When water is used as a coolant in any heat-producing process, the purity of the cooling water is of considerable importance, both from the standpoint of build-up of deposited solids inside the cooling tubes, and as an indication of corrosion of the tubes or any other materials with which the water comes in contact. The first problem has long been recognized, and is generally solved by pretreatment of the water. Efficient treatment can reduce the total solids content to less than 0.1 ppm, and the concentration of individual elements to the order of 0.01 ppm. If water of this purity is used, the analysis of the input and output stresses can result in some useful information. The input stream analysis, of course, is direct measure of the quality of the original cooling water, and frequent analysis by a reasonably fast method can be used to keep pretreatment under control. But of even greater significance is the difference in the impurity content of input and output streams. In a simple, straight-through system the difference generally will be negligible. If a closed, recirculating system is considered, however, with the coolant water circulating through the process to be cooled and then through a …

Twelve uranium-magnesium fuel material samples have been irradiated in the MTR at the request of the Pile metallurgy Unit. These samples were 0.40 inch in diameter by 1.5 inches long and were canned in Zircalloy-2 capsules. The uranium used in these specimens was in the form of chips which packs about 50 volume percent. Six of the samples contained a matrix of pure magnesium and the other six contained an alloy matrix of magnesium - 1.4 weight percent silicon. Two specimens of each matrix material were irradiated to 1000 MWD/T and a like number to 5000 MWD/T. Bend tests were performed on the samples and on unirradiated control samples to secure a measure of the effect of radiation exposure on the physical properties of the material.

It was shown that without further major development the detectors proposed for the Body Monitor can be expected to detect 0.02 microcurie of plutonium at the center of the chest cavity. This is the permissible body burden of insoluble forms of plutonium. The detection level can be decreased by decreasing the background counting rate. Decreases in the background can reasonably be expected; it should be possible to detect a small fraction of the permissible body burden. If it can be shown, as suggested by other work, that americium will remain with plutonium, then within at least a few months after entry into the body it should be possible to measure the plutonium by detection of rays from Am²⁴¹.

The purpose of this report is to provide data pertaining to the corrosion damage incurred in the use of oxalic acid as a cleaning agent for process equipment.

Treatment of Columbia River water with aluminum sulfate and activated silica to coagulate undesirable solids has long been established as a satisfactory method for obtaining high quality process water to cool the Hanford reactors. The activated silica used in this process has been prepared by neutralization of less than 92 per cent of the initial alkalinity of a dilute solution of sodium silicate by mixing with dilute sulfuric acid. This mixture is then aged for a period of time equal to one-fourth to one-half of the gel time of the mixture. The concentration of the resulting activated silica solution is not permitted to exceed 1.6 per cent SiO₂ by weight. This activated silica preparation is presently carried out as a batch process with aging times on the order of one hour. A continuous silica activator recently made commercially available by the Omega Machine Company of Providence, Rhode Island, offers several potential advantages over other activated silica facility designs being considered. This continuous silica activator utilizes neutralization of up to 96 per cent of the initial alkalinity of the sodium silicate. The high percentage of neutralization results in gel times of approximately fifteen minutes for the concentrated solutions (up to 1.6 …

The Redox process uses or produces only a very few materials that are hazardous for reasons other than radioactivity. The conditions under which these materials become hazardous were carefully taken into consideration in the development of the process and design of the equipment. A considerable about of information on the hazardous properties of the process materials was obtained so that the pertinent material could be incorporated into the process specifications. Providing the equipment is operating properly and the process is being carried out within specification limits, no hazardous conditions can be created by the process. The purpose of this report is to assemble in a single, readily available document all of the information on the normal concentration limits and safe handling procedures needed to adequately control the use and storage of these materials. This report should be helpful in preparing safety bulletins and provide guidance in case of unusual incidents, malfunctioning of equipment, or contemplated changes in either the process or equipment. It is important to remember that a maximum allowable concentration (MAC) is only a limit on the concentration of a toxic material which cannot be exceeded in the air to which workers are constantly exposed to every working …

For some time, it has been the opinion of the personnel of this laboratory and other investigators that an appreciable amount of the corrosion observed on stainless steel in nitric acid solutions might be due to the presence of some of the lower oxides of nitrogen; NO-, NO-2, etc. If this assumption is correct, the elimination of these compounds from process solutions should result in a significant increase in the service life of equipment handling nitric acid, such as acid fractionators. Since the corrosion problems experienced in acid fractionators and concentrators are very severe, an investigation of this theory becomes highly desirable. The purpose of this report is to summarize the work performed, to date, by this laboratory in the investigation of the inhibition of nitric acid corrosion of stainless steel.

