitude with a sensitivity of {approximately} 1 mA dc and {approximately} 1 {mu}A ac. Our experimental results are a significant improvement on the 100 mA ac resolution previously reported using an electron beam to detect IC currents [1].
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant: (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico is being developed by the US Department of Energy as a disposal facility for transuranic waste. In support of this project, Sandia National Laboratories is conducting an ongoing performance assessment (PA) for the WIPP. The ordered triple- representation for risk proposed by Kaplan and Garrick is used to provide a clear conceptual structure for this PA. This presentation describes how the preceding representation provides a basis in the WIPP PA for (1) the definition of scenarios and the calculation of scenario probabilities and consequences, (2) the separation of subjective and stochastic uncertainties, (3) the construction of the complementary cumulative distribution functions required in comparisons with the US Environmental Protection Agency`s standard for the geologic disposal of radioactive waste (i.e., 40 CFR Part 191, Subpart B), and (4) the performance of uncertainty and sensitivity studies. Results obtained in a preliminary PA for the WIPP completed in December of 1991 are used for illustration.
As applications for hybrid circuits and multichip modules create demand for higher density circuits and higher power components, new substrate materials are required to deal with the heat generated on the circuit. Sandia National Laboratories is developing diamond substrate technology to meet the requirements of high thermal conductivity. Thin film processes were developed and characterized to delineate conductor-resistor networks on free standing diamond substrates having fine line gold conductors and low and high sheet resistivity resistors. Thin film hybrid circuit technology was developed on CVD-processed, polycrystalline diamond substrates having as-deposited surface finishes as well as those with polished surfaces. Conductors were defined by pattern plating gold and resistors were processed from sputtered tantalum nitride films which were deposited to sheet resistivities of 5 and/or 100 ohms per square. Resistor films on diamond substrates were evaluated for Temperature Coefficient of Resistance (TCR), stability with time and temperature, and trimmability using YAG laser processing. Plated gold conductors were patterned on diamond to feature sizes of 25 microns and successfully tested for adhesion and bondability. Advanced YAG laser trimming techniques were developed to allow resistor trims on both low and high value resistors to within 1% of desip value while maintaining required resistor stability, new trim techniques were needed to offset the carbonization of diamond in the laser trim area. Reliability studies were carried out on the diamond thin film networks which showed them to compare favorably with the same thin film technology on alumina substrates.
Photocreation mechanisms and properties of nitrogen dangling bonds in amorphous hydrogenated silicon nitride (a-SiN{sub x}:H) thin films are investigated. We find that the creation kinetics are strongly dependent on the post-deposition anneal; this thermal process can be described by a simple exponential function which yields an activation energy of 0.8 eV. The compositional dependence of the nitrogen dangling bond center suggests that its energy level lies close to the valence band edge, in agreement with theoretical calculations. This energy level position can explain why a-SiN{sub x}:H films often become conducting following a high post-deposition anneal.
Path planning needs to be fast to facilitate real-time robot programming. Unfortunately, current planning techniques are still too slow to be effective, as they often require several minutes, if not hours of computation. To overcome this difficulty, we present an adaptive algorithm that uses previous experience to speed up future performance. It is a learning algorithm suitable for incrementally-changing environments such as those encountered in manufacturing of evolving products and waste-site remediation. The algorithm extends our previous work for stationary environments in two directions: For minor environmental change, an object-attached experience abstraction scheme is introduced to increase the flexibility of the learned experience; for major environmental change, an on-demand experience repair scheme is also introduced to retain those experiences that remain valid and useful. In addition to presenting this algorithm, we identify three other variants with different repair strategies. To analyze the respective performance of these algorithms, we develop an analytic model that quantifies and relates training effort, experience value and utility, and environmental change through intuitive terms of energy and work. It is a general and simple model that should be very useful in characterizing other types of learning processes as well. Using this model, we formalize the concept of incremental change, and prove the optimality of our proposedalgorithm under such change. Empirically, we also characterize the performance curve of each variant, confirm our theoretical optimality results, and demonstrate the practicality of our algorithm.
A method of solving the two-phase fluid flow equations using a genetic algorithm on a NCUBE multiprocessor computer is presented. The topics discussed are the two-phase flow equations, the genetic representation of the unknowns, the fitness function, the genetic operators, and the implementation of the algorithm on the NCUBE computer. The efficiency of the implementation is investigated using a pipe blowdown problem. Effects of varying the genetic parameters and the number of processors are presented.
A method is described for parallelizing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations by block-decomposing the matrix of bonded and non-bonded force computations. It is particularly useful for organic simulations (polymers, proteins) because unlike spatial-decomposition methods, it requires no geometric information about the simulation domain. Because its communication cost scales as N/{radical}P. rather than N as in the all-to-all broadcast or ring-exchange techniques commonly used in this type of MD simulation, larger numbers of processors can be used effectively, yielding greater parallel speed-ups.
Two major initiatives are underway in the US that are creating a significant financial impact on both the US taxpayer and on users of electric power. First, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has been tasked with cleaning-up the defense complex. This task is managed under the direction of the Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) of the DOE. The waste that EM must address includes radioactive, hazardous, and mixed that consists of both radioactive and hazardous constituents. Second, the DOE is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) to take title to commercial nuclear spent fuel assemblies starting in 1998. The DOE Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) was established to carry out this charter. Since a final repository is not scheduled for opening until 2010 at the earliest, the DOE is planning on providing a Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) facility for centralized storage to bridge the time gap between 1998 and 2010. The NWPA requires that nuclear utilities pay a fee into a specific fund that Congress uses to pay the DOE for the development of the MRS, the transportation system, and the repository. This fund, along with the EM budget, constitutes a multi-billion dollar effort to manage DOE nuclear waste and to store and dispose of commercial spent nuclear fuel. These two seemingly unrelated problems have aspects of commonality that can be considered for the benefit of both programs, the US taxpayer, and the utility rate payer. Both programs are the responsibility of the DOE, and both will require engineered packages for storage, transportation, and disposal of the EM waste and commercial spent fuel. Rather than using specialized systems for each step (storage, transport, and disposal), a concept for a Universal Container System has been developed that could potentially simplify the overall waste management system, reduce expensive handling operations, and reduce total system cost.
Inadvertent alloying of Cu braze metal can compromise metal/ceramic seals. Electron microprobe analyses have quantified alloying of Cu brazes in metal/ceramic feedthroughs. Pin material and processing parameters above 1084C both affect alloying levels. Using either Kovar or Ni-plated 316L stainless steel pins limits alloying compared to Palco pins. Minimizing the time during which the braze is molten also avoids excessive alloying. The original thickness of the Ni plating on the Mo-Mn metallization of the ceramic also influences the alloying content of these brazes. Metal/ceramic brazes made with long brazing cycles, Mo-Mn metallization, and Kovar components grow a layer of Mo{sub 6}(Fe{sub 3.5}CO{sub 3.5}){sub 7} on the metallization. Layer thicknesses observed do not appear to compromise joint integrity. Ni additions of approximately 10 and 20 wt.% to Cu apparently increases the stress required for stress relaxation during cooldown. to maintain creep rates required for stress relaxation during cooldown. Relative to unalloyed Cu, this strengthening effect tends to increase as temperature is decreased.
In this paper we investigate the applicability of the feature extraction mechanisms found in the neurophysiology of mammals to the problem of object recognition in synthetic aperture radar imagery. Our approach is to present multiple views of objects to be recognized to a two-stage self-organizing neural network architecture. The first stage, a two-layer Neocognitron, performs feature extraction in each layer The resulting feature vectors are presented to the second stage, an ART-2A classifier self-organizing neural network which clusters the features into multiple object categories. The feature extraction operators resulting from the self-organization process are compared to the feature extraction mechanisms found in the neurophysiology of vision. In a previous paper, the Neocognitron was trained on raw SAR imagery. The architecture was able to recognize a simulated vehicle at arbitrary azimuthal orientations at a single depression angle while rejecting clutter as well as other vehicles. Feature extraction on raw imagery yielded features that were robust but very difficult to interpret. In this paper we report the results of some new experiments in which the self-organization process is applied separately to shadow and bright returns from objects to be recognized. Feature extraction on shadow returns yield oriented contrast edge operators suggestive of bipartite simple cells observed in the striate cortex of mammals. Feature extraction on the specularity patterns in bright returns yield a collection of operators resembling a twodimensional Haar basis set. We compare the performance of the earlier two-stage neural network trained on raw imagery with a modified network using the new feature set.
The Mixed Waste Landfill Integrated Demonstration (MWLID) is testing noninvasive site characterization methods at several locations, including the Chemical Waste Landfill (CWL) at Sandia National Laboratories. The CWL comprises shallow, unlined pits that were used for the disposal of acids, oils, solvents, and inorganic compounds from 1962 until the CWL was closed in 1985. The soils of the landfills are alluvial, predominantly sand, gravels and cobbles with small quantities of silts and clays. The focus of this study is an unlined chromic acid pit (UCAP). The UCAP pit is rectangular (approximately 4 {times} 10 m), which reportedly received unknown volumes of chromium in the form of chromic acid (liquid) and other hazardous materials. At this location, we have demonstrated a continuous waveform (CW) system for site characterization. During this year, we will also utilize a crossborehole pulsed radar system. Both methods are sensitive to variations in either electrical conductivity or dielectric constant in the soils or host rock at a waste site. These earth properties are some of the most responsive geophysical indicators of metallic, acidic and water-based subsurface contaminants.
Nash, T.J.; Spielman, R.B.; Ruggles, L.; Vargas, M.
