MATERIALS TESTING REACTOR-ENGINEERING TEST REACTOR TECHNICAL BRANCHES QUARTERLY REPORT, JULY 1-SEPTEMBER 30, 1961
Experiments were continued in connection with establishing design parameters of a chemical control system proposed to replace solid regulating rods in the ATR. Measurement of the rate of radiolytic decomposition of concentrated water solutions of boric acid in a thermal neutron field was made by means of capsule experiments. A 20-gram/liter natural H/sub 3/BO/sub 3/ solution exposed to a thermal neutron flux of 1.4 x 10/sup 14/ nv yielded hydrogen at the rate of 1.28 liter of H/sub 2/ (STP)/liter of solution per 1 x 10/sup 16/ nvt of exposure. The oxygen production was close to 1/2 of this value. Fuel element development studies indicated that irradiation-induced damage'' zones found around UO/sub 2/ particles in an aluminum-matrix fuel plate appear to have some correlation with fuel particle size and gas bubble formation. Burnup determination on the UO/sub 2/- SS system for the EGCR offers a wide range of values depending upon the method of analysis. Capsule temperatures as a measure of heat generation are useful for estimates of burnup providing suitable standardization is made previously with radiochemical analysis of Co/sup 60/, Cs/sup 137/, and Ce/sup 144/ . Experimental measurements of Pu/sup 238/ fission cross sections and Pu/sup 238/ total cross sections are underway in the fast chopper. Studies of gas content of irradiated beryllium are being continued with samples now available from a new irradiation series. A new 4 pi beta - gamma coincidence counting system is nearly routinely operational and a new silicon surface barrier alpha spectrometer is essentially complete. Measurements of the inelastic scattering of neutrons from sodium and high pressure methane are underway using the neutron phased chopper velocity selector, and a new Be filter has been installed for the cold neutron facility. The experimental measurements on the dispersion relations of single beryllium crystals are complete and theoretical models to provide fits are beirg tested. An investigation of the gamma radiation following the decay of 2.6-hr Ni/sup 65/ was conducted. Four previously unreported gamma rays were found. A directional correlation of one of the gamma-ray cascades provided a unique spin assignment for the 1480kev state in Cu/sup 65/. Development work on the semiconductor charged-particle detectors is continuing. Typical Am/sup 241/ and Pu -alpha spectra obtained with these detectors are presented. The minimization of variances of directional correlation coefficients was considered. Preliminary calculations indicated that significant reduction of the experimental variances of these coefficients can be obtained by a proper choice of angles and relative measurement frequency. An all-electronic scanning switch was designed to allow the scanning of 100 separate decimal digits. The switch is used in this instance to scan both manual switch and glow transfer tube decimal positions with readout to typewriter and IBM punch cards. Two programs were prepared for the EOCR studies: reactor kinetics code to study control requirements, and a program to determine the coolant flow in each element and the total reactor flow requirement. Several Monte Carlo programs are being written to evaluate theoretical differential cross sections for use in other calculations. Since pulse height spectra for monoenergetic gamma rays can be determined experimentally for only a restricted number of discrete energies, a program was written for the IBM 650 which uses experimentally-determined curves as reference points and allows interpolation of the wider range of energies required. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Phillips Petroleum Co. Atomic Energy Div., Idaho Falls, Idaho
- DOE Contract Number:
- AT(10-1)-205
- NSA Number:
- NSA-16-009696
- OSTI ID:
- 4811925
- Report Number(s):
- IDO-16733
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-62
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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MATERIALS TESTING REACTOR-ENGINEERING TEST REACTOR TECHNICAL BRANCHES QUARTERLY REPORT, OCTOBER 1-DECEMBER 31, 1961
MTR-ETR TECHNICAL BRANCHES QUARTERLY REPORT PERIOD ENDING MARCH 31, 1959
Related Subjects
ALPHA DECAY
ALPHA DETECTION
ALPHA PARTICLES
ALPHA SPECTROMETERS
ALUMINUM
AMERICIUM 241
ATR
BERYLLIUM
BORON OXIDES
BUBBLES
BURNUP
CERIUM 144
CESIUM 137
CHARGED PARTICLES
CHEMICALS
CHOPPERS
COBALT 60
COINCIDENCE METHODS
COMPUTERS
CONTROL
CONTROL ELEMENTS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
COOLANT LOOPS
COOLANTS
COPPER 65
COUNTERS
CROSS SECTIONS
CRYSTALS
DECAY
DECOMPOSITION
DIAGRAMS
DIFFRACTION
DIGITAL SYSTEMS
EGCR
ELECTRON TUBES
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ENERGY
ENERGY LEVELS
ENERGY RANGE
EPITHERMAL NEUTRONS
EQUATIONS
EXCITATION
FABRICATION
FAILURES
FAST NEUTRONS
FILTERS
FISSION
FLUID FLOW
FUEL