Publications

This paper describes high reliability radiation hardened computers built by Sandia for application aboard DOE satellite programs requiring 32 bit processing. The computers highlight a radiation hardened (10 kGy(Si)) R3000 executing up to 10 million reduced instruction set instructions (RISC) per second (MIPS), a dual purpose module control bus used for real-time default and power management which allows for extended mission operation on as little as 1.2 watts, and a local area network capable of 480 Mbits/s. The central processing unit (CPU) is the NASA Goddard R3000 nicknamed the ``Mongoose or Mongoose 1``. The Sandia Satellite Computer (SSC) uses Rational`s Ada compiler, debugger, operating system kernel, and enhanced floating point emulation library targeted at the Mongoose. The SSC gives Sandia the capability of processing complex types of spacecraft attitude determination and control algorithms and of modifying programmed control laws via ground command. And in general, SSC offers end users the ability to process data onboard the spacecraft that would normally have been sent to the ground which allows reconsideration of traditional space-grounded partitioning options.

The continued exploration of Mars is a high priority item with NASA`s interplanetary science community. It has long been a desire of this group to define an experiment that would investigate the possible presence and location of water/ice beneath the Martian surface. Until recently, however, there has not been a flight experiment dedicated to achieving this goal. This paper describes a concept design effort conducted at Sandia National Labs in collaboration with JPL and CalTech that has produced a feasible flight system to investigate this question.

Under acidic sol-gel polymerization conditions, 1,3-bis(triethoxysilyl)-propane (1) and 1,4-bis(triethoxysilyl)butane (2) were shown to preferentially form cyclic disilsesquioxanes 3 and 4 rather than the expected 1,3-propylene- and 1,4-butylene-bridged polysilsesquioxane gels. Formation of 3 and 4 is driven by a combination of an intramolecular cyclization to six and seven membered rings, and a pronounced reduction in reactivity under acidic conditions as a function of increasing degree of condensation. The ease with which these relatively unreactive cyclic monomers and dimers are formed (under acidic conditions) helps to explain the difficulties in forming gels from 1 and 2. The stability of cyclic disilsesquioxanes was confirmed withe the synthesis of 3 and 4 in gram quantities; the cyclic disilsesquioxanes react slowly to give tricyclic dimers containing a thermodynamically stable eight membered siloxane ring. Continued reactions were shown to perserve the cyclic structure, opening up the possibility of utilizing cyclic disilsesquioxanes as sol-gel monomers. Preliminary polymerization studies with these new, carbohydrate-like monomers revealed the formation of network poly(cyclic disilsesquioxanes) under acidic conditions and polymerization with ring-opening under basic conditions.

The goal of this laboratory-directed research and development (LDRD) project was to develop a new and efficient electronic structure algorithm that would scale linearly with system size. Since the start of the program this field has received much attention in the literature as well as in terms of focused symposia and at least one dedicated international workshop. The major success of this program is the development of a unique algorithm for minimization of the density functional energy which replaces the diagonalization of the Kohn-Sham hamiltonian with block diagonalization into explicit occupied and partially occupied (in metals) subspaces and an implicit unoccupied subspace. The progress reported here represents an important step toward the simultaneous goals of linear scaling, controlled accuracy, efficiency and transferability. The method is specifically designed to deal with localized, non-orthogonal basis sets to maximize transferability and state by state iteration to minimize any charge-sloshing instabilities and accelerate convergence. The computational demands of the algorithm do scale as the particle number, permitting applications to problems involving many inequivalent atoms. Our targeted goal is at least 10,000 inequivalent atoms on a teraflop computer. This report describes our algorithm, some proof-of-principle examples and a state of the field at the conclusion of this LDRD.

Accident source terms, source term probabilities, consequences, and risks are developed for ship collisions that might occur in U.S. ports during the shipment of spent fuel from foreign research reactors to the United States in break-bulk freighters.

This paper presents a comparison of calculations of severe accident progression for several postulated accident sequences for representative Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) and Boiling Water Reactors (BWR) nuclear power plants performed with the MELCOR 1.8.3 and the MAAP4 computer codes. The PWR system examined in this study is a 1100 MWe system similar in design to a Westinghouse 3-loop plant with a large dry containment; the BWR is a 1100 MWe system similar in design to General Electric BWR/4 with a Mark I containment. A total of nine accident sequences were studied with both codes. Results of these calculations are compared to identify major differences in the timing of key events in the calculated accident progression or other important aspects of severe accident behavior, and to identify specific sources of the observed differences.

