Work performed during the quarter is summarized by: direct measurement of fission gas pressure, loop operations, performance of UO2 fuel, UO2 grain growth and melting studies.

Quarterly report discussing progress on the Fast Ceramic Reactor Development Program. Information is reported on vented fuel production, transient testing of fuel, fuel performance evaluation, fast-flux irradiation of fuel, and reactor physics and core analysis.

Summary: Tests with the two-rod assembly were performed with liquid film trippers attached to the unheated wall, and a variation in rod spacing. Experimental data and improved high-speed motion pictures have been obtained of transition boiling behavior. The changes of the local heat transfer process between nucleate and film boiling can be readily distinguished i the motion pictures. Observational test performed with very short fins on the heated surface resulted in essentially eliminating transition boiling temperature fluctuations and doubling the film boiling coefficient. These gains were attained without reduction of the critical heat flux

Development of nuclear reactor cores having high power density, long fuel life, and low fabrication costs is the objective of this program sponsored by the AEC. Five tasks are in progress: (1) Task 1A-High Power Density Fuel Development, (2) Task 1B-Fuel Fabrication Development. Assembly, (3) Task II-Stability, Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow, (4) Task III-Physics Development, and (5) Task IV-Co-Ordination and Test Planning.

The objective of Project Agreement 22 is to determine the feasibility of using in-core ion chambers to cover the complete reactor neutron flux startup range from 10(4) -5 - 10(13) nv using in-core ion chambers. This technical report discusses the following topics: low versus high cable termination impedance, amplifier considerations, noise considerations, gas and pressure selection, cable selection, effect of gamma, effect of temperature, and remaining problems.

Experimental data supporting lower valence halides of scandium were not found in the literature. Our investigation was of the phase diagram of the ScCl3-Sc system, and also the vapor pressure-composition isotherm (at 960 degree) for this system. Investigation of the ScCl3-Sc system presented particular difficulties in comparison with analogous systems for rare earth elements in that ScCl3 is highly volatile (boiling pt. = 967 degree); according to our data the vapor pressure is 512 mm Hg measured at 960 degree C. Furthermore, ScCl3 and its vapors react vigorously with quartz. Because of the mentioned extent of reaction in a quartz ampule, the inside was covered with a solid layer of metallic molybdenum for use with relatively large batches of ScCl3.

A research program is being conducted to obtain experimental data in the irradiation of plutonium-enriched fuel to confirm a theoretical model for predicting isotopic composition and reactivity changes in plutonium-enriched, light-water-moderated reactors. Quarterly progress: Work has begun in the Radioactive Materials Laboratory to sample the project fuel from the pins irradiated to 1800 and 5000 MWT/T. Some delay has been experienced due to preemption of the hot cells by priority work. Examination of the autoradiographs of the un-irradiated project fuel showed that in a volume of fuel approximately equivalent to a pellet there were 13 hot spots larger than 15 mils. Evaluation of these spots with the fuel analyzer showed that they contained about 14 mg of PuO2 or about 9% of the total present. The EPITHERMOS code is being modified to automatically normalize the epithermal scattering to the correct value for all moderators. Calibration of the flux wires has been made and the reduction of the data from the VBWR irradiation is nearly complete. A similar resonance activation was made in the water reflector of the Stanford Pool Reactor to obtain the relative activity in a well-defined pure water spectrum. Reduction of these data is also in progress.

Activities in a program to develop techniques in the use of pulsed neutron sources to measure shutdown parameters related to large thermal power reactors are reported. In the course of this program, a new theory was suggested and an experimental apparatus was designed and built. Experiments were carried out to test the new model. This present report contains additional data and information extracted from the experiments at PG&E Humboldt Bay Power Reactor at Eureka, California. During the last days of 1963 a number of control rod and fuel bundle worth measurements were made in the ESADA Vallecitos Experimental Superheat Reactor (EVESR) using the (k[beta]/[script l] technique. A description of the experiments is given in the text of the report and some results are reported. A computer program was written to perform the data analysis of the pulsed neutron experiments and the code is discussed in the Appendix.

Recent underground nuclear tests conducted by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission have yielded data on the effects of contained nuclear explosions in four rock mediums: tuff, alluvium, rock salt, and granite. This report presents and compares data obtained primarily through exploratory mining and drilling into the postshot environment of 35 such events.

