Hanford Laboratories Operation Monthly Activities Report December, 1962

Page 1

HANFORD LABORATORIES OPERATION MONTHLY ACTIVITIES REPORT THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED ANDIS STORED O N THE OPTICAL DISK DRIVE HANFORD ATOMIC PRODUCTS OPERATION

Page 2

. This report was prepared as an account of Government sponsored work. Neither the United States, nor the Commission, nor any person acting i n behalf of the Commission: Makes any warranty or rgpresentation, expressed or implied, with respectto the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the information contained in this report, or that the use of any information, apparatus, method, or process disclosed in this report may not infringe privately owned rights; or Assumes any liabilities with respect to the use of, or for damages resulting from the use of any information, apparatus, method, or process disclosed in this report. As used in the above, 'person acting on behalf of the Commission' includes any employee or contractor of the Commission, or employee of such contractor, to the extent that such employee or contractor of the Commission, or employee of such contractor prepares, disseminates, or provides occess to, any information pursuant to his employment or contract with the Commission, or his employment with

Page 3

Route To: P. R. No. Location Route Date Signature and Date HANFORD LABORATORIES OPERATION HANFORD ATOMIC PRODUCTS RICHLAND, WAS HINGT This report was prepared only for use within General Electric Company in the course of work under Atomic Energy Commission Contract AT(45-1)-1350. Any views o r opinions expressed in the report are those of the author only.

Page 4

Atomic Energy Commission, Richland Operations Office F. P. Baranowski, Director, Division of Production Savannah River Operations Office, Aiken, South Carolina

Page 5

TABLE OF CONTENTS Force Report and Personnel Status Changes . Reactor and Fuels Research and Development Physics and Instrument Research and Development Chemical Research and Development Operation Applied Mathematics Operation Radiation Protection operation Finance and Administration Operation Test Reactor and Auxiliaries Operation

Page 7

BUDGETS AND COSTS December operating costs totaled $2, 224,000, a decrease of $106, 000 from the previous month; fiscal year-to-date costs are $13, 641, 000 o r 45% of the $ 3 0 , 0 0 6 , 0 0 0 control budget. development zosts f o r December, compared with last month and the control budget a r e shown below: Hanford Labcratories' research and Month Month To Date Budget Spent RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT E ighty-seven Zircaloy-2 ciad uranium metal specimens a r e now Data gathered from experience withready for charging in F-Reactor. these specimens w i l l provide data on the capability of Zirzaloy-2 fuel clhdding to withstand deformation. An experimental, fluted inner fuel tube of the N type has satisfac- . . torliy completed its fourth cycle in an ETR high temperature w a t e r loop. Fluted single tube N-Reactor fuel elements a r e now ready for ETR testing

Page 8

Contoured end caps are now being irradiation tested. These end caps are designed t o reduce clad strain in N inner fuel components that results from differences in thermal expansions of Zircaloy-2 and uranium. Wear within a n N-Reactor process tube during its estimated reactor lifetime by rubbing of fuel element supports would be 2 mils on the basis of preliminary laboratory tests. Development of a nontoxic, ductile brazing alloy for N-Reactor fuel has been s t a r t e d with preparation of 2 0 basic compositions having favorable Preliminary tests to evaluate N-Reactor pH control with NH40H vice LiOH w e r e completed in the out-of-reactor portion of KER- 1. High turbidity and film deposition were noted; they were possibly due to organic material present early in the tegt. Operation of the KER in-reactor facility on NH40H is planned early in 1963. Burnout monitoring samples from DR-Reactor showed high but not atypicai reaction rates. oxidation peak than did the previous set. tenance performed i n the interim between the tests. Monitors from KW-Reactor showed a smaller "air" This effect correlated with mainLong term irradiations of N-Reactor graphite are proceeding without incomplete flux data. By mid-January samples in H-4-2 will have been irradiated to EGCR graphite irradiations Results of H-3 samples have been delayed because of Analysis of data indicates that the rate of oxidation of N-Reactor graphite by water vapor and effect of hydrogen on the oxidation rate may be less than has been assumed heretofore. Three samples of low permeability graphite (for Dragon) were found to contract on irradiation much m o r e extensively than conventional graphite.

