Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Management Plan

As a federal agency, the U.S. Department of Energy has been directed by Congress, the U.S. president, and the American public to provide leadership in the preservation of prehistoric, historic, and other cultural resources on the lands it administers. This mandate to preserve cultural resources in a spirit of stewardship for the future is outlined in various federal preservation laws, regulations, and guidelines such as the National Historic Preservation Act, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. The purpose of this Cultural Resource Management Plan is to describe how the Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office will meet these responsibilities at the Idaho National Laboratory. This Laboratory, which is located in southeastern Idaho, is home to a wide variety of important cultural resources representing at least 13,500 years of human occupation in the southeastern Idaho area. These resources are nonrenewable; bear valuable physical and intangible legacies; and yield important information about the past, present, and perhaps the future. There are special challenges associated with balancing the preservation of these sites with the management and ongoing operation of an active scientific laboratory. The Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office is committed to a cultural resource management program that accepts these challenges in a manner reflecting both the spirit and intent of the legislative mandates. This document is designed for multiple uses and is intended to be flexible and responsive to future changes in law or mission. Document flexibility and responsiveness will be assured through annual reviews and as-needed updates. Document content includes summaries of Laboratory cultural resource philosophy and overall Department of Energy policy; brief contextual overviews of Laboratory missions, environment, and cultural history; and an overview of cultural resource management practices. A series of appendices provides important details that support the main text

Semi-Annual Report on Work Supporting the International Forum for Reactor Aging Management (IFRAM)

During the first six months of this project, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has provided planning and leadership support for the establishment of the International Forum for Reactor Aging Management (IFRAM). This entailed facilitating the efforts of the Global Steering Committee to prepare the charter, operating guidelines, and other documents for IFRAM. It also included making plans for the Inaugural meeting and facilitating its success. This meeting was held on August 4 5, 2011, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Representatives from Asia, Europe, and the United States met to share information on reactor aging management and to make plans for the future. Professor Tetsuo Shoji was elected chairperson of the Leadership Council. This kick-off event transformed the dream of an international forum into a reality. On August 4-5, 2011, IFRAM began to achieve its mission. The work completed successfully during this period was built upon important previous efforts. This included the development of a proposal for establishing IFRAM and engaging experts in Asia and Europe. The proposal was presented at Engagement workshops in Seoul, Korea (October 2009) and Petten, The Netherlands (May 2010). Participants in both groups demonstrated strong interest in the establishment of IFRAM. Therefore, the Global Steering Committee was formed to plan and carry out the start-up of IFRAM in 2011. This report builds on the initial activities and documents the results of activities over the last six months

Purdue Contribution of Fusion Simulation Program

The overall science goal of the FSP is to develop predictive simulation capability for magnetically confined fusion plasmas at an unprecedented level of integration and fidelity. This will directly support and enable effective U.S. participation in research related to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and the overall mission of delivering practical fusion energy. The FSP will address a rich set of scientific issues together with experimental programs, producing validated integrated physics results. This is very well aligned with the mission of the ITER Organization to coordinate with its members the integrated modeling and control of fusion plasmas, including benchmarking and validation activities. [1]. Initial FSP research will focus on two critical areas: 1) the plasma edge and 2) whole device modeling including disruption avoidance. The first of these problems involves the narrow plasma boundary layer and its complex interactions with the plasma core and the surrounding material wall. The second requires development of a computationally tractable, but comprehensive model that describes all equilibrium and dynamic processes at a sufficient level of detail to provide useful prediction of the temporal evolution of fusion plasma experiments. The initial driver for the whole device model (WDM) will be prediction and avoidance of discharge-terminating disruptions, especially at high performance, which are a critical impediment to successful operation of machines like ITER. If disruptions prove unable to be avoided, their associated dynamics and effects will be addressed in the next phase of the FSP. The FSP plan targets the needed modeling capabilities by developing Integrated Science Applications (ISAs) specific to their needs. The Pedestal-Boundary model will include boundary magnetic topology, cross-field transport of multi-species plasmas, parallel plasma transport, neutral transport, atomic physics and interactions with the plasma wall. It will address the origins and structure of the plasma electric field, rotation, the L-H transition, and the wide variety of pedestal relaxation mechanisms. The Whole Device Model will predict the entire discharge evolution given external actuators (i.e., magnets, power supplies, heating, current drive and fueling systems) and control strategies. Based on components operating over a range of physics fidelity, the WDM will model the plasma equilibrium, plasma sources, profile evolution, linear stability and nonlinear evolution toward a disruption (but not the full disruption dynamics). The plan assumes that, as the FSP matures and demonstrates success, the program will evolve and grow, enabling additional science problems to be addressed. The next set of integration opportunities could include: 1) Simulation of disruption dynamics and their effects; 2) Prediction of core profile including 3D effects, mesoscale dynamics and integration with the edge plasma; 3) Computation of non-thermal particle distributions, self-consistent with fusion, radio frequency (RF) and neutral beam injection (NBI) sources, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and short-wavelength turbulence

