From introduction: "This report describes the second phase of the work on the application of protective coatings to uranium by vapor deposition to reduce or prevent its corrosion by water."

The following document describes some studies of the radioactive isotopes of cerium and lanthanum lying on the light or neutron-deficient side of stability.

"Centrifugal-casting techniques were investigated as a method of producing hollow cylindrical extrusion billets of aluminum-35 w/o uranium. Among the variables evaluated were melt temperature, mold and pouring-spout configurations, mold speed, and method of pouring. With the equipment employed it was found that the best castings were produced stilizing a pouring temperature of 2400 F, a heavy-walled steel cylinder rotating between 700 to 900 rpm for the mold and bottom-pouring technique employing a retractable pouring spout. Sound, nonporous billets 26 in. long and 5 in. in diameter were produced with a yield after machining of over 75 per cent of the original charge. The major losses occurred in the pouring spout-and-cup assembly. This loss is relatively unaffected by the casting length; and, therefore, coatings of greater length than 26 in. should results in even greater recoveries.

The wide use of liquid oxygen as an oxidant in rocket engines has resulted in an increased interest in low-temperature heat transfer. Storage tanks for this type of application, being uninsulated, contain a boiling-liquid low-temperature sink, which is susceptible to environmental heat inputs and subsequent liquid loss by vaporization. Such losses are difficult to predict due to the complex combination of ambient conditions which exist, and the lack of knowledge concerning their combined effects. Heat transfer in this field is difficult to analyze primarily because of its transient nature. This is a result of such factors as: (1) the growth of an insulating frost layer on the outer surface of the container, with its accompanying energy transfer to the system; (2) the temperature dependent convective air pattern that surrounds the container, (3) the transfer of radiant energy to the system, and (4) the mechanical failure of the frost itself with subsequent sloughing from the container wall. A lack of knowledge regarding the coefficient of diffusion of water vapor through air and the thermal conductivity of frost in this depressed temperature range further complicates the predictions of heat transfer.

Technical report abstract. The present state of knowledge concerning the effect of pile radiation on a variety of solid materials is reviewed. Radiation corrosion will not be a serious hazard for aluminum or stainless steel but it can be for iron or lead if either are exposed to water. Apart from corrosion the principal uncertainty is in regard to the Wigner effect on the behavior of metals. There is at present no ground for optimism regarding the behavior of tuballoy. The effect on aluminum or a bonding material while less severe must also be considered serious. The expectation in regard to graphite is that its behavior will not cause trouble during the first 100 days of operation although serious troubles will probably arise within two years of operation. Organic materials can be used safely only in regions of limited exposure.

Values of copper tubing pressure drops as determined by test for low flow rates of air, helium, carbon dioxide and water are contained herein. The work was performed in order to provide original data, useful for design work at Hanford Atomic Products Operation, and not available in any known handbook or other publication.

Reactivity measurements conducted in the Hanford Test Pile are interpreted to yield resonance integrals for uranium, uranium oxide, thorium and thorium oxide. The experiments were made using cadmium filters and are discussed in terms of the multiplication factor of the Hanford Test Pile.

A series of measurements of ε in slightly enriched uranium, light water lattices is presently under way at Brookhaven. Figure 1 shows ε as a function of water-to-metal ratio for .600" diameter rods, of 1.3% enrichment. Because of interaction between neighboring groups of rods, ε increases rapidly as the water-to-metal ratio decreases.

This paper describes the measurement of control rod strength in the PCTR. The first section outlines the theory and method of such a measurement, and the second section presents the results of the measurement of the Experimental Gas Cooled Reactor (EGCR) control rod strength. The reactor parameter actually inferred is the difference in the infinitive multiplication factor for a control rod supercell with and without the control rod in place in the supercell. These measurements are, therefore, very closely related to the measurement of k∞ for an ordinary lattice cell.