A 500 MWe sodium-cooled, PuO2-UO2 fuel, fast spectrum reactor design is presented, which is calculated to have a fuel cycle cost in the civinity of 1 mill/ekw hr, and to have important safety features due to an appreciably negative Doppler effect.

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The objective of the Production Tests described in this report is to evaluate the operational aspects of a proposed method for reducing minimum downtime. The excess xenon poisoning, which occurs during the first 32--38 hours after the shutdown of a reactor from present equilibrium levels, will be partially overridden by a central enriched zone whose added reactivity contribution would be compensated during normal operation by means of poison splines. The test will be performed at B Reactor.

Current Practice -- A patrolman observes river traffic 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from a 50 foot enclosed tower located on the bank of the river. Under normal daylight conditions the opposite shore line and bluffs (2,000`) and approximately three miles both up and down the river can be seen by naked eye with close up identification obtained through use of field glasses. For night time operation a manually operated searchlight is used to sweep the river for moving or floating objects. Proposal -- To determine whether it is feasible to replace the patrolman in the river tower with a remotely controlled closed circuit television and searchlight system.

This report for November 1961, from the Chemical Processing Department at HAPO, discusses the following: Production operation; Purex and Redox operation; Finished products operation; maintenance; Financial operations; facilities engineering; research; employee relations; and special separation processing and auxiliaries operation.

The monthly report for the Hanford Laboratories Operation, November 1961. Reactor fuels, chemistry, dosimetry, separation processes, reactor technology, financial activities, biology operation, and physics and instrumentation research, operations research and synthesis operation, programming, laboratory auxiliaries operation, and technical administration operation are discussed.

This information contained in this document is a compilation of technical specifications applicable to the process limits for the eight existing Hanford Production Reactors. These technical specifications, together with other administrative procedures and controls, would define the limits of reactor operation and would establish administrative methods for obtaining approvals, reviews, and procedures for making changes. Operating and performance restrictions are reported for: reactivity, reactor control and safety elements, power level, temperature and heat flux, reactor scram set points, reactor fuel loadings, reactor coolant system, reactor confinement, test facilities, and code compliance.

This document summarizes the amounts of radioactive contamination discharged to ground from separations facilities through December 1961. Detailed data for individual disposal sites are presented on a month-to-month basis for the period of July through December 1961. Previous publications of this series are listed in the bibliography and may be referred to for specific information on measurements and radioactivity totals prior to December 1961.

This document details the activities of the Irradiation Processing Department during the month of November 1961.

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The effect of very high heat fluxes on the corrosion of 1100 and 6061 aluminum alloys by water was investigated. The test conditions generally simulated those expected to exist during operation of the High-Flux lsotope Reactor. At heat fluxes between 1 and 2 x l0/sup 6/ Btu/hr-ft/sup 2/ and with coolant temperatures and velocities in the ranges of 13l to 250 deg F and 3l to 51 fps, respectively, a layer of boehmite ( alpha Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/- H/sub 2/0), which has low thermal conductivity, formed on the water-cooled aluminum surfaces during test. When only relatively thin films formed, the boehmite adhered tightly to the aluminum, but in those cases where relatively thick films formed, some boehmite spontaneously spalled from the surface. The rate at which the boehmite formed on the surface (and consequently the rate at which the aluminum temperature increased) was a function of the temperature at the specimen-water interface and the pH of the coolant. The lower the temperature and the lower the pH (in the range of 5.0 to 6.5 with HNO/sub 3/), the lower the rate of corrosion- product formation. Within the ranges investigated, pressure and flow rate were without effect, and the same results …

The current state of knowledge relevant to biological blast effects was summarized in a selective manner. Initially, five problems of concern to those who would relate the environmental variations produced by nuclear weapons with biological response and hazard assessment were pointed out. Primary, secondary, tertiary, and miscellaneous blast effects were defined and selected interspecies experimental data of a physical and pathophysiological nature useful in estimating human response were presented. Tentative biological criteria defining safe levels of exposure were set forth as were survival curves for different conditions of exposure in Hiroshima. These were discussed along with the comparative variations in range of the free-field effects as they vary with explosive yield. The fundamental requirement for surviving seconds, minutes, and hours to abet survival for days, weeks, months, and years was emphasized along with the necessity for planning protective measures against all hazardous weapons effects as one attractive alternative for minimizing casualties and maximizing survival in the event of a nuclear war. (auth)

The adsorptive capacities of various inorganic adsorbents and activated charcoals for krypton and xenon were determined. Columbia-G activated charcoal had the highest capacity for both krypton and xenon at pressures from 0.01 to 125 mm Hg and temperaturens from 2 to 85 deg C. If a value of 1 is assigned to the capacity of this charcoal at 28 deg C for krypton, other charcoals range from 0.63 to 0.84, molecular sieves (except 4A) from 0.11 to 0.20, and some silica genls from 0.05 to 0.07. Various othenr adsorbennts, including one variety of silica gel and molecular sieve 4A, range from 0.005 to 0.032. Molecular sienve 5A and Columbia-G charcoal adsorbed 11.5 times more xenon than krypton. Adsorption of 7.5% water by either of these adsorbents lowerend their capacity for krypton 25 to 30%, while saturating the sieve material ( approximates 15% H2O) lowered the krypton capacity 80%. (auth)

The experimental results on the oxidation of H from a He stream with CuO pellets were very close to the predicted behavior based on the mathematical model. Experimental measurements of uranyl sulfate loading rates on chloride equilibrated resin showed little variation with solution concentrations. A tentative flowsbeet was proposed for cost analysis of processing a Pebble Bed Reactor. A U-Zr plate was dissolved in nitrate-free Zirflex solution. An authentic TRIGA prototype was processed in engineering-scale equipment. Three 4- stage leacher model dissolution runs were made, two of which used 8 M HNO/sub 3/ and one used 4 M HNO/sub 3/. Flooding rates and holdup data were obtained for sieve plate pulse columns under 5% TBP - l.8 Mi Al(NO/sub 3/)/sub 3/ flowsheet conditions. A Purex waste calcination run (R-37) was made using sodium anid imagnesium to reduce sulfate volatility. (auth)

Progress in solid state physics is reported on the following topics: theory, metals and alloys, nonmetals, reactor materials, and special projects. Twenty-one separate abstracts were prepared. (M.C.G.)