Thermal Energy Corporation Combined Heat and Power Project

To meet the planned heating and cooling load growth at the Texas Medical Center (TMC), Thermal Energy Corporation (TECO) implemented Phase 1 of a Master Plan to install an additional 32,000 tons of chilled water capacity, a 75,000 ton-hour (8.8 million gallon) Thermal Energy Storage (TES) tank, and a 48 MW Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system. The Department of Energy selected TMC for a $10 million grant award as part of the Financial Assistance Funding Opportunity Announcement, U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology, Recovery Act: Deployment of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Systems, District Energy Systems, Waste Energy Recovery Systems, and Efficiency Industrial Equipment Funding Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-44 to support the installation of a new 48 MW CHP system at the TMC located just outside downtown Houston. As the largest medical center in the world, TMC is home to many of the nation’s best hospitals, physicians, researchers, educational institutions, and health care providers. TMC provides care to approximately six million patients each year, and medical instruction to over 71,000 students. A medical center the size of TMC has enormous electricity and thermal energy demands to help it carry out its mission. Reliable, high-quality steam and chilled water are of utmost importance to the operations of its many facilities. For example, advanced medical equipment, laboratories, laundry facilities, space heating and cooling all rely on the generation of heat and power. As result of this project TECO provides this mission critical heating and cooling to TMC utilizing a system that is both energy-efficient and reliable since it provides the capability to run on power independent of the already strained regional electric grid. This allows the medical center to focus on its primary mission – providing top quality medical care and instruction – without worrying about excessive energy costs or the loss of heating and cooling due to the risk of power outages. TECO’s operation is the largest Chilled Water District Energy System in the United States. The company used DOE’s funding to help install a new high efficiency CHP system consisting of a Combustion Turbine and a Heat Recovery Steam Generator. This CHP installation was just part of a larger project undertaken by TECO to ensure that it can continue to meet TMC’s growing needs. The complete efficiency overhaul that TECO undertook supported more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs in manufacturing, engineering, and construction, with approximately 400 of those being jobs directly associated with construction of the combined heat and power plant. This showcase industrial scale CHP project, serving a critical component of the nation’s healthcare infrastructure, directly and immediately supported the energy efficiency and job creation goals established by ARRA and DOE. It also provided an unsurpassed model of a district energy CHP application that can be replicated within other energy intensive applications in the industrial, institutional and commercial sectors

Progammatic mission transformation - chemistry and metallurgy research replacement (CMRR) project

Performance of Charcoal Cookstoves for Haiti Part 1: Results from the Water Boiling Test

In April 2010, a team of scientists and engineers from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) and UC Berkeley, with support from the Darfur Stoves Project (DSP), undertook a fact-finding mission to Haiti in order to assess needs and opportunities for cookstove intervention. Based on data collected from informal interviews with Haitians and NGOs, the team, Scott Sadlon, Robert Cheng, and Kayje Booker, identified and recommended stove testing and comparison as a high priority need that could be filled by LBNL. In response to that recommendation, five charcoal stoves were tested at the LBNL stove testing facility using a modified form of version 3 of the Shell Foundation Household Energy Project Water Boiling Test (WBT). The original protocol is available online. Stoves were tested for time to boil, thermal efficiency, specific fuel consumption, and emissions of CO, CO{sub 2}, and the ratio of CO/CO{sub 2}. In addition, Haitian user feedback and field observations over a subset of the stoves were combined with the experiences of the laboratory testing technicians to evaluate the usability of the stoves and their appropriateness for Haitian cooking. The laboratory results from emissions and efficiency testing and conclusions regarding usability of the stoves are presented in this report

