During the course of the ZPE-2 experimental program additional measurements were performed under the Alco Products Research and Development program. Included in this program were the evaluation of various absorber section compositions and reactivity studies designed to facilitate analytical techniques. The results of these measurements are presented. (auth)

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It is expected that after the Homogeneous Reactor Test has operated at high power, some maintenance operations will require flooding the reactor cell. Minimum temperatures for preventing peroxide precipitation from the fuel solution during flooding are plotted. (D.E.B.)

Experimental data obtained from the simulating air flow rig indicated that though the fluid entering the fuel elements amd control rods from the plenum chamber follows a rather random behavior, there is, however, a fairly consistent distributional pattern. Thus, fuel elements located equidistant from the core center may require different orifice diameters to meet a given flow requirement. This, in fact, is apparent from the final orifice diameter schedule which was recommended. Control of flow into the control rods was accomplished by restricting the flow into the fuel elements, thus allowing more fluid to enter the reds. Orificing or direct forms of flow regulation were not used on the control rods since their geometry was not conducive to installation of control means, and also because of the satisfactory results obtained with resort to flow control devices. The effect of the orifice schedule on the coolant flow distribution in the core is shown. These curves are based on the average of V/V/ sub avg/ values determined from experimental data for families of fuel elements and control rods located at specific core radii. It should be noted that the final recommended orifice schedule is an attempt to further refine the nearly satisfactory …

An introduction for the beginner to the fundamentals of nuclear physics is presented, dealing genernlly with the reactor physics aspects of the processes used at Hanford in the production of plutonium. The information is presented primarily for reactor operators and is intended as an aid toward better understanding of crucial pile conditions, as a training guide for new personnel, and as a source of subject matter for group discussion. (J.R.D.)

This document outlines a book on the subject of reactor fuel reprocessing that is still in the planning stages, representing the authors' thinking as of the arbitrary cut-off date of October 15, 1957. The subject matter that was intended for inclusion was: special considerations in radiochemical processing; chemical processes and operations; mechanical operations; fluid flow; heat transfer operations; solvent extraction; other mass diffusion operations; instrumentation; auxiliary equipment; plant design and operation; and fuel processing economics.

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One of the basic problems associated with the production of uranium tetrafluoride is the varying reactivity of uranium trioxide (orange oxide). Separate batches of material produced by the same method may be so dissimilar that they require different sets of reaction conditions for satisfactory processing. Orange oxide (UO/sub 3/) is almost invariably a mixture of several different types. Reactivity'' is the term applied to the behavior or a given orange oxide with respect to its reduction to UO/sub 2/ and subsequent hydrofluorination to Uf/sub 4/. Assuming constant reaction conditions, it is thought that the reactivity of an orange oxide depends to varying degrees on the chemical composition and the physical makeup of the oxide. The visual examination of numerous samples of UO/sub 3/ suggested that the color of the oxide could be directly related to some of its chemical and physical properties. From this it was deduced that color ought to be related to the reactivity or the oxide and if so its measurement would permit the desired rapid prediction of reactivity. Quantitative measurements of color were made in the visible region of the spectrum. These measurements were compared to experimentally determined reactivities. A simple rapid test was ultimately devised …

This is the monthly report for the Hanford Laboratories Operation. Metallurgy, reactor fuels, physics and instrumentation, reactor technology, chemistry, separation processes, biology, financial activities, employee relations, laboratories auxiliaries, radiation protection, operation research, inventions, visits, and personnel status are discussed. This report is for October 1957.