The purpose of this report is to summarize all actual and potential power level limits under which the K Reactors may be forced to operate during the next year. In addition, a summary of the methods being followed to eliminate each is to be discussed along with a graphical presentation of the relationship of the various limits. For the purpose of this report, it was assumed that all power levels will be attainable from a physics aspect since these problems are discussed elsewhere. It is not the intent of this report to recommend that these power levels be attained but only to indicate what production levels are possible through operation on any one limit. Seven outlet temperature limits govern operation at the K Reactors. They are: TBI Limit; Crosstie Limit; Rear Header Saturation Limit; Bulk Outlet Temperature Limit; Tube Corrosion Limit; Temperature Monitor Limit; and Rupture Control Point. Operation during the summer months of 1957 will require cuts in power in order to remain within these limits unless modes of circumventing a few are found. The limits are shown graphically in the appendix at the various flow rates probable. From these curves it is evident that the Low Trip TBI …

Abstract: Reconnaissance of Red Rock Valley was begun on December 10, 1953, and completed on February 11, 1954. The mines in the region were investigated and all exposures of Salt Wash were walked. Paleostream directions and alterations of the sandstones were observed and recorded on a base map. No important new mineralization was discovered-and the area is considered to be of no commercial significance if judged by the outcrops alone. However, a vast amount of Salt Wash lies at slight depth directly to the east of the investigated area.

From introduction: During the summer of 1951, Navajos conducted John W. Chester, Russell C. Cutter, and E. V. Reinhardt, Grand Junction Exploration Branch, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, to a copper deposit in Copper Canyon. Little radioactivity was noted, and no further work was done in the area at that time. In October 1951, the same group of Navajos reported the discovery of uranium ore in another portion of the same area. The site was visited by Cutter who noted that an excavation made by the Navajos had disclosed a 3-foot thickness of low-grade uranium ore. In November 1951, Cutter again visited the area and observed that the Navajos had opened a 5-foot face of good ore.

Abstract: Ten days were spent during June 1955, examining the sedimentary rocks along the San Juan and Colorado Rivers between Mexican Hat, Utah, and Lee's Ferry, Arizona. The most favorable area for uranium deposits occurs in the Shinarump member of the Chinle formation between Clay Hills Crossing and Spencer Camp along the San Juan River. Mineralization is spotty and deposits are small and almost all below ore-grade. Only one small mine, the Whirlwind, is currently producing ore. Gray-green alteration of the underlying Moenkopi is moderately developed in the vicinity of the Whirlwind mine; elsewhere alteration is weakly developed.

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Simultaneous reduction of coolant to several or all reactor tubes raises concern not only for the adequacy of protection in the individual process tube but also the reactor as a whole. In event of such flow reduction, the heat generation does not decrease until at least 1.4 seconds have elapsed following the accident. Thus, the water temperature from each tube will rise, and result in an increase in the bulk water temperature. If the increase in bulk water temperature is such that saturation temperature at the top of downcomer is reached, pressurization may occur at that point and exceed the maximum recommended working pressure limit (approximately 1 to 2 psig). The purpose of this report is to present experimental data on a series of tests which were made to simulate flow reductions to a K type process tube by simulated front header pressure decreases.

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The 234-5 Building ventilation exhaust is continuously sampled for the purpose of estimating the amount of radioactive (alpha emitting) material discharged to the atmosphere. Although a record is kept of the gross amount of radioactive material discharged, few data are available concerning the size and kind of active particles in the exhaust air. Knowledge of the particle size permits: (1) an estimate of the validity of samples drawn through the sampling system, (2) a better knowledge of what the active particle ground deposition pattern might be, and (3) may provide information relating to filter performance. The kind of radioactive material discharged is important in determining relative health hazards. The object of this work was to determine the size and kind of radioactive particles in the 234-5 Building ventilation exhaust. A secondary objective was to review present routine sampling of the stream with particular regard to the particulates to be sampled.

This test consisted of a series of helium purges of the pile gas atmosphere to bring the helium content up to about 70 to 80% helium followed by a series of CO{sub 2} purges to restore the pile atmosphere to its initial composition. The purges where spaced roughly four hours apart to enable the reactor to reach a steady temperature before purge was undertaken. The test results are presented in this report.

In a recent report, means of circumventing the present bulk temperature limits are suggested. These have definite merit but do not present an over-all picture of the problem. Therefore, this bulk temperature limit is reviewed in order to place the problem in its full perspective. A program of action is suggested that should lead to: Revised operating conditions and process piping to obtain higher power levels at the same bulk outlet temperature; The completion of production tests to permit higher bulk outlet temperatures with no significant changes in reactor piping; or Redesign of the effluent system to eliminate bulk temperatures as a reactor operating limit.

