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At least 1,225 records · Page 68

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DOE OSTI2022

A summary of air sampler filter performance data: Bladewerx Speclon 5(TM) and Millipore FMLW047 5um

Bladewerx™ LLC (Rio Rancho, NM) manufactures instrumentation, neutron shielding and activation foils for the radiation protection industry. Specializing in portable alpha/beta air monitors and sample counters, Bladewerx is the source of Speclon 5™ PTFE filter media that they recommend for high-resolution alpha spectroscopy. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) utilizes Speclon™ filter material in CAM (Continuous Air Monitor) samplers for workplace air monitoring. Millipore FMLW (5μm) filters are also used at Los Alamos, and a comparison of the two filter types has been requested. For filter face air velocities from 0.066 m/s to 1.5 m/s, the aerosol collection efficiency (for 0.3 μm particle diameters) and the filter pressure drops were measured. The FWHM (full width half maximum) of alpha spectroscopy peaks was also determined, using naturally occurring radon progeny at an alpha energy of 6 MeV.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

DOE OSTI2022

HEMM Workshop EMRTC [Slides]

Los Alamos is responsible for the NATO deterrent, is critical to the UK at-sea deterrent, and has designed over 90% of the current US stockpile. Los Alamos MUST lead the stockpile into the next phase of nuclear deterrence. To succeed, we need to leverage across several funding sources and sites to both answer the tactical needs of the current stockpile and to develop capabilities and personnel to meet future challenges.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

NASA NTRS2003

Evaluation of Production Cross Sections of Li, Be, B in CR

Accurate evaluation of the production cross section of light elements is important for models of cosmic ray (CR) propagation, galactic chemical evolution, and cosmological studies. However, the experimental spallation cross section data are scarce and often unavailable to CR community while semi-empirical systematics are frequently wrong by a significant factor. Running sophisticated nuclear codes is not an option of choice for everyone either. We use the Los Alamos versions of the Quark-Gluon String Model code LAQGSM and the improved Cascade-Exciton Model code CEM2k together with all available data from Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory (LANL) nuclear database to produce evaluated production cross sections of isotopes of Li, Be, and B suitable for astrophysical applications. The LAQGSM and CEM2k models have been shown to reproduce well nuclear reactions and hadronic data in the range 0.01-800 GeV/nucleon.

Moskalenko, I. V.↗

DOE OSTI2025

MARSAME Release Report for Replacement Water Lines From TA-48 to TA-55, Revision 2

Environmental Protection and Compliance, Environmental Stewardship (EPC-ES) has determined that only a portion of the soil associated with Replacement Water Lines from Technical Area (TA)-48 to TA 55 (Figure 1) meets the criteria for unrestricted release to the public under Department of Energy (DOE) Order 458.1, Radiation Protection for the Public and the Environment (DOE, 2020). The remaining soil did not meet the criteria for unrestricted release and must be managed appropriately. These conclusions are based on the known history of the area combined with soil sample data collected in 2022; the findings are consistent with DOE Order 458.1 and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Functional Series Document EPC-ES-FSD-004, Environmental Radiation Protection (LANL, 2021). Sampling and data analysis, as described in this report, were sufficient to meet measurement quality objectives (MQOs) under the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Assessment of Materials and Equipment (MARSAME) manual (NUREG, 2009) and LANL procedures (LANL, 2020). Final approvals for waste disposition will come from LANL’s Waste Management Program.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2016

The Last Big Bang

As one of the very few people in the world to give the “go/no go” decision to detonate a nuclear device, Austin “Mac” McGuire holds a very special place in the history of both the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the world. As Commander of Joint Task Force Unit 8.1.1, on Christmas Island in the spring and summer of 1962, Mac directed the Los Alamos data collection efforts for twelve of the last atmospheric nuclear detonations conducted by the United States. Since data collection was at the heart of nuclear weapon testing, it fell to Mac to make the ultimate decision to detonate each test device. He calls his experience THE LAST BIG BANG, since these tests, part of Operation Dominic, were characterized by the dramatic displays of the heat, light, and sounds unique to atmospheric nuclear detonations – never, perhaps, to be witnessed again.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

DOE OSTI2017

Seventy Years of Computing in the Nuclear Weapons Program

Los Alamos has continuously been on the forefront of scientific computing since it helped found the field. This talk will explore the rich history of computing in the Los Alamos weapons program. The current status of computing will be discussed, as will the expectations for the near future.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

DOE OSTI2022

L0 Data from the 2018 NGEE Arctic LiDAR and Imagery Unoccupied Aerial System Campaign at the Teller 47 Field Site, Seward Peninsula, Alaska

