Calculations were made to determine the temperature at various points of a thick disc and cap, on the assumptions that the heat production rate is uniform throughout the slug and that the slug is in perfect thermal contact with the cap. Results obtained by different methods of computation are compared with each other and with results obtained by Drew on the Paschkis electrical network computer at Columbia University.

Some methods for calculating the k requirements of various shaped piles are indicated, with particular reference to the shape of the tank in the homogeneous plant.

Warping of a rod by a variation in heat transfer coefficient around the periphery is considered. Estimates for some simple cases are given, and a more precise numerical calculation is carried out in ne instance.

It is usual to determine the density of neutrons by using foils of metals which become radioactive as a result of bombardment in the region under investigation. From the rate of disintegration of the newly formed radioactive element the number of neutrons absorbed can be calculated. By use of the capture cross section of the element of which the foil is composed the density of the neutrons can then be computed. By counting the alpha particles from a bismuth foil of known weight after exposure to neutrons the density of the neutrons which produced this activity can be calculated. The least accurately known value which enters into this evaluation is the capture cross-section of bismuth for pile neutrons. This value may be improved by future measurements. It is of importance only for absolute measurements of neutron density so that relative values can be measured with considerable accuracy on the basis of known data.

Measurements made in a uranium cylinder result in a mean value of 1.55 cm. for the diffusion length L for distances of 1 to 4 cm. from the base of the cylinder. Calculations give a value which agrees with the experimental result and show further that L increases from 1.40 to 1.63 cm. as the neutrons diffuse a distance of 5 cm. into the uranium.

The distribution of thermal neutrons in a W slug having a one centimeter aluminum end cap has been calculated on the basis of simple diffusion theory. It is found that the average neutron density, and therefore the power output, at the end of the slug is about 34% higher than the density far from the end cap. This result agrees well with the recent Argonne pile experiments (CP-1729).

The change in the simple [formula] distribution of neutrons in a spherical lump of uranium caused by the distribution in velocities of thermal neutrons is calculated. If the calculated curve is fitted as well as possible by a simple [formula] curve, it is shown that the value of [formula] obtained in this way is a function of [formula], the radius of the sphere. For small radii the [formula] obtained in this manner will be as much as 25% greater than the [formula] corresponding to average velocity neutrons. The change in the thermal utilization caused by the distribution in velocities is discussed. The flux of neutrons into a sphere is calculated taking into account the velocity distribution and this is compared with the usual theory.

Effect of aquadag coating on noise reduction in polyethylene coaxial cable was tested. A satisfactory combination of coaxial cables and connectors interconnecting sources of small ion currents or ionizing impulses with the measuring device is described.

The temperature coefficient of eta has been measured with the thermal column of the Argonne pile using uranium foils of different isotopic ratios. The temperature change was effected by filtering neutrons through silver. The measured fractional change per degree centigrade is [formula].

It was desired to determine a method of evaporating boron to form a rather pure uniform tenacious coat of specified thickness. These coats are needed as monitoring films for neutron intensities, particularly in steel ionization cylinders. The most satisfactory method of evaporating boron employed a graphite filament. A mixture of amorphous boron and Carbenoid A was painted onto the filament which was then heated by electrical resistance method to 2300 degree C at which temperature the boron evaporated. Opaque films with purities up to 98% boron or better could be deposited by this method. Much heat was liberated by the filament, and it was found necessary to cool the steel cylinders during evaporation to prevent alloying of boron with the steel. Cathodic deposition also proved satisfactory for producing high purity films; this method has the advantage that little or no heat is produced during the process, but requires much time. Other less efficacious methods of depositing lighter films of born were developed; these are included in the following discussion.

Various experimenters have shown (H.H. Gersman U.S. Patent 2,335,590, Nov. 30, 1943; Aluminum Co. of America, various technical papers; also CT-482) that when a billet is extruded by proper technique into a rod (or tube by a floating mandril) that flow of material is streamline and and the extruded article is essentially a space replica of the billet, with linearly distorted coordinates. Advantage is taken of this fact in the manufacture of alclad tubing in which a billet containing an inner core of one alloy with the outer part of another alloy cast around it is extruded together into an integral tube, e.g., to combine high corrosion resistance with high strength. The following experiments were carried out because of the desirability of obtaining a control rod which can be water cooled (or immersed in P9) and which contains boron. For some pile structures it may be desirable to have the major portion of the energy released by the neutron absorption of the control rod be spend in the rod itself by the nuclear reactions [formula] rather than in the surrounding media as is the case when absorption of neutrons is by cadmium according to the reaction [formula]. In the later …

Experiments wee performed to evaluate the feasibility of detecting swelled slug elements in Hanford reactors by measuring the force necessary to push the slug column in its tube. These experiments are described. The results indicate the method presents no unsolvable problems.

