This is the monthly report for the Hanford Laboratories Operation March 1962. Reactor fuels, chemistry, dosimetry, separation processes, reactor technology, financial activities, biology operation, physics and instrumentation research, operations research and synthesis, programming, and radiation protection operation are discussed.

Sintering is broadly defined as all aspects of the adhesion, densification, shrinkage, and consolidation which accompanies the reduction in surface energy of a powder compact which occurs upon application of heat and/or pressure. The process of sintering is then further divided into the initiation, material transport, and grain growthrecrystallization stages. A general review is made of each of these stages, noting typical work which has contributed to progress in each area involved. (auth)

From abstract: "Sintering is broadly defined as all aspects of the adhesion, densification, shrinkage, and consolidation which accompanies the reduction in surface energy of a powder compact which occurs upon application of heat and/or pressure. The process of sintering is then further divided into the initiation, material transport, and grain growth-recrystallization stages. A general review is made of each of these stages, noting typical work which has contributed to progress in each area involved."

The report is divided into the following sections: physical metallurgy, metallic fuels development, fabrication development, fuel evaluation, and plutonium recycle program.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Will Wilson, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the Commissioners Court of Bexar County may authorize the use of voting machines for one political party at a primary election, and the use of paper ballots for another political party.

Report that describes an engineering drawing microfilm system that was developed for the United States Atomic Energy Commission's Idaho Operations Office and its contractors at the National Reactor Testing Station.

Quarterly design and development progress report on the activities of the Army Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) Program.

Abstract: FAIM is a general multigroup, one-dimensional diffusion equation code programmed in FORTRAN language for the IBM 7090 computer.

This document details activities of the irradiation processing department during the month of March, 1962. A general summary is included at the start of the report, after which the report is divided into the following sections: Research and Engineering Operations; Production and Reactor Operations; Facilities Engineering Operation; and NPR Project.

This is a report of work completed during the period January 1, 1962, to March 31, 1962. Work was done on fuel irradiation, activation studies and UO2 scattering experiment

ABS>Developmental work is reported on the EBWR and Borax-V other general development work is reported in the area of liquid metal cooled reactors and particularly on the EBR-I and H, and the fast reactor test facility. General reactor technological development is described on applied reactor physics, reactor fuels development, reactor materials development, heat engineering and fluid flow, chemical separations, advanced systems, and nuclear safety. (J.R.D.)

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The formation constants of the RChOH/sup -/ species, formed by interaction of individual rare-earth nitrilotriacetate species and KOH at 25 deg C and an ionic strength of 0.1 were determined by the potentiometric method, i.e., computed from the pH values of equilibrium mixtures containing varying proportions of rare-earth complex and base. The relations of these constants to the ion-exchange separation of rare earths at high pH were discussed. (auth)

From abstract: "The formation constants of the RChOH- species, formed by interaction of individual rare-earth nitrilotriacetate species and KOH at 25°C and an ionic strength of 0.1, have been determined by the potentiometric method, i.e., computed from the pH values of equilibrium mixtures containing varying proportions of rare-earth complex and base. The relationship of these constants to the ion-exchange separation of rare earths at high pH has been discussed."

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Equations were derived by strain-energy methods for analyzing the stress and deflection in the boiler fuel element boxes used in the Pathfinder nuclear reactor. These boxes are of two types, both constructed of Zircaloy lI. One box is approximately 5 in. sq. The second is approximately 10 1/2 in. sq divided internally into four compartments (5 in. sq) by a cruciform control-rod guide structure. Stress and deflection in the box walls are caused by pressure differences across the walls. The equations were verified by testing an aluminum model of the single-element box and a Plexiglas model of the four-element box. There was less than 10% difference between theoretical and measured values for the maximum stress and deflection, and therefore, use of the equations for designing the Pathfinder fuel element boxes is justified. (auth)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Will Wilson, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Construction of Section 4 of Article 301d, V.P.C., relative to public school fraternities, sororities, and secret societies.

It is noted that in high-temperature He-cooled graphite reactors, sufficiently high levels of gaseous impurities can lead to transport and corrosion effects. The possible effects of these reactions in graphite-moderated reactors designed to operate at a He-coolant pressure of a about 20 atm. were investigated. Results are included on C transport, steam-graphite reactions, and deposition of C on surfaces. (J.R.D.)

From Abstract: "The results of an investigation of lightweight, precast cellular concrete planks are given. Fire tests were made of two floor and five roof specimens made up of these planks. Variables, included density of the cellular concrete, thickness and span of the planks, reinforcement, and cover for the latter."

Since brazing was the method selected for joining the stainless steel SM- l reactor fuel element, corrosion studies were conducted on various potential brazing alloys to evaluate their resistance under the approximate pressurized- water conditions of the SM-1. The program consisted mainly of testing type 304L stainless steel T'' joints brazed with selected alloys in quiescent, degassed, and deionized autoclaved water at 565 deg F under 1200-psi pressure. In the initial phase of the investigation, tests were limited in duration to l000 hr in order to quickly screen some 18 potential alloys for longer time testing. Based on weight-change data and the metallographic examinations, five of the 18 alloys exhibited sufficient corrosion resistance to warrant further investigation. These alloys were subjected to autoclave tests of 12 and 16 months. In these extended tests, 1 cc O/sub 2/liter and a mixture of 1 cc O/sub 2/liter plus 50 cc H/sub 2/liter, respectively, were added to the water to more closely simulate SM- 1 reactor water conditions and to evaluate the effect of different gaseous additions on the corrosion behavior of the alloys. On the basis of weight-change data and metallographic examination after long-term exposure of the tested stainless steel-base joint; these …

Since any radiography must be performed in an enclosed system, an enclosed glove box was constructed to facilitate radiographic operations. Tests show that no significant detail is lost in radiographing dense materials greater than 0.020 inch through 0.120 inch of aluminum using energies in the 1 Mev range. (auth)

From abstract: Seismic waves resulting from a 5 kiloton nuclear detonation 1200 feet deep in a salt bed near Carlsbad, New Mexico were measured by strong-motion seismographs operated by the Coast and Geodetic Survey on the surface in the distance range from 0.5 to 8.8 miles and underground in a potash mine 8.7 to 11.2 miles distant.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Will Wilson, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the City Clerk may return absentee voters' poll tax receipts, now being held by the Clerk under Subdivision 6 of Art. 5.05, Texas Election Code for 30 days after such voters have voted absentee in a city election, so as to enable such voters to use the poll tax receipts again to vote absentee in school and primary elections, occurring within less than 30 days of the preceding city election.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Will Wilson, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a county surveyor may make private surveys for compensation of lands in his county without being licensed under Article 5282a, V.C.S.