Using Saturn as a driver, we are pursuing both photoresonantly pumped and photoionization/recombination lasers. Our lasing targets are gas cells with thin windows that are pumped by a z pinch 2 cm away radiating 10 TW. In both schemes the lasant and gas fill is neon. To increase our chances of measuring the resonantly photopumped lasing transition we have introduced potassium into a sodium z pinch and have eliminated oxygen from the gas cell windows. We have measured the spatial dependence of ionization balance across the gas cell, and this measurement is consistent with propagation of a shock front across the gas cell target. We have measured blue-shifted satellites to several Li-like neon transitions that may indicate return-current driven jetting a high 1.5e8 cm/sec velocity. Using a gold z-pinch we have shown that key radiation is necessary to excite the He-like lines of neon. An attempt at a single shot gain measurement also indicates that radiation is not the only source of gas cell heating.
This paper presents a full-field dye concentration measurement technique that extends our experimental capabilities to the measurement of transient dye concentration fields within steady state flow fields under unsaturated or saturated conditions. Simple light absorption theory provides a basis for translating images into high resolution dye concentration fields. A series of dye pulse experiments that demonstrate the combined use of the full-field saturation and dye concentration techniques was conducted at four different degrees of saturation. Each of these experimental sequences was evaluated with respect to mass balance, the results being within 5% of the known dye mass input. An image windowing technique allowed us to see increased dispersion due to decreasing moisture content, tailing of concentration at the rear of the dye pulse and slight velocity changes of the dispersive front due to changes in moisture content. The exceptional resolution of dye concentration in space and time provided by this laboratory technique allows systematic experimentation for examining basic processes affecting solute transport within saturated/unsaturated porous media. Future challenges for this work will be to use these techniques to analyze more complex systems involving heterogeneities, scaling laws, and detailed investigations of the relationship between transverse and longitudinal dispersion in unsaturated media.
The Beam Characterization System is being employed at the Sandia`s National Solar Thermal Test Facility to characterize the optical performance of heliostats, point-focus solar collectors, and their optical sub-elements as part of the on-going task to develop solar thermal technologies. With this measurement system, images of concentrated solar flux are acquired using digital imaging and processed to obtain such measures of the collector`s optical performance as beam power, flux distribution, and beam diameter. Key system elements are a diffusely reflective target for imaging collector beams, meteorological instrumentation including a flux gauge to measure flux at one point in the beam, and a calibration technique to establish a pixel-intensity-to-flux-density conversion factor for the image. The system is employed in a variety of collector tests such as beam quality, tracking error, and wind effects. The paper describes the Beam Characterization System and its components and presents, for illustration, sample test results. An analysis of the Beam Characterization System`s sources of measurement error is presented. Lastly, measurement techniques that employ the BCS to align heliostats and to measure or estimate collector surface slope errors are described.
We have measured the laser emission spectra of several vertical cavity surface emitting lasers following pulsed laser excitation, with a time resolution of < 1 ps. Correlations between the observed pulse widths and cavity lifetimes were observed.
A series of constant strain rate, unconfined compression experiments was performed on saturated welded tuff specimens collected from Busted Butte near Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Twenty specimens were loaded to failure at strain rates ranging from 10{sup {minus}9}s{sup {minus}1} to 10{sup {minus}3}s{sup {minus}1}, under ambient pressure and temperature conditions. The strength of the specimens showed a continuous decrease with decreasing strain rate between 10{sup {minus}9} s{sup {minus}1} and 10{sup {minus}5} s{sup {minus}1}. At the highest strain rate, 10{sup {minus}3} s{sup {minus}1}, strengths were less than those observed at 10{sup {minus}5} s{sup {minus}1}, likely due to hydrofracturing within the specimen at rapid loading rates. Reduction in strength, corresponding to the decrease in strain rate, is explained in terms of stress corrosion cracking. A detailed examination of six specimens tested at a strain rate of 10{sup {minus}9} s{sup {minus}1}, using acoustic wave velocities and CT scans, shows a correlation between the nature of the microstructure of the specimens and the observed strengths and elastic moduli.
Pore scale invasion percolation theory is modified for imbibition of.wetting fluids into fractures. The effects of gravity, local aperture field geometry, and local in-plane air/water interfacial curvatureare included in the calculation of aperture filling potential which controls wetted structure growth within the fracture. The inclusion of gravity yields fingers oriented in the direction of the gravitational gradient. These fingers widen and tend to meander and branch more as the gravitational gradient decreases. In-plane interfacial curvature also greatly affects the wetted structure in both horizontal and nonhorizontal fractures causing the formation of macroscopic wetting fronts. The modified percolation model is used to simulate imbibition into an analogue rough-walled fracture where both fingering and horizontal imbibition experiments were previously conducted. Comparison of numerical and experimental results showed reasonably good agreement. This process oriented physical and numerical modeling is-a necessary step toward including gravity-driven fingering in models of flow and transport through unsaturated, fractured rock.
Paramount to the modeling of unsaturated flow and transport through fractured porous media is a clear understanding of the processes controlling fracture-matrix interaction. As a first step toward such an understanding, two preliminary experiments have been performed to investigate the influence of matrix imbibition on water percolation through unsaturated fractures in the plane normal to the fracture. Test systems consisted of thin slabs of either tuff or an analog material cut by a single vertical fracture into which a constant fluid flux was introduced. Transient moisture content and solute concentration fields were imaged by means of x-ray absorption. Flow fields associated with the two different media were significantly different owing to differences in material properties relative to the imposed flux. Richards` equation was found to be a valid means of modeling the imbibition of water into the tuff matrix from a saturated fracture for the current experiment.
A set of detailed geostatistical simulations of porosity has been produced for a layered stratigraphic sequence of welded and nonwelded volcanic tuffs at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The simulations are produced using a composite. model of spatial continuity and they are highly conditioned to abundant drill hole (core) information. A set of derivative simulations of saturated hydraulic conductivity has been produced, in the absence of conditioning data, using a cross-variable relationship developed from similar data elsewhere. The detailed simulations reproduce both the major stratigraphic units and finer scale layering indicated by the drill hole data. These simulations have been scaled up several order of magnitude to represent block-scale effective hydrologic properties suitable for use in numerical modeling of groundwater flow and transport. The upscaling process involves the reformulation of a previously reported method that iteratively adapts an initial arbitrary grid to ``homogenize`` the detailed hydraulic properties contained within the adjusted cell limits and to minimize the size of cell in highly heterogeneous regions. Although the computation of the block-effective property involves simple numerical averaging, the blocks over which these averages are computed are relatively homogeneous, which reduces the numerical difficulties involved in averaging non-additive properties, such as permeability. The entire process of simulation and upscaling is rapid and computationally efficient compared with alterative techniques. It is thus suitable for the Monte Carlo evaluation of the uncertainty in site characterization as it affects the results of groundwater flow and transport calculations.
Hydrologic properties have been measured on outcrop samples taken from a detailed, two-dimension grid covering a 1.4 km outcrop exposure of the 10-m thick non-welded-to-welded, shardy base microstratigraphic unit of the Tiva Canyon Member of the Miocene Paintbrush Tuff at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. These data allow quantification of spatial trends in rock matrix properties that exist in this important hydrologic unit. Geologic investigation, combined with statistical and geostatistical analyses of the numerical data, indicates that spatial variability of matrix properties is related to deterministic geologic processes that operated throughout the region. Linear vertical trends in hydrologic properties are strongly developed in the shardy base microstratigraphic unit, and they are more accurately modeled using the concept of a thickness-normalized stratigraphic elevation within the unit, rather than absolute elevation. Hydrologic properties appear to be correlated over distances of 0.25 to 0.3 of the unit thickness after removing the deterministic vertical trend. The use of stratigraphic elevation allows scaling of identified trends by unit thickness which may be of particular importance in a basal, topography-blanketing unit such as this one. Horizontal changes in hydrologic properties do not appear to form obvious trends within the limited lateral geographic extent of the ash-flow environment that was examined. Matrix properties appear to be correlated horizontally over distances between 100 and 400 m. The existence and quantitative description of these trends and patterns of vertical spatial continuity should increase confidence in models of hydrologic properties and groundwater flow in this area that may be constructed to support the design of a potential high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.
This paper presents a method of estimating the rock mass properties for the welded and nonwelded tuffs based on currently available information on intact rock and joint characteristics at the Yucca Mountain site. Variability of the expected ground conditions at the potential repository horizon (the TSw2 thermomechanical unit) and in the Calico Hills nonwelded tuffs is accommodated by defining five rock mass quality categories in each unit based upon assumed and observed distributions of the data.
A numerical approach for modeling unsaturated flow is developed for heterogeneous simulations of fractured tuff generated using a geostatistical method. Cross correlations of hydrologic properties and upscaling of moisture retention curves is discussed. The approach is demonstrated for a study of infiltration at Yucca Mountain.
The regulations that currently govern repositories for spent fuel and high-level waste require demonstrations that are sometimes described as impossible to make. To make them will require an understanding of the current and the future phenomena at repository sites; it will also require credible estimates of the probabilities that the phenomena will occur in the distant future. Experts in many fields{emdash}earth sciences, statistics, numerical modeling, and the law{emdash}have questioned whether any amount of data collection can allow modelers to meet these requirements with enough confidence to satisfy the regulators. In recent years some performance assessments have begun to shed light on this question because they use results of actual site investigations. Although these studies do not settle the question definitively, a review of a recent total-system assessment suggests that compliance may be possible to demonstrate. The review also suggests, however, that the demonstration can be only at the ``reasonable`` levels of assurance mentioned, but not defined, in the regulations.
Previous laboratory investigations of tuff have shown that porosity has a dominant, general effect on mechanical properties. As a result, it is very important for the interpretation of mechanical property data that porosity is measured on each sample tested. Porosity alone, however, does not address all of the issues important to mechanical behavior. Variability in size and distribution of pore space produces significantly different mechanical properties. A nondestructive technique for characterizing the internal structure of the sample prior to testing is being developed and the results are being analyzed. The information obtained from this technique can help in both qualitative and quantitative interpretation of test results.