The topics covered in this session include: slimhole testing and data acquisition, theoretical and numerical models for slimholes, and an overview of the analysis of slimhole data acquired by the Japanese. The fundamental issues discussed are concerned with assessing the efficacy of slimhole testing for the evaluation of geothermal reservoirs. the term reservoir evaluation is here taken to mean the assessment of the potential of the geothermal reservoir for the profitable production of electrical power. As an introduction to the subsequent presentations and discussions, a brief summary of the more important aspects of the use of slimholes in reservoir evaluation is given.

Converting a large, heterogeneous, networked, environment to ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) can yield many benefits. Before these benefits can be reaped, however, numerous decisions must be made and implemented. This paper presents a case study which describes the steps that were necessary to convert a backbone network at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico to ATM. It presents each step by explaining its importance and what options were considered along with their tradeoffs. It is hoped that organizations contemplating converting to ATM will have a better understanding of how the transition is implemented after reading this paper.

A study using long-period seismic data showed that seismic events can be detected and located based on correlations of processed waveform profiles with the profile expected for an event. In this technique both time and space are discretized and events are found by forming profiles and calculating correlations for all time-distance points. events are declared at points with large correlations. In the first phase of the Waveform Correlation Event Detection System (WCEDS) Project at Sandia Labs we have developed a prototype automatic event detection system based on Shearer`s work which shows promise for treaty monitoring applications. Many modifications have been made to meet the requirements of the monitoring environment. A new full matrix multiplication has been developed which can reduce the number of computations needed for the data correlation by as much as two orders of magnitude for large grids. New methodology has also been developed to deal with the problems caused by false correlations (sidelobes) generated during the correlation process. When an event has been detected, masking matrices are set up which will mask all correlation sidelobes due to the event, allowing other events with intermingled phases to be found. This process is repeated until a detection threshold is reached. The system was tested on one hour of Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) broadband data and built all 4 of the events listed in the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE) which were observable by the IRIS network. A continuous execution scheme has been developed for the system but has not yet been implemented. Improvements to the efficiency of the code are in various stages of development. Many refinements would have to be made to the system before it could be used as part of an actual monitoring system, but at this stage we know of no clear barriers which would prevent an eventual implementation of the system.

For many years, ECG`s and vector cardiograms have been the tools of choice for non-invasive diagnosis of cardiac conduction problems, such as found in reentrant tachycardia or Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome. Through skillful analysis of these skin-surface measurements of cardiac generated electric currents, a physician can deduce the general location of heart conduction irregularities. Using a combination of high-fidelity geometry modeling, advanced mathematical algorithms and massively parallel computing, Sandia`s approach would provide much more accurate information and thus allow the physician to pinpoint the source of an arrhythmia or abnormal conduction pathway.

A set of model interface guidelines, called MIG, is presented as a means by which any compliant numerical material model can be rapidly installed into any parent code without having to modify the model subroutines. Here, {open_quotes}model{close_quotes} usually means a material model such as one that computes stress as a function of strain, though the term may be extended to any numerical operation. {open_quotes}Parent code{close_quotes} means a hydrocode, finite element code, etc. which uses the model and enforces, say, the fundamental laws of motion and thermodynamics. MIG requires the model developer (who creates the model package) to specify model needs in a standardized but flexible way. MIG includes a dictionary of technical terms that allows developers and parent code architects to share a common vocabulary when specifying field variables. For portability, database management is the responsibility of the parent code. Input/output occurs via structured calling arguments. As much model information as possible (such as the lists of required inputs, as well as lists of precharacterized material data and special needs) is supplied by the model developer in an ASCII text file. Every MIG-compliant model also has three required subroutines to check data, to request extra field variables, and to perform model physics. To date, the MIG scheme has proven flexible in beta installations of a simple yield model, plus a more complicated viscodamage yield model, three electromechanical models, and a complicated anisotropic microcrack constitutive model. The MIG yield model has been successfully installed using identical subroutines in three vectorized parent codes and one parallel C++ code, all predicting comparable results. By maintaining one model for many codes, MIG facilitates code-to-code comparisons and reduces duplication of effort, thereby reducing the cost of installing and sharing models in diverse new codes.

