During the past several years Sandia National Laboratories has carried out proof-of-concept experiments to demonstrate tunable, efficient, high-energy ultraviolet nanosecond light sources for satellite-based ozone DIAL. We designed our UV sources to generate pulse energies ≳ 200 mJ at 10 Hz in the range of 308-320 nm with optical-to-optical efficiency approaching 25%. We use sum-frequency generation to mix the 532 nm second harmonic of Nd:YAG with near-IR light derived from a self-injection-seeded image-rotating nonplanar-ring optical parametric oscillator. Laboratory configurations using extra- and intra-cavity sum-frequency generation were designed and tested, yielding 1064 nm to 320 nm conversion efficiencies of 21% and 23% respectively, with pulse energies of 190 mJ and 70 mJ. These energies and efficiencies require pump depletion in the parametric oscillator of at least 80% and SFG efficiency approaching 60%. While the results reported here fall slightly short of our original goals, we believe UV pulse energies exceeding 250 mJ are possible with additional refinements to our technology. Although the sources tested to date are laboratory prototypes with extensive diagnostics, the core components are compact and mechanically robust and can easily be packaged for satellite deployment.
Laser-extinction diagnostics can provide spatially and temporally resolved measurements of attenuation from combustion-generated soot within the path of the beam. When laser-extinction techniques are utilized in high-pressure combustion environments, however, a number of complications may be encountered that are not present in low-pressure environments. Several of these experimental difficulties were investigated in diesel engine environments, and solutions that facilitated acquisition of reliable laser-extinction data were demonstrated. Beam steering due to refractive index gradients within the combusting gases was observed, and a full-angle beam divergence of over 100 mrad was measured. A spatial-filtering scheme was employed to reduce the collection of forward-scattered light and background combustion luminosity while ensuring full collection of the steered beam. To further reject combustion luminosity, a narrow-bandpass laser-line filter was employed, after diffusing the transmitted light sufficiently to avoid the effects of significant spatial non-uniformities of the filter. As the windows were subjected to thermal and mechanical stresses, dynamic etaloning effects due to the photoelastic properties of synthetic fused silica were observed. Dynamic changes in the polarization of the exit beam were also observed, as stress-induced birefringence in the windows caused dynamic phase retardation of the transmitted beam. Although these photoelastic effects could not be eliminated, they were mitigated by introducing curvature to the wavefronts in the laser-extinction beam and using polarization-insensitive elements in the detection optics. Soot deposits on window surfaces were removed ablatively using a coaxial, high-energy, pulsed Nd:YAG laser beam.
Accelerated aging of Nylon 6.6 fibers used in parachutes has been conducted by following the tensile strength loss under both thermal-oxidative and 100% relative humidity conditions. Thermal-oxidative studies (air circulating ovens) were performed for time periods of weeks to years at temperatures ranging from 37 °C to 138 °C. Accelerated aging humidity experiments (100% RH) were performed under both an argon atmosphere to examine the 'pure' hydrolysis pathway, and under an oxygen atmosphere (oxygen partial pressure close to that occurring in air) to mimic true aging conditions. As expected the results indicated that degradation caused by humidity is much more important than thermal-oxidative degradation. Surprisingly when both oxygen and humidity were present the rate of degradation was dramatically enhanced relative to humidity aging in the absence of oxygen. This significant and previously unknown phenomena underscores the importance of careful accelerated aging that truly mimics real world storage conditions. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This report is a review of open literature concerning threats including sabotage and theft related to fissile material transport in Japan. It is intended to aid Japanese officials in the development of a design basis threat. This threat includes the external threats of the terrorist, criminal, and extremist, and the insider threats of the disgruntled employee, the employee forced into cooperation via coercion, the psychotic employee, and the criminal employee. Examination of the external terrorist threat considers Japanese demographics, known terrorist groups in Japan, and the international relations of Japan. Demographically, Japan has a relatively homogenous population, both ethnically and religiously. Japan is a relatively peaceful nation, but its history illustrates that it is not immune to terrorism. It has a history of domestic terrorism and the open literature points to the Red Army, Aum Shinrikyo, Chukaku-Ha, and Seikijuku. Japan supports the United States in its war on terrorism and in Iraq, which may make Japan a target for both international and domestic terrorists. Crime appears to remain low in Japan; however sources note that the foreign crime rate is increasing as the number of foreign nationals in the country increases. Antinuclear groups' recent foci have been nuclear reprocessing technology, transportation of MOX fuel, and possible related nuclear proliferation issues. The insider threat is first defined by the threat of the disgruntled employee. This threat can be determined by studying the history of Japan's employment system, where Keiretsu have provided company stability and lifetime employment. Recent economic difficulties and an increase of corporate crime, due to sole reliability on the honor code, have begun to erode employee loyalty.