In any underground nuclear explosion, the shock front that propagates from the shot point carries with it energy from the explosion, and distributes this energy by doing work on the surrounding material. In the process, the material undergoes changes in both its physical and mechanical states. If enough energy is deposited in the material, it will vaporize or melt thus changing its physical state, or cause it to crush or crack. During the past few years, special computer codes have been developed for predicting the close-in phenomena of underground nuclear explosions using the laws of physics, and the knowledge of the properties of the materials in which the detonations occur. As a consequence, a better understanding of experimental observations and measurements has evolved.

The effects of explosion-induced ground motion must be evaluated in planning and executing any nuclear excavation project. For some projects ground use intensity may dictate the use of less-than-optimum yields to minimize damaging effects. In remote areas, weighing the alternatives of outright purchase of some property or use of smaller yields may be required. The cost of indemnifying owners against damage must be considered in any case. Discussions of the effects of ground motion on three broad types of facilities - engineered structures, residential buildings, and equipment required for the support of nuclear excavation operations - are presented. A method of predicting the response of single- and multi-storied buildings, the response spectrum technique, is discussed, with emphasis on the application of explosion-induced spectra.

A fraction of the energy released by the underground detonation of nuclear explosives is locally deposited as residual thermal energy. An accurate prediction of this usable fraction of the energy released is necessary to evaluate the feasibility of several of the proposed projects in the Plowshare Program. This paper will present a summary of the available data on residual thermal energy from nuclear detonations in three different geological media: tuff, halite, and granodiorite.

The angle errors of a rotary table can be accurately measured by stepping off the angles with an optical caliper and computing table error from (1) the error readings at each angle measured and (2) the cumulative caliper error that will be evident when the circle is closed at 360', eliminating the necessity of adjusting the caliper to the exact setting.

Five recent investigations of the critical heat flux in water systems are described. These studies were conducted in the interval from early 1963 through the present. The five studies are (1) Pool studies: inherent uncertainty in the critical heat flux; (2) Pool studies: heat transfer inside of horizontal, open ended heated tubes immersed in a pool; (3) Pool studies: natural-convection burnout of closed vertical channels; (4) Forced-convection investigations; subcooled boiling and burnout with heated twisted tapes; and (5) Forced-convection investigations; swirl-flow forced-convection bulk-boiling loop.

From the questions which have been asked, I gather that I am expected to bring you the news of the latest exciting developments in desalination at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. However, the agenda for this meeting does not include reports of unfinished investigations; moreover, although there are some new ideas afoot at Oak Ridge, they are aimed toward the very large stations which are somewhat beyond the scope of the more current interests represented here. So instead of presenting new developments, I would like today to talk about where to look for them--to give you some purely analytical considerations that assess the incentives we have to seed certain improvements in this or that portion of the equipment in a dual-purpose station.

Uranium carbide shows promise as a fuel material for reactors operating at relatively high temperatures based on its high melting point, high uranium density and high thermal conductivity. Before refined reactor designs can be made, however, good quantitative data on the thermal conductivity at temperatures in excess of 1000C is required. This technical report presents data gathered as part of a continuing study aimed at determining the thermal conductivity of refractory uranium fuels as a function of temperature, density and composition over the temperature range 1000-2200C. At the inception of this program it was felt that an absolute method capable of achieving high temperatures was necessary and that the difficulties encountered in fabricating the large complex specimens needed were justified. The steady state radial heat flow method and apparatus of Rasor and McClelland were therefore chosen. The technical report discusses the experimental equipment and presents results of measurements on three specimens of UC over a temperature range 900 to 1600C. An analysis of the data is made with respect to other physical properties of the material and the measured conductivities are compared with the work of other investigators.

The increasing exponential function e-at [a > 0] characterizes such natural events as gas discharges, neutron multiplication, and the transistor avalanche phenomenon. This report describes an instrument for measuring the rate of rise, a, of an increasing electrical exponential signal.

