From Introduction: "This Monograph has as its purpose the compilation and analysis of the extensive radio refractive index data available within the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards. This will be accomplished by presenting both tabulations of basic data for specific locations and charts for interpolation to any location."

The design, fabrication, and installation of a fuel-element guide assembly for the Sodium Reactcr Experiment are described. Improvements in this assembly over other models are outlined, and recommendations for the testing of SRE core elements are presented. (T.F.H.)

Uniform, dense coatings of alumina about 5 to 150 mu thick were applied to uranium dioxide particles 44 to 350 mu in diameter by hydrolysis of aluminum chloride vapor in a fluidized bed of the particles at 1830 deg F. The coated particles were resistant to nitric acid leaching, to oxidation in 1830 deg F air, and to thermal cycling from 6OO to 2500 deg F. After low neutron exposures, the coated particles showed excellent fission-gas retention at temperatures up to 2400 deg F in inert gas. Although not optimized in the study, the coating process appears to have commercial feasibility. (auth)

None

A helium coolant side-stream purification system consisting of parallel sections for radioactive and nonradioactive decontamination was designed for the proposed Pebble Bed Reactor Experiment. Primary equipment components are two gas coolers, gas heater, charcoal delay trap, CuO oxidizer, molecular sieve adsorber, and full flow filter. The charcoal delay trap is sized to provide a hold-up of 30 min for Kr isotopes. 6 hr hold-up for Xe isotopes, and 99.9% retention of iodine isotopes resulting in "decontamination factors" varying from 1 for Kr/sup 85/ to 556 for I/sup 131/. Nonradioactive decontamination will result in a steady state concentration of CO/sub 2/ in the coolant of 20.8 ppm or less. Total cost of the system excluding auxiliary equipment and containment is estimated to be .690. (auth)

A helium coolant side-stream purification system consisting of parallel sections for radioactive and non-radioactive de-contamination was designed for the proposed Pebble Bed Reactor Experiment. Primary equipment components are two gas coolers, gas heater, charcoal delay trap, CuO oxidizer, Molecular Sieve adsorber, and full flow filter. The charcoal delay trap is sized to provide a hold-up of 30 minutes for Kr isotopes, 6hr hold-up for Xe isotopes, and 99.9% retention of iodine isotopes resulting in "de-contamination factors" varying from l for Kr85 to 556 for I131. Non-radioactive de-contamination will result in a steady state concentration of CO2 in the coolant of 20.8ppm or less.

"Nuclear Science Series" on the National Research Council. Committee on Nuclear Science.

The oscillator of the 88-in. cyclotron which is being built in Berkeley is tunable from 5.3 to 16.5 Mc. It delivers a maximum c-w power of 300 kw. At the rated doc voltage of 75 kv the resonator stores 4.5 joules of electrical energy. The transients produced by this amount of energy, during sparking, place unusual requirements upon the design of the oscillator tube. The features of the RCA 6949 which make it particularly well-suited to this type of application are discussed in this paper. Other topics covered are the oscillator anode power supply, the hard-tube modulator, protective equipment, and oscillator instrumentation.

A test was made to determine if there is sufficient excess reactivity in the core to override a peak xenon transient and to obtain dath for rod-worth calculations. After 149.8 EFPH's of plant operation on seed 2, there was sufficient excess reactivity to override peak xenon. Criticality during peak xenon was maintained with group III and group IV rods inserted, group I rods withdrawn to approximately -69 in., and group II rods withdrawn to approximately - 29 in. The override of peak xenon occurred 8 hr and 45 min after shutdown. (W.L.H.)

Tests were conducted to assure proper operation of the control-rod mechanisms of the Shippingport Pressurized Water Reactor under normal operating conditions. (C.J.G.)

Daily cash report for Imperial Sugar Company including a list of large withdrawals for the months surrounding the date showing the daily expenses and estimated balance for each entry. It also lists scheduled payments for bank loans.

Sugar Stock and Sales report for Imperial Sugar Company including a list of sugar sales for the date showing the amounts and estimated balance separated by location, raw sugar, and refined sugar sales.

