Reactor operations at Hanford are to be conducted in the future under a new contract clause on nuclear health and safety, which sets up a form of AEC control somewhat akin to the licensing and regulatory function of the Commission with respect to commercial nuclear plants. As this transition in functional responsibilities approaches, it seems appropriate to review the record of more than 100 reactor-years of General Electric operation at Hanford, and to give an accounting of stewardship in regard to the all-important matter of nuclear safety in the production reactor operations. For the purposes of this review the events since General Electric assumed responsibility for plant operations in 1946 may be grouped into three periods. The first of these might be termed {open_quotes}The Early Years{close_quotes} and covers the period 1946 through 1952. During this time three additional reactors were placed on the line to supplement the original three war-built reactors. Power levels about doubled over the span, but there were relatively few changes from the original concepts of reactor design and operation, including the approach to reactor safeguards. A second period, 1953 through 1958, saw substantial advances in technology which led to new reactors, new loadings, and sharply increased …

This document is explanatory in nature and is intended to clarify certain questions about reactor neutron flux spectra in various AEC production facilities. Simplified models are used to illustrate neutron ``temperature,`` spectral ``hardening,`` and the so-called ``Westcott R.``

This report presents preliminary planning information which supplements two prior special reactor study reports. It is the purpose of this study to consider expedited reactivation of reactors and to evaluate the factors which are likely to be controlling to, or have a major influence on the time required to reactivate one or more of Hanford`s six small reactors after an assumed period in the lay-away status. It is assumed that the methods to be applied in preserving and protecting inactive equipment and facilities will be such that the plants which are shut down will to the greatest extent practicable, be laid away with all essential equipment and systems assembled and in an operable state of repair. It should be noted that, at best, the data presented herein represents ``educated guesses``. No rigorous development of specifications, procedures, or technical bases for laying away or reactivating these reactors has been undertaken.

When the ``stop-gap`` rate-of-rise meter was installed on all 8 reactors by Amendment 1 to CGI-806 it was intended to replace it with a more satisfactory design when possible. Successful completion of the development program now permits installation of equipment of sufficient reliability to be utilized in the safety circuit. This document defines the program necessary to provide power rate-of-rise protection in the safety circuits of B, C, D, DR, F, H and KE Reactors, provides justification for the project., and presents estimates of the cost and schedule required to accomplish the program.

The conduct of outage work in the discharge areas of the Hanford production reactors has always been complicated by personnel exposure to radiation from the contaminants which accumulate in the effluent water piping in the course of normal operations. These containments represent trace impurities in the cooling water, together with corrosion products, which are irradiated in passing through the reactor and then deposit in the unshielded rear face piping. Radioactive residues also accumulate on the external surfaces of this same complex and congested hardware. The radiation from these depositions increased as power levels and effluent water temperatures were raised, and by 1956 it was apparent that corrective steps would be essential to effective future maintenance work in the discharge areas. It is the purpose of this report to summarize the subsequent development and application of the chemical process for rear face piping decontamination which is being used so effectively in connection with the tube replacement program and other major outrage work.

Declassified 30 Aug 1973. 125 figures are included which were presented at the Materials Review Meeting for the LCRE, SNAP-50/SPUR, and Advanced Materials programs, held at CANEL on Sept. 18 and 19, 1983. Fuels, structural materials. alkali metal coolants, and auxiliary materials are included. (DLC)

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The differential cross sections for elastic scattering of 14-Mev neutrons from nitrogen and oxygen were measured in the angular range from 17 to 140 deg , using liquid targets and annular ring geometry. Inelastic scattering to the 2.31 and 3.95-Mev levels in N/sup 14/ and to the levels near 6 and 7 Mev in O/sup 16/ was investigated over a more restricted angular range. The 2.31-Mev level in N/sup 14/ was not excited appreciably, in disagreement with previously reported results. For both elements, the elastic scattering cross sections (determined to an accuracy of 10%) were found to be appreciably higher than the optical model predictions by Rjorklund and Fernbach for scatterirg angles larger than 70 deg . The inelastic cross sections measured are, within experimental accuracy, the same as the corresponding (p,p') cross sections. (auth)

Phase acceptance of the Alternating-Gradient Synchrotron Linear Accelerator is theoretically examined and found to agree well with an experimental determination of phase acceptance. Bunching in the AGS linac is also analyzed, the results indicating a satisfactory understanding of this process also. A double buncher that should be more efficient than the present single buncher is discussed, and space charge effects (as yet unobserved in bunching) are analyzed. (D.C.W.)

Information needed to solve nuclear safety problems is condensed into a reference book for use by persons familiar with the field. Included are a glossary of terms; useful tables; nuclear constants; criticality calculations; basic nuclear safety limits; solution geometries and critical values; metal critical values; criticality values for intermediate, heterogeneous, and interacting systems; miscellaneous and related information; and report number, author, and subject indexes. (C.H.)

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The design of the Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor fuel assemblies is described and a brief outline of the experimental heat transfer and fluid dynamic studies and mechanical testing is given, and he results of their application to the fuel element analysis are shown. The failure criteria are presented, the hot-channel factors are described, and the expected fission-gas pressure buildup within the elements is discussed.

An evaluation was undertaken to compare the results of various thicknesses of flat tensile specimens with results of round specimens from the same uranium plate, and to analyze the effect of some of the fabrication and testing variables on the test results. Flat specimens gave good reproducibility, particularly at thicknesses of 0.150 and 0.200 inch, but showed biases when compared to round specimens which varied as a function of thickness. Fabrication variables such as omitting hand polishing produced small increases in the bias and a substantial increase in the scatter of the results. Specimen alignment was found to have a substantial influence on the shape of the curve obtained.

This document describes the advantages and limitations of Hanford production facilities. In addition to summarizing the technical parameters of the reactors and separations plants and their mechanical features, the unique aspects of these facilities to the production of special materials in which the Commission may be interested have been discussed. As the primary difference between the B-C-D-DR-F-H reactors and the K reactors and the K reactors is in the number and length of process channels. This report is addressed primarily to the 2000-tube reactors. K reactor characteristics are within the range of lattice and flexibility parameters described.

The preliminary results of a quantitative calculation of the differential cross section for proton Compton scattering using a previously reported fixed angle dispersion relation formalism are discussed. A relatively large two-spin exchange contribution is indicated. (auth)

The counter hodoscope experiments at incident particle momenta of 7-20 Bev/c are summarized. The data are presented, together with the associated Regge pole analyses. The effective radii, opacities, and total cross sections obtained for the interactions are included. A magnetic spectrometer setup used for low four-momentum transfer data is also described, and optical theorem predictions for pi /sup -/-p and p-p are given. (D.C.W.)

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This report is a documentation of the experimental data from each test of the series performed in the Spert I reactor with the type D, fully enriched, aluminum plate-type core. The series of tests consisted of step-wise insertions of excess reactivity under conditions of ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. The data obtained from each test are presented in tabular form and as plots of the time behavior of reactor power, fuel plate surface temperature, and pressure. Composite figures, displaying the behavior with time, of fuel plate temperatures and pressures at various positions in the reactor are included. Correlated data figures displaying measured test data as functions of asymptotic reactor period are also included. (auth)

This report briefly describes the geological data of the U12b.10 tunnel at the Nevada Test Site.

This report summarizes the technical progress on the subject contract for the period March 15 to May 14 1963.

Report documenting the process of decontaminating low-activity fuel waste water via the Scavenging-Precipitation Ion-Exchange process. This includes analyses of the costs of the process as well as a description of the operation of the pilot plant.