The results of simple elastic-plastic piping experiments for straight pipes and single-elbow loop systems are interpreted and evaluated. The experiments are also analyzed by the ICEPEL piping code, and the analytical results are compared against the experimental data.

Report issued by the Argonne National Laboratory discussing progress made by the Reactor Development Program during November 1965. Reactor physics, experiments, and safety studies are presented. This report includes tables, and illustrations.

The improvement in the method of large deflection elastic-plastic analysis of shells and other structures appears to have continued interest. With the development in this work an improved numerical suppression scheme is now available for the large deflection elastic-plastic analysis of axisymmetric shells of revolution subjected to symmetric loadings. Quasi-linearization of Sander's non-linear shell equations is presented for the first time. With these quasi-linearized equations the suppression scheme has been developed to solve non-linear boundary-value problems. This suppression scheme has been used in conjunction with a Newton-Raphson method to improve a stable convergence process at the yield surface in elastic-plastic problems. Results presented indicate the accuracy of this numerical scheme. It appears to be possible to extend this method for more complicated situations.

Nuclear materials inventory-verification techniques for large split-table fast critical assemblies are being studied in this program. Emphasis has been given to techniques that minimize fuel handling in order to reduce facility downtime and radiation exposure to the inventory team. The techniques studied include drawer seals, autoradiography, and spectral index measurements. Two-drawer sealing techniques have been studied, and the relative strengths and weaknesses are pointed out. The rod-type locking mechanism would not disrupt the reactor cooling air flow or interfere with autoradiography but is more expensive to implement. Passive autoradiography was used in a ZPPR inventory to verify to a 93% confidence level that less than 8-kg plutonium was missing. The inventory was completed in four days by a five-member team with radiation exposures well within acceptable limits. Two autoradiographic film packages were developed to distinguish HEU from a DU matrix. The 30-mil pack requires an exposure between 4 and 16 hours and fits into most of the drawers. The 40-mil pack requires only a two-hour exposure but fits into less than half the drawers.

Progress report on water-reactor-safety heat-transfer and flow problems. Covering the following research and development areas: loss-of-coolant accident research, transient fuel response and fission-product release program, mechanical properties of zircaloy containing oxygen, and steam-expulsion studies.

Rising interest in the nuclear physics community in a CW GeV electron accelerator reflects the growing importance of high-resolution short-range nuclear physics to future advances in the field. To meet this need, Argonne National Laboratory proposes to build a CW GeV Electron Microtron (GEM) laboratory as a national user facility. The microtron accelerator has been chosen as the technology to generate the electron beams required for the research discussed because of the advantages of superior beam quality, low capital and operating costs and capability of furnishing beams of several energies and intensities simultaneously. A complete technical description of the conceptual design for a six-sided CW microtron (hexatron) is presented. The hexatron and three experimental areas will be housed in a well-shielded complex of existing buildings that provide all utilities and services required for an advanced accelerator and an active research program at a savings of $30 to 40 million. Beam lines have been designed to accommodate the transport of polarized beams to each area. The total capital cost of the facility will be $78.6 million and the annual budget for accelerator operations will be $12.1 million. Design and construction of the facility will require four and one half years. Staged …

Quarterly progress report summarizing work done in Argonne National Laboratory's Applied Physics Division including: reactor safety research and technical coordination of the RSR safety analysis program, analysis of critical assembly experiments, and work on reactor core thermal-hydraulic.

Quarterly report on activities related to the reactor safety program, analysis of safety-related critical assembly experiments, and reactor core thermal-hydraulic code development.

Annual report of the Argonne National Laboratory Environmental Research Division regarding activities related to ecology and the effects of radiation on the environment.

Annual report of the Argonne National Laboratory Radiological and Environmental Research Division regarding activities related to atmospheric physics.

Annual report of the Argonne National Laboratory Land Reclamation Program outlining the activities and research conducted during the year, various assessments and discussion, and related documentation.

The low-cycle fatigue behavior of Type 304 stainless steel has been investigated at 593 degrees C in a dynamic vacuum of better than 1.3 x 10⁻⁶ Pa (10⁻⁸ torr). The results concerning the effects of strain range, strain rate and tensile hold time on fatigue life are presented and compared with results of similar tests performed in air and sodium environments. Under continuous symmetrical cycling, fatigue life is significantly longer in vacuum than in air; in the low strain range regime, the effect of sodium on fatigue life appears to be similar to that of vacuum. Strain rate (or frequency) strongly influences fatigue life in both air and vacuum. In compressive hold-time tests, the effect of environment on life is similar to that in a continuous-cycling test. However, tensile hold times are nearly as damaging in vacuum as in air. Thus, at least for austenitic stainless steels, the influence of the environment of fatigue life appears to depend on the loading waveshape.

Annual report of the Argonne National Laboratory Radiological and Environmental Research Division regarding activities related to molecular physics and chemistry. This report discusses areas in the physics and chemistry of atoms and molecules related to their interactions with photons, electrons, and other external agents such as energetic ions.

