Hanford Laboratories Operation Monthly Activites Report February, 1962

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HANFORD LABORATORIES OPERATION MONTHLY ACTIVITIES REPORT THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED AND IS STORED ON THE OB'I'SCAL 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 Cornmission, nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission: A. Makes any warranty or representation, expressed or implied, with respect to 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 access to, any information pursuont to his employment or contract with the Commission, or his employment with

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This document consists Rocte Date I Signature and Date MONTHLY ACTIVITIES REPORT HANFORD ATOMIC PRODUCTS OPERATION This report w a s prepared only for use within General Electric Company ir. 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 ody.

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Atomic Errergy Commission, Hanford Operations Office Savarnah River Operat ions Of:lce, Aiken, South Carolina

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Force Report and Personnel Status Changes. Reactor and Fuels Research and Development Physics and Instrument Research and Development Test Reactor and Auxiliaries Operation . 1-1 through 1-5

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BUDGETS AND COSTS February operating costs totaled $2, 197, 000; fiscal year-to-date costs a r e $17, 590,000 o r 6370 of the $27,764,000 control budget. research and development costs for February, compared with last month and the control budget areas follows: Month Month To Date RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 1. Reactor and Fuels Examination of inner components of N fuel elements after irradiation to 2300 MWDIT revealed adequate behavior of the braze and heat-affected zone and no indication of collapse of the inner bore. The first irradiation of a fully prototypical N fuel element has reached 700 MWD/T in the ETR Beta heat treatment of Z r / U coextrusion billets has resulted in a pronounced improvement in inner clad thickness control in coextrusion of NPR fuel tubes. A nondestructive test has been developed which permits the detection of cylindrical asymmetry in the grain structure of uranium billets. Ex-reactor rupture tests on irradiated prototypical N fuel elements again confirmed that the severity of rupture behavior is much less using the NPR scram cool-down rate than when using the normal cool-down rate.

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A coextruded fuel element containing thermocouples to measure the c o r e and water temperatures, and thereby monitor "crud" deposition effects, was successfully charged into a KER loop. C r o s s travel life testing of the N Reactor charging machine was completed. N Reactor fuel element footwear tests were continued with indications of galling between autoclave feet and autoclaved nozzle. Preparations were completed for laboratory investigation of heat transfer conditions and fuel temperatures which would r e s u l t from coolant flow loss following a failure of a hydraulic fitting at the inlet of a process tube at Monitoring of graphite burnout samples from D Reactor continue to indicate a peak oxidation r a t e about nine feet in from the front of the graphite stack. increased the oxidation rate of graphite by a factor of two. lo2' nvt at 550 C did not alter the oxidation rate of similar graphites. The irradiation at 500 to 600 C of a series of graphites processed at final graphitization temperatures from 1370 to 2700 C has been extended to the initial contraction rate. However, at high exposures the contraction rates tend to equalize for all graphitizing temperatures. The higher the initial graphitization temperature, the lower Removal of the oxidants (02and H20) from a gas mixture of 99% helium - 170hydrogen resulted in accelerated hydriding of preautoclaved Zircaloy-2 samples exposured to this mixture at temperatures as low as 200 C. In the temperature range 300 to 400 C, Zircaloy-2 was found to have an activation energy for c'reep in-reactor which varied with the mode of measurement; during heating, the value was 85, 000 c a l / m o l but during a cooling cycle it was 60,000 cal/mol. These measurements are the first of their kind ever attempted in-reactor and promise to furnish an understanding of the dynamics of damage processes. Creep rupture tests at reactor operating temperatures are continuing on sections of 1870 cold worked NPR tubes and annealed PRTR tubes. Work w a s initiated on the new Division of Reactor Development sponsored program for the study of irradiation damage to r e a c t o r metals. At this time, it is proposed to include austenitic stainless steels, nickel base alloys an iron aluminum alloy, and a number of low alloy ferri tic steels in this

