AIRCRAFT NUCLEAR PROPULSION PROJECT QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1957

Technical Report · Thu Apr 24 00:00:00 EST 1958

OSTI ID:4140965

Aircraft Reactor Engineering. A summary of the status of the ART-ETU program at the time it was cancelled is presented. Operation of the fuel pump endurance test was resumed. Operation of the primary NaK pump loop No. 1 at elevated temperatures was resumed in order to observe the effects of the lower seal area of operating without a purge flow down the shaft annulus. The Inconel thermal barrier that was designed to protect the bearing-housing region of the ART sodium pumps from thermal and radiation damage was subjected to tests. The test of the ART control rod drive system was terminated after successful operation. Performance of the fuel-expansion-tank continuous level indicator is presented. A resistance-type fuel level indicator was designed. Operation of a 1-inch turbine flowmeter installed in a forced-circulation gas-fired Inconel loop containing a fused salt fuel is described. Additional tests were made of strain- gage pressure transmitters designed for use at high temperatures. Results of tests on sheathed and well thermocouples are given. A summary of the quantities and types of materials and components inspected is given. Results of high- frequency thermal-cycling tests of Inconel pipes are presented. Fomed convection heat transfer studies with KCl-- LiCl flowing in a heated tube were continued. Results are given of an investigation of burnout heat fluxes for water in nucleate boiling. A comparison of heat transfer data is given for vontex flow and straight-through linear flow. Final results were obtained for the enthalpies and heat capacities of the eutectic mixtures LiCl--SrCl/sub 2/ and LiCl--BaCl/sub 2/. Chemistry. A comparison of Russian and ORNL investigations of the NaF--ThF/ sub 4/ system is given. An apparatus for high-temperature thermal-gradient quenching experiments is describod. The preparation of UF/sub 3/ and its stability in molten fluoride mixture is described. Activity coefficients of FeF/ sub 2/ and NiF/sub 2/ in molten Naf--ZrF/sub 4/ are given. The reduction of Fe, Mo, Nb, Ta, V, and W in molten fluorides is described. Data are given on the solubilities of noble gases in molten fluoride mixtures. The solubility of Hf and fission products in NaF-- ZrF/sub 2/ mixtures is given. Determination of Cr diffusion coefficients in Inconel--molten salt system is presented. Data are given on steady-state Cr migration in thermal-convection loops. Results of the dissolution of Type 347 stainless steel in NaF--KF--LiF eutectic by hydrofluorination are given. Metallurgy. Development work on Ni-- Mo base alloys for use as reactor structural materials in contact with fused salt fuels was terminated. Mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of Ni--Mo alloys are given. Creep and stress-rupture data were obtained for Inconel in Ar, Na, and fused salts. Fabrication of thermocouples for high-temperature service is described. An investigation of optimum welding methods for fabricating the fill- anddrain tank tuhe-to-tube sheet joints was completed. Radiation Damage. Exaimination of the four forcedcirculation loops that were operated in the MTR with fused fluoride faels as the circulated fluids was completed. Examinations were continued of the moderator materials that were irradiated in the second exposure in the MTR. The out-of-pile teats that correspond to the MTR tube-burst tests were completed. In an investigation of irradiation effects in photoconductive detectors, both neutrons and gamma irradiation were found to decrease the photoresponse of PbS cells, and the decrease is proPortional to the total integrated flux. A state-of-the-art survey of irradiation effects in semi- conductor barriers is presented to unify the material presented in previous progress reponts and to establish a reference of current concepts. (W.L.H.)

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• NSA Number: NSA-14-014574
• OSTI ID: 4140965
• Report Number(s): ORNL-2440(Del.)
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Decl. with deletions Nov. 4, 1959. Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-60
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

REACTOR TECHNOLOGY
AIRCRAFT
ALUMINUM ALLOYS
ARGON
BARIUM CHLORIDES
BURNOUT
CHROMIUM
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CONTROL ELEMENTS
CONVECTION
CORROSION
CREEP
DIFFUSION
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
EUTECTICS
EXPANSION
FABRICATION
FISSION PRODUCTS
FLUID FLOW
FLUORIDES
FUELS
FUSED SALTS
GAMMA RADIATION
HAFNIUM
HEAT TRANSFER
HEAT TREATMENTS
HIGH TEMPERATURE
IN PILE LOOPS
INCONEL ALLOYS
INERT GASES
IRON FLUORIDES
JOINTS
LEAD SULFIDES
LEVELS
LIQUID METAL COOLANT
LITHIUM CHLORIDES
LITHIUM FLUORIDES
MEASURED VALUES
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
METALLURGY
MIXING
MODERATORS
MOLYBDENUM
MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS
MOTION
MOTORS