Report documenting research and developments made by the Health Physics Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Report documenting research and developments made by the Health Physics Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The new and as yet unsolved problems introduced by the production of large quantities of fission products and radioactive isotopes from fission or neutron capture present mankind a most complex technical, economic, and political problem. On one hand, the possibility of using the fission process to produce energy from an unexploited and abundant natural source is emerging from large programs of research and development. We are also beginning to see the promise of use of particulate and electromagnetic radiation for the good of man. On the other hand, we are presented with the problem of controlling the dangerous products of fission for periods of time measured in terms of many hundreds of years, periods longer than the effective tenure of any political state in history. We must not only devise ways of protecting ourselves in the present and for our lifetime but, in addition, we must establish the basic technical, social, and administrative control of vast quantities of artificial radioactivity that must remain effective for at least ten to twenty lifetimes.

This quarterly progress report of the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Project at ORNL records the technical progress of the research on circulating-fuel reactors and ether ANP research at the Laboratory under its Contract W-7405-eng-26. The report is divided into three major parts: I. Reactor Theory, Component Development, and Construction, II. Materials Research, and III. Shielding Research.

Report documenting the ongoing research and developments of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Homogeneous Reactor Project.

From summary: "Construction of the HRE facility was essentially complete on November 15, 1951 except for minor revisions and final testing. A program of engineering and nuclear tests of the system hasbeen drawn up, and the tests will be started early in the next quarter. The only major HRE items for which design is not complete are the samplers for the fuel, [gas], and reflector systems. These will be completed in time to be installed before critical experiments begin; meanwhile, temporary sampling devices have been installed for use during the testing program."

Progress report of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Project providing updates on various projects, experiments, and other work. This report includes summaries of project activities in: aircraft reactor test design, ART physics, ART instruments and controls, component development and testing, procurement and construction, ART, ETU, and in-pile loop operations, phase equilibrium studies, chemical reactions in molten salts, physical properties of molten materials, production of fuels, compatibility of materials at high temperatures, chemistry, analytical chemistry, metallurgy, dynamic corrosion studies, general corrosion studies, fabrication research, welding and brazing investigations, mechanical properties studies, ceramic research, nondestructive testing studies, heat transfer and physical properties, radiation damage, fuel recovery and reprocessing, critical experiments.

Report documenting the ongoing research and developments of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Homogeneous Reactor Project.

Progress report of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Metallurgy Division providing updates on various projects, experiments, and other work. This report includes a summary of scholarly output and summaries of general corrosion, dynamic corrosion, mechanical properties, nondestructive testing, welding and brazing, fabrication, physical chemistry of corrosion, HRP metallurgy, the package power reactor program, APPR absorber, metallurgical materials and processing, metallography, ceramics, fundamental physico-metallurgical research.

Description of cooling, shielding, controls are discussed for 100 kw and 1 Mw operation of a low cost experimental neutron chain reactor.

The development of the reactor layout is continuing. New features that have been incorporated because of stress, fluid flow, or fabricability considerations include an elliptical fuel expansion tank, a rounded dome to enclose the top of the reactor, a newly designed sodium pump impeller, and other related items. Recently completed heat exchanger tests yielded consistent data from which a series of heat exchangers is being designed. The most promising of these will be chosen for the ART.

Technical report acting as a detailed progress report on all homogeneous-reactor-motivated work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Includes work of the Homogeneous Reactor Experiment, the long range research programs associated with aqueous-fluid fuel systems. [From Foreword]

Progress report of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Project providing updates on various projects, experiments, and other work. This report includes summaries of project activities in: aircraft reactor test design, ART physics, ART instruments and controls, component development and testing, procurement and construction, ART, ETU, and in-pile loop operations, phase equilibrium studies, chemical reactions in molten salts, physical properties of molten materials, production of fuels, compatibility of materials at high temperatures, chemistry, analytical chemistry, metallurgy, dynamic corrosion studies, general corrosion studies, fabrication research, welding and brazing investigations, mechanical properties studies, ceramic research, nondestructive testing studies, heat transfer and physical properties, radiation damage, fuel recovery and reprocessing, critical experiments.

Part I. Experimental Reactors: The design has been completed for all the major high-pressure and low-pressure components except the reactor pressure vessel. Contained in this report are the most recent revisions of the low-pressure-system flow sheet, a description of important details of the reactor cell, and the final design of the main heat exchangers, the inner dump tanks and separator. the recombiner and recombiner-condenser, and the outer dump tank and reflux condenser. Part II. Thorium Breeder Reactor: An analysis of the relative effects of major process variables on the economics and characteristics of two-region thorium breeder reactors is nearing completion, and the results to date are presented in this report. From these results most of the major reactor characteristics have been determined; they are reported with certain other engineering studies pertinent to the early phases of the program. Part III. Corrosion: One loop was removed from service and cross sectioned for inspection of the internal surfaces. This loop was of type 347 stainless steel pipe and had a cumulative operating time of more than 12,000 hr with uranyl sulfate solutions varying in concentration from 0.004 to 1.34 m. No excessive or localized corrosion attack was noted except in one highly …