Department of Energy FY 2012 Congressional ... - The FIRE Place

• Advanced Certification: Advanced Certification will continue to review and evaluate approaches to
establish an accredited warhead certification plan, without nuclear testing, in an era where changes
to nuclear components will occur due to aging or design concerns.
• Primary Assessment Technologies: Activities support the science (including theory, experiment,
simulation, and analysis) necessary to develop and improve a validated capability for predicting and
certifying primary performance, safety, and Quantification of Margins and Uncertainties (QMU)
without additional nuclear tests. Approximately half of the effort for this subprogram is directed
towards boost physics.
• Dynamic Materials Properties: Develops physics-based, experimentally validated data and models
of all stockpile materials, at a level of accuracy required by the Primary and Secondary Assessment
Technologies and Engineering Campaign. The Dynamic Materials Properties is focused on the
behavior of high explosives, plutonium, uranium, and other metals. Work with DoD under the DoD-
DOE joint munitions program is also conducted principally under Dynamic Materials Properties at
LANL.
• Advanced Radiography: Supports development of technologies for three-dimensional imagery of
imploding mock primaries, with sufficient time and space resolution to help resolve uncertainties in
primary performance. With the completion of the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test
(DARHT) 2nd axis refurbishment, the focus has turned to optimization of radiographic tools and
development of new technologies.
• Secondary Assessment Technologies: Develops the tools and capabilities required to understand the
factors that control secondary yield and to use these tools to reduce uncertainties in secondary
performance. These activities support assessments of the safety, reliability, and performance of the
LANL stockpile weapons, including ongoing activities in LEPs, and Significant Findings
Investigations (SFIs). Along with advanced simulation and computing capabilities, as these tools
and methodology are validated, they will be delivered to the DSW program for usage in assessment
work required to support directed stockpile activities at LANL. In FY 2012, LANL will develop
high energy density physics platforms of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) facilities to focus on
increased understanding of stockpile weapons. Using Quantification in Margins and Uncertainties
(QMU) methodology, LANL will identify and quantify technical areas with largest uncertainties and
impact to stockpile performance and focus efforts to reduce uncertainties and quantify margins.
Los Alamos National Laboratory Page 504
FY 2012 Congressional Budget