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DOE OSTI2021

There from the Beginning: The Women of Los Alamos National Laboratory Supporting National and International Nuclear Security

From the beginning of the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s, the women of what would become Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) worked in technical positions alongside their male counterparts, played a key role as computers, and worked in administrative jobs as secretaries, phone operators, bookkeepers, and on behalf of the U.S. Army in the Women’s Army Corps. Throughout the history of the Laboratory, women experts at LANL helped establish and lead important national and international security programs, with careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Over time, the women of Los Alamos have come together under various Employee Resource Groups, such as the Atomic Women, to help the next generation succeed in their technical fields. The Laboratory’s commitment to diversity and inclusion continues to this day, with current Laboratory Director Thom Mason leading LANL as the first national laboratory to join the Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

DOE OSTI2014

Iodine Standard Materials: Preparation and Inter-Laboratory Comparisons

The Idaho National Laboratory is preparing to enter the community of AMS practioners who analyze for 129Iodine. We expect to take delivery of a 0.5 MV compact accelerator mass spectrometry system, built by NEC, in the early summer of 2014. The primary mission for this instrument is iodine; it is designed to analyze iodine in the +3 charge state. As part of the acceptance testing for this instrument, both at NEC and on-site in our laboratory, some sort of standard or reference material is needed to verify performance. Appropriate standard materials are not readily available in the commercial marketplace. Small quantities can sometimes be acquired from other laboratories already engaged in iodine analyses. In the longer-term, meaningful quantities of standard materials are needed for routine use in analyses, and for quality control functions1. We have prepared some standard materials, starting with elemental Woodward iodine and NIST SRM 3231 [Iodine-129 Isotopic Standard (high level)] 10-6 solution. The goal was to make mixtures at the 5x10-10, 5x10-11, 5x10-12 ratio levels, along with some unmodified Woodward, in the chemical form of silver iodide. Approximately twenty grams of each of these mixtures were prepared. The elemental Woodward iodine was dissolved in chloroform, then reduced to iodide using sodium bisulfite in water. At this point the NIST spike material was added, in the form of sodium iodide. The mixed iodides were oxidized back to iodine in chloroform using hydrogen peroxide. This oxidation step was essential for isotopic equilibration of the 127 and 129 atoms. The iodine was reduced to iodide using sodium bisulfite as before. Excess sulfites and sulfates were precipitated with barium nitrate. After decanting, silver nitrate was used to precipitate the desired silver iodide. Once the silver iodide was produced, the material was kept in darkness as much as possible to minimize photo-oxidation. The various mixtures were synthesized independently of each other; there were no serial dilutions involved. Aliquots of these four materials have been submitted to five established AMS laboratories where iodine analyses are routinely performed: ETH (Zurich), CNA (Seville), PRIME (Purdue), LLNL (California), and Isotrace (Toronto.) Results from four of these laboratories have been received; in general they indicate that the desired 129/127 ratios have been achieved. We will discuss the results of this informal round-robin exercise. If the installation of the instrument in Idaho goes well, we may have some very preliminary results from the new system. An integral part of data reporting is the approach to data reduction. Accordingly, there will also be some discussion of various philosophies of data handling in regard to the use of standards to adjust data, and background subtraction.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2015

Saving Water at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory decreased its water usage by 26 percent in 2014, with about one-third of the reduction attributable to using reclaimed water to cool a supercomputing center. The Laboratory's goal during 2014 was to use only re-purposed water to support the mission at the Strategic Computing Complex. Using reclaimed water from the Sanitary Effluent Reclamation Facility, or SERF, substantially decreased water usage and supported the overall mission. SERF collects industrial wastewater and treats it for reuse. The reclamation facility contributed more than 27 million gallons of re-purposed water to the Laboratory's computing center, a secured supercomputing facility that supports the Laboratory’s national security mission and is one of the institution’s larger water users. In addition to the strategic water reuse program at SERF, the Laboratory reduced water use in 2014 by focusing conservation efforts on areas that use the most water, upgrading to water-conserving fixtures, and repairing leaks identified in a biennial survey.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2018