Bi-Pb eutectic and pure Bi penetration of graphites of various densities under 300 degrees C and pressures up to 20 psi was found be of the order of magnitude of 1.0 g/cm(2) and was uniform throughout the graphite. Bi was absorbed less than the eutectic but the oxidation rate of Bi would be prohibitive. There was heavy nitriding in N atmospheres with the Bi and the eutectic.

Abstract. The effect of the neutron flux on the relative importance of different fission product poisons is discussed. The general expression for the poising of a fission product is given with the various equations for special cases of interest. The formulae are applied to the problem of finding the poisoning due to fission products at the end of one day in a pile operating with a flux of 4 x 10(14) neutrons/cm(2)/soc. These results are summarized in the table on page 12. Appendix I contains a revised list of cross sections x yields for all stable isotopes. Such a list was first given by Wheeler in CP-889. Appendix II contains a list of radioactive fission products with half lives greater than one day with data about yields, parents, gaseous ancestors, and numbers of neutrons.

An approximate calculation is made of the variations of the flexibility of a long cartridge with the length of the slug used, assuming that the jacket slides without friction.

Abstract. Recently (CP-1989) it has been shown that the neutron density, and thus the heat production, at the end of a slug with an A1 cap may be appreciably higher than that at the middle of the slag. A re-examination of earlier temperature calculations is made in light of this effect.

The problem of lining a hollow aluminum sphere, 10 inches i.d., with lunes of heavy metal foil, was assigned to this group by Dr. E. Creutz. The work was carried out under the direct supervision of Dr. D.H. Gurinsky. the problem was divided naturally into tow parts: first, forming fitting the lunes, and second, cementing hem to the inside of the sphere.

An attempt is made to estimate the influence of operation upon the mechanical properties of tubealloy. It is to be emphasized that the work is highly speculative, being base upon a set of judicious assumptions regarding the transport material within the metal and should not be used as a substitute for a set of well-planned experiments. The two principal effects considered are the hardening which results from the atomic displacement produced by the fission fragments and the changes in mechanical properties arising from the presence of the fission products. The principal conclusion to be drawn is that the disruption of the metal which accompanies operation takes place at at sufficiently high rate that it could readily cause serious changes in the mechanical properties of the slups. the reversal of the disruption resulting from thermal effects probably is sufficiently high to prevent serious embrittlement as a consequence of displacement through most of the volume of the slug if not at the surface. On the other hand, the migration of atoms also appears to be sufficiently high that the rare gas products may have time to diffuse to cracks and produce embrittlement.

Some situations which give rise to a hot ring around the slug near the end are considered; namely rounded slug ends in the long cartridge design, and the Wilkins effect in the current unbonded short slug design.

Abstract. Given the maximum intrinsic curvature of a rod, the maximum force required to confine it between parallel rigid walls is computed.

Technical report with short reports from the (1) Experimental Nuclear Physics Group; (2) Theoretical Physics Group ; (3) Lattice Design Group; (4) Pile Design Group; (5) Exponential Experimental Group; (6) Radiation Group; and (7) Shielding Group.

This technical report discusses a method proposed to measure neutron energies by accurately determining the momenta of recoil protons in a magnetic spectrometer specially designed for this purpose. The main consideration in the design of the spectrometer is the shielding of the detector from the high radiation background associated with intense neutron beams.

Abstract. Successive approximations ae obtained from transport theory for the neutron distribution around a black sphere surrounded by a spherical gap and a non-absorbing medium extending to infinity. Six cases are calculated numerically to show the difference between this treatment and simple diffusion theory. The extrapolation distance and a quantity that is essentially the thermal utilization are calculated in different approximations. It is found that the neutron density in the gap, instead of being a constant as predicted by the simple theory, may vary by a factor of one-third in cases of practical interest.

The transition region between two parts of a pile which have different compositions is investigated. In the case where the moderator is the same in both parts of the pile, it is found that the diffusion constant times thermal neutron density plus diffusion constant times fast neutron density satisfied the use pile equations everywhere, right to the boundary. More complicated formulae apply in a more general case.