Page 9

Data from short time, 300 C, stress - rupture tests on N-Reactor pressure tube samples were extrapolated to estimate the life expectancy of N-Reactor tubes from the standpoint of creep. a' stress ievei equivalent to over 8000 psi internal pressure was provisionally A lifetime of 20 years at This is about five times the proposed operating pressure. An elevated temperature burst test was completed on a section of a Zircaloy-2 pressure tube that had been irradiated in the NRU Reactor at Chalk River, Ontario, Canada. The tube will be used in the NPD Reactor. Expos xe to 2 x lo2' nvt (E > 1 MeV) gave a ductile type of failure at a burst strength 1370 g r e a t e r than that of an unkradiated section of the tube. Arc melted ingots of thorium have been prepared and are being canned preparatory t o coextrusion of elements for irradiation testing. A technique has been developed for producing good b r a z e bonds of thorium to Ziriaioy-2 end caps. installation of high energy impact equipment for use with plutonium materials was completed and PuO -UOz powder was successfully compacted. Following decontamination, all recently discharged PRTR fuel elements were vlsually examined before recharging them into the reactor. fuel elements were re.jected because of broken spa;sr wires and two other U02 eiements were temporarily withdrawn from service for more detailed One A1-Pu eiement was rejected be-ause of loose bands. Wear pads (1/4-inch wide), designed +c reduce fretting corrosion, Derember 8start xp ; they will be examined during the next scheduled long investigation of plutonium segregation in one nonirradiated PRTR fuel rod revealed a maximum pLutonium concentration of 1. 57'0 as compared to a nominal enrichment of 0, 487'0. Heat transfer calculations on the effects

Page 10

of various degrees of segregation on surface heat flux are in progress ; preliminary results indicate no serious effects. Operation of the PRTR following decontamination indicates that 2 to 8 m g of plutonium remained in or had subsequently migrated to the c o r e area. Surveys confirmed an expected increase in radiation levels following startup. Examination of gas samples collected from an incrementally loaded, U 0 2 - P u 0 2 , 7-rod cluster revealed a tendency f o r nitrogen (introduced as an impurity in the UOz) to be gettered most extensively by the Zircaloy cladding of those r o d s that operated at higher heat ratings (higher inner cladding A specimen of A1-Pu, prepared w i t h plutonium containing 16. 33% PuZ4O, w a s irradiated for its seventh and last MTR cycle. the irradiation of t h r e e "Phoenix fuel" specimens containing varying amounts before the specimens are returned to HLO f o r destructive examination. Reactivity measurements w i l l be made in the ARMF at NRTS The first of a series of fuel elements designed to demonstrate the feasibility of fuel rejuvenation was sent to MTR for irradiation. diation, reenrichment of this particular element w i l l be accomplished by within each rod of the 4-rod cluster. The element will be re irradiated and The formation of PuC by carbon reduction of P u 0 2 appears to involve the intermediate formation of Pu2C3. h ve stig ation of room temperature phase relationships in the system Pu02 - Mg0were completed; there was no evidence of solid state solubility or compound formation between P u 0 2 and MgO. APu02 - Z rce r met was prepared by arc melting. The cer met exhibited a fairly uniform distribution of Pu02 particles in a continuous zirconium

Page 11

Melting points of (Th, P u i 0 2 solid solutions containing 0 to 7 0 wt% Tho2were determined. Lattice parameters of the solutions varied in accordance with Vegard's Law, X - r a y diffraction patterns indicate an unexpected coexistence of p-Pu203 and a P u 0 2 - r i c h phase in sintered Sintered densities of pellets prepared from calcined mixtures of ThoZ and plutonium oxalate were determined. P u 0 2 content in the range 2 to 50 wt7' P u 0 2 . They increase with increasing A 50 wt% tungsten-uranium mononjtride cer met was fabricated a t high energy impaction at 1200 C and 400,000 psi. uo2 cer met compacted using micronized UO 2 powder had a density of The compacted density Under the same conditions, a 50 wt% tungstenA 50 wt% tungsten U02cer met was recovered intact after ir radi a - tion In the MTR "Rabbit" at a cladding surface temperature of approximately Exam hati on of U02 heated to 3000 C in a closed tungsten system reveaied oniy a slight reaction between the tungsten and the U 0 2 . NG gross changes in fuel structure, other than cracking, were revealed during examination of a 0. 500-inch OD, VO diated 18 effective power days at a nomina: surface heat flux of approximately The most active s l i p plane in singje crysta; VO was observed to be the same at room temperature as that re pcr ted at temperatures of 700 to Uranium monosuifide powder was compacted to 10. 81 g / c c ( 9 9 . 570 TD'; by high energy impaction at 1200 C and 400. 000 psi, reported density obtained by azonventional methods is about 90% TD.

