Hanford Laboratories Operation Monthly Activities Report March, 1962

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HANFORD LABORATORIES OPERATION MONTHLY ACTIVITIES REPORT THIS DOCUMENT H A S BEEN SCANNED AND IS S TO ZED ON THE OPTiCAL DISK DRIVE HANFORD ATOMIC PRODUCTS OPERATION

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This report was prepared as an account of Government sponsored work. Neither the United States, nor the Commission, nor ony person acting on beholf of the Commission: A. Makes any warronty or representotion, expressed or implied, with respect to the occurocy, completeness, or usefulness of the informotion contained in this report, or thot the use of any information, apparatus, method, or process disclosed in this report may not infringe privately owned rights; or 8. Assumes ony liabilities with respect to the use of, or for domages resulting from the use of any informotion, opparotus, method, or process disclosed in this report. As used in the obove, "person acting on beholf of the Commission" includes any employee or controctor of the Commission, or employee of such controctor, to the extent that such employee or contractor of the Commission, or employee of such controctor prepares, disseminates, or provides access to, any informotion pursuont to his employment or controct with the Commission, or his employment with

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HANFORD LABORATORIES OPERATION MONTHLY ACTIVITIES REPORT HANFORD ATOMIC PRODUCTS OPERATION This report was prepared only for u s e within General Electric Company in the course of work under Atomic Energy Commission Contract AT(45 - 1)-1350. Any views or opinions expressed in the report are those of the author only. Route To: I P. R. NO. 1 Location1 Route Date T Signature and Date

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

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

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BUDGETS AND COSTS March operating costs totaled $2,320,000, an increase of $123,000 from the previous month; fiscal year-to-date costs a r e $19,910,000 or 72% of the $27,784,000 control budget. Hanford Laboratories' research and development costs for March, compared with last month and the control budget areas follows: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 1. Reactor and Fuels An experimental single tube, dual-enriched, metallic uranium h e 1 element successfully completed one cycle of irradiation in the E m . Examination of the NPR tube-and-tube fuel element after an additional cycle of irradiation at the ETR revealed that one of the "buggy spring" supports on the inner tube failed by fatigue after one cycle of irradiation. fabrication indicate that an alpha soak followed by a single beta heat treatment may be superior to the present triple beta heat treatment.

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To test the hypothesis that substituting extrusion for forging as the primary hot working method of Zircaloy-2 ingots will improve N-fuel clad uniformity, an ingot w a s immersion copper plated and extruded cation into co-extrusion components. The extrusion was machined into five billets for fabriExamination of the graphite samples irradiated in the GETR to a maximum exposure equivalent to 5200 MWD/AT in N-Reactor has revealed that the samples are in excellent condition. All samples and flux monitors were successfully recovered. installed in tlie GETR and the thermocouples indicate that the capsule is functioning properly. A new capsule was The wear and fatigue problems have apparently Several-modifications w e r e made to the N-charging machine to improve from a magazine, through a simulated nozzle, and into a simulated magazine apparently cured this difficulty. Design testing continued with charging of fuel elements Mechanical damage to numerous fuel element support feet A modification to the adapter between the nozzle and Automatic measurement of chloride and phosphate concentration in once through reactor coolant was successfully demonstrated at an accuracy o f f 5 ppb in the 0-100 ppb range. Heat transfer experiments simulating rupture of the &let piping of a C-Reactor process tube indicate that rear header pressures of about 60 psi will assure sufficient cooling water from the rear header to prevent melting of aluminum jackets. Visual studies of electrically heated models of production reactor fuel elements indicate that local boiling is rather easily initiated under the supports of self-supported fuel pieces. In laboratory studies of flow mixing it w a s found that the mixers presently used in the production reactors efficiently interchange the hole and annulus flow but that a new helical mixer under study does a better job of intermixing the annu.lar flow. A comment draft of the Fuel Element Rupture Loop Final Safeguards Analysis w a s issued. The analyses conducted lead to the conclusion that

