The Atomic Energy Commission has requested that HAPO produce 30 Kg of U-233 in the form of irradiated thorium (Q) slugs. It is requested that delivery be completed by July 1, 1955, and that delivery begin as soon after July 1, 1954 as possible. The bulk of the ``Q`` pieces will not be available for charging for some time; June 1954 is the best estimate at this time. There are no data on a mixed J-Q loading. There are some thorium slugs on-site which are normally used for flattening purposes, and there is time to get some preliminary information by the exposure of a few mixed J-Q columns. It is intended that the U-233 produced in the test will be part of the production requested by the AEC in HAN-53744. This Production Test authorities the charging of sixteen columns loaded with alternate ``J`` and thorium.

Report presenting an experimental investigation of the performance capabilities of an asymmetric swept nose inlet of circular projection in the supersonic wind tunnel at a Mach number of 3.85. The aysmmetric inlet was evaluated in terms of its pressure recovery and mass-flow characteristics for angles of attack up to 9 degrees. Results regarding diffuser performance, supercritical flow patterns, oblique shocks, subcritical stability ranges, and Mach number profiles are provided.

Report presenting a preliminary experimental investigation of the performance capabilities of an asymmetric swept nose inlet of circular projection in the supersonic wind tunnel at a Mach number of 3.85. The performance of the inlet was compared with previously reported performance for more conventional, axially symmetric, annular nose inlets.

Studies in the 321 Building dissolver during December 1953 and January 1954, were successful in developing a laboratory-proved mercury-catalyzed dissolving flowsheet into a suitable plant procedure. However, this flowsheet was not adapted for Redox plant operation because of uncertainty about the possible presence of hydrogen above the lower explosive limit in the off-gases. Subsequent laboratory work has resulted in a better understanding of the hydrogen evolution, and has resulted in developing low hydrogen evolution flowsheets. When one of these flowsheets is selected for further work, it will be tested in the 321 Building dissolver with non-irradiated slugs to provide information for scaling-up the single-slug laboratory data to a plant-scale operation. It is the purpose of this memorandum to outline the factors considered to be pertinent to the 321 Building investigation, to be used as a guide in making preparations for the runs to be performed.

From Introduction: "The investigation reported herein is a continuation of a ram-jet-combustor design program being conducted at the NACA Lewis laboratory. The purpose of this broad program is to establish basic design criteria for combustors operating over wide range of fuel-air ratio with low pressure losses and high combustion efficiency, and to utilize these design criteria in the development of practical ram-jet combustors."

This report is intended to be a description of current work being done by the Physics Unit at the Hanford Atomic Products Operation. The work is concerned mainly with the study of graphite-moderated natural uranium reactors for the production of plutonium on a large scale. In addition, varied physics problems associated with the operation of an industrial atomic plant are occasionally dealt with. The report is divided into four sections; lattice physics; nuclear physics; irradiation physics; and plant physics.

An investigation was conducted to determine the combustion response to rapid fuel-flow changes in a single tubular combustor at two simulated altitude-rotor speed conditions of 25,000 feet-70 percent rated engine speed and 50,000 feet-70 percent rated engine speed. Limiting rates of change of fuel flow (acceleration limits) were determined and the effects of certain combustion air flow variables on the transient combustion characteristics were studied with the aid of rapid-response instrumentation.

Memorandum presenting a turbojet engine with a centrifugal-flow compressor which permitted overspeed, overtemperature operation and was modified for spray cooling. The effectiveness of spray cooling as a method which permits operation at overspeed, overtemperature conditions with this engine was investigated and the overspeed, overtemperature performance was obtained. Results regarding the cooling system performance, turbine performance, and engine performance are provided.

Memorandum presenting a calculation of theoretical values of rocket performance parameters for JP-4 fuel and various mixtures of liquid fluorine and liquid oxygen, assuming equilibrium and frozen composition during the expansion process. Data were calculated at several equivalence ratios for each assigned fluorine-oxygen mixture. Some of the parameters explored include specific impulse, combustion-chamber temperature, nozzle-exit temperature, equilibrium composition, mean molecular weight, characteristic velocity, coefficient of thrust, and ratio of nozzle-exit area to throat area.

Report presenting an experimental investigation conducted in the supersonic wind tunnel at three Mach numbers on a translating-spike inlet analytically designed to keep the cone shoulder downstream of the cowl-lip station without a net internal contraction. The inlet in this investigation had an internal cowl-lip angle of 17.5 degrees and was constructed to have the same inlet capture area and maximum cross-sectional area as a previously tested inlet with an internal cowl-lip angle of only 7 degrees. Results regarding the total pressure recovery, effect of spike translation, external drag coefficients, and effective thrust parameter are provided.

