This document details activities of the Irradiation Processing Department during the month of August, 1958. A general summary is included at the start of the report, after which the report is divided into the following sections: Research and Engineering Operations; Production and Reactor Operations; Facilities Engineering Operation; Employee Relations Operation; and Financial Operation.

Daily river temperature cycling has existed at reactor area river pumphouses from the beginning of operations. Of small account at first and due only to the daily air and solar radiation cycle, the phenomenon became significant with the initiation of daily river flow cycling at priest Rapids Dam to meet changing power generation requirements. The problem was compounded by the construction of the N reactor, placing a water intake and outfall at approximately half the previous distance between the K and D reactors. The decidedly non-uniform effluent distributions in the river at the shorter distances has caused apparent daily temperature swings at 181-D. This distribution was determined by the use of rhodamine B dye. Estimates of the relative contributions over a range of river flow to the temperature cycling at 181-N were made. A similar evaluation of the relative contributions at low river flow only at 181-D from K and N reactor operations has been requested by Douglas United Nuclear, Inc. This report is made to satisfy that request.

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ABS>The Gauss-Jordan, Choleski, congruent transformation, and rank annihilation methods for inverting large symmetric positive definite matrices were compared. An attempt was made to consider the effects of both condition and order of the matrix to be inverted on the closeness of the computed inverse to the exact inverse. Each method was programmed in FORTRAN using only single precision arithmetic. Then the error indicators were computed using double precision arithmetic so that the latter calculation was not a limiting factor. It was found that any one of the methods is satisfactory for a well-conditioned least squares matrix of order 10-30. However, when the matrix becomes ill- conditioned then the Gauss-Jordan method appears to be clearly superior (at least for the matrices studied). Algorithms and FORTRAN subroutines for each method are presented. (auth)

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The composite plates of the absorber section consist of compacts of europium oxide-- stainless steel clad with stainless steel by hot roll-bonding. Specifications are given to cover materials, dimensional and finish requirements, tests for quallfication of absorber plate fabrication, the conformance of fabrication procedure, and the manufacturing procedures. Drawings are also included. (M.C.G.)

Specifications were prepared for control rod fuel elements for the Core Il of PM-2A. These stainless steel-base fuel components of thin plate-type construction and containing a dispersion of UO/sub2/ were successfully used in powering the Army Package Power Reactor. The component, which consisted of sixteen composite fuel plates joined by brazing, was designed for radioactive service in pressurized water. Tests for qualification of fabrication procedures and specifications covening loading, materials, and processing are presented. Also included are drawings and the process flow diagram. (M.C.G.)

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Stainless steel-base fuel components of thin plate-type construction and containing a dispersion of UO/sub 2/ were successfully employed in powering the Army Package Power Reactor. The component is designed for radioactive service in pressurized water and consists of sixteen composite fuel plates Joined into an integral unit or assembly by brazing. Specifications covering loading, materials, and processing are presented. A list of applicable drawings and the process flow diagram are included. (auth)

Stainless steel-base fuel components of thin plate-type construction and containing a dispersion of UO/sub 2/ were successfully employed in powering the Array Package Power Reactor (SM-1). The component is designed for radioactive service in pressurized water and consists of eighteen composite fuel plates joined into an integral unit or assembly by brazing. Specifications are presented which cover loading, mterials, and processing. A list of applicable drawings and a process flow diagram are included. (auth)

Specifications were prepared for stationary fuel elements for PM-2A Core Il. Stainless steel-base fuel compcnents of thin plate-type construction and containing a dispersion of UO/sub 2/ were successfully used in the Army Reactor (SM-1). The component consisted of eighteen composite fuel plates joined by brazing, and was designed for radioactive service in pressurized water. Fabrication qualification tests and specifications covering loading, materials, and processing are presented. Also included are applicable drawings and the process flow diagram. (M.C.G.)

Specifications were prepared for the control rod absorber sections for Core Il of Army Reactor PM-2A. The neutron absorber section was composed of composite plates welded into the form of a rectangular parallelepiped. The composite plates were made of compacts of europium oxide in a stainless steel matrix clad with stainless steel by hot-roll bonding. Specifications covering materials and processes are included in the repont along with fabrication qualification tests. (M.C.G.)

This monthly document provide source and special nuclear material composition of ending inventory reports for the month of April 1966.