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In comparing the ultrasonic response froma standard groove in a Zircaloy-2 sheath tube using flat unfocused and focused transducers, it was found that a much stronger response was obtained over a wider range of entry angles and lengths of metal path for the unfocused transducer. Six PRTR pressure tubes monitored in-reactor during February appear satisfactory though gas gaps for two tube channels were near minimum. The analysis of the heat transfer conditions that would exist in the PRTR following a loss of power to primary pumps was continued. concluded that cooling without boiling wGuld be desirable in such an event but that if flow by free convection were lost, the fuel elements could be cooled adequately by boiling provided the fuel was covered with water at The final report on PRTR critical test results, HW-61900 BA, was Testing of the Critical Facility fuel element transfer thimble has shown that it cannot be manipulated satisfactorily through the transfer lock. It may be necessary to reduce the s i z e of the cooling hoses attached to the thimble. A total of 67 Mark I-H, 19-rod cluster aluminum low-exposure plutonium alloy fuel elements have been fabricated for PRTR irradiation. completes this fabrication compaign. swaged U02-Pu02 PRTR fuel rods a r e on hand and loading began during the week of February 26. additional 60 swaged rods. a r e being prepared. Components for fabrication of 60 Fuel materials and cladding components f o r an The first cycle of irradiation f o r the aluminum-plutonium injection cast seven-rod cluster (GEH--11-6) has been successfully completed in the ETR (GEH-11-8) is operating successfully in the ETR 3 x 3 high temperature Two zirconium-clad, plutonium-Zircaloy core fuel plates were made by Synthesis of PuN was accomplished by arc-melting a small plutonium metal rod under one atmosphere of nitrogen. is 2450 ? 50. Plutonium mononitride is not compatible with boiling water. The melting point of P u N in argon Vibratory compaction techniques adaptable to remote operation have been furthered by the technique of suspending the fcel element f r o m a vibrating potentially contaminated work area. This development permits location of the vibrator outside of the

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Post-irradiation examination of a U 0 2 single crystal, irradiated to 7400 MWD/ T, revealed significant increases in hardness, a significant increase in melting point, and s m a l l change in surface texture. fission gas release from the sample during irradiation was negligible, at very high temperatures, revealed extremely long, thin, radially oriented columnar grains quite different from those observed in fuel irradiated to Simulation of in-reactor fuel heating has been demonstrated by relatively simple direct resistance heating of U 0 2 in a closed capsule. Heat fluxes and temperature gradients very similar to those achieved in-reactor have Chemical Research and Development Laboratory tests indicate that the removal of arsenic-76 parent material from reactor process water at pH 6 . 7 is optimized by the addition of Effluent water from two reactor tubes charged with nickel clad slugs is found to contain a phosphorus -32 concentration twenty-fold greater than that of the total effluent. Acore drilling program is being undertaken on the 216-2-9 Recuplex crib to determine the extent of plutonium migration. Preliminary experiments indicate that over 99. 5'70 of the neptunium present in a synthetic formaldehyde treated -rex waste can be extracted in a single batch contact with an equal volume of 0.37 -M DZEHPA - 0.2 -M TBP- Shell Spray base. Using a redesigned steel c o r e bit, the sludge in P;rex underground waste storage tank, 241 -A-103, w a s completely penetrated. to have a hard crust, with a soft underlayer. The sludge appeared The mineral clinoptilolite w a s found capable of removing 98% of the fission product cesium present in 1 7 column volumes of actual alkaline Purex with t h r e e column volumes of 5 M NH4N03 at 50 - 60 C. strontium from formaldehyde treated acidic Purex waste with clinoptilolite is not practical for process application. continue to support the feasibility of removing fission prodJct cesium from Purex wastes by extraction with a dipicrylaminenitrobenzene solvent. Over 99% of the cesium an be eluted f r o m the mineral The removal of Additional laboratory results

