An agitated ion exchange column was adapted for use in a large radiochemical separations plant. Tests with nonradioactive solutions showed that ion exchange resin could be charged to and discharged from the column through typical plant piping and without the use of mechanical valves. With the agitator turning, the bed passed solutions containing 400 ppm of finely divided silica whereas a fixed bed became plugged. The pressure drop through the column and the absorption characteristics of an anionic complex of thorium nitrate were compared under agitated, pulsed, and fixed bed conditions. (auth)

A program to evaluate materials for suitability ss exposed bearings on nuclear auxiliary power systems (SNAP Program) for space vehicles is reported. Friction coef ficients of material combinations in a 10/sup -6/ mm Hg vacuum at 1000 deg F for 200 hr were measured. Seven combinations found to have friction coefficients less than 0.50 are: graphite-Haynes 90; graphite-Stellite No. 3; graphiteAl/sub 2/O/sub 3/ (sprayed); Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ (sprayed)-Cr/sub 3/ C/sub 2/ (spr ayed); Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ (sprayed)-TiC; Al/sup 2/O /sub 3/ (solid)-3-F- 12; and Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ (solid)N-12. (auth)

Project Scooter, a part of Operation Plowshare, was a 500-ton chemical explosive shot fired at the AEC Nevada Test Site. Personnel of Lawrence Radiation Laboratory undertook a program of measuring pressure-time histories and shock wave arrival times. Tourmaline piezoelectric transducers were used for both purposes. Only one instrument, located 49.4 feet from the center of the detonation, gave usable information. At this distance the shock wave arrived 11.2 plus or minus 0.4 msec after the X-unit signal, an the maximum pressure was 1.7 plus or minus 0.5 kilobars. (auth)

Results of zero power tests to confirm the nuclear design of the Consolidated Edison Thorium Reactor Core are presented. The maximum core reactivity, control rod worths, and power distribution were measured.

Tests in a one-fifth scale clear plastic model were conducted to investigate the flow characteristics of the asymmetrical riser configuration in the Consumers Big Rock power plant.

Monthly newsletter of the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1, discussing the field of underground water. Topics include profiles of water conservation research, annual pre-plant soil moisture survey data, annual Winter Water Level measurement data, and information about the latest water conservation tips.

An automatic, nuclear powered, meteorological data transmitting radio station was designed and fabricated for unattended service at a remote Arctic location. The system automatically measures air temperature, barometric pressure, wind direction, and two wind speed averages- Once every three hours it transmits this data in binary digital form, on two frequencies, to a manned receiving station (also designed as a part of this contract) where it is recorded on a two-channel recorder. Temperature, wind direction and barometric pressure are read at the instant of transmission; wind speed is averaged during an eightminute interval and a one-minute interval immediately preceding transmission. A five-watt thermoelectric generator was designed, manufactured and electrically tested for a period of 8.5 months. In May 196l, the generator was fueled with a capsule containing 17,500 curies of Sr/sup 90/. Electrical performance tests were conducted with the integrated system of generator, converter and batteries prior to isotope loading and also after Sr/sup 90/ fueling operations. Weather station compatibility tests were performed in June 1961 and the complete power supply and station housing were packaged for overseas shipment in July 1961. Current residence of the Sr/sup 90/ generator is on Axel Heiberg Island in the Arctic region. (auth)

From foreword: This report is divided into two parts: Part A covers the data telemetry package used for the transmission of weather station data, and Part B covers the generator which supplies power to the data telemetry package.

Irradiated UO/sub 2/ was processed for recycle by one version of the Salt Cycle Process. The irradiated fuel was dissolved in fused NaCl-KCl and the bulk of the uranium and plutonium were recovered as UO/sub 2/ and PuO/sub 2/ by elcctrodeposition. A reduction in the concentration of fission product poisons in the fuel was also achieved in the electrodeposition step. Fabrication of the partially decontaminated, irradiated UO/sub 2/ into a fuel rod and subsequent incorporation of the fuel rod into a four-rod cluster fuel element was accomplished by remote handling techniques. Two rods of the cluster contained nonrecycled, electrodeposited UO/sub 2/, one contained sintered UO/sub 2/ pellets, and the fourth contained the recycled, electrodeposited UO/sub 2/. The element was irradiated in the MTR with a maximum surface heat flux of approximately 300,000 Btu/(hr)(sq ft) to an exposure of approximately 450 MWD/T. The fuel rods containing electrodeposited UO/sub 2/ (both recycled and nonrecycled) suffered no adverse effects during irradiation. (auth)

From abstract: "The design, fabrication, and irradiation results are described for a 0.028 inch thick 304 stainless clad fuel element (SH-4B) exposed in the Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor loop under superheat conditions."

Bond tensile strengths in excess of 90,000 psi in joining precipitation- hardened beryllium -copper have been obtained by diffusion techniques. Ordinary brazing techniques for beryllium--copper have resulted in an average of 40,000- psi tensile strength in the bond. Bonds with tensile strengths averaging 108,400 psi have been developed using high-vacuum, diffusion-type bonding techniques. Hardnesses averaging 38 Rockwell C'' can be obtained by air-blast cooling of the beryllium-copper after solution heat treatment (followed by precipitation hardening). (R.J.S.)

Surface area measurements on UO/sub 2/-PuO/sub 2/ and PuO/sub 2/ powders are reported. Fabrication and evaluation of PuO/sub 2/ shapes are reported. Work on resonance integrals of UO/sub 2/ and U rods is described. (D.L.C.)