Solid State Joining of High Temperature Alloy Tubes for USC and Heat-Exchanger Systems

The principal objective of this project was to develop materials enabling joining technologies for use in forward looking heat-exchanger fabrication in Brayton cycle HIPPS, IGCC, FutureGen concepts capable of operating at temperatures in excess of 1000{degree}C as well as conventional technology upgrades via Ultra Super-Critical (USC) Rankine-cycle boilers capable of operating at 760{degree}C (1400F)/38.5MPa (5500psi) steam, while still using coal as the principal fossil fuel. The underlying mission in Rankine, Brayton or Brayton-Rankine, or IGCC combined cycle heat engine is a steady quest to improving operating efficiency while mitigating global environmental concerns. There has been a progressive move to higher overall cycle efficiencies, and in the case of fossil fuels this has accelerated recently in part because of concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, notably CO{sub 2}. For a heat engine, the overall efficiency is closely related to the difference between the highest temperature in the cycle and the lowest temperature. In most cases, efficiency gains are prompted by an increase in the high temperature, and this in turn has led to increasing demands on the materials of construction used in the high temperature end of the systems. Our migration to new advanced Ni-base and Oxide Dispersion Strengthened (ODS) alloys poses significant fabrication challenges, as these materials are not readily weldable or the weld performs poorly in the high temperature creep regime. Thus the joining challenge is two-fold to a) devise appropriate joining methodologies for similar/dissimilar Ni-base and ODS alloys while b) preserving the near baseline creep performance in the welded region. Our program focus is on solid state joining of similar and dissimilar metals/alloys for heat exchanger components currently under consideration for the USC, HIPPS and IGCC power systems. The emphasis is to manipulate the joining methods and variables available to optimize joint creep performance compared to the base material creep performance. Similar and dissimilar butt joints were fabricated of MA956, IN740 alloys and using inertia welding techniques. We evaluated joining process details and heat treatments and its overall effect on creep response. Fixed and incrementally accelerated temperature creep tests were performed for similar and dissimilar joints and such incremental creep life data is compiled and reported. Long term MA956-MA556 joint tests indicate a firm 2Ksi creep stress threshold performance at 850{degree}C with a maximum exposure of over 9725 hours recorded in the current program. A Larsen Miller Parameter (LMP) of 48.50 for a 2Ksi test at 850{degree}C was further corroborated with tests at 2Ksi stress at 900{degree}C yielding a LMP=48.80. Despite this threshold the joints exhibit immense temperature sensitivity and fail promptly when test temperature raised above 900{degree}C. In comparison the performance of dissimilar joints was inferior, perhaps dictated by the creep characteristics of the mating nickel-base alloys. We describe a parametric window of joint development, and post weld heat treatment (PWHT) in dissimilar joints with solid solution (IN601, IN617) and precipitate strengthened (IN740) materials. Some concerns are evident regarding the diffusion of aluminum in dissimilar joints during high temperature recrystallization treatments. It is noted that aggressive treatments rapidly deplete the corrosion protecting aluminum reservoir in the vicinity of the joint interface. Subsequently, the impact of varying PWHT has been evaluated in the context on ensuing creep performance

Investigating the Design Space for Solar Sail Trajectories in the Earth-Moon System

Solar sailing is an enabling technology for many mission applications. One potential application is the use of a sail as a communications relay for a base at the lunar south pole. A survey of the design space for a solar sail spacecraft that orbits in view of the lunar south pole at all times demonstrates that trajectory options are available for sails with characteristic acceleration values of 1.3 mm/s 2 or higher. Although the current sail technology is presently not at this level, this survey reveals the minimum acceleration values that are required for sail technology to facilitate the lunar south pole application. This information is also useful for potential hybrid solar-sail-low-thrust designs. Other critical metrics for mission design and trajectory selection are also examined, such as body torques that are required to articulate the vehicle orientation, sail pitch angles throughout the orbit, and trajectory characteristics that would impact the design of the lunar base. This analysis and the techniques that support it supply an understanding of the design space for solar sails and their trajectories in the Earth-Moon system.