This report provides a study of gases in microporous solids using molecular modeling. The theory of gas transport in porous materials as well as the molecular modeling literature is briefly reviewed. Work complete is described and analyzed with retard to the prevailing theory. The work covers two simple subjects, construction of porous solid models and diffusion of He, H{sub 2}, Ar and CH{sub 4} down a pressure gradient across the material models as in typical membrane permeation experiments. The broader objective is to enhance our capability to efficiently and accurately develop, produce and apply microporous materials.

A new class of inorganic ion exchange material called crystalline silicotitanates (CST) has been developed for radioactive waste treatment in a collaborative effort between Sandia National Laboratories and Texas A&M University. The Sandia National Laboratories Laboratory Directed Research and Development program provided the initial funding for this effort and this report summarizes the rapid progress that was achieved. A wide range of compositions were synthesized, evaluated for cesium (Cs) removal efficiency, and a composition called TAM-5 was developed that exhibits high selectivity and affinity for Cs and strontium (Sr). Tests show it can remove parts per million concentrations of Cs{sup +} from highly alkaline, high-sodium, simulated radioactive waste solutions modeled after those at Hanford, Oak Ridge, and Savannah River. In experiments with solutions that simulate highly alkaline Hanford defense wastes, the crystalline silicotitanates exhibit distribution coefficients for Cs{sup +} of greater than 2,000 ml/g, and distribution coefficients greater than 10,000 ml/g for solutions adjusted to a pH between 1 and 10. In addition, the CSTs were found to exhibit distribution coefficients for Sr{sup +} greater than 100,000 ml/g and for plutonium of 2,000 ml/g from simulated Hanford waste. The CST crystal structure was determined and positions of individual atoms identified using x-ray and neutron diffraction. The structural information has permitted identification of the ion exchange sites and provided insights into the strong effect of pH on Cs ion exchange. Information on the synthesis, composition, and structure of CST is considered proprietary and is not discussed in this report.

Groundwater in and around underground radioactive waste repositories has several potential effects on repository performance. Repository excavation produces conditions where the repository is underpressured relative to the surrounding host rock, resulting in groundwater inflow to the repository. The presence of groundwater has been shown to enhance gas generation from emplaced waste forms, which expedites repository pressurization. Repository pressurization results in an increased driving force for dissolved radionuclide movement away from the repository. Repository excavation also produces a zone surrounding the repository having disturbed hydrologic and geochemical properties. Within the disturbed rock zone (DRZ), intrinsic permeability and porosity change over time due to the formation of microfractures and grain boundary dilation. Additionally, elastic and inelastic changes in pore volume may cause variation in the near-field fluid pressure and fluid saturation distributions that influence groundwater flow toward the repository excavation. Increased permeability, decreased pore-fluid pressure, and partially saturated conditions in the DRZ contribute to enhancing potential release pathways away from the repository. It is important for a repository performance assessment to consider chemical processes, hydrologic processes, as well as the complex coupling between these processes.

We have investigated tailoring damage effects of explosive devices by addition of unconventional materials, specifically combustible metals. Initial small-scale as well as full-scale testing has been performed. The explosives functioned to disperse and ignite these materials. Incendiary, enhanced-blast, and fragment-damage effect have been identified. These types of effects can be used to extend the damage done to hardened facilities. In other cases it is desirable to disable the target with minimal collateral damage. Use of unconventional materials allows the capability to tailor the damage and effects of explosive devices for these and other applications. Current work includes testing of an incendiary warhead for a penetrator.

This paper outlines the use of a failure modes and effects analysis for the safety assessment of a robotic system being developed at Sandia National Laboratories. The robotic system, the weigh and leak check system, is to replace a manual process for weight and leakage of nuclear materials at the DOE Pantex facility. Failure modes and effects analyses were completed for the robotics process to ensure that safety goals for the systems have been met. Due to the flexible nature of the robot configuration, traditional failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) were not applicable. In addition, the primary focus of safety assessments of robotics systems has been the protection of personnel in the immediate area. In this application, the safety analysis must account for the sensitivities of the payload as well as traditional issues. A unique variation on the classical FMEA was developed that permits an organized and quite effective tool to be used to assure that safety was adequately considered during the development of the robotic system. The fundamental aspects of the approach are outlined in the paper.