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The effects of certain pulse-shaping networks on the signal-to-noise ratio of a nuclear pulse amplifier were considered. The shaping networks discussed are: equal RC-integrating and RC-differentiating time constant, single- delay-line clipper and RC integrator, and doubledelay-line clipper and RC integrator. The effects of these networks on the signal, when high count rates and overload pulses are present, were also considered. Equations and curves were developed for the energy resolution (signal-tonoise ratio) and resolving time (related to the ability to operate at high counting rates) of the networks. Experimental results are shown for the energy resolution of the types of pulse- shaping networks considered. (auth)

An analysis has been performed to determine the heat transfer characteristics for laminar forced-convection flow in a concentric annulus with prescribed surface temperatures. Three distinct problems were considered: (a) wall temperature prescribed at both the inside and outside wall; (b) inside wall temperature prescribed and the outside wall insulated; and (c) inside wall insulated and outside wall temperature prescribed. The solution for temperature distribution was similar to that obtained by Graetz for laminar heat convection in a pipe with uniform wall temperature. Expressions are presented for heat flux, mixing cup temperature, and Nusselt number as a function of downstream position. Eigenvalues and eigenfunctions were computed for values of the ratio of the inside to the outside radii for the boundary conditions. Mixing cup temperatures, local and fully developed Nusselt numbers, and thermal entry lengths are presented graphically. The solution of Problem (a) was extended to the situation in which the temperatures of the inside and outside walls of the annulus are not equal. By utilizing the method of superposition and the solutions already obtained for Problem (a), the temperature distributions were determined. By way of illustration, heat fluxes were calculated for several values of the temperature ratio (T/sub wi/-T/sub 0/)/(T …

Ring-joint flanges were studied in thermal-cycle tests as part of the development work associated with Homogeneous Reactor Experiment No. 2 (HRE-2). The purpose of this study was to provide criteria for design, installation, and operation of joints that would remain leaktight under reactor operating temperatures and pressures. Joints ranging from 1/2 in., l500 lb to 4 in., 2500 lb and with various initial bolt loadings were cycled between room temperature and 636 deg F. It was demonstrated that when joints were made up to HRE-2 standards and specifications, leak rates of less than 0.25 x 10/sup -3/ g of water per day per inch of gasket pitch diameter could be routinely- attained. Undamaged gaskets could be reinstalled or new gaskets used with equal probability of achieving acceptable leak rates. The system installed in HRE-2 was provided with a high-pressure buffer system to ensure that the small amount of leakage to the cell would be nonradioactive. (auth)

The summary includes descriptions of serious accidents for l959 and 1960, AEC industrial injury frequency rates, criticality accidents, radiation exposures, accidents involving radioactive materials in AEC activities during 1959 and 1960, and accidents involving fatalities in AEC activities during l959 and 1960. (B.O.G.)

A shearing tool was developed for remotely controlled severing of pipes or structural members. The shear is rotated about its axis in a wrist motion by the pumped hydraulic fluid that also powers the shear blade. It can be used in a stationary mounting or suspended from a crane. A C-shaped support for the shear was designed to pass through a small top opening of a shielded cell. The controls for manipulating the shear pass through or along the Cframe. The shear jaw opens to 5 in. in height and 7 in. in width, and the total weight of the tool is only 575 lb. It was used to cut metal sections 4 3/4 in. thick and 4-in. sched.-40 stainless steel pipe. (auth)

It is suggested that applying heat directly to a rain cloud, or to a ndoist air mass with rain potential, may alter the natural precipitation in a given geographical region. The immediate effect of the heat is to increase the buoyancy of the cloud or air parcel. The result, which depends on a number of interrelated factors may be either to cause precipitation where it would not naturally occur, or to suppress precipitation where it would naturally occur. Several possible applications are suggested. Since the heat supplied is supplemented by the latent heat resulting from condensation in the moist air mass, the results may more than justify the cost. However, substantial amounts of heat are involved. The heat can be supplied from fossil fuels, nuclear reactions, or a combination of both; but the logistics favor the use of large nuclear reactors wherever safety criteria can be met. Not only the efficiency and economics of the process, but also its feasibility, can be finally decided only on the basis of information that is not now available. (auth)

A titanium pump loop, designed to circulate aqueous solutions at temperatures and pressures up to 370 deg C and 3000 psia, was constructed. It is to be used to study the chemical stability of uranyl sulfate fuel solutions of interest to the Fluid Fuels Reactor Program. The total loop voluime was minimized so that about 2 liters uf solution was sufficient for loop operation. The equipment includes a sampling system to remove solution samples from the loop while operating at elevated temperature and pressure; a hydroclone to separate and remove any solids and/or heavyphase material formed; and provisions for installation of corrosion test specimens in the main loop stream. All equipment performed satisfactorily at design conditions in tests with water. (auth)