Four routine shutdowns were experienced during the month. A measurable amount of the excess reactivity held in the control rods at the first of the month has been lost in the decrease in the average accumulated exposure of all the metal in the pile. The vertical safety rod guides have been measured for vertical alignment by the Maintenance Dept. A definite pattern has been found in the misalignment of the guides. The horizontal rod thimbles were borrowed on January 2, 1947 to see if any leaks were present. No leaks were observed but No. 2 Rod and No. 8 Rod had heavy gouge marks along the longitudinal axes. Several thimbles contained white corrosion. During the month two new bismuth tubes were established, 2871-D and 2877-D. This now gives the desired pattern of ten bismuth tubes.

The physics of the shutdown of the D pile on July 2 is emphasized in the operation report. The F pile shutdown and operating specifics are also discussed. Water, corrosion, and engineering are reported for the B, D, and F areas.

The following report provides data collected during an investigation in the Columbia River. The purpose of this investigation was to research the radioactivity present in the bottom-living organisms of the river.

Report presenting an investigation at subsonic and transonic speeds in the high-speed 7- by 10-foot tunnel to determine the aerodynamic characteristics of a 42.7 degree sweptback wing with a 20-percent-chord and 50-percent-span outboard aileron. The investigation was performed in transonic flow over a bump on the tunnel floor and in subsonic flow on one of the tunnel side walls.

Report presenting wind-tunnel tests made to determine the aerodynamic characteristics of a scale model of a high-speed bomber with a dual pusher propeller aft of the empennage. Some of the results discussed include longitudinal, lateral, and directional stability and control, the empennage design, and ground effects on the aerodynamic characteristics. The results indicate that this particular airplane has several advantages with regard to stability and control over the conventional-type single-engine airplane configuration.

From Introduction: "The present report presents the results of such an analysis as regards the longitudinal-stability and control characteristics of the various airplanes tested."

Abstract. to estimate the oxygen picked up by thorium in casting a rapid method of running the acid insoluble content was developed. the quickest procedure consists of reacting with mixed acids, fuming with perchloric and filtration to separate the "free" thorium from the "combined". The precipitate is ignited and weighed as thorium dioxide.

"Four 90 degree two-dimensional turning passages designed by the method of characteristics were tested at an inlet Mach number of 1.71. The measured losses varied from 5 to 15 percent of the inlet stagnation pressure. The smallest loss was obtained for a passage in which separation on the convex surface was minimized through the introduction of a favorable pressure gradient" (p. 1).

From Introduction: "Analyses that provide a basis for comparing the centrifugal-stress distributions inherent in jet-engine turbine blades of several designs currently in use were therefore made and are presented."

"The material given in this report summarizes some of the results of recent research that will aid the designers of an airplane in selecting or modifying a configuration to provide satisfactory stability and control characteristics. The requirements of the NACA for satisfactory flying qualities, which specify the important stability and control characteristics of an airplane from the pilot's standpoint, are used as the main topics of the report. A discussion is given of the reasons for the requirements, of the factors involved in obtaining satisfactory flying qualities, and of the methods used in predicting the stability and control characteristics of an airplane" (p. 1).

"A series of calculations of the dynamic response of airplane wings to gusts were made with the purpose of showing the relative response of a reference airplane, the DC-3 airplane, and of newer types of airplanes represented by the DC-4, DC-6, and L-49 airplanes. Additional calculations were made for the DC-6 airplane to show the effects of speed and altitude. On the basis of the method of calculation used and the conditions selected for analysis, it is indicated that: 1) The newer airplanes show appreciably greater dynamic stress in gusts then does the reference airplane; 2) Increasing the forward speed or the operating altitude results in an increase of the dynamic stress ratio for the gust with a gradient distance of 10 chords" (p. 1).

The chelate process for the extraction and decontamination of plutonium has been investigated. The process is designed as an alternate process for ihe Hanford type operation. The basic chemical factors have been studied and two flowsheeis have been developed and tested for recovery of plutonium. An over-all yield of plutonium in excess of 99% is reported for one flowsheet using benzene as the organic solvent and 98.5% when toluene was substituted for benzene. The general factors involved in establishing all details of the flowsheets are thoroughly discussed and decontamination studies are indicated to complete the study in the present equipment. (auth)

