Quarterly report documenting progress on a project to determine an improved zirconium alloy for service in superheated water and steam. This report describes the results of approximately 75 compositions that were prepared prior, and presently are being arc-melted and fabricated into corrosion specimens, continuing the investigations of the effect of zirconium purity and heat treatment on corrosion and resistance.

The following report focuses on an investigation made to determine if vacuum melting was an absolutely necessary step in the metallurgical process of melting and casting uranium.

From introduction: "On February 1, 1956, Batelle was awarded a contract by the Army Reactor Branch (ARB) to select, develop, and test core materials which could be used successfully in conducting a Gas Cooled Reactor Experiment (GCRE). The prime objective of the GCRE would be to evaluate small portable reactor systems for military application...The present report is concerned with the GCRE activities at Batelle during approximately the 7 months' period following the first report of this series, BMI-1133. It is primarily concerned with a detailed evaluation of the reference materials as well as of the impact of one material upon the other."

This report constitutes the Quarterly Progress Report covering April-June 1955, for the Health Instruments Division research and development activities. Most of the studies described concern the biological fate, environmental transport of radioactive effluents, or development of instrumentation for radiation detection.