The objective of this test is to measure the emergency reactor flow through the high pressure crosstie line (HPCT) after the removal of the flow limiting orifices in the HPCT. The flow limiting orifices in the HPCT were removed on July 5, 1960, as per Design Change No. 383. The removal of the flow limiting orifice allowed increased emergency flow and brought the crosstie coolant flow more nearly into conformance with the coolant supply reliability criteria. The purpose of this test is to measure emergency flow under certain conditions so that available flow under all conditions may be more precisely determined.

The objective of this irradiation is to further verify the corrosion rate of tubular-type fuel elements under conditions of high specific power and central core temperatures. This fuel will be the inner tube only of an NPR fuel assembly. As in previous tests, this inner tube rupture will be used to further substantiate the rupture detection instrumentation that is being used in the development of the NPR. Previously unirradiated fuel will be used in this test. The reactor is to operate at full power during the test. Permission is requested for charging two tubular elements The top element will have attached to it a hydraulic mechanism for opening a defect in the outer surface of the tube. The second or bottom element, will be used as a heater element to maintain loop temperature.

Reactivity measurements made by the pulsed neutron technique were compared with results obtained by conventional techniques. The pulsed neutron results were in good agreement with those obtained by stable period measurement and rod drop. Differential effectiveness of partially inserted rods was shown to be well represented by elementary perturbation theory. Finally, the pulsed neutron technique was found to be the only good method for measurement of large reactivity changes.

In determining radionuclide sorption by clay minerals, shortcomings in the filtration technique for solid separation and in the contact times selected for testing were noted. Filters were found to have a high affinity for cesium and strontium when these elements were present in tracerlevel concentrations. Sorption equilibrium was not established in 24 hr, and the contact time was extended to 7 days. The affinity of the clay minerals illite, kaolinite, montmorillonite, and vermiculite for selected radionuclides was established after these shortcomings in the testing procedure were corrected. Illite exhibited a very high affinity for Cs/sup 137/ (K/sub d/ =200,000 after 7-day contact); none of the clay minerals demonstrated exceptionally high affinity for strontium (K/ sub d/ = 4000 for kaolinite, which was the highest measured value). The behavior of cobalt and zirconium-niobium was complicated by the colloidal nature of the elements. The uptake of the above radionuclides by a composited sample of Clinch River sediment showed that cesium and strontium behaved in accordance with the mineralogic character of the sediment. The sediment sorbed more cobalt than was accountable by the mineral composition; organic matter interactions with the cobalt are thereby suspected. (auth)

The concept of thermonuclear explosives as a potentially cheap and almost inexhaustible energy source for mankind's non military needs has for several years been under active consideration at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory. Many of the proposed peaceful applications involve underground nuclear explosions, and several experiments at the AEC Nevada Test Site have provided valuable insight into the phenomenology of such explosions. Among the possible uses currently under consideration are excavation, heat production, isotope production, mining, recovery of oil from shales and tar sands, improvements of ground water supplies, and the construction of earth fill dams. In addition a program of experimental research in the laboratory and in the field is under way. Sometime in 1961 Project Gnome if approved will be conducted in New Mexico. The purpose of Gnome, a contained nuclear explosion in a salt deposit, is to study the feasibility of heat recovery and isotope production, neutron scattering experiments will also be included. Other proposed nuclear projects will involve the creation of a small harbor near Cape Thompson, Alaska as the result of an experiment designed to investigate the cratering effects of nuclear explosives; a proposal to investigate the recovery of oil from Canadian tar sands using thermonuclear …

S> Thicknesses of ordinary concrete required to shield the demineralizers and filters in the HFIR primary water system were computed for normal operating conditions and for abnormal conditions such as a meltdown of the fuel within the reactor. About 4 1/2 ft, 3 1/4 ft, and 4 1/4 ft of concrete are required to shield the cation exchange unit, the anion exchange unit, and the filter unit, respectively, to the most stringent of the following radiation levels: (a) 0.75 mr/hr for normal reactor operation or reactor operation with one defective fuel plate; (b) 1 r/hr immediately following the meltdown of 1% of the fuel; and (c) 1 r/hr 24 hours following a total fuel meltdown. Shielding thicknesses may be estimated for other tolerances from

