Aluminum caps and cans are thoroughly cleaned, before being used to can slugs, to insure wetting of the metal surfaces by molten AlSi in the canning pot. An acid bath is used, as part of the cleaning operations to remove surface oxide and other surface films from the metal. Two acid solutions are authorized in the standard operating procedure; a 20% phosphoric acid solution for etching both caps and cans, and a 1% hydrofluosilicic acid solution to be used for caps only. It is desired to determine the feasibility of using hydrofluosilicic acid exclusively as an etchant for both caps and cans.

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For several years-after the start-up of the Hanford Piles, little concern was felt for the quality of process water. Techniques developed by CMX and improved in the course of operating experience were substantially successful for controlling and removing pressure drop film; and corru%ion rates at the early power levels were uniformly low and not a matter of concern, particularly since slugs were not exposed for more than 250 MWD/ton. As power and exposure levels were drastically increased, however, corrosion rates began to become serious and now threaten to limit future increases. Whether or not corrosion was causing these latter problems, it was clearly imperative to seek ways to reduce the corrobivity of the water. It was recognized that subtantial savings could be made by the elimination of sodium dichromate as a process water additive. Since the rather high pH of process water was neceasary primarily to prevent dichromate reduction, the way would then be open for reducing the pH, and it was hoped that this would improve in-pile corrosion and materially reduce water treatment costs. There is a large amount of data in the project literature pertaining to the dichromate problem, and it seemed urgent in view of recent experiences …

This document presents a summary of work and progress at the Hanford Engineer Works for February 1953. 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 summaries 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 Service departments have sections presenting their monthly statistics, work, progress, and summaries.

It is recommended that the Design Committee approve the installation of a refrigeration system in the 105-C gas circulation system for removal of moisture from the reactor following a process tube leak as was previously approved by the C-431 Project Committed. Engineering studies show that this refrigeration system is necessary to provide sufficient water removal capacity in order that the water absorbing capacity of the system furnished by the silica gel towers will not be a limit to the rate at which a reactor can be rehabilitated following a serious leak.

Recovered uranium from the Redox and TBP Plants is concentrated to 100 percent UNH by boiling off water and nitric acid in 224-U Building, and the UNH solution is then calcined or denitrated to UO{sub 3} powder in 18 batch-operated calcination pots, also in 224-U Building. Plans are proceeding now to add to the above denitration capacity by installing two additional batch calcination pots of larger diameter than the present 18 pots (6 ft. rather than 2.5 ft.). At the time of design scoping of the existing batch calcination facilities several years ago it was recognized that potential savings in direct labor and maintenance costs, and other operational advantages, would undoubtedly result from the development of a continuous calcination process. However, no continuous UNH calcination process existed at that time, and the 18 batch pots were installed modeled after similar-sized pots in use by the Mallinckrodt Chemical Company at St. Louis. A program to develop a suitable continuous UNH calcination process and equipment is now in progress with the objective augmenting or replacing the existing batch process in 224-U Building. This document sets forth the savings calculated for complete replacement of the batch pots with a new continuous process.

A method is developed for estimating the dose to the lungs of a person exposed to the airborne radioactive dust from the cloud associated with a nuclear detonation. The analysis is applied to data collected at a point about 275 miles from the test site in the Fall, 1951, weapons tests in Nevada.

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A summary of operating experience and observations obtained during approximately 5OO hrs of running time on the PuP lead-bismuth forced circulation system is given. (auth)

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This report addresses the analysis of the sodium and water performance of the Atwood-Morrill swing check valve.

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This report discusses the proposal to expand the existing 224-U Building from an instantaneous rate of 13.5 tons of uranium per day to 18.5 tons per day. This is to be accomplished by the installation of two additional 8{prime} calcining kettles (or pots) available through the Atomic Energy Commission from Luckey, Ohio. It is the purpose of this report to present calculations and recommendations upon which design work is proceeding. This expansion is to utilize existing facilities of 224-U whenever possible and this report forms a record of the methods used in evaluating equipment and systems. Included are analysis of pot ventilation and pot unloading, stress analysis of the new pots, radiation hazard calculations and a composite schematic.

This memorandum discusses procedures to test new methods of bonding boron to aluminum tubing in the fabrication of horizontal control rods.

Pile operation data from 100-H and 100-C has demonstrated that symmetrical heat generation (flux distribution) can be attained with enrichment or enrichment and shortened control rods. The previous coring pattern was based on 100-H operation prior to enrichment and therefore was designed to accomodate an asymmetrical flux distribution. Because the present K reactor design includes shortened control rods and operation will probably include enrichment, the coring design has been revised to a symmetrical pattern. The purpose of this document is to present the coring pattern recommended for the 105-K moderator design.

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This memorandum discusses four photographs of Failure 250, from Tube No. 2179-C, which are presented to show the type of failure as viewed in the 111-B cave. The first three photographs are successive rotations of the slug, illustrating the split-out portion at the base end of the piece. The fourth photo was focused on the split to show the bulging of the slug and the width of the opening.

The investigation reported in this document concerns itself with studies of the mechanism of corrosion on the exterior of process tubes and with studies of the protective qualities of anodic films which might prevent corrosion on the exterior of process tubes. Sections of process tubing coated with Aqua-Dag, a colloidal graphite suspension, were included in these tests for comparison purposes as present operating procedures call for the application of Aqua-Dag to the exterior of process tubes for lubrication purposes during the charging of tubes into the piles.

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