INTER-LABORATORY RESULTS AND ANALYSES OF MINI-C(T) SPECIMEN TESTING OF AN IRRADIATED LINDE 80 WELD METAL

An irradiated low-upper-shelf Linde 80 weld metal has been tested by four laboratories as part of an inter-laboratory assessment of use of the miniature compact tension [mini-C(T)] test specimen for Master Curve fracture toughness evaluation following ASTM E1921. The preliminary results from each of the laboratories have been compiled and evaluated together to assess the validity and use of the mini-C(T) specimen for an irradiated reactor pressure vessel material which can exhibit ductile crack growth at low temperatures relative to cleavage initiation fracture toughness. The preliminary results from this mini-C(T) testing can also be compared to extensive specimen test results from larger C(T) specimens of the same irradiated material. Comparisons of the results from each of the laboratories and some inter-laboratory differences in the fracture testing are assessed. The evaluations indicate reasonable agreement between the mini-C(T) and larger specimen results, but the selection of test temperature and the number of test specimens needed to obtain reliable results are more difficult when testing a low-upper-shelf toughness material.

Server, W. L.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Case Study - Intentional Inclusion: How embedding inclusion into the fabric of Idaho National Laboratory positioned the organization for a sustainable future

Idaho National Laboratory, a Department of Energy national laboratory headquartered in Idaho Falls, Idaho, set out to embed inclusion into every aspect of its organization. The goal was to ensure the laboratory is a place where everyone feels they are valued, belong and can bring their best selves to work each day. The laboratory viewed inclusion as a journey in which a consistent, collective commitment to intentional decision-making and incremental progress ultimately achieves amazing results. INL’s intentional inclusion strategy has allowed the organization to: • Retain and build a next-generation workforce to transform the world’s energy future and secure the nation’s most critical infrastructure. • Lead inclusively through individual, team-based, and labwide actions that elevate organizational effectiveness. • Grow laboratory cultural acumen by establishing a clear connection between inclusion and mission success. This case study shares how INL brought employees along on the inclusion journey and inspired everyone to keep moving forward together.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2021

The NREL Sensor Laboratory: Status and Future Directions for Hydrogen Detection

The NREL Hydrogen Sensor Laboratory was commissioned in 2010 as a resource for the national and international hydrogen community to ensure the availability and proper use of hydrogen sensors. Since then, the Sensor Laboratory has provided unbiased verification of hydrogen sensor performance for sensor developers, end-users, and regulatory agencies and has also provided active support for numerous code and standards development organizations. Although sensor performance assessment remains a core capability, the mission of the NREL Sensor Laboratory has expanded toward a more holistic approach regarding the role of hydrogen detection and its implementation strategy for both assurance of facility safety as well as for process control applications. Active monitoring for detection of unintended releases has been identified by the NFPA 2 Storage Task Group as a viable approach for improving facility safety and lowering setbacks. The current research program for the Sensor Laboratory addresses both conventional and advanced developing detection strategies in response to the emerging large-scale markets, such as those envisioned by H2@Scale. These emerging hydrogen applications may require alternative detection strategies that supplement and may ultimately supplant the use of traditional sensors for monitoring hydrogen releases. Research focus areas for the NREL Sensor Laboratory now encompasses the characterization of released hydrogen behavior to optimize detection strategies for both indoor and outdoor applications, advanced methods of hydrogen leak detection such as hydrogen wide area monitoring approaches for large scale and distributed applications, the incorporation of active monitoring as a risk reduction strategy to improve safety at hydrogen facilities, and continuing support of hydrogen safety codes and standards. In addition to assurance of safety, detection will be critical for process control applications, such as hydrogen fuel quality verification for fuel cell vehicle applications and for monitoring and controlling of hydrogen-natural gas blend composition.

codes and standards↗

DOE OSTI2013

Decommissioning of Active Ventilation Systems in a Nuclear R and D Facility to Prepare for Building Demolition (Whiteshell Laboratories Decommissioning Project, Canada) - 13073

