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This report discusses procurement, fabrication, and specifications of aluminium components manufactured by Harvey Aluminium Company in Los Angeles, California.

To reduce manpower burn-out rates resulting from contamination on tools and equipment which are used to remove process tubes, a method for decontaminating, evaluated. The referenced document reported the results of a small scale test designed to remove film from inside the process tube prior to removal of the tube from the reactor. A more conclusive test was also outlined. The purpose of this document is to report the results of the larger scale test.

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The Technical Division was asked recently to consider designs for new reactors that would add 8000 MW capacity to the Savannah River Plant. One modification of the existing SRP design that would enable a higher power rating, and therefore require fewer new reactors, is an increase in the maximum pressure in the D{sub 2}O system. The existing reactors at SRP are designed for a maximum pressure in the gas plenum of only 5 psig. Higher pressures enable higher D{sub 2} temperatures and higher sheath temperatures without local boiling or burnout. The requirements in reactor cooling facilities at any given power level would therefore be reduced by pressurizing.

This document presents a summary of work and progress at the Hanford Engineer Works for December 1955. The report is divided into sections by department. A plant wide general summary is included at the beginning of the report, after which the departmental summaries begin. The Manufacturing Department reports plant statistics, and summaries for the Metal Preparation, Reactor and Separation sections. The Engineering Department`s section summarizes work for the Technical, Design, and Project Sections. Costs for the various departments are presented in the Financial Department`s summary. The Medical, Radiological Sciences, Utilities and General Services, Employee and Public Relations, and Community Real Estate and Services departments have sections presenting their monthly statistics, work, progress, and summaries.

Separan is a now water plant coagulant chemical which was submitted to the Process Sub-Section for evaluation in late 1954. Beaker tents were run which showed the material to be potentially valuable in modern water filter plants, but thorough evaluation was impossible because proper testing facilities were not available. Since August 1955, Process Sub-Section has operated an experimental filter plant which has shown promise as an evaluation tool. Consequently, as the facility appeared to be adequate for testing Separan, a trial run was made. The results have been so promising that an interim report was thought desirable. The results of our primary tests follow.

Tables are presented for free energy and heat of formation for salts (oxides, sulfides, halides) metals often encountered in metallurgy.

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The two cases of fully developed turbulent flow passing a flat plate at zero incidence and through a tube are considered. The laminar sublayer whose thickness is usually considered as constant at a given Reynolds number is postulated, in effect, to vary with the heat flow. The effect of natural convection is taken into account, despite its minor importance in predicting the heat transfer by forced convection in the turbulent regime. A general formula of Nusselt number is obtained as a function of Prandtl, Reynolds, and Grashof number. The heat transfer by natural convection alone becomes only a particular case and the Nusselt number is readily found by dropping out the term containing the Reynolds number. Calculated results agree excellently with experiments as conducted by previous investigators. (auth)

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A production-scale procedure for purifying and concentrating Pu contained in the stripping solution from a TBP extraction process is described. Conclusions from exploratory tests on variables affecting the efficiency are included. (auth)

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Multigroup diffusion theory calculations performed in connection with the fast power breeder reactor development program at Argonne are summarized. The problems investigated relate to: steady-state properties- longterm changes; reactivity coefficients associated with temperature changes; effectiveness of various control methods; evaluation of neutron lifetime; various methods of radial power flattening; various parametric studies to determine optimum design points; accuracy of diffusion theory for systems under consideration; and analysis of experimental results. (auth)

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The commercial feasibility of the electrolytic process for Th production has been demonstrated. The cell produced 7 lb. of good quality metal per hour. A cathode cooling system was developed. The major construction materials, Ni and graphite, were satisfactory. The process yield was 86%. (T.R.H.)

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