"An analysis is presented of the accidental release of activity following the operation of the NS "Savannah" at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation docks in Camden, New Jersey. Although a number of accidents are considered, the report is primarily concerned with the environmental activity levels and subsequent exposures which would result from the "maximum credible accident" (p. v).

This report presents the results of a study that argues the importance of providing thermal energy from steam-electric power plants to urban areas.

The enthalpies and heat capacities of seventeen fluoride mixtures in the liquid state have been determined using Bunsen Ice Calorimeters and copper block calorimeters. The fluoride mixtures were composed of the fluorides of two or more of the following metals: lithium, sodium, potassium, beryllium, zirconium, and uranium. The enthalpies and heat capacities of most of these mixtures were studied in the solid state also. Estimates of the heat of fusion have been made. General empirical equations have been developed which represent the enthalpies and heat capacities of the fluoride mixtures in the liquid and in the solid state.

This report is the result of a study to develop heat-resistant fin materials possessing a high thermal conductivity for air radiators. Since an economical and commercially feasible product was desired, the investigation was restricted primarily to a study of electroplated copper, clad copper, and copper alloys. Sheet material 0.008 to 0.010 in. thick was evaluated for fabricability and for metallurgical stability and thermal conductivity at 1500°F. From the results of the rests it was concluded that: (1) electroplates were unsatisfactory; (2) clad-copper fins possessing a thermal conductivity of 50% of that of copper are commercially feasible; (3) copper-aluminum alloys possessing a thermal conductivity approaching that of copper at 1500°F are possible. Service tests of clad copper and the copper-aluminum alloys indicate that the choice of materials will be dictated by the requirements of the radiator, since each presents some unique problems.

The successful completion of a program of experiments, including the Aircraft Reactor Experiment (ARE), has demonstrated the high probability of producing militarily useful aircraft nuclear power plants employing reflector-moderated circulating-fuel reactors. Consequently, and accelerated program culminating in operation of the Aircraft Reactor Test (ART) is under way. In order to adhere to the compressed schedule of the accelerated program, it is essential that the Atomic Energy Commission approve the 7500 Area in Oak Ridge as the test site by February15, 1955. This report summarizes the hazards associated with operating the contained 60-Mv reactor of the ART at the proposed Oak Ridge test site.

Chemical and engineering data were obtained for the feed digestion system and the extraction-scrub step of the Monex tributyl phosphate solvent-extraction process for recovering thorium and uranium from nitric acid-digested unclarified monasite sludge. Tests of the recommended conditions in a 2-in.-dia pulsed column demonstrated that thorium losses were approximately 1.2% and uranium losses, 1.5%. The flowsheet is workable but is not necessarily optimum.

A capital cost breakdown of the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, a directly maintained remotely operated plant for processing spent enriched uranium fuel assemblies from reactors, is presented. The capital investment in the plant, including design, construction, training, and preoperational costs, an estimate of the direct costs incurred by the Atomic Energy Commission, and a proportional part of the costs of Central Facilities, including the value of the land and improvements theorem when acquired by the Commision, was $31,105,899. The cost of design and construction was $25,212,231, of which $3,773,357 was expanded on design and inspection.

An inconel loop circulating fluoride fuel (62 1/2 make [unintelligible] NaF, 12 1/2 make [unintelligible] ZrF4, 25 make [unintelligible] UF4, 92 [unintelligible] enriched) was operated at 1485°F with a temperature difference of about 35°F in the Low Intensity Test Reactor for 645 hr. For 475 hr of this time the reactor was at full power, and fission power generation in the loop was 2.7 kw, with a max length power density of 0.4 kw/cc. The total volume of fuel was 1290 cc (5.o kg [unintelligible] and the the flow through the irradiated section was 8.6 fps (Reynolds number 5500). The loop has been disassembled and has been examined by chemical and metallographic analyses. Ne acceleration of corrosion of decomposition of fuel by irradiation was noted, although deposition of fission-product ruthenium was absorbed. Ne mass transfer of Inconel was formed, and the corrosive [unintelligible] was general and relatively light. The average corrosive generation, in the usual form of subsurface yields, was 0.5 [unintelligible], the maximum penetration was 2 to 3 miles.

