THE USE OF PLUTONIUM AS FUEL IN NUCLEAR REACTORS. Quarterly Report No. 1 for Period July 15 to October 15, 1960

Technical Report · Tue Oct 31 04:00:00 EST 1961

OSTI ID:4014092

Apparatus was constructed for the studies of precipitates formed with nitrates of calcinable salts and for recycling and analysis. This apparatus was tested with uranium. Two methods for the densification of UO/sub 2/ powders being examined are arc fusion and resistance fusion. Fabrication of spherical particles of UO/sub 2/ by mikture with a solution of camphor or alcohol in water and then screening was csrried out. Simultaneous studies sre being carried out on methods of compacting UO/sub 2/ and PuO/sub 2/ by vibration and swaging. Co- reduction and fusion of Nb-- Zr alloys were studied. Efforts to make powders from these alloys proved successful. The co-reduction of UO/sub 2/--MoO/sub 3/ with carbon was carried out in an attempt to fabricate non-pyrophoric, gamma - uranium. The following procedure was adopted for dispersion shaping: mixing the dispersed and dispersing phases, compression of the mixture, and swaging the pellet after it is sheathed. An apparatus was constructed which will allow measurement of the specific heat of ceramic fuels based on the heat content per unit/mass. A study of the reaction Zr( beta ) -- Zr( alpha ) + Zr( beta ) was carried out between 380 and 600 deg C. Corrosion of Zr--Nb alloys was investigated to 300 deg C. The mechanical properties of scattered fuel elements were investigated. (M.C.G.)

• Research Organization: Societe Belge pour l'Industrie Nucleaire. Brussels; and France. Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique. Centre d'Etudes Nucleaires, Saclay
• NSA Number: NSA-15-017750
• OSTI ID: 4014092
• Report Number(s): TID-11859; AEC 129
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ALCOHOLS
ALLOTROPY
CAMPHOR
CERAMICS
COMPACTING
CORROSION
DENSITY
DISPERSIONS
ELECTRIC ARCS
EXTRUSION
FABRICATION
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUELS
HYDROCARBONS
KETONES
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MELTING
MIXING
MOLYBDENUM OXIDES
NIOBIUM ALLOYS
NITRATES
PELLETS
PLUTONIUM
PLUTONIUM OXIDES
POWDERS
PRECIPITATION
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
REACTOR TECHNOLOGY
REACTORS
REPROCESSING
RESISTORS
SALTS
SPECIFIC HEAT
TERPENES
TESTING
URANIUM
URANIUM DIOXIDE
VIBRATIONS
WATER
ZIRCONIUM
ZIRCONIUM ALLOYS