This report is submitted to the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission as a final summary safeguards and hazards evaluation of a proposed test reactor at its Vallecitos Atomic Laboratory in Alameda County of California. It is the purpose of this report to provide sufficient data to obtain an AEC facility license for the reactor.

Report summarizing data from Purex tests for pulse column specifications. These test results were used to estimate pilot plant specifications.

Summary: A method was found for determining calcium concentrations in TBP process streams in spite of serious interferences bysodium, ferrous, uranyl, sulfate, phosphate, and sulfamate ions as well as by TBP. The precision attainable varied from sample to sample, depending upon its composition. In general, errors of 20% or greater occurred. The smallest determinable amount of calcium was about 10 mg/1.

Report issued by the APDA regarting studies conducted on the state of uranium at different temperature and pressure. Calculations are presented for the differing pressures of uranium; it includes tables.

Abstract: The question of how crack-free, protective oxide films can form on zirconium during oxidation when the Pilling-Bedworth ratio is about 1.5 has been considered by a study of the relative plasticity of various forms of zirconia. Hot hardness measurements showed that doping mono-clinic zirconia with iron, nickel, or chromium resulted in softer (more plastic) structures and that yttrium additions slightly reduced the plasticity. Calcia-stabilized cubic zirconia was found to be more plastic than mono-clinic zirconia when tested at temperatures above 200 degrees C. The behavior of anion-deficient oxides indicated that they were more plastic than stoichiometric oxides even though the hardness values were identical at 23 degrees C. The former were free from cracks at the indentions, whereas, stoichiometric oxides exhibited extensive cracking around and between indentions. The behavior of actual, thick (72 microns) oxide films during tensile deformation of oxidized metal samples indicated that considerable plasticity occurs in the oxide at 500 degrees C but that the films are brittle at 23 degrees C. It was concluded that the plasticity of the oxide may be greater than that of the oxygen-contaminated substrate at elevated temperatures and may be the means by which epitaxial strains are minimized.

From introduction: This report is concerned primarily with the coprecipitation phenomenon and its application to plant problems.

The HRT leak detector system consists of four headers each of which are connected on one side to a common supply of pressurized water and on the other side by individual tubing to the ring grooves of approximately twenty flanges. There are two methods of detecting the loss of water that are particularly applicable to the HRT: (1) By the loss of pressure in a constant volume system; (2) By the measurement of flow from a constant pressure system. It was determined to investigate the second method which requires a flowmeter capable of measuring flows of .5 cc or less of water per hour. The experiment flowmeter constructed performed almost exactly as the design calculations predicted.

"Report of the Survey of Los Alamos and Pueblo Canyon for radioactive contamination and radioassay tests run on sewer water samples and water and soil samples taken from Los Alamos and Pueblo Canyons." The objective of this report was to determine the extent and sources of radioactive contamination in the areas studied.

Abstract: "UO2 and ThO2 form a continuous series of solid solutions with the solidus-liquidus from 2875 C for UO2 to above 3200 C for ThO2."

From introduction: The present report describes further refinements of the apparatus and the method to meet a need for a sensitive determination of carbon in plutonium.

This report presents the final results from the investigation of the ratio of Pu-239 fission cross section to U-235 fission cross section. Three sets of plutonium and uranium foils were prepared at KAPL and were investigated to acquire the final results.

This report describes the progress on the experimental breeder reactor. It focuses on the approach to critical experiments, calibration of controls and flues and flux distributions.

Technical report. From Abstract : "The Sr-SrH2 phase diagram was studied by thermal analysis, chemical analysis of equilibrated phases and X-ray diffraction. The maximum solubility of SrH2 in strontium metal is 38 mole % at the peritectic temperature of 880°C. Strontium metal undergoes an allotropic transformation at 555°C and melts at 768°C. A second transformation was found, at about 240°C, in samples containing hydrogen. Strontium hydride was found to have an allotropic transformation at 855°C."