Whiteshell Laboratories (WL) is a nuclear research establishment owned by the Canadian government and operated by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) since the early 1960's. WL is currently under a decommissioning license and the mandate is to remediate the nuclear legacy liabilities in a safe and cost effective manner. The WL Project is the first major nuclear decommissioning project in Canada. A major initiative underway is to decommission and demolish the main R and D Laboratory complex. The Building 300 R and D complex was constructed to accommodate laboratories and offices which were mainly used for research and development associated with organic-cooled reactors, nuclear fuel waste management, reactor safety, advanced fuel cycles and other applications of nuclear energy. Building 300 is a three storey structure of approximately 16,000 m{sup 2}. In order to proceed with building demolition, the contaminated systems inside the building have to be characterized, removed, and the waste managed. There is a significant focus on volume reduction of radioactive waste for the WL project. The active ventilation system is one of the significant contaminated systems in Building 300 that requires decommissioning and removal. The active ventilation system was designed to manage hazardous fumes and radioactivity from ventilation devices (e.g., fume hoods, snorkels and glove boxes) and to prevent the escape of airborne hazardous material outside of the laboratory boundary in the event of an upset condition. The system includes over 200 ventilation devices and 32 active exhaust fan units and high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. The strategy to remove the ventilation system was to work from the laboratory end back to the fan/filter system. Each ventilation duct was radiologically characterized. Fogging was used to minimize loose contamination. Sections of the duct were removed by various cutting methods and bagged for temporary storage prior to disposition. Maintenance of building heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) balancing was critical to ensure proper airflow and worker safety. Approximately 103 m{sup 3} of equipment and materials were recovered or generated by the project. Low level waste accounted for approximately 37.4 m{sup 3}. Where possible, ducting was free released for metal recycling. Contaminated ducts were compacted into B-1000 containers and stored in a Shielded Modular Above-Ground Storage Facility (SMAGS) on the WL site awaiting final disposition. The project is divided into three significant phases, with Phases 1 and 2 completed. Lessons learned during the execution of Phases 1 and 2 have been incorporated into the current ventilation removal. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2015

Setting an optimal procedure for transferring intermediate radioactive effluents: contribution of laboratory experiments - 15234

The INB35 nuclear facility at the CEA Saclay center is in charge of collecting and treating radioactive effluents generated from site's research activities. The first step of the process consists of an evaporation. The concentrate is an IL radioactive suspension with high salt concentration and suspended matter content. Until the 1990's, the resulting effluents were bitumen coated and since 2012 they have been cemented. During the 1990's, concentrates were stored in 7 tanks, named MA50X with X from 1 to 7. With today's changes to safety regulations, the effluents must now be transferred before tank dismantling. According to the site records, the compositions of the liquid wastes MA501, MA502, MA503, MA504, MA506 and MA507 are similar. From 2013 to 2014, effluents contained in MA502, MA503, MA504 tanks have been transferred. Several difficulties have been encountered: - The tanks were historically different, especially manhole tank access - Since the 1990's, effluent composition has changed due to water evaporation. The salt concentration has increased and insoluble elements have formed a deposit in the bottom of the tanks resulting in high composition heterogeneity - In some tanks, a wall breeze-blade exists dividing the tank into two zones, which complicates the interventions. Major challenges have been met and will be described in the presentation. - To obtain an effluent which is as homogeneous as possible, the duration of mixing has been optimized. - To pump the liquid, it has been necessary to treat the effluent with nitric acid. This step has been optimized thanks to experiments in laboratory and hydrodynamic modelling. - A mobile workshop has been designed in order to perform the effluent transfer. It is set up directly above the tanks and can be moved from one tank to another on rails. Laboratory experiments have been carried out to characterize the suspension and sludge in order to understand its chemical behavior. - The treatment of the effluent has been studied in the laboratory and is now mastered. - The analytical strategy has been optimized. The close collaboration between the analytical laboratory and the dismantling project was a real advantage. Thanks to this, the duration of the last transfer on MA 504 was reduced by half, compared to the first operations. Transfer operations will be described and the differences and similarities between laboratory and in-situ observations will be pointed out. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2025

Closing the Accuracy Gap in Tandem Photovoltaic Testing: An Accessible and Efficient Spectral Tuning Method Using LED-Based Simulators for Research Laboratories and Industry