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the presence of the rupture loop in the PRTR w i l l not materially increase the hazard of operating the reactor. Operational safety reviews of the PRTR and the Plutonium Recycle Critical Facility were conducted by the General Electric Technological Hazards Irradiation of plutonium-aluminum fuel elements in the PRTR is limited to those amounts and compositions of plutonium where the reactivity value is less than that provided by 330 grams of Pu-239 in the cold-clean condition. The variation of reactivity of &-A1 fuels containing up to 29.6 per cent Pu-240 w a s investigated. No increase in reactivity with increasing exposure w a s indicated for any of these cases under the assumed PRTR neutron spectra. Details of this investigation a r e presented in HW-73107. The EDEL-Iflow loop for testing the rupture loop in-reactor test section has achieved operational status. and tools for removing ruptured fuel elements from the rupture loop continues. Most of the necessary material has been ordered, and fabrication of some items is in progress. Design of special equipment A proposal has been submitted for irradiation testing in the PRTR of one or more liquid poison solutions planned for use in liquid shim mechanical shim rods with emphasis on solving known problems on the present rods. Design work continued on second generation PRTR Seven PRTR pressure tubes were inspected during the month. minimum gas gaps in two channels w e r e found to be about 35 mils. cation of mechanical force increased the minimum gaps to 100 mils, but the gap returned to about 35 to 40 mils when the force w a s removed. The process tube in one channel was rotated 180 degrees which increased the gap to about 90 mils. Wear corrosion marks at contact areas with the PRTR fuel element end brackets measured in five of the tubes inspected varied from about 0 to 6 mils deep. Contact with the outer spiral wire wrap caused grooves up to 4 mils deep. A new tube installed in October, 1961, had grooves up to 2 mils deep.

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An initial group of 120 cold-swaged U02-Pu02 fuel rods for PRTR use have been fabricated. w a s developed. The information obtained from the fabrication of this initial group of rods has resulted in several process modifications which will permit an increased fabrication r a t e and reduced over -all has been started. A method for preventing weld area contamination Fabrication of vibrationally compacted U02-Pu02fuel rods has successfully completed 27.3 days of operation in the ETR 3x3 high temperature loop, generating 30 per cent more power than a uniffirmly enriched fuel with the same maximum core temperature. Autoradiographs of irradiated incrementally loaded mixed oxide fuel rods operating at a power of 345,000 Btu/hr-sq ft. and a maximum core temperature of 1850 C show no evidence of longitudinal relocation of the plutonium content from the plutonium-rich increments. completed their first cycle of irradiation in the ETR. Phoenix fuel experiments continued to accumulate exposure in the MTR. One composition has completed four cycles, another three cycles, and a third composition is starting its second cycle. plutonium-boron poison standard samples have been made for calibration of the ARMF. Investigation of the stoichiometry of plutonium carbides continued. Low carbon PuC was found to disintegrate in dry hydrogen at room temperature due to grain boundary attack. more resistant to attack. High carbon samples were Plutonium nitride synthesized by a r c melting plutonium in a nitrogen atmosphere did not melt at 2650 C in helium although volatilization Variation of plutonium concentration by a factor of two within a radial distance of 0.050 inch w a s observed in a sintered U 0 2 pellet irradiated concentration w a s observed in the same pellet. Nearly an order of magnitude variation of Cs-137

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The first examination of an irradiated (5000 MWD/T) U 0 2 single crystal by reflection electron microscopy revealed fracture surfaces only slightly different thanmose observed in single Extended duration optical microscopy of molten U 0 2 w a s made possible by increasing the ambient helium pressure to 1500 psig. Irradiation of four controlled -temperature swelling capsules is continuing. An irradiated uranium-uranium diffusion couple revealed no evidence of diffusion of fission products into +he depleted uranium after annealing at 650 C for 100 hours. In-reactor creep activation energy measurements were completed on a Zircaloy-2 specimen in a creep capsule. Measurements were continued until a low ductility fracture of the specimen occurred at approximately five per cent total strain. Tensile tests were conducted on unirradiated Zircaloy-2 at 300 C and at various strain r a t e s to determine the breaking stress, notch strength, and crack toughness. Strain aging w a s observed at 300 C at rapid loading rates. Burst tests- conducted on Zr-2 tubing showed that notches deeper than 20 per’cent of the wall thickness markedly reduced uniform elongation. Experiments at temperatures as low as 150 C confirm that the oxidant level of the gas environment is the primary factor controlling the hydriding of zirconium. Temperature, hydrogen pressure, metal surface roughness, and prior Zr02 films all affect hydriding rates but are not determining factors as to whether zirconium will or will not The suppression of graphite combustion by chlorine w a s tested in the EGCR burning rig. With graphite burning in an air stream at 775 C, approximately 6 w/o of chlorine was required to stop the runaway The first in-reactor graphite creep irradiations in the Hanford reactors at 150 and 300 psi (1.0 x lo7 and 2.1 x lo7 dynes/crn2) indicate that after an exposure of 1500 MWD/AT the creep rate at about 650 C is in

