"The St. Louis Refinery produced its first UO3 and UO2 in 1942, and its first UF4 and U metal in 1943. The accent has always been on production, and the function of the extremely small research and development groups has been to aid the production units in their job. ... Recently, there has been a growing realization of the need for a broader and more detailed knowledge of both the chemical and technological aspects of all phases of work. ... This is the first of a series of quarterly progress reports on the research and development activities at the St. Louis Refinery."--p. 6

Abstract: Uranium associated with peat humus was discovered in a boggy meadow in the Sierra Nevada of Kern County, California, in the fall of 1955.

The design of a waste-gas treatment system for organic moderated reactors requires a knowledge of reactor waste-gas composition, generation rate, and radioactivity. To obtain data on these variables a continuous stream analyzer was constructed to analyze the waste gas from the Organic Moderated Reactor Experiment (OMRE).

Abstract: Design charts and systematic design forms are presented for simplified calculations to check the number of convolutions and thickness required to limit the deflection and pressure stress range in three types of bellows.

Abstract: An investigation of the metallurgical aspects of the SRE fuel element episode, that occurred July 26, 1959, has been completed.

Experiments were carried out to (1) explore possibilities for developing a less expensive device than the Hurst threshold detector unit (TDU) for monitoring possible accidental critical reactions in uranium-processing facilities, (2) to study the precision and accuracy of the TDU, and (3) to evaluate the ORNL film badge in mixed neutron-gama radiation fields.

Abstract: The experimental application of centrifugal clarification, precoat filtration, conventional filtration, and adsorption to the removal of impurities from a bypass stream of irradiated reactor coolant at the Organic Moderated Reactor Experiment is described and evaluated.

Abstract: The nature of the high boiling radiolysis products of OMRE coolants was studied extensively.

Abstract: In fulfillment of the general objective of developing information on two-phase flow required in the safety evaluation of sodium cooled reactors, pool and forced-convection boiling of sodium were studied both experimentally and analytically.

Abstract: An experimental bowable fuel element was developed to study temperature oscillations in the second core loading of the SRE.

From preface: This report satisfies the quarterly progress report requirements for PL-1 and PL-2 plant design work for the period ending September 30, 1960 At present time a SL-1 Core 2 is under construction. This is a replacement core for SL-1 (ALPR) and will be identical to a PL-2 core; a PL condenser is under test at the SL-1 facility; final construction plans for PL components and modules which are not site sensitive will be completed in March 1961.

Report discussing the preparation, stability, and recommended storage of cobalt trifluoride. "Cobalt trifluoride prepared by the action of fluorine upon anhydrous cobalt dichloride remains stable when kept in sealed glass tubes but on exposure to air it absorbs water and its use in the conversion of T3O8 to TF6 cannot be relied upon..."

A research program is being conducted to obtain experimental data in the irradiation of plutonium-enriched fuel to confirm a theoretical model for predicting isotopic composition and reactivity changes in plutonium-enriched, light-water-moderated reactors. Quarterly progress: The densitometry procedure (for measurement of alpha autoradiographs of fuel pellets) has been modified to eliminate the need for a second emulsion. The existence of a problem of latent image fading and non-reciprocity of the high-resolution emulsion has been recognized. A tentative procedure has been worked out to correct these emulsion difficulties. the number of polished pellets has been increased to thirteen. The number of hot spots per pellet has not changed appreciably. The largest spot seen is irregular with an estimated volume equivalent to that of a sphere of 35 mil diameter with a PuO2 concentration in the neighborhood of 60%. The VBWR irradiation run now under way is not scheduled to end until October. To the end of the last run the cumulative exposure reached 3703 MWD/T, as logged by VBWR operating personnel. Applying the same scale factor between logged exposure and Ce-Cs analysis of the first fuel sample gives a corrected exposure of 4416 MWD/T. Further debugging of EPITHERMOS, the epithermal extension of …

Activities in a program to develop techniques in the use of pulsed neutron sources to measure shutdown parameters related to large thermal power reactors are reported. The development of pulsed neutron source techniques for large power reactors has led to a new theoretical model recently developed by E. Garelis and J.L. Russell, Jr. The theory is presently based on a bare, one-group model with m-delayed precursors and takes all spatial modes into account. Results indicate, however, that the application of this model is much broader. Experiments were designed and carried out to both verify this new theory and to demonstrate the performance of the experimental hardware in a large power reactor.

Summary: A prototype control rod containing absorber plates made from an electro- deposited dispersion of boron carbide in nickel was tested in the VBWR. It was exposed to the reactor environment of 545 degree F boiling water and thermal neutron fluxes (perturbed) which ranged from 0.6 to 1.1 x 10/sup 13/ nv for 2236 hours over a period of six months. The maximum B/sup 10/ burnup achieved during the test period was 1.8 percent. After irradiation, the rod was examined. The results of the examination are summarized below: (1) The B/sub 4/C-- Ni plate assembly did not undergo significant dimensional changes during irradiation. (2) Numerous blisters developed on both the outer and inner surfaces of three of the four plates. Blistering was more severe on the outer surface than on the inner, and was most severe in a large region located in the lower half of plate 4. Metallographic examination revealed that the blisters were located only in the 2- mil protective nickel overlay covering the B/sub 4/C-- Ni dispersion. It was concluded that they formed from the buildup of gas pressure at the Ni: Ni-- B/sub 4/C interfaces, rather than from corrosion attack. Helium from the B/sup 10/(n alpha …

Report from Hanford Laboratories concerning "the design and construction of the 100-N Reactor and heat dissipation plant complete with the necessary auxiliaries" (p. 2). Details of its construction and the plant's systems and instrumentation are described as well as economic considerations.

"A finite difference approximation to a non-linear set of parabolic differential equations arising in shallow water theory is given. These difference equations were used to determine the shape and rate of propagation of a hum of fluid down a channel of constant depth. The hump of fluid was found to spread instead of steepen, as is the case in the usual shallow water theory."

"The problems of sequencing jobs through machines are discussed in a linear graph framework. The construction of feasible schedules from given technological orderings is related to the construction of transitive graphs from given component graphs. Methods of constructing transitive graphs are given and bounds on the number of different transitive graphs constructed from given components are determined. A recursive convex function defined on the transitive graphs-the job operation completion time and schedule time-is studied. Bounds on the number of different values that the schedule time can attain is obtained. Examples of multiprogramming, flow shop and machine shop scheduling are studied."

The progress report covers the work carried out during the first year 1958-59 in the department of metallurgy at M.I.T. under the supervision of Professors John T. Norton and Robert E. Ogilvie. A brief summary of the work that has been completed and in some cases still continuing is given. The work has been listed under the following general headings: (1) Diffusion studies in the uranium-niobium system, (2) X-ray detection of cladding defects, (3) Precision X-ray stress analysis of uranium and zirconium, (4) Magnetic studies of Fe3O3 single crystals, (5) Crystal structure studies of yttrium compounds, (6) Structural relationships in ZrFe2-ZrCr2 system.