The methods of analysis given in this report are those which were used in the Analytical Chemistry Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for analyzing samples which were derived from the experimental work on the separation of the isotopes of boron by chemical exchange. The samples consisted principally of boron trifluoride solutions in anisole (methyl phenyl ether, CH30C6H5). The boron concentration ranged from a few parts per million to 5 or 6 per cent. Boron was determined on all samples. During the early stages of the project, iron and copper were occasionally determined, while a limited number of aqueous solutions and water extracts of anisole solutions of BF3 were analyzed for fluoboric and hydroxyfluoboric acids, boric acid, total boron, and total fluoride. Boron was determined by the use of either a spectrophotometric or volumetric method, depending on the amount available. Initially, if the amount of sample and boron concentration were such as to provide a total of at least 2 to 4 mg of boron, the volumetric method was utilized and found to be satisfactory. For smaller amount, the spectrophotometric method was used. Later, because of its greater speed and simplicity, the spectrophotometric method was used for samples in …

The Homogeneous Reactor Test (HRT) is the experimental reactor facility (Frontispiece) being designed and constructed at ORNL as the next step in homogeneous reactor development between the 1-Mv HRE and a "full-scale" power station. The HRT will provide an integrated test at 5 to 10 Mv for the flowsheet and equipment designs on which the full-scale effort will be based. Furthermore, its design is such that several homogeneous systems which require essentially the same operating equipment may be tested with comparatively minor modifications of the original reactor installation. The reactor will be assembled in the building which housed the HRE, located in the experimental reactor exclusion area approximately one mile south of the oak ridge laboratory. (See figure 1) / It is the purpose of this report to provide information with which the hazardous aspects of this reactor may be evaluated. Briefly, it will be shown after a statement of purpose and a general description of the reactor that: 1. The design characteristics and equipment requirements are such that escape of highly reactive material from the reactor piping is unlikely. 2. Should the entire core and blanket contents suddenly escape from the reactor system, a seal-welded steel tank surrounding the …

Measurements of the interfacial tension between water and tributyl phosphate solutions were made for application to the analysis of Marengoni effect in solvent extraction. A 24 hr flame calcination run to product Th02 particles yielded 40% as product and 54% collected from the furnace walls and from a coarse particle trap. The elution rates of uranyl ion from Dowex 21K using sodium nitrate could be approximated by assuming apparent diffusion coefficients of 1.67 x 10^-7 and 1.18 x 10 ^-7 cm^2/sec, respectively for 960µ and 820µ resn while the corresponding apparent coefficients using sodium chloride were 1. 78 x 10^-7 and 1.27 x 1-^-7 cm^2/sec. The reacting surface of ThO2 Universal Match Co. pellets was determined as a function of fraction dissolved. The lead scews and companion nuts from both the multipurpose saw and dejacketing machine were coated with a baked on lubricant. In Zirflex decladding studies using 4.5 M NH4F - 0.5 M NH4NO3, the average dissolution rate of Zircaloy-2 was decreased only 10% when the overhead condensate was withdrawn and 1.0 M NH4OH was added to maintain the volume.

A nonnuclear explosion involving an evaporator occurred in a shielded cell in the Radiochemical Processing Pilot plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Plutonium released from the processing cell contaminated areas in the pilot plant building and nearby streets and building surfaces. The explosion is considered the result of rapid reaction of nitrated organic compounds formed by the inadvertent nitration of about 14 liters of a proprietary decontaminating reagent.

Chloride-induced stress-corrosion cracking has been encountered in the Homogeneous Reactor Test during the preliminary testing. The rector is constructed of austenitic stainless steels. It is unique in that it will operate at 250 to 300 C with an aqueous uranyl sulfate solution fuel containing 200 to 500 ppm of dissolved oxygen. The cracking has occurred in a secondary system used for detecting leaks in the flanged joints of the primary systems and in the grooves of flanges in the primary systems. Tubing used in the leak-detection system was found to be contaminated with chloride introduced during manufacture.

A second test of the mockup of the Zircaloy - stainless steel transition joint as used in the HRT reactor vessel has been completed. The joint and bellows have now received 104 thermal cycles and 148 mechanical deflections. The joint and bellows have functioned properly; corrosion damage has been negligible, except for a small area on the bellows which has undergone pitting attack. Long-term runs with uranyl sulfate solutions of the concentration proposed or use in the HRT have shown the solution to be stable at 300 C. Substituting heavy water for normal water caused no difference in either corrosion or solution stability. Experiments in which chromic acid was used to pretreat stainless steel have shown that, under certain conditions, the pretreated film can exist in uranyl sulfate solutions at flow rates in excess of the critical velocity for relatively long periods of time. The practicability of using titanium inserts in high turbulent areas of stainless steel loops to minimize corrosion has been demonstrated. The corrosiveness of beryllium sulfate solutions containing dissolved uranium trioxide has been determined at 250 and 280 C. Laboratory studies with regard to stress-corrosion cracking have shown that high stressed type 347 stainless steel will crack …