Airborne remote sensing data collected from Los Alamos National Laboratory's (LANL) heavy-lift unoccupied aerial system (UAS) hexacopter platform operated by NGEE Arctic scientists from EES-14 (Earth System Observations group) at Los Alamos National Laboratory. These data were collected in July 2018 at a field site near mile marker 47 along the Teller road between Nome, Alaska and Teller, Alaska. A DJI Matrice 600 Pro Airframe and Routescene UAV LiDARSystem was used to collect LiDAR data, and DJI Phantom 4 Advanced was used to collect optical red/green/blue (RGB) imagery at regular intervals along 11 flight paths. This data package contains unprocessed data products (processing level 0) including flight paths, raw photos, and raw lidar data files (*.kml, *.jpg, and *.lpd formats). Ancillary aircraft data, flight mission parameters, and general flight conditions are also included (see Supplemental Files, *.rinex, and *.rtcm3 files). The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), a research effort to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research. The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska. Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy’s Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2014

Demolition Notification for Quarter Ending March 30, 2014

The National Nuclear Administration (NNSA) and Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS), (collectively the Permittees) are submitting notice of demolition activities for quarter ending March 30, 2014 in accordance with Permit Section 1.17.2 of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Hazardous Waste Facility Permit to the New Mexico Environment Department Hazardous Waste Bureau (NMED_HWB).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2013

Demolition Notification for Quarter Ending June 30, 2013

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS) (collectively the Permittees) are submitting notice of demolition activities for the quarter ending June 30,2013, in accordance with Permit Section 1.17.2 of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Hazardous Waste Facility Permit (Permit), to the New Mexico Environment Department Hazardous Waste Bureau (NMED-HWB).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2018

ARIES Blend Lot Book Data Analysis

The Advanced Recovery Integrated Extraction System (ARIES) Program being executed at Los Alamos TA-55 produces unpolished plutonium oxide powder from pit disassembly in batches of material referred to as a blend lot. Each blend lot is sampled and analyzed by Los Alamos group C-AAC (Chemistry Division, Actinide Analytical Chemistry Group) for radioactive and nonradioactive constituents contained in the material. A blend lot, which nominally consists of 12 kg(Pu), is then packaged into three DOE-STD-3013 containers that are analyzed by nondestructive analysis (NDA) to determine the fraction and total amount of plutonium mass relative to impure plutonium oxide. The analytical and NDA data are presented in a Blend Lot Book (BLB). The data are used to confirm that a blend lot grouping of three cans meets the requirements for off-site shipment specified in the formal interface control document (ICD). The analytical and NDA data from 49 blend lots were reviewed to provide summary-level information on the constituents present in the blend lots. The results provide an overall perspective in historical amounts for constituent averages over all blend lots and similar information in the variation between constituent levels. Note that to properly compare the can contents, it would be most appropriate to decay all of cans’ constituents to a particular date. Previously, this analysis only examined statistical data as determined at the time of blend lot chemical analysis. The chemical analysis dates span the period from June 2011 to May 2015 (4 years), which is 28% of one Pu-241 half-life. Therefore, the approximate nature of the aggregate information must be properly understood in this light. However, to address this issue, a new table is included in this revision that decays the 48 blend lots to a single date.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2019

Supplemental Environmental Projects - Accord Pueblo Outreach: Storm Water Sampling Equipment Transfer to Pueblo of Santa Clara

A Settlement Agreement and Stipulated Final Order (Settlement Agreement) between the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS), collectively, the Parties, for the purposes of resolving Compliance Order No. HWB-14-20 (the Compliance Order), issued on December 6, 2014, related to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) resulted in the development of five Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs). One of these SEPs is the Accord Pueblo Outreach.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

The Vault: National Security Then and Now

The employees at Los Alamos National Laboratory have always been the key to our mission success, dating all the way back to our inception in 1939 as Project Y. This was the secret Los Alamos Lab of the Manhattan Project charged with designing and producing the world’s first atomic weapons to help end World War II. Back then, prospective Lab employees received letters that directed them to an office at 109 E. Palace in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There, they were greeted by Dorothy McKibbin, secretary to Lab Director J. Robert Oppenheimer. Before anyone headed up the hill to begin work, Dorothy typed up the new employee’s personal information on what quickly became known as the McKibbin Card. Lab employees also had official badges, the black and white photos of which have become iconic over time. Today’s staff at the National Security Research Center, the Lab’s classified library, are just as vital as the Lab’s first workforce was. Our highly trained experts partner with researchers to solve global challenges.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

DOE OSTI2016

Understanding How Biomass Burning Impacts Climate Change

Biomass burning in Africa is creating a plume that spreads across the Atlantic Ocean all the way to Brazil. Allison Aiken, a research scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, collects data about the black carbon aerosols within this plume and their impact on the environment to help improve global climate modeling. A leader in energy science, Los Alamos develops climate models in support of the Laboratory’s mission to strengthen the nation’s energy security. Allison’s work is part of FIDO, a field operations team funded by the Energy Department’s Office of Science’s ARM Climate Research Facility.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Capsule Design and Preparation for YH x Specimen Irradiation in the High Flux Isotope Reactor