Slug ruptures at C Reactor are costing a considerable amount of production and are limiting reactor power levels. A large portion of this production is lost because the ``quickie`` procedure cannot be used with unstruck ruptures. Currently there are two reasons for this condition: Insufficient reactivity is available to recover after a rupture is removed with the ``quickie`` equipment, and if the ``quickie`` method were attempted, there would be many failures due to stuck rear caps and improperly functioning equipment. With the current emphasis being placed on improving the ``quickie`` equipment and procedures, it is reasonable to assume that in the near future nearly all unstruck ruptures can be removed with this ``quickie`` procedure. However, the C Reactor does not possess sufficient excess reactivity to recover from a ``quickie`` rupture discharge following a shutdown from equilibrium conditions. This study outlines a procedure for extending the scram recovery time at C Reactor and an economic justification for buying the added reactivity necessary to carry out the procedure.

During the past several years higher pile power levels, variations in the uranium goal exposure, changes in reactor loadings, and resulting changes in operating practices have steadily increased reactivity transients following the reacotr shutdowns and start-ups. Consequently, since conditions influencing activity transient predictions have becomeincreasingly more varied, it has become more difficult to maintain prediction accuracy Trends related to operating practices, reactivity variables, and critical predictions have been presented previously for the years 1950 thorugh 1957. It is the purpose of this report to include the data for the year 1958. In addition to presenting the data for reference purposes this document discusses the trends in operting pratices reactivity variable evaluations, and the accuracy of reactivity predictions during the past five years. Bar graphs show the yearly averages of selected data obtained from the shutdown data sheets, montly reports, and routinereactivity balance reports. In addition to these averages a table presents maximum and minimum values wherever they are applicable.

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From introduction: This report details the results of the post-irradiation examination of a test involving one defected rod and one undefected rod.

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The question of the conditions under which living matter originated on the surface of the earth is still a subject limited largely to speculation. The speculation has a greater chance of approaching the truth insofar as it includes and is based upon the ever wider variety of established scientific fact. One of the purposes of the herein reported observation was to add another fact to the ever increasing information which might have any bearing upon this most interesting question. It is not our purpose in the present communication to discuss the various proposals or the arguments which have been adduced for and against them. One of the most popular current conceptions is that life originated in an organic milieu on the surface of the earth, (1,2,3,4,5). The problem to which we are addressed is the origin of that organic milieu in the absence of any life. It appeared to us that one source, if not the only source, of reduced carbon compounds in complex arrangements might be the interaction of various high energy radiations with aqueous solutions of inorganic materials, particularly carbon dioxide, and nitrogenous compounds such as ammonia and nitrogen, since it appears that these compounds were the commoner …

The occurrence of a fault April 7 caused a short in the stator winding of one of the main generators. Repairs will require at least one month and the total time the generator will be down can be determined only after a further inspection of the damage. In a week or two, after a thorough inspection of the generator and the ignitron system, Bevatron operation will be continued on one generator. Since the targets of use in a Bevatron experiment will depend greatly on the nature of the experiment and the techniques to be employed the ideas presented here relate primarily to the area of research which involves the detection with counters of heavy mesons emitted in the backward direction in the laboratory system. These mesons and their decay products have low kinetic energy over the entire range of Bevatron energies above threshold for production. For this reason discrimination by means of momentum resolution, collimating slits, ionization density and range will be possible.

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Small particles of zirconinm formed during mechancal operations have caused serious industrial explosions. Particles of this type will not be encountered during aqueous chemical reprocessing. However, small panticles of metallic phases rich in zirconium or niobium, produced by selective leaching of a more reactive uranium-rich phase, can enter into violently explosive reactions. The conditions under which explosions with zirconium-bearing alloys may be expected during chemical reprocessing have been defined in the literatare. The uranium-zirconiaum alloys containing less than 30 wt.% zirconium are hazardous when they contact nitric acid. Laboratory work has shown that potentially explosive zirconium alloys may be safely dissolved in nitric acid if enough fluoride ion is added to maintain a mole ratio of fluoride to dissolved zirconium of four. Niobium-bearing fuel alloys can also explode after contacting nitric acid, but the conditions which produce explosions have not yet been studied thoroughly. Dissolution studies with the EBWR alloy (93.5% U, 5% Zr, 1.5% Nb) indicate that hazardous niobium alloys can also be processed safely in nitric acid by addition of enough fluoride to prevent formation of surface deposits. The ternary phase diagram for zirconium -uranium -oxygen shows that the epsilon phase is unstable at the interface between a …

A tabulation (too large to be included in the memorandum) of the hypergeometric probability distribution for lot sizes up to and including 50 is described. Uses of the tabulation in sampling inspection and reliability are described. The tabulation provides a simple way of testing the equality of two proportions when the total number of observations on the proportions does not exceed 50. (auth)

Abstract: The technical feasibility and economic potential of fast breeder power reactor systems cooled with boiling mercury have been investigated by American-Standard under the United States Atomic Energy Commission's New Reactor Concepts Evaluation Program.

From abstract: This paper presents temperature-entropy and Mollier charts for sodium, and describes briefly the method used for their construction, based upon data from the literature.

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