This report follows an investigation made to determine creep-rupture data for three sheet materials. Fourteen of sixteen tests were made in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide within hermetically sealed capsules, analyzing the reaction of the three sheet metals: 347 stainless steel, iron-aluminum-chromium alloy designated 261C, and a zirconium-base alloy, AE1H. Minimum creep rate, per cent elongation, and rupture life were determined and reported.

"A survey of the current theoretical picture of plasma containment in cusped magnetic configurations is presented together with a mention of the points of contact which exist or might soon be made to exist with experiment. A theory of containment was developed which is applicable to the whole range of plasma densities from a tenuous plasma in an essentially vacuum magnetic field to a fully developed plasma which completely excludes the magnetic field from its interior. Also presented are cursory accounts of the situation with regard to stability, cyclotron radiation, and methods of creating this type of plasma configuration."

Pulse-amplitude discriminators are useful in nuclear counting to separate signals of greater amplitude from a background of unwanted or noise signals of lesser amplitude. As used here, the term "fast" implies circuits capable of responding to pulses between a nanosecond and a microsecond in duration. An ideal discriminator would produce for any incoming signal whose amplitude is greater than a threshold bias level, an output pulse of constant amplitude, duration, and delay with respect to the input signal, regardless of the incoming duration and rate; and for signals less than the threshold, zero output.

Abstract: This technical report describes the changes incurred in the SM-1 by the insertion of the SM-1 Core II and special components. The special components consist of impact specimens, a boron gradient rod, SM-2 elements, a PM-1-M element, and high burnup SM-1 Core I elements. The change in hazards, due to operation of SM-1 with Core II and the special components is evaluated. The analysis indicates there is no change in hazards.

Abstract; This technical report describes the changes in the SM-1 incurred by the experiment, Core Temperature and Flow Instrumentation (Task XIV), and evaluates the possible hazard involved in these changes. Temperature and flow measurements will be taken on a Task XIV instrumented stationary fuel element, instrumented control rod fuel element and other selected points in the SM-1 core to provide data on the core steady state and transient performance. The hazards evaluation consists of a nuclear evaluation, thermal and hydraulic analysis, description of tests to be performed, and discussion of containment integrity and maximum accident considerations.

"Design and fabrication techniques were improved so that the large area image intensifier now performs well in image intensifier systems for photographing nuclear tracks. Two successful samples meeting most of the objectives were completed and started in circulation among members of the AEC Image Intensifier Committee for evaluation in systems to record nuclear tracks. Except for a reported long decay in the P-15 phosphor performance was quite good. Resolution, gain, and background requirements were met. Magnification was still high (1/6.5 compared to a design objective of 1/8) but can be lowered to 1/8 by a straightforward mechanical change. Evaporated layers of thallium activated rubidium and cesium iodide were improved and further evaluated. Improved control of color and persistence was obtained. Efficiency as high as 1/3 that of P-11 phosphor was obtained in some samples. The current test series confirmed earlier results that an increase in cesium iodide content shifts the emission spectrum towards the yellow. Burn-resistance and light output was poorer for the cesium enriched phosphors while decay time was decreased.

"The purposes of the program being conducted under the present contract are: 1) To determine the feasibility of cladding zirconium on uranium by a direct casting process. 2) To investigate the diffusion of liquid metals in the fusion zone."

The intent of this work was to explore more fully the pressing of sinterable UO2 powders into cylindrical compacts in the hope that a more precise prediction of green density in terms of powder properties, pressure, and geometry could be evolved.

Experiments were carried out to determine the erosion, oxidation and dimensional characteristics of purposely defected fuel elements containing unsintered UO2 powder prepared by the swaging technique. The experiments were conducted in an out-of-reactor loop under superheat conditions of pressure, temperature, flow velocity and steam chemical composition.

This is the third quarterly report that documents a system of mass flow that can record measurements of homogeneous flow, slurries, highly corrosive fluids and multiphase fluids, additionally considering pressure drops, measuring external to the flow, ruggedness and reliability.

