A preliminary analysis has been made to compare the performance.of a ceramic ramjet reactor powerplant, such as described in General Electric Report No. XDC-56-5-81, with that of such a powerplant supercharged by a metallic-vapor-cycle compressor jet. Performance at sea level, Mach 2.5 is ·reported for the vapor-cycle compressor jet alone, for the ramjet alone, and for the compressor jet - ramjet combination. Results indicate that adding the compressor-jet as a supercharger for the ramjet provides an increase in specific thrust of about 20 percent over that of the ramjet alone, with an attendant increase in thermal efficiency of about 20 percent over that of the ramjet alone.

The Uranium Recovery Process (TBP Process) at Hanford extracts and decontaminates uranium from the Metal Waste produced in the Bismuth Phosphate Process. Aqueous waste, approximately equal in volume to that of the Metal Waste itself, results from the process. Although of several years' age, these wastes are still sufficiently radioactive that they must be returned to underground tanks for storage. For several years aqueous wastes of low radioactive content have been discharged to ground at Hanford. Polyvalent cations are strongly absorbed by the soil. Monovalent cations are poorly absorbed if present in solutions of high salt content. Ground waters migrate toward the Columbia River very slowly. These observations point out the desirability of removing, from wastes to be cribbed, those long-lived radioactive constituents which are poorly absorbed by soil. Cesium (Cs-137) and strontium (Sr-90) are the principal constituents of Hanford wastes which possess these characteristics. Strontium, while more hazardous biologically, is of somewhat less concern than cesium because it is better absorbed from high-salt solutions by soils. This report describes research done to develop on inexpensive process for the removal of fission products, especially cesium, from Uranium Recovery Process Wastes. 4 refs., 13 tabs.

This report discusses process development programs to be reviewed at the Savannah River Laboratory. The review will include reactor and metallurgical process development programs and chemical processing development programs.

It is concluded that austenitic stainless steels in the fully solution- heat-treated state will give satisfactory service in concentrated UNH solutions. (M.H.R)

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A world-wide network of gummed film stations was established to monitor fall-out following Operation Castle. Although meteorological data were poor, a general connection of tropospheric flow patterns with observed fall-out was evident. There was a tendency for debris to remain in tropical latitudes, with incursions into the temperate regions associated with meteorological disturbances of the predominantly zonal flow. As the season advanced, such incursions became more evident. Outside of the tropics, the southwestern United States received the greatest total fall-out, about five times that received in Japan. The maximum fall-out on any day at an individual station in the United States, correeted to sampling day, was 200,000 d/m/ft/sup 2/. It is concluded that the probability of early fall-out in inhabited regions would be reduced by holding Pacific test series in the winter months. (auth)

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Conditions of time, temperature, and pressure for hotpress bonding of aluminum-nickel and uranium-nickel disks were determined experimentally. A process for jacketing Hanford four-inch slugs, coated with nonporous nickel electroplates, in aluminum cans by cold-sizing and hot-pressing was developed and conditions of time, temperature, and pressure required for the actual canning process were determined. (auth)