Publications

Abstract not provided.

Sandia and Rontec have developed an annular, 12-element, 60 mm{sup 2}, Peltier-cooled, translatable, silicon drift detector called the SDD-12. The body of the SDD-12 is only 22.8 mm in total thickness and easily fits between the sample and the upstream wall of the Sandia microbeam chamber. At a working distance of 1 mm, the solid angle is 1.09 sr. The energy resolution is 170 eV at count rates <40 kcps and 200 eV for rates of 1 Mcps. X-ray count rates must be maintained below 50 kcps when protons are allowed to strike the full area of the SDD. Another innovation with this new {mu}PIXE system is that the data are analyzed using Sandia's Automated eXpert Spectral Image Analysis (AXSIA).

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

This project will attempt to develop a new family of inorganic crystalline porous materials under IMF that will lead to improvement of energy efficiency and productivity via improved separations. Initially this project will be focused on materials for the separation of linear from branched hydrocarbons. However, it is anticipated that the results will provide the basis of knowledge to enable this technology to be applied toward additional hydrocarbon and chemical separations. Industrial involvement from Goodyear and Burns & McDonnell provides needed direction for solving real industrial problems, which will find application throughout the US chemical and petroleum industries.

A microswitch utilizing thermoelectric MEMS actuators is being designed, fabricated, and characterized. The switch is intended to switch >1000 VDC with over 100 gigaohms off-state resistance. The main challenge in designing these switches is determining a contact electrode configuration with the ability to stand off high voltages, while still being able to bridge the contact gap using MEMS actuators. Extensive high voltage breakdown testing has confirmed that the breakdown response for planar MEMS polysilicon devices is similar to the published response of larger metal electrodes across single small air gaps (0.5 to 10 um). Investigations of breakdown response in planar electrode configurations with multiple gaps show promising results for high voltage switching.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

A deterministic algorithm for enumeration of transmembrane protein folds is presented. Using a set of sparse pairwise atomic distance constraints (such as those obtained from chemical cross-linking, FRET, or dipolar EPR experiments), the algorithm performs an exhaustive search of secondary structure element packing conformations distributed throughout the entire conformational space. The end result is a set of distinct protein conformations, which can be scored and refined as part of a process designed for computational elucidation of transmembrane protein structures.

Autonomous bio-chemical agent detectors require sample preparation involving multiplex fluid control. We have developed a portable microfluidic pump array for metering sub-microliter volumes at flowrates of 1-100 {micro}L/min. Each pump is composed of an electrokinetic (EK) pump and high-voltage power supply with 15-Hz feedback from flow sensors. The combination of high pump fluid impedance and active control results in precise fluid metering with nanoliter accuracy. Automated sample preparation will be demonstrated by labeling proteins with fluorescamine and subsequent injection to a capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) chip.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Natural fractures in Jurassic through Tertiary rock units of the Raton Basin locally contain conjugate shear fractures that are mechanically compatible with associated extension fractures, i.e., they have a bisector to the acute angle that is parallel to the strike of associated extension fractures, normal to the thrust front at the western margin of the basin. Both sets of fractures are therefore interpreted to have formed during Laramide-age thrusting from west to east that formed the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and subsequently the foreland Raton Basin, and that imposed strong east-west compressive stresses onto the strata filling the basin. This pattern is not universal, however. Anomalous NNE-SSW striking fractures locally dominate strata close to the thrust front, and fracture patterns are irregular in strata associated with anticlinal structures within the basin. Of special interest are strike-slip style conjugate shear fractures within Dakota Sandstone outcrops 60 miles to the east of the thrust front. Mohr-Coulomb failure diagrams are utilized to describe how these formed as well as how two distinctly different types of fractures can be formed in the same basin under the same regional tectonic setting and at the same time. The primary controls in this interpretation are simply the mechanical properties of the specific rock units and the depth of burial rather than significant changes in the applied stress.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

We provide an algorithm and analysis of a high order projection scheme for time integration of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations (NSE). The method is based on a projection onto the subspace of divergence-free (incompressible) functions interleaved with a Krylov-based exponential time integration (KBEI). These time integration methods provide a high order accurate, stable approach with many of the advantages of explicit methods, and can reduce the computational resources over conventional methods. The method is scalable in the sense that the computational costs grow linearly with problem size. Exponential integrators, used typically to solve systems of ODEs, utilize matrix vector products of the exponential of the Jacobian on a vector. For large systems, this product can be approximated efficiently by Krylov subspace methods. However, in contrast to explicit methods, KBEIs are not restricted by the time step. While implicit methods require a solution of a linear system with the Jacobian, KBEIs only require matrix vector products of the Jacobian. Furthermore, these methods are based on linearization, so there is no non-linear system solve at each time step. Differential-algebraic equations (DAEs) are ordinary differential equations (ODEs) subject to algebraic constraints. The discretized NSE constitute a system of DAEs, where the incompressibility condition is the algebraic constraint. Exponential integrators can be extended to DAEs with linear constraints imposed via a projection onto the constraint manifold. This results in a projected ODE that is integrated by a KBEI. In this approach, the Krylov subspace satisfies the constraint, hence the solution at the advanced time step automatically satisfies the constraint as well. For the NSE, the projection onto the constraint is typically achieved by a projection induced by the L{sup 2} inner product. We examine this L{sup 2} projection and an H{sup 1} projection induced by the H{sup 1} semi-inner product. The H{sup 1} projection has an advantage over the L{sup 2} projection in that it retains tangential Dirichlet boundary conditions for the ow. Both the H{sup 1} and L{sup 2} projections are solutions to saddle point problems that are efficiently solved by a preconditioned Uzawa algorithm.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.