Report describes a few experiments designed to test the analysis of some systems where chemical energy can be converted to electric energy. From Abstract: "If a chemocouple is defined as an isothermal closed circuit, composed of two or more homogeneous ionic aqueous phases separated by two or more barriers of different sets of ionic transport numbers, we find that a spontaneous electric current flows in the closed circuit."

Abstract. The Tory II-A reactor is a small, air cooled, high power-density reactor which is to operate at quite high temperatures. Design of the reactor is essentially complete. First operation is scheduled for late 1960 at the Nevada Test Site of the Atomic Energy Commission. Since the reactor is unshielded, the control room which houses the recording and indicting equipment is located approximately two miles from the test bunker. Signals from reactor and facility transducers are amplified in the test bunker and transmitted by cable to the control point. The kinds of quantities measures include neutron flux level, temperatures, pressures, vibration amplitudes, strain and air mass flow rate. The recording and indicating system is centered around 258 channels of 1.5 cycle per second, pulse-width modulation tape recording equipment and 72 channels of 120 cps, analogue strip-chart records. In addition, there is a number of the usual meters, scalers and slow-response strip-chart recorders.

As part of the recent intensified study of variables involved in the beta heat treatment of production uranium, the writer undertook a qualitative examination of the effects of heating and quenching media on the hydrogen content of pieces heat treated in slug form. Because of the limited amount of time available the work was necessarily restricted in scope. For the same reason no detailed study of any single heat treatment was attempted: rather, a number of beta treating schedules were selected so that estimates of the degree of hydrogen occlusion to be expected during a large variety of beta heat treating schedules would be possible.

The desired neutron spectrum for the High Flux Beam Reactor under construction at BNL requires use of U-Al fuel elements with more then 30 wt% U235 in the meat. The operating cycle of this reactor requires a minimum burn-up of 20%, and preferably 40% of the uranium in the element.

The coefficient of linear expansion of alpha plutonium has been determined for the range -180 to +100 degree C by the silicon-tube and dial-indicator method. The value of the expansion coefficient is reported as [formula]. Included are a detailed description of the apparatus and a discussion of the method.

Organic compounds have been considered for use as reactor coolants for two primary reasons. First, the high boiling points of the compounds would permit the reactor to operate at high temperature without the need for the high pressure required when water is used as a coolant. Secondly, the compounds are less corrosive than water and would permit the use of carbon steel rather than stainless steel components in the reactor. Unfortunately, the organic compounds proposed for use as reactor coolants have a greater tendency to leak than water and are thus more difficult to seal. A development program was established to evaluate the types of closures required to produce a leak-tight system. This report presents the results of the evaluation. Two proposed coolant compounds, monoisopropylbiphenyl (MIPB) and the eutectic mixture of 55 per cent ortho terphenyl, 25 per cent biphenyl, and 20 per cent meta terphenyl were used.

Abstract. It has been established that heating samples of graphite during exposure in a pile decreases substantially the observed changes in the elastic modulus and electrical resistance caused by the irradiation. The functional relationship between the percentage changes observed and the temperature of exposure resembles the relationship between the final percentage changes and the temperature of heat treatment after exposure (cf. report CC-1668). Anomalous results reported previously for higher temperatures in CC01669 are now shown to be attributable to a destructive influence on the graphite, probably oxidation of samples exposed in air.

The angle by which a magnet deflects the trajectory of a particle in the x-z plane is proportional to the integral [integral not transcribed] taken over the trajectory wherever B≠0. Alternating gradient focusing is achieved by designing magnets so that I=I(x) varies linearly with x over a suitable x interval. Usually this is done by shaping the poles to give a linear variation of By with x while keeping the length of the magnet constant for different x. Certain advantaged may be gained by varying the effective length of the magnet with x and keeping By constant so that the integral varies properly with x. Figure 1 shows several such poles for which the trajectory length, and hence the integral (1), varies approximately from 2/3 to 4/3 of the mean value.

Primary control of the PRTR is achieved by regulating the level of the heavy water moderator which is held in the reactor vessel by a helium gas balance system. Emergency shutdown is effected by a gas-balanced moderator dump system which drain the moderator from the calandria at a rapid rate. This report presents a quantitative appraisal of the reactivity effects due to moderator level changes in controlling or scramming the reactor. In conjunction with the reactivity calculations, solutions were obtained which yield an evaluation of vertical flux or power distributions for any positioning of the moderator level. Coupled with the radial distributions for a given fuel loading, this information is useful in obtaining the value of the maximum specific power associated with a given power of operation and moderator height. The calculations were made using VALPROD, a one dimensional, multigroup diffusion theory reactor code programmed for the IBM-650 computer.

Studies are being made on the recovery of thorium (and uranium) from granitic rock, since this source represents a very large potential thorium reserve for the nuclear power industry. In preliminary leaching studies on 16 granite samples (containing 8-95 ppm thorium and 1.5-16 ppm uranium), maximum recoveries of thorium and uranium ranged 30-85% and 15-65% respectively, and sulfuric acid consumption was high (30-120 lbs H2SO4 per ton of granite). A relatively high acidity was needed to obtain rapid and efficient dissolution of the soluble thorium fraction. The cost of treating granite was estimated at $3.50-5.20 per ton, variations within this range being dependent primarily on differences in acid consumption for different granites. Estimated costs per pound of thorium plus uranium recovered ranged $30-500.