Report describing alternative methods for depleting a large turnings inventory in a short period of time.

One characteristic of the corrosion of uranium is the accelerating destruction of the metal under both dry and humid conditions and throughout a wide temperature range. Another corrosion property is the fracturing and fragmentizing of the oxide products. This results in an accelerating or decelerating growth law being operative at a particular time. This time is determined by whether the oxide ruptures rapidly or slowly compared to the rate of growth of the unfractured oxide. The reaction with dry air is essentially a reaction with the contained oxygen. In water, under oxygen-free conditions, linear oxidation laws are observed. In steam, because UO/ sub 2/ is the product at temperatures below 250 C and U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ at temperatures above 250 C, different reaction rates occur in the two temperature ranges. The effects of a few alloying elements on the corrosion resistance of uranium are reviewed. Wartime research indicates that small additions of aluminum, molybdenum, nickel, and titanium have a slightly beneficial effect. Niobium, silicon, and zirconium increase substantially the corrosion resistance in water provided the alloy has had adequate heat treatment. There is some information that the addition of small amounts, less than 2%, of aluminum or silicon increases the …

The following document describes suggestions on the application of the A-48 ion accelerator beam currents to the Sherwood Program.

The fabrication of heat exchangers and radiators to be used in conjunction with high-temperature nuclear reactors may present exceedingly complex problems. Rigid heat transfer requirements may necessitate the use of compact assemblies of thin-walled small-diameter tubes as integral parts of the heat transfer units. Intricate designs may also be required in which cooling fins must be securely joined to the tubes at closely spaced intervals. In addition to the difficulties in fabrication imposed by the designs themselves, the high operating temperatures involved require the careful selection of materials and joining techniques. The choice of fabrication procedure for a given component must not only be based upon the stresses and temperatures to be encountered, but also upon special factors peculiar to nuclear service. Since many reactor applications employ highly corrosive environments, compatibility of the structural ma terials with the corrosive media is of paramount importance. The low nuclear cross-section require ment for brazing alloys to be used inside the re actor also places stringent limitations on the possible choices of in-pile applications. The use of boron in alloys for certain service may not be considered feasible, for example, because of its high nuclear absorption cross section. Although welding is used extensively …

Radiobiological studies were made to determine effects of radioactive effluents from the Hanford reactors upon the aquatic biota of the Columbia River and to evaluate related hazards. Data from studies completed between September, 1945, and December, 1955 are presented and interpreted. All forms of life were many times more radioactive than the water they inhabited. Some radioisotopes were much more readily accumulated than others in living organisms. Differences in the concentration of certain radioisotopes by various species of organisms and kinds of body tissue are described; and geographical, seasonal and annual fluctuations in the concentration of radioisotopes in organisms are discussed.

Abstract: During March 1958, representatives of the health and Safety Laboratory, New York Operations Office, visited Columbia University to make stray radiation measurement at the Van de Graff accelerator. A radiation survey was performed at the Van de Graaff electrostatic generator at Columbia University. The survey results do not indicate a particular need for additional shielding at this time. It is recommended that the analyzer area of the beam room should not be occupied during beam operations and the present interlock system should be modified by the installation of a photocell interlock as shown on the included plan.

In January and February, 1960, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory personnel conducted a series of experiments in Phase II of Project Cowboy in which tourmaline crystal transducers, located very close (3 to 50 feet) to tamped high explosive detonations, detected dynamic elasto-plastic stress waves generated in salt. The detonations occurred 110 feet below the 800-foot working level of the Carey Salt Mine, near Winnfield, Louisiana. These experiments were designed to measure dynamic stress conditions resulting from explosion in the earth media, of which little is known at present, and to provide data for comparative calculations on seismic disturbances from tamped explosions and from explosion in large underground cavities. Eleatic stress waves of 1 kilobar magnitude were observed, with velocities of about 15,000 ft/sec. Inelastic stress waves up to 6 kilobars in magnitude were measured. Velocities for these waves were in the range 9000 to 12,000 ft/sec.

Abstract: A stainless steel clad 9-rod assembly fabricated by The Babcock & Wilcox Company was irradiated in a boiling water loop of the General Electric Test Reactor. A post-irradiation examination revealed no significant dimensional changes on the fuel rods. the results of mass spectrometric analysis made of the pelletized UO2 fuel indicated a maximum burnup of 11,500 MWD/tonne was attained by Rod B-4 during the exposure.An x-ray diffraction examination of an unirradiated fuel sample revealed the presence of UN2 and U2N3 phases. Metallographic examination of the irradiated microstructures revealed similar second-phase particles.