A thermoelectric generator which produces 100 watts of electrical power continuously over a six-month operational life in a space environment was designed. It employs the heat produced by the decay of Cm/sup 24/ as the source of power. Uniform output over the operational life of the generator is accomplished by means of a thermally actuated shutter which maintains the hot junction temperature of the thermoelectric conventer at a constunt figure by varying the amount of surplus heat which is radiated directly to space from the heat source. The isotopic heat source is designed to safely contain the Cm/sup 242/ under conditions of launch pad abont and rocket failure, but to burn up upon re-entry to the earth's atmosphere from orbital velocity. (W.L.H.)

The reduction characteristics of plutonium trichloride are investigated. A flowsheet for batch reduction with Ca is included. (J.R.D.)

A study of the dynamic behavior of the Merchant Ship Reactor Pressurized Water Loop was made using the Reactor Controls Analog Facility. Computer curves show the predicted response of the loop temperatures to normal load changes and component failure accidents. Except for complete flow stoppage, which was not investigated here, the safety system was shown to be adequate in curbing loop temperature excursions due to postulated accidents. (auth)

BS>The aqueous corrosion of Mg alloys was investigated at 53 to 150 deg C. Corrosion rates rose rapidly with temperature, reaching about 3 mils per day at 150 deg C for AZ-31 STAMg-2.5 to 3.5 wt.% Al-0.7 to 1.3 wt.% Zn-0.2 wt.% Mn!. Additions of small amounts of Cu and/or Ni to the basic AZ-31 composition reduced the corrosion rate at 150 deg by a factor of about two. Sn may be advantageously substituted for Zn in AZ-31. Control of the pH in the range between 6 and 7 and maintenance of a fluoride concentration in the range between 1 and 10 ppm reduced the corrosion rate of AZ-31 to about 0.1 mil per day at 150 deg C. (auth)

The hazards evaluation was modified to reflect certain changes made to the equipment as a result of operating experience. These changes included: the addition of a startup interlock circuit; the modification of a startup interlock circuit; several minor modifications to the control rod actuators; and the addition of the tube-sheet cooling system. (M.C.G.)

A method is described for observing the uptake of Fe by rat bone marrow cells in vitro. Results of experiments on effects of anemic serum and human erythropoietin are presented with a brief discussion. It is concluded that the differences in uptake of Fe/sup 59/ are the result of isotope dilution. (auth)

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Decontaminability measurements of 34 protective coatings (primarily vinyls and epoxies) and 10 comparative control surfaces (metals, glass, and plastics) highly contaminated with either mixed fission products from typical Purex waste or Oak Ridge National Laboratory Thorex waste did not indicate any unusual improvement over coatings tested in 1950 (AECD-2296). These measurements and chemical rcsistance tests were made of the protective coatings in common acids, alkalis, and deionized water at 81 and 120 deg F as a guide in the selection of coatings for radiochemical plant applications and to determine if coatings containing water vehicles could be substituted for coatings containing more hazardous organic solvent vehicles. Vinyl base coatings were superior in both decontaminability and chemical resistance. The two watervehicle coatings evaluated were markedly inferior to organic-vehicle vinyls. A vinyl wallpaper'' was decontaminated poorly with the reagents used. Water and 3M HNO/sub 3/ removed Purex contaminants relatively efficiently but were relatively ineffective for the removal of Thorex contaminants. Coatings determined to be sufficiently decontaminated from Purex waste by a water flush and acid scrub and to be of superior resistance to common acids and alkalis are given. (auth)

The diffusion coefficient of tracer amounts of Au/sup 198/ in gamma U is described by an Arrhenius-type equation: D = 4.86 x 10 cm/sup -3/sec exp(-30,400 cal/mol/RT). The values of D/sub 0/ and the activation energy are close to those for self-diffusion in gamma U, indicating that the low activation energy for self- diffusion is due to a general weakness of the lattice rather than to easy compressibility of the U atom. (auth)

