One of the problems encountered in the design of the EGCR has been the possibility of bowing in the outer six rods of the seven rod cluster. The power distribution in an outer rod is asymmetrical with respect to the center of the rod. This causes a variation in the cladding temperature, and might result in unven thermal expansion, or bowing.

The Biology Operation, Hanford Laboratories, required plutonium dioxide particles in five different micron and sub-micron size ranges. These were to be supplied as a water suspension in small containers. It was necessary to design equipment, suitable for hood operation, which would give a satisfactory separation of these particles.

An ex-reactor test stimulating the charging of a tubular fuel element in a Zircaloy-2 process tube showed a problem of severe process tube scratching and galling may occur if metal sliding contact fuel element supports are used. Both the fuel supports and the process tubes were autoclaved. Although the conditions of this test were severe in that the sharp edges rather than a flat surface of the supports were in contact with the process tube, it pointed out the potential problem of galling by point on small area contact supports on heavy fuel elements. This difficulty had not been observed with the lighter tubular or cluster fuel elements used in KER irradiation. In addition to the loss of metal and thinning of the process tube after a number of charge-discharge operations, these scratches may lead to localized corrosion or act as points of stress concentration.

High speed data handling and computing systems are coming into increasing use in the automatic control of complex industrial processes. One of the next significant developments in reactor design is believed to be the application of high speed data handling and control systems to nuclear reactors. This document is a study of such a system intended for use with the Plutonium Recycle Test Reactor.

During an experiment involving alpha phase annealing (at 610 to 655 deg C for 5 and 10 min) of beta-quenched uranium, it was determined that the relatively coarse, irregular shaped grains (0.08 to 0.150 mm in diameter) in the beta-quenched structure, were replaced by fine equiaxed grains (0.04 to 0.09 mm in diameter).

Experimental studies on continuous denitration performed in 321 Building resulted in the development of an agitated-through-type calciner. The performance of a paddle-agitated 4-in.-diameter by 44-in.-long reactor was sufficiently promising to warrant construction of a 16-in.-diameter by 8 ft.-long semi-plant scale model. This progress report summarizes the results of studies to date employing the semi-plant scale calciner.

The purpose of this investigation is to make a preliminary study and evaluation of the application of ultrasonic equipment and associated handling equipment to the problem of decontaminating reactor tube dummy pieces. Reactor Section is currently planning the construction of batch process nitric acid facilities for dummy decontamination. It was felt that use of ultrasonics together with a solution less corrosive than nitric acid might provide adequate decontamination at lower project cost than the presently proposed nitric acid facilities. This report gives the progress of the investigation to date.

This twenty-fifth quarterly report of the research and development activities of the Radiological Sciences Department, Hanford Atomic Products operation, as before, includes some items charged to control but included for general interest. The previous report of this series was numbered: HW-39624, October 11, 1955. Progress is reported in the following studies: a radiobiological-ecological survey of the Columbia River; the toxic effects of continuous low-level exposure to I¹³¹ in pigs; Pu metabolism in miniature pigs and rats; the tissue distribution and retention of Ru¹⁰⁶ and Cs in rats and mice; the radiosensitivity of the intestine of rats; the pulmonary absorption of radioactive particles and the pathological effects of such particles in the lungs of mice; the uptake of I¹³¹ and other fission products from the soil and from air by plants; determinations of the relative biological effectiveness for yeast cells of Po²¹⁰ alpha particles and P³² beta particles; the development of chemical and radiological monitoring methods; the separation of fission products from waste streams; and improvements in instruments for monitoring and low-level radiation counting. The status of the research programs of the department is reviewed.

This paper presents the results of a series of buckling measurements involving the use of enriched uranium rods (1.007% by weight U²³⁵) in light water. The effect of replacing a water reflector with one of uranyl nitrate solution of two different concentrations, 536 and 188 grams of U per liter of solution was investigated for the 0.925" rods with the 1.74 H₂O/U-volume ratio in the core. Some information was also obtained on the extrapolation length to be used in unreflected cases. The application of theory to these lattices, and others, is given in an appendix under separate title, "Buckling Calculations for One Per Cent Enriched Uranium-Water Rod Lattices."

Among the safety considerations for the Purex plant is the question of flammability limits for the diluent-air system. The present note attempts to delineate the temperature regions of concern by utilizing hydrocarbon flammability data available together with information on the vapor pressures of the systems.

The purpose of this document is to review the stud situation at Purex and make such recommendations as possible for use in any future canyon installations.

This report provides an overview of a gridded ionization chamber, instructions on how to operate the instrument, and then discusses the performance of the instrument so far.