Physical and inorganic Chemistry. Studies are reported on: volatile complexes of ZrCl/sub 4/ and HfCl/sub 4/ with POCl/sub 3/; reaction of UCl/sub 4/ with LiAlH/sub 4/; preparation and properties of metal uranates and polyuranates; heats of solution of UO/sub 2/(NO/sub 3/)/sub 2/ hydrates; absorption spectra of Np in HClO/sub 4/, and separation of Np and Pu chlorides by a flow method. Process Chemistry. Extraction of Th from Mailiackrodt U raffinate was studied. Nuclear Chemistry aad Radiochemistry. Invesigations were carried out on: organic tritium; exchange reactions of U ions in solution; exchange reactions of Fe in aqueous solutions: Tc recovery from old Hanford slugs; (a,2n) cross section of Pa/sup 231/; and spontaneous fission counting U/sup 236/ and Pu/sup 238. (T.R.H) l822 Nuclear Chemistry and Radiochemistry. Measurements of the half- lives of Ac/sup 227/ and RaD(Pb/sup 210/) were continued. The effective pile neutron capture cross sections for U/sup 236/ were determined by measuring the activity of the resultant U/sup 237/ with an end window geiger counter. A study of ion chambers for tritium analysis is presented. Procedures were developed for the determination of tritium and C/sup 14/ in onganic compounds. Physical and Inorganic Chemistry. An investigation of the electrochemistry of Np in …

The effects of temperature, time and other variables on the rate and extent of reaction between UF/sub 6/ and various types, grades and particle sizes of commercial activated carbon have been studied experimentally. It is shown that both hydrolysis and reduction of the UF/sub 6/ occur, the latter more slowly than the former. Reduction leads to the formation of a mixture of fluorocarbons ranging from CF/sub 4/ to a wax-like maternial volatile only above 250 deg C. There is also evidence for the adsorption of UF/sub 6/ on an undetermined substrate. (auth)

None

Report presenting comparative tests of the rolling power of plain constant-chord, full-delta, and half-delta ailerons on delta wings with varying degrees of sweepback were tested on rocket-propelled test vehicles. Results regarding the effect of leading-edge sweepback, a comparison of rolling effectiveness, and comparison with theory are provided.

Report presenting an analysis of the effects of compressibility on the pressure coefficients of several bodies of revolution by comparing experimentally determined pressure coefficients with corresponding pressure coefficients calculated by the use of linearized equations of compressible flow. The results indicated that the theoretical methods predict the subsonic pressure-coefficient changes over the central portion of the body but do not predict the pressure-coefficient changes near the nose.

An investigation was conducted to correlate the knock limited performance of flight and single-cylinder engines under a variety of operating conditions.

Memorandum presenting an investigation conducted to provide data that may be used to correlate the engine service performance of cast Vitallium turbine buckets with metallurgical properties. Data were obtained from four turbine wheels of Timken alloy with cast Vitallium buckets. Examination of 12 broken buckets indicated that 8 of the failures were probably caused by fatigue and 4 by impact with pieces of other broken buckets.

A method is derived for calculating the damping coefficients in pitch and roll for a series of triangular wings and a restricted series of sweptback wings at supersonic speeds. The elementary "supersonic source" solution of the linearized equation of motion is used to find the potential function of a line of doublets, and the flows are obtained by surface distributions of these doublet lines. The damping derivatives for triangular wings are found to be a function of the ratio of the tangent of the apex angle to the tangent of the Mach angle. As this ratio becomes equal to and greater than 1.0 for triangular wings, the damping derivatives, in pitch and in roll, become constant. The damping derivative in roll becomes equal to one-half the value calculated for an infinite rectangular wing, and the damping derivative in pitch for pitching about the apex becomes equal to 3.375 times that of an infinite rectangular wing.

Memorandum presenting a description of an axial-discharge mixed-flow compressor, which is especially adapted for jet engines because of the large mass flow per unit frontal area. The best impeller was selected on the basis of the maximum air-flow capacity, which was 19.6 pounds per second for a 14-inch-diameter impeller with a tip speed of 1480 feet per second and a pressure ratio of 3.5.

Report presenting an analysis of an axial-discharge mixed-flow compressor designed to combine the compactness, reliability, and wide operating range of a mixed-flow compressor with the high flow capacity per unit of frontal area that characterizes the axial-flow compressor. The primary objective of this design was to maximize the flow capacity for a predetermined pressure ratio. Results regarding the flow distribution at the impeller inlet, flow distribution at the impeller outlet, and impeller performance are provided.

"This report is concerned with the effectiveness of this washback procedure in reducing the phosphate concentration and also with other methods by which the simultaneous extraction of phosphate along with tuballoy may be minimized."

"A dislocation theory of fatigue failure for annealed solid solutions is presented. On the basis of this theory, an equation giving the dependence of the number of cycles for failure on the stress, the temperature, the material parameters, and the frequency is derived for uniformly stressed specimens. The equation is in quantitative agreement with the data" (p. 183).