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Technetium-99 recovered from hot cell experiments with Purex 103A waste supernate has been converted to the sulfide (Tc2S7). is used for the preparation of additional technetium compounds. Treatment of strontium peroxide and strontium carbonate powders with two weight per cent lithium fluoride at elevated temperatures reduces the bulk material to a dense fused product. The feasibility of using a X-ray spectrometer to determine lattice parameters of iron crystals as a measure of strain near pipe welds was Electrodeposition studies of molten chloride solutions show that crystalline UO2 deposits can be prepared containing, in solid solution, at least 14 weight per cent ThOZ. Assembly of the radiant heat spray calciner in a cold mock-up a r e a prior to final installation in a high level cell is nearly complete. component shakedown tests were quite satisfactory. A Micro Pilot Plant run w a s terminated when cesium-137 in the effluent from the Amberlite IR-120 column exceeded its MPC, after the treatment of 10, 800 column volumes of Purex Tank F a r m condensate waste. 3. Phvsics and Instrumentation Research and Development The instrumentation for testing the nuclear purity of the NPR graphite stack was completed and moved to the r e a c t o r for installation for the NPR simulator technical scoping continued with major emphasis on developing more detailed simulation circuits and providing IPD additional information needed for their preparation of a project proposal. An eleven-region reactor simulation is being developed to study both the space and time effects on the transient behavior of r e a c t o r safety instrumentation. Simulation of 11 nodes w i l l require all the available EASE and GEDA analog equipment. delayed neutron effect in each region with much l e s s equipment than required for previously used techniques. A new circuit was developed to simulate the Technical analyses and consultations were provided IPD on the N P R Fuel Failure Monitor, the Integrated Data and Temperature Monitor System, the Rod Position Display System, and the Primary Loop Control System.

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The properties of concrete reflectors continued under study at the Critical effectiveness at smaller thicknesses (about foyr inches) than does water and than had been previously expected for concrete. Results indicate that such material reaches full Improvements in calculational methods for the Plutonium Recycle Program were promised by the discovery of two quite different methods of attacking the problem of computing isotopic changes resulting from reactor operation. T h e two methods may be arranged to check each other, thereby increasing the reliability of the results. progress was made in the search for difficulties in the RBU, and methods for improving the physics sophistication of MELEAGER w e r e formulated. More basic theoretical developments included a promising method for predicting the neutron spectrum in the thermal region. time-consuming complexities but appears to reproduce experimental results through the use of a fictitious variable mass for the moderator nuclei in o r d e r to account for crystalline and molecular binding effects. In other code development work, some This method avoids Phoenix fuel burnup experiments may be feasible in the PRTR to supplement data now being obtained at the MTR. hard spectrum required can be obtained by proper choice of fuel and poison Preliminary analyses indicate the Lightwater lattices containing Pu-A1 fuel rods of 1.870 plutonium concentration were investigated in a continuing experimental program to obtain data on the critical s i z e of such lattices. Studies continued on combined fast -thermal reactor complexes for plutonium fuel cycling, and on other u s e s of plutonium fuels such a s fast-ceramic compact reactors for space applications and oxide breeders for special materials production. The feasibility of cycling fuel elements between fast and thermal reactors without reprocessing is also being studied. Preliminary results on the compact reactors indicate that plutonium may offer considerable weight savings compared to U235fueled systems. One transistorized liquid effluent activity monitor for the PRTR containment t r i p circuit is being fabricated for immediate application. recent development work, this new system is designed to monitor for fission product activities from 10-5 pc/cc to 10-I p c / cc with much more reliability than obtained with the originally installed equipment. On the basis of All the remaining (34) spare PRTR pressure tubes were nondestructively tested and prepared for autoclaving.

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In the ,.zutron Flux Monitor Program, a duel chamber fission counter w a s completed for use in experiments to measure the performance of breeder type detectors. Calculations w e r e made also regarding the possible u s e s of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, and Microwave Spectroscopy for in-core flux monitoring at high temperature and flux. A new method is being developed for nondestructively determining whether o r not welds in steel pipes have been s t r e s s relieved. It is based on the difference in broadness of X-ray diffraction lines from stress -relieved and nonstress -relieved cold-worked metals recently observed in laboratory Recent California weather h a s produced a major setback to the Atmospheric Diffusion Program conducted under our direction at Vandenberg Air Force The heavy r a i n s washed out roads and flooded sampler locations. . Extensive repairs will be required before resumption of a full-scale Sensitivity of the developmental continuous ZnS particle monitor for a i r diffusion experiments w a s improved a factor of four, to changing from a dc to a pulse counting method. This is just a factor of five less than the sensitivity of the filter collection …