Accurate performance calibration of multijunction (MJ) solar cells is critical for advancing this technology toward large-scale terrestrial application, yet existing testing methods developed by photovoltaics calibration laboratories remain prohibitively complex and resource intensive for most research laboratories. Current approaches rely on expensive multisource simulators and/or intricate spectral tuning algorithms, limiting accessibility and hindering standardized comparisons of emerging MJ technologies such as perovskite-based tandems. This paper introduces a streamlined spectral irradiance adjustment method for light-emitting diode (LED)-based solar simulators, which are increasingly adopted in the photovoltaics community due to their versatility and cost-effectiveness. The method we present bins LED channels into groups based on the number of junctions of the MJ photovoltaic device under test (DUT) and their corresponding band gaps and incorporates an automated tuning algorithm that eliminates the need to adjust each channel’s irradiance individually. This tuning algorithm requires the relative spectral responsivities of both the DUT and a broadband reference cell, as well as a calibrated spectroradiometer. Measurement validation across various MJ devices, including III-V and perovskite/silicon tandems, demonstrates excellent agreement within 1% with well-established xenon-tungsten multisource simulators and associated tuning algorithms. By enabling precise spectral tuning with readily available equipment and a simple tuning algorithm, our approach bridges the measurement accuracy gap between research laboratories and accredited testing facilities, fostering more reliable device comparisons and accelerating the translation of MJ technologies into real-world energy systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Los Alamos National Laboratory 2024 Annual Site Environmental Report

Los Alamos National Laboratory (Laboratory) annual site environmental reports are prepared each year by the Laboratory’s environmental organizations as required by U.S. Department of Energy Order 231.1B, Administrative Change 1, Environment, Safety, and Health Reporting, and Order 458.1, Administrative Change 4, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2017

Protein abundances can distinguish between naturally-occurring and laboratory strains of Yersinia pestis , the causative agent of plague

Adaptive processes in bacterial species can occur rapidly in laboratory culture, leading to genetic divergence between naturally occurring and laboratory-adapted strains. Differentiating wild and closely-related laboratory strains is clearly important for biodefense and bioforensics; however, DNA sequence data alone has thus far not provided a clear signature, perhaps due to lack of understanding of how diverse genome changes lead to adapted phenotypes. Protein abundance profiles from mass spectrometry-based proteomics analyses are a molecular measure of phenotype. Proteomics data contains sufficient information that powerful statistical methods can uncover signatures that distinguish wild strains of Yersinia pestis from laboratory-adapted strains.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2017

Annual Report on the State of the DOE National Laboratories

This first Annual Report to Congress on the State of the DOE National Laboratories provides a comprehensive overview of the Lab system, covering S&T programs, management and strategic planning. The Department committed to prepare this report in response to recommendations from the Congressionally mandated Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories (CRENEL) that the Department should better communicate the value that the Laboratories provide to the Nation. We expect that future annual reports will be much more compact, building on the extensive description of the Laboratories and of the governance structures that are part of this first report.

DOE, Annual, Report, Laboratories, Labs, National ↗

DOE OSTI2023

2022 Annual Report Laboratory Directed Research & Development

Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL’s) mission is “to discover, demonstrate and secure innovative nuclear energy solutions, other clean energy options and critical infrastructure.” INL executes this mission through research and development across the continuum from basic science to applied science to engineering demonstration and then deployment. The Department of Energy (DOE) Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program enables INL to conduct high-risk, impactful research that enriches the laboratory capabilities in order to further its missions. INL’s LDRD portfolio specifically advances the core capabilities of the laboratory aligned with its five science and technology initiatives: 1) nuclear reactor sustainment and expanded deployment, 2) integrated fuel cycle solutions, 3) integrated energy systems, 4) advanced design and manufacturing for extreme environments, and 5) secure and resilient cyber-physical systems. The 45 projects that ended in fiscal year 2022 and highlighted in this report are just a small sample of the impressive breadth and depth of cutting-edge science, technology, and engineering ongoing at INL.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Annual Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2024

