Hanford Engineer Works Monthly Report March 1945 (Deleted)

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I , The Area Engineer BOX No, Kyfl P3FORE IING THIS DOCUlZDTT. SIGIJ AID DATE THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED AND IS STORED ON T H E OPTICAL DISK DRIVE

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UT thrw 190 haU nik operated at rsted capacftjt far eff ici a ies in acma of diuing the mnth.

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Ewer of Serama 2 6 3 Inhours poisoned ( A t Month end) 63 I22 100 Inhours in rodi (Jaonth end) 59 24 29 Oprntion of the IIeliul hrriflcatton Buildings (115-3, D, F) baa been so routina *at colPllunt on it hereafter dll be liaaited to unusual inoidenta. Operation WIM maintained a t 230 Ut hvsl exaept for two rcheduled shutdown8 to dirohugr nat ~ rial. 9, at which Unm 10 tolu were diacharged, Fsbruarr 22 were ala0 pmhed. of 70 pisue8 each of bimnuth wore loaded, tube -8 lnureaaed tram 30 piece. distributed at each end to I Rill 45 pieces. Tho u d t -8 purged w i t h aolida and tho preueure drop decreased Pram 19 pounds to 3 pourrda. (Itrill be understood t h a t theae pressure drop fihpres are reThe fir at of the80 shutdowns was for 29 hours on Such8 -The six bismuth piecroa loaded oa Tho poison load in the single poison During tho dirwg. of Yarch 8 , tro retire pfs a ~ 8bsouw lodged on one of tho elevator be-, duo ko the ehvntor boing loft too low, hours we- aonrmmd in k g i n g to get thap off. 80 porsan mu oxposed beyond tho nonnal Unit. This ua8 finally accanplishad Tho reooad rhutdarn u u on March 22, 8%whiah tine 13.3 tons were diaohargod, Tbis shutdown laated 20 houri. 8 pal, and at the end of tho month it L. 10 psi. The quantity of iron in tho r a b r has been aonrirtently lowor than a t rgy timo drop gain to about l/4 pri pot day. No ohango u u made i n the poiron pattern. At this time the pressurea drop had risen 4% Howerer, in tho last 10 day8 it h u boon Tho dirahlugo oquipmnt is now dopslapod to tho point whom no difflouXtier rot ivo piocm8 and tho oilom bo reauaad to a very lor value by UIO of trb Tho high ao tid ty rhiah 8oaunulste8 on pa- handling tho

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watohed to aroid 8olutioa and acme rontbbfag. tbroring tho pieaos tbo far, md thua nrirring tho mattm88 Tho charging t a b nust 8-11 bo platos prodded to rmuoivm their improt. W y G.0 aoaidontd trip rhutdamr 'IS- oxprionuod during thomonth, o m on Yaroh 10 dum to a tno-rPinuta outago on the BPA 230-11v q s k o and t h o othor on Yuah 24, bo limed ts bo dum t o oporatlng otrar in exchanging rods too fast. This oaused a rurgo in ao tir it g wKoh tripped the Beohan oirauftr. knitor. HQIOV ~ ~ ,no light. m e expsriencod on the Trssrure Yon it or at any The mrlr whioh has been done on efflwnt -tor monitoring a t the p i l e 8 ha8 re8ult.d i n 1 ~ 0 0equipment ohanger and i n the aouuauletfon of int'ormation on normdl oonditionr. Ca two ooaarionr in the p a i t , out30 t?fs nanth, unexplained ham now been definitely tied to the inadvertent inkoduotioa of ? urp aaterfd i2ta the water system over very short p r i o d s of time by manipulation of valva understanding of tho syotom. R%irap?aroatly loo8ened a mnau amount of f f h anci thi8 caused Zork is contiwiag on improving the ftanotioning md the Tho solids purge dwhg tho shutdown of Jlarah 8ma without isolde nt. la8-d onljr aa hour, tho net effect on the outlot readfag from th. Retention Dub (Dldg, 107) was very low duo to siring and mottling during the tou hours it t e e 8 for rater to go through tho 3 - i ~ at reduood flow followkg the p u r g o . Onr 4" bador sureen gam fndfortloru of partial plugging, but olearad up with aontinusd flar in tho next far hours. rhut dawn ta dlaaharge 10 tom of nut al rad to inorear. poimning. ru re8umed 29 hour. lator. pcmer 18ml u u out to 240 tRR to a n b i n an eXUar8 reaotiv-ftg adequat8 to r0om c from a odds n td rhutdoms. turnod o u t to be groator than expotad. l ml until Yu ah 15, who0 it was On Y 8 r e h 18, &tor 50 how8 of operation, tho

