Report issued by the Argonne National Laboratory covering the quarterly report from the Reactor Engineering Division. A summary of reactor programs, research, designs, development, and experiments are presented. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Report discussing an investigation of two 45 degree swept blades in low-speed cascade tunnels at a range of angles of attack and various combinations of inlet-air angle and solidity. The isolated wing method used to design the blade predicted the twist distribution and camber shape necessary to obtain an almost uniform spanwise loading.

"Dynamic yawing effects on vertical-tail loads are considered by a theory of flat yawing maneuvers. A comparison is shown between computed loads and the loads measured in flight on a fighter airplane. The dynamic effects were investigated on a large flying boat for both an abrupt rudder deflection and sinusoidal rudder deflection" (p. 91).

Report presenting an investigation in which the inlet-guide-vane setting of a 10-stage compressor was reduced in order to approximate more closely the design absolute entrance flow angles to the first rotor. In order to determine the effects of these changes, the performance of the inlet stage was obtained simultaneously with the overall compressor performance for both the original and reduced incidence angles. Results regarding the compressor performance, inlet-stage performance, and effect of guide-vane resetting on compressor performance are provided.

Technical report with short reports on (1) Effect of radiation on water and aqueous systems; (2) Gas evolution from uranyl solutions; (3) Effect of radiation on solid compounds; (4) Instruments; and (5) Scattering.

The fabrication processes applied to nuclear fuels are subject to severe limitations because of the conditions imposed by the reactor environment. The combined problems of neutrons fluxes, high heat fluxes, corrosion by the coolant , and embrittlement by hydriding or similar reactions may be minimized through establishing rigorous materials and fabrication specifications for fuel and cladding.

"The lateral-directional-stability derivatives of a body in combination with several triangular wings were determined at subsonic and supersonic speeds. The wings used in the investigation were of aspect ratios 2 and 4 and thickness ratios of 3 and 5 percent. One of the wings of aspect ratio 2 was cambered and twisted. The results indicate that at supersonic speeds the effects of plan form on the lateral-directional-stability derivatives for the plane wings were predicted satisfactorily by linearized theory and that the effects of thickness were small" (p. 1).

Abstract: This report describes an advanced sodium-cooled, graphite-moderated nuclear power plant which utilizes high-pressure, high-temperature steam to generate electricity at a high thermal efficiency.

"The method of superposition of linearized conical flows has been applied to the calculation of the aerodynamic properties, in supersonic flight, of thin flat, swept-back wings at an angle of attack. The wings are assumed to have rectilinear plan forms, with tips parallel to the stream, and to taper in the conventional sense. The investigation covers the moderately supersonic speed range where the Mach lines from the leading-edge apex lie ahead of the wing" (p. 1147).

Current status of the High Flux Isotope Reactor which is being planned for construction at Oak Ridge.

Both in magnetohydrodynamic shocks and in accelerated partially ionized gas flow across a magnetic field, space charge separation occurs that establishes very large electric fields in the direction of motion. The width of the current layers associated with the acceleration is never less than the electron Larmor radius with no collisions and is broadened by electron collisions to a width solely determined by the effective resistivity. The electrons gain an energy regardless of collisions equal to the electric potential difference across the layer. This potential corresponds to the change in kinetic energy of mass motion per ion. For slightly ionized gases, the additional stress of neutral ion collisions within the layer can make the electric potential and hence gain in electron energy very large for only modest changes in mass velocity. Hence ionization may occur when the change in kinetic energy of the ions is small compared to the ionization potential.

"Results of the continuing stratospheric flight test evaluation program for the Del Model I Electrostatic Precipitator Sampler and the Del Electrical Discharge Altimeter are described and discussed. Only one of four balloon launches reached floating altitude. The altimeter obtained an altitude recording consistent with concurrent aneroid barocoder readings. The reported gross gamma concentration for the precipitator sampler was approximates 25 and 80% higher than those of the two simultaneous direct flow filter samples. The completion of the design and construction of two prototype units of the Del Electrical Discharge Altimeter and their laboratory evaluation are described. A preliminary design concept is presented for an operational high volume electrostatic precipitator sampler to operate with high collection efficiency at an ambient flowrate of 500 cfm throughout the altitude range 100,000 to 150,000 ft."

