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The requirements of an atmosphere for the brazing of Al bronze to Inconel were considered on a thermodynamic basis. It was demonstrated that brazing was not possible in a vacuum or inert gas and is improbable in dry H/sub 2/. Attempts to braze in dry H/sub 2/ prove unsuccessful as predicted, except at isolated spots where filler metal had been preplaced. Modification of the plastic binder for holding the filler metal so as to remove Oi and introduce halogen gave no improvement. Negative results were also obtained when solid halide or halogen was incorporated. Satisfactory brazing was achieved with various solid fiuxes. Consideration was given as to what must be the properties of such a flux so that it should not have deleterious affects in s ervice. (auth)

In reduction reactions of CeO/sub 2/, with calcium and a CaCl/sub 2/ flux, the use of vibrational energy was shown to have a marked effect on the yield of coalesced metal. Buttons of 40 to 50% theoretical yield were obtained from the vibrated reductions. As the flux concentration is decreased, the slag becomes more viscous containing undissolved CaO. The undissolved CaO present prevents the metal from completely coalescing, but the metal can be recovered from the slag and coalesced under CaCl/sub 2/ containing a small amount of calcium to reduce any oxide skin present. Cerium pellet yields of 50 to 60% metal were obtained by the procedure and were not difficult to handle in air. Cerium was used as a stand-in material for plutonium. (B.O.G.)

A large portion of the slug failures which occurred during 1955 were of the ``hot-spot`` type. Observation of these failures has shown them to be the result of intergranular corrosion attack of the aluminum jacket. Intergranular corrosion is presently considered to occur in water temperature above 150 C; a flow disturbance which causes non-uniform coolant temperatures is suspected as the cause of failure.The present of a cocked slug, or a bowed slug column, might provide this flow disturbance. 189-D laboratory tests have shown that flow seating the slug charge allows slugs to cock in the tube. It has also been found that these cocked slugs may be lifted to close proximity of the tube wall by the axial load on the slug column due to process water flow. It is believed that in cases such as this, slug and coolant temperatures may become critical. Present charging procedures allow for flow seating of the slug column. The distance the column is flow seated varied from very little to 3 or 4 inches depending on the particular charge. It is believed that this practice can lead to the situation observed in the laboratory tests. During the past two months, there has been …

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Slug ruptures at C Reactor are costing a considerable amount of production and are limiting reactor power levels. A large portion of this production is lost because the ``quickie`` procedure cannot be used with unstruck ruptures. Currently there are two reasons for this condition: Insufficient reactivity is available to recover after a rupture is removed with the ``quickie`` equipment, and if the ``quickie`` method were attempted, there would be many failures due to stuck rear caps and improperly functioning equipment. With the current emphasis being placed on improving the ``quickie`` equipment and procedures, it is reasonable to assume that in the near future nearly all unstruck ruptures can be removed with this ``quickie`` procedure. However, the C Reactor does not possess sufficient excess reactivity to recover from a ``quickie`` rupture discharge following a shutdown from equilibrium conditions. This study outlines a procedure for extending the scram recovery time at C Reactor and an economic justification for buying the added reactivity necessary to carry out the procedure.

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Since the presence of neptunium-239 in disassembly basin water had been suggested, analysis of the water was undertaken. The occurrence of Np-239 was thought to be due to its diffusion through the slugs. Samples of water from the D and E Canals in K and R-Areas were analyzed to determine the presence of Np-239. Samples from and K and R Areas both showed Np-239 to be present in quantities greater than 50% of the initial total activity.

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Design and construction schedules and forecast monetary allowances for projects in the 100 Areas, 200 Areas, 300 Areas, and 700 Area of Savannah River Plant have recently been reviewed. There has been no change in the overall funds now forecast for the program, although there has been changes in the distribution of the total between various areas.

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This document summarizes the amounts of radioactive contamination discharged to the ground from separation facilities through June 1956. Detailed data for individual disposal sites is presented on a month to month basis for the period July 1955 through June 1956. The major disposal sites in separation facilities, total volume of waste discharged at each location, and the gross amounts of plutonium and fission products discharged to the ground since startup are listed. This same data are presented on a month to month basis and also include information on the source of the waste stream and the settling facility used. Isotopic data are included for all disposal sites from which the waste was analyzed for specific contaminants. Estimates of contamination and volumes discharged to the swamps are also included.

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