A report is presented to provide a tool for evaluating the relative economic incentives for changing reactor core parameters. The cost relations are shown in terms of differential cost in lieu of total cost. A total cost for each reactor described is included so that power costs for a specified set of parameters can be obtained. A description is also included concerning 5 reactor types considered along with a discussion of the effects on power costs of varying the significant core parameters. A listing of basic references is given. (J.R.D.)

This document details activities of the Hanford Laboratories Operation during the month of March 1959. (FI)

Possible mechanisms for creep rupture during irradiation are examined. Evidence that the rupture occurs by grain boundary sliding alone, or by vacancy condensation, is compared. It is observed that vacancy condensation is the more probable mechanism, and that this mechanism predicts a reduction in creep rupture life for metals exposed to a fast neutron flux (neglecting effects of radiation annealing). (T.F.H.)

The GCRE-I hazard summary report is supplemented in the following areas: geometry and operation of the steam cooling system, the reactor coolant by-pass, and by-pass valving; the means by which by-passed circuits are prevented from remaining unintentionally disabled; design details, and details of procedure for core flooding operations. (A.C.)

It is deemed feasible to store reactor fuel wastes in a salt dome cavity to a depth where the differential in pressure between the soil over-burden pressure and pressure of the fluid inside the cavity does not exceed 3000 psi, and the temperature is less than 400 deg F. Tests at pressure increments of 1000 psi were conducted on a 2" cylindrical cavity contained in a 6-in. long by 6-in. cylindrical salt core. Tests indicate that the cavity exhibited complete stability under pressures to 3000 psi and temperatures to 300 deg F. At temperatures of 100 to 400 deg F and pressures to 5000 psi continuous deformation of the cavity resulted. Initial movement of the salt was observed at all pressures. This was evidenced by vertical deformation and cavity size reduction. It was noted that a point of structural equilibrium was reached at lower temperatures when the pressure did not exceed 5000 psi. A literature study reveals that the most common type of cavity utilized in liquefied petroleum gas storage is either cylindrical or ellipsoidal. A few are pear or inverted cone shaped. There was no indication of leakage for cavities when pressure tested for as long as 72 hr. …

The phenomenon of the electromagnetic pinch effect is used to accelerate ionized gases for space propulsion. Electrical energy, initially stored in capacitors, is discharged across two nozzle shaped electrodes wherein the radial pinch is converted to axial motion of the effected gases instead of confinement at the axis. The gas dynamics of a pinch using the hydrodynamical model of a msgnetic piston driving a shock wave is combined with the electrodynamics of the circuit to calculate the discharge behavior. Experiments on three different electrode designs are discussed and results compared with calculated values. Results are applied to one particular space propulsion system consisting of a nuclear energy source, a space radiator, a turbine-generator, capacitor, and a pinch tube. The specific mission analyzed is a one-way unmanned flight to a Mars orbit, starting from an Earth orbit. (auth)

Results are reported from a series of experimental highexplosive shots under inversion conditions at the Nevada Test Site which were made in an attempt to refine blast prediction techniques. Applications of the data in determinations of the amount of energy which remains in the blast wave as it reaches acoustic level and in determinations of the magnitude of the reflection factor when the blast wave strikes the ground are discussed. Data on shock wave propagation are presented graphically. It is concluded that the blast phenomenology of high-altitude shots can be predicted by using modified Sach's scaling. With some extrapolation to the height-of-burst versus blast-yield curve, it should be possible to make order-of-magnitude predictions of blast effects from high-altitude shots up to heights of burst of 1,000,000 ft. (C.H.)

An analysis was made of the fission-gas-release incident during the pressure pumpdown of the AE-6 Reactor resulting in the contamination of the reactor room and members of the operating staff. Descriptions are given of the normal core pumping procedures, procedural alterations during the incident, the discovery of the contamination and its possible causes, and the remedial actions taken. Steps taken to minimize the chance of the occurrence of the contamination in the future are listed. (B.O.G.)

The performance of the Hallam Nuclear Power Facility heat transfer components was investigated in order to determine the steady-state, part load characteristics under various operating conditions. The complete steady-state temperature distributions, variations of flow rates and heat transfer coefficients throughout the sodium heat transfer systems as functions of reactor load are shown in a series of graphs. (M.C.G.)

for filtration of plutonium oxalate slurries. A scalpel produces a slit in the filter precoat, leading to increased filtration in this slit, and the oxalate is removed by a doctor knife; this technique results in prolonged blowback cycles and more uniform delivery of filtered oxalate to subsequent processing steps. Several types of filter media were tested, and rigid porous aluminum oxide was found to be the best one. (D.L.C.)

Activities during the period were directed primarily toward determination of the engineering properties of hydrided materials. The tensile strength and elongation, thermal expansion, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity of ZrH were determined as functions of temperature and H content. Preliminary results of Ti-base material studies indicate that these materials can be used for shielding and structural materials with the incorporation of rare earth hydrides. A summary of the work from Oct. l958 to Sept. 1959 is included. (J.R.D.)

The positional tolerance method of dimensioning is described. The emphasis is placed on the elimination of ambiguities and increase in tolerances provided by this method as compared to the older, bilateral method. (auth)

The solubility of aluminum corrosion product in contact with metallic aluminum in deionized water has been determined over the range 80 to 350/sup 0/C. Evidence is presented to show that oxide dissolution results in the formation of a porous oxide on aluminum exposed in refreshed dynamic systems. Dynamic corrosion rate data have been analyzed on the basis of parabolic film growth and a linear oxide degradation process acting simultaneously on the system. The degradation process has been shown to be a function of refreshment rate.