Since 1978, Sandia National Laboratories has provided training courses in the systematic design of Physical Protection Systems (PPS). One such course, the International Training Course (TC) on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Facilities and Materials, is sponsored by the Department of Energy`s International Safeguards Division , the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Department of State. Since 1978, twelve 3- and 4-week classes have been conducted by Sandia for these sponsors. One- and two-week adaptations of this course have been developed for other customers, and, since 1994, nine of these abbreviated courses have been presented in the Russian language to participants from the Former Soviet Union (SU). These courses have been performed in support of the Department of Energy`s program on Material Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC&A) for the Russian Federation and the Newly Independent States. MPC&A physical protection training assumes participants have more narrowly defined backgrounds. In using affective approaches, the overall goal of training in the context of the MPC&A Program is to develop modern and effective, indigenous capabilities for physical protection system design and analysis within the SU. This paper contrasts the cognitive and affective approaches to training and indicates why different approaches are required for the ITC and the MPC&A Programs.

A vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) is a diode laser whose optical cavity is formed by growing or depositing DBR mirror stacks that sandwich an active gain region. The resulting short cavity supports lasing into a single longitudinal mode normal to the wafer, making these devices ideal for a multitude of applications, ranging from high-speed communication to high-power sources (from 2D arrays). This report describes the development of a numerical VCSEL model, whose goal is to both further their understanding of these complex devices and provide a tool for accurate design and data analysis.

One of the critical issues facing the Yucca Mountain site characterization and performance assessment programs is the manner in which property up-scaling is addressed. Property up-scaling becomes an issue whenever heterogeneous media properties are measured at one scale but applied at another. A research program has been established to challenge current understanding of property up-scaling with the aim of developing and testing improved models that describe up-scaling behavior in a quantitative manner. Up-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. To date, up-scaling studies have been performed on a series of tuff and sandstone (used as experimental controls) blocks. Samples include a welded, anisotropic tuff (Tiva Canyon Member of the Paintbrush Tuff, upper cliff microstratigraphic unit), and a moderately welded tuff (Tiva Canyon Member of the Paintbrush Tuff, Caprock microstratigraphic unit). A massive fluvial sandstone (Berea Sandstone) was also investigated as a means of evaluating the experimental program and to provide a point of comparison for the tuff data. Because unsaturated flow is of prime interest to the Yucca Mountain Program, scoping studies aimed at investigating the up-scaling of hydraulic properties under various saturated conditions were performed to compliment these studies of intrinsic permeability. These studies focused on matrix sorptivity, a constitutive property quantifying the capillarity of a porous medium. 113 refs.

Significant gas reserves are present in low-permeability sandstones of the Frontier Formation in the greater Green River Basin, Wyoming. Successful exploitation of these reservoirs requires an understanding of the characteristics and fluid-flow response of the regional natural fracture system that controls reservoir productivity. Fracture characteristics were obtained from outcrop studies of Frontier sandstones at locations in the basin. The fracture data were combined with matrix permeability data to compute an anisotropic horizontal permeability tensor (magnitude and direction) corresponding to an equivalent reservoir system in the subsurface using a computational model developed by Oda (1985). This analysis shows that the maximum and minimum horizontal permeability and flow capacity are controlled by fracture intensity and decrease with increasing bed thickness. However, storage capacity is controlled by matrix porosity and increases linearly with increasing bed thickness. The relationship between bed thickness and the calculated fluid-flow properties was used in a reservoir simulation study of vertical, hydraulically-fractured and horizontal wells and horizontal wells of different lengths in analogous naturally fractured gas reservoirs. The simulation results show that flow capacity dominates early time production, while storage capacity dominates pressure support over time for vertical wells. For horizontal wells drilled perpendicular to the maximum permeability direction a high target production rate can be maintained over a longer time and have higher cumulative production than vertical wells. Longer horizontal wells are required for the same cumulative production with decreasing bed thickness.

The Environmental Measurement-While-Drilling-Gamma Ray Spectrometer (EMWD-GRS) system represents an innovative blend of new and existing technology that provides the capability of producing real-time environmental and drillbit data during drilling operations. This demonstration plan presents information on the EMWD-GRS technology, demonstration design, Cs-137 contamination at the Savannah River Site F-Area Retention Basin, responsibilities of demonstration participants, and the policies and procedures for the demonstration to be conducted at the Savannah River Site F-Area Retention Basin. The EMWD-GRS technology demonstration will consist of continuously monitoring for gamma-radiation contamination while drilling two horizontal boreholes below the backfilled retention basin. These boreholes will pass near previously sampled vertical borehole locations where concentrations of contaminant levels are known. Contaminant levels continuously recorded by the EMWD-GRS system during drilling will be compared to contaminant levels previously determined through quantitative laboratory analysis of soil samples.