In situ thermomechanical experiments are planned as part of the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project that require instruments to measure stress and displacement at temperatures that exceed the typical specifications of existing geotechnical instruments. A high degree of instrument reliability will also be required to satisfy the objectives of the experiments, therefore a study was undertaken to identify areas where improvement in instrument performance was required. A preliminary list of instruments required for the experiments was developed, based on existing test planning and analysis. Projected temperature requirements were compared to specifications of existing instruments to identify instrumentation development needs. Different instrument technologies, not currently employed in geotechnical instrumentation, were reviewed to identify potential improvements of existing designs for the high temperature environment. Technologies with strong potentials to improve instrument performance with relatively high reliability include graphite fiber composite materials, fiber optics, and video imagery.
As a follow-on to Sandia`s 1991 preliminary total-system performance assessment of the Yucca Mountain site, this paper presents results of some sensitivity analyses that were done using results from the 1991 study. Two conceptual models of unsaturated-zone flow and transport at Yucca Mountain were included in the study, including both aqueous and gaseous releases. The sensitivities are quite different for the two models. For the composite-porosity model, the results are most sensitive to groundwater percolation flux, gaseous transport time, container lifetime, and fuel-matrix-alteration rate. For the weeps model, the results are most sensitive to parameters used to characterize fracture flow (fracture aperture and fracture connectivity) and infiltration (percolation flux and weep-episode factor).
The event-tree method of scenario construction has been chosen for the Yucca Mountain performance assessment. Its applicability and suitability to the problem are discussed and compared with those of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) method. The event-tree method is appropriate for an incompletely characterized site, where there must be an evolving understanding, over time, of the processes at work, for a site that may require analysis of details in specific context, and when the scenario functions to guide site characterization. Anticipating the eventual requirement for using the NRC method, we show that the event-tree method can be translated to the NRC format after final scenario screening.
Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a widely used method for depositing thin films of a variety of materials. Applications of CVD range from the fabrication of microelectronic devices to the deposition of protective coatings. New CVD processes are increasingly complex, with stringent requirements that make it more difficult to commercialize them in a timely fashion. However, a clear understanding of the fundamental science underlying a CVD process, as expressed through computer models, can substantially shorten the time required for reactor and process development. Research scientists at Sandia use a wide range of experimental and theoretical techniques for investigating the science of CVD. Experimental tools include optical probes for gas-phase and surface processes, a range of surface analytic techniques, molecular beam methods for gas/surface kinetics, flow visualization techniques and state-of-the-art crystal growth reactors. The theoretical strategy uses a structured approach to describe the coupled gas-phase and gas-surface chemistry, fluid dynamics, heat and mass transfer of a CVD process. The software used to describe chemical reaction mechanisms is easily adapted to codes that model a variety of reactor geometries. Carefully chosen experiments provide critical information on the chemical species, gas temperatures and flows that are necessary for model development and validation. This brochure provides basic information on Sandia`s capabilities in the physical and chemical sciences of CVD and related materials processing technologies. It contains a brief description of the major scientific and technical capabilities of the CVD staff and facilities, and a brief discussion of the approach that the staff uses to advance the scientific understanding of CVD processes.
This paper presents a brief summary of condition monitoring results from an NRC-sponsored test program on aging, condition monitoring, and accident testing of Class 1E cables. In addition, since the program has been completed and the final reports have been published, this paper presents a list of references, along with abstracts for each reference. This list can serve as a guide for finding references to any desired information on the test program in varying levels of detail. The major conclusions of the test program with regard to condition monitoring were as follows: (a) of the parameters tested, elongation at break had the best correlation with aging for the most cable types; (b) hardness and indenter modulus (performed using the cable indenter developed under Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) sponsorship) measurements both increased with aging for some of the materials, especially the jacket materials, and the modulus measurements were significantly more sensitive to aging than the hardness measurements; (c) where indenter modulus was sensitive to aging, it was most sensitive in the later stages of aging, after the elongation had reached nearly 0%; (d) density generally increased with aging for most materials, but some changes were inconsistent; and (e) with only a few exceptions, tensile strength and a number of different electrical measurements did not correlate well with aging.
A fundamental concern in the design of the potential repository at Yucca Mountain. Nevada is the response of the host rock to the emplacement of heat-generating waste. The thermal perturbation of the rock mass has implications regarding the structural, hydrologic. and geochemical performance of the potential repository. The phenomenological coupling of many of these performance aspects makes repository thermal modeling a difficult task. For many of the more complex, coupled models, it is often necessary to reduce the geometry of the potential repository to a smeared heat-source approximation. Such simplifications have impacts on induced thermal profiles that in turn may influence other predicted responses through one- or two-way thermal couplings. The effect of waste employment layout on host-rock thermal was chosen as the primary emphasis of this study. Using a consistent set of modeling and input assumptions, far-field thermal response predictions made for discrete-source as well as plate source approximations of the repository geometry. Input values used in the simulations are consistent with a design-basis a real power density (APD) of 80 kW/acre as would be achieved assuming a 2010 emplacement start date, a levelized receipt schedule, and a limitation on available area as published in previous design studies. It was found that edge effects resulting from general repository layout have a significant influence on the shapes and extents of isothermal profiles, and should be accounted for in far-field modeling efforts.
Calculations of residual stresses in braze joints are required to validate designs for a variety of metal/ceramic joining applications. In particular, finite element analysis (FEA) codes have the capability of incorporating either elastic-plastic or minimum creep rate constitutive models for the braze material. This paper presents both elevated temperature mechanical properties correlations for the eutectic Ag-Cu alloy, along with FEA results which use this data in calculating residual stresses in a generic metal/ceramic ``shear'' type braze joint. Three constitutive relations have been developed for eutectic Ag-Cu alloy: (i) an elastic/plastic correlation incorporating temperature-dependent yield stress and work hardening data, (ii) a high temperature minimum creep rate correlation with a temperature-dependent stress exponent and (iii) a minimum creep rate correlation using the Garofalo hyperbolic sine (sinh) equation. FEA calculations are presented for a eutectic Ag-Cu braze joint between metallized alumina ceramic and either Fe-29Ni-17Co or Fe-27Ni-25Co alloys using the three different constitutive relations for the brazement. The two creep correlations, since they are time-dependent, permit a study of the effect of various cooldown cycles on the maximum residual stress in the alumina ceramic. For the cooldown profiles studied in this paper, lower residual stresses are predicted in the ceramic-relative to the elastic-plastic model - when either of the two creep models are used as the constitutive law for the eutectic Ag-Cu braze joint. A second important result is that the simulations which incorporate the Fe-29-Ni-17Co alloy show higher peak stresses than the Fe-27Ni-25Co alloy at 420°C, along with much lower peak stresses compared to Fe-27Ni-25Co alloy at room temperature. The reason for this somewhat surprising behavior can be understood in terms of the coefficient of thermal expansion for the two Fe-Ni-Co alloys.
A description of ion-irradiation-induced reduction in the photoluminescence (PL) signal from porous silicon is given and a simple model which is consistent with a nanocrystalline Si structure is presented. Ion irradiation with 250 keV Ne is used to controllably reduce the integrated PL signal by 20% after a fluence of 4*1012 Ne cm-2 and completely eliminate the PL signal after a fluence of 4*1013 Ne cm-2. The use of vacuum and air annealing to recover ion-induced damage is also described, but the high temperatures for annealing cause elimination of the PL signal.
Proceedings, Annual Technical Meeting - Institute of Environmental Sciences
Benham, R.A.; Duggins, B.D.
Pyro shock loads are generated in many missile or rocket systems when stages are separated or shrouds are removed. These shocks are localized, of short rise time (10's of ns) and of very high stress level. This paper will document some anomalous behavior that occurs when pyro shock accelerometers (Endevco 7270A) are exposed to levels of high frequency shock that is higher than the manufacturer's recommended limits. Such shocks occur in many pyro shock events. Standard, accepted recording techniques can produce totally erroneous data with no obvious indicator that the data is in error. Wide band data recording, along with Fourier Analysis of the data, and dynamic analysis, made by the gage manufacturer of the transducer, allow recognition of some of the non-standard response modes excited but no method of quantifying the corrupted data has been developed. Wide band recording, which will preserve the data in the gage resonance range and above, are required to insure understanding of these pyro shock events.
We have measured the efficiency (tracks per incident neutron) of pure CR-39 for detecting DD and DT neutrons. Neutrons having average energies of 2.9 MeV (DD) and 14.8 MeV (DT) were produced by a 200-keV electrostatic accelerator and the neutron yields were measured using the associated particle counting technique. All CR-39 samples irradiated by DD or DT neutrons were etched for 2 h in a 70°, 6.25-N- NaOH bath. For bare CR-39, the efficiencies for detecting 2.9- and 14.8-MeV neutrons were found to be (1.3±0.4)×10 -4 and (5.0±1.8)×10-5, respectively. We also investigated using CR-39 and polyimide as proton radiators. For detecting 2.9-MeV neutrons, the radiators had no significant effect on efficiency; but for detecting 14.8-MeV neutrons the polyimide radiator increased the efficiency to (7.8±2.8)×10-5.
Progress in Z-pinch experiments at Sandia's Saturn facility have underscored a need for an absolute yield measurement for DD fusion neutrons. The technique chosen for making this absolute yield measurement was neutron activation of indium metal samples. To calibrate the technique, a 175-keV deuteron beam was allowed to impinge on a 3.0-μm-thick erbium deuteride target, producing neutrons through the 2H(d,n)3He fusion reaction. The neutron flux produced at 0° and incident on nominal 5-g indium samples was determined by the associated particle method. This method employed protons measured from the 2H(d,p)3H reaction to infer the neutron flux produced. After neutron irradiation, the activity of the indium samples was measured with a Ge gamma-ray detector. The total activity of the metastable state 115mIn (336.23 keV) was measured, compared with the total incident flux, and a calibration factor (indium counts/neutron/gram of indium) determined. For completeness, a calibration factor for DT neutrons from the 3H(d,n)4He fusion reaction was also obtained through the measured activity of the metastable state 114mIn(190.29 keV). The experiment and the measured calibration factors for both reactions are described in the paper.
