Several studies of power recovery from Hanford pile effluents have been made, from which the conclusion can be drawn that, while recovery of power is feasible, it is costly because of the large volume of vapor which must be handled per kilowatt-hour of energy provided. This note is to call attention to the possibility of developing cheaper machinery than the conventional low-pressure turbine stages considered in previous studies through use of a water expansion cycle.

This report follows experiments concerned with a particular proposal or set of related proposals of means for the production of plasma with density above 10-11 particles per cm-3 with a temperature of the order of a few electron volts.

In the fall of 1952, a pilot plant batch dissolution study was carried out to obtain the data required for the design of the Purex Plant dissolvers. Particular emphasis was placed on the rate of dissolution and the efficiency of nitrogen oxide recovery from the dissolver off-gas. The results are presented in this report.

The determination of various parameters such as thermal utilization, resonance escape probability, control rod calibrations and etc. is often accomplished by the measurement of the pile period due to some given perturbation. With the present thoughts being directed towards plutonium fueled reactors, it was felt worthwhile to discuss a few of the basic differences in pile neutron behavior due to the smaller fraction of delayed neutrons per fission of Pu239 and the larger fraction of delayed neutrons per fast fission of U238 than occurs from fission of U235 alone.

Abstract: "The heat-treatment behavior of zirconium alloys containing 7 to 70 w/o uranium is described. The effect of oxygen contamination on the structure and hardness of these alloys is outlined. It is shown that in the initial stages pf transformation of beta zirconium-uranium solid solution into the low-temperature phases a potent hardening reaction occurs in alloys containing 20 to 70 w/o uranium. In this reaction the hardness may rise from 200 DPH characteristic of retained beta to values in excess of 400 DPH. Practical heat treatments have been developed which produce relatively soft alloys. The microstructures and hardnesses produces by these treatments are shown."

In some recent experiments the ion density in a plasma was measured as a function of radial distance from a d-c arc source of ions for the magnetic field intensities from 2500 to 14000 oersted. The diffusion coefficient appeared to very inversely as the square of the magnetic field strength, D~1/H2. The absolute value of D was shown to be approximately that which would be predicted by the collision diffusion theory when account is taken of the shorting effect of the end walls. The purpose of this report is to continue the examination of ion diffusion in a plasma and field experimentally the relation between the diffusion coefficient and the neutral gas pressure for a constant magnetic field.

As recommended in a previous report a study of the NO₂ and HNO₃ exposures of plant personnel in the 224 U Building has been made. Concentrations of NO₂ and HNO₃ from the 224 U roof stack, in the concentrator cells, and in the calcining pot rooms have been determined. The problems have been outlined and recommendations have been made for its alleviation.

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.

A preliminary soil column experiment with a waste sample from the 207-S-11 well, which monitors the 216-S cribs, indicated that cesium was absorbed almost completely by the soil but that strontium breakthrough to ground water in the near future seemed likely. Accordingly, it was suggested that the 216-S wastes be discharged to a new disposal site, and that samples of the wastes which are currently being discharged to the 216-S cribs be obtained for soil absorption tests. The primary purpose of these tests was to obtain data which could be used to suggest ways and means of improving the absorption of strontium by soil from the process condensate stream (D-2_ and the cell drainage stream (D-1), both of which have been discharged to the 216-S cribs for the past several months.

This is the seventeenth quarterly report on our echelle project, as numbered above. Our work this quarter has to some extent been directed towards the Spectroscopy Symposium held at Argonne National Laboratory on February 15, 16, and 17. This report consists principally of brief abstracts of the two papers given at this meeting. Progress since the last quarterly report included completion of the echelle comparator calibration, and the successful production and photographing of the desired spectra of praseodymium and erbium in strong magnetic fields. Considerable interest was aroused by these papers, not only because rare earth spectra are being analyzed, but because of the general applicability of our experimental techniques in producing the spectra.

A new method to procure RaLa sources was proposed by Group CMR-10, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. This method depended upon irradiation of small-diameter U235 wire in the Materials Testing Reactor, Arco, Idaho. A procedure for cladding and sealing U235 wire in stainless steel tubing, by drawing, plugging the tube ends, and welding, was developed, tested, and proved to be satisfactory.