Report documenting the progress of the Army Gas-Cooled Reactor Systems Program to develop a mobile nuclear power plant for military field operation.

The nuclear characteristics of the CETR are described. Core operating lifetime, control-rod worth, and power density distribution are discussed in relation to maximizing the core operating life. Other objectives of nuclear design are to minimize the power-density variation and to assure control of the reactor.

This report describes the critical experiments with pin-type oxide fuel elements for the Consolidated Edison Thorium Reactor (CETR). This report also describes the measurements and gives a brief interpretation of the results in some cases

Facilities are to be designed for installation at Hanford for the reprocessing of irradiated, low enrichment fuels from non-production reactors, see Reference 1 and 2. The initial design of the processing facilities is to be based on processing the fuels discharged from the Dresden, Yankee, Piqua, Pathfinder and Shippingport (blanket elements only) reactors. Properties of the fuels and cladding make it impossible to completely process them in existing equipment, although the separation and decontamination can be performed in existing facilities once the fueks have been placed in solution form.

This semiannual progress report and future reports will be published as two documents to permit a wider distribution of the unclassified material. The report numbers are assigned in sequence so that the two reports will fall together when filed by report number.

Report issued by the Argonne national Laboratory discussing a technical and economic evaluation of a direct-cycle light-water boiling reactor designed for natural circulation and internal steam-water separation. The reference 100-Mw(e) reactor power plant design evolved from the study should have the best chance (compared to similar plants) of approaching the 8 to 9 mill/kwh total power-cost level. This report includes tables, and illustrations.

The Hanford water treatment plants were operated for a number of years with alum as a coagulant and activated silica as a coagulant and a polyacrylamide as a filter conditioning agent. (other polyelectrolytes may be used.) Sufficient time has elapsed to make a comparison of the two methods of operation valid and useful. Such a comparison is the purpose of this paper.

Report describing the Hanford Laboratory controlled potential coulometer. This includes the theory behind the coulometer, details of its circuitry, and performance tests. Appendix begins on page 23.

An all-transistor system has been developed to be used in measuring the reactivity of the reactor in the Sandia Engineering Reactor Facility. In operation, the system triggers a pulsed neutron source (PNS) in the reactor and counts the resulting neutron flux, thus giving a measure of the time constant of the reactor. The counting is done in eleven time-sequenced counting channels. The reactor time constant is a measure of the reactor reactivity.

This report presents the thermal and hydraulic analyses, both steady state and transient, for the CETR. Methods of calculations are discussed and results of analyses are presented. Steady state analyses are included for: pressure drops, flow distribution, orificing, burnout, fuel central melting, local boiling, and bulk boiling. Transient analyses are performed for several loss of forced coolant flow incidents.

The design functions and fabrication details for internal components of the CETR are presented and pertinent analytical stress studies are summarized. Functions of the internal components include proper orientation and support for the fuel elements, proper distribution of primary coolant within the reactor vessel, and the establishment of guide channels for the control rods.

Report that "describes an instrument that nondestructively tests uranium fuel element cores by ultrasonic methods" (p. 2).

Report issued by the Argonne National Laboratory discussing irradiation tests of an aluminum alloy-clad, aluminum-uranium alloy fuel plate. As stated in the introduction, "calculations were made to determine the lowest possible pressure which would allow the maximum possible local boiling on the plate and still assure a margin of safety against burnout" (p. 9). This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

The purpose of Project Cowboy was to investigate the seismic signals generated by chemical explosions in underground cavities, with particular emphasis on the possibility of decoupling of these signals from the surrounding media. The project site was the Carey Salt Company salt mine, located approximately five miles west of Winnfield, Louisiana. The tests were run during fiscal year 1960. This report presents the results of tests performed on specimens from the samples of salt taken in the area.

The purpose of this document is to describe the design and construction of a full-scale, electrically-heated model of a 19-rod PRTR fuel element for use in heat transfer experiments.

Report that summarizes multiple laboratories' reports on global fallout deposition. Reports include data on Strontium-90 deposition recorded by the Health and Safety Laboratory, data from other laboratories, related interpretive reports, and recent publications related to fallout.

From introduction: In the report will be found a description of a proposed 800 kw nuclear power plant together with concept drawings, construction cost estimate, design and construction schedule, and operating, maintenance and fuel costs.

From introduction: In the report will be found a description of a proposed 500 kw nuclear power plant together with concept drawings, construction cost estimate, design and construction schedule, and operating, maintenance and fuel costs.

This instrument was designed primarily to meet the need for radiation monitoring equipment in chemical process areas where corrosive vapors exist.

Report issued by the Brookhaven National Laboratory discussing fuel reactor test loops. The "design, construction, operation, and experimental results" (p. 1) are presented. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

The wide use of liquid oxygen as an oxidant in rocket engines has resulted in an increased interest in low-temperature heat transfer. Storage tanks for this type of application, being uninsulated, contain a boiling-liquid low-temperature sink, which is susceptible to environmental heat inputs and subsequent liquid loss by vaporization. Such losses are difficult to predict due to the complex combination of ambient conditions which exist, and the lack of knowledge concerning their combined effects. Heat transfer in this field is difficult to analyze primarily because of its transient nature. This is a result of such factors as: (1) the growth of an insulating frost layer on the outer surface of the container, with its accompanying energy transfer to the system; (2) the temperature dependent convective air pattern that surrounds the container, (3) the transfer of radiant energy to the system, and (4) the mechanical failure of the frost itself with subsequent sloughing from the container wall. A lack of knowledge regarding the coefficient of diffusion of water vapor through air and the thermal conductivity of frost in this depressed temperature range further complicates the predictions of heat transfer.

Abstract: The purpose of this report is to describe the problems inherent to general dielectric strength measurements, and to act as a guide in establishing a method for pulse dielectric strength measurements.

Applications of sheathed (metal) thermocouples may require in many instances, the insertion of the thermocouple thermal junction into an area that must be hermetically sealed to the outside. This same area usually contains highly reactive heat transfer medium such as an eutectic alloy of sodium and potassium of sodium alone. When fissionable materials are being irradiated, fission products that are driven off would also be present and must be contained under varying temperatures and pressures.

A technique for measuring extremely small temperature changes by means of a pyroelectric device is described. The sensing element is a short thin rod of polarized barium titanate ceramic with electrodes on the ends. The electric charges produced by changes in temperature are measured by a vibrating-reed electrometer. A number of calorimetric and noncalorimetric applications for the device are suggested.