Project 4.2 was designed to study direct (primary) air blast injury, in animals, from an atomic weapon in the range of 20 to 50 psi under circumstances affording protection against missiles, thermal and ionizing radiation and to estimate the probable direct air blast hazard in man. The pressure levels at which atomic weapons direct air blast injuries occur will determine, to a large extent, the number of blast casualties likely to be encountered. It is probable that fatal overpressures are not reached until well within the range at which indirect (secondary) blast, thermal and ionizing radiation are practically certain to prove fatal. Only in special situations affording partial protection from other injuries are blast injuries likely to be of practical importance. Two animal species of widely different body weights (700 rats and 56 dogs) were exposed, together with air pressure recorders, in aluminum cylinders, covered by sandbags and dirt but open at both ends, at seven stations distributed within the intended overpressure range of 20 to 50 psi of Shot 10« About 200 rats were likewise exposed in Shot 9. Unfortunately, the destructive effect of the air blast of Shot 10 was much greater than anticipated. Many of the exposure …

This document is Report No. 3 (covering the period 10/11/53 to 12/10/53) on Flat Plate Bonded Fuel Elements at the Savannah River Plant. It contains information on the fabrication and testing of the uranium components as well as the structural components (aluminium).

Attention has continued to be concentrated on routes employing either wrought uranium or powder metallurgy product for the making of flat plate fuel elements of approximately 0.180-inch uranium metal core thickness bonded to either ribbed or ribless aluminum sheaths. Intermediate goals of the program are to have elements 18 inches long for MTR irradiation tests this fall and to make sufficient advance in the overall program in 1954 so that an initial reactor charge of 15-foot long fuels can be provided as early as possible in 1955. The development of a satisfactory process tube for retaining an assembly of several fuel elements is also required. Uranium of satisfactory quality for fabrication into fuel elements appears to have been produced by the August high alpha rolling at Superior Steel, and it seems likely from the electroplating results that the metal can be employed for electroplating and bonding without such surface preparation as vapor blasting, grinding, or machining. Difficulty in obtaining aluminum components, both sheaths and process tubes, remains a bottleneck in the development program and specifically has delayed work on the wrought metal samples for MTR tests.

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Production Test 105--533-A and Supplements A and B which authorize an ``experimental area`` in C-pile in which the tube power limits are relaxed to allow tube power increases up to 16-2/3 per cent above the maximum allowed tube power outside of the experimental area. Supplement B (HW-28775) further limits the maximum tube power to 820 kw. The planned increase of tube powers at C-Pile (from 700 kw/tube to 800 kw/tube) for the tubes outside of the experimental area will cause the experimental area to operate at tube powers up to 935 kw.

During the exploration of the possible use of an extraction process for the separation of gaseous cascade impurities from uranium hexafluoride, a number of short exploratory studies were carried out. These included (1) experimental determination of the vapor pressure and liquid density of perfluorodibutylcylicether, (2) calculation of the liquid vapor-equilibria of the systes perfluoro-n-pentane-uranium hexafluoride and 1,2-dichlorohexafluoropropane-uranium hexafluoride, and (3) derivation of equations for the estimation of activity coefficients in ternary systems from the properties of the pure components. The results of these studies are summarized in this report.

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Processes for preparing a suitable ThCl/sub 4/ electrolyte free of H/sub 2/O and C/sub 2/ were investigated including chlorination with C -Cl/sub 2/, sulfur chlorides, NaCl, and preparation from anhydrous solvents. The method selected consisted of reacting ThOCO/sub 3/ with HCl, adding NH/sub 4/Cl, and heating in inert atmosphere to drive off NH/sub 4/Cl. (T.R.H.)

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A large number of experiments relating to nuclear structure and materialization of energy will fall within the energy range of primary and secondary particles available from the Bevatron. Some experiments of interest are outlined below with pertinent comments. Proton-proton scattering can be extended to the high energy range using liquid hydrogen targets and hydrogenous materials by bombarding the target with the internal beam or using externally scattered protons. Proton-deuteron scattering measurements using liquid deuterium targets or solid materials can also be extended. Proton scattering from heavier nuclei may be found less difficult to interpret at these level energies as the nucleons will interact more or less independently. The wavelength of the bombarding particles will now be much smaller than nucleon diameters. Nuclear collisions represent by far the most important interaction between high energy nucleons and matter. Proton-neutron charge exchange interaction within the internal target will provide an external flux of neutrons which can be used directly for total nuclear cross section measurements and neutron-proton scattering. Low energy measurements, say below 200 Mev; show that nuclear interaction cross sections do not go down as 1/{lambda} as reactions become predominantly nuclear rather than electromagnetic. Measurements can now be extended into the Bev …

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This report details activities of the Radiological Sciences Department during the 1953 Fiscal Year.

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The possible means of removing aluminum jackets from uranium slugs were considered before Hanford start-up in 1944, and have been considered at other sites for processing other types of slugs. The sodium hydroxide-sodium nitrate dissolution, which served well for Bismuth Phosphate plant operation was accepted for use in the Redox plant. The other means of jacket removal, namely, dissolving the jacket in nitric acid with the aid of mercury as a catalyst, has been adapted for use at Arco and offers certain possible advantages for Redox Plant operation. The primary purpose of this document is three-fold: To report exploratory experimental work performed to date in the Process Chemistry laboratories on the study of the dissolving reaction and the properties of the resultant feed solution; to present a summary of the status of related work at other sites and by other groups at the site, as determined from a survey of the available literature references; to outline questions yet to be answered before the process may be used in the Redox Plant and a program to be followed to answer these questions.

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The radiological aspects of a proposal to recover some of the heat now wasted in cooling water from the Hanford reactors by using the hot water as boiler feed for the steam plants in the 100 Areas are evaluated. The radioactive material in the hot effluent water will contaminate the boiler feed water system, cause additional radiation exposure of personnel, and increase the cost of maintenance and radiation protection, but very little radioactive material will be carried over into the steam system. At present steam loads, this proposal is economically attractive; other proposals being considered may nullify any savings from this one. 21 refs., 1 fig., 10 tabs.