This report provides the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the public with information on the level of radioactive and non-radioactive pollutants (if any) that are added to the environment as a result of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory’s (PPPL) operations. This report fulfills the annual public reporting requirements of DOE Order 231.1B. The results of PPPL’s 2024 environmental surveillance and monitoring program are presented and discussed. The report also summarizes environmental initiatives, assessments, and community involvement programs that were undertaken in 2024. PPPL has engaged in fusion energy research since 1951 and at its current locations since 1958. The Laboratory’s mission is to develop the scientific knowledge and advanced engineering to enable fusion to power the US and the world, and to develop the understanding of plasmas from the nano- to the astrophysical scale. PPPL’s primary experiment, the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U) is a collaboration among national laboratories, universities, and national and international research institutions and is a major element in the US Fusion Energy Sciences Program. Its design tests the physics principles of spherical torus (ST) plasmas, playing an important role in the development of smaller, more economical fusion reactors. Due to previous operational issues, NSTX-U did not operate in 2024. PPPL is engaged in a project to replace key NSTX-U components and systems to enable the operation of this international magnetic fusion user facility. In 2024, PPPL’s radiological environmental monitoring program measured tritium in the air at onsite sampling stations. Using highly sensitive air monitors, PPPL is capable of detecting small changes in the ambient levels of tritium. The operation of monitors located on D-site is used to demonstrate compliance with the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) regulations. Also included in PPPL’s radiological environmental monitoring program, are water monitoring – ground, surface, and waste waters. PPPL’s radiological monitoring program characterized the background levels of tritium in the environment and those data are presented in this report. Ground water monitoring continued under New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP) Site Remediation Program regulations. PPPL monitored for nonradiological contaminants, mainly volatile organic compounds (components of common degreasing solvents). In 2024, PPPL complied with permit limits for surface water and sanitary wastewater discharges. PPPL was honored with an award for EPEAT-certified electronics purchasing from the Global Electronics Council on July 25, 2024.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2013

Measurement of advective soil gas flux: Results of field and laboratory experiments with CO2

We modified our multi-channel, steady-state flow-through (SSFT), soil-CO2 flux monitoring system to include an array of inexpensive pyroelectric non-dispersive infrared detectors for full-range (0-100%) coverage of CO2 concentrations without dilution, and a larger-diameter vent tube. We then conducted field testing of this system from late July through mid-September 2010 at the Zero Emissions Research and Technology (ZERT) project site located in Bozeman, MT, and subsequently, laboratory testing at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, WA using a flux bucket filled with dry sand. In the field, an array of twenty-five SSFT and three non-steady-state (NSS) flux chambers was installed in a 10x4 m area, the long boundary of which was directly above a shallow (2-m depth) horizontal injection well located 0.5 m below the water table. Two additional chambers (one SSFT and one NSS) were installed 10 m from the well for background measurements. Volumetric soil moisture sensors were installed at each SSFT chamber to measure mean levels in the top 0.15 m of soil. A total flux of 52 kg CO2 d-1 was injected into the well for 27 d and the efflux from the soil was monitored by the chambers before, during, and for 27 d after the injection. Overall, the results were consistent with those from previous years, showing a radial efflux pattern centered on a known “hot spot”, rapid responses to changes in injection rate and wind power, evidence for movement of the CO2 plume during the injection, and nominal flux levels from the SSFT chambers that were up to 6-fold higher than those measured by adjacent NSS chambers. Soil moisture levels varied during the experiment from moderate to near saturation with the highest levels occurring consistently at the hot spot. The effects of wind on measured flux were complex and decreased as soil moisture content increased. In the laboratory, flux bucket testing with the SSFT chamber showed large measured-flux enhancement due to the Venturi effect on the chamber vent, but an overall decrease in measured flux when wind also reached the sand surface. Flux-bucket tests at a high flux (comparable to that at the hot spot) also showed that the measured flux levels increase linearly with the chamber-flushing rate until the actual level is reached. At the SSFT chamber-flushing rate used in the field experiment the measured flux in the laboratory was only about a third of the actual flux. The ratio of measured to actual flux increased logarithmically as flux decreased, and reached parity at low levels typical of diffusive flux systems. Taken together, our results suggest that values for advective CO2 flux measured by SSFT and NSS chamber systems are likely to be significantly lower than the actual values due to back pressure developed in the chamber that diverts flux from entering the chamber. Chamber designs that counteract the back pressure and also avoid large Venturi effects associated with vent tubes, such as the SSFT with a narrow vent tube operated at a high chamber-flushing rate, are likely to yield flux measurements closer to the true values.

carbon dioxide↗

DOE OSTI2016

The Uranium from Seawater Program at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: Overview of Marine Testing, Adsorbent Characterization, Adsorbent Durability, Adsorbent Toxicity, and Deployment Studies

