Publications

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A two-dimensional, multi-physics computational model based on the finite-element method is developed for simulating the process of solar thermochemical splitting of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) using ferrites (Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}/FeO) and a counter-rotating-ring receiver/recuperator or CR5, in which carbon monoxide (CO) is produced from gaseous CO{sub 2}. The model takes into account heat transfer, gas-phase flow and multiple-species diffusion in open channels and through pores of the porous reactant layer, and redox chemical reactions at the gas/solid interfaces. Results (temperature distribution, velocity field, and species concentration contours) computed using the model in a case study are presented to illustrate model utility. The model is then employed to examine the effects of injection rates of CO{sub 2} and argon neutral gas, respectively, on CO production rate and the extent of the product-species crossover.

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A rigorous computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach to calculating temperature distributions, radiative and convective losses, and flow fields in a cavity receiver irradiated by a heliostat field is typically limited to the receiver domain alone for computational reasons. A CFD simulation cannot realistically yield a precise solution that includes the details within the vast domain of an entire heliostat field in addition to the detailed processes and features within a cavity receiver. Instead, the incoming field irradiance can be represented as a boundary condition on the receiver domain. This paper describes a program, the Solar Patch Calculator, written in Microsoft Excel VBA to characterize multiple beams emanating from a 'solar patch' located at the aperture of a cavity receiver, in order to represent the incoming irradiance from any field of heliostats as a boundary condition on the receiver domain. This program accounts for cosine losses; receiver location; heliostat reflectivity, areas and locations; field location; time of day and day of year. This paper also describes the implementation of the boundary conditions calculated by this program into a Discrete Ordinates radiation model using Ansys{reg_sign} FLUENT (www.fluent.com), and compares the results to experimental data and to results generated by the code DELSOL.

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A method is obtained for deriving peridynamic material models for a sequence of increasingly coarsened descriptions of a body. The starting point is a known detailed, small scale linearized state-based description. Each successively coarsened model excludes some of the aterial present in the previous model, and the length scale increases accordingly. This excluded material, while not present explicitly in the coarsened model, is nevertheless taken into account implicitly through its effect on the forces in the coarsened material. Numerical examples emonstrate that the method accurately reproduces the effective elastic properties of a composite as well as the effect of a small defect in a homogeneous medium.

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Simulations are in excellent agreement with experiments: structure - Matzke, shear modulus - Princen and Kiss E = 3.30 {sigma}/R{sub 32} = 5.32/(1 + p) {sigma}/(V){sup 1/2}, G {approx} 0.155 E = 0.512 {sigma}/R{sub 32}. IPP theory captures dependence of cell geometry on V and F. Future challenges are: simulating simple shearing flow is very expensive because of frequent topological transitions. Random wet foams require very large simulations.

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Charles Andraka from Sandia Labs was given the Hoyt Clarke Hottel Award for his lifelong work in the concentrating solar power industry.

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This talk will discuss Sandia's Global Security Program focused on reducing proliferation and terrorism threats to U.S. national security through global technical engagement. Elements include nuclear and radiological risks, biological and chemical risks, and multi-threat risk reduction. Also, recent work addressing the need to better integrate nonproliferation, arms control, counterterrorism, and nuclear deterrent objectives will be discussed.

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An anisotropy in the response of crystalline organic scintillators such as anthracene to neutron elastic scattering interactions has been known for some time. Both the amplitude and the time structure of the scintillation light pulse vary with the direction of the proton recoil with respect to the crystalline axes. In principle, this effect could be exploited to develop compact, high-efficiency fast neutron detectors that have directional sensitivity via a precise measurement of the pulse shape. We are investigating the feasibility and sensitivity of such a detector, particularly for neutrons in the fission energy spectrum. Here we will report new measurements of the pulse shape dependence on proton recoil angle in anthracene and stilbene single crystals, for proton energies in the few MeV range. Digital pulse acquisition and processing are used to allow an exploration of different pulse shape analysis techniques.

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The national laboratories global security programs implement sustainable technical solutions for cooperative nonproliferation, arms control, and physical security systems worldwide. To help in the development and execution of these programs, a wide range of analytical tools are used to model, for example, synthetic tactical environments for assessing infrastructure protection initiatives and tactics, systematic approaches for prioritizing nuclear and biological threat reduction opportunities worldwide, and nuclear fuel cycle enrichment and spent fuel management for nuclear power countries. This presentation will describe how these models are used in analyses to support the Obama Administration's agenda and bilateral/multinational treaties, and ultimately, to reduce weapons of mass destruction and terrorism threats through international technical cooperation.

The Neutron Scatter Camera (NSC) can image fission sources and determine their energy spectra at distances of tens of meters and through significant thicknesses of intervening materials in relatively short times [1]. We recently completed a 32 element scatter camera and will present recent advances made with this instrument. A novel capability for the scatter camera is dual mode imaging. In normal neutron imaging mode we identify and image neutron events using pulse shape discrimination (PSD) and time of flight in liquid scintillator. Similarly gamma rays are identified from Compton scatter in the front and rear planes for our segmented detector. Rather than reject these events, we show it is possible to construct a gamma-ray image by running the analysis in a 'Compton mode'. Instead of calculating the scattering angle by the kinematics of elastic scatters as is appropriate for neutron events, it can be found by the kinematics of Compton scatters. Our scatter camera has not been optimized as a Compton gamma-ray imager but is found to work reasonably. We studied imaging performance using a Cs137 source. We find that we are able to image the gamma source with reasonable fidelity. We are able to determine gamma energy after some reasonable assumptions. We will detail the various algorithms we have developed for gamma image reconstruction. We will outline areas for improvement, include additional results and compare neutron and gamma mode imaging.

This paper focuses on the extraction of skeletons of CAD models and its applications in finite element (FE) mesh generation. The term 'skeleton of a CAD model' can be visualized as analogous to the 'skeleton of a human body'. The skeletal representations covered in this paper include medial axis transform (MAT), Voronoi diagram (VD), chordal axis transform (CAT), mid surface, digital skeletons, and disconnected skeletons. In the literature, the properties of a skeleton have been utilized in developing various algorithms for extracting skeletons. Three main approaches include: (1) the bisection method where the skeleton exists at equidistant from at least two points on boundary, (2) the grassfire propagation method in which the skeleton exists where the opposing fronts meet, and (3) the duality method where the skeleton is a dual of the object. In the last decade, the author has applied different skeletal representations in all-quad meshing, hex meshing, mid-surface meshing, mesh size function generation, defeaturing, and decomposition. A brief discussion on the related work from other researchers in the area of tri meshing, tet meshing, and anisotropic meshing is also included. This paper concludes by summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of the skeleton-based approaches in solving various geometry-centered problems in FE mesh generation. The skeletons have proved to be a great shape abstraction tool in analyzing the geometric complexity of CAD models as they are symmetric, simpler (reduced dimension), and provide local thickness information. However, skeletons generally require some cleanup, and stability and sensitivity of the skeletons should be controlled during extraction. Also, selecting a suitable application-specific skeleton and a computationally efficient method of extraction is critical.

The Xyce Parallel Electronic Simulator has been written to support, in a rigorous manner, the simulation needs of the Sandia National Laboratories electrical designers. Specific requirements include, among others, the ability to solve extremely large circuit problems by supporting large-scale parallel computing platforms, improved numerical performance and object-oriented code design and implementation. The Xyce release notes describe: hardware and software requirements, new features and enhancements, any defects fixed since the last release, and current known defects and defect workarounds. For up-to-date information not available at the time these notes were produced, please visit the Xyce web page at http://www.cs.sandia.gov/xyce.