This document contains 3 reports dealing with the delayed effects of radiation on the eyes of survivors of the atomic explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the first study, 1000 persons who were listed as having been in the open and within two kilometers of the hypocenter at the time of the explosion were selected at random from the census files of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission for study. In addition, 231 others, comprising the total available number of surviving persons listed at present in the census files as having been within one kilometer of the hypocenter, were examined, as were several hundred others who were contacted through newspaper publicity, referrals from local ophthalmologists, or through hearsay. The survey resulted in bringing in persons having, or having had, a variety of ocular conditions. Those connected with the atomic bomb included the following diagnoses; multiple injuries of eyes and eyelids; keratoconjunctivitis from ultraviolet and ionizing radiations; thermal burn of the cornea and of the retina; retinitis proliferans; and radiation cataracts. The cataracts were the only delayed manifestations of ocular injury from the atomic bomb. The second paper is a case report of a histopathologic study of atomic bomb radiation cataract. The …

A study to define the effectiveness limits of sulfamic acid and to discover other better stabilizers for Pu(III) is described. Ascorbic and isoascorbic acids, used in conjunction with sulfamic acid reduced Pu(IV) to stable Pu(III) in nitric acid. Aminoguanidine sulfate also retarded the oxidation of Pu(III) but did not reduce Pu(IV). (J.R.D.)

BS>Some of the fundamental relationships in a nuclear rocket engine are discussed. The equations required to calculate the performance of the rocket are presented. The problems associated with these calculations are also pointed out. (auth)

The performance, reliability, stability, and reactivity lifetime variations of the Shippingport PWR are determined under normal steady state conditions. These characteristics are studied over a period of 758 EFPH, at a power level of about 60 Mw(e). Flux-tilt corrections and plant operations during this time are described. (T.F.H.)

In order to decide the value and type of information to be obtained from outer space with regard to its pertinence for the evolution of life, a brief review is presented of the current status of our thinking on the origin of life on earth. This points up the particular kinds of chemicals whose presence, or absence, on other astral bodies might be significant. Heretofore, the only data available are the result of telescopic spectroscopy. We report here information indicating the presence in meteorites of complex organic materials, some of them apparently uniquely pertinent to life processes.

Techniques involving the use of high-intensity short-duration light pulses have been applied t o the study of the kinetics of photoconductivity in films of metal-free phthalocyanine. These experiments, in conjunction with measurements of steady-state photoconductivity, are consistent with the following scheme. The principal route for the formation of charge carriers is via the first excited singlet state, although the lowest triplet state can, t o some extent, contribute to charge - carrier production. The mobility of the carriers is low and is concentration-dependent, being lower at higher carrier concentration. The decay of the photocurrent is the result of a diffusion-limited bimolecular recombination, with a capture radius of approximately one molecular diameter. The experiments indicate that carriers produced thermally in the dark do not interact with light-produced carriers.

In an experimental program recently completed at the 184-inch synchrocyclotron in Berkeley, data were obtained on elastic {pi}{sup +}-p scattering at a laboratory energy of 310 Mev. Quantities measured were the differential cross section, the total cross section, and the polarization of the recoil protons as a function of center-of-mass angle. We have analyzed the data in terms of S, P, and D waves and have obtained only one acceptable solution. The resultant set of phase shifts is of the Fermi type. The D-wave phase shifts are small but definitely needed to obtain an adequate fit to the data. Owing to the relatively high accuracy of the cross-section data and the inclusion of the results of the polarization experiment, the errors on the small phase shifts have been reduced to less than 1{sup 0}. The differential cross-section and polarization data are given in Tables I and II.

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The addition of ortho-chloranil to the surface of films of metal-free phthalocyanine has been found (a) to increase the dark conductivity of such films by as much as 10{sup 7}, (b) to increase the steady-state photoconductivity by as much as 10{sup 5}, and (c) to result in the formation of unpaired electrons whose concentration decreases reversibly as a result of illumination. These systems exhibit a light-induced polarization, the phthalocyanine layer becoming more positive with respect t o the ortho-chloranil layer. Kinetic studies demonstrate that, upon illumination, a single process (time constant = 40 seconds) results in the increase in conductivity, the decrease in unpaired spins, and the increase in polarization. The results are consistent with the following scheme. An electron transfer from phthalocyanine to ortho-chloranil occurs in the dark at room temperature, producing holes in the phthalocyanine layer and ortho-chloranil negative ion radicals (high conductivity, ESR signal). Illumination results in the transfer of an electron from an excited phthalocyanine molecule to the ortho-chloranil negative ion, producing further phthalocyanine holes and ortho-chloranil double-negative ion (increase in conductivity, increase in polarization, decrease in ESR signal). By equating spin concentration with charge - carrier concentration (phthalocyanine holes) it is possible to calculate a …

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A brief survey of decarboxylation reactions and carboxylation reactions that are known or presumed in biological systems will be presented. While a considerable number of amino acid decarboxylations are known, their mechanisms will not be included in the present discussion but will be reserved for a later paper in the symposium. The remaining decarboxylation reactions may be subdivided into oxidative and nonoxidative decarboxylations. In most cases, these reactions are practically irreversible except when coupled with suitable energy-yielding systems. The carboxylation reactions which are useful in the formation of carbon-carbon bonds in biological systems seem to fall into two or three groups: those which exhibit an apparent ATP requirement, and those which exhibit a reduced pyridine nucleotide requirement, and those which exhibit no apparent ATP requirement. Of the first group at least four cases, and possibly six or seven, are known, and one interpretation of them involves the preliminary formation of 'active' carbon dioxide, generally in the form of a carbonic acid-phosphoric acid anhydride. Those exhibiting no apparent ATP requirement seem to be susceptible to classifications as enol carboxylations in which the energy level of the substrate compound is high, rather than that of the carbon dioxide. There appear to be …