Oil caverns at the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) are subjected to geothermal heating from the surrounding domal salt. This process raises the temperature of the crude oil from around 75 F upon delivery to SPR to as high as 130 F after decades of storage. While this temperature regime is adequate for long-term storage, it poses challenges for offsite delivery, with warm oil evolving gases that pose handling and safety problems. SPR installed high-capacity oil coolers in the mid-1990's to mitigate the emissions problem by lowering the oil delivery temperature. These heat exchanger units use incoming raw water as the cooling fluid, and operate only during a drawdown event where incoming water displaces the outgoing oil. The design criteria for the heat exchangers are to deliver oil at 100 F or less under all drawdown conditions. Increasing crude oil vapor pressures due in part to methane intrusion in the caverns is threatening to produce sufficient emissions at or near 100 F to cause the cooled oil to violate delivery requirements. This impending problem has initiated discussion and analysis of alternative cooling methods to bring the oil temperature even lower than the original design basis of 100 F. For the study described in this report, two alternative cooling methods were explored: (1) cooling during a limited drawdown, and (2) cooling during a degas operation. Both methods employ the heat exchangers currently in place, and do not require extra equipment. An analysis was run using two heat transfer models, HEATEX, and CaveMan, both developed at Sandia National Laboratories. For cooling during a limited drawdown, the cooling water flowrate through the coolers was varied from 1:1 water:oil to about 3:1, with an increased cooling capacity of about 3-7 F for the test cavern Bryan Mound 108 depending upon seasonal temperature effects. For cooling in conjunction with a degas operation in the winter, cavern oil temperatures for the test cavern Big Hill 102 were cooled sufficiently that the cavern required about 9 years to return to the temperature prior to degas. Upon reviewing these results, the authors recommended to the U.S. Department of Energy that a broader study of the cooling during degas be pursued in order to examine the potential benefits of cooling on all caverns in the current degasification schedule.
In October of 2003 experts involved in various aspects of homeland security from the Pacific region met to engage in a free-wheeling discussion and brainstorming (a 'fest') on the role that technology could play in winning the war on terrorism in the Pacific region. The result was a concise and relatively thorough definition of the terrorism problem in the Pacific region, emphasizing the issues unique to Island nations in the Pacific setting, along with an action plan for developing working demonstrations of advanced technological solutions to these issues. Since PacFest 2003, the maritime dimensions of the international security environment have garnered increased attention and interest. To this end, PacFest 2004 sought to identify gaps and enabling technologies for maritime domain awareness and responsive decision-making in the Asia-Pacific region. The PacFest 2004 participants concluded that the technologies and basic information building blocks exist to create a system that would enable the Pacific region government and private organizations to effectively collaborate and share their capabilities and information concerning maritime security. The proposed solution summarized in this report integrates national environments in real time, thereby enabling effective prevention and first response to natural and terrorist induced disasters through better use of national and regional investments in people, infrastructure, systems, processes and standards.