This article presents data on the effects of gamma radiation on the physical properties of a number of different classes of plastics materials of construction which were screened to determine their capabilities and limitations for service in applications where ionizing radiation exists. The irradiations were carried out in air at ambient temperature at normal atmospheric pressure to various gamma radiation doses up to 1*10^9 r depending upon the stability of the materials to radiation exposure. The different classes of materials and materials within a class are compared.

The decontamination of the present Hanford reactors involves a once-through cleaning operation. Considerable interest has also been shown in determining the feasibility of this once-through technique for cleanup of certain portions of the NPR system. This report contains information on a series of tests performed in the 242-B single pass flow facility. Information concerning the following are presented: (1) Efficiency of decontaminating KER Loop 1 and 2 contaminated specimens. (2) Efficiency of decontaminating present reactor pigtails by different methods. (3) Areas that need further study.

Organic compounds with high boiling points and low corrosion qualities have been considered for use as reactor coolants and moderators. Those being considered, however, have a greater tendency to leak than does water. A program to evaluate mechanical closures to be used for a leak-tight system for organic fluids has been established. Report HW-59446 covered descriptions of the facility used in this study and the primary results of tests covering two liquids, fittings, and instrumentation. This report will cover final results and other pertinent information.

A part of the development activities of the Process Equipment Development Group, Chemical Development, HLO through the year 1959 has consisted of test evaluation of some of the never products of manufacturers, design and refinement of novel units to do certain specialized jobs and development of improved components for existing plant equipment. Modification of present chemical processing methods and investigation of new basic procedures have made it necessary to utilize different and "exotic" materials, titanium, has given rise to another problem-- that of the selection of adequate and compatible bearings where the titanium is used as moving or rotating part.

The design of NPR shows large quantities of carbon steel pipe and fittings in the front and rear face areas. These are also the area where the most work must be done during an outage, and consequently lower radiation levels are needed here than elsewhere in the piping system. A single pass decontamination of the front and rear piping without going through the entire loop is desirable. Because of the quantities of chemicals and available down time, an effective shorty interval process is needed. This report gives some recent laboratory data on this subject.

Experimental data pertinent to the evaluation of hazards involved in the exposure of personnel to tritium and tritium oxide are reviewed. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations made with regard to the control of these hazards.

The prompt administration of zirconium citrate was at least twice as effective as the prompt administration of calcium disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (CaEDTA) in preventing deposition of plutonium in the skeleton. On the other hand, CaEDTA was twice as effective as zirconium citrate in preventing the deposition of plutonium in soft tissues. The combined administration of zirconium citrate and CaEDTA was the most effective treatment for preventing the deposition of plutonium in the total rat. Zirconium malate offered no advantage over zirconium citrate, and appeared to be somewhat more toxic. Three doses of the zirconium salts over a four-day period were no more effective than a single dose.

The investigation to be described in this paper was one of several undertaken to resolve a curious discrepancy that had arisen in measurements of the diffusion length of graphite. Those diffusion lengths measured with the graphite layups of 100 Area piles were three to six centimeters higher than the value obtained with the Hanford Standard Pile. The fact that the 100 Area structures of the order of 40 ft. X 40 ft. X 30 ft, not including reflector, approximated an infinite medium, whereas sigma piles are of the order of 8 ft. X 8ft. X 10 ft., suggested the possibility that the diffusion length obtained by mensuration of relative fluxes and application of the conventional equations depended in some way on the size of the medium. Therefore, in order to determine if such a dependency actually exists, it was proposed to erect a series of graphite stacks of different dimensions and to make diffusion length measurements in each.

Temperature calculations have been made to aid in planning a production test for low level irradiation of the thin rectangular uranium wafers. These uranium wafers, under irradiation in the outer fringe sone, are expected to have a maximum temperature which is less than 10 C above the local water temperature.

The purpose of this manual is to present available data which can be used to determine disintegration rates of radioactive samples from counting rates measured under given circumstances with routinely used laboratory instruments. There is also brief discussion on the methods by which the various factors have been determined with reference to the accuracy with which they are known and to what extent the finally quoted disintegration rate is affected by these errors. Emphasis has been placed on those isotopes of particular interest to Radiological Sciences programs and the manual is intended as a standard through the use of which comparable values can be reported from all units in the Department.

The Hanford Remote Pipetter has developed into a very useful tool for routine pipetting by semi-skilled non-technical personnel. Radiation exposure to the operators has decreased to normal background levels as proper shielding exists between the sample and the operator. The results achieved by the pipetter have demonstrated its flexibility and simplicity of operation.

The feasibility of using Teflon bellows as the pulsing device for solvent extraction pulse columns has been previously demonstrated by life test of various sizes of Teflon bellows. This report describes a compact Teflon bellows pulse generator and drive assembly which was designed, built, and tested by the Chemical Development Unit. The pulse generator assembly is suitable for a number of applications where pulse generators are required to pulse solvent extraction columns.