This is the monthly 100 areas technical activities report from the engineering division for the month of March 1951. It reports on engineering activities related directly to the different production reactors, and gives progress reports on various engineering projects which are in development by the engineering group.

Preliminary meetings on coring of the graphite have been held with interested parties of the Technical and Production Divisions at which time the advantages and problems of coring were discussed. The advantages and the problems which must be surmounted in order to core have been presented to the working committee. A study of the means of accomplishing coring has been made considering only the central and maximum fringe coring. It is important that the minimum and maximum coring be established as soon as possible so that the coal coring pattern can be worked out and the design completed. From the studies that have been made thus far the 10 mil center core-60 mil fringe core appears to be the most favorable choice. The advantages and disadvantages of several possible coring combinations (central to fringe) are tabulated. The statements and graphs of temperatures made in this tabulation are based on the results of the analogue tests. The estimates of pile expansion resulting from various coring patterns are based on report HDC-1987 by R.K. Andersen. These results are summarized in Figures 1, 2, and 3. The results of the analysis which Technical plans to make on the DR graphite sample will be …

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Thorium forms a tetragonal lower hydride of composition ThH{sub 2}. The hydrides ThH{sub 2}, ThD{sub 2} and ZrD{sub 2} have been studied by neutron diffraction in order that hydrogen positions could be determined. The hydrides are isomorphous, and have a deformed fluorite structure. Metal-hydrogen distances in thorium hydride are unusually large, as in UH{sub 3}. Thorium and zirconium scattering amplitudes and a revised scattering amplitude for deuterium are reported.

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It is generally believed that charged particles cannot be accelerated from ground potential to ground potential unless they pass through a system which has associated iwth it a time varying magnetic field. D.C. electric fields must satisfy the equation {contour_integral} Eds = 0, while the time varying fields used in radio-frequency accelerators and betatrons are freed from this restriction of scalar potential theory. In 1932, AJ Dempster produced protons with an energy of 45 Kev, by passing them from an electrode at +22.5 kv dc to ground. The protons were first accelerated to ground potential, with an energy gain of 22.5 kev. A small fraction of the protons then picked up an electron from a residual gas molecule, and ''coasted'' to a second electrode at +22.5 kv. Then a small fraction of these neutral hydrogen atoms lost their electrons, and were accelerated to ground with a second gain in energy equal to 22.5 kev. An accelerator of this type is obviously impractical for several reasons. The probability of neutralizing a proton varies inversely with a high power of the particle velocity, so the scheme would not work at energies of interest to nuclear physicists. Even at the low energies where …

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This is a progress report of the production reactors on the Hanford Reservation for the month of March 1951. This report takes each division (e.g., manufacturing, medical, accounting, occupational safety, security, reactor operations, etc.) of the site and summarizes its accomplishments and employee relations for that month.

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The work reported deals with the preparation and physical properties, especially thermal dissociation pressures, and densities of hydrides, hydrogen- metal systems, and mixtures of hydrides with other substances. Possible applicatlons as moderators, high-temperature neutron shields, and low-temperature shields are cited and design problems discussed. Most of the data on dissociation pressures cover ranges and compounds not hltherto explored because of experimental difficulties and the basic knowledge of the thermal behavior of hydrides was substantially increased. New hydrldes were prepared and several reported in the literature were shown not to exist. The following compounds, mixtures, and systems were studled: Tl-H, U-H, Ll-H, Na-H, Ca-H, Ba-H, Th-H, Sr- H; NaH-NaF, NaH-NaOH, NaH-CaH/, LlH-LiF, CaH/sub 2/-CaF/sub 2/, CaH/sub 2/-CaC/ sub 2/,CaH/sub 2/-Ca/sub 3/N/sub 2/; FeH/sub 3/ (alleged), NiH/sub 2/ (alleged), Ti(BH/sub 4/)/sub 3/, Th(BH/sub 4/)/sub 4/, WH/sub 4/ (attempted), W(BH/sub 4/)/ sub 4/ (attempted), /sub 4/NBH/sub 4/, (CH , and ydrides are ing an N/sub H/ comparable to water yet stable at red heat, compounds giving a neutron shield weight less than half that of water, and compounds suitable for use as hightemperature moderators containing large amounts of hydrogen. (auth)

A study was made of the stability of tributyl phosphate (TBP) to acids, bases, and UO/sub 2/(NO/sub 3/su)/sub 2/ solutions, and of the chemistry of its decomposition products. The effect of such decomposition products on the extraction behavior of ion of MBP and lines the RAW analyzer and a subsequent reduction of feed flow rate in each case resulted in immediate reduction in losses, as evidenced by the polarographic results. In many such instances, several hours of operation at high waste losses were avoided. A dropping mercury electrode was used for stream analysis, and the RAW solution was analyzed directiy without either dilution or addition of supporting eleclrolyte. Removal of dissolved oxygen and control of temperature were urnecessary. The precision of the method was better than plus or minus 5%, and the accuracy, which is dependent on calibration with a standard solution, was well within the precision value. The calibration curve is linear, for practical purposes, up to approximately 8 g/l UNH or 0.032 lb/gal uranium. (auth)

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The {open_quotes}O{close_quotes} ring seal has been proposed to replace the van stone flange and the bellows thermal expansion assembly currently used on the existing Hanford piles to achieve water and gas seals, respectively. Possible advantages of the {open_quotes}O{close_quotes} ring seal are: (1) simplification of component parts and elimination of van stone corrosion; (2) simplification of maintenance; (3) lower costs of initial erection; (4) increased strength. This test supplements Test Project No. 27 (a preliminary thermal cycling test) in applying the {open_quotes}O{close_quotes} ring seal assembly to actual pile operating conditions.

At the 100{endash}300 Areas Steering Committee meeting of March 7, following a general discussion of pile level increases, the chairman pointed out the necessity for programming tentative level objectives as far in advance as possible so that the P and Service Divisions may proceed with the planning details incidental to making the necessary equipment changes. A committee consisting of Mr. Warren and Mr. McCullough was appointed to prepare an outline of pile level objectives and to determine the major equipment changes involved in attaining such levels.

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The current Relox flowsheet proposes precipitation of plutonium peroxide from IIBP solution concentrated by evaporation to 10 g Pu/1 and ca. 5.5 M HNO{sub 3}. Such a solution might have an Al{sup +++} concentration as high as 0.02 M with stainless steel corrosion product concentrations of the order of magnitude of those found in AT solution diluted to 10 g Pu/l. Methods for the precipitation of plutonium peroxide from this type of solution, either with or without partial neutralization of the nitric acid have been described (HW-20053, pp 4-5). Recent work has been devoted to an investigation of the extent to which aluminum, chromium, iron, and contaminating elements are separated from plutonium by peroxide precipitation.

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