This report covers the progress made on an intensive program to develop and evaluate UO2 as a possible fuel element for the PWR.

Abstract: "Sound, fabricable ingots of thorium were produced by triple are melting of electrolytic thorium. Consumable electrodes were fabricated by tack welding of cold-pressed and vacuum-sintered bars of the granular thorium electrodeposited from a molten-salt bath. The hydrogen content of the electrodeposited material was reduced from 80 to 4 ppm by vacuum sintering at 1250 C at pressures below 1 x 10-(-3) mm of mercury. Both sodium and chlorine content were reduced during melting; sodium from 250 to 25 ppm and chlorine from 1000 to 30 ppm. Oxygen and HCl acid-insoluble contents increased during sintering and melting. Oxygen content increased from 0.35 to 0.50 w/o and HCl acid-insoluble content from 0.8 to 4.0 w/o. A starlike includion revealed by metallographic examination of the as-cast thorium was identified as ThO2."

This report discusses what effects the shift of an orbital axis relative to the center of the table-top stellarator tube as well as the magnitude of these effects.

This report describes the work carried out in 321 Building semiworks equipment, to define the factors contributing to high corrosion-product contamination and presents recommendations for reducing the impurity level to meet current specifications (maximum of 200 parts total metals per million parts U).

From abstract: "The methods of applying results of bulk-shielding measurements to the design of reactor shields is outlined. Geometrical transformations for the more common shapes are derived, as are approximate means of calculating leakage of radiation. As an illustration of the methods, the ORNL Lid Tanks and Bulk Shielding Facility data are transformed to a standard geometry and compared. Two direct calculations of water attenuation, using cross sections described in the previous article, are finally compared with the experimental data."

An improved method for the determination of boron in plutonium is reported. Precipitation of plutonium (III) acid oxalate prior to color development with curcumin results in increased precision, greater speed, and lower costs. Results are presented of a statistical study involving all variables.