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Argonne's proposed Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA) will produce an unprecedented variety of beams of short-lived isotopes, many at intensities more than 100,000 times those currently available. It will also produce lots of heat.
To handle the materials challenges, RIA designers are using the software package that is the international standard for simulating material behavior under intense energy exposure -- an Argonne-designed software system called HEIGHTS -- to design the best beam target and cooling system.
"We designed HEIGHTS to simulate the physics of intense energy and power deposition on targets," said Ahmed Hassanein, manager of the Computational Physics and Hydrodynamics Section in the Energy Technology Division. HEIGHTS, for High Energy Interaction with General Heterogeneous Target Systems, simulates phenomena like shock and ignition physics, heat and radiation propagation through the atmosphere and photon transport through different media.
RIA's ion beams will be used to study the origin of the elements and test current models of physics, but their intensity would destroy typical thin-film targets.
"HEIGHTS is being used to evaluate light- and heavy-ion beam interaction with targets to calculate the thermal response of different target systems cooled by liquid metals," Hassanein said.
HEIGHTS has been used extensively for modeling plasma-material interactions in laboratory devices and Tokamak fusion machines in Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States. The intense heat of plasma created in magnetic confinement fusion reactors -- approximately 100 million degrees -- challenges designers. HEIGHTS simulates the plasma's interaction with reactor materials and the subsequent vapor cloud to determine what materials can withstand the plasma and photon radiation and how long they will last in a fusion reactor.
High-energy physicists at Fermilab and Brookhaven National Laboratory use HEIGHTS to model the targets for an international muon collider and neutrino factory. The software is used to model high-velocity liquid-metal jets in strong magnetic fields. HEIGHTS is also used to study the shock hydrodynamic effects from proton beam bombardment that produces pions that decay into muons.
Working with the University of Chicago Medical School, Argonne researchers are studying electric arcs, their propagation through the atmosphere and interaction with human bodies. Doctors hope to learn how to improve patient treatment as well as how to improve equipment.
HEIGHTS is a comprehensive software package created at Argonne over the past decade. It runs on computers ranging from parallel processors to Cray supercomputers to engineering workstations. HEIGHTS combines the foremost numerical solution methods including finite elements, Lagrangian, Eulerian, Particle-in-Cell (PIC), Monte Carlo and Ray Tracing Techniques.
Depending on the problem's complexity, run time ranges from one hour to months. HEIGHTS is continuously being updated and upgraded to ensure state-of-the art physics, numerical solution methods, and to study new challenging problems.
-- Evelyn Brown
David Moncton, associate laboratory director for the Advanced Photon Source (APS), is returning to Argonne full time after a two-year stint as executive director of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Moncton began dividing his time between Oak Ridge and Argonne in February 1999 with a mandate to prepare the $1.4 billion SNS project for construction. The last six months have witnessed significant milestones for the SNS project. The Clinton Administration recommended and Congress appropriated $278 million to begin construction of the project. In December, workers began pouring the foundations for the project's facilities.
"In those two years he has made remarkable progress, assembling a strong management team, establishing a technical baseline for the project, and guiding a partnership among six national laboratories that contributed greatly to the project's success," said Bill Madia, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. "The SNS project is now on a sound footing, and we will continue our commitment to deliver the project on time and on budget."
Moncton said that although his two years at Oak Ridge have been a rewarding experience, he is looking forward to being more closely involved with the science program at the APS. "We are now beginning to see the science pour out of the APS in a way that was unimaginable when the facility was under construction," Moncton said. He also credited Intense Pulsed Neutron Source and APS employees with providing essential support to the SNS project. "We should be very proud of the contribution Argonne has made to the successful launching of the SNS project," he said.
Argonne remains a member of the six-lab collaboration, with responsibility for neutron instrumentation and the development of the technology for a potential second target station.
A Service Awards Dinner for Argonne-West employees celebrating 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service during 2000 will be held Friday, March 2, at the Shilo Inn in Idaho Falls. A "hosted" social hour will begin at 6:30 p.m. Dinner will begin at 7:30 p.m.
A Service Awards Luncheon for employees celebrating 20 years of service during 2000 will be held Thursday, Feb. 15, in the Laboratory and Office Building Conference Room, Building 752.
Invitations for both events will be mailed to employees in early February.
