Quarterly progress report metallurgy research operation at Hanford Atomic Products Operation in Richland, Washington.

From introduction: "The development and demonstration of the natural uranium reprocessed plutonium cycle in power reactors is an important phase of the peaceful applications of nuclear energy."

The following report studies an estimation of the amount of Pu(III) and Pu(IV) present in the IBP Stream, with the purpose of establishing an analytical, method suitable for routine control analysis. A method is discussed that is based on carrying Pu(IV) upon a zirconium phanylarsonate precipitate.

The following document analyzes radioactive spot contamination in and around the T and B Plant Areas.

Report discussing the use of a small-source approximation for engineering calculation of thermal piles. Explanation for how this type of approximation is more appropriate in certain problematic situations where a homogenization approximation would be doubtful is given.

Introduction: "In the evaluation of pile designs it is necessary to know how the production varies with the number of tubes. It has been possible to solve the problem in terms of some general parameters whose values may be quickly computed for any specific design when the pertinent information is available."

The following report discusses a method developed by Broida and Moyer, the method describes an emission spectrometer procedure for the determination of the ratio 100 D/(H4D).

A manipulator designed to support an irradiated slug at the bottom of the viewing basin, so that an operator could view it through a binocular telescope and be able to see all surfaces, was designed. Hydraulic power, using water, operates the manipulator and gears.

The first of two general methods are discussed based on the removal of the thin layer of aluminum to which graphite adheres. Two electro-polishing techniques, an electrolytic etch, an anodization-deanodication cycle and two chemical etches are described.

An electromagnetic instrument similar to the Multitest was built and used to test 2200 uranium slugs. It was found that the equipment could be used to detect inclusions and cracks in the uranium, but that small cracks are not readily detectable on a production basis unless the material is absolutely uniform in inclusion content. The instrument can be used, however, to sort out hidden defects of a reasonable size and to reject grossly dirty uranium.

The hydrogen contents of several types of fabricated uranium have been determined by a vacuum method and expressed in terms of ccH2/ccU. The data indicate that alpha-rolled metal contains about 0.25 ccH2(STP)/ccU whereas beta heat-treated uranium yielded values between 0.30 and 0.37 cc per cc. Restricted efforts were made to determine where in the heat treatment the 5 to 10 cc of hydrogen per slug were taken up. It appears that no one operation is wholly responsible for this additional gas, although reactions between beta heat treated surfaces containing microscopic defects, and nitric acid may possibly play a large role. In general it may be said that slug produced by powder metallurgical techniques contain less hydrogen than pieces produced by rolling and heat treatment.

Observations on sheep representing flocks in Utah adjacent to the Nevada Proving Ground were compared with findings made on experimental sheep exposed to various amounts of radioiodine. The Utah sheep showed no evidence of the radiation damage observed in experimentally treated sheep. Estimations of amounts of radioiodine on vegetation required to cause serious thyroid damage following a contamination event are included.

The very strong flux gradient in the MTR reflector might be thought to be some cause of worry. However, this gradient will be minimized by the presence of the large block of aluminum, which, because of its small effect on neutrons, will tend to flatten the neutron flux in its vicinity. Advantage should be taken of the shape of the test facility by placing the water hole corner closest to the MTR core. This placement should take best advantage of the flattening potentialities of the slowing-down flux from the test slugs, by placing the nearest (beryllium) moderator on the low flux side of the assembly.

One of the distinguishing features of many chemical production processes is that the process variation is obscured by measurement errors which are of the same order of magnitude or greater. This paper will discuss some elementary means of estimating true product variability under these conditions.

The purpose of this report is to develop an economic selection of conventional reinforced concrete structures of various shapes to establish a design criteria for intermediate level radioactive liquid wastes.

A new model High Range Beta-Gamma Survey Instrument, refer to blueprint numbers H-4-2760 and H-4-2761, was designed which utilizes a circuit similar to that of the older model but incorporates three ranges of 0-5 R/hr, 0-50 R/hr, and 0-500 R/hr.

Highly radioactive materials have to be examined behind massive shielding to protect personnel from the intense beta and gamma fields. Experience has shown that much maintenance time can be saved by mounting equipment to cell plugs so that a single machine can be removed without the necessity of shutting down the entire cell operation. Metallographic specimen preparation and photography have been reduced to an entirely remotized procedure. Various etchants have been tried and cathodic vacuum etching has proved more satisfactory than chemical procedures. Cathodically vacuum etched surfaces are much more stable than chemically etched ones and are in various other ways more suitable for remote metallographic study. Radiation darkening of objectives and other parts of the optical system is a major problem in remote metallography. The limited amount of work done to date has not fully explained the effects of irradiation on metallographic structures. Micrographs are presented of some materials after various degrees of irradiation.

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 …

During this quarter, the Hanford Atomic Products Operation reorganized with the elimination of the Radiological Sciences Department as a separate organizational entity. The new structure which was effective on September 1, 1956, is outlined in this report to indicate the new relationships.

This report describes the design, construction, and application of an electrical analogue for solution of the steady state problem. Teledeltos paper (an electrically conductive paper) was used to construct this analogue, and although this and other sheet materials has been used for heat transfer analogues in several previous investigations, it is believed that the present work is unique in the application of Teledeltos paper to three dimensional problems of radial symmetry.

Ceramic insulated, stainless steel sheathed thermocouples have been used to monitor temperatures of encapsulated uranium specimens, both in-reactor and out-of-reactor. No operational difficulties are encountered at low temperatures, but at a temperature of 700 C or greater, a eutectic is formed between uranium and iron. This reaction destroys protective sheath and results in thermocouple failure. A typical example of the phenomenon has been reported by J.W. Geffard of the Fuels Development Operation. Hanford Laboratories. Tantalum was suggested as a barrier between these metals and an evaluation of this system was made at 500 C.

Water treatment systems for preparing and maintaining high purity water in out-of-reactor or in-reactor test oops are becoming increasingly important. In out0of-reactor experiments the presence of ionic impurities in the water has a marked influence on film formation and corrosion rates. It is therefore , imperative that these impurities be maintained at the lower practical concentration.

A study of the nuclear safety in the storage and transportation of PRTR fuel elements has been made. This study was based on 7-rod clusters of plutonium-aluminum allow fuel elements containing 1.8 per cent Pu by weight. Each cluster is 7 feet 4 inches in length and contains 270 grams plutonium. Drawings of the "New Fuel Storage Pit" (H-3-11030) have been reviewed for nuclear safety. Nuclear safety criteria for the design of a lead shielded fuel transfer cask as well as criteria for the storage of these fuel elements outside the facilities mentioned in the above drawings have also been reviewed. For water moderated systems, a homogeneous model of plutonium, aluminum, and water was used t evaluate the critical parameters. These results should be conservative. At the conclusion of an experimental program to determine criticality parameters of PU-Al alloys in light water, a theoretical approach will be developed to calculate such criticality parameters.

Two water quality control labs are being provided for the the NPR. One, a "cold" lab, is located in the183 Building adjacent to the control room. Its primary purpose is to provide facilities for quality control of the output of the filter plant and the demineralizer plant. The other, a "hot" lab, is located in the 190 Building. Its primary purpose is to provide facilities for the quality control of the primary and secondary coolants, and the moderator coolant.