The report presented below is to appear in ''Electrochemistry at the Nanoscale'', Patrik Schmuki, Ed. Springer-Verlag, (ca. 2005). The history of the LIGA process, used for fabricating dimensional precise structures for microsystem applications, is briefly reviewed, as are the basic elements of the technology. The principal focus however, is on the unique aspects of the electrochemistry of LIGA through-mask metal deposition and the generation of the fine and uniform microstructures necessary to ensure proper functionality of LIGA components. We draw from both previously published work by external researchers in the field as well as from published and unpublished studies from within Sandia.
Sandia National Laboratories, California (SNL/CA) is a government-owned/contractor-operated laboratory. Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, operates the laboratory for the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration. The DOE Sandia Site Office oversees operations at the site, using Sandia Corporation as a management and operating contractor. This Site Environmental Report for 2004 was prepared in accordance with DOE Order 231.1A. The report provides a summary of environmental monitoring information and compliance activities that occurred at SNL/CA during calendar year 2004. General site and environmental program information is also included.
Model-based computer simulations have revolutionized product development in the last 10 to 15 years. Technologies that have existed for many decades or even centuries have been improved with the aid of computer simulations. Everything from low-tech consumer goods such as detergents, lubricants and light bulb filaments to the most advanced high-tech products such as airplane wings, wireless communication technologies and pharmaceuticals is engineered with the aid of computer simulations today. In this paper, we present a framework for describing computational tools and their application within the context of product engineering. We examine a few cases of product development that integrate numerical computer simulations into the development stage. We will discuss how the simulations were integrated into the development process, what features made the simulations useful, the level of knowledge and experience that was necessary to run meaningful simulations and other details of the process. Based on this discussion, recommendations for the incorporation of simulations and computational tools into product development will be made.
The objective of this subtask of the Unconventional Nuclear Warfare Design project was to demonstrate mitigation technologies for radiological material dispersal and to assist planners with incorporation of the technologies into a concept of operations. The High Consequence Assessment and Technology department at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has studied aqueous foam's ability to mitigate the effects of an explosively disseminated radiological dispersal device (RDD). These benefits include particle capture of respirable radiological particles, attenuation of blast overpressure, and reduction of plume buoyancy. To better convey the aqueous foam attributes, SNL conducted a study using the Explosive Release Atmospheric Dispersion model, comparing the effects of a mitigated and unmitigated explosive RDD release. Results from this study compared health effects and land contamination between the two scenarios in terms of distances of effect, population exposure, and remediation costs. Incorporating aqueous foam technology, SNL created a conceptual design for a stationary containment area to be located at a facility entrance with equipment that could minimize the effects from the detonation of a vehicle transported RDD. The containment design was evaluated against several criteria, including mitigation ability (both respirable and large fragment particle capture as well as blast overpressure suppression), speed of implementation, cost, simplicity, and required space. A mock-up of the conceptual idea was constructed at SNL's 9920 explosive test site to demonstrate the containment design.
The reaction zone of a diesel fuel jet stabilizes at a location downstream of the fuel injector once the initial autoignition phase is over. This distance is referred to as flame lift-off length. Recent investigations have examined the effects of a wide range of parameters (injection pressure, orifice diameter, and ambient gas temperature, density and oxygen concentration) on lift-off length under quiescent diesel conditions. Many of the experimental trends in lift-off length were in agreement with scaling laws developed for turbulent, premixed flame propagation in gas-jet lifted flames at atmospheric conditions. However, several effects did not correlate with the gas-jet scaling laws, suggesting that other mechanisms could be important to lift-off stabilization at diesel conditions. This paper shows experimental evidence that ignition processes affect diesel lift-off stabilization. Experiments were performed in the same optically-accessible combustion vessel as the previous lift-off research. The experimental results show that the ignition quality of a fuel affects lift-off. Fuels with shorter ignition delays generally produce shorter lift-off lengths. In addition, a cool flame is found upstream of, or near the same axial location as, the quasi-steady lift-off length, indicating that first-stage ignition processes affect lift-off. High-speed chemiluminescence imaging also shows that high-temperature self-ignition occasionally occurs in kernels that are upstream of, and detached from, the high-temperature reaction zone downstream, suggesting that the lift-off stabilization is not by flame propagation into upstream reactants in this instance. Finally, analysis of the previous lift-off length database shows that the time-scale for jet mixing from injector-tip orifice to lift-off length collapses to an Arrhenius-type expression, a common method for describing ignition delay in diesel sprays. This Arrhenius-based lift-off length correlation shows comparable accuracy as a previous power-law fit of the No.2 diesel lift-off length database.