Corbin McNeill, chairman and co-chief executive officer of Exelon Corporation, will discuss the future of nuclear power in a deregulated marketplace and Exelon's long-term nuclear strategy at the Argonne-East Guest House, Bldg. 460, Thursday, Feb. 8.
McNeill will speak at 7:30 p.m., after the February dinner meeting of the American Nuclear Society's Chicago Section. All are welcome to attend the free presentation. RSVP to Terrill Laughton at (815) 458-7623 or Terrill.Laughton@ exeloncorp.com by Monday, Feb. 5. Space may be limited.
Exelon Corporation, one of the nation's largest utility services companies, is the new company formed from the merger of PECO Energy Company and Unicom Corporation, the parent company of ComEd.
ComEd is the primary electric delivery service company for the northern Illinois region, serving about 3.4 million customers.
The Surplus Office Supplies Exchange (SOS-X) pilot program, which makes it easier for employees to exchange surplus office supplies and furniture at Argonne-East, is off to a great start, said Pollution Prevention Coordinator Keith Trychta (PFS-WMO).
Items exchanged so far include desks, hanging file folders, toner cartridges, presentation binders and an electric calculator (with extra ribbons).
SOS-X is a pilot program that works through the laboratory's e-mail system. Participants use an electronic form to list the type, amount and condition of office supplies wanted or available, along with a brief description.
Once submitted, the form is forwarded to employees who routinely purchase or use office supplies.
Supplies are transferred by using the laboratory's T-run system. PFS-Rigging transports larger items like office furniture.
Hazardous or radioactive materials cannot be exchanged through this program.
For more information, call the Pollution Prevention Hotline at ext. 2-6778 or send e-mail to sosx@anl.gov.
An eight-week summer program for college-bound students will be offered at Argonne-East June 11-Aug. 3 by the Division of Educational Programs.
Students will participate in laboratory research under the direction of Argonne scientists.
Students must have a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and be U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens. They must graduate from high school in May or June and be enrolled to attend college in fall 2001.
Participants will receive a stipend of $350 per week. Application materials have been sent to high school science departments throughout the area. Completed applications must be received by March 30.
For more information or program applications, contact Lisa Reed (DEP) at lreed@dep.anl.gov or call ext. 2-3366.
The Argonne Credit Union is seeking volunteers to serve on its board of directors. All members in good standing are encouraged to apply.
The board of directors sets policy and approves plans, budgets and expenditures. The board also assumes responsibility for the health and growth of the credit union. Details are provided with applications, available at all Argonne Credit Union offices.
Applications are being accepted through Monday, Feb. 12.
For more information, contact a nominating committee member by phone or e-mail:
Ron Scharping, (630) 252-4490, rscharping@anl.gov.
Ira Goldberg, (630) 252-5639, i@anl.gov.
Dee Wernette, (630) 252-3280, dwernette@ anl.gov.
The next meeting of Local 73 of the Union of Service Employees International will be Tuesday, Feb. 20. The local meets in the Building 200 Auditorium at 4:30 p.m.
Meetings in 2001 will be held March 20, April 17, May 15, Sept. 18, Oct. 16, Nov. 20 and Dec. 18. There will be no meetings in June, July or August.
The Payroll Department has mailed W-2 forms and earnings summaries for 2000 to the home addresses indicated on employees' payroll check stubs.
Employees who do not receive their W-2s by Jan. 31 can request a duplicate copy by completing the form "Request for IRS Form W-2," available at the Payroll Department. Requests for this form may be made by e-mail to kvana@anl.gov, or by fax to ext. 2-1441. (The e-mail address given in last week's issue was incorrect).
The Payroll Department will process these forms each Wednesday beginning Feb. 7, and mail duplicate W-2 forms to the address indicated on the form.
Howard V. Rhude, a retired metallurgical engineer with 38 years of service in the Reactor Engineering Division, died Sept. 23. His wife, Diana, survives him.
Dallas F. Spencer, a retired construction contracts manager in the Procurement Division, died Oct. 6. His wife, Dolores, survives him.
Edward H. Trauscht, a retired waste management mechanic in Plant Facilities and Services' Waste Management Operations Division, died Oct. 4. His wife, Catherine, survives him.
Frank Wakefield, a retired carpenter in the Plant Facilities and Services Division, died Nov. 2. His wife, Gloria, survives him.
Joseph J. Willand, a retired Instrument Machinist with 14 years of service in Central Shops, died Aug. 28. His sister, Anna Schwartz, survives him.