The perihelion precession of Saturn, planet X/Nemesis and MOND

We show that the retrograde perihelion precession of Saturn \Delta\dot\varpi,recently estimated by different teams of astronomers by processing ranging datafrom the Cassini spacecraft and amounting to some milliarcseconds per century,can be explained in terms of a localized, distant body X, not yet directlydiscovered. From the determination of its tidal parameter K = GM_X/r_X^3 as afunction of its ecliptic longitude \lambda_X and latitude \beta_X, we calculatethe distance at which X may exist for different values of its mass, rangingfrom the size of Mars to that of the Sun. The minimum distance would occur forX located perpendicularly to the ecliptic, while the maximum distance is for Xlying in the ecliptic. We find for rock-ice planets of the size of Mars and theEarth that they would be at about 80-150 au, respectively, while aJupiter-sized gaseous giant would be at approximately 1 kau. A typical browndwarf would be located at about 4 kau, while an object with the mass of the Sunwould be at approximately 10 kau, so that it could not be Nemesis for which asolar mass and a heliocentric distance of about 88 kau are predicted. If X wasdirected towards a specific direction, i.e. that of the Galactic Center, itwould mimick the action of a recently proposed form of the External FieldEffect (EFE) in the framework of the MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND).

De geheime zendingen vanuit Duitsland naar Vlaanderen na september 1944: roekeloos, onuitvoerbaar en onuitgevoerd

Na de bevrijding deden in België allerlei verhalen de ronde over ondergrondse pro-Duitse verzetsgroepen, die zich voorbereidden op een rol bij de verwachte terugkeer van de Duitse legers. Dat stemt maar ten dele overeen met de werkelijkheid. Echte ‘witte maquis’, zoals deze veronderstelde groepen soms genoemd werden, hebben niet bestaan. Wel had de Duitse militaire inlichtingen-en sabotagedienst (de Abwehr) voor de terugtocht van de Duitsers in totaal meer dan honderd stay behind-agenten gevormd – velen in het bezit van een geheime zender – die pas in actie zouden komen als het Duitse tegenoffensief begonnen was. In dit verband had de Abwehr ongeveer zeventig munitie- en wapenopslagplaatsen in België aangelegd.Afdeling II van de Abwehr (sabotage) rekruteerde na september 1944 een twintigtal Vlaamse vrijwilligers onder de collaborateurs die naar Duitsland waren gevlucht. Zij kregen een opleiding als geheim agent en als saboteurs en zouden met een opdracht op dit gebied naar Vlaanderen worden gezonden. In totaal was de parachutering van veertien agenten in vijf groepen voorzien. De ligging van de wapenopslagplaatsen werd hun medegedeeld en zij kregen de opdracht contact te maken met het veronderstelde ‘wit maquis’, onder meer ook met VNV-leden die nog niet gearresteerd waren. Slechts zes agenten werden daadwerkelijk uitgezonden. Geen van hen is zelfs maar aan het begin van de uitvoering van zijn opdracht toegekomen. Doorgaans gaven ze zichzelf aan bij de Belgische politie. De enige radio-operateur die contact hield met Duitsland was na zijn arrestatie door de geallieerden ‘gedraaid’ en werkte in feite voor de Amerikanen. Zodoende kunnen deze post-liberation geheime zendingen als een volledig fiasco worden beschouwd.The secret missions from Germany to Flanders after September 1944: reckless, impracticable and not carried outAfter the liberation there were a lot of rumours going around about underground pro-German resistance movements who were preparing for a role in the expected return of the German armies. This is only partially true. Real ‘white maquis’as these supposed groups were sometimes called never existed. However, the German military intelligence and sabotage service (the Abwehr) had constituted in total more than a hundred stay behind-agents before the retreat of the Germans -many of them with a secret transmitter- who would only get into action once the German counteroffensive had started. For this purpose the Abwehr had established around seventy munitions- and weapons depots in Belgium.  After September 1944 Section II of the Abwehr (sabotage) recruited around twenty Flemish volunteers among the collaborators who had fled to Germany. They were trained as secret agents and saboteurs and were supposed to be sent to Flanders with a mission in this specialty. It had been planned to air drop fourteen agents in five groups via parachute. They were informed about the location of the weapons depots and were ordered to contact the supposed ‘white maquis’, including also members of the VNV who had not yet been arrested. In fact only six agents were sent on mission. None of them got as far as even the beginning of carrying out his assignment. Usually they surrendered to the Belgian police. The only radio-operator who kept in touch with Germany had been ‘recruited’ by the Allies after his arrest and in fact worked for the Americans. Therefore these post-liberation secret missions can be considered as a complete failure.