The reactions pi /sup -/ + p yields p + p + n and pi /sup -/ + p yields p + d were investigated. The calculations are based on thirdorder perturbation theory with pseudoscalar coupling between nucleons and pions and with a phenomenological treatment of the nucleon-nucleon interaction in the final state. The final-state interactions of the antinucleon are neglected. Cross sections are given in graphical form for the reactions and for trsnsitions between eigenstates of isotopic spin. The final-state nucleon-nucleon interaction is shown to have a lnrge effect on the cross sections. The cross section for the reaction pi /sup -/ + p yields p + d is found to be relatively large. At an energy of 10 Mev abcve threshold in the center-of-momentum system the ratio of this cross section to that for pi /sup -/ + p yields p + p + n is about 5: 1. At an energy of 40 Mev above threshold this ratio hns decreased to 1: I. The total cross section for the reaction leading to the unbound final state is calculated by assuming a modified Fermi statistical model. At an energy 100 Mev above threshold, this cross section is approximately …

An investigation was made of the behavior under irradiation of uranium- rich corrosion-resistant alloys with the following nominal compositions: U--3 wt.% Nb, U--3 wt.% Nb--0.5 wt.% Sn, U/sub 3/Si (U--3.8 wt.% Si), and U--2 wt.% Zr (diffusion heat treated). The U--3 wt.% Nb alloy in the rolled and gamma- quenched condition was highly unstable dimensionnlly under irradiation. The U--3 wt,% Nb--0.5 wt.% Sn alloy, in the cast and gamma-quenched condition, was only moderately stable dimensionally. The U/sub 3/Si in the cast condition showed good dimensional stability but in the extruded condition developed moderate anisotropic growth. Clad Nb--0.5 wt.% Sn, UaSi (U--3.8 wt.% Si), and U--2 wt.% Zr (diffusion heat treated). The U--3 wt.% Nb alloy in the rolled and gamma- quenched condition was highly unstable dimensionally under irradiation. The U--3 wt.% Nb--0.5 wt.% Sn alloy, in the cast and gamma-quenched condition, was only moderately stable dimensionally. The U/sub 3/Si in the cast condition showed good dimensional stability but in the extruded condition developed moderate anisotropic growth. Clad rods of diffusion heat treated U--2 wt.% Zr alloy were generally highly stable. Only the U/sub 3/Si and U--2 wt.% Zr alloy specimens retained a significant degree of their preirradiation corrosion resistance. (auth)

Monitor activation theory leading to the basic relation between the monitor weight and activity and the neutron flux is presented. Manipulations to convent the theory into a form suitable for machine computation and details concerning programing, accuracy, range, usage, and costs are included along with a sample case. (auth)

The numerical results of the IBM-704 computer can be put into graphieal form with the aid of the IBM-717 peripheral line printer, and programming techniques using FORTRAN II are described for the production of several kinds of graphs. Different symbols can be used, and a total of 100 horizontal spaces are available, giving a resolution of 1%. (D.L.C.)

A description is given of GAP, an IBM 704 program for analyzing simply- supported rectangular beam grillages in which the beams intersect at right angles. The grillage need not be symmetrical and may have both uniformly distributed and concentrated loads. The individual beams may have arbitrary cross sections. Strain energy methods are used to determine the bending, shearing, and torsional effects in a given grid structare. Deflections and moments can be found directly by the program. Series coefficients are provided for additional computation. (auth)

Because of the danger of precipitation of polymerized Pu/sup 4+/, a research program was initiated for studying the polymerization of Pu/sup 4+/ in the UO/sub 2/(NO/sub 3/)/sub 2/--HNO/sub 3/ system. Th e present state of knowledge concerning the polymerization of Pu/sup 4+/ is reviewed, and the program is discussed in detail, including equipment and procedures. The program is evaluated from the viewpoint of hazards, health physics procedures, and personnel safety. (D.L.C.)

