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This document details activities of the N-Reactor Department during the month of January 1964.

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A survey of the PITA-18 nonpoisonous spline program was conducted in conjunction with a study to determine the best method of eliminating the variability of axial flux on the fuel performance parameter, q. The results of this survey and the conclusions reached in the rupture coefficient study were found to be inter-dependent such that both are presented in this report. The data from the PITA-18 nonpoisonous spline program, as received, is the output of the NOLA-2 computer program. One quantity of interest is the rupture potential relative to a cosine, commonly referred to as the relative rupture potential. As programmed, the relative rupture potential, which was derived by applying the rupture model to individual fuel elements, might be expected to vary linearly with the rupture rate. The use of the relative rupture potential was studied over the period of July 1962 through December 1963. The results of this study are presented.

Four years of intermittent development has culminated in the successful test drilling on-reactor, of one step plug hole. Since 1960, several different drive units and many diamond, carbide, and tool steel cutting heads were tried unsuccessfully in attempts to bore a stepped hole in a mockup of B, D, P side shielding. Success was finally achieved in 1963 using a standard horizontal boring mill and tool steel cutters. With slight modifications, this same equipment was successfully used in an on-reactor test drilling at F Reactor in December of that year. The on-reactor test revealed the need for improvements in the equipment. Chip flow was inadequate and appeared to be caused by poor air flow in the core receiver. Cast iron cutting technology used on the mockup did not work on-reactor and had to be revised on the spot. The graphite did not break up into chunks as desired and had to be manually removed. None of the steel cores were more radioactive than 50 mr/hour at approximately 2 inches, but the cast iron core read 300 mr/hour at 10 feet. It had to be handled very quickly. The dose rate for handling the graphite was 400 mr/hour. It, too, was …

Reference (2) requested that we review the possibilities that classified information might be revealed by isotopic composition of fission products, and suggest methods of making any such compositions. These questions have been reviewed thoroughly by Hanford Laboratories experts; their analysis confirms earlier conclusions (Reference 1). Based on current classification guides, isotopic compositions of cesium, promethium, and probably other rate earths could reveal secret information. Unless classification rules are changed, we see no way to declassify these fission products except by blending them with unclassified products from other sources.

Purpose of this supplement is to increase the maximum allowable liquid level in the near downcomer for single downcomer operation. The required clearance between the downcomer lid and liquid level is reduced from 24 inches to 18 inches in the near downcomer, providing bulk outlet temperature is maintained less than 93 C.

Recent (HCR) Horizonal Control Rod operating problems at the K Reactors, caused primarily by graphite stack distortion, have stimulated several designs of HCR`s capable of operating under adverse conditions. One such design is an aluminum HCR, not completely dissimilar to the present HCR`s, conceived by the Research and Engineering Operation of I.P.D. The successful use of aluminum as a structural material is strongly dependent upon the operating temperature of the aluminum. This study was conducted to determine anticipated operating temperatures of the HCR during reactor operation at the present K Reactor conditions.

This is the monthly report for the Hanford Laboratories Operation, January 1964. Reactor fuels, chemistry, dosimetry, separation processes, reactor technology, financial activities, biology operation, physics and instrumentation research, applied mathematics, programming operation, and radiation protection are discussed.

Information resulting from recent graphite investigations in the K Reactors were presented to the Council. Separations as much as three to four inches were reported. Contraction of the graphite within the fueled regions of these reactors is now about one per cent in the direction transverse to the extrusion axis of the graphite and about two per cent in the parallel direction. Saturation is not expected until shrinkage of at least two to three per cent is observed in the transverse direction. The contraction is resulting in two principal operating problems; control rod entry and loss of 3{times} balls in the separations following a ball drop. The principal purpose of the review concerned only the ball system and particularly the philosophy governing the system`s use. Following a historical review of the ball system philosophy, our present views were developed by the consideration of six questions and answers. Our points extracted from these questions were (1) the IPD reactors require a backup safety control system (2) the backup system should be separate from the primary safety control system, (3) the backup system should be activated automatically upon accidents capable off disabling the safety rod system, (4) the system actuation should be …

The original test authorized the irradiation of about 20 fuel columns containing hot-die-sized, diffusion-bonded fuel elements. Objectives of this supplement are to permit irradiation of an additional ten columns of hot-die-sized, diffusion-bonded fuel elements, and to obtain data on the relation of the coolant temperature distribution and fuel element behavior. These fuel columns will be irradiated in smooth-bore Zircaloy-2 process tubes in the C Reactor.