Sandia National Laboratories Environmental Restoration Technologies Department is developing environmental restoration technologies through funding form the US Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Office of Science and Technology. Initially, this technology development has been through the Mixed Waste Landfill Integrated Demonstration (MWLID). It is currently being developed through the Contaminant Plume containment and Remediation Focus Area, the Landfill Stabilization Focus Area, and the Characterization, Monitoring, and Sensor Cross-Cutting Program. This Technology Integration Project (TIP) was responsible for transferring MWLID-developed technologies for routine use by environmental restoration groups throughout the DOE complex and commercializing these technologies to the private sector. The MWLID`s technology transfer/commercialization successes were achieved by involving private industry in development, demonstration, and technology transfer/commercialization activities; gathering and disseminating information about MWLID activities and technologies; and promoting stakeholder and regulatory involvement. From FY91 through FY95, 30 Technical Task Plans (TTPs) were funded. From these TTPs, the MWLID can claim 15 technology transfer/commercialization successes. Another seven technology transfer/commercialization successes are expected. With the changeover to the focus areas, the TIP continued the technology transfer/commercialization efforts begun under the MWLID.

The analysis of component fatigue lifetime for a wind energy conversion system (WECS) requires that the component load spectrum be formulated in terms of stress cycles. Typically, these stress cycles are obtained from time series data using a cycle identification scheme. As discussed by many authors, the matrix or matrices of cycle counts that describe the stresses on a turbine are constructed from relatively short, representative samples of time series data. The ability to correctly represent the long-term behavior of the distribution of stress cycles from these representative samples is critical to the analysis of service lifetimes. Several techniques are currently used to convert representative samples to the lifetime cyclic loads on the turbine. There has been recently developed a set of fitting algorithms that is particularly useful for matching the body of the distribution of fatigue stress cycles on a turbine component. Fitting techniques are now incorporated into the LIFE2 fatigue/fracture analysis code for wind turbines. In this paper, the authors provide an overview of the fitting algorithms and describe the pre- and post-count algorithms developed to permit their use in the LIFE2 code. Typical case studies are used to illustrate the use of the technique.

A review of pertinent literature reveals techniques which may be practical for upscaling saturated hydraulic conductivity at Yucca Mountain: geometric mean, spatial averaging, inverse numerical modeling, renormalization, and a perturbation technique. Isotropic realizations of log hydraulic conductivity exhibiting various spatial correlation lengths are scaled from the point values to five discrete scales through these techniques. For the variances in log{sub 10} saturated hydraulic conductivity examined here, geometric mean, numerical inverse and renormalization adequately reproduce point scale fluxes across the modeled domains. Fastest particle velocities and dispersion measured on the point scale are not reproduced by the upscaled fields. Additional numerical experiments examine the utility of power law averaging on a geostatistical realization of a cross-section similar to the cross-sections that will be used in the 1995 groundwater travel time calculations. A literature review on scaling techniques for thermal and mechanical properties is included. 153 refs., 29 figs., 6 tabs.

A folded compact range configuration has been developed ant the Sandia National Laboratories` compact range antenna and radar-cross- section measurement facility as a means of performing indoor, environmentally-controlled, far-field simulations of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) measurements of distributed target samples (i.e. gravel, sand, etc.). The folded compact range configuration has previously been used to perform coherent-change-detection (CCD) measurements, which allow disturbances to distributed targets on the order of fractions of a wavelength to be detected. This report describes follow-on CCD measurements of other distributed target samples, and also investigates the sensitivity of the CCD measurement process to changes in the relative spatial location of the SAR sensor between observations of the target. Additionally, this report describes the theoretical and practical aspects of performing interferometric inverse-synthetic-aperture-radar (IFISAR) measurements in the folded compact range environment. IFISAR measurements provide resolution of the relative heights of targets with accuracies on the order of a wavelength. Several examples are given of digital height maps that have been generated from measurements performed at the folded compact range facility.