The CR-39/range-filter technique measures ion energy by determining the maximum filter thickness which ions can penetrate. CR-39 located behind the filter records the ions. This method is used to measure peak voltage in pulsed power accelerators. We investigated range and straggling effects in this diagnostic by exposing it to 8- and 15-MeV protons for both Al and Ta filters. The range agreed with published values to better than ±6%. The range straggling decreased for higher incident ion energy and lower atomic number, as expected, although there were differences up to a factor of 1.7 between the experimental values and predictions. The dependence of the track diameter distribution on ion energy enabled us to establish a signature which is characteristic of ions which penetrate a filter, via straggling. These results can be used to evaluate the errors present when this diagnostic is used to measure accelerator voltage.
In recent proton beam experiments on PBFA-II, foam-filled gold targets and gas-filled spherical exploding pushers were shot as physics targets. Surrounding these targets were gold foils used to characterize the beam. The target fabrication and characterization are presented in this paper.
Because a direct measurement of the voltage (V) in pulsed power bremsstrahlung sources can be difficult, the energy spectrum of x rays emitted is sometimes used to infer V. Both the voltage and current in such sources vary with time. Moreover, for modern x-ray simulators with multiple cathodes, multiple voltages may exist simultaneously. We demonstrate here how such sources lead to systematic errors in several types of simple-to-field x-ray voltage measurements, especially those with broad spectral response functions, when calibrated against constant-potential bremsstrahlung spectra.
We have built a five-channel, x-ray detector array based on diamond photoconducting detectors (PCDs). The diamond elements have dimensions of 3 mm × 1 mm × 1 mm (or 0.5 mm). We use diamond PCDs for their stability, flat spectral response, and low leakage currents. The good time response of diamond PCDs is due to the 100-ps electron/hole recombination time. Filters were designed to give information in the 1-10-keV spectral region. Calibration of the diamond PCDs showed sensitivities between 4 and 7 × 10-4 A/W for a bias of 100 V. We shall present data from z-pinch experiments on Saturn.
Numerical simulations of perforation in steel plates involve the treatment of material failure during the perforation process. One way to model physical material separation is to delete failed elements from the analysis based on an appropriate failure criterion. Different algorithms were used in different transient finite element codes to delete failed elements. This investigation compares the results of PRONTO 2D and LS-DYNA2D codes for a specific steel plate perforation problem. Influences of the deletion algorithms on material parameters are discussed.
A framework for coupled elastoplastic and damage theories is developed, following a rigorous thermodynamic procedure. This framework is sufficiently general to include anisotropic plasticity and damage formulations. Both the plastic yield and damage functions are constructed using homogeneous functions of degree one. The principle of maximum dissipation or maximum entropy production is used to derive the evolution relations together with the loading and unloading conditions. In addition, the convexity of the undamaging elastic domain is shown. For plasticity the resulting evolution of the plastic strains corresponds to an associative flow. This general framework is shown to be sufficiently general to describe several popular theories for both plasticity and damage. Limitations of some existing damage theories are discussed.
Continuum damage theories describe the progressive reduction in stiffness and strength of brittle materials resulting from the initiation and growth of microcracks and microvoids. When brittle materials are loaded into the nonlinear regime, they often exhibit localized zones of intense deformation and the eventual formation of macrocracks. Criteria for diffuse and discontinuous bifurcations have previously been developed and used to study the initiation of necking and localization in elastic-plastic materials. In this investigation, the same bifurcation criteria are applied to continuum damage theories. Since the bifurcation criteria depend on the fourth-order tangent modulus tensor, the first step in this investigation is the derivation of the tangent modulus tensor for a general continuum damage theory. An eigenanalysis of the symmetric part of the tangent modulus tensor is then shown to fully characterize the potential diffuse and discontinuous bifurcations associated with a given continuum damage theory.
As part of the NRC-sponsored program to study the implications of Generic Issue 57, Effects of Fire Protection System Actuation on Safety-Related Equipment,'' a subtask was performed to evaluate the applicability of formal decision analysis methods to generic issues cost/benefit-type decisions and to apply these methods to the GI-57 results. In this report, the numerical results obtained from the analysis of three plants (two PWRs and one BWR) as developed in the technical resolution program for GI-57 were studied. For each plant, these results included a calculation of the person-REM averted due to various accident scenarios and various proposed modifications to mitigate the accident scenarios identified. These results were recomputed to break out the benefit in terms of contributions due to random event scenarios, fire event scenarios, and seismic event scenarios. Furthermore, the benefits associated with risk (in terms of person-REM) averted from earthquakes at three different seismic ground motion levels were separately considered. Given this data, formal decision methodologies involving decision trees, value functions, and utility functions were applied to this basic data. It is shown that the formal decision methodology can be applied at several different levels. Examples are given in which the decision between several retrofits is changed from that resulting from a simple cost/benefit-ratio criterion by virtue of the decision-makinger's expressed (and assumed) preferences.
Leonard, J.A.; Floyd, H.L.; Parrott, L.; Goetsch, B.; Doran, L.
This issue describes several innovative technologies in modern manufacturing. Methods in which the HIRCIS sensor may cut costs in precision machining are described. Computer models and experimental methods aid in the chemical vapor deposition of high-temperature coatings. Shared computer networks provide communication for interactive collaboration. Sol-gel processing of tailored thin films furnish low cost, high quality glass coatings at room temperature. Integrated circuit characterization tools and expertise are available to improve quality and reliability in the microelectronic industry.
This paper describes preliminary experiments to investigate electron-beam radiolysis of model compounds appropriate for crude oil spills on water or soil. Since no previous work in this area is known to exist, the rate of destruction of such concentrated organic materials in aqueous media is not known. The experiments conducted here were designed to provide preliminary estimates of the destruction rate and the estimated costs. Samples of model compounds were irradiated to dose levels up to 700 Mrad (H{sub 2}0) and the change in chemical composition was determined by mass spectrometry/gas chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was found that a dose of 700 Mrads reduced the liquid volume of the model compound by 60% and that the major effect of irradiation was the formation of long chain alkanes and dimethyl and ethyl benzenes. Under certain conditions a solid polymer was found to form. When alcohol was present in the model compound, additional products included small quantities of ethane diodic acid, butanol, butanediol, and various other alcohols. Further research is recommended to obtain a better analysis of the products, better values for the destruction rates, and better understanding of dose rate effects.
For nearly 10 years, the Gould Electronics, Incorporated manufacturing plant in Chandler, Arizona, has been a model of how medium-temperature solar thermal energy systems can produce economical industrial process heat (IPH). In 1982, a solar IPH system was designed and built on the site by Solar Kinetics, Inc. The system has remained in operation and continues to provide economical process heat for Gould`s copper foil manufacturing operation. System performance and availability has fluctuated over the years, reaching a low point in early 1990 when the system was nearly inoperative because of equipment reliability problems. Gould teamed with engineers from Sandia National Laboratories` (Sandia) Solar Thermal Design Assistance Center to develop a plan to solve the technical problems and refurbish the field. The IPH system is currently operating at over 90-percent equipment availability, returning to Gould a net energy cost savings on the order of $7,500 per month. This paper presents the history and operation of the system from the perspective of the end user and describes the phased upgrade program undertaken with Sandia to refurbish the system.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is developing a large space-truss to support a micro-precision interferometer. A finite element model will be used to design and place passive and active elements in the truss to suppress vibration. To improve the model`s predictive capability, it is desirable to identify uncertain structural parameters in the model by utilizing experimental modal data. Testing of both the components and the system was performed to obtain the data necessary to identify the structural parameters. Extracting a modal model, absent of bias errors, from measured data requires great care in test design and implementation. Testing procedures that are discussed include: verification of non-constraining shaker attachment, quantification of the non-linear structural response, and the design and effects of suspension systems used to simulate a free structure. In addition to these procedures, the accuracy of the measured frequency response functions are evaluated by comparing functions measured with random excitation, using various frequency resolutions, and with step sine excitation.
This publication presents information from Sandia laboratories concerning developments in the following areas: a miniaturized sensor system for the testing and analysis of hazardous wastes;a cross-well seismic receiver for petroleum deposit detection; and computer codes for designing dish-stirling sytems.
The design, calibration, and preliminary test results for an underwater shock gauge are presented. The active element is a 25-{mu}m thick polyvinylidene fluoride shock sensor providing rise times as short as 50 ns. Fast rise time is essential to accurate recording of shock pulses with durations of only a few microseconds. The piezoelectric polymer provides a self-generating pressure sensor requiring neither amplification nor additional active electronic circuitry. The gauge package is designed to minimize electromagnetic interference from the high-voltage fire set used to power the exploding bridge wire pressure source. The gauge package is constructed to withstand the initial water shock as well as subsequent reactions in the water that result in strong water motion and bubble generation. Thin-film diaphragm sensors are not sturdy enough to withstand this environment. Initial tests show that the gauge responds in 200 ns in water and that low-frequency response is sufficient to allow recording for at least 40 {mu}s after the initial shock arrival.
Performance and functionality increases in network environments have in the need for readily accessible mass storage. UNIX{reg_sign}-based networks and mass storage systems are providing the required connectivity and interoperability, however, how UNIX-based mass storage systems are being used is not well documented. This paper describes a study of the usage of the UNIX-based Network Storage Service at Sandia National Laboratories.
A discrete element computer program, DMC (Distinct-Motion Code), has been used for several years to simulate blasting-induced rock motion. Recent enhancements of DMC`s capabilities have included addition of an algorithm that couples together rock motion and gas flow. This allows the user to specify a particular explosive which also specifies equation-of-state and other parameters necessary to model explosive gas flow from the blastwell. Rock loading by the flowing gas is calculated automatically. The mechanism for calculating the rock loading is the subject of this paper. The rock motion effects the gas flow calculation by changing the porosity. DMC is currently being used on a SLTN SPARCstation 2 computer workstation.
