This quarterly progress report of the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Project at ORNL records the technical progress of the research on circulating-fuel reactors and ether ANP research at the Laboratory under its Contract W-7405-eng-26. The report is divided into three major parts: I. Reactor Theory, Component Development, and Construction, II. Materials Research, and III. Shielding Research.

Continued work on the adsorbability of metal complexes from concentrated LiCl solutions and LiCl-HCl mixtures on a strong-base anion-exchange resin further demonstrated the much higher adsorbability of these complexes from LiCl solutions than from HCl solutions. The effect is believed to be due to the formation of less strongly adsorbed undissociated chloro-complex acids in the case of the HCl solutions.

Report issued by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory discussing the development of a closed-loop control system. As stated in the statement, "the purpose of this thesis was to design and build a closed-loop control system to be used as an indicator of the level of high temperature liquids contained in a tank" (p. 1). This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

The ORNL 86-in. cyclotron is being modified to provide for deflection of the proton beam. It is expected that operation will be resumed late in the spring. Nuclear physics work was limited, for the most part, to interpretation of previously collected data and to making preparations for utilizing the deflected beam. It was found that for certain isotopes the production rates could be almost doubled by operating at a slightly reduced energy and a much larger current. With the use of the ORNL 63-in. cyclotron, the absolute values of the electron capture and loss cross sections for 26-Mev nitrogen ions were obtained. The angular distribution of the cross sections for elastic scattering of nitrogen by nitrogen was measured at energies from 13 to 22 Mev. A double-focusing 90-deg magnet is being planned for use in identifying stable reaction products from nitrogen-induced reactions. The major components of the revised 44-in. test cyclotron were assembled and are being tested. Consideration is being given to the use of these components, along with a new 20,000-oersted magnet and a shielded cyclotron room, and if the tests are satisfactory the Laboratory will have available a machine which will accelerate N5+ ions to 81 Mev.

Technical report covering the work done to explore heat transfer analytically and experimentally in liquid metals in turbulent flow within the thermal entrance region of circular tubes having uniform well temperature. Includes implications of this research. [From Summary]

Report issued by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory discussing radiation corrosion studies. As stated in the introduction, "the purpose of this experiment was to compare the performance of a large number of materials under similar irradiation and exposure conditions" (p. 1). This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Technical report presenting a consideration of the characteristics of fused salt-ThF4 solutions suitable for use in homogeneous reactors. Presented in tandem with a brief survey of the literature pertaining to such solutions and a summary of the experimental work accomplished. [From Abstract]

Report issued by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory discussing revisions to previously issued conversion coefficient tables. The revised tables are presented. This report includes tables, and graphs.

Changes made in the Thorex process flowsheet were a decrease in the extraction column acidity to decrease thorium losses and the addition of a second thorium solvent-extraction cycle to provide the increased decontamination required when thorium irradiated to 2000-4000 g of U233 per ton is processed. Bonded slugs could not be dissolved by the Thorex flowsheet procedure. Various laboratory scale studies on feed preparation, first-cycle variables, and radiation damage to the solvent are reported.

Technical report covering the metallurgy of thorium and on fabrication techniques. Report investigates the stability and corrosion resistance of thorium exposed to eutectic NaK, extrusion as a means of fabrication of thorium tubes or rods, and corrosion of large single metal crystals by liquid metals. [From Summary]

Progress report of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Metallurgy Division providing updates on various projects, experiments, and other work. This report includes a summary of nondestructive testing, physical chemistry of corrosion, fundamental physico-metallurgical research, HRP metallurgy, process metallurgy, metallurgical materials and processing, metallography, and ceramics research.

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."

In some recent experiments the ion density in a plasma was measured as a function of radial distance from a d-c arc source of ions for the magnetic field intensities from 2500 to 14000 oersted. The diffusion coefficient appeared to very inversely as the square of the magnetic field strength, D~1/H2. The absolute value of D was shown to be approximately that which would be predicted by the collision diffusion theory when account is taken of the shorting effect of the end walls. The purpose of this report is to continue the examination of ion diffusion in a plasma and field experimentally the relation between the diffusion coefficient and the neutral gas pressure for a constant magnetic field.