A system for concentrating uranyl nitrate solutions was designed and installed in the Thorex Pilot Plant. A total of 16,060 g of uranium was concentrated in the system in 68 batch runs. A total of 14,400 g total uranium (14.180 g U/sup 233/) was recovered as product suitable for shipment. Uranium loss to the evaporator condensate was 0.03% of the total uranium processed. The material balance across the system was 98.4%. The average concentration of uranium in the evaporator feed solution was 29 g/liter; the average concentration in the evaporated solution was 298 g U/liter and in the product solution was 199 g/liter. Radiation readings of bottles containing product solutions were taken with a hard-shell cutie pie immediately after each run, and these readings ranged from 35 to 1100 mr/hr. The radiation levels of the bottles of product solution shipped averaged 78 mr/hr. Bottles of product solution reading in excess of 300 mr/hr, maximum allowable for shipment. were reprocessed in the second-cycle solvent extraction system (Thorex) and reconcentrated. The products from seven runs had radiation levels in excess of 300 mr/hr at the time of concentration, or the activities had grown to that level by the time of shipment. The …

The following temperature measurement tabulation consists of two parts. Part I lists all HRT thermocouples, their location, the junction box thru which the leads pass, and their termination, if on an instrument. Part II lists all temperature read out instruments and their location. A total of 577 thermocouples are listed in this tabulation. The roughly 77,000 ft of wire used in connecting them up cost $6,799. Temperatures are read on 24 instruments. Cost of these was approximately $15,688. Accessories such as patch panels, conduit, disconnects, etc., used in installing the thermocouples cost about $8,069. Total cost for material and instruments for temperature measure comes to approximately $30,556.

An estimate has been made of the gamma radiation levels at access holes in the HRT Shielding when the plugs have been removed to service or maintain the reactor. In every case the radiation level at the holes was greater than the maximum permissible exposure rate of 0.3 roentgens per week. The radiation through the holes can be attenuated to some extent by flooding the reactor cell up to the flange to be disconnected. However, shielding would still be required and it is more practical to provide a small additional shield thickness to compensate for the moderate attenuation that could be gained from flooding.

When it was discovered that two HRT flange bolts of a lot of 16 spares contained serious cracks, a program was launched to (1) determine the cause for the cracking, and (2) find methods for non-destructive testing the remainder of the 672 bolts shipment, a large portion of which had been installed in the HRT. Concurrently, inspection of 8 ferrules removed from an HRT flange revealed hairline cracking in 4 of them. Magnaglo, a magnetic particle inspection method using a fluorescent dye, proved to be the only definitive method for inspecting the bolts. The evidence gathered on the bolts pointed to quench cracking as the cause for the defects. Nothing abnormal was disclosed in regard to the bolt material. The alloy and heat treatment at present prescribed for the HRT bolts and ferrules are considered suitable. However, recommendations are made for plating with zinc, instead of formerly prescribed cadmium, to a thickness of 0.0002 inch, followed by a hydrogen relief treatment and a final bichromate chemical dip.

The horizontal and vertical power distribution for a 5 x 7 fuel element loading of the TSR is presented. (auth)

Short reports to the members of the Nuclear Cross Section Advisory Group from three groups: (1) High voltage group; (2) Fast chopper time-of flight spectrometer; and (3) Electronuclear research division.

This technical report is the second of a series which concerns the separation of ions by solvent extraction with trialkyl phosphine oxides (TOPO). This investigation has consisted in the extraction of various ions from acidic solutions with extractants that are representative of these ore specific phosphine oxides - triphenylphosphine oxide (THPO) and tris-2-ethylhexylphosihine oxides (TEHPO). In general it is observed that: (a) the order of increasing capacity of extraction is THPO > TOPO >TEHPO. (b) No ion is extracted by THPO or TEHPO that is not extracted by TOPO under certain conditions. (c) The effect of hydrogen ion concentration is greater in TEHPO systems than it is in the other two, which indicated greater selectivity of extraction with TEHPO.

Twenty-five hundred psi ring-type flanges, ring gaskets, bolts, and special connectors were tested for adaptability to the aqueous homogenous reactor. High pressure line closures were studied to obtain empirical data pertinent to the selection or design of a connector capable of withstanding sustained thermal cycling and high pressures encountered in the aqueous homogenous reactor. Specialized stress-strain measurement techniques yielded information concerning flange deformation, ring type gaskets, bolts, and special connectors. The results indicated that no totally acceptable connector is currently available. Most promising of the combination of components tested during this period was a 2500 psi ring type flange with an accurately machined octagonal gasket and Grade B-7 bolts.

Resistance of carbon steel to corrosion in oxygenated high-temperature (250C) water was unexpectedly good at high oxygen concentration. Pertinent literature, critically examined, and toroid experiments indicted that at low oxygen concentration attack did increase with concentration, but as oxygen concentration was sufficiently increased, more protective films were formed on the metal. Some corrosion factors in the application of carbon steel to nuclear reactors systems are discussed.

The HRT refrigeration system was designed to use Freon-11 (CCI3F) as the refrigerant material in the secondary loop. A Van de Graaff irradiation of this material indicated that serious corrosion problems were probable if Freon were used in the proposed metal system. A survey was made of candidate refrigerants, and Amsco 125-82 and triethyl phosphate were selected for irradiation and physical-property determinations.