Considerable work has been done on decontamination procedures for both corrosion products and fission products. Testing of promising procedures under typical rupture conditions is an important phase of this work. The Irradiated Rupture Prototype (IRP) has been used since August in this evaluation work. This document is one of a series reporting these data.

Abstract: This technical report is concerned with the program and results of the SM-1 reactor vessel head removal and core inspection at Fort Belvoir, Virginia from the period March 7, 1969 to May 17, 1959. It covers the operating procedures in detail and records the conditions found and problems encountered in order to make a record for reference in future work of this nature. The major objective of the program, to obtain irradiation data on the SM-1 type core, has been met. The boron control rod elements were found unsatisfactory for full core life, and europium oxide elements were placed in the core for future irradiation stability data. A major problem was experienced with the cracked pressure vessel head studs. The methods developed for the removal of the broken studs are presented. The complete metallurgical study of the stud failure from stress corrosion is included as Appendix B.

A part of the development activities of the Process Equipment Development Group, Chemical Development, HLO through the year 1959 has consisted of test evaluation of some of the never products of manufacturers, design and refinement of novel units to do certain specialized jobs and development of improved components for existing plant equipment. Modification of present chemical processing methods and investigation of new basic procedures have made it necessary to utilize different and "exotic" materials, titanium, has given rise to another problem-- that of the selection of adequate and compatible bearings where the titanium is used as moving or rotating part.

In October 1959, a combination testing station developed at HAPO was reported to the Sheath committee. This testing station consisted of electronic instrumentation and mechanical scanning equipment to check coextruded fuel elements (rod and tube) for clad thickness, clad integrity, bond, and core integrity. The clad tests are performed by eddy current methods and the other are ultrasonic.

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.

Abstract. The Equivalence Theorem of P. Lax is extended to difference schemes for initial-value problems for linear inhomogeneous PDE with linear inhomogeneous boundary values and for boundary-value problems.

Release of fission products from UO2 with emphasis on fuel elements operated at higher surface temperatures and lower external pressures than those for pressurized-water systems.

An investigation is made to determine the adequacy of presently used analog circuits in solving dynamic fluid flow heat transfer equations. A mathematical analysis is made of dynamic heat transfer in pipes with zero losses, with losses proportional to pip temperature, and with heat inputs. The results of this analysis are compared with analog results by means of generalized temperature versus time graphs. The analog circuit is found to be adequate for most conditions, but sometimes requires modification when heat inputs are considered.

Methods for the noncorrosive removal of volatile fission products and UO2 dust from carbon steel and stainless steel have been developed. Procedures for applying these methods to the decontamination of the EGCR charge and service machines are described.

A conductometric titration method described by Goldstein was adapted for use in a remote analytical facility. The results obtained by mean of experiments made prior to this adaptation indicated that methanol is the most satisfactory medium in which to determine excess sulfuric acid in uranyl sulfate solutions that stimulate Homogeneous Reactor type fuel. When methanol is used, the complexation of hydrolyzable ions with sodium fluoride, as described by Pepkowitz, Sabol, and Dustin, is not required.

EXPIRE is a calculation which predicts the reactivity-lifetime, instantaneous and integrated effective multiplication constants and instantaneous and integrated effective multiplication constants and instantaneous conversion ratio for heterogeneous reactors. The concentration of all the isotopes of interest from Th232 to Am243 are calculated as a function of time using the average reactor power density and a uniform flux distribution. The equations have been programmed for the IBM-704 computer and the average running time is approximately two minutes per reactor lifetime.

Multigroup one-dimensional calculations were done recently to obtain estimates of critical masses, power density distributions and fissioning spectra for some homogeneous molten salt reactors having outer reflectors and central "islands," placed inside the currently proposed MSRE vessel. For a 5-inch-thick outer reflector and 1-ft-diamter island, both beryllium, the calculated critical mass is 108 kg; 40 percent of the fissions occur at thermal, and the maximum power density of 3.9 times the core mean power density occurs at the island-salt interface. If the reflector thickness is increased to 10 inches, the critical mass is reduced to 34 kg; 67 percent of the fissions occur at thermal, and the peak power density of twice the core mean again occurs at the core island-salt interface.

