Analysis Task Plan

Analysis team activities, a major effort in P-22, supports Science Based Stockpile Stewardship. The project will involve six P-22 personnel. Support is also given by the Bechtel corporation located in Los Alamos and Nevada.

This project can be basically defined using 4 major categories:

1. Collection/analysis of reaction history experiments.
2. Collection/analysis of add-on experiments.
3. Write experimental procedures, then use write-ups for training.
4. Finish shot reports for most current NTS tests.

1. Collection/analysis of reaction history experiments

Description
In FY97, P-22 will concentrate on the W-87 and B-61 systems. The reaction history data analysis for the W-76 is complete. The W-76 data is electronically placed for use by the entire LANL and LLNL weapon's community. LLNL has transferred data from the W-87 systems and after review by P-22, the data sets are being used by the LANL weapon's community. In FY96, a prioritized list for the B-61 was supplied by Group XNH of X-Division. The list asked for the archival of 44 events, covering a 25 year period. A major portion of the events are being completely re-analyzed because the initial analysis is not in electronic form. Some of the events are already in electronic form and only need to be organized and placed on COEDS (Common Event Data System). The scanning and indexing of the notebooks compiled by the past P-14 analysis section will continue throughout this fiscal year.

2. Collection/analysis of add-on experiments

Description
This task consists of the following steps:

• Identify advanced diagnostic experiments fielded on NTS nuclear events.
  
• Armed with this information, talk to the appropriate people in X-Division to make an archival priority for the re-analysis of these advanced diagnostic experiments.
  
• Collect the data from the desired experiments. Re-analyze if necessary and place the data on the CFS with pointers in COEDS. All archived experiments should be accompanied by a brief physics write up.
  
• Organize computer directories for those experiments that have been analyzed on the VAX computer system and store appropriate results in ASCII on COEDS.

3. Write experimental procedures, then use write ups for required training.

Description
Using the W-76, W-87 and B-61 experiments plus the expertise of the present staff, the foundation for appropriate training of future scientists will be laid through the documentation of experimental procedures. A primary task is to prepare a reaction history "how to" document. Experimental procedures for advanced diagnostics experiments will be completed during the analysis of the various experiments. This documentation will be placed on COEDS for the use of the entire weapons community.

4. Finish shot reports for most current NTS events

Description
There needs be an honest attempt to complete the physics reports for the last 9 NTS events. This is becoming a critical task, because only two of the six principle experimentalists involved in the events still work as full time staff members for P-22.

An important overall project for P-22 hardware and software

Integrated over the priorities above is an effort to establish a contemporary computing platform for the production software in P-22. To help accomplish this goal Bechtel resources in Nevada are being leveraged and includes the following three areas:

• The re-establishment of the capability to do classified computing in Nevada.
  
• The analysis of 8 one-point events related to stockpile stewardship.
  
• Conversion of VAX/VMS computing system to contemporary computing platform.

The capability to do classified computing was restored in September, 1995 at the A-1 complex in North Las Vegas. Using this capability the analysis of two of the one-point events were completed. This data is being used as a tool to help the Bechtel staff understand the reaction history analysis system. Then using the actual data and the understanding of the VAX/VMS software, an investigation into current software will be launched. Windows NT for the PC looks quite promising. A proposal has been written and, in FY97, expertise in P-22 and Bechtel will be recruited to write the software applicable to reaction history analysis. This task will also help P-22 maintain the expertise needed for a possible new testing program at NTS.

Other Work

The UK has requested that we collect/analyze data from 11 events, 5 of which were tests from the 1960s. To date they have not produced any funding for this activity. Funding comes from the office of their Minister of Defense. Presently a formal program for the transfer of data is being developed between the two countries.

There is a continuous effort to clean up and organize the files from all events since 1980, which is the year that the Group initiated the VAX/VMS computer system. This is a tedious job and one that most people tend to avoid. Since the VAX/VMS system was the main analysis tool starting in 1980, events in the 12 year period of 1980-1992 are already in electronic form. Some portion of the file management was very good but redundant working files still clutter the system. Much of the appropriate event information has been transferred in FY95 and FY96, but a significant amount of data still needs to be reviewed

Part of the overall archiving effort involves special requests from our customers. An example of this is the compilation of data from tests that failed to boost for use in justifying the value of a hydronuclear program. This "type" of task is requested several times annually. They are valuable to the SBSS program.