Solder wettability of Class II environmentally exposed Cu substrates coated with an organic solderability preservative (OSP) is being investigated. The OSP coatings slightly retarded the wetting behavior of 60Sn-40Pb solder during baseline testing of unaged coupons. A nominal increase in wetting angle, or decrease in wettability, was observed on the inhibited surfaces, particularly when less active fluxes were used. Small increases in the wetting time and decreases in the wetting rate were also measured. Simulated accelerated aging tests are underway to determine the effects of aging in a typical indoor industrial environment on the solder wettability of OSP coated Cu.
Sandia operated by AT&T for the US Department of Energy. Sandia has a billion dollar annual budget and over 8,000 employees. Sandia`s main sites are in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Livermore, California; and Tonopah, Nevada. Sandia has a broad base of engineering and scientific skills that supports the whole product cycle from advanced R&D through manufacturing and end-user support. Sandia`s original mission was to develop the non-nuclear portion of nuclear weapons. In the 1970s, the mission was expanded to include technical work on conventional and alternative energy sources. Recently, the mission was further expanded to include technology transfer and US competitiveness. This report describes the activities in the Component Development and Engineering Support Division 2000 (indicated by the bold lines on the organization chart). Division 2000 develops electrical, electronic, optical, explosive, mechanical, and other components that are the core products of Sandia systems. The Division also develops advanced capabilities in CAD/CAE, test, nondestructive test, programming, reliability, failure analysis, and simulation that are part of the core services required by Sandia systems. For each of the core products and services described in this brochure, there is a corresponding set of science and engineering capabilities that are Sandia`s core competencies. Also, there are systems groups that use these core products and services to develop ultra-reliable systems for Sandia`s customers. Most of these groups have literature available describing their capabilities and expertise.
Nuclear power plants have experienced actuations of fire protection systems (FPSs) under conditions for which these systems were not intended to actuate. They have also experienced advertent actuations with the presence of a fire. These actuations have often damaged nearby plant equipment. A review of past occurrences of both types of such events on nuclear power plant safety has been performed. Thirteen different scenarios leading to actuation of fire protection systems due to a variety of causes were identified. These scenarios range from inadvertant actuation caused by human errors to hardware failures and include seismic root causes and seismic/fire interactions. A quantification of these thirteen scenarios, where applicable, was performed on a BWR4/MKI. This report estimates the contribution of FPS actuations to core damage frequency and to risk.
Data are presented from the Geomechanical Evaluation (first phase), a very large scale in situ test fielded underground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). These data include selected fielding information, test configuration, instrumentation activities, and comprehensive results from a large number of gages. Construction of the test began in December 1984 and the test has been in operation since that time; gage data in this report cover the period from December 1984 through November 1990.
Nuclear power plants have experienced actuations of fire protection systems (FPSs) under conditions for which these systems were not intended to actuate and also have experienced advertent actuations with the presence of a fire. These actuations have often damaged safety-related equipment. A review of the impact of past occurrences of both types of such events and their impact on plant safety systems, an analysis of the risk impacts of such events on nuclear power plant safety, and a cost-benefit analysis of potential corrective measures have been performed. Thirteen different scenarios leading to actuation of fire protection systems due to a variety of causes were identified. These scenarios ranged from inadvertent actuation caused by human error to hardware failure, and include seismic root causes and seismic/fire interactions. A quantification of these thirteen root causes, where applicable, was performed on generically applicable scenarios. This document, Volume 2, contains appendices A,B, and C of this report.
Nuclear power plants have experienced actuations of fire protection systems (FPSs) under conditions for which these systems were not intended to actuate and also have experienced advertent actuations with the presence of a fire. These actuations have often damaged nearby plant equipment. A review of the impact of past occurrences of both types of such events, a quantification of the risk of FPS actuation, a sensitivity study of the quantification of the risk of FPS actuation and risk calculations in terms of person-REM have been performed. Thirteen different scenarios leading to actuation of fire protection systems due to a variety of causes were identified. A quantification of these thirteen scenarios, where applicable, was performed on a 3-loop Westinghouse Pressurized water Reactor (PWR). These scenarios ranged from inadvertent actuation caused by human error to hardware failures, and include seismic root causes and seismic/fire interaction. This report estimates the contribution of FPS actuations to core damage frequency and risk.
The VICTORIA model of radionuclide behavior in the reactor coolant system (RCS) of a light water reactor during a severe accident is described. It has been developed by the USNRC to define the radionuclide phenomena and processes that must be considered in systems-level models used for integrated analyses of severe accident source terms. The VICTORIA code, based upon this model, predicts fission product release from the fuel, chemical reactions involving fission products, vapor and aerosol behavior, and fission product decay heating. Also included is a detailed description of how the model is implemented in VICTORIA, the numerical algorithms used, and the correlations and thermochemical data necessary for determining a solution. A description of the code structure, input and output, and a sample problem are provided.
Brine inflow to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is important in assessing the performance of the repository, and a mechanistic model is needed for performance calculations. Brine inflow experiments are being conducted, and formation parameters such as the permeability and diffusivity are inferred from these data using a simplified one-dimensional radial, uniform property, single-phase Darcy flow model. This model has met with limited success in interpreting some of the recent data. Much of the data could not be satisfactorily fit with the above model because the brine inflow rate increases with time, so a more mechanistic model is being developed based on the TOUGH and TOUGH2 computer codes. These codes are much more complex than the simplified model and include a number of parameters that have not been measured. Therefore, a one-dimensional brine inflow sensitivity study has been undertaken to evaluate the importance of a number of these parameters in influencing the behavior of brine inflow to open boreholes. In addition, two-phase conditions have been included in the study, and the sensitivity of gas inflow rates and the formation pressure and saturation distributions after 1 year are examined. These results should be helpful in determining what additional measurements are necessary to assist in the development of a more mechanistic brine inflow model.
The Precision Linear Shaped Charge (PLSC) design concept involves the independent fabrication and assembly of the liner (wedge of PLSC), the tamper/confinement, and explosive. The liner is the most important part of an LSC and should be fabricated by a more quality controlled, precise process than the tamper material. Also, this concept allows the liner material to be different from the tamper material. The explosive can be loaded between the liner and tamper as the last step in the assembly process rather than the first step as in conventional LSC designs. PLSC designs are shown to produce increased jet penetrations in given targets, more reproducible jet penetration, and more efficient explosive cross sections using a minimum amount of explosive. The Linear Explosive Shaped Charge Analysis (LESCA) code developed at SandiaNational Laboratories has been used to assist in the design of PLSCs. LESCA predictions for PLSC jet penetration in aluminum targets, jet tip velocities and jet-target impact angles are compared to measured data.
Results are presented of a detailed survey of the present state of scientific understanding of cloud electrification processes and lightning warning technology. A review is given of the principles of operation and demonstrated performance factors of lightning strike location technologies and associated commercial products. Emphasis is given to the local lightning warning problem, which is divided into two categories: detection and tracking of active storms that originate outside of and move into the declared safety zone, and early detection of cloud electrification that initiates within the zone. A prototype single-station warning system design is presented that is intended to accumulate data simultaneously from a complement of different types of sensors during intervals immediately preceding the onset of lightning conditions within the area of coverage. The resultant data base will be analyzed statistically to identify the most promising combinations of early warning indicators and to quantify their reliability as a function of the warning intervals they provide.
Multiple sources of variation will often affect the stability of a manufacturing process. Items from different batches may vary because of variation both within a batch and among different batches. Potential sources of variation include within run, run-to-run and week-to-week differences in a manufacturing process. If multiple sources of variation are present, traditional control chart methods may not be appropriate. In this report we develop control charts for monitoring these sources of variation as well as the process average. An example of how to use the control charts is given, using Field 89 data from functional testing of the MC3854 neutron tube.
We have determined the effects that orientation and stress have on chemically prepared Pb(Zr,Ti)0{sub 3} (PZT) film properties. Systematic modification of the underlying substrate technology has permitted us to fabricate suites of films that have various degrees of orientation at a constant stress level, and to also fabricate films that are in different states of stress, but have similar orientation. We have fabricated highly oriented films of the following compositions: PZT 60/40, PZT 40/60 and PZT 20/80. Remanent polarizations ({approx}60 {mu}C/cm{sup 2}) greater than the best bulk polycrystalline ferroelectrics were obtained for PZT 40/60 films that were under compression and highly (001) oriented. While we show that systematically varying orientation influences ferroelectric properties, film stress also has a considerable effect. Perhaps the most important concept presented in this paper is that the sign of the film stress at the Curie point controls the type of ferroelectric behavior exhibited by PZT thin films. Further, our stress measurements as a function of thermal history indicate that the coefficient of thermal expansion of the paraelectric state is critical in determining the type of film ferroelectric behavior.
GROPE is a program that examines the input to a finite element analysis (which is in the GENESIS database format) or the output from an analysis (in the EXODUS database format). GROPE allows the user to examine any value in the database. The display can be directed to the user`s terminal or to a print file.
A Quality Management System was defined by Sub-Process teams within Data Analysis Department 2722. Each of the processes is concerned with a different phase of work for intemal customers (members of the Department) and for external customers (Sandians external to the Department, or agencies outside of Sandia). This report identifies and defines the crucial Work Processes of the Department, where each Process is documented in a separate ``Chapter.`` This report documents the effort of the Data Analysis Department to effectively provide services to its customers and to assess/improve these services. Thus this report is intended to be a ``living document`` for the Department and each member of the Department is expected to follow its guidelines.
Solar heat gain inside a radiation-shielded forklift operator compartment can be a significant problem due to the ``greenhouse effect``. Battery power prohibits the use of a refrigerant type of air-conditioning system, which limits the interior temperature to be approximately equal to the outside ambient temperature through alternative cooling methods. A heat transfer analysis is performed to determine the amount of solar heat gain in this type of mobile vehicle shelter. Various results are presented that depend on exterior surface finish and temperature difference between inside and outside ambient. An amount of forced air flow along with several design recommendations are then specified to rid the compartment of this excess heat.