In this study, a physical-numerical model is used to investigate processes important for cratering, or excavation, physics for high-explosive sources in desert alluvium. High explosives do not vaporize much of the geological environment surrounding the initial cavity containing the explosive. Thus, a relatively simple, and in some cases a well-known, equation of state exists for the high-explosive cavity gas for pressure greater than 1 atmosphere. However, nuclear explosives are known to vaporize a great deal of surrounding geological environment during the early part of cavity life history. This vaporized material is believed to condense late in the life history of the cavity, and prior to vent of the cavity gas to the atmosphere, such that the latent heat of condensation plays an important role in nuclear excavation. So far, no numerical-physical models of the response of a geologic environment to a nuclear explosive includes the effect of condensation on the hydrodynamics of late times. Thus, the calculation of the cavity pressure at late times including the effect of condensation is one of the current unsolved problems in the calculation of a crater formed by nuclear explosives. This study, then, develops a predictive, numerical-physical model for H.E. sources of the cavity …

The production of energy by nuclear reactions results in the production of radioactive nuclei. Therefore, in considering the possible utilization of nuclear explosives for peaceful purposes it is necessary to be able to predict the expected activities, their amounts, and dispositions. The amounts and kinds of radioactivities produced by detonation of a nuclear explosive are dependent upon the specific design of the explosive. The behavior and ultimate fate of the activities produced by the explosion depend on the composition of the medium in which the detonation occurs, the nature of the detonation, and the chemical species involved.

In November 1952 an event took place which was to have a profound effect on political alignments of the world. This event was the detonation of "Mike", the first large thermonuclear device. The political implications of this experiment overshadowed what has come to be a major advance in the development of scientific tools; the experimentally verified, extremely high thermal neutron flux observed in Mike. Subsequent to this observation, the Atomic Energy Commission established a study program to investigate this particular characteristic of nuclear devices. Under the program, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Livermore, have studied the mechanisms of high fluxes, capture systematics, general stability characteristics, and more specifically, nuclear design to accomplish this massive neutron irradiation. Utilization of these greatly increased fluxes can be expected to significantly advance understanding in many fields.

The Chapman-Jouguet pressure and equation of state of the high explosives PBX 9404 and LX04-01 have been experimentally derived. To assure a strictly one-dimensional geometry, spheres of high explosives were used. Experimental measurements of the radius-time history of material accelerated by the explosive gases were used in conjunction with finite difference calculations of the hydrodynamic equations to obtain some previous inaccessible data on high explosives.

The United States and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), on May 29, and June 18, 1958, signed an agreement which provides a basis for co-operation in programs for the advancement of the peaceful applications of atomic energy. The work described in this report represents the Joint U.S.-Euratom effort. The over-all development program is designed to obtain the test data and operating experience necessary to eventually realize a 50 percent increase in the output of the Garigliano Nuclear Power Station located at Sessa Aurunca (Campania, Italy). Two tasks are in progress: Task III-F involves the preparation of test specimens of reactor vessel material for irradiation; Task IV consists of the formulation of specification for a complete data logging and computer system.

Abstract: A general expression which can be used either for predicting the average volumetric concentration or for analyzing and interpreting experimental data is derived. The analysis takes into account both the effect of non-uniform flow and concentration profiles as well as the effect of the local relative velocity between phases. The first effect is taken into account by a distribution parameter, whereas the latter is accounted for by the weighted average drift velocity.

Summary: On the basis of its high temperature, physical and corrosion properties, Incoloy Alloy 800 was selected as a candidate for fuel cladding nuclear superheat applications. At the time of its selection, there was little information or experience with Incoloy 800 in the production of thin-walled, small diameter tubing suitable for nuclear fuel cladding. As a result, special purchasing efforts were required for the procurement of initial tubing used in fuel fabrication. As-received welded and drawn tubing proved to be generally good but showed some conditions which were undesirable, the major one being lack of complete recrystallization and homogenization of the weld zone. The possible effect of this condition upon the fuel performance was not immediately known; however, subsequent development work indicated that the non-homogeneity of the weld could affect adversely its mechanical and corrosion properties in relation to the parent metal. A development program was initiated to determine treatment sequences suitable for the fabrication of welded and drawn tubing with a fully recrystallized and homogenized weld structure. This was accomplished by butt welding lengths of Incoloy strip which were subsequently cold rolled and annealed to simulate tube fabrication steps. Requirements imposed on this work were that all processes developed …