A remote metallographic facility is in operation at Argonne National Laboratory. Techniques relative to better contamination control and equipment operation were developed. The techniques used for microscopic examination of irradiated materials were standardized with variations only in the final polishing steps, and detailed procedures are given for several alloys. The procedures used for macroscopy vary from sample to sample, and new procedures are developed as required to suit each particular problem. (auth)

A shielded enclosure has been developed for dismantling bombarded 60- inch cyclotron' Microtargets.'' Consisting of a Berkeley box within a lead enclosure, it permits the operator to safely remove the target holder from the complete target block assembly, visually inspect the target itself, check it and the block for external alpha contamination, and remove both the target and the block assembly through a bagout sealing system. In case of contamination, the internal enclosure may be sealed off and removed as a unit, to be replaced with identical stand-by equipment. (auth)

Several features of the production of Na/sup 24/ and Mg/sup 28/ fragments produced in the interaction of protons and He ions with Cu, Ag, Au, and U were investigated. Formation cross sections were determined for He ions of different energies between 320 and 880 Mev and for protons of 700 Mev. Thick- target recoil experiments were performed at bombarding energies of 0.7 and 3 Bev for protons, and 880 Mev for He ions. Also given are some recoil measurements of Na/sup 24/ from Al. Analysis of data obtained with target materials heavier than Al showed that for the bombarding energies used, Na/sup 24/ and Mg/sup 28/ are probably produced by the cleavage of the target nucleus into two heavy fragmerts. One of these fragments has a mass approximately equal to the mass Na 4 or Mg/6 and the other contains most of the remaining mass of the target nucleus. However, Na/sup 24/ and Mg/sup 28/ are very probably not slowly evaporated particles nor products of a slow fission process. The experimental information covering fragmentation from photographic emulsion studies and radiochemical studies is discussed. The various mechanisms proposed are considered and a new one suggested. According to this new mechanism Na/sup …

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The changes due to neutron irradiation which occurred in the highly enriched uranium fuel slugs of the first core of the EBR-I were related to burnup (0 to 0.3 at.%) and to temperature (285 to 395 deg C). Initially, the slugs increased in length with increase in burnup, but at higher burnups the direction of growth reversed itself, and the slugs tended to shrink to less than their original lengths. Temperature became an important factor at the higher levels of burnup in that the ratio of length change to burnup decreased with increasing temperatare. Diameter changes were the inverse of the changes in length. Density decreased almost linearly with burnup and was not affected by temperatare. Hardness increased with increasing burnup but the rate of increase decreased both with increasing burnup and temperature. (auth)

The extraction of beryllium by triisooctylamine is measured over the pH range from 1 to 10, in the presence of malonic, maleic, succinic, phthalic, and salicylic acids. Values are obtained for the stability constants of the various metal-acid complexes by potentiometric titration. The degree of extraction is dependent on the abundance of the anionic complex present in the aqueous phase and this is in turn dependent on the strength of the corresponding acid and the stability of the complex. (auth).

Report describing tests "in which a double chambered irradiation capsule containing NaK (sodium-potassium alloy) in its inner chamber was deliberately perforated to allow NaK (the heat transfer medium) and water to react within the capsule chambers" (p. 2). The report includes descriptions of the materials used in the tests, test procedures, and results.

A FORTRAN II program is described which is used to evaluate the effect of a spatially extended analyzer and detector on the measurement of the left- right asymmetry in the scattering of polarized particles. The initial scatterer is assumed to be a point source and the analyzer, second scatterer, and detector are treated as planes whose dimensions are adjustable as input data in the program. The calculation allows for any glven angular distribution of particle flux from the source if this distribution can be represented as a finite power series in the cosine of the angle of emission. A similar representation is used to describe the scattering properties of the analyzer. The integrals over the finite dimensions of the analyzer and detector are evaluated by a standard Newton- Cotes quadrature approximation for multidimensional integration. A discussion of this approximation as well as a listing of the FORTRAN program are included. (auth)

Abstract: This technical report describes the Martin Co. PM-1-M-2 test element and analyzes the potential hazard incurred by its inclusion in the SM-1 Core II. A nuclear analysis develops power distributions and reactivity effects. Hydraulic and thermal analyses develop anticipated burnout heat flux ratios. An evaluation of the risk involved with the inclusion of this element is presented. In view of the narrow margin by which the PM-1-M-2 test element meets the minimum burnout ratios as defined by Alco Products, Inc., it is recommended that if time permits that critical facility design verification be accomplished. The PM-1-M-2 test element meets the minimum requirements for insertion in SM-1 Core II and in view of the importance of this element to the PM-1 and PM-3A program, should be considered for insertion.

Homogoenous Reactor Test. Four HRT runs were performed to study the reactor behavior with downward core flow. The upper patch was found to have fallen out, resulting in an increase in core-to-blanket mixing. The reactor will not be operated again. In the HRT processing plant, the development of a process for removing Ni and other soluble contaminants from fuel solutions by peroxide precipitation was continued, and efficiency tests of stackfllter iodine traps were performed. Power-trace data and computer analysis of a HRT flow model indicate that the HRT power fluctuations were caused by flow perturbations. A flow diffuser was developed to reduce core wall temperature and core power oscillations. Temperature transients due tc density changes were determined. Engineering Developent. ThO/sub 2/ slurries were found to show a slip effect in small-bore capillary tubes, while chemically dispersed slurries showed no such effect. Slurry friction factors in turbulent flow were correlated with Reynolds numbers. Solution Fuels. The stability of Pa tracers in Th(NO/sub 3/)/sup 4/ HNO/sub 3/ solutions was studied at 21 to)200 deg C. The effect of inorganic ions on the solubility of H/sub 2/ in H/sub 2/O is shown graphically. The solubility and nature of UO/sub 3/ hydrates in H/sub …

From introduction: This report contains part of the geologic information obtained from investigations conducted by the USGS on behalf of the AEC to determine the geologic environment of the underground test sites at Nevada Test Site.

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