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the range 9 x per dyne/cm2 per 1000 MWD/AT. Approximately half of the rate is attributable to radiation-induced creep and half to thermal creep. An improved method for handling NaK from irradiated fuel elements has been introduced at the Radiometallurgy facility. opened under kerosene and cellusolve (ethylene-glycol-mono-ethylether) is added to react with the NaK. Reaction products a r e soluble, leaving a clear liquid, easy to handle anddiscard. almost eliminated by this process. Fire hazard is Conceptual design activity during the month w a s focused on a liquid metal-cooled solid fuel reactor for generation of electric power on 2. Physics and Instrument Research and Development Recent theoretical studies predicted that the neutron temperature in a 10.5" graphite moderated lattice is 44OC higher than the graphite physical temperature. This agrees well with corresponding experimental values ranging from 38OC at the cell edge to 62OC at the fuelThe exponential pile mockup of the NPR lattice is being rebuilt to correct an error in control rod hole spacing. the control rod strength results but will not affect the previously completed buckling and flooding effect measurements. This change will alter Experiments at the Critical Mass Laboratory showed that a cadmium shell around a 14" diameter vessel increases the critical volume 10-13 per cent for plutonium concentrations ranging from 33 to 321 grams per Other measurements w e r e completed on the effects of 0.5" and Theoretical advances in critical mass physics included: Development of methods for correcting experimental criticality data on parti fly filled spheres, explanation of reactivity effects observed upoa insertion of a control rod into a criticality vessel, and encouraging results from calculations of interaction effects between subcritical assemblies using two-group diffusion theory in the HFN code.

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NPR diffusion length measurements and graphite stack nuclear purity tests were successfully completed March 3 and 4 w i t h the instrumentation system we developed and provided for IPD. Tests w e r e started on the first commercially fabricat2d model of the gamma energy analysis system w e developed for the NPR Fuel design changes to improve the reliability of the KER FJel FaXwe Monitor, and design of a new monitor for a KE test hole experiment. Recommendations were also made regard hg Technical planning for tke NPR simulator included a visit to Bailey Meter Company to obtain the dynamic characteristics of instruments and control valves to be used in the NPR plant, a tisit to obfab' information about the F e r m i Reactor Simulator, and the collection of information needed to evaluate digital methods of simulation for comparison with the analog approach which has been developed in Further technical analyses and consaltations were provided IPD regarding the NPR Flow Monitor and Zone Temperature Monitor A contribution w a s made to improve understanding of the NPR heat dissipation system through completion of an analog analysis of the stability of the secondary loop. control studies for the old reactors were completed to aid in predictions of reactor behavior following postulated positive reactivlzy Analysis of the "fuel reuse" concept where a fuel element from a fas: reactor blanket, low in Pu-240, is reused in a thermal reactor indicates that a single interchange might reduce the fuel cost by 0.3 to 1.0 mill/kwh depending on the circumstances involved. On the basis of nuclear analysis only, weight savings of 20- 35 per cent m a y be possible in a reactor for space propulsion by using Pu-239 carbide rather than U-235 carbide. Buckling and critical mass studies have now been complezed for halflength PRTR fuel rods in light water moderated lattices of four different experiments are continuing. These studies and fuel irradiations at the PRTR for burnup

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In reactor physics computer code development, MELEAGER w a s modified to handle up to four independent self- shielded materials in addition to the previously available self-shielding in the fuel, and to extend the range of usefulness of the "r" value calculaticn. Fabrication of the probtype liquid effluent activity monitor for the PRTR containment t r i p circuit is nearly completed; the completed portions have tested satisfactorily. In the Neutron Flux Monitor program, calculations showed that Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance a r e not practical methods for detecting neutron-induced changes in a gas irradiated at normal power reactor flxx levels; but t k t Microwave Spectroscopy does offer possibilities for flux values above 5 x 1 0 l 2 n7-. Changes have been devised for the developmental multiple-parameter eddy current nondestructive test system to reduce undesirable inter - channel effects observed during attempts to separate three and folir An invention disclosure w a s submitted on a method for providing indicators of maximum temperature …