Sandia National Laboratories operates the Primary Standards Laboratory for the Department of Energy, Albuquerque Operations Office (DOE/AL). This report summarizes metrology activities that received emphasis in the first half of 1992 and provides information pertinent to the operation of the DOE/AL system wide Standards and Calibration Program.
Aprepro is an algebraic preprocessor that reads a file containing both general text and algebraic, string, or conditional expressions. It interprets the expressions and outputs them to the output file along with the general text. The syntax used in Aprepro is such that all expressions between the delimiters and are evaluated and all other text is simply echoed to the output file. Aprepro contains several mathematical functions, string functions, and flow control constructs. In addition, functions are included that, with some additional files, implement a units conversion system and a material database lookup system. Aprepro was written primarily to simplify the preparation of parameterized input files for finite element analyses at Sandia National Laboratories; however, it can process any text file that does not use the characters.
GJOIN is a two- or three-dimensional mesh combination program. GJOIN combines two or more meshes written in the GENESIS mesh database format into a single GENESIS mesh. Selected nodes in the two meshes that are closer than a specified distance can be combined The geometry of the mesh databases can be modified by scaling, offsetting, revolving, and mirroring. The combined meshes can be further modified by deleting, renaming, or combining material blocks, sideset identifications, or nodeset identifications. GJOIN is one of the mesh generation tools in the Sandia National Laboratories Engineering Analysis Code Access System (SEACAS). GJOIN is typically used with the other SEACAS mesh generation codes GEN3D, GENSHELL, GREPOS, and Aprepro.
This report describes preliminary probabilistic sensitivity analyses of long term gas and brine migration at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Because gas and brine are potential transport media for organic compounds and heavy metals, understanding two-phase flow in the repository and the surrounding Salado Formation is essential to evaluating long-term compliance with 40 CFR 268.6, which is the portion of the Land Disposal Restrictions of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act that states the conditions for disposal of specified hazardous wastes. Calculations described here are designed to provide guidance to the WIPP Project by identifying important parameters and helping to recognize processes not yet modeled that may affect compliance. Based on these analyses, performance is sensitive to shaft-seal permeabilities, parameters affecting gas generation, and the conceptual model used for the disturbed rock zone surrounding the excavation. Brine migration is less likely to affect compliance with 40 CFR 268.6 than gas migration. However, results are preliminary, and additional iterations of uncertainty and sensitivity analyses will be required to provide the confidence needed for a defensible compliance evaluation. Specifically, subsequent analyses will explicitly include effects of salt creep and, when conceptual and computational models are available, pressure-dependent fracturing of anhydrite marker beds.
Iterative, annual performance-assessment calculations are being performed for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), which is a planned underground repository in southeastern New Mexico for the disposal of transuranic radioactive waste. The performance-assessment calculations estimate long-term (10,000-year) radionuclide releases from the disposal system to the accessible environment. The estimation of the releases is probabilistic in nature, requiring system parameters to be described with probability distributions. Because direct experimental data in some areas are presently insufficient or unavailable to form the required distributions, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have used a formalized expert-judgment elicitation procedure to determine the state of knowledge in these areas. Expert judgment was used to estimate the concentrations of specific radionuclides in a repository brine that might be forced up an intruding borehole, and also to estimate the distribution coefficients to determine the retardation of radionuclides in the overlying Culebra Dolomite. The variables representing these concentrations and coefficients have been shown by 1990 sensitivity analyses to be among the set of parameters making the greatest contribution to the uncertainty in WIPP performance assessment predictions. Using available information, the experts (one expert panel addressed concentrations and a second panel addressed retardation) were briefed on the problem of insufficient experimental data and were formally elicited to obtain probability distributions that characterize the uncertainty in fixed, but unknown, quantities. The probability distributions developed by the experts were incorporated into the 1991 and 1992 performance-assessment calculations.
Using concepts of decision analysis, this paper examines how government policy makers might consider and evaluate the contribution of additional inspection, openness, and confidence-building measures to diplomatic questions involving compliance with arms control agreements. During the current debate among parties to the Biological Weapons Convention as to what constitutes effective verification of compliance with that Convention, these analytical concepts were employed to evaluate some proposed inspection or confidence-building measures. Some of the salient points not bound up in the confidentiality of on-going negotiations will be summarized here.
This paper describes a current research program at Sandia National Laboratories whereby magnetic stripes are produced through the use of a new particle rotation technology. This new process allows the stripes to be produced in bulk and then held in a latent state so that they may be encoded at a later date. Since particle rotation is less dependent on the type of magnetic particle used, very high coercivity particles could provide a way to increase both magnetic tamper-resistance and accidental erasure protection. This research was initially funded by the Department of Energy, Office of Safeguard and Security as a portion of their Science and Technology Base Development, Advanced Security Concepts program. Current program funding is being provided by Sandia National Laboratories as part of their Laboratory Directed Research and Development program.
The remand of the US Environmental Protection Agency`s long-term performance standards for radioactive-waste disposal provides an opportunity to suggest modifications that would make the regulation more defensible and remove inconsistencies yet retain the basic structure of the original rule. Proposed modifications are in three specific areas: release and dose limits, probabilistic containment requirements, and transuranic-waste disposal criteria. Examination of the modifications includes discussion of the alternatives, demonstration of methods of development and implementation, comparison of the characteristics, attributes, and deficiencies of possible options within each area, and analysis of the implications for performance assessments. An additional consideration is the impact on the entire regulation when developing or modifying the individual components of the radiological standards.
Given a graph G = (V, E) where each vertex v {element_of} V is assigned a weight w(v) and each edge e {element_of} E is assigned a cost c(e), the quotient of a cut partitioning the vertices of V into sets S and {bar S} is c(S, {bar S})/min{l_brace}w(S), w(S){r_brace}, where c(S, {bar S}) is the sum of the costs of the edges crossing the cut and w(S) and w({bar S}) are the sum of the weights of the vertices in S and {bar S}, respectively. The problem of finding a cut whose quotient is minimum for a graph has in recent years attracted considerable attention, due in large part to the work of Rao and Leighton and Rao. They have shown that an algorithm (exact or approximation) for the minimum-quotient-cut problem can be used to obtain an approximation algorithm for the more famous minimumb-balanced-cut problem, which requires finding a cut (S,{bar S}) minimizing c(S,{bar S}) subject to the constraint bW {le} w(S) {le} (1 {minus} b)W, where W is the total vertex weight and b is some fixed balance in the range 0 < b {le} {1/2}. Unfortunately, the minimum-quotient-cut problem is strongly NP-hard for general graphs, and the best polynomial-time approximation algorithm known for the general problem guarantees only a cut whose quotient is at mostO(lg n) times optimal, where n is the size of the graph. However, for planar graphs, the minimum-quotient-cut problem appears more tractable, as Rao has developed several efficient approximation algorithms for the planar version of the problem capable of finding a cut whose quotient is at most some constant times optimal. In this paper, we improve Rao`s algorithms, both in terms of accuracy and speed. As our first result, we present two pseudopolynomial-time exact algorithms for the planar minimum-quotient-cut problem. As Rao`s most accurate approximation algorithm for the problem -- also a pseudopolynomial-time algorithm -- guarantees only a 1.5-times-optimal cut, our algorithms represent a significant advance.
The ability to design gating systems that reliably feed and support investment castings is often the result of ``cut-and-try`` methodology. Factors such as hot tearing, porosity, cold shuts, misruns, and shrink are defects often corrected by several empirical gating design iterations. Sandia National Laboratories is developing rules that aid in removing the uncertainty involved in the design of gating systems for investment castings. In this work, gating geometries used for filling of thin walled investment cast 17-4PH stainless steel flat plates were investigated. A full factorial experiment evaluating the influence of metal pour temperature, mold preheat temperature, and mold channel thickness were conducted for orientations that filled a horizontal flat plate from the edge. A single wedge gate geometry was used for the edge-gated configuration. Thermocouples placed along the top of the mold recorded metal front temperatures, and a real-time x-ray imaging system tracked the fluid flow behavior during filling of the casting. Data from these experiments were used to determine the terminal fill volumes and terminal fill times for each gate design.
This paper studied the behavior of retained system poles and transmission zeros in a control design model when the model is truncated. The sensitivity of the transmission zeros due to the tuncation of system dynamics was analytically obtained. The sensitivity of system poles to the truncation of system dynamics was shown to be zero as expected. The effects of actuator-sensor type and location was also studied. The results were illustrated with two example problems. The effect of transmission zero shifts in control design models and the controllers designed from them was illustrated with an example.
A telerobotic system demonstration was developed for the Department of Energy`s Accident Response group to highlight the applications of telerobotic vehicles to accident site inspection. The proof-of- principle system employs two mobile robots, Dixie and RAYBOT, to inspect a simulated accident site. Both robots are controlled serially from a single driving station, allowing an operator to take advantage of having multiple robots at the scene. The telerobotic system is described and some of the advantages of having more than one robot present are discussed. Future plans for the system are also presented.
This report will present a brief overview of the transient dynamics capabilities at Sandia National Laboratories, with an emphasis on recent new developments and current research. In addition, the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Engineering Analysis Code Access System (SEACAS), which is a collection of structural and thermal codes and utilities used by analysts at SNL, will be described. The SEACAS system includes pre- and post-processing codes, analysis codes, database translation codes, support libraries, Unix shell scripts for execution, and an installation system. SEACAS is used at SNL on a daily basis as a production, research, and development system for the engineering analysts and code developers. Over the past year, approximately 190 days of CPU time have been used by SEACAS codes on jobs running from a few seconds up to two and one-half days of CPU time. SEACAS is running on several different systems at SNL including Cray Unicos, Hewlett Packard HP-UX, Digital Equipment Ultrix, and Sun SunOS. An overview of SEACAS, including a short description of the codes in the system, will be presented. Abstracts and references for the codes are listed at the end of the report.