The radiant heat test facility develops test sets providing well-characterized thermal environments, often representing fires. Many of the components and procedures have become standardized to such an extent that the development of a specialized design tool was appropriate. SPLASH (Single Panel Lamp and Shroud Helper) is that tool. SPLASH is implemented as a user-friendly program that allows a designer to describe a test setup in terms of parameters such as lamp number, power, position, and separation distance. Thermal radiation is the dominant mechanism of heat transfer and the SPLASH model solves a radiation enclosure problem to estimate temperature distributions in a shroud providing the boundary condition of interest. Irradiance distribution on a specified viewing plane is also estimated. This document provides the theoretical development for the underlying model. A series of tests were conducted to characterize SPLASH's ability to analyze lamp and shroud systems. The comparison suggests that SPLASH succeeds as a design tool. Simplifications made to keep the model tractable are demonstrated to result in estimates that are only approximately as uncertain as many of the properties and characteristics of the operating environment.
This report describes the methodology, analysis and conclusions of a comparison survey of recycling programs at ten Department of Energy sites including Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico (SNL/NM). The goal of the survey was to compare SNL/NM's recycling performance with that of other federal facilities, and to identify activities and programs that could be implemented at SNL/NM to improve recycling performance.
The absence of agreed definitions and metrics for supercomputer RAS obscures meaningful discussion of the issues involved, hinders their solution, and increases total system cost. Seeking to foster a common basis for communication about supercomputer RAS, [1] proposed a general system state model, definitions, and measurements based on the SEMI-E10 specification [2] used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. This document enumerates the platform-specific details necessary to apply that general framework to the Red Storm system at Sandia National Laboratories. Familiarity with [1] is a strong prerequisite for understanding of this document, as is familiarity with the Red Storm RAS subsystem (although to a much lesser degree). Given the current pre-production status of Red Storm, this document does not specify actual policy or practice, but rather proposes a framework by which to measure RAS performance on Red Storm.
The Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) Distance Computing (DisCom) Wide Area Network (WAN) is a high performance, long distance network environment that is based on the ubiquitous TCP/IP protocol set. However, the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the algorithms that govern its operation were defined almost two decades ago for a network environment vastly different from the DisCom WAN. In this paper we explore and evaluate possible modifications to TCP that purport to improve TCP performance in environments like the DisCom WAN. We also examine a much newer protocol, SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) that claims to provide reliable network transport while also implementing multi-streaming, multi-homing capabilities that are appealing in the DisCom high performance network environment. We provide performance comparisons and recommendations for continued development that will lead to network communications protocol implementations capable of supporting the coming ASC Petaflop computing environments.
An experimental study was conducted to measure the mechanical properties of the Thermal Protection System (TPS) materials used for the Space Shuttle. Three types of TPS materials (LI-900, LI-2200, and FRCI-12) were tested in 'in-plane' and 'out-of-plane' orientations. Four types of quasi-static mechanical tests (uniaxial tension, uniaxial compression, uniaxial strain, and shear) were performed under low (10{sup -4} to 10{sup -3}/s) and intermediate (1 to 10/s) strain rate conditions. In addition, split Hopkinson pressure bar tests were conducted to obtain the strength of the materials under a relatively higher strain rate ({approx}10{sup 2} to 10{sup 3}/s) condition. In general, TPS materials have higher strength and higher Young's modulus when tested in 'in-plane' than in 'through-the-thickness' orientation under compressive (unconfined and confined) and tensile stress conditions. In both stress conditions, the strength of the material increases as the strain rate increases. The rate of increase in LI-900 is relatively small compared to those for the other two TPS materials tested in this study. But, the Young's modulus appears to be insensitive to the different strain rates applied. The FRCI-12 material, designed to replace the heavier LI-2200, showed higher strengths under tensile and shear stress conditions. But, under a compressive stress condition, LI-2200 showed higher strength than FRCI-12. As far as the modulus is concerned, LI-2200 has higher Young's modulus both in compression and in tension. The shear modulus of FRCI-12 and LI-2200 fell in the same range.