Report issued by the Argonne National Laboratory covering the quarterly report from the Reactor Engineering Division. A summary of reactor programs, designs, development, and experiments are presented. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Report issued by the Argonne National Laboratory covering the quarterly report from the Reactor Engineering Division. A summary of reactor programs, designs, development, and experiments are presented. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Report issued by the Argonne National Laboratory over studies conducted on designs for a lunar power plant. As stated in the abstract, "a concept of a nuclear power plant to be assembled on earth and operated on the moon in presented" (p. 9). This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

The Helium Leak Detector Test provides a method for detecting the presence of minute holes, cracks, fissures, etc. in the aluminum jackets of Hanford and Savannah River reactor fuel slugs which would allow moisture to penetrate to the uranium during reactor operation.

Progress report of the Argonne National Laboratory's Nuclear Technology Programs, including R&D in three areas: applied physical chemistry, separation science and technology, and nuclear waste management.

Post-test examinations were conducted to determine failure mechanisms, electrode morphologies, and in-cell corrosion of cell components, and to recommend appropriate design changes for improved cell performance and reliability. The reactive electrode materials required the design and construction of a special metallographic glovebox facility. Combinations of macro- and microscopic examinations determined that electrical short circuits were the predominant causes of cell failure. The major short circuit mechanism was extrusion of active material from one electrode and its subsequent contact with the opposing electrode (opposite polarity). Other mechanisms for short circuits included metallic deposits across separators, metallic deposits across the feed-through insulator (electrolyte leakage and corrosion), equipment malfunctions, cell assembly difficulties, etc. Post-test examinations confirmed that the short circuits were of mechanical origin; appropriate design changes were, therefore, recommended. Extensive microscopic examinations were conducted on both negative and positive electrodes to determine the morphology. Agglomeration of Li-Al was observed in the negative electrodes of most multi-plate cells. Examinations showed that the sulfides in the positive electrode remained as discrete particles in an electrolyte matrix. Also discussed are the results of post-test examinations to determine the following: lithium gradients in the negative electrodes, electrode expansion, materials distribution, copper deposition within electrode separators of …

The feasibility of cladding plate type, corrosion resistant uranium-niobium fuel elements with Zircaloy-II by roll bonding has been demonstrated. Plates with cores of uranium alloyed with 3 w/o and 6 w/o Nb intended for irradiation testing in a high temperature water test loop in the MTR have been finished withing specified tolerances. The preparation of cladding billet core and clad components and the assembly of billets by enclosing cores in welded Zircaloy-II jackets can be readily accomplished with conventional fabrication equipment. Some machining operations and billet evacuations, as used in the preparation of most picture frame billet assemblies have been eliminated. Roll bonds were obtained with reductions of 75% to 80% in thickness. Reductions in excess of 90% in thickness, although not necessary for bonding , can be used for economical productions of long plates. Plates can be made with clad to core bond strengths from 30,000 psi to 60,000 psi. Properly heat treated plates have sufficient ductility to allow cold finishing by rolling, forming, bending, or twisting, with reductions of 20% to 30%. Edge bonds of Zircaloy to Zircaloy have been obtained which were corrosion resistant to 260 C water. End seals which were also corrosion resistant to water …

Nondestructive assay (NDA) methods, principally passive gamma measurements and active neutron interrogation, have been studied for their safeguards effectiveness and programmatic impact as tools for making inventories of highly enriched uranium fast critical assembly fuel plates. It was concluded that no NDA method is the sole answer to the safeguards problem, that each of those emphasized here has its place in an integrated safeguards system, and that each has minimum facility impact.

The Gas Cooled Fast Reactor (GCFR) Phase I Assembly is the first in a series of ZPR-9 critical assemblies designed to provide a reference set of reactor physics measurements in support of the 300 MW(e) GCFR Demonstration Plant designed by General Atomic Company. The Phase I Assembly was the first complete mockup of a GCFR core ever built. A set of basic reactor physics measurements were performed in the assembly to characterize the neutronics of the assembly and assess the impact of the neutron streaming on the various integral parameters. The analysis of the experiments was carried out using ENDF/B-IV based data and two-dimensional diffusion theory methods. The Benoist method of using directional diffusion coefficients was used to treat the anisotropic effects of neutron streaming within the framework of diffusion theory. Calculated predictions of most integral parameters in the GCFR showed the same kinds of agreements with experiment as in earlier LMFBR assemblies.

In 1956, the Experimental Boiling Water Reactor (EBWR) Facility was first operated at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) as a test reactor to demonstrate the feasibility of operating an integrated power plant using a direct cycle boiling water reactor as a heat source. In 1967, ANL permanently shut down the EBWR and placed it in dry lay-up. This project plan presents the schedule and organization for the decontamination and decommissioning of the EBWR Facility which will allow it to be reused by other ANL scientific research programs. The project total estimated cost is $14.3M and is projected to generate 22,000 cubic feet of low-level radioactive waste which will be disposed of at an approved DOE burial ground. 18 figs., 3 tabs.

Metal cutting techniques that can be used to segment the reactor pressure vessel of the Experimental Boiling Water Reactor (EBWR) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) have been evaluated by Nuclear Energy Services. Twelve cutting technologies are described in terms of their ability to perform the required task, their performance characteristics, environmental and radiological impacts, and cost and schedule considerations. Specific recommendations regarding which technology should ultimately be used by ANL are included. The selection of a cutting method was the responsibility of the decommissioning staff at ANL, who included a relative weighting of the parameters described in this document in their evaluation process.