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tha oohrtsaay of tho pmrm drop for om tbirteon-day priod, dutt ng rh ich tho total inoreaso uw only 0.10 pri. On Staroh 15, tho unit was rhut down for tho first 10 ton diroizuge. hvontyfhr.0 tub08 of -tal aaf tho oxm d r t l n g poiroa ohaanol Uera dioohugod 8nd rapkaod with 66 tubor of motd, revon poiron ohmnola, and tu0 tuber of blmuth plooor. I'reo-fall usa wed with tha new dlsahanm oquipent inoluding tip - offt, loneor mattrarr p later and tho rear fa00 oil arrry-off trough. very ratisfautorg, oely T-lb hours baing required. The following mochlaiod work mu dono during this ahu td mt A downcamor &=bar m a inrtalled and aonn6oted toa Beohan in the +l A d%f'fbrentid *Aemohn ? m e r level indiaator waa lmtalled. The metal G.3. health ohambar8 were replaeod with pla at lo ~hmnbbrd. Ten of the long mattrear plater mare installed on the disaharge ahute, rad the torn rubber on tihe lmliru n u repaired. The oil-uatsr ourpoff damcamor and oroee-header f o r disahnrging The 1abjrl;inth ~ er it cop of aci li tier -re ipstmlled, The fly'a-eyo pti on oop rm inrtilled. On March 29, ttE4 u n i t was shut d o m for tho sauond 10 ton diaaharga. of 73 tuber were pu8hed without lnaident, that the Pila wae omr-poisoned r o on -oh 6 it m a shut d o m and tho original remn-ahamr.1 poiron p a t t e r 0 tam revised by rsplaolnp; tho top end bottom 6hmnrl8 (1874 8&i 3074) with uranium and two other8 with led du mie r (2474 b rrnd 2771), The three 0th- poison tuber mro loftunahangod. Tho p o m r 10~01 'IU &on raiaad W 225 MU, and to 250 on Marah 8. tion on A rod, it appeared that a love1 of 250 would not leave arlfo working nrrg3n of maotivity, and tho leva1 n a dropped to 240 W before the xenon poison had reached equilibriun, On Wah lS, .rt.r the xenon had oomo to oquillbrtun aO 240 XR, a odibration of A rod waa obtainod by dropping the lam1 rapidly to 125 W md oalfbrating tho rod porition ag.inst tho poison a u r m . Operation wa8 oontimod at 240 Wl 28 inhourr of reaotivity loft mor. In t h o 8bmaoo of 8 calibrac

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mer8 nura tbreo o u r outa,pr during tho month, a l l of short duration8 on mrch 9 oawed by 8 water pre sr ve maitor trip ; on0 oa Wch 10 oawd by 8 &art out8gm of p m r on the BPA ryutam; and a third on Xuch 15 oawed a h u o frilure in th. ll0-rolt rupply to ma of th. bakinan amplifiers. Bator prearure was ad nt a hod at 375 p8i during Febnxaty, whoa the unit wa8 atartod, but this aaured presrursr on the Panallit board uaaom:crt.bly a1060 to the high t r i p point, and was taking an amount or' ivatet which mould aooner or lstsr tend toward ineftideat Mlter plant operation, header) of about 31,UM) gpm according to flow amtors at the Pile Building. 'b large rsaativity and ef i eot i a poisoning pttern o f the Funit ha8 p edt ted flattening in tho Pile to tho extent that the hottest outlet =tar tamperatuPerr power 1evwL The hottest outlet mter temperature on tt h i & tub. in theF Pile is. 49% at 250 W levwl with SoC inlet water. Taoporary water eooling of the reutilstlng fnn bearings ha6 allowed sufficiently a on tin w operation of the f-8 t o keep the wntilatioa balanced, bEt the need for ddftiouaf heat removal i r evidant and it I s planned to in at all water cooled bearing8 (nm on order) upon their arrfd. hro high &otfvitier in dlfforent plmor throughout the Pile Buflding, p e r t l - ouhrly in the work area after rorarm cr purger of tho safety rod Ublea, hu reaoivmd oonriderablo attelltfoa during the month, Studies indicate that in Z i v i a g a rapid ahmagic- whom most needod, and the Projeat Engineering Group have been requesbd to determino what &.nger a r e irrdioatsd. facility in t o ba wed for detetaining the eP!'eot on fish of typioal contadnrntr in water dirchrrged into tho Columbia River. On 3-h 17 the Canstrwtfon MVirion lee tho Ar.8, and the final tie-in of equipLent and reh cer, uwall a8 d ohrmger necnssary for satisfactory operation, u a being a=- Conrulbatr for tho Corpr of Enginwrs ham inspeoted t h o installation &d ham mado foquertr f o r minor uhmgs8 md addition..

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1. An inareare in torn rod ends; improvrd oontrol of tha grqphfte a d oil e t u e uted as lubriornt for drrnrsy blooL, matahor, snd cfis alloviatsd 2. Lanor avo=@ extnuion qruUtp of b i l b t 8 prooesled; Teohaical i 6 inCreuping of mdr at the Prsrr Building (314), i a r t e r d of during =chinMach in iq yield bs mfi tod fi like amount. htruaion, xeahining, and aombind y i e l d 8 were an follorat Fabrurup Mamh To 9mte 1945 Sixteen bill ea nmro returned to vendors with the sornp shipment o f Yarah 22. !Pbeus billet8 were a8 follows; (1) Six UX billets rejeoted for 3if$ copper and t i n aonteata; and (2) Pip. G nnd 5 BT billet., a l l rejected 88 Class 3-6 on Testa ere bsfng prepared to utilize Me Red Bmd billet6 on hand. duaed from these rill be kept reparate until their fin81 disp or it ion am bo l~@hining rate eon t ix ed at the Febmary lsvsl.