The purpose of this study has been to evaluate the chemical resistance of various bearing materials to solutions of nitric acid and uranyl nitrate hexahydrate with views toward selecting the best material to be used as bearings in Purex submerged rotating equipment.

In the dry chemistry process of the Metal Fabrication Building, plutonium oxalate as received from the Isolation Building is converted to plutonium tetrafluoride and the fluoride is then reduced to the metal. This document discusses the oxalate-fluoride conversion which involves oxidation of the oxalate and subsequent fluorination of the oxide, utilizing anhydrous HF gas. Batch operation is practiced. The standard batch for the period covered by this report was 400 g Pu.

From Summary: "Modifications A and B of impeller model MFI-1 and A, B, and C of impeller model MFI-2 were investigated experimentally in an attempt to determine what allowance in blade height should be made for boundary layer and viscous losses in an impeller designed for isentropic compressible flow. A gradual increase in blade height was arbitrarily made from inlet to outlet in anticipation of a gradual build-up of boundary layer. Apparently there was a rapid build-up of boundary layer near the inlet in the experimental case rather than a gradual one. Therefore, the proper allowance for boundary layer cannot be described from the data obtained."

Sea-level static testing of turbojet engine afterburner.

Report presenting a sea-level static investigation to determine the performance and some design principles for a short afterburner. The power section of a 12-stage axial-flow turbojet engine was used and the afterburner was designed to fit within the length required for the tail pipe used on the standard nonafterburning model.

From Summary: "A flight test has been conducted to determine the longitudinal stability and control characteristics of a 0.133-scale model of the Consolidated Vultee XFY-1 airplane with windmilling propellers for the Mach number range between 0.70 and 1.13. The variation of lift-curve slope C(sub L(sub alpha) with Mach number was gradual with a maximum value of 0.074 occurring at a Mach number of 0.97. Propellers had little effect upon the values of lift-curve slope or the linearity of lift coefficient with angle of attack."

From Summary: "An investigation was conducted in the 8-by-6 foot supersonic wind tunnel on the effect of exhaust-gas temperatures on the external and internal characteristics of a convergent-divergent nozzle having an area expansion ratio of 1.83. Data were obtained over a pressure-ratio range from 1 to 20 at free-stream Mach numbers of 1.6 and 2.0 for exhaust temperatures of 860 degrees, 1650 degrees, and 2000 degrees R. Results of this investigation indicated that generally both the internal and external performance characteristics were only slightly affected by a large change in jet temperature. The small differences in performance which did occur were predicted satisfactorily from theoretical considerations."

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Memorandum presenting an investigation of the theoretical performance of a two-stage ballistic rocket missile with a centerbody and two parallel boosters for JP4-oxygen and ammonia-fluorine propellants. The missile using the ammonia-fluorine propellant weighs about one-half as much as a missile using JP4-oxygen. Results regarding the optimum missile and effect of variation of design parameters are provided.

From abstract: "A method for fabricating 30-in.-long stainless steel - uranium dioxide sheet was developed and the properties of the fabricated sheet were investigated."

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The following report is a quarterly report done by the Physics Division of the University of California's Radiation Laboratory, covering the period of November and December of 1953, and January of 1954. This report discusses general physics research and the development and operation of the accelerator.

Results of preliminary tests with photographic emulsions using a lip target are discussed. Some methods for the search of heavy mesons are suggested. The preliminary tests with photographic emulsions were designed to investigate exposure conditions inside the Bevatron. These were carried out with stationary targets, since injected targets were not available at that time. The first exposure was designed to study the shielding required for emulsions placed in the direct beam (9 inches from the magnet conterline) during the entire acceleration cycle. Three 200{micro} Ilford G5 emulsions embedded in various thicknesses of brass were exposed for 30 pulses. Nominal maximum energy of beam was 3.5 Bev. During the second and third exposure (nominal maximum beam energies 4.1 and 6 Bev respectively) a lip target was placed in front of the emulsions. This was designed so as to dampen out the radial oscillations in the first section (.36 inches thick, 1/2 inch radial length). The beam should then hit the second section (.9 inches thick, .75 inch radial length) which is designed to reduce the beam orbit by {approx} 1 1/4 inches and then hit the emulsions on the next turn. 1/2 inch brass absorber was placed ahead of the emulsions.