An unavoidable by-product of a metallic structure's use is the appearance of crack and corrosion flaws. Economic barriers to the replacement of these structures have created an aging infrastructure and placed even greater demands on efficient and safe repair methods. In the past decade, an advanced composite repair technology has made great strides in commercial aviation use. Extensive testing and analysis, through joint programs between the Sandia Labs FAA Airworthiness Assurance Center and the aviation industry, have proven that composite materials can be used to repair damaged aluminum structure. Successful pilot programs have produced flight performance history to establish the durability of bonded composite patches as a permanent repair on commercial aircraft structures. With this foundation in place, this effort is adapting bonded composite repair technology to civil structures. The use of bonded composite doublers has the potential to correct the difficulties associated with current repair techniques and the ability to be applied where there are no rehabilitation options. It promises to be cost-effective with minimal disruption to the users of the structure. This report concludes a study into the application of composite patches on thick steel structures typically used in mining operations. Extreme fatigue, temperature, erosive, and corrosive environments induce an array of equipment damage. The current weld repair techniques for these structures provide a fatigue life that is inferior to that of the original plate. Subsequent cracking must be revisited on a regular basis. The use of composite doublers, which do not have brittle fracture problems such as those inherent in welds, can help extend the structure's fatigue life and reduce the equipment downtime. Two of the main issues for adapting aircraft composite repairs to civil applications are developing an installation technique for carbon steel and accommodating large repairs on extremely thick structures. This study developed and proved an optimum field installation process using specific mechanical and chemical surface preparation techniques coupled with unique, in-situ heating methods. In addition, a comprehensive performance assessment of composite doubler repairs was completed to establish the viability of this technology for large, steel structures. The factors influencing the durability of composite patches in severe field environments were evaluated along with related laminate design issues.
A validation study has been conducted for a turbulence model used to close the temporally filtered Navier Stokes (TFNS) equations. A turbulence model was purposely built to support fire simulations under the Accelerated Strategic Computing (ASC) program. The model was developed so that fire transients could be simulated and it has been implemented in SIERRA/Fuego. The model is validated using helium plume data acquired for the Weapon System Certification Campaign (C6) program in the Fire Laboratory for Model Accreditation and Experiments (FLAME). The helium plume experiments were chosen as the first validation problem for SIERRA/Fuego because they embody the first pair-wise coupling of scalar and momentum fields found in fire plumes. The validation study includes solution verification through grid and time step refinement studies. A formal statistical comparison is used to assess the model uncertainty. The metric uses the centerline vertical velocity of the plume. The results indicate that the simple model is within the 95% confidence interval of the data for elevations greater than 0.4 meters and is never more than twice the confidence interval from the data. The model clearly captures the dominant puffing mode in the fire but under resolves the vorticity field. Grid dependency of the model is noted.
The use of surrogate models to approximate computationally expensive simulation models, e.g., large comprehensive finite element models, is widespread. Applications include surrogate models for design, sensitivity analysis, and/or uncertainty quantification. Typically, a surrogate model is defined by a postulated functional form; values for the surrogate model parameters are estimated using results from a limited number of solutions to the comprehensive model. In general, there may be multiple surrogate models, each defined by possibly a different functional form, consistent with the limited data from the comprehensive model. We refer to each as a candidate surrogate model. Methods are developed and applied to select the optimal surrogate model from the collection of candidate surrogate models. The classical approach is to select the surrogate model that best fits the data provided by the comprehensive model; this technique is independent of the model use and, therefore, may be inappropriate for some applications. The proposed approach applies techniques from decision theory, where postulated utility functions are used to quantify the model use. Two applications are presented to illustrate the methods. These include surrogate model selection for the purpose of: (1) estimating the minimum of a deterministic function, and (2) the design under uncertainty of a physical system.