Advanced nuclear systems for terrestrial microreactors and space applications require moderator materials with high thermal stability, hydrogen retention, and efficient neutron moderation. Yttrium hydride (YH x ) is a promising candidate, but its irradiation performance and hydrogen stability remain insufficiently understood. To address this, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory, supported by the US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Science User Facilities program, have initiated an irradiation campaign in ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor. The experiment employs six irradiation capsules containing YH x specimens (H/Y ≈ 1.9) designed for three target temperatures (300°C, 400°C, and 500°C) and two distinct neutron fast fluence levels. This report documents the irradiation test matrix, capsule design, specimen precharacterization, and experiment readiness for insertion. Planned postirradiation examinations will provide new insights into hydrogen retention and microstructural stability, advancing the understanding of YH x as a moderator for compact reactor applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2025

Capsule Design and Preparation for YH x Specimen Irradiation in the High Flux Isotope Reactor

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2017

Crystalline and Crystalline International Disposal Activities

This report presents the results of work conducted between September 2015 and July 2016 at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the crystalline disposal and crystalline international disposal work packages of the Used Fuel Disposition Campaign (UFDC) for DOE-NE’s Fuel Cycle Research and Development program. Los Alamos focused on two main activities during this period: Discrete fracture network (DFN) modeling to describe flow and radionuclide transport in complex fracture networks that are typical of crystalline rock environments, and a comprehensive interpretation of three different colloid-facilitated radionuclide transport experiments conducted in a fractured granodiorite at the Grimsel Test Site in Switzerland between 2002 and 2013. Chapter 1 presents the results of the DFN work and is divided into three main sections: (1) we show results of our recent study on the correlation between fracture size and fracture transmissivity (2) we present an analysis and visualization prototype using the concept of a flow topology graph for characterization of discrete fracture networks, and (3) we describe the Crystalline International work in support of the Swedish Task Force. Chapter 2 presents interpretation of the colloidfacilitated radionuclide transport experiments in the crystalline rock at the Grimsel Test Site.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Trinity Supercomputer Now Fully Operational

Now one of the fastest supercomputers in the United States, the Trinity Supercomputer Phase II project was completed during the summer of 2017, and the computer became fully operational during an unclassified “open science” run. The computer has now transitioned to classified mode. The Trinity supercomputer is designed to provide increased computational capability for the NNSA Nuclear Security Enterprise in support of increasing geometric and physics fidelities in nuclear weapons simulation codes, while maintaining expectations for total time to solution. The capabilities of Trinity are required for supporting the NNSA Stockpile Stewardship program’s certification and assessments to ensure that the nation’s nuclear stockpile is safe, secure and effective. With an expected operational lifetime through 2020, Trinity is an approximately 41.5 petaflop (41.5 million billion calculations per second, peak performance) supercomputer based on the Cray XC40 architecture. It consists of 19,420 compute nodes utilizing two processor architectures, Intel Xeon Haswell and Intel Xeon Phi Knights Landing. It is a water-cooled system with a power requirement of about 10 megawatts. The Trinity project is managed and operated by Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories under the Alliance for Computing at Extreme Scale (ACES) partnership. The system is located at the Nicholas Metropolis Center for Modeling and Simulation at Los Alamos and covers approximately 5,200 square feet of floor space.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Simulation and measurement of the dynamic strain response in a prototypical spallation target

The Second Target Station (STS) at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) will address emerging scientific challenges by providing a source of intense cold neutrons to instruments optimized for this source. The STS target will use rotating tungsten blocks and will receive 1.3 GeV proton beam pulses from the SNS accelerator at a repetition rate of 15 Hz. The facility life is planned for 40 years, and each target assembly life is expected to be approximately 10 years. An accurate strain prediction is then critical for fatigue life assessment of STS target blocks because they will be subject to approximately 10 8 beam pulses per lifetime. As an R&D activity, the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) Weapons Neutron Research (WNR) Target 2 (Blue Room) facility was used to test the strain response of prototypical target blocks to the thermal shock of a proton pulse. The blue room was well suited for a pulsed proton beam impact test of subscale STS target blocks; the 800 MeV proton energy is approximately 60 % of the 1.3 GeV proton energy expected from the SNS accelerator to the STS. The LANSCE Proton Storage Ring (PSR) and SNS are both short-pulse proton beam sources with nominal pulse widths of 250 ns and 661 ns, respectively, so the energy deposition in the target occurs in <1 μs pulse duration. Strain measurements on the outer surface of three target blocks (bare tungsten, tantalum-clad tungsten, niobium-clad tungsten) were recorded for comparison against neutronics and structural simulations. In conclusion, this experiment and the supporting simulations satisfied the following primary research goals for the STS target.

Dynamic strain response↗