This document will be concerned with the design, operation and maintenance of an automatic fuel element stamping machine. In order to take advantage of automatic unloading and length checking at the Acme-Gridley lathes in the 313 Building, automatic stamping of fuel elements is desirable. This, along with the need for a permanent canning line identification, resulted in a request for a machine to automatically stamp HAPO fuel elements on a production basis.

From abstract: This report presents information generated during a six month feasibility study of an engine which uses a supercritical working fluid as the secondary portion of nuclear powered electric generating system.

Report presenting a survey and discussion of well-known microwave impedance measurement techniques. The discussion includes an introduction which emphasizes basic concepts and reflection coefficient-voltage standing-wave ratio relationships. Sources of error in the various measurement techniques are discussed and methods to reduce errors are presented. Methods using rotating loops and resonance lines are included and a brief discussion of microwave impedance standards is given.

On 3/14/60 the Applied Physics Corporation was awarded a subcontract for the design and development of a high-temperature high-pressure spectrophotometer system based on the Cary Model 14pm Spectrophotometer insofar as possible, and consistent with our specifications, No. CTD-2, December 16, 1959.

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.

The spectra of KHF2, KH2F3, NaH2F3, liquid and solid HF were measured between 1200 and 30 cm-1 by the inelastic scattering of "cold neutrons" (0.005e.v.). The spectrum of KHF2 is in agreement with previous infrared measurements and shows a peak at 147 mV corresponding to a deformation frequency v2 of the F-H-F group and a broad peak at 13 mV due to a libration of this group. The observed spectra for KH2F3, NaH2F3 solid and liquid HF were compared with that for KHF2 considering the known results that the F-F distance increases, the position of the H atom between the two fluorines becomes more asymmetrical, and the strength of the hydrogen bond decreases in going from the HF2- ion to H2F3- ion to HF. In this comparison the known structure of the H2F3- ion is considered as being intermediate between that of HF2- and the zig-zag hydrogen bonded chains in solid HF. As a result, the lines observed at 112 mV and 67 mV in the H2F3- spectra and in HF respectively are associated with the deformation frequency v2 of the H-F-H group in these compounds. In addition the spectra of H2F3- ions show a peak at a 15 mV …

A reinforced Butler building was exposed to fallout from Shots Diablo and Shasta, and the resulting dose rates and fallout deposition inside and outside the structure were measured with various instruments and techniques. Protection factors and roof and ground contributions to the total dose rates at points within the structure were determined from the measurements. Comparisons were made with the results of theoretical and other experimental studies. Information obtained from this experiment should be of value as basic experimental data for fallout protection work, although it is recommended that additional substantive data obtained under more controlled conditions.

Studies carried on since 1956 indicate that the prosaic breeding procedure of sibbing among the most perennial segregates in the hybrid of 4n maize x 4n perennial teosinte quickly restores perennialism to 50% maize tetraploids through increasing the expression of the rhizomatous habit under selection pressure. Similarly, only two generations of selection at the 75% maize level have resulted in a progressive recovery of the perennial expressive. A high degree of maize-likeness therefore appears to be compatible with the perennial expression at the 4n level.

In the Communications of the ACM of April, 1960, p. 240, there appeared two Algol algorithms for the computation of In, the modified Bessel function of the first kind. One of these algorithms uses a convergent series and the other an asymptotic series. Their author, Dorothea S. Clarke, did not give any information with regard to which algorithm is more appropriate in a given situation (a given situation meaning the computation of In (x) for a definite pair of numbers n and x). Such information is necessary, however, if the algorithms are to be useful, particularly since the asymptotic series is in many cases not valid.

From abstract: Seismic waves resulting from a 5 kiloton nuclear detonation 1200 feet deep in a salt bed near Carlsbad, New Mexico were measured by strong-motion seismographs operated by the Coast and Geodetic Survey on the surface in the distance range from 0.5 to 8.8 miles and underground in a potash mine 8.7 to 11.2 miles distant.

Formulas derived from earlier work satisfactorily predicted low frequency ground effects resulting from the Pre-Gnome explosions, but they not predict high accelerations associated with high frequency ground waves. The Pre-Gnome experiments taken since indicated that accelerations and ground amplitudes are proportional to the explosive charge, but physical conditions limit extrapolation on this basis to relatively low yields. Predicted accelerations resulting from the 10 kt Gnome explosion in potash mines eight or more miles away will be somewhat less than from routine blasts in the mines. The compressional wave speed in the salt stratum of the area is about 14,000 feet per second.

From abstract: "The preparation of pure molybdenum(IV) bromide was accomplished conveniently by the reaction between molybdenum(III) bromide and liquid bromine at ca. 55°. Molybdenum(IV) bromide was found to be soluble in liquid bromine, and this property was utilized to separate and purify the molybdenum(IV) bromide. The solution of MoBr4 in bromine was a poor electrical conductor. No evidence was found for the formation of MoBr4 from MoBr3 and bromine vapor at 2-4 atm. and temperatures from 180 to 400°. However, MoBr4 was completely decomposed at 110-130°, in vacuo, with formation of MoBr3 and bromine."

