This document is an addendum to DC 56-8-167 and gives a description of the proposed Navy nuclear seaplane program and the objectives of the X211 engine study program.

None

This document presents a summary of work and progress at the Hanford Engineer Works for August 1954. 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 report 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 Services, Employee and Public Relations, and Community Real Estate and Services departments have sections presenting their monthly statistics, work, progress, and summaries.

This report provides recommended tube flow limitations for B and D Pile downcomers.

The process water pumping system for the K-reactors consists of six parallel sets of two series-connected pumps. A BPA outage could sever the power to all pumps. It is of major concern to known how the reactor flow decays with time following the power severance. The following analysis gives the general solution of this problem without recourse to the assumptions which have been used heretofore. The solution of the decay problem was programmed on the IBM 709. The program will give the flow transient for two series-connected pumps arbitrary physical characteristics, initial conditions, system and supply curves. It will give the decay characteristics for loss of power to either or both pumps. A full description of the program and its output is given in the Appendix.

None

None

Work at North American Aviation in connection with the ReactorSafety Program has suggested the use of a poison-bearing "paint" which would coat reactor coolant channels, and provide a supplement to the control systems of the Hanford reactors. A review of Hanford operating problems indicates that this addition to the present control systems would enable an increase in annual production for each reactor of about 6% or the production equivalent of about 21 days at maximum power level. Installation and maintenance problems for this system would be minor, and development of a suitable coating material appears promising.

None

A 2 M NaOH solution is a satisfactory scrubber for the Darex off-gas if sufficient nitrite is present to reduce all hypochlorite to chloride. If there is not enough nitrite produced in the scrubber solution by the reaction of nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen sesquioxide with sodium hydroxide, more reducing agent must be added. Both nitrite and sulfite rapidly reduce hypochlorite in basic solution. The scnubber solution can be used as long as it remains basic. (auth)

None

None

This report discusses the presence of corrosion products upon aluminum process tubes removed from wet portions of F Pile which led to the suspicion that the tubes might be corroding at an accelerated rate because of water entrapped in the channels between the tubes and the graphite blocks. Corrosion was especially noted on those tubes that were tightly stuck within the blocks. Analysis of the corrosion products showed that the major constituent was a hydrated aluminum oxide, containing iron oxide, calcium carbonate, and other substances in lower concentrations. This led to placement of an order for the anodizing of 200 process tubes.

Absorption spectrophotometric methods were used in a study of complex ion formation and acid-base reactions in fused chloride and nitrate systems. Several methods for the treatment of spectrophotometric data were investigated. The spectra of various chromium salts were determined in three nitrate melts and in fused lithium chloride-pothssium chloride. In low solute concentrations in LiNO/sub 3/-KNO/sub 3/, NaNC/sub 3/-KNO/sub 3/, and LiCl-KCl melts, the species found was the chromate ion, while in molten AgNO/sub 3/, the species found was the dichromate ion. An explanation of these observations is put forward, and their significance discussed. Formation constants for leadchloro and lead-bromo complexes were evaluated. The values obtained for the first two lead-chloro and leadbromo complexes are 11.3, 3.6 and 13.3 and 6.0, respectively. Mass spectral studies of the gaseous products of the reaction between dichromate ion and nitrate ion in fused NaNO/sub 3/-KNO/sub 3/ showed that the reaction is of an acidbase type, involving formation of a nitronium ion which then reacts with nitrate ion to evolve dinitrogen pentoxide decomposition products. A number of qualitative experiments in fused salts involving acid-base reactions were performed, and their relation to oxidation-reduction processes in the fused salts is discussed. An analogy is drawn to …

None

This report lists recommendations to be adopted in the process for the reduction of plutonium fluorides by calcium metal in order to save time and money in the Plutonium Finishing Plant. These recommendations regard the standardization of procedures for batch operations. Instead of weighing chemicals to be added to each PuF{sub 4} batch, standard quantities of iodine and calcium would be prepared and stored for later use. The reagents would be added to PuF{sub 4} batches in the 410--430 gram range without further weighing.