Technical report abstract: Since UNH is a highly dissociated compound which ionizes to NO3 and (UO2), the latter ion being very weakly basic, a solution of pure UNH is quite acid (pH about 3). It is possible to titrate to a phenolphthalein and point with standard caustic solution and obtain a figure which represents the free acid plus the NO3 from the the UNH. However, titration of the free nitric acid alone in such a solution presents quite a problem. By precipitating and removing uranium from solution by means of potassium ferrocyanide, the residual free acid may be titrated directly by means of standard caustic using either methyl red or phenolphthalein indicators, with an error of less than 4%. A method is given to determine formic acid, should that acid be present in the mixture.

An attempt is made to estimate the influence of operation upon the mechanical properties of tubealloy. It is to be emphasized that the work is highly speculative, being base upon a set of judicious assumptions regarding the transport material within the metal and should not be used as a substitute for a set of well-planned experiments. The two principal effects considered are the hardening which results from the atomic displacement produced by the fission fragments and the changes in mechanical properties arising from the presence of the fission products. The principal conclusion to be drawn is that the disruption of the metal which accompanies operation takes place at at sufficiently high rate that it could readily cause serious changes in the mechanical properties of the slups. the reversal of the disruption resulting from thermal effects probably is sufficiently high to prevent serious embrittlement as a consequence of displacement through most of the volume of the slug if not at the surface. On the other hand, the migration of atoms also appears to be sufficiently high that the rare gas products may have time to diffuse to cracks and produce embrittlement.