"The external wave drag of bodies of revolution moving at supersonic speeds can be expressed either in terms of the geometry of the body, or in terms of the body-simulating axial source distribution. For purposes of deriving optimum bodies under various given conditions, it is found that the second of the methods mentioned is the more tractable. By use of a quasi-cylindrical theory, that is, the boundary conditions are applied on the surface of a cylinder rather than on the body itself, the variational problems of the optimum bodies having prescribed volume or caliber are solved" (p. 131).

From Introduction: "The effects of variations in altitude, flight Mach number, and exhaust-nozzle-outlet area on the compressor performance characteristics are graphically presented. A complete tabulation of the compressor performance data is also presented."

"Gust-velocity measurements and air-borne-radar observations obtained during a transcontinental flight in July 1947 have been analyzed as part of a general investigation of the uses of air-borne radar. The analysis indicates that some reduction in turbulence and a consequent reduction in the risk of encountering the larger gust velocities may be obtained by avoiding portions of clouds giving a radar echo" (p. 1).

Report presenting wind-tunnel measurements of the pressure distribution on a semispan wing with a modified NACA 0012-64 airfoil section and a plain trailing-edge aileron with the wing unswept and also swept back 45 degrees. Adverse changes in loading and loss of aileron effectiveness developed with the wing unswept as the Mach number was increased, but did not occur at Mach numbers up to 0.925 with the swept wing. Results regarding section characteristics and effect of fences are provided.

"An investigation was conducted to determine the effectiveness of area suction used to delay the separation of air flow at the leading edge of a 63 degree swept-back wing. Changes in lift, drag, and pitching-moment data were correlated with the occurrence of the separation of the air flow by means of pressure-distribution data. It was found that the spanwise and the chordwise extent of area suction required to control leading-edge separation were in general agreement with that predicted by theory, but the quantity of flow required was considerably higher than predicted by theory" (p. 1).

From introduction: "This report presents physical property data of volcanic rocks underlying Rainier Mesa and vicinity in the northwest corner of the Yucca Flat area, Nevada Test Site."

A direct titrimetric method for the determination of trivalent uranium in uranium trifluoride and mixtures of fused fluoride salts was developed. The method is based on the stoichiometric oxidation of trivalent uranium to the tetravalent oxidation state with an acidic solution of methylene blue. The sample containing trivalent uranium is dissolved at room temperature in an excess of standard methylene blue solution in a carbon dioxide atmosphere; the excess oxidant is variation of the method is 1.5 per cent for 5 mg quantities of trivalent uranium. The method was applied to various mixtures of fluoride salts containing both trivalent and tetravalent uranium.

Technical paper issued by the Bureau of Standards over studies conducted on the quality of sole leather. As stated in the introduction, "the development of a simple method for quickly determining the durability of sole leather seemed desirable, and this paper discusses a laboratory apparatus designed for this purpose and also presents the results of tests made to date to determine the relative wear of leather from different parts of the hide" (p. 3). This paper includes illustrations, and photographs.

"The relationship between stress and strain, and between stress and permanent set, for 18:8 alloy as affected by prior plastic deformation is discussed. Hysteresis and creep and their effects on the stress-strain and stress-set curves are also considered, as well as the influence of duration of the rest interval after cold work and the influence of plastic deformation on proof stresses, on the modulus of elasticity at zero stress, and on the curvature of the stress-strain line. A constant (c sub 1) is suggested to represent the variation of the modulus of elasticity with stress" (p. 539).

Memorandum describing a way in which the data of three previous reports can be used to compute the incompressible flow fields for cowling-spinner combinations and open-nose inlets for use in the design of propeller shanks and cuffs. The method consists of regarding the cowling surface as replaced by a ring vortex sheet whose strength at any point is equal to the local tangential velocity.

From Summary: "An investigation was conducted in the NACA Cleveland altitude wind tunnel to determine the operational characteristics of the Westinghouse 19B-2, 19B-8, and 19XB-l jet-propulsion engines. The 19B engine is one of the earliest experimental Westinghouse axial flow engines. The 19XB-1 engine is an experimental prototype of the Westinghouse 15 series, having a rated thrust of 1400 pounds. Improvements in performance and operational characteristics have resulted in the 19XB-2B engine with a rated thrust of 1600 pounds. The operational characteristics were determined over a range of simulated altitudes from 5000 to 30,000 feet for the 19B engines and from 5000 to 35000 feet for the 19XB-l engine at airspeed from 20 to 380 miles per hour."

"The method of characteristics has been applied for the determination of the supersonic-flow properties around bodies of revolution at a small angle of attack. The system developed considers the effect of the variation of entropy due to the curved shock and determines a flow that exactly satisfies the boundary conditions in the limits of the simplifications assumed. Two practical methods for numerical calculations are given" (p. 1039).

"Additional mixtures of polymers and multi-unsaturated monomers have been prepared, irradiated and the gel content determined. The gel content determination of crosslinked polyolefins has been investigated in detail. The multi-unsaturated monomers used and radiation conditions applied up to this time have not given significant gel contents for polypropylene. the polypropylene resin used has been characterized by differential extraction."

Summary of airborne radiometric surveys of certain sediments in Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, and Montana

The response of a two silicon p-n junction diodes has been measured for protons up to 13.3 Mev. In one case the dependence of depletion layer thickness with bias voltage was found to be T or V(0.46). The observed resolution, made up of contributions from crystal noise, beam width, and scatterer thickness, was about 1% for 9-Mev protons.

Mercury to be used in polarography as a dropping mercury electrode must be of the highest purity. The author has found that much of the commercial "triple-distilled" mercury as well as that which is repurified on site is not sufficiently pure and because of this, a study of mercury purification techniques was made and a very satisfactory procedure was tested thoroughly. This procedure is described in detail in this report.