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Analysis of main steam isolation valve leakage in design basis accidents using MELCOR 1.8.6 and RADTRAD

Gauntt, Randall O.; Radel, Tracy E.; Kalinich, Donald

Analyses were performed using MELCOR and RADTRAD to investigate main steam isolation valve (MSIV) leakage behavior under design basis accident (DBA) loss-of-coolant (LOCA) conditions that are presumed to have led to a significant core melt accident. Dose to the control room, site boundary and LPZ are examined using both approaches described in current regulatory guidelines as well as analyses based on best estimate source term and system response. At issue is the current practice of using containment airborne aerosol concentrations as a surrogate for the in-vessel aerosol concentration that exists in the near vicinity of the MSIVs. This study finds current practice using the AST-based containment aerosol concentrations for assessing MSIV leakage is non-conservative and conceptually in error. A methodology is proposed that scales the containment aerosol concentration to the expected vessel concentration in order to preserve the simplified use of the AST in assessing containment performance under assumed DBA conditions. This correction is required during the first two hours of the accident while the gap and early in-vessel source terms are present. It is general practice to assume that at {approx}2hrs, recovery actions to reflood the core will have been successful and that further core damage can be avoided. The analyses performed in this study determine that, after two hours, assuming vessel reflooding has taken place, the containment aerosol concentration can then conservatively be used as the effective source to the leaking MSIV's. Recommendations are provided concerning typical aerosol removal coefficients that can be used in the RADTRAD code to predict source attenuation in the steam lines, and on robust methods of predicting MSIV leakage flows based on measured MSIV leakage performance.

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Generation of shear flow in conical wire arrays with a center wire

Astrophysics and Space Science

Ampleford, David J.

At the Nevada Terawatt Facility we investigated the generation of a sheared plasma flow using conical wire arrays with an additional wire located on the axis of the pinch. The additional center wire generates axial current carrying plasma that serves as a target for the plasma accelerated from the outer wires, generating a sheared plasma flow which leads to the growth of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. These experiments were conducted on Zebra, a 2 TW pulse power device capable of delivering a 1 MA current in 100 ns. This paper will focus on the implosion dynamics that lead to shear flow and the development of the Kelvin Helmholtz instability.

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Biofilm monitoring using complex permittivity

Dolan, Patricia L.; Altman, Susan J.

There is strong interest in the detection and monitoring of bio-fouling. Bio-fouling problems are common in numerous water treatments systems, medical and dental apparatus and food processing equipment. Current bio-fouling control protocols are time consuming and costly. New early detection techniques to monitor bio-forming contaminates are means to enhanced efficiency. Understanding the unique dielectric properties of biofilm development, colony forming bacteria and nutrient background will provide a basis to the effectiveness of controlling or preventing biofilm growth. Dielectric spectroscopy measurements provide values of complex permittivity, {var_epsilon}*, of biofilm formation by applying a weak alternating electric field at various frequencies. The dielectric characteristic of the biofilm, {var_epsilon}{prime}, is the real component of {var_epsilon}* and measures the biofilm's unique ability to store energy. Graphically observed dependencies of {var_epsilon}{prime} to frequency indicate dielectric relaxation or dielectric dispersion behaviors that mark the particular stage of progression during the development of biofilms. In contrast, any frequency dependency of the imaginary component, {var_epsilon}{double_prime} the loss factor, is expressed as dielectric losses from the biofilm due to dipole relaxation. The tangent angle of these two component vectors is the ratio of the imaginary component to the real component, {var_epsilon}{double_prime}/{var_epsilon}{prime} and is referred to as the loss angle tangent (tan {delta}) or dielectric loss. Changes in tan {delta} are characteristic of changes in dielectric losses during various developmental stages of the films. Permittivity scans in the above figure are of biofilm growth from P. Fluorescens (10e7 CFU's at the start). Three trends are apparent from these scans, the first being a small drop in the imaginary permittivity over a 7 hours period, best seen in the Cole-Cole plot (a). The second trend is observed two hours after inoculation when the permittivity begins to increase slightly over the next 20 hours, best seen in the shift from 1000 Hz to 5000 Hz in tan {delta} at the high frequencies (c). Because of similar dielectric relaxation properties noted by the comparable size of the semicircles, plot (a), and the height of tan {delta}, plot (c), within the first 29 hours, cell activity levels did not appreciably change. The third trend is observed when the complex permittivity value drops by orders of magnitude between 29 hours and 37 hours, best seen in the log [E] plot (b), and in the drop of the dielectric loss, tan {delta}, to 0. This change in the dielectric properties in the bio environment is nearly independent of all frequencies (c) and dissimilar from the original condition when only bacteria and nutrient was present in the biofilm chambers. The semicircles in plot (a) for this period decreased below the resolution of the graph, implying a large difference in the dielectric behavior of the cells/biofilms consisting of low dielectric losses. We believe these large changes are related to the on-set of biofilms.