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1. BlolP-reating - A Technloal Departanent teat rhmed good seating w i t h pie008 &e& caurad mu-seating rejects. This is baing futther invsatigated. banperaturo to bm port or it ical, and this is being watchod olossly. 'illpup - Fh. unoxplaimd inaroase i n this fsult is being investigated. 71- and non-aoatinE, together caused 44p of the rsjsations. BrPnre dlay reesioed a8 ingots was wed axelusively, and i a giving more uniform bath canposition lrith considornble time saving. Arrsngormntr have been -de to store-'al'lrmfaun-silicon scrap f o r Produotion of bismuth rlugs u8a startmi h r c h 26. troubleeaare 6tW, but ram proceeding norxally by moutktepd. Xeldfng proved the noat I February Maroh To Date 1945 About XO$ o f rlugr autoe1a.r.d during tho first tan dayr o f March warm 80 badly

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February Ear& TO Late 1945 The above oan figurer are for the entizv month. quality ate now boiag rupplied by tho,aan-daaturor. of +A0 13,OCO Serier and abovs wen u e d sxol*uiwly in oanrring. inspeoted in this Eoriea, 66.32 mat a l l s?eaifloations and another 23-35 were indudrbb a8 ureabh, In other wr-, a t o w of 900Z$ of +&e new Series were urarblo, a8 conpusd to 69% useable t n d 4%meeting 8pecfficrtions on the Series ree8iP.d in 1945 prior to the l3,000. reaeimd shrrr an evmn higher yiold. and 11.63 were indudable aa weable, m a k i n g 8 total of 95.3s uaeablo. Alminun c a m of auah improved Ths latest c a ~of the 16,900 Series of those, 84,3$mset a l l specifications This unit operated re-n 8-hour days, running midition, m e spooial cheok ra8 rua for th8 100 k e a reaheia8l Group. total o f 96 routine tssts. In

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The corsrsg. lay the P)qsfcr G r o u p at 105-3, 3 and P Breas has b..n reduced to only the &Y shift siaot on tho oecarion of start un. At lm-R and P rsrctfvitp dfb rat lo as corclrrlng all horlrontsl rod coaffquratiano usod In Curves rsbting rem tl vlt y excess to previaus ?omr histow, amount of metal corerlag rsactfvi ty trrnrients has bean substantially conletad, Cri ' vid MO Area Batch Size handled in b teh beyond tho ?reront Unit. riehe risk of obtaining a aonfiguratlun of prodnct md vater rodmstor and rsflector rhi& rroald lead 8 chrin zaactfoa is iRN#dbltI in water rclntlon wfth water reflector if ths dletrfbutloa of product wtf s ff sr my sfngle om of the folloving cmdftioas:

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#o acuount ha. been taken of a poaaible increase in ifasion crma section of plntonlm due t o a z’c8on.ance at 0.3 e.*. tho rmriatfon of the ratio of fissicn crosa station to capture cross sectim tbraagh this resonance, a x l it has been a ; s d that tbs effective ffssion -sa meetion is not affeated. Infomation avdlabh is meager on A pmoedare ha8 bwn suggested t o reanecitatb a p5-h which has died fram R prdonged SCZTIE. The aon8equmt loss of produutian m a y beavoided t o a large extent if enauqh poisbn shgs aru izzshed out uf the p i l e to enable +he unit to return to power. sa- in prodpcfion correspoads t o 80 megslatt days for a 2-hour scram snd 30 megawatt d a p far an 8 - h m X~IIIP.If no nsnscitation is xcade 120 megsratt after the time Oi th. lethal acrm, thua rustor!! the unlt t o I t a origind. state‘ofrerdivity a d power, The reammended procedure, constructed t o cmer scram8 of any hagth fro dl porers up t o 300 UT!, 5s brieflyr When its original pmer is 230 -3IV it dies for II hours, are loat. The poison slugs are replacad aUring a brief ghutdom 17 hours

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A repart ~ m nar bh gthe rsdta ai the water activity stw is in preparation, A baler by header m y of tbr IfIW p u S by .raaafnstion of tba deamy curve h a mt doteeted ray a- ratfvities that oatiLl be attributed t o jacket

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-0 behg oonrldtwod ruoh u oant;.inorr and duamy block.. Additional'llst8 of pyrophorio rod8 hat. bwn aompiled and gut a t the dirpoaal of Y.E.D., put i odu l. ~B billet a run hto ha Woh. The ~ alyri rof RU end UY lu to rial rua prarioualy has ahom no ohomicrl rearom for rbnormrlitier. Th. WI *Rod-8urda b i l l o t r produced rod. urd rlugs not muuh abnormal in yleld and rppumnt urablo. Thm BU …