From Introduction: "An improved high-temperature gage was needed, and in an attempt to fill this need an investigation was initiated in February 1954 in the Enameled Metals Laboratory at the National Bureau of Standards. The present Monograph constitutes a final summary on this program."

"The correction to photon-photon scattering processes due to the existence of the particles other than electrons is reported. The correction is of the same order in the electric charge as the lowest order term in the perturbation expansion in quantum electrodynamics, although the relevant corrections to the electron-photon and electron-electron scattering are all of higher order."

"Adlam and Allen and Davis, Lust, and Schluter have studied nonlinear plane-waves, propagating normal to the magnetic field, in a cold plasma. One solution of particular interest is a solitary wave, or single pulse. We present a method for solving the analogous problem for a plasma with finite temperature, in the limiting case where the amplitude of the wave is small and where, consequently, the width of the waver is very large."

Both in magnetohydrodynamic shocks and in accelerated partially ionized gas flow across a magnetic field, space charge separation occurs that establishes very large electric fields in the direction of motion. The width of the current layers associated with the acceleration is never less than the electron Larmor radius with no collisions and is broadened by electron collisions to a width solely determined by the effective resistivity. The electrons gain an energy regardless of collisions equal to the electric potential difference across the layer. This potential corresponds to the change in kinetic energy of mass motion per ion. For slightly ionized gases, the additional stress of neutral ion collisions within the layer can make the electric potential and hence gain in electron energy very large for only modest changes in mass velocity. Hence ionization may occur when the change in kinetic energy of the ions is small compared to the ionization potential.

Report regarding experiments made to determine the fallout-radiation protection offered by a "single-story stucco and frame house with a heavy shake roof and no basement," (p. 5) which is noted as being popular in the southwestern United States.

Writing the VARI-II Program was motivated by the need for a method of analyzing the results for the Absorber Burn-Up Experiment in progress at the Vallecitos Atomic Laboratory.

Design analysis of the SM-2 core and vessel from work performed during 21 months.

SM-2 core and vessel design analysis.

SM-2 core and vessel design analysis.

Studies are being made on the recovery of thorium (and uranium) from granitic rock, since this source represents a very large potential thorium reserve for the nuclear power industry. In preliminary leaching studies on 16 granite samples (containing 8-95 ppm thorium and 1.5-16 ppm uranium), maximum recoveries of thorium and uranium ranged 30-85% and 15-65% respectively, and sulfuric acid consumption was high (30-120 lbs H2SO4 per ton of granite). A relatively high acidity was needed to obtain rapid and efficient dissolution of the soluble thorium fraction. The cost of treating granite was estimated at $3.50-5.20 per ton, variations within this range being dependent primarily on differences in acid consumption for different granites. Estimated costs per pound of thorium plus uranium recovered ranged $30-500.

"The canonical (hamiltonlan) formulation of a relativistic dynamical theory is outlined, and the existence and explicit construction of general hamiltonian theories of relativiatic interacting particles are discussed. These hamiltonian theories are shown to contain certain elements of arbitrariness which are eliminated in manifestly coveriant formulations."

Report regarding an airborne gamma-radioactivity survey that took place over a 9,000 square mile area in south-central Washington and north-central Oregon. Topics include the types of bedrock noted in the area as well as their levels of radioactivity.

Report regarding an airborne radioactivity survey that took place over a 10,000 square mile area around the Oak Ridge National Laboratory near Knoxville, Tennesse. Topics include the types of bedrock noted in the area as well as their levels of radioactivity.

"The energy method is applied to study the stability of two types of difference approximations to parabolic partial differential equations, the alternating direction methods Douglas, Peaceman, and Rachford, and a new semi- explicit method. Each difference scheme is proved to be unconditionally stable. These results apply to parabolic equations with variable coefficients, defined in cylindrical domains with an essentially arbitrary bounded base."