The Stationary Low Power Reactor No. 1 is a three Mw boiling water reactor designed to demonstrate the feasibility of a nuclear reactor to supply electrical power and space heat for remote sites. In addition to performance evaluation the facility provides training for military personnel. The reactor was operated for 1159 hr during the quarter for a total core burnup of 20.3%. Power generation was 103.7 Mwd for a total power accumulation of 466.9 Mwd. Eight malfunctions occurred during the quarter for a total unscheduled downtime of 40 hr 44 min, As a result of malfunctions, aluminum keys will be installed on the control rod drives, instrument well covers were removed, and an order has been placed for a station auxiliaries breaker with a higher temperature rating. Data were taken on seven tests during the quarter. Four of these are expected to be completed during the next quarter. All equipment items on order for the SL-1 power extrapolation expansion program are scheduled to be delivered before June 15, 1960. Although condenser dampers and damper controls, process instrumentation, equipment cabinets, and the radiation monitoring equipment have not yet been ordered, construction will not be delayed. The two tie-ins to the existing …

The concentrations of and activities due to N/sup 16/ and N/sup 17/ in the HFIR primary coolant water were calculated. At the pressure vessel exit, the N/sup 16/ activity is 3.9 x 10/sup 6/ dis/secml and the N/sup 17/ activity is 6.9 x 10/sup 2/ dis/sec-ml. Comparison of the N/sup 16/ activity with the data obtained from the ORR water system indicates that the calculated results are slightly conservative. (auth)

The neutrons in an operating nuclear reactor are generated primarily by the fission events which are taking place. The great bulk of these relatively high energy or fast neutrons are slowed down or thermalized by a series of elastic collisions with the moderator nuclei which comprise the bulk of the volume of the reactor core. Once slowed down, the neutrons diffuse through the reactor core until they are absorbed or eliminated by some other process. Each of these three groups of neutrons, i.e., the fast or source neutrons, the intermediate or slowing down neutrons, and the slow or thermal neutrons, has a characteristic energy distribution. At a constant power level or rate of fissioning, an equilibrium is soon established among the groups at any point in the reactor. If it is assumed that a smooth transition exists between the different energy groups, it is possible to evaluate the entire neutron spectrum at a point in the reactor by determining the parameters which characterize each of the three groups. This has been done in the F Reactor Quickie Facility using radioactivants.

Preliminary engineering evaluations indicate that piping in the 105 B, D, F, DR, and H reactors has deteriorated to the extent that an increasing rate of component failure can be expected. In view of this, a budget submission was made in the FY-1962 P. A. and C budget and has been included in the I.P.D. Plant Improvement Program. The purpose of this report is to substantiate the need for this program and to review information generated during the past three years concerning the condition of rear face piping and hardware. This review includes the history of rear face piping and hardware problems, study activities undertaken to date to ascertain the condition of the components, action taken to correct actual component failures, programs recommended to correct deficiencies which operating experience and engineering judgement indicate are necessary, and programs to accumulate additional information to support design of new piping and hardware components.

The chemical vapor deposition of niobium, molybdenum, tungsten, chnomium, carbcn, and niobium--vanadium alloys in a fluidized bed of UO/sub 2/ powder particles wss used to provide uniform, dense, nonporous coatings on the individual particles. in the case of niobium, which received major attention, hydrogen reduction of niobium pentachloride vapor was used as the vapor- deposition reaction. The most serious problem was that of maintaining bed fluidity aad avoiding agglomeration. This problem was overcome to permit routine operation of the coating equipment. In the entire program of 68 experimental runs, only 1.1 per cent of the product was lost by agglomeration. In routine operation, this loss should be even lower. (auth)

The saturation voltage and current characteristics of a compensated ionization chamber (Q-1045) were measured with special regard to high current and voltage ranges. The chamber can be operated at currents up to I ma with a 2000 volt power supply. (auth)