The loss of cooling water from a Hanford production reactor has serious implications because of the accompanying reactivity transient. It is imperative that the time dependence of this transient be determined in order to evaluate properly some aspects of reactor safety. A previous experiment has been done however it was primarily in the nature of an exploratory run leading to the present experiment. The experiments described below cover a much wider range of conditions and have been used as a basis for analog computations to determine the adequacy of the present safety systems from a response standpoint.

The November, 1957 monthly report for the Chemical Processing Department of the Hanford Atomic Products Operation includes information regarding research and engineering efforts with respect to the Purex and Redox process technology. Also discussed is the production operation, finished product operation, power and general maintenance, financial operation, engineering and research operations, and employee operation. (MB)

Owing to continuous uranyl nitrate calcining facilities at Hanford, the reactivity of the A oxide produced was reduced, with lower conversion to UF{sub 4}. A process design was developed for increasing the A{sub 3}O{sub 8} activity by fluidized-bed reduction to UO{sub 2} and reoxidation to A{sub 3}O{sub 8}. Justification for the installation would be in the $250,000 to $300,000 saved in not needing additional fluorine cells and $310,000 per year operating cost savings. The installation would cost $700,000 or $860,000; operating cost would be $270,000 per year. It was concluded that a full-scale process cannot be justified at the time of the study.

A power unit comprised of a reciprocating hydraulic cylinder controlled by hydraulic, mechanical, and electrical elements was developed to drive pulse generators for solvent extraction columns in the Purex Hot Semiworks. Design bases included remote control of continuouslyvariable pulse amplitudes between 1/ 2 and 1/2 inches, and pulse frequency up to 120 cycles/min. Each of nine power units operated 30 to 60 million cycles without serious difficulty, although minor modifications and corrections were made during scheduled shutdowns of the Semiworks. Operational irregularities, such as erratic or drifting amplitudes, occurred with sufficient frequency to indicate deficiencies in the original design. The triangular pulse wave which is characteristic of the power unit was suspected on several occasions as having an adverse effect on extraction column performance. However, no correlation was found to show that column performance is adversely affected by the triangular pulse. (auth)

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The specification for the plutonium content of fabricated parts requires that for each three-months production a statistical estimate be made of process variance (variation in actual plutonium content from part to part). Prior to the fourth quarter of 1956, this requirement was met by the following indirect technique: Chemical assay was made of at least one-half the parts produced; by-difference analysis (subtraction of the measured impurities from 100 per cent) was made of all parts produced; and the chemical assay and by-difference measurements were analyzed to permit partition of the observed, between-part variance in chemical assay results into process variance and analytical variance.

Laplace transformation is used to obtain the solution for temperature distribution around a bomb cavity as a function of time and distance from its center. (T.R.H.)

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In the preoperational checkout of the APPR-1 it became apparent that the control rod acceleration after scram was lower than expected. It was expected that the control rod acceleration after scram would be 0.750 g(1) where g is the acceleration of gravity. However, measurements made at Ft. Belvoir indicated an acceleration of 0.4 g. The effect of this reduced acceleration on the safety of the APPR1 is reported in this memo. In the operation of the APPR1 the most dangerous condition exists at cold startup. Therefore the behavior of the APPR-1 in a startup accident with a rod acceleration of 0.4 g after scram is considered. Analysis of the most adverse startup accident in the APPR-1 indicated that at the 15 Mw level scram the reactor is on a 33 ms. period. Rod insertion begins after a 50 ms. instrument delay, at which time the power is 80 Mw. The maximum power reached with a rod acceleration of 0.4 g is 96.5 Mw. The total energy released is about 5.8 a 10/sup 3/ Btu which is far below the 8 x 10/sup 4/ Btu which would result in melting at the center line of the fuel element (and probable core …

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A fall-out sample collector was designed and tested for use in collecting samples at the soil surface. The sampler consists of artificial grass and a stainless steel pot. Results are included from preliminary studies on the scavenging properties of artificial grass. The effects of relative humidity, rain, and wind velocity on the efficiency of scavenging devices were investigated. A comparison was made of Sr/sup 90/ fall-out data from samples collected on gummed film and surface soil samples from various locations. Preliminary experiments were performed for the evaluation of devices used in determining air concentration of radioactive fall-out or other particulate matter. (For preceding period see AECU-3435.) (C.H.)

This document details activities of the Fuels Preparation Department during the month of March 1957.

This report describes the operation of the fuels preparation department for the month of April 1957. Manufacturing, employee relations, process development, plant improvements, and financial operations are described.

Adoption of a two-cycle solvent extraction process at Purex, in place of the present three-cycle process, offers great potentialities for reduction of manufacturing costs, improved product and by product recovery and increased capacity. This report deals with the engineering feasibility of converting Purex for two-cycle operation.

The purpose of this report is to present the results of an experimental program investigating the transient response of a BDF process tube to sudden plugging. The program was directed toward determining the degree of protection offered by the Panellit pressure gage system to the hazards arising from such plugs.

Desirable characteristics for the ORACLE compiler are given and limitations, item format, key words, and crossitem references are discussed. Programming and operating procedure are described. (W.D.M.)

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