The purpose of this test was to further evaluate the behavior of N Reactor fuel elements at conditions equivalent to or more severe than those expected at N Reactor. A. Date Charged: June 2, 1963: B. Fuel Elements: A total of fourteen 23.2 inch NAEl elements with an enrichment of 0.947 per cent were charged. C. Exposure: The fuel elements were charged a total of 5,661 hours. Of this period, the reactor operated 3,841 hours and the loop was at desired operating conditions 3, 292 hours or 86 per cent of reactor operating time. D. Date Discharged: January 24, 1964. E. Reason for Discharge: Goal exposure reached.

A 40-day uranium core canning test (10,000 lbs of high nickel AlSi) is proposed in which one canning line has only AlSi of 0.78-1.1 % Ni added as makeup; the other canning lines would be operated as usual. Besides monitoring the Ni content and other impurities in the test and control lines, attributes, variables, and destructive fuel element data would be collected and analyzed. Estimates for annual savings are given for 8, 9, and 10-line shifts per day.

This report describes EG&G activities in support of the Rover Program for the month of January, 1964. Details are discussed in succeeding sections and in the appendices with respect to the various tasks included in our scope of work. At Test Cell A., the Facility Mapping Test, EP-IV, was success- fully completed. Preparation continued for the NRX-AL program scheduled for February, 1964. At Test Cell C., a high flow acoustics test, EP- 1, was conducted. This was the last experimental plan to be completed before the Kiwi-B4D cold flow test series, scheduled to begin on 31 January 1964. Cost curves, except for Test Cell C Operations, still are somewhat below the budget.

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This monthly technical report details activities of the Reactor Physics Research and Engineering staff of the N-Reactor Department for the month of February 1964.

This report, for January 1964 from the Chemical Processing Department at HAPO, discusses the following: Production operation; Purex and Redox operation; Financial operations; facilities engineering; research; and employee relations. Weapons manufacturing operation; and safety and security.

This report discusses comments received on the previous report on internal graphite moderator forces (HW-79120); sleeve test channel inspection; and BDF reactor distortion.

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The Hanford reactors contain a very large inventory of fission products and it is very important that this inventory be contained. In recognition of this, rather stringent reactor cooling requirements have been established for the Hanford reactors. This includes the requirement of three independent cooling systems, including the system for full level operation. The second and last-ditch systems both are usable only after a reactor scram and take-over automatically from the flywheel decay of the process pumps. In 1962, two projects were completed that affected the last-ditch cooling adequacy of the K reactors, One project increased the reactor pumping capacity and, therefore, its power level; and the other considerably modified the emergency cooling systems. Since this time, three tests have been conducted to determine this last-ditch cooing adequacy. In order to provide a uniform approach to this adequacy determination, the method employed by Reactor Engineering is presented herein. The report presents a method for determining the maximum reactor power level for which measured last-ditch flows will provide adequate emergency cooling, A number of pertinent charts are included, A method is also presented for determining the last-ditch flow that should be measured during a test for any desired level of normal …

This report provides an addendum to the February 1963 production studies and details Neptunium 237 production yields.

This report details progress in an intensive investigation which was launched to determine the basic mechanisms leading to gross loss of UO{sub 2} fuel upon thermal cycling of UO{sub 2}-W cermets and to suggest means of overcoming this serious operational problem. (This problem was recently uncovered at both Lewis Research Center and at Hanford). More than 40 separate experiments were conducted in four high temperature furnaces, at temperatures to 2600 C, pressures from 10{sup {minus}5} mm vacuum to 1000 psi, atmospheres including wet, pure and tank H{sub 2}-Ar mixtures, N{sub 2}, and He, and cycle periods from 30 seconds to 15 hours. Specimens examined included two types of NASA-fabricated plates, three types of Hanford high energy impacted discs, and several other materials used for single experiment evaluation.

This report discusses testing conducted to establish an interim normal limit for nitrogen concentration in the reactor gas; obtained information to be used in defining assuredly positive gas system pressure; and obtain other useful information on the reactor gas system, such as total apparent system volume, accuracy of the gas activity meter at low nitrogen cencentrations, etc.

Approximately 285 ribbed aluminum process tubes will have been installed in the central zone of each K reactor on completion of the zirconium tube replacement program. This report recommends the use of mixer fuel elements in the ribbed tube and discusses the basis for the recommendation. The recommendation is complicated by the fact that two tube designs having different dimensions will be used and the optimum mixer location for the two tube designs is different also.