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The Stationary Low Power Reactor No. 1 is a three Mw boiling water reactor designed to demonstrate the feasibility of a nuclear reactor to supply electrical power and space heat for remote sites. In addition to performance evaluation the facility provides training for military personnel. The reactor was operated for 1159 hr during the quarter for a total core burnup of 20.3%. Power generation was 103.7 Mwd for a total power accumulation of 466.9 Mwd. Eight malfunctions occurred during the quarter for a total unscheduled downtime of 40 hr 44 min, As a result of malfunctions, aluminum keys will be installed on the control rod drives, instrument well covers were removed, and an order has been placed for a station auxiliaries breaker with a higher temperature rating. Data were taken on seven tests during the quarter. Four of these are expected to be completed during the next quarter. All equipment items on order for the SL-1 power extrapolation expansion program are scheduled to be delivered before June 15, 1960. Although condenser dampers and damper controls, process instrumentation, equipment cabinets, and the radiation monitoring equipment have not yet been ordered, construction will not be delayed. The two tie-ins to the existing …

The concentrations of and activities due to N/sup 16/ and N/sup 17/ in the HFIR primary coolant water were calculated. At the pressure vessel exit, the N/sup 16/ activity is 3.9 x 10/sup 6/ dis/secml and the N/sup 17/ activity is 6.9 x 10/sup 2/ dis/sec-ml. Comparison of the N/sup 16/ activity with the data obtained from the ORR water system indicates that the calculated results are slightly conservative. (auth)

Recently there has been a great surge of interest in almost-exact sum rules for the magnetic moments of nucleons. (By almost-exact we mean: exact to all orders in the strong couplings but only the lowest order in electromagnetic and weak couplings.) Besides providing a means for calculation of the magnetic moments on the same level as the calculation of GA/GV by Adler and Weisberger these sum rules, taken together with the Adler-Weisberger sum rule, constitute a useful tool for investigating the nature of the dynamical approximations that underlie higher symmetry schemes.

Uniform, dense coatings of alumina about 5 to 150 mu thick were applied to uranium dioxide particles 44 to 350 mu in diameter by hydrolysis of aluminum chloride vapor in a fluidized bed of the particles at 1830 deg F. The coated particles were resistant to nitric acid leaching, to oxidation in 1830 deg F air, and to thermal cycling from 6OO to 2500 deg F. After low neutron exposures, the coated particles showed excellent fission-gas retention at temperatures up to 2400 deg F in inert gas. Although not optimized in the study, the coating process appears to have commercial feasibility. (auth)

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Progress in fuels and materials development is reported. Irradiation tests on powdered UAl/sub 3/ intermetallic compounds demonstrated good stability and fission gas retention capabilities. Developmental aluminum powder metal products showed good corrosion resistance at high temperatures while retaining excellent high temperature strength. All of the fuel compositions tested (UO/sub 2/, U/sub 3/O/sub 8/, and UAl/sub 3/ in aluminum matrices) exhibited density decreases under irradiation. Tensile tests on sandwich-type fuel plates at elevated temperatures indicated that the fuel plate strength is strongly influenced by the core material rather than dependent primarily on the cladding material as was found true of lower (MTR) temperatures. Three capsules containing beryllium were inserted in the ETR, in order to determine strength, gas release, and growth during a high-temperature (600--800 deg C) irradiation. An MTR fuel element employing advanced metallurgical techniques to optimize the hydraulic and heat transfer characteristics was fuily irradiated in the MTR. The fuel element consisted of 32 plates containing 250 g U/sup 235/ in a U/sub 3/O/ sub 8/--Al dispersion. A prototype ETR fuel element was made without side plates. (M.C.G.)

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A description of the digital readout and drive portion of the Advanced Reactivity Measurement Facility II is presented along with the philosophy used in selecting the system block diagram and components, accuracy considerations, and a preliminary evaluation of performance and usability. The presentation discourages duplicating of the equipment; advantage should be taken of the opportunity to improve upon it. To this end guideposts are provided as well as a documentation of those aspects of the design that are considered worthy of duplication. (auth)

Concrete mix design criteria, based on existing theories of proportioning and specifically oriented toward the solution of radiation shielding problems, were developed. Effects of aggregate gradation, cement-to- aggregate ratio, and water content were examined. A barytes concrete, designed according to these criteria, was thoroughly investigated in the Lid Tank Shielding Facility. Relative effectivenesses of dry aggregates, aggregates plus cement, and cured concrete were compared through thermal-neutron flux, fast- neutron dose, and gamma-ray dose measurements behind slab configurations. Attenuation was measured for the aggregate, the aggregate plus cement, and for the barytes concrete. Comparison with attenuations calculated on the basis of removal cross sections for the measured chemical compositions showed satisfactory agreement. (auth)

Lengths of pistillate inflorescences of sedges (Carex spp.) growing in the contaminated soils of White Oak Lake bed were measured in relation to radiation fields. Carex Frankii Kunth and Carex vulpinoidea Michx. populations were sampled from areas with air dose rates of 0, 10, 20, and 40 mr/hr. Analyses of variance showed that mean lengths of inflorescences of C. vulpinoidea were simllar to each other in these areas but that those of C. Frankii were significantly different. However, the sites differ in such factors as soil moisture, fertility, and alkalinity, so that these differences in the length of inflorescence may not be accounted for primarily by the exposure dose rate of the radiation field. (auth)