A theoretical analysis is presented for obtaining, by use of Theodorsen's propeller theory, the load distribution along a propeller radius to give the optimum propeller efficiency for any design condition. The efficiencies realized by designing for the optimum load distribution are given in graphs, and the optimum efficiency for any design condition may be read directly from the graph without any laborious calculations. Examples are included to illustrate the method of obtaining the optimum load distributions for both single-rotating and dual-rotating propellers.

Report presenting tests to determine the recovery of total pressure attainable at a range of Mach numbers, which were performed with models with twin-scoop inlets situated on the sides of a long forebody. Results regarding ducts without slots and ducts with slots are provided.

The kinetics of transformation of zirconium binary alloys is being pursued. Mechanical property variation as a function of transformation if also being investigated. Zirconium-tin and zirconium-titanium alloys transform very rapidly when quenched from the beta field. These alloys have, generally speaking, been demonstrated to be not amenable to heat treatment in the normal sense of the word. Eutectoid alloys, principally zirconium-molybdenum alloys, have shown a definite response to heat treatment in terms of mechanical property variation. An embrittling agent, probably "omega" phase, is suspect at this time for the brittleness observed in certain molybdenum alloys and the very high hardness levels reached in other alloys such as zirconium-niobium and zirconium-thorium. Work to establish the existence of omega phase is in progress and, it is hoped, suggestions for avoiding the brittle condition associated with it will be forthcoming.

Report discussing protactinium, including the element's history and the results of various experiments.

The purpose of this report is to present a HAPO proposal for the design and construction of a high-temperature, high-pressure light water recirculation test facility for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Atomic Power Division This report does not attempt to justify the feasibility of site location nor does it attempt to elaborate on such technical considerations as permissible test specimen heat generation and enrichment requirements which have been covered in an earlier document. Instead, detail information is developed on the proposed design with major emphasis on detail descriptions of the proposed loop and auxiliaries, design and construction scheduling and costs, and operating costs.

Report presenting information on the engine performance variations resulting from bleeding air from the compressor for turbine cooling, which is currently lacking. A thermodynamic-cycle investigation was conducted to determine the magnitude of the performance variations for a wide range of operating conditions for turboprop engines and for both afterburning and nonafterburning turbojet engines.

The efficiency of a 30 degree conical diffuser was improved as much as 20 percent and separation was eliminated by the use of vortex generators. The use of splitter cones gave only small efficiency gains, but relatively uniform diffuser-outlet velocity profiles were obtained with the better designs. A configuration which incorporated both vortex generators and a splitter cone gave efficiencies higher than those obtained with any other splitter-cone configuration and also higher than those obtained when the same vortex generators were used without the splitter cone.

Report documenting the suitability of Indiana for plant locations to produce synthetic liquid fuels, based on raw materials such as oil shale, natural gas, and coal.

Memorandum presenting a description of a method of telemetering skin temperature using a small resistance wire pickup with a time constant of less than 0.003 second to determine boundary-layer heat-transfer coefficients. An evaluation of the accuracy of the method of measuring the heat-transfer coefficient is given for a particular application.

"Adlam and Allen and Davis, Lust, and Schluter have studied nonlinear plane-waves, propagating normal to the magnetic field, in a cold plasma. One solution of particular interest is a solitary wave, or single pulse. We present a method for solving the analogous problem for a plasma with finite temperature, in the limiting case where the amplitude of the wave is small and where, consequently, the width of the waver is very large."

Final report documenting a high-sensitivity airborne gamma radiation and magnetic field survey of the Walker Lake National Topographic Map segment (NJ 11-4 quadrangle) including a description of the program and results.

Report presenting an exploration of fuel temperatures, which includes variables such as the aircraft speed, flight time, flight altitude, materials of construction, location of fuel tanks relative to aircraft skin and hot engine parts, and other factors. The results illustrate that it is impossible to predict quantitatively the fuel temperatures that will be attained in aircraft without detailed design information on each machine.