Page 12

Irradiation of uranium monosulfide to an exposure of approximately 3 x 10 fissions percm3 caused an increase of 0. 09% in the lattice parameter. An auxiliary electron gun was successfully used to heat reflectionL electron microscopy specimens to 1400 C . Procurement of cladding material for the EBWR plutonium fuel vibrational compaction equipment is in progress. unclassified plutonium were procured, and specifications were prepared for fusion of depleted U 0 2 . Design, modification and installation of loading and Sixty kilograms of Studies are proceeding on the substitution of plutonium fuel in the A near-thermal spectrum Phoenix fuel reactor for a lunar base application is being studied. A tentative core arrangement and size for the fast super critical pressure reactor concept.was selected that consists of three high enrichment c0ncentri.c cylinder fast regions separated by cylindrical flux t r a p regions. Each flux trap region consists of a moderator zone (possibly hydrided zirconium) sandwiched between two layers of depleted U02. effect for the tentative core design (of infinite height) is + 1. 2'70 A k / k(versus + 1870 A k / k for a single region core) and will be approximately zero for a core of finite height. The total void Annealed molybdenum foils containing different levels of carbon as 750 C for 2 hours, and then thinned for electron transmission microscopy. A marked difference in the nature of agglomerated defects present in foils with no carbon and those containing at least 100 ppm C was detected. Light microscope examination of two specimens of thorium, irradiated to about 0. 1 at.% burnup, and of one nonirradiated thorium control specimen has revealed no micro structural change due to irradiation.

Page 13

Microscopic examination of a high purity uranium specimen irradiated t o 0. 27 at.% burnup at 5 7 5 C revealed much psuedo-swelling in the form of cracks and tears. previously f r o m uranium irradiated at both higher and lower temperatures and to higher and lower burnup. This observation is consistent with data obtained The oxidation behavior of nickel containing 2 vol% T h o 2 has been determined as a function of oxygen pressure. increased weight gains; however, the pressure-sensitive rate occurs only during the initial (less than 5 minutes) period of the oxidation. Higher pressures result in A heater failure in the creep capsule which was charged in the c r e e p test. The nature of the failure is as yet undetermined. capsule w i l l be ready for charging near the end of the month. Tensile tests conducted on irradiated Zircaloy-2 specfmens cut from the transverse direction (with respect to rolling) exhibited nearly a complete loss of unlform elongation. opea :n fabricating Zircaloy-2 tubing, instability in the circumferential direction can be expected with small plastic strains after moderate neutron Since a similar preferred orientation is develIJnder investigation are the deformation processes and the development of +he piaatlc zone in a region of complex triaxial s t r e s s such as exists p l ~ sti cflow about a crack. s t o r e d energy of plastic deformation and the energy expended in creating new surface along +he expanding crack can be estimated. A technique has been developed for delineating the region of From volume measurements of this zcne, the Metailographic studies have revealed that the nucleation of twinning in Zircaloy-2 is strongly impeded by neutron damage. strclngly impeded i f the specimens are coid worked before irradiation. deformation is less restricted by irradiation than is twinning. Twinning is more

Page 14

that are formed in irradiated specimens are much l e s s lenticulate than normal and have irregular boundaries. influence on plastic instability and can be important in the initiation of This behavior has a n important The Inconel pressure tube that was irradiated in the DR-1 Gas Loop Metallographicbroke transversely when it was removed from the reactor. examination of a section from n e a r the break shows extensive oxidation at both inner and outer surfaces, with a penetration of 4 to 5 mils. of intergranular corrosion accelerated by sulfur contamination of the metal surface near the fracture may have been a contributing factor in the premature failure of the tube. Design work on the prototype of the ATR Gas Loop components continDesign of the tensile specimen quadrant assemblyued throughout the month. w a s completed and is being fabricated to permit mockup testing of gas flow conditions in the in-reactor t e s t section. Purchase requisitions containing functional specifications for a prototype regenerative heat exchanger , heater, and a water-cooled heat exchanger w e r e forwarded to prospective manufacturers. Candidate materials for high temperature applications were procured and welding tests were initiated. 2 . Physics and Instruments The analysis of data f r o m recent experiments indicates that the worth of the N-Reactor control rods will not be reduced by water flooding of the Activities in support of N-Reactor instrumentation procurement included: recommendations for improving fission counter performance, analysis of performance data on source and intermediate range nuclear instruments, completion of a revised design test report on the fuel failure monitor prototype spectrometer, and suggestions for improving the traveling wire flux monitor.

Page 15

Specification and …