A simple, approximate model of parachute inflation is described. The model is based on the traditional, practical treatment of the fluid resistance of rigid bodies in nonsteady flow, with appropriate extensions to accommodate the change in canopy inflated shape. Correlations for the steady drag and steady radial force as functions of the inflated radius are required as input to the dynamic model. In a novel approach, the radial force is expressed in terms of easily obtainable drag and reefing fine tension measurements. A series of wind tunnel experiments provides the needed correlations. Coefficients associated with the added mass of fluid are evaluated by calibrating the model against an extensive and reliable set of flight data. A parameter is introduced which appears to universally govern the strong dependence of the axial added mass coefficient on motion history. Through comparisons with flight data, the model is shown to realistically predict inflation forces for ribbon and ringslot canopies over a wide range of sizes and deployment conditions.
This document presents the quality assurance (QA) procedures for Parameter Selection and Expert Judgment Panels used by the performance Assessment Department of Sandia National Laboratories, which directly supports the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Parameter Selection QA procedures described herein will be incorporated into the general Performance Assessment Quality Assurance Procedures, QAP 2-3; the Expert Judgment Panel procedures will be incorporated into QAP 2-6. Both sets of procedures will apply to all Sandia and Sandia contractor activities related to performance assessment (except where the contractor has its own approved QA procedures). This report presents the philosophy behind the QA procedures, provides the standards adopted for performance assessment Parameter Selection and Expert Judgment Panels, and discusses the implementation of these standards.
This 1991 report contains monitoring data from routine radiological and nonradiological environmental surveillance activities. Summaries of significant environmental compliance programs in progress such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation, environmental permits, environmental restoration (ER), and various waste management programs for Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque (SNL, Albuquerque) are included. The maximum offsite dose impact was calculated to be 1.3 {times} 10{sup {minus}3} mrem. The total population within a 50-mile radius of SNL, Albuquerque, received a collective dose of 0.53 person-rem during 1991 from SNL, Albuquerque, operations. As in the previous year, the 1991 operations at SNL, Albuquerque, had no discernible impact on the general public or on the environment.
This preliminary study analyzes the atmospheric entry of a solid core nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) engine under three accidental entry scenarios. Depending on the scenario, results of the analysis showed that, without external thermal protection, an aluminum pressure vessel will fail at altitudes ranging 25 to 73 km. subsequent release the core materials occurs. The graphitic based core materials will undergo partial ablation, with the percent mass loss depending on the geometry of the fuel elements. A carbon-phenolic thermal protection system was sized to prevent pressure vessel aerothermal failure. It was found to increase the mass of the NTR by approximately 15 percent.
This report examines containment requirements for spent-fuel transport containers that are transported under normal and hypothetical accident conditions. A methodology is described that estimates the probability of rod failure and the quantity of radioactive material released from breached rods. This methodology characterizes the dynamic environment of the cask and its contents and deterministically models the peak stresses that are induced in spent-fuel cladding by the mechanical and thermal dynamic environments. The peak stresses are evaluated in relation to probabilistic failure criteria for generated or preexisting ductile tearing and material fractures at cracks partially through the wall in fuel rods. Activity concentrations in the cask cavity are predicted from estimates of the fraction of gases, volatiles, and fuel fines that are released when the rod cladding is breached. Containment requirements based on the source term are calculated in terms of maximum permissible volumetric leak rates from the cask. Calculations are included for representative cask designs.
This report describes a mechanism for compiling the functional language SISAL for Sandia`s Epsilon-2 hybrid dataflow machine. The strategy couples the front-end of the standard SISAL compiler (which generates a data dependence graph intermediate form called IF1) with an optimizing code-generator for Epsilon-2. The Epsilon-2 code-generator is the back-end of a compiler for the functional language Id. It translates a data dependence graph intermediate form called Program Graphs into Epsilon-2 machine code. This report describes a translation path from IF1 graphs to Program Graphs. This report also comments on the relative merits of the IF1 and Program Graph representations.
This memorandum is a synopsis of the description and operation of the equipment used and the events accuring during the calibration of gauges on the vacuum station over the range of 0.0001 to 650 torr.
This report summarizes the environmental surveillance activities conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company (REECO) for the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) operated by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). Other environmental compliance programs such as the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), environmental permits, environmental restoration, and waste management programs are also included. The 1991 SNL, TTR, operations had no discernible impact on the general public or the environment. This report 3-s prepared for the US Department of Energy (DOE) in compliance with DOE Order 5400.1.
Through a program sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Cummins Power Generation, Inc. (CPG) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) have entered into a joint venture to develop and commercialize economically competitive dish-Stirling systems for remote power applications. Sixteen systems, representing three generations of technology, will be developed, fielded, and tested in the Dish-Stirling Joint Venture Program (JVP). The JVP is funded equally by a consortium led by CPG and by the DOE. After completion of the program, CPG`s commercialization effort will continue with limited production expected to start in 1996. In this paper, the program plan and the technology used in the JVP are outlined. ne current status of the key system components, and the initial results of a system optimization study including current cost and performance estimates, are also provided.
Research in recent years has demonstrated the efficient use of solar thermal energy for driving endothermic chemical reforming reactions in which hydrocarbons are reacted to form syngas. Closed-loop reforming/methanation systems can be used for storage and transport of process heat and for short-term storage for peaking power generation. Open-loop reforming and gasification systems can be used for direct fuel production; for production of syngas feedstock for further processing to bulk ammonia, hydrogen, and liquid fuels; and for destruction of hazardous organic materials. To help identify the most promising areas for future development of this technology, we discuss in this paper the market potential of these applications.
FASTCAST is a Sandia National Laboratories program to produce investment cast prototypical hardware faster by integrating experimental and computational technologies into the casting process. FASTCAST uses the finite element method to characterize the metal flow and solidification processes to reduce uncertainty in the mold design. For the casting process to benefit from finite element analysis, analysis results must be available in a very short time frame. By focusing on the bottleneck of finite element model creation, automated mesh generation can drastically reduce the time span between geometry definition (design) and accurate analysis results. The increased availability of analysis results will diminish the need for trial and error approaches to acquiring production worthy mold and gating systems for investment casting. The CUBIT meshing tool kit is being developed to address the need for rapid mesh generation. CUBIT is being designed to effectively automate the generation of quadrilateral and hexahedral elements. It is a solid-modeler based, two- and three-dimensional preprocessor that prepares solid models for finite element analysis. CUBIT contains several meshing algorithms including two- and three-dimensional mapping, two- and three-dimensional paving (patented), and a general two and one-half dimensional sweeper based upon the plastering algorithm. This paper describes progress in the development of the CUBIT meshing toolkit.
The purpose of this NUREG is to provide technical information on the major components of entry control systems: identity verifiers, weapons detectors, explosives detectors, and special nuclear material (SNM) detectors. For each type of device, information is presented on principles of operation, hardware features, recommended installation, testing methods, and operational procedures. Applications to personnel, handcarried packages, bulk items, and vehicles are addressed.
We have investigated the chemistry of Cu(hfac){sub 2}, (hfac)Cu(VTMS), (hfac)Cu(2-butyne), and hfach on a Pt(111) surface. In contrast to what is observed on copper surfaces. Cu(hfac)2 and hfach lead to the formation of distinctly different adsorbed hfac species on Pt(111). This shows the importance of the copper atoms themselves in determining the surface chemistry of copper {beta}-diketonate CVD precursors. The hfac species on Pt(111) are considerably less stable than hfac on copper, suggesting that unimolecular decomposition may lead to impurity incorporation in the interfacial region when copper is deposited onto a more reactive substrate. In situ CVD studies with Cu(I) {beta}-diketonates show that the bimolecular disproportionation reaction leading to copper CVD is favored over unimolecular precursor decomposition at pressures above approximately 10{sup {minus}5} torr.
The fifth experiment of the Integral Effects Test (IET-5) series was conducted to investigate the effects of high pressure melt ejection on direct containment heating. Scale models of the Zion reactor pressure vessel (RPV), cavity, instrument tunnel, and subcompartment structures were constructed in the Surtsey Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratories. The RPV was modeled with a melt generator that consisted of a steel pressure barrier, a cast MgO crucible, and a thin steel inner liner. The melt generator/crucible had a hemispherical bottom head containing a graphite limiter plate with a 4-cm exit hole to simulate the ablated hole in the RPV bottom head that would be formed by ejection of an instrument guide tube in a severe nuclear power plant accident. The cavity contained 3.48 kg of water, and the basement floor inside the crane wall contained 71 kg of water, which corresponded to condensate levels in the Zion plant. A 43-kg initial charge of iron oxide/aluminium/chromium thermite was used to simulate corium debris on the bottom head of the RPV. Molten them-lite was ejected by 6.0 MPa of steam into the reactor cavity.
The purpose of this NUREG is to present technical information that should be useful for understanding and applying locking systems for physical protection and control. There are major sections on hardware for locks, vaults, safes, and security containers. Other topics include management of lock systems and safety considerations. this document also contains notes on standards and specifications and a glossary.
Creep tests were performed on a representative sample of rock salt from borehole Moss Bluff 2 (MB2), Moss Bluff dome near Houston, Texas. Moss Bluff 2 is located at the site of a compressed gas storage cavern of Tejas Power Corporation. Four triaxial experiments were conducted at two values of principal stress difference and two representative temperatures. The minimum observed creep rates at the end of each test varied between 5.2{times}10{sup {minus}9} 1/s and 2.14{times}10{sup {minus}8} 1/s. Comparisons of the present results with existing data for rock salt from other locations suggest that the steadystate creep characteristics of MB2 salt, depth 3349 ft (1098.8 m), are intermediate to those measured for the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve at West Hackberry and Bryan Hound, which included the most creep resistant rock salt ever tested at Sandia National Laboratories. Creep parameters are suggested for first-order sensitivity calculations.