Critical mass experiments to be conducted at HAPO will require dilute and concentrated plutonium solutions. Since very high plutonium concentrations (~2,000 g/l) cannot be attained in pumpable solutions, solid plutonium compounds will be utilized for this phase of the work. Mixtures of plutonium oxide and polyethylene, methyl methacrylate or paraffin compacted in containers have been considers for use in highly-concentrated plutonium systems of known hydrogen to plutonium atomic ratio (H/Pu).

Antiproton-production and nucleon-interaction cross sections were investigated for antiprotons in the energy range 0.5 to 1.0 Bev. The antiprotons were distinguished from other particles produced at the Bevatron by a system of scintillation- and velocity-selecting Cerenkov counters. The excitation function and momentum distribution were recorded for antiproton production in carbon and compared with statistical model expectations.

A code (RAPTURE) was programmed for the Philco TRANSAC 2000 computer to perform calculations needed for the evaluation of Doppler Coefficients in fast reactors with degraded neuron spectra. This code computes resonance integrals, averages them over resonance parameter distributions, and computes fission and capture cross sections as a function of fuel temperature and of potential scattering cross section per absorber isotope.

Organic compounds with high boiling points and low corrosion qualities have been considered for use as reactor coolants and moderators. Those being considered, however, have a greater tendency to leak than does water. A program to evaluate mechanical closures to be used for a leak-tight system for organic fluids has been established. Report HW-59446 covered descriptions of the facility used in this study and the primary results of tests covering two liquids, fittings, and instrumentation. This report will cover final results and other pertinent information.

Report containing experiments conducted at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Critical Experiments Facility. These experiments involved "determining the critical parameters of the assembly with varying amounts of neutron absorber in the D20 reflector, measuring the relative neutron flux distribution for various conditions of reflector poison and fissile solution concentration, determining the ratio of the absolute thermal-neutron flux in the center of the assembly to the power in the fissile solution , and determining the effect on reactivity of reducing the hydrogen density in the central region of the assembly" (p. 1).

From foreword: The primary purpose of this document is to set forth the current status of the 630A Nuclear Steam Generator, under development for the U.S. AEC.

In the Plowshare Program many calculations of the effects of underground explosions are made. Usually these are done on high-speed digital computers. The effects are calculated for ranges up to hundreds of meters from the explosion; at these ranges pressures become less than one kilobar. In order to make these calculations, information about the properties of the materials involved is required. Benedick [13] has developed a low-pressure, plane-wave lens using nitroguanidine. It was decided to use a similar lens in the Plowshare Program. A number of lenses were built using Benedick's technique. This report is of a study of simultaneity and pressure uniformity of these lenses, with some attempts at development of a reflection pressure vs particle velocity curve for them.

Initiation of reactions by intermittent irradiation is frequently encountered in physical, chemical, and biological systems. Mathematical expressions for transient and steady state concentrations of reactive species in these systems are useful for predicting performance and for research purposes. A general method of formulation of the intermittent irradiation problem is presented herein, and illustrative solutions are obtained for radioactive decay chains and for the rotating sector method.

From Introduction: "The recent acceptance by physicists and chemists of new values for the fundamental constants and the continued demand for expanded and convenient tables prompted the recomputation and preparation of this volume. The authors have tried to incorporate this work a number of the more desirable features of the above-cited works, particularly with respect to their use in calculations involving: Thermodynamic properties of gases; specific heats, electrical and thermal conductivity of solids; and molecular structure and spectroscopy of diatomic and polyatomic molecules. It is the hope of the authors that formal character of this publication will insure a more adequate notice and dissemination than was accorded the earlier works, thereaby reducing the probability of still further duplication of effort."

"Theoretical calculations have been carried our for the two ordering phases which occur in the FeAl system. The statistical treatment involves first and second neighbor interaction parameters as well as a magnetic interaction between first neighbor iron atoms. The phase diagram and the amount and type of long range order for slowly cooled alloys are calculated. Further calculations include short range order for the disordered phase at three compositions and two temperatures. As expected, the short range order increases as a critical temperature is approached either in composition of in temperature."

"Short-range order coefficients were measured at 300 and 400°C for iron-aluminum alloys containing 14.8, 18.2, and 20.0 atomic per cent aluminum. These alloys exhibited a strong preference for unlike near neighbors. The short-range order was greater at the lower temperature and increased as the Fe 3Al composition was approached."

Abstract: This technical report summarizes the results of research and development tasks performed during Phase I of this contract and presents recommendations for future development work. Work is reported in the areas of plant assembly and relocation, housings and footings, waste heat dissipation, instrumentation, refueling systems, waste disposal, shielding, core nuclear thermal and hydraulic studies, gaseous waste processing (BWR), and critical experiments on a 5 x 5 array of Type 3 fuel elements.