From introduction: The principal work described below is the development and tests of a slow neutron flux generator based on a generator developed at the University of California (UCRL 8359, W. Patterson, Roger Wallace, "A Method of Calibrating Slow Neutron Detectors"). It is shown that a tolerance flux density of slow neutrons results within a cubical cavity 15 inches on an edge with 4-inch-thick walls of water or paraffin wax when a plutonium-beryllium source emitting about 7 million neutrons per second is placed within the cavity according to a standard procedure. The principle on which the generator is based is that the fast neutrons from the source are slowed to near thermal velocities by scattering from the cavity walls. (Although the principal interest is in the slow flux, a primary fast flux is present at any point depending on the inverse square of the distance from the source.) The variation of slow neutron flux density over the walls of the cavity is unimportant for the calibration of thermal neutron detectors which follow a 1/v or 1/E response law (where v and E are the neutron velocity and energy), so that the detector is sensitive mainly to the slow neutron flux. …

Report presenting testing to determine the interference effects of various sting-support configurations on the base pressure and foredrag characteristics of a wing-fuselage combination with a turbulent boundary layer. The primary variable investigated was the length of the constant-diameter portion of a sting support. Results regarding the base-pressure interference and foredrag interference are provided.

The starting characteristics and combustion performance of slurry type fuels, consisting of 50 percent magnesium powder in a hydrocarbon carrier, have been investigated in a flight-type, 6.5-inch-diameter ram-jet engine in a connected-pipe facility. Quick, dependable starting of the engine was obtained by the use of a disk which blocked part of the combustor area downstream of the flame holder. Acceptable performance was achieved with a short fuel-air mixing length by the development of a fuel-distribution control sleeve.

Report discussing some new requirements for satisfactory handling qualities due to the drastic changes in the speed range and configuration of airplanes. Longitudinal characteristics, lateral and directional stability and control characteristics, dynamic lateral and directional stability, and control effectiveness are described. Four categories of characteristics that may affect pilot control are included and ranked by level of severity.

Report presenting measurements made on the Bell X-1 airplane to determine the pressures on the fuselage base and rear portion of the fuselage during level flight. Measurements were made in the power-off condition and with the engine operating. Information about the power-off pressures and jet effects is provided.

Report presenting an investigation in the 300 mph tunnel and on the transonic bump of the high-speed tunnel to determine the feasibility of a self-actuating spoiler as a lateral-control device for a missile with a 60 degree delta wing. Various sizes of plain and cambered spoilers were tested on a 60 degree delta wing through an angle of attack range at low speeds. Results regarding rolling-moment coefficients, yawing-moment coefficients, spoiler actuating times, spoiler rotational-moment coefficients, and spoiler bending-moment coefficients are provided.

Memorandum presenting a concept in aircraft design, which states that provision of a rolling moment in the direction of the turning rotation will be very effective, and may be necessary, for termination of any spin obtained. Current research indicates that wing sweep, use of heavy jet and rocket engines, in the fuselage, and long fuselage nose lengths are the primary causes of the changes in the nature of the spin and in the requirements for recovery.

Flight testing at transonic speeds occurred on two rocket-propelled models of an airplane configuration with 45 degree sweptback wings of aspect ratio 4 and with different stiffnesses. Longitudinal stability, lift, and drag characteristics were determined by analysis of the response of the models to disturbances in pitch. Results regarding lift, model vibrations, aeroelastic effects on lift, static stability, damping in pitch, and drag are provided.

"The effects of combustor operation at conditions representative of those encountered in high pressure-ratio turbojet engines or at high flight speeds on carbon deposition, exhaust smoke, and combustion efficiency were studied in a single tubular combustor. Carbon deposition and smoke formation tests were conducted over a range of combustor-inlet pressures from 33 to 173 pounds per square inch absolute and combustor reference velocities from 78 to 143 feet per second. Combustion efficiency tests were conducted over a range of pressures from 58 to 117 pounds per square inch absolute and velocities from 89 to 172 feet per second" (p. 1).

Report presenting comparisons of the aerodynamic characteristics and flow phenomena at transonic speeds for two unswept zero-taper-ratio wing-body combinations. The first had a cylindrical afterbody, while the second had an indented afterbody in the region of the wing-body juncture. Results regarding force characteristics, flow surveys, and an interpretation of the results are provided.

Report presenting an investigation of the effects of sideslip on the aerodynamic loading characteristics of a 45 degree sweptback wing of aspect ratio 4 for a range of angles of attack, angles of sideslip, and Mach numbers. The load distributions, root bending-moment coefficient, and rolling moment due to sidestep were explored.

Report presenting a brief evaluation of pentaborane-JP-4 fuel mixtures in a turbojet engine at a simulated flight altitude of 50,000 feet and a Mach number of 0.8. Engine data included thrust and specific fuel consumption is provided in tabular and graphical form for various fuel blends as well as photographs of the condition of the engine at the end of the investigation.

Report presenting a method for extending to higher Mach numbers the region of low drag attainable for wing-body combinations by the use of the transonic area rule. To a good approximation, the drag depends only on the longitudinal distributions of area and moments of area about the vertical plane of symmetry parallel to the free-stream direction. The experimental results confirm the theory in that the zero-lift wave drag of a wing-body configuration over a range of low supersonic Mach numbers.