The conclusions of this paper are: (1) Adsorption/desorption on bulk unmodified zeolites showed isoprene adsorbed by zeolite-L and n-pentane adsorbed by zeolite-Y and ZSM-5; (2) Bulk carbonization is used to passivate zeolite activity toward organic adsorption/decomposition; (3) Based on the bulk modified zeolite separation results, we have determined that the MFI type has the most potential for isoprene enrichment; (4) Modified MFI type membrane are jointly made by Sandia and the Univ. of Colorado. Separation experiments are performed by Goodyear Chemical; (5) Isoprene/n-pentane separations have been demonstrated by using both zeolite membranes and modified bulk zeolites at various temperatures on the Goodyear Pilot-scale unit; and (6) Target zeolite membrane separations values of 6.7% isoprene enrichment have been established by economic analysis calculations by Burns & McDonnell.
We consider four asynchronous parallel algorithms for Implicit Monte Carlo (IMC) thermal radiation transport on spatially decomposed meshes. Two of the algorithms are from the production codes KULL from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Milagro from Los Alamos National Laboratory. Improved versions of each of the existing algorithms are also presented. All algorithms were analyzed in an implementation of the KULL IMC package in ALEGRA, a Sandia National Laboratory high energy density physics code. The improved Milagro algorithm performed the best by scaling almost linearly out to 244 processors for well load balanced problems.
The success of Lagrangian contact modeling leads one to believe that important aspects of this capability may be used for multi-material modeling when only a portion of the simulation can be represented in a Lagrangian frame. We review current experience with two dual mesh technologies where one of these meshes is a Lagrangian mesh and the other is an Arbitrary Lagrangian/Eulerian (ALE) mesh. These methods are cast in the framework of an operator-split ALE algorithm where a Lagrangian step is followed by a remesh/remap step. An interface-coupled methodology is considered first. This technique is applicable to problems involving contact between materials of dissimilar compliance. The technique models the more compliant (soft) material as ALE while the less compliant (hard) material and associated interface are modeled in a Lagrangian fashion. Loads are transferred between the hard and soft materials via explicit transient dynamics contact algorithms. The use of these contact algorithms remove the requirement of node-tonode matching at the soft-hard interface. In the context of the operator-split ALE algorithm, a single Lagrangian step is performed using a mesh to mesh contact algorithm. At the end of the Lagrangian step the meshes will be slightly offset at the interface but non-interpenetrating. The ALE mesh nodes at the interface are then remeshed to their initial location relative to the Lagrangian body faces and the ALE mesh is smoothed, translated and rotated to follow Lagrangian body. Robust remeshing in the ALE region is required for success of this algorithm, and we describe current work in this area. The second method is an overlapping grid methodology that requires mapping of information between a Lagrangian mesh and an ALE mesh. The Lagrangian mesh describes a relatively hard body that interacts with softer material contained in the ALE mesh. A predicted solution for the velocity field is performed independently on both meshes. Element-centered velocity and momentum are transferred between the meshes using the volume transfer capability implemented in contact algorithms. Data from the ALE mesh is mapped to a phantom mesh that surrounds the Lagrangian mesh, providing for the reaction to the predicted motion of the Lagrangian material. Data from the Lagrangian mesh is mapped directly to the ALE mesh. A momentum balance is performed on both meshes to adjust the velocity field to account for the interaction of the material from the other mesh. Subsequent, remeshing and remapping of the ALE mesh is performed to allow large deformation of the softer material. We overview current progress using this approach and discuss avenues for future research and development.