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Understanding non-polar GaN growth through kinetic Wulff plots

Proposed for publication in the Journal of Applied Physics.

Coltrin, Michael E.

In this paper we provide explanations to the complex growth phenomena of GaN heteroepitaxy on nonpolar orientations using the concept of kinetic Wulff plots (or v-plots). Quantitative mapping of kinetic Wulff plots in polar, semipolar, and nonpolar angles are achieved using a differential measurement technique from selective area growth. An accurate knowledge of the topography of kinetic Wulff plots serves as an important stepping stone toward model-based control of nonpolar GaN growth. Examples are illustrated to correlate growth dynamics based on the kinetic Wulff plots with commonly observed features, including anisotropic nucleation islands, highly striated surfaces, and pentagonal or triangular pits.

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FARM : an automated malware analysis environment

Vanrandwyk, Jamie V.; Lloyd, Levi; Chiang, Ken C.; Vanderveen, Keith

We present the forensic analysis repository for malware (FARM), a system for automating malware analysis. FARM leverages existing dynamic and static analysis tools and is designed in a modular fashion to provide future extensibility. We present our motivations for designing the system and give an overview of the system architecture. We also present several common scenarios that detail uses for FARM as well as illustrate how automated malware analysis saves time. Finally, we discuss future development of this tool.

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Convergence behavior of a new DSMC algorithm

Proposed for publication in the Journal of Computational Physics.

Gallis, Michael A.; Torczynski, John R.; Rader, Daniel J.

The convergence rate of a new direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, termed 'sophisticated DSMC', is investigated for one-dimensional Fourier flow. An argon-like hard-sphere gas at 273.15K and 266.644Pa is confined between two parallel, fully accommodating walls 1mm apart that have unequal temperatures. The simulations are performed using a one-dimensional implementation of the sophisticated DSMC algorithm. In harmony with previous work, the primary convergence metric studied is the ratio of the DSMC-calculated thermal conductivity to its corresponding infinite-approximation Chapman-Enskog theoretical value. As discretization errors are reduced, the sophisticated DSMC algorithm is shown to approach the theoretical values to high precision. The convergence behavior of sophisticated DSMC is compared to that of original DSMC. The convergence of the new algorithm in a three-dimensional implementation is also characterized. Implementations using transient adaptive sub-cells and virtual sub-cells are compared. The new algorithm is shown to significantly reduce the computational resources required for a DSMC simulation to achieve a particular level of accuracy, thus improving the efficiency of the method by a factor of 2.

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Combustion chemistry of the propanol isomers : investigated by electron ionization and VUV-photoionization molecular-beam mass spectrometry

Proposed for publication in Combustion and Flame.

Kasper, Tina K.; Taatjes, Craig A.

The combustion of 1-propanol and 2-propanol was studied in low-pressure, premixed flat flames using two independent molecular-beam mass spectrometry (MBMS) techniques. For each alcohol, a set of three flames with different stoichiometries was measured, providing an extensive data base with in total twelve conditions. Profiles of stable and intermediate species, including several radicals, were measured as a function of height above the burner. The major-species mole fraction profiles in the 1-propanol flames and the 2-propanol flames of corresponding stoichiometry are nearly identical, and only small quantitative variations in the intermediate species pool could be detected. Differences between flames of the isomeric fuels are most pronounced for oxygenated intermediates that can be formed directly from the fuel during the oxidation process. The analysis of the species pool in the set of flames was greatly facilitated by using two complementary MBMS techniques. One apparatus employs electron ionization (EI) and the other uses VUV light for single-photon ionization (VUV-PI). The photoionization technique offers a much higher energy resolution than electron ionization and as a consequence, near-threshold photoionization-efficiency measurements provide selective detection of individual isomers. The EI data are recorded with a higher mass resolution than the PI spectra, thus enabling separation of mass overlaps of species with similar ionization energies that may be difficult to distinguish in the photoionization data. The quantitative agreement between the EI- and PI-datasets is good. In addition, the information in the EI- and PI-datasets is complementary, aiding in the assessment of the quality of individual burner profiles. The species profiles are supplemented by flame temperature profiles. The considerable experimental efforts to unambiguously assign intermediate species and to provide reliable quantitative concentrations are thought to be valuable for improving the mechanisms for higher alcohol combustion.

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Results 76626–76650 of 99,299
Results 76626–76650 of 99,299