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

The Primary Assessment Technologies subprogram, in conjunction with the ASC Campaign, develops
the tools, methods, and knowledge required to certify the nuclear safety and nuclear performance of any
primary to the required level of Department of Defense performance without nuclear testing. This
subprogram also supports the design of hydrodynamic and subcritical experiments. These experiments,
together with experiments using relevant simplified geometries, are used to tie high-fidelity
experimental results to data obtained from the database of historic full-scale underground nuclear tests.
The Dynamic Materials Properties subprogram generates fundamental materials data and provides the
validation data for physics-based models that describe and predict the behaviors of weapon materials in
extreme conditions of temperature, stress, strain, and strain rates. This subprogram also includes part of
the scope of work associated with sub-critical experiments at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS).
The Advanced Radiography subprogram develops advanced technologies for static and dynamic
imaging of imploding mock primaries to experimentally validate computer simulations of the implosion
process and associated physical phenomena. This subprogram also develops driver technologies to meet
the radiographic requirements and dynamic material property requirements defined in the Primary and
Secondary Assessment Plans.
The Secondary Assessment Technologies subprogram, in conjunction with the ASC Campaign, develops
the tools, methods, and knowledge required to certify the nuclear performance of secondaries without
nuclear testing. This includes developing modern tools needed to identify weapon failure modes,
margins and performance relevant to stockpile systems.
The Science Campaigns subprograms support the Stewardship Science Academic Alliances (SSAA)
program that provides financial assistance to approximately 40 academic institutions in two areas of
unique relevance to weapon science: low-energy nuclear science and materials under extreme
conditions. Academic alliances in high-energy-density physics are funded by the Science Campaign and
the Inertial Confinement Fusion and High Yield (ICF) Campaign.
The Science Campaign also collaborates with Basic Energy Sciences, Fusion Energy Sciences and
Nuclear Energy in support of the Department’s Materials in Extreme Nuclear Technology Environments
crosscut. The behavior of materials in extreme radiation environments is one of the key issues limiting
the lifetime of today’s fission reactors and is also a significant technical requirement for future fission
and fusion technologies. This initiative would result in significant improvements in our understanding
of radiation damage, potential mitigation schemes, and the design of novel materials with enhanced
radiation resistance. The goals of this initiative include doubling the lifetime of materials in current
nuclear technologies, increasing confidence in plutonium lifetime estimates, and prediction and design
of new materials behavior for future nuclear technologies. The effort has focused on a set of research
themes that have substantial near-term results and provide a suite of tools to support the long-term
development of validated predictive simulation capability for materials in extreme radiation
environments.
Annual Performance Results and Targets
The Department is in the process of updating its strategic plan, and has been actively engaging
stakeholders including Congress. The draft strategic plan is being released for public comment
concurrent with this budget submission, with the expectation of official publication this spring. The
draft plan and FY 2012 budget are consistent and aligned. Updated measures will be released at a later
date and available at the following link http://www.mbe.doe.gov/budget/12budget/index.htm.
Weapons Activities/
Science Campaign Page 83
FY 2012 Congressional Budget