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) Marine Science Laboratory (MSL) located along the coast of Washington State is evaluating the performance of uranium adsorption materials being developed for seawater extraction under realistic marine conditions with natural seawater. Two types of exposure systems were employed in this program: flow-through columns for testing of fixed beds of individual fibers and pellets and a recirculating water flume for testing of braided adsorbent material. Testing consists of measurements of the adsorption of uranium and other elements from seawater as a function of time, typically 42 to 56 day exposures, to determine the adsorbent capacity and adsorption rate (kinetics). Analysis of uranium and other trace elements collected by the adsorbents was conducted following strong acid digestion of the adsorbent with 50% aqua regia using either Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) or Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). The ORNL 38H adsorbent had a 56 day adsorption capacity of 3.30 ± 0.68 g U/ kg adsorbent (normalized to a salinity of 35 psu), a saturation adsorption capacity of 4.89 ± 0.83 g U/kg of adsorbent material (normalized to a salinity of 35 psu) and a half-saturation time of 28 ± 10 days. The AF1 adsorbent material had a 56 day adsorption capacity of 3.9 ± 0.2 g U/kg adsorbent material (normalized to a salinity of 35 psu), a saturation capacity of 5.4 ± 0.2 g U/kg adsorbent material (normalized to a salinity of 35 psu) and a half saturation time of 23 ± 2 days. The ORNL amidoxime-based adsorbent materials are not specific for uranium, but also adsorb other elements from seawater. The major doubly charged cations in seawater (Ca and Mg) account for a majority of the cations adsorbed (61% by mass and 74% by molar percent). For the ORNL AF1 adsorbent material, U is the 4th most abundant element adsorbed by mass and 7th most abundant by molar percentage

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2016

Laboratory study of low-beta forces in arched, line-tied magnetic flux ropes

The loss-of-equilibrium is a solar eruption mechanism whereby a sudden breakdown of the magnetohydrodynamic force balance in the Sun's corona ejects a massive burst of particles and energy into the heliosphere. Predicting a loss-of-equilibrium, which has more recently been formulated as the torus instability, relies on a detailed understanding of the various forces that hold the pre-eruption magnetic flux rope in equilibrium. Traditionally, idealized analytical force expressions are used to derive simplified eruption criteria that can be compared to solar observations and modeling. What is missing, however, is a validation that these idealized analytical force expressions can be applied to the line-tied, low-aspect-ratio conditions of the corona. In this paper, we address this shortcoming by using a laboratory experiment to study the forces that act on long-lived, arched, line-tied magnetic flux ropes. Three key force terms are evaluated over a wide range of experimental conditions: (1) the upward hoop force; (2) the downward strapping force; and (3) the downward toroidal field tension force. First, the laboratory force measurements show that, on average, the three aforementioned force terms cancel to produce a balanced line-tied equilibrium. This finding validates the laboratory force measurement techniques developed here, which were recently used to identify a dynamic toroidal field tension force that can prevent flux rope eruptions [Myers et al., Nature 528, 526 (2015)]. The verification of magnetic force balance also confirms the low-beta assumption that the plasma thermal pressure is negligible in these experiments. Next, the measured force terms are directly compared to their corresponding analytical expressions. While the measured and analytical forces are found to be well correlated, the low-aspect-ratio, line-tied conditions in the experiment are found to both reduce the measured hoop force and increase the measured tension force with respect to analytical expectations. These two co-directed effects combine to generate laboratory flux rope equilibria at lower altitudes than are predicted analytically. Such considerations are expected to modify the loss-of-equilibrium eruption criteria for analogous flux ropes in the solar corona.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2011

Annual Report FY2011: Establishment of a Laboratory for Biofuels Research at the University of Kentucky

This project is aimed at the development of the biofuels industry in Kentucky by establishing a laboratory to develop improved processes for biomass utilization. The facility is based at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research and the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, and constitutes an open laboratory, i.e., its equipment is available to other Kentucky researchers working in the area. The development of this biofuels facility represents a significant expansion of research infrastructure, and will provide a lasting resource for biobased research endeavors at the University of Kentucky. In order to enhance the laboratory's capabilities and contribute to on-going biofuels research at the University of Kentucky, initial research at the laboratory has focused on the following technical areas: (i) the identification of algae strains suitable for oil production, utilizing flue gas from coal-fired power plants as a source of CO 2 ; (ii) the conversion of algae to biofuels; and (iii) thermochemical methods for the deconstruction of lignin. Highlights from these activities include a detailed study of bio-oil production from the fast pyrolysis of microalgae (Scenedesmus sp.) and the application of pyrolytic gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) to the characterization of high lignin biomass feedstocks.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