As recommended in a previous report a study of the NO₂ and HNO₃ exposures of plant personnel in the 224 U Building has been made. Concentrations of NO₂ and HNO₃ from the 224 U roof stack, in the concentrator cells, and in the calcining pot rooms have been determined. The problems have been outlined and recommendations have been made for its alleviation.

With the construction of nuclear reactors, a great deal of emphasis has been placed upon studying the effects of radiation on the solid materials of construction. It has become necessary to consider radiation exposure as an environmental entity along with others so established such as temperature, electrical and mechanical stress, chemical resistance, weather, etc. Problems concerning the study of the behavior of materials that are thus increased when radiation exposure has to be evaluated singly or in combination with one or more of the other environments. This paper presents the general plan of attack being followed to solve such problems that arise when plastics and elastomers are placed in radiation fields. These studies were undertaken for two primary reasons: (1) to obtain engineering data for practical applications of the desirable properties of these materials for such devices as o-rings, gaskets, pipe, and electrical insulation; and (2) to use these data to enable a better understanding of the nature of radiation effects on these materials. The initial phase of the program is the screening of materials by subjecting them to various degrading environments and recording property changes. Thus, with data on how these materials performed, more comprehensive studies could be made …

Gradual corrosion and mechanical wear of equipment over a period of years has affected the seals and gasketing of the electric pot calcining equipment in the 224-U Building Cell E to such an extent that the desirable vacuum cannot be maintained in the pots. Air contamination has been gradually increasing, and this, together with a lowering of the mask working limits, has made it necessary to require personnel to wear assault masks continuously. Indications are that, with the increased production now required, the level of air contamination will continue to rise unless measures are taken to prevent it. The Manufacturing Department has requested that a project be established to reduce the contamination level. Several items of improvement are listed for consideration including, in general, the electric pot agitation and sealing, semi-automatic pot unloaders, cell ventilation and air locks, and the nitric acid off-gas system and stacks. Because of the urgency of improving the conditions, the project, at first, is to provide for immediate improvements for the electrical pot agitation, the pot cover leakage, and the nitric acid off-gas system and stack. Additional study will be required to determine the extent of the ventilation and semi-automatic unloading improvements required.

Prevailing dimensional tolerance for sintered UO₂ reactor fuel components to be enclosed in metal jackets are expensively small. For instance, the PWR fuel pellet, as of November, 1955, consisted of a centerless ground UO₂ cylinder 0.3560" (+0.0005", -0.000") in diameter and 0.3527" (±0.0008") long. This pellet was designed to fit in a Zircaloy tube 0.3585" (+0.0005", -0.0000") inside diameter. The use of UO₂ shapes as pressed, or extruded, and sintered with diameter variations controlled to a tolerance of ±0.003" to ±0.005" would represent a fabrication cost saving worth considering. It is reasonable to assume that the annulus between a sintered UO₂ shape and its container will vary as a function of time of irradiation. Shrinkage from the can walls occurs with relatively low density (i.e., 85% of theoretical) sintered irradiation (cf. MTR Test GEH-4-3C). Contrary to this effect, the thermal expansion coefficient of UO₂ is about twice that of Zircaloy. Of possibly greater significance is the inevitable fractuce of dense UO₂ due to thermal stress. Such cracking effectively relocates the annular heat transfer gap to the interior of the oxide where the higher temperatures enhance the heat transfer coefficient. Thus, possibly the worst condition, with respect to heat transfer, is …

Average coefficients of thermal expansion of the temperature range 25 C to approximately 425 C are reported for numerous types of graphite. The dependence of thermal expansion on crystal orientation and crystallite size and the effects of oxidation and cold test hole irradiation are discussed. An empirical relationship between thermal expansion and the initial rate of physical expansion under cold test hole irradiation is formulated.

Ultrasonic equipment has been developed for nondestructive testing of Hanford fuel elements. The ultrasonic method has replaced the Frost Test for bonding layer inspection in the Hanford canning line, and provides more accurate and reliable results at lower cost. The method has also been adopted to the testing of new fuel elements for which no other method is available.