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Temperatures were calculated relative to the storage of radioactive solid waste as a function of time and radial distance for radioactive solid cylinders in infinite solid media of "average soil," "average rock," and salt. A resistance at the cylinder--infinite medium boundary was included in the form of an air space. For the range of parameters used and withia the practical limits of accuracy, the maximum temperature rise increased linearly with the heat generation rate. The fission product spectrum was not significant in the determination of the maximum temperature rise. Under the pessimistic storage conditions assumed, the storage of cylinders of a practical size appears feasible without excessive temperature rise. A maximum temperature rise of 1000 deg F would be produced with an initial heat generation rate of 1300 to 1600 Btu/hr-ft/ sup 3/ for cylinders with a 5-in. radius, with 350 to 450 Btu/hr-ft/sup 3/ for a 10-in. radius, and with 175 to 210 Btu/hr-ft/sup 3/ for a 15-in. radius, assuming a thermal conductivity of the radioactive cylinder of 0. 1 Btu/hr-ft- deg F. (auth)

To provide the NERVA test program with a temperature measurement system of sufficient accuracy to satify present and future requirements, a cryogenic temperature measuring system was designed and developed employing a platinum resistance thermometer (RTT) as the sensor.

Cesium Recovery from Ores. Adaptation of the phenol extraction (Phenex) process to the recovery of cesium from ore leach liquors continued to show promise. In roast-leach tests, 98 to 99% of the cesium was dissolved from pollucite ore by roasting the ore at 800 deg C with 1.8 parts of Na/sub 2/CO/sub 3/ plus 1.2 parts of NaCl and leaching with water. More than 99% of the cesium was recovered from the leach liquor and separated from other alkali metals by extracting with 4-sec-butyl-2-( alpha -methylbenzyl)phenol (BAMBP) in diisopropylbenzene and stripping with hydrochloric acid. Santophen-1 also extracted cesium effectively, but, because of the limited solubility of the cesiumSantophen-1 complex in the diluent, the utility of this phenol in ore processing is questionable. Separation of Alkali Metals. The extraction and separation of alkali metals from nitrate solutions was studied with several different types of extractants, including substituted phenols, alkylphosphoric acids, sulfonic acids, carboxylic acids, and mixtures of some of these. With all of these reagents, cesium was extracted more strongly than rubidium, which in turn was extracted more strongly than the other alkali metals. Separation factors were higher with the phenols than with the other extractants. Acid Recovery by Amine Extraction. …

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The design, performance, and cost information on the nuclear portion of the Mixed Spectrum Superheater power plant are emphasized. The research and development programs required to ensure plant feasibility are also presented. The nuclear steam supply system, reactor auxiliary systems, radiation control systems, control and instrumentation, special test instrumentation, plant operation and maintenance, steam cycle, turbine plant, general service systems, preliminary safeguards considerations, expansion of plant power output to 150 Mw(e), and MSSR critical experiment are described. (M.C.G.)

Tests were conducted to assure proper operation of the control-rod mechanisms of the Shippingport Pressurized Water Reactor under normal operating conditions. (C.J.G.)

An evaluation under simulated Pathfinder reactor operating conditions of a prototype Pathfinder control rod drive (described) indicated that the unit will perform satisfactorily under all Pathfinder operating conditions. Tests were performed on individual components of the drive and on the assembled drive. (D.C.W.)

A description is given of the process and equipment for the continuous conversion of plutonium nitrate to tetrafluoride powder for reduction to Pu metal. The conversion involves oxalate precipitation, filtration, calcination, and hydrofluorination. Typical results are described; the product is a free-flowing PuF/sub 4/ with a high degree of separation from impurities. (D.L.C.)

The purpose of this report is to document the evaluation and capabilities of the Core Radial Displacement Transducer. Pertinent details of the transducer history (Measurement Definition, Basic Design Evaluation Program) are included to substantiate the evolution.

Corrosion specimens of the five major aluminum alloys used in the construction of the Oak Ridge Research Reactor have been exposed to the high- purity primary cooling water in the ORR core and in the extennal portion of the primary cooling loop to determine their corrosion rates under actual operating conditions. These alloys, 1100, 3003, 5052, 5154. and 8061, exhibited average corrosion rates of less than 2.6 mpy during the first 500-hr test period and less than 0.5 mpy for a 4032-hr test. Very superficial pitting was observed. and no case of intergranular corrosion was found. (auth)

An analysis is presented of the deflecting mode in an iris-loaded synchrotron waveguide which is not based on the concept of TE and TM modes as generating fields. The solutions employed are derived from the transverse components of the electric and magnetic Hentzian factors. Their use avoids the singnlarities in the field expressions for phase velocities equal to that of light, which must occur with TE and TM modes. The fundamental properties of the hybrid solutions are exposed. The lowest mode of the hybrid group is the desired deflecting mode. The exact relation between frequency, phase velocity, and geometry of the structure can be derived for the deflecting mode in the form of an infinite determinant. Transverse and hybrid solutions are tabulated. (J.R.D.)