The following report is a quarterly report conducted by the Monsanto Chemical Company for liquid waste disposal research, covering the period April through June, 1950. This report discusses experiments that were carried out with both neutralized second-cycle wastes and pure isotope which show that, in general, the presence of fluoride ion does not interfere with the removal of fission products from waste solutions.

Technical report investigating the distribution of rare earth elements between a liquid bismuth-uranium solution and fused KCI-LiCi mixtures. Report warrants further research on the liquid bismuth-uranium-fused salt system due to the benefit of continuous fission removal processes.

Abstract: The data obtained from the radioassay of fish collected in vicinity of the Hanford Works between April, 1948 and June, 1950 are presented. Most of the radioactivity in the fish resulted from the concentration of p32 in the scales, bone, and certain visceral organs. The level of activity density in the fish was influenced by size, feeding habits and metabolic rate in addition to the activity density of the water. Changes in operation of nuclear reactors have resulted in progressive increases in activity densities of fish from one year to the next. The levels of radioactivity are not sufficiently high to be hazardous to either the fish or persons eating them.

From Introduction: "In the present paper, which supplements reference 1, V-g records obtained from F8F-2 airplanes in 1949 are analyzed statistically to determine the frequency of experiencing large values of normal load factor and airspeed. These results are compared with the results from the F8F-1 airplane."

Abstract: "The possibility of fabricating a lightweight control rod from one of several high cross-section materials was investigated. The major effort was directed toward the development of a titanium-clad rod containing a composite core of 25 weight per cent Gd2O3 in a matrix of titanium. Experimentation on both subscale and full-scale control-rod cores showed that the fabricating behavior of the two was not analogous. To roll the full-scale core successfully, it was necessary to lower the oxide content to 17 weight per cent. Subscale investigations were also carried out on titanium-cadmium, titanium-lanthanum, and titanium-gadolinium alloys."

Report presenting free-flight tests made with four fin-stabilized bodies of fineness ratio 8.91 to determine the effect of body cross-sectional shape on body drag at a range of Mach and Reynolds numbers. Results regarding the curve of drag coefficients, drag on the nose and body, and body pressure drag are provided.

"For a central station reactor power plant of the sodium-graphite type, two designs have been investigated. The first operates as a converter using slightly enriched uranium fuel and produces 150 electrical megawatts. The second operates as a thermal breeder using a U233-Th alloy fuel and produces 300 electrical megawatts. Consideration has also been given to the problem associated with the design and operation of the Sodium Reactor Experiment. All work related to the plutonium plus power sodium-graphite pilot plant, which was undertaken at an earlier date, has been completed."

Concurrently with the production of canned uranium slugs for pile operation there arises the problem of nondestructive testing so that no slug which may fail structurally during operation be placed in the pile. The ultimate goal of any such testing program is to devise nondestructive testing methods which will eliminate defective slugs. A secondary goal of the testing program is to learn as much as possible about the construction of the canned slug so that the mechanisms of failure can be understood. Radiography, an increasingly useful nondestructive test method, offered one possible way of investigating this area.

Fillerwelding is a fusion welding process that provides for the automatic addition of controlled amounts of fillerwire during inert-gas-shielded tungsten-arc welding. Fillerwelding aluminum jacketed fuel elements has been successfully demonstrated and is being used on a routine basis. This manual was written to provide the necessary information to operate and maintain the fillerweld equipment.

A design study has been made of a graphite superheating reactor, a graphite moderated reactor with a heat rating of 305 Mw which produces superheated steam. It is designed for the production of plutonium and electrical power or for the production of electrical power only. The fuel elements for dual- purpose operation are U metal, while for single purpose action, they are uranium oxide. The fuel elements are cooled by a 7-pass system in which preheated water enters the bottom of the first pass and is discharged as superheated steam at the top of the seventh pass. The reactor control consists of shim control by the gas system, vertical gas-cooled control rods, vertical safety rods, and a ball safety system. Rough cost estimates indicate that the capital cost of the reactor should be comparable to other reactors of similar heat output.

Three groups of balloon flights carrying unshielded boron trifluoride counters were made from geomagnetic latitudes 10.1°N, 55.1°N, and 88.6°N. From the data obtained, curves of slow-neutron intensity versus atmospheric depth for depths less than 700 millibars are plotted. The mean absorption lengths for neutrons in the equilibrium portion of the atmosphere were found to be [formula]. The depths of the neutron intensity maxima were found to be [formula]. From these results and those of other investigators, the variation of the mean absorption coefficient and the depth of the neutron intensity maximum are plotted as functions of the geomagnetic latitude. A family of curves of neutron intensity versus atmospheric depth is drawn for geomagnetic latitudes at 10-degree intervals between 0° and 90°N, and from this the low-energy neutron capture per square centimeter per second by the N14(n,p) reaction in the atmosphere is calculated and plotted as a function of geomagnetic latitude. It is found that the observed neutron intensity varies by about 420% from 0° to 90°N. A value of 5.8×10(18) sec-1 is obtained for the total number of low-energy neutrons captured in the atmosphere.

Abstract: "By a simple illustration it is pointed out that, conceivably, the real coupled character of the general magnetohydrodynamic equations may lead to much slower instability growth rates, if not stabilization, than predicted from the linearized set of equations."

A report discussing an airborne radiometric survey of the Lone Pine, California project.

Contemplated higher tube power for future reactor operation will probably require a fuel element jacketing material more corrosion resistant than presently available aluminum alloys. Zirconium and its alloys are generally regarded as the most promising jacketing candidates for high temperature operation, particularly for exposures of long duration. In order to obtain assembly, welding, and corrosion data, twenty Al-Si bonded and twenty unbonded Zircaloy fuel elements were prepared for KER loop testing. This report describes the technique developed to weld Zircaloy jacketed fuel elements and presents the results of end closure corrosion testing and metallographic examination.

"Expressions are found to relate DELTA gamma to the n-errors.'' It is demonstrated that the integral n-value concept'' is of no use in the present case. A modification of integrated n-value'' is suggested."

Report presenting a collection of gamma spectra containing samples of the response of NaI(TI) scintillation detectors to a large number of the more frequently encountered radioactive nuclides.

"In the course of a short flight program initiated to check the theory of Garrick and Watkins (NACA rep. 1198), a series of measurements at three stations were made of the oscillating pressures near a tapered-blade plan-form propeller and rectangular-blade plan form propeller at flight Mach numbers up to 0.72. In contradiction to the results for the propeller studied in NACA rep. 1198, the oscillating pressures in the plane ahead of the propeller were found to be higher than those immediately behind the propeller. Factors such as variation in torque and thrust distribution, since the blades of the present investigation were operating above their design forward speed, may account for this contradiction" (p. 999).

From major objective: The over-all aim of the study has been to obtain a thorough geologic picture of the Chattanooga shale in the area under consideration, with emphasis upon stratigraphic relationships and associated special problems from which, in turn, implications may be obtained as to the origin and age of the formation and possibly the source of the uranium. The study has not been aimed primarily at exploration for uranium and its economic aspects.

In recent months, relatively large quantities of neptunium-237 have been recovered from Hanford irradiated uranium. The over-all recovery process consisted of 1) isolation from Purex plant solutions by solvent extraction, to yield an impure neptunium nitrate solution contaminated principally with uranium, plutonium, and fission products (2) purification by anion exchange 3) precipitation of neptunium (IV) oxalate; and 4) calcination of the oxalate to yield neptunium (IV) oxide, NpO2. This paper describes the oxalate precipitation process investigations and results.