The destruction of the Earth`s protective ozone layer is one of today`s largest environmental concerns. Solvent emissions released during the cleaning of printed wiring boards (PWBs) have been identified as a primary contributor to ozone destruction. No-clean soldering (sometimes referred to as self-cleaning) processes represent an ideal solution since they eliminate the need for cleaning after soldering. Elimination of solvent cleaning operations significantly reduces the emissions of ozone depleting chemicals (ODCs), reduces energy consumption, and reduces product costs. Several no-clean soldering processes have been developed over the past few years. The program`s purpose was to evaluate the no-clean soldering process and to determine if hardware produced by the process is acceptable for military applications. That is, determine if the no-clean process produces hardware that is as reliable as that soldered with the existing rosin-based flux solvent cleaning process.
Sandia National Laboratories performed random vibration and shock tests on a tritium hydride transport vessel that was packaged in an H1616-1 container. The objective of the tests was to determine if the hydride transport vessel remains leaktight under vibration and shock normally incident to transport, which is a requirement that the hydride transport vessel must meet to be shipped in the H1616-1. Helium leak tests before and after the vibration and shock tests showed that the hydride transport vessel remained leaktight under the specified conditions. There were no detrimental effects on the containment vessel of the H1616-1.
One of the most challenging applications facing the computer community is development of effective adaptive human-computer interface. This challenge stems from the complex nature of the human part of this symbiosis. The application of this discipline to the environmental restoration and waste management is further complicated due to the nature of environmental data. The information that is required to manage environmental impacts of human activity is fundamentally complex. This paper will discuss the efforts at Sandia National Laboratories in developing the adaptive conceptual model manager within the constraint of the environmental decision-making. A computer workstation, that hosts the Conceptual Model Manager and the Sandia Environmental Decision Support System will also be discussed.
Choosing the appropriate conceptual model of contaminant transport from a hazardous waste site to the underlying aquifer will assist in designing efficient site investigation and remediation strategies. One method of collecting data to support a conceptual model is by comparing ground water sampling results to soil gas sampling results that are collected through existing monitoring wells. This underutilized data collection technique is quick, easy, and inexpensive. Comparing the soil gas results to ground water results can assist in supporting or refuting a conceptual model selection. In addition, soil gas sampling from existing monitoring wells may provide an early warning detection technique to impending ground water contamination. This approach is being implemented at the Chemical Waste Landfill at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The Recirculating Linear Accelerator (RLA) utilizes the Ion Focused Regime (IFR) of beam transport plus a ramped bending field to guide the beam around the curved sections. Several issues of beam transport are considered. Beam transverse perturbations that could result in growth of the ion hose instability are analyzed. It is found that transverse kicks due to bending field errors, energy mismatches and fringe fields are the most important. The scaling of these perturbations with beam and channel parameters is derived. The effect of ramping of the bending field on the preformed plasma channel is then considered. For RLA experimental parameters the effect is found to be very small. For high energies however, in addition to axial heating, it is found that ramping the field causes compression of the plasma channel along the radius of curvature. This compression results in a quasi-equilibrium plasma electron temperature along the field lines which leads to collisionless transport towards the walls. The analysis of compression is done in an approximate way using a single particle picture and the channel expansion is analyzed using an envelope solution which gives a simple expression for the expansion time. This solution is then verified by Buckshot simulations. For a bending field of 2 kG ramped in 2 {mu}-secs and an argon channel (RLA parameters) we estimate that the channel radius doubling time (along field lines) is of the order of 0.5 {mu}-secs. Finally the effect of electron impact ionization due to axially heated electrons by the action of the inductive field is estimated. It is found that in Argon gas the electron avalanche time could be as low as 0.5 {mu}-sec which is smaller than the field ramp time.
Piping penetrations in nuclear power plant steel containments are surrounded by flexible metal bellows. The purpose of the bellows is to maintain the containment pressure boundary integrity while permitting relative movement between the piping and the containment wall. In a severe accident, bellows may be subjected to high temperatures, pressure, and combinations of lateral and axial deflections. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), under sponsorship of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), is performing a series of tests to investigate the performance of containment bellows under severe accident conditions.
Radioactive spent fuel assemblies are a source of hazardous waste that will have to be dealt with in the near future. It is anticipated that the spent fuel assemblies will be transported to disposal sites in spent fuel transportation casks. In order to design a reliable and safe transportation cask, the maximum cladding temperature of the spent fuel rod arrays must be calculated. The maximum rod temperature is a limiting factor in the amount of spent fuel that can be loaded in a transportation cask. The scope of this work is to demonstrate that reasonable and conservative spent fuel rod temperature predictions can be made using commercially available thermal analysis codes. The demonstration is accomplished by a comparison between numerical temperature predictions, with a commercially available thermal analysis code, and experimental temperature data for electrical rod heaters simulating a horizontally oriented spent fuel rod bundle.
Prior work has shown that the piezoelectric response of shock-compressed PVDF film prepared with attention to mechanical and electrical processing exhibits precise, well-defined, reproducible behavior to 10 GPa. Higher pressure response continues to pressures approaching 50 GPa, and appears to provide a basis for a very high pressure stress-rate gauge. Previous work shows that differences in response were sometimes observed. The present report describes studies in progress undertaken to increase the precision of the polarization of the PVDF and to develop optimum sensors and shock gauge package designs. Results obtained on such careful prepared PVDF shock gauges show that differences in electrical charge response less than few percent are observed between 10 and 25 GPa.
Recent progress in the design, synthesis, and activity testing of catalysts for partial oxidation of light alkanes is described. The first testing results for the designed halogenated dodeca-substituted iron-porphyrin catalysts are presented. The results validate the design goals selected and suggest improvements to the current catalyst designs.
Space Nuclear Reactor Systems, especially those used for propulsion, often have expected operation run times much shorter than those for land-based nuclear power plants. This produces substantially different radionuclide inventories to be considered in the safety analyses of space nuclear systems. This presentation describes an analysis utilizing ORIGEN2 and DKPOWER to provide comparisons among representative land-based and space systems. These comparisons enable early, conceptual considerations of safety issues and features in the preliminary design phases of operational systems, test facilities, and operations by identifying differences between the requirements for space systems and the established practice for land-based power systems. Early indications are that separation distance is much more effective as a safety measure for space nuclear systems than for power reactors because greater decay of the radionuclide activity occurs during the time to transport the inventory a given distance. In addition, the inventories of long-lived actinides are very low for space reactor systems.
A variety of approaches for handling effluent from nuclear thermal propulsion system ground tests in an environmentally acceptable manner are discussed. The functional requirements of effluent treatment are defined and concept options are presented within the framework of these requirements. System concepts differ primarily in the choice of fission-product retention and waste handling concepts. The concept options considered range from closed cycle (venting the exhaust to a closed volume or recirculating the hydrogen in a closed loop) to open cycle (real time processing and venting of the effluent). This paper reviews the strengths and weaknesses of different methods to handle effluent from nuclear thermal propulsion system ground tests.
This report details the Science Fair Self-Help Development Program, which was initiated in a pilot project at three middle schools in Albuquerque, NM, during school year 1991-1992. The purpose of the program was to provide guidance to schools in developing their own parental and community resources into a sustainable support group whose major function would be to assist the school's science teachers and administration in all aspects of the science fair. The report documents the development of the Self-Help Program and the results of the pilot testing.
This document presents the quality assurance (QA) philosophy and procedures for analyses and report reviews used by the Performance Assessment Department of Sandia National Laboratories, which directly supports the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Analysis procedures described herein will be incorporated into the Performance Assessment Analysis Quality Assurance Procedures (QAP 2-4), and report review procedures will be incorporated into QAP 2-5; both will apply to all Sandia and Sandia contractor activities related to performance assessment (except where the contractor has its own approved QA procedures). This report presents the philosophy behind the OA procedures, provides the standards adopted for performance assessment analysis and report review, discusses the implementation of these standards, and summarizes the software executive package, CAMCON, which aids in implementing the standards.
The choice of technologies for the delivery of very high bandwidth throughout a facility capable of ultimately achieving gigabits per second performance, is a crucial one for any high technology facility. The components of a high bandwidth delivery system include high performance sources and sinks in the form of central facilities (major mainframes, large file storage and specialized peripherals) and powerful, full bandwidth distributed local area networks (LANs). In order to deliver bandwidth among the sources and sinks, a ubiquitous inter-/intra-building cable plant consisting of single mode and multimode fiber as well as twisted pair copper is required. The selection of the ``glue`` to transport and interconnect the LANs with the central facility over the pervasive cable plant is the focus of this paper. A design philosophy for high performance communications systems is proposed. A description of the traditional problems that must be overcome to provide very high bandwidth beyond the narrow confines of a computer center is given. The advantages of ATM switching and SONET physical transport are explored in the structured design presentation. The applicability of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switching (interconnection) and Synchronous Optical NETwork (SONET) (transport) for high bandwidth delivery is described using the environment and requirements of Sandia National Laboratories as a context to examine the suitability of those technologies. The synergy and utility of ATM and SONET in the campus network are explored. Other methods for distributing high data rates are compared and contrasted to ATM and SONET with respect to cable plant impact, reliability/availability, maintainability, and capacity. Sandia is implementing a standards based foundation utilizing a pervasive single mode fiber cable plant, SONET transport, and ATM switching to meet the goals of gigabit networking.
Aerospace components are often subjected to pyroshock events during flight and deployment, and must be qualified to this frequently severe environment. Laboratory simulation of pyroshock using a mechanically excited resonant fixture, has gained favor at Sandia for testing small (<8 inch cube) weapon components. With this method, each different shock environment required a different resonant fixture that was designed such that it`s response matched the environment. A new test method has been developed which eliminates the need to have a different resonant fixture for each test requirement. This is accomplished by means of a tunable resonant fixture that has a response which is adjustable over a wide frequency range. The adjustment of the fixture`s response is done in a simple and deterministic way. This report covers the first phase of this research, which includes design conception through fabrication and evaluation of hardware capable of testing components with up to a 10 inch {times} 10 inch base. This method will ultimately allow the testing of much larger items, perhaps as large as entire small satellites.