The design of the Argonaut (Argonne Nuclear Assembly for University Training) was initiated by the Reactor Engineering Division of Argonne National Laboratory to satisfy needs for a low-power reactor facility within the Laboratory, and for training uses within the international School of Nuclear Science and Engineering (ISNSE). It was intended primarily for instruction and research in reactor physics. It was also considered as a possibility that it would fulfill the requirements of universities engaged in a program of nuclear science. The cost of the facility was to be kept to a minimum consistent with the high degree of inherent safety and a great amount of flexibility in the system. The basic design stemmed from the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory Thermal Test Reactor* (TTR), now called Nuclear Test Reactor (NTR). Modification during the course of the work justified the new name "Argonaut".

This seventh Annual Report is a summary of some of the progress in scientific and engineering research and development carried on at Argonne National Laboratory during 1961. As is customary in this series, only those portions of the total program that have reached such a stage that they may be of general interest are recorded. Thus, a comparison with the Annual Reports for 1959 (ANL-6125) and for 1960 (ANL-6275) will reveal the description of a generally different set of scientific activities. A more detailed presentation of any work covered in this report or of the many ANL projects not mentioned may be obtained by perusing the various progress and topical reports issued by the Laboratory during 1961. A list of the publications in the scientific journals during 1961 by Argonne personnel has been given as an Appendix.

The report is the third in a series of interim reports on the climatological studies which are being conducted at the Argonne National Laboratory. First report appeared as document ANL-4538 and covered the period July, 1949 through June, 1950; the second report, ANL-4793, covered the period July, 1950 through June, 1951. These annual reports are offered for purposes of information only; broad conclusions regarding the climate of this site must await the accumulation of a statistically significant amount of data.

Report issued by the Argonne National Laboratory covering the quarterly report from the Reactor Engineering Division. A summary of reactor programs, research, designs, development, and experiments are presented. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Report issued by the Argonne National Laboratory covering the quarterly report from the Reactor Engineering Division. A summary of reactor programs, designs, development, and experiments are presented. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Report issued by the Argonne National Laboratory covering the quarterly report from the Reactor Engineering Division. A summary of reactor programs, designs, development, and experiments are presented. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Report issued by the Argonne National Laboratory covering the quarterly report from the Reactor Engineering Division. A summary of reactor programs, designs, development, and experiments are presented. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Report issued by the Argonne National Laboratory covering the quarterly report from the Reactor Engineering Division. A summary of reactor programs (including the Power Breeder Reactor (PBR) and the Central Station Water Reactor (CSWR)), designs, development, and experiments are presented. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

This study was done to obtain information pertaining to the delayed photoneutrons and their effect on the reactor shutdown.

An improved continuous ether extractor is described. The modifications include a means of safely disposing of the active raffinate and a means of positivity checking the raffinate for completeness of uranium extraction. The results obtained on synthetic samples and on dissolver solutions are given. This work was undertaken because of a need for the determination of uranium in dissolver solutions with an accuracy of 0.1 per cent. After a review of available methods it was decided that a gravimetric determination would meet the requirements of precision and accuracy.

The Helium Leak Detector Test provides a method for detecting the presence of minute holes, cracks, fissures, etc. in the aluminum jackets of Hanford and Savannah River reactor fuel slugs which would allow moisture to penetrate to the uranium during reactor operation.

The feasibility of cladding plate type, corrosion resistant uranium-niobium fuel elements with Zircaloy-II by roll bonding has been demonstrated. Plates with cores of uranium alloyed with 3 w/o and 6 w/o Nb intended for irradiation testing in a high temperature water test loop in the MTR have been finished withing specified tolerances. The preparation of cladding billet core and clad components and the assembly of billets by enclosing cores in welded Zircaloy-II jackets can be readily accomplished with conventional fabrication equipment. Some machining operations and billet evacuations, as used in the preparation of most picture frame billet assemblies have been eliminated. Roll bonds were obtained with reductions of 75% to 80% in thickness. Reductions in excess of 90% in thickness, although not necessary for bonding , can be used for economical productions of long plates. Plates can be made with clad to core bond strengths from 30,000 psi to 60,000 psi. Properly heat treated plates have sufficient ductility to allow cold finishing by rolling, forming, bending, or twisting, with reductions of 20% to 30%. Edge bonds of Zircaloy to Zircaloy have been obtained which were corrosion resistant to 260 C water. End seals which were also corrosion resistant to water …

The Transient Reactor Test Facility was designed and constructed to operate with a large trasient thermal flux for brief time intervals in order to permit meltown studies on mockups of fast ractor fuel elements and for certain other reactor safety studies.

Reduction of the oxide formed in the slagging operation has been suggested as a possible means of increasing the overall ingot recovery. The various reduction methods which have been investigated are reduction with calcium, magnesium, and carbon. Details of each method are discussed in this paper.

Since the relative absorption in materials for thermal neutrons and X-rays is very different the use of neutron radiography as a complimentary inspection method to X-radiography has many potential advantages.

The paper focuses on the potential advantages of neutron radiographic inspection methods for metals

The differences in absorption characteristics between neutrons and X-rays have been pointed out by a number of investigators. Such inspection situations would include the possibility of greater radiographic discrimination for certain materials, the inspection of heavy metals with reduced exposure times, and the relatively easy inspection of light materials by themselves or even when they are in an assembly with much heavier materials.

A new Polaroid camera for detecting thermal neutron images has been subjected to a series of tests to determine its usefulness for neutron radiography.

A modification of the theory of X-ray radial distribution analysis has been presented in order to make this technique applicable to the problem of indexing the powder pattern of an unknown structure

Room temperature, 25° ± 2° C, lattice constants of substitutional solid solutions of plutonium in alpha-uranium have been measured by the Debye-Scherrer method

By copying radiographs on high gamma photographic film, a significant increase in overall system gamma can be obtained.

Covers a quarterly period of reactor development performed by the Argonne National Laboratory operated by the University of Chicago

A melting process was developed by which high purity electrolytic uranium crystals can be converted into sound ingots without serious contamination.

In the course of the development at Argonne of high purity uranium metal in ingot form, some questions arose as to the validity of the chemical analyses of some of the impurities (particularly those for carbon, boron, and silicon), with one analytical laboratory reporting concentrations in some instances of an order of magnitude greater than another laboratory. Since the low concentrations of impurities in this material involved, in some cases, the development of modified analytical procedures and standards, it was decided to check these discrepancies by having identically prepared samples analyzed by several AEC and associated laboratories. This report is a compilation of the results obtained.