This quarterly progress report discusses the ongoing work within the Solid State Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the period ending August 10, 1952. Projects discussed include radiation metallurgy, engineering properties, fused salts, crystal physics, and solid state reactions.

Technical report outlining experiments on aluminum-lithium alloys. From Abstract: "Aluminum-lithium alloys are subject to precipitation from solid solution, and may be age hardened by the same techniques used for more common aluminum alloys. Spherical particles of precipitate were observed with the electron microscope in 1.5% and 2.8% Al-Li alloys after aging for times comparable to those required to produce maximum hardness. Rod-shaped particles that were oriented parallel to either the (110) or the (111) planes of the aluminum matrix were observed in overaged specimens."

Report describing a the design requirements of a proposed nuclear power plant for use on an ice cap.

Report regarding a waste calcination unit that "will convert the fission product-containing aluminum nitrate solutions" "to granular alumina and fission product oxides" (p. 5).

A program for determining the behavior of concrete shear keys under dynamic loading similar to that encountered in nuclear blasts was coupled with a study of the comparative behavior of shear keys under static loading. The testing procedure gave deflection recording for the shear keys, their strength in pure shear, under transverse compression and when dowelled, stresses and strains in the embedded dowels, and the mode of failure of each specimen. From an analysis of the data obtained and a study of the combined direct and transverse stresses involved, important qualitative conclusions were drawn from the common trends in the behavior of keys. The tests proved that plain concrete keys can withstand stresses in pure shear as high as 2000 p.s.i. or more, that imposing transverse compression on them raises the ratio of their shear strength to compressive strength by about 50% in dynamic loading though by only about 5% in static loading, and that the keys exhibit much higher shear strength when subjected to dynamic loads than when stressed by static loads. The test also indicated that the strength and quality of the gravel are probably major factors governing the strength of the keys.

The need for thermal and fast neutron fluxes in the range of 1 to 5 x l0/ sup 15/ neutrons/cm/sup 2/(sec) for the production of heavy elements such as Cf/ sup 252/ and other special isotopes and for improving the quality of beam experiments, reactor materials testing work, and solid state research has led to plans for the construction of three ultra high flux research reactors. The designs of these and other high flux research reactors are based on the general technology of enriched tank-type reactors; however, they utilize the principle of separate fuel and moderator regions to achieve flux peaking in these regions. Thus, proposed designs take the form of an annular fuel region with internal and external moderating regions or an under moderated core with an external moderator or reflector. In such arrangements, the thermal flux peaks in the moderating regions and the fast flux peaks in the fuel region, which results in maximum fast and thermal fluxes per unit of power. Since most of the moderation of fast neutrons takes place outside of the fuel region, the thermal flux peaking depends on the number of fast neutrons leaking from the reactor core, which in turn depends on …