Tests have been made to study the effects of lowering process water pH from pH 7.7 to the range pH 6.2--7.3; of reducing the amount of sodium dichromate inhibitor added to the water; and of eliminating the filtration step in the water treatment process. The results on the pH testing showed that reducing the pH of the cooling water would reduce aluminum corrosion rates. The plant specification has been changed to lower process water pH from 7.7 to 7.3 and plant scale testing of pH 7.0 water is in progress. Reducing the dichromate concentration in the water from 2 to 0.2 ppm had no deleterious effects on the aluminium pile components but might cause pitting of the carbon steel pile effluent lines. The use of unfiltered water is technically feasible from the stand-points of corrosion and film formation but probably would cause a sizable increase in the radioactivity of the pile effluent water. 6 figs., 5 tabs.

This document presents a summary of work and progress at the Hanford Engineer Works for August 1955. The report is divided into sections by department. A plant wide general summary is included at the beginning of the report, after which the departmental summaries begin. The Manufacturing Department reports plant statistics, and summaries for the Metal Preparation, Reactor and Separation sections. The Engineering Department`s section summarizes work for the Technical, Design, and Project Sections. Costs for the various departments are presented in the Financial Department`s summary. The Medical, Radiological Sciences, Utilities and General Sciences, Employee and Public Relations, and Community Real Estate and Services departments have sections presenting their monthly statistics, work, progress, and summaries.

Major additions to separations facilities may be required because of increased reactor power levels, reduced exposures; changes in slug specifications, obsolescence of existing solvent extraction plants or development of new separations processes with lower operating costs. The magnitude of first costs for a separations plant is so large as to discourage production planning which would require an additional major separations facility. Experience in separations design has shown that certain process and equipment changes, if they could be developed, would significantly reduce the capital investment in a separations facility. Accordingly design development for a new separations facility is under way. The purposes of this document are to present the results of the first separation design study directed toward a new solvent extraction plant and to summarize process, plant, and equipment changes which should be developed to achieve significant capital and operating cost reduction.

This report discusses an extended program of measurements has been carried out at Hanford to determine the attenuation characteristics of various concretes which might be used as inexpensive yet efficient shields for large, stationary, production piles. The original Hanford piles have biological

This is the sixth of seven reports to be issued on the parametric studies of reflector-island moderated and core moderated solid fuel element reactors. The power distribution and hence fuel volume were varied for the optimum island size reflector moderated reactor. The effect on the critical mass, power distribution and neutron leakage was determined and is plotted in Figures 1, 2, and 3.

This document defines the basic criteria to be used in the preparation of detailed design for Project CG-558, Reactor Plant Modification for Increased Production and for Project CG-600, 100-C Area Alterations. It has been determined that the most economical method of increasing plutonium production within the next five years is by the modernization and improvement of the 100-B, 100-C, 100-D, 100-DR, 100-F, and 100-H reactor plants. These reactors are currently incapable of operating at their maximum potential power levels because of a limited availability of process cooling water. As a result of this program, it is estimated that 1650-2350 megawatts of total additional production will be achieved.

The primary purpose of this test was to demonstrate that the inside of a rear-cross-header, its nozzles and pigtails could be decontaminated by recirculating for 30 minutes, a 60{degrees} C, O.3 pH chromic acid solution. Secondary purposes were, (1) to determine the magnitude of radiation increase in piping and acid equipment external to the reactor encountered during the test and (2) to obtain information as to the kind and amount of contaminants removed by the acid solution.

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Two-group constants have been prepared for a range of steel-water volume ratios. A calculation of critical mass and flux distribution has been made for an existing steelwater critical experiment. In order to check the experimental critical mass the age was increased. The effect of this adjustnnent on flux distribution was noted. The critical mass and flux distribution were calculated for the clean APPR critical experiment using the adjusted curve of age vs steel- water volume ratio. The calculated critical mass of the clean APPR critical experiment was 9.04 kg of U/sup 235/. (auth)

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Three methods are discussed for detecting ionizing radiation and transitting the intelligence. All three methods make use of the reactamce variation of a frequency determining network, to vary the frequency of an R.F. transitter as a function of ionizing radiation entering an ion chamber or counter. The first method is based on the capacitance znd subsequent frequency variation of am electrometer incorporated in an ion chamber. The variation is achieved by a moving came electrometer, where the position of the vane changes as a function of the leakage of an electrostatic charge when exposed to radiatioz and thus varies the electrometer capacitance. Gamma, beta particles, and fast neutrons were measured during these experiments. The second method replaces the moving vane electrometer by ferroelectric capacitances. This reduces the sensitiwity, but permits movement of the instrument during exposure. These ferroelectric capacitances are physically very small and can be enclosed inside of an ion chamber. The varintion of the capacitance with charge or voltage permits measurement of the ionination current as a function of capacitance and frequency. The third and most successful method replaces the ion chamber by a Geiger counter, single pulses and integrated pulse rates can be measured and transmitted. (auth)

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Zircaloy-2 clad fuel rods whose fuel was U/sup 238/ -10 wt.% Nb-5 wt.% U/ /sup 235/ were fabricated for testing in the Materials Testing Reactor. The fuel was duplex melted and given a homogenizing heat treatment prior to assembly into extrusion billets. The rods were prepared by co-extruding the fuel alloy in Zircaloy-2 cups, then drawing the rods to size. (auth)

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