Report presenting a theoretical analysis of the longitudinal behavior of an automatically controlled supersonic interceptor during the attack phase. Factors considered in the investigation included effects of control-system parameters, effects of limitations on control deflection and rate of control deflection, effects of initial tracking errors, effects of nonlinear variations in drag and lift with angle of attack and Mach number, effects of nonlinear variations in pitching moment with angle of attack, effect of variations in interceptor forward velocity, and the effect of a normal acceleration limiter on the system performance.

Report presenting wind-tunnel tests at a range of Mach numbers to measure the static longitudinal stability characteristics of a semispan wing-fuselage-tail model having a wing with 45 degrees of sweepback. The wing had an aspect ratio of 5.5 and had NACA 64A010 sections normal to the quarter-chord line. The center of pressure of the wing-fuselage combination moved forward as the wing began to stall, and a tail in the higher positions produced additional stalling moments due to high effective downwash.

Report presenting a wind-tunnel investigation to determine the low-speed aerodynamic characteristics of an airplane arrangement with an unswept horizontal tail and a triangular wing with an aspect ratio of 3 equipped with partial-span single-slotted flaps and plain ailerons. The effects of flap deflection on the longitudinal characteristics were investigated at several tail positions. Results indicated taht satisfactory longitudinal stability up to a lift coefficient of 1.35 was attained only when the tail was below the wing-chord plane.

The purpose of this investigation is to make a preliminary study and evaluation of the application of ultrasonic equipment and associated handling equipment to the problem of decontaminating reactor tube dummy pieces. Reactor Section is currently planning the construction of batch process nitric acid facilities for dummy decontamination. It was felt that use of ultrasonics together with a solution less corrosive than nitric acid might provide adequate decontamination at lower project cost than the presently proposed nitric acid facilities. This report gives the progress of the investigation to date.

Quarterly summary report of studies conducted through the Radiation Laboratory, University of California. Some results reported in the report may be of a preliminary or incomplete nature.

Memorandum presenting an investigation in the 4- by 4-foot supersonic pressure tunnel at Mach numbers of 1.82 and 2.01 to determine the longitudinal and lateral stability characteristics of a fighter-type airplane model with a low-aspect-ratio unswept wing and a high horizontal tail. The results indicated a region of reduced longitudinal stability at low lifts at a Mach number of 2.01 that was caused by fuselage flow fields or vertical-tail effects on the horizontal tail.

Data were estimated by means of a heat correction equation using data for JP-4 fuel with mixtures of oxygen and flourine. The estimated data were checked for several cases by direct calculations. The difference in specific impulse between the estimated and directly calculated values was from 0.2 to 0.8 pound-second per pound. The maximum value of specific impulse was 334.9 pound-seconds per pound for a combustion-chamber pressure of 600 pounds per square inch absolute and an exit pressure of 1 atmosphere.

"Flame quenching by a variable-width rectangular-slot burner as a function of pressure for various propane-oxygen-nitrogen mixtures was investigated. It was found that for cold gas temperatures of 27 degrees C, pressures of 0.1 or 1.0 atmosphere, and volumetric oxygen reactions of the oxidant of 0.17, 0.21, 0.30, 0.50, and 0.70, the relation between pressure p and quenching distance d is approximately given by d (unity) p (superscript -r) with r = 1, for equivalence ratios approximately equal to one. The quenching equation of Simon and Belles was tested" (p. 1).

The discharge of cooling water from the Hanford reactors introduce radioactive contaminants to the Columbia River. These materials may subsequently bring about exposure to human populations either through the direct use of the water for sanitary purposes or transfers of the radioisotopes into the food chains. It is therefore desirable to keep to a minimum the amounts of radioisotopes released to the river.

A system for concentrating uranyl nitrate solutions was designed and installed in the Thorex Pilot Plant. A total of 16,060 g of uranium was concentrated in the system in 68 batch runs. A total of 14,400 g total uranium (14.180 g U/sup 233/) was recovered as product suitable for shipment. Uranium loss to the evaporator condensate was 0.03% of the total uranium processed. The material balance across the system was 98.4%. The average concentration of uranium in the evaporator feed solution was 29 g/liter; the average concentration in the evaporated solution was 298 g U/liter and in the product solution was 199 g/liter. Radiation readings of bottles containing product solutions were taken with a hard-shell cutie pie immediately after each run, and these readings ranged from 35 to 1100 mr/hr. The radiation levels of the bottles of product solution shipped averaged 78 mr/hr. Bottles of product solution reading in excess of 300 mr/hr, maximum allowable for shipment. were reprocessed in the second-cycle solvent extraction system (Thorex) and reconcentrated. The products from seven runs had radiation levels in excess of 300 mr/hr at the time of concentration, or the activities had grown to that level by the time of shipment. The …

The heat transfer and fluid friction characteristics have been determined for a liquid flowing parallel to the tube bundle of a heat exchanger consisting of one hundred and two 1/16-inch O.D. tubes arranged in a delta or triangular array. These results may be expressed by empirical equations.