The absorption in lead of Bremsstrahlung X radiation from a Sr^90 TiO3 pellet in the proximity of Hastelloy "C" was measured. The tenth value layer of the more energetic components of the X-ray continuum was determined to be 1.60 inches.

This paper reports the chemical and physical properties of the NTA film packet. It correlates with these properties the response of this packet to neutrons of various energies. In this correlation the concept of the track unit is introduced as a basic unit for reporting film-packet response.

From Introduction: "The present semiannual progress report introduces more active consideration than has been given in the past (by us, at least) to the importance of energy degradation in DCX-like devices. The following pages introduce also a new major apparatus designated as DCX-2. Some of these concepts cannot as yet be released publicly and therefore Chap. 3 of this report, covering the DCX-EP-B design, is being issued separately, with restricted distribution, as ORNL-3044."

Oscillations have been observed in a magnetically supported cylindrical rod of plasma. This rod of plasma can be the discharge occurring in the defining aperture of a Mode II, pressure gradient arc. Similar oscillations can also occur in the column of a Mode I arc. These oscillations appear to be the mechanism that drives the Mode II blowup phenomena.

The General Electric Company is proceeding with an irradiation program to proof test a representative array of Savannah I fuel rods. Irradiation of a test assembly containing Savannah I fuel rods has begun and it is proposed that the results of this irradiation will permit an advance evaluation of the fuel performance and fuel burnup in the Savannah I reactor. This report covers the first two quarters of the reporting period. All aspects of the subject program have been consolidated and applicable portions are discussed in some detail.

Preliminary results from experiments on the dissolution of beryllium metal and sintered UO2-BeO fuel pellets are reported. In all cases the pellets were fired in hydrogen at 1650-1800°C. Uranium, from UO2-BeO pellets containing more than 60% UO2, is readily leached with boiling 6-13 M HNO3 in about 6 hr. The BeO in these pellets dissolves only slowly in nitric acid; however, in 8 M HNO3-0.2M NaF, it dissolves at about the same rate as the UO2. Sintered pellets containing less than 10% UO2 do not dissolve rapidly in common aqueous reagents. The highest rates are obtained in boiling acidic fluoride solutions; e.g., sintered BeO and BeO-8% UO2 are dissolved initially at a rate of about 1.7 mg min-1cm-2 (13 mils/hr) in boiling 5.8 M NH4HF2.

Technical report describing and evaluating the the three experimental methods for obtaining equation of state data at low temperatures; (1) approximate measurement of the PVT relationship by a piston-displacement technique, (2) the measurement of a heat capacity at constant volume as a function of molar volume and temperature, and (3) direct measurement of the pressure variation of the elastic constants using ultrasonic techniques. X-ray methods also might be applicable.

From abstract: "The formation constants of the RChOH- species, formed by interaction of individual rare-earth nitrilotriacetate species and KOH at 25°C and an ionic strength of 0.1, have been determined by the potentiometric method, i.e., computed from the pH values of equilibrium mixtures containing varying proportions of rare-earth complex and base. The relationship of these constants to the ion-exchange separation of rare earths at high pH has been discussed."

Abstract: This technical report covers development of an AG-Cd-In alternate absorber section for Army Type SM reactors. It describes the absorber material composition and the geometric configuration. It gives the nuclear and thermal analyses supporting this configuration and a detailed description of the manufacturing practice employed in fabricating the final design component.

From Introduction: "One part of this study, which is presented in this Monograph, consists of an analysis of electric energy usage and electric power demand data obtained from a sample group of occupied houses at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, equipped with heat pumps, water heaters, cooking ranges, clothes dryers, and miscellaneous appliances all operated by electricity."

The following report is part of a series of quarterly reports discussing investigations on the development of zirconium-base alloys having corrosion resistance and strength superior to Zircaloy-2 and/or development of materials of equivalent corrosion resistance by exhibiting enhanced strength. This report covers the period between May 29 and June 18 of 1958, made by the United States and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM).

Technical report. From Abstract : "Accurate measurements on boiling points and surface tensions of mixtures of benzyl acetate with dioxan, aniline and meta-cresol over the entire range of concentration are reported. The results have been analysed in terms of quasi-crystalline model which is partially successful in representing the composition dependence of heats of mixing, boiling points and surface tension except for composition dependence of boiling points of benzyl acetate and meta-cresol."