The SM-1 is described and the various hazards are reviewed. Because of the reactor's location near the nation's capital, containment is of the utmost importance. The maximum energy releace in any possible accident is 7.4 million Btu which is completely contained within a 7/8-in.-thick steel cylindrical shell with hemispherical ends. The vapor container is 60 ft high and 32 ft in diameter and is lined on the iside with 2 ft of reinforced concrete which provides missile protection and is part of the secondary shield. All possible nuclear excursions are reviewed. The energy from any of these is insignificant compared to the stored energy in the water. The maximum credible accident is caused by the reactor running constantly at its maximum power of 10 Mw and through an extremely uniikely sequence of failures, csusing the temperature of the water in the primary and secondary systems to rise to saturation, whereupon a ruptare occurs releasing the stored energy of 7.4 million Btu into the vapor container. If the reactor core melts during the accident, a maximum of 1.5 x lO/sup 7/ c of activity is released into the vapor container. While it is highly improbable for a ruptare of the vapor …

Safeguards analyses of the isolated coolant Icops of the HWCTR indicated that accidental loss of ccoling water from the Icop heat exchangers will not lead tc vaper binding of the Icop D/sub 2/O pumps, or to other detrimertal consequences, providing that the reactor is scrammed following the loss of coolant. Several static seals of the types that will be used in the HWCTR exhinited leakage rates that were well below design specifications during cyclic tests at peak conditions of 1500 psi and 260 deg C. From full-scale experiments with lattices of seven-rod clusters of natural uranium metal at various lattice spacings in D/sub 2/0, values for the bucklings, flux distributions, and microscopic parameters of the lattices were measured. (For preceding report see DP-480.) (auth)

From introduction: A thorough investigation, both experimental and theoretical was carried out on plaque type radiators. Five phases of the work are reported: preliminary design analysis, experimental measurements, computational program and analytical studies, followed by a general discussion of source design principles. The results are summarized in graphs and formulae which may be applied to other design requirements.

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The results of nuclear calculations for aqueous homogeneous reactors containing blanket thorium in pellet form are presented. Critical core fuel concentrations, gross breeding ratios, power densities, and multiplication as dependent on core fuel concentration and neutron balances are included. Critical U/sup 233/ core concentration for a 24in.-diam. core was 8.4 gm/l when U/Th was 0.003 in the blanket and the relative power density at the core wall was 1.04 kw/ l/Mw. A 48-in.-diam. core required 1.6 g U/sup 233//l in the core and the relative power density at the core wall was 0.095 kw/l/Mw. The reactors had gross breeding ratios of 1.12 and 1.09, respectively. (auth)

Abstract: A loop has been constructed to study the removal of water and highly volatile materials from Organic Moderated Reactor coolant by vacuum degasification. An analysis of the process was made to determine the most important parameters for study during the experimental program.

Abstract: Accurate measurement of OMRE fuel-element surface temperatures is important for evaluation of the performance of organic compound as moderator and coolant materials in nuclear reactors; a mixture of polyphenyls has been used in reactor operation to-date.

Many of the experiments now being conducted on high-energy accelerators requires the use of beams of charged secondary particles. It is worth while at this time to attempt to summarize information about some of the most useful methods of setting up such beams. We are not concerned here with the primary beam of the accelerator. Rather, they assume that a target is struck by the primary beam and that it is desired to form a beam from the secondary charged particles that emerge from collisions within the target. The simplest system of forming this beam of secondary particles involves the use of magnetic fields only. In most cases it is desirable to obtain a beam of particles of known magnetic rigidity, or momentum. The bulk of this article is addressed to this problem. Some comments are also made about the use of electric fields in conjunction with magnetic fields. The inclusion of electric fields allows the separation of a beam of known momentum into its various components according to the velocities of the particles, hence according to the masses of the particles. These are referred to as ''separated beams''.