FACILITY AND EQUIPMENT FOR THE HRLEL (Engineering Materials)

Technical Report · Thu Oct 31 00:00:00 EST 1963

OSTI ID:4661995

This package contains 38 photos and 505 drawings. The High Radiation Level Examination Laboratory (HRLEL) was designed for use in studying the influence of nuclear radiation on different substances under various environmental conditions in order to develop improved structural, moderator, control, fuel and shielding materials. The HRLEL is located in a two-story brick building with a partial basement. Thirteen main cells are located on the first floor in three straight-line banks arranged in the form of a U.'' The operating cells are 8 ft wide, 10 ft deep and 14 ft high. The two corner cells are somewhat wider. The 13 cells contain 15 oil-filled lead-glass windows with a pair of master slave manipulators at each window. Most of the laboratory equipment is portable for greater flexibility and better operating efficiency. Periscopes, cameras, stereomicroscopes, telescopes, and television cameras are employed in inspecting exposed or accessible surfaces of opaque materials and interiors of transparent objects. Ultrasonic and eddy current techniques are used in the nondestructive testing methods to study nonbonding and cracks. Commercial apparatus was modified to produce remote control equipment for use in the caves. A gamma scanning device is used to study fuel burnup and induced- activity measurements. This device consists of a mechanical positioner, collimator, and a scintillation counter. The gamma spectrometer is a fully transistorized, 250-channel analyzer with a readout typewriter, oscilloscope, and an x-y point recorder. Gas-pressure buildup causing rupture in metal clad fuel elements is studied which necessitated equipment to pierce capsules of steel, nickel, and beryllium; and sampling equipment to attain aliquots of fission gases. Milling machines, abrasive cutoffs, and pipe cutters are used in destructive testing. Balances, defilming and replication equipment are used to study chemical corrosion, mechanical erosion, and crud deposition. Metallographic examination is employed to study internal structures. Two types of metallographs, Ruchert Telatoms and Bausch & Lomb were modified for remote operation. Auxiliary equipment used in metallographic examination includes ultrasonic cleaners, electroplating equipment, presses, grinders, polishers, hardness testers, and etchers. The metallurgical equipment also includes transfer mechanisms. X-ray diffraction analysis is used to examine solid or powdered polycrystalline materials. Shielded containers are used to transport waste and for storage. See also CAPE-558, Syntron Polisher, and CAPE-921, Metallurgical Equipment Used at the HRLEL, for materials describing other equipment. (R.E.C.D.)

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn. Page(s): v
• NSA Number: NSA-17-036368
• OSTI ID: 4661995
• Report Number(s): CAPE-1014
• Resource Relation: Other Information: CAPE-1014. Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-63
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

METALS, CERAMICS, AND OTHER MATERIALS
ABRASION
BERYLLIUM
BONDING
BURNUP
CAMERAS
CLEANING
CONTROL
CORROSION
CRACKS
CRYSTALS
DIFFRACTION
ELECTROPLATING
EROSION
ETCHING
FAILURES
FISSION PRODUCTS
FUEL CANS
FUELS
GAMMA DETECTION
GAMMA SPECTROMETERS
GASES
GLASS
HARDNESS
INSTRUMENTS
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
LEAD
MANIPULATORS
MATERIALS TESTING
METALLOGRAPHY
MICROSCOPY
MODERATORS
NICKEL
OILS
OPTICAL SYSTEMS
OSCILLOGRAPHS
PIPES
POWDERS
PRESSURE
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATION PROTECTION
REMOTE HANDLING
SAMPLING
SCINTILLATION COUNTERS
SHIELDING
SOLIDS
STEELS
STORAGE
SURFACES
TELEVISION
TOOLS
TRANSISTORS
ULTRASONICS
VESSELS
WASTE DISPOSAL
X RADIA