Activities concerned with the 100 area at the Hanford plant for the period of January, 1947, are described. A chronology of pile events, tube corrosion, and scrams are included.

This report summarizes physics experiments carried out in different parts of the 100 area at Hanford during December, 1946. This included work on the D pile, F pile, and experiments aimed at studying the irradiation properties of graphite and metal samples exposed to different radiation environments. Pile tests included reactivity tests, calibrations of control rods, and power coefficient tests.

This document presents the monthly reports of the 200 area technical group for July--December, 1947. (KS)

When uranium is purified by the ether extraction method, black oxide is dissolved in nitric acid and ether is added; an ether layer containing uranium and an aqueous layer containing uranium and impurities are obtained. The distribution of some impurities between the two phases and the effect of such impurities on the extraction process were studied. the processing required in the preparation of pure uranyl nitrate might be decreased if, instead of uranosic oxide, sodium diuranate was used as a source of uranium. If it is assumed that uranosic oxide contains the same amounts of impurities as sodium diuranate, with the exception of soda, the extraction of soda by the wash of an ether solution of nitrate prepared from diuranate would be the criterion of suitability of sodium diuranate. The distribution and effect of sodium in the extraction process was therefore investigated, and the results are described in this report. For various of the impurities, the distribution in the process and the effect on uranium holdup in the insoluble cake was investigated. Particular attention was given to the behavior of boron, vanadium, chromium, and molybdenum.

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The thirteenth meeting of the Graphite Expansion Committee was held on January 10, 1947. A summary of meeting topics follow. The horizontal bowing of Tube 4494-D in the top corner of the pile is considerably greater than the bowing which can be attributed to graphite expansion at this elevation in the pile, indicating that the top layers of graphite are being dragged outward by expansion of the underlying layers. Such a phenomenon could shear the vertical thimbles at a point just below the thermal blocks. Equipment is to be developed for measuring any eccentricity between the rod guide and a section of the thimble located just below the end of the guide. Jacking tests using forces up to 4000 lbs. on gun-barrels which show binding have demonstrated that binding is still present at these high forces. It was recommended that no further jacking tests be performed on gun-barrels which are known to exhibit binding. Rupture tests on Tube 4082-B caused failure of the rear Van Stone joint after the tube had been stretched {1/2} inch. The amount of tube stretch before failure of the flames will probably be affected primarily by corrosion of the flange and, for the same reason, …

This technical progress letter contains reports from six Technical Department divisions at the Hanford Engineer Works for January 19 through January 25, 1947. The six reporting divisions are: 100 Areas, 300 Area, 200 Areas, Chemical Development, Laboratories, and Statistical Studies. (JL)

The face to face expansion of the graphite packing of the pile reduces the gun barrel sum-clearance and if continued will strain the aluminum tubes with ultimate rupture of the Van Stone joints. The graphite expansion may be determined while an aluminum process tube is out of the unit. The distance from the graphite at the inner end of one gun barrel to the corresponding point at the opposite face is measured and compared to a similar measurement that was made during construction of the pile. The replacement of the two scored aluminum tubes at F Pile provided an opportunity to make these measurements. A corresponding measurements made during construction indicates an expansion of 28/32in. at Tube 2174-F and 23/32in. at 2284-F on November 5, 1946, after a total pile exposure of 132,896 MWD. Measurements of gun barrel sum-clearance and aluminum tube length before replacement indicated a graphite expansion of 25/32in. at Tube 2174-F and 24/32in. at 2284-F, which is in reasonable agreement with the above graphite measurements.

Prior analyses of a plasma in a magnetic field have been limited, as far as the writer is aware, to cases in which the relative change in field over the orbital distance and the relative change in ion concentration are both small, or in which the relations have been viewed in a purely hydrodynamical way. The first approach excludes cases which can be of considerable interest, for it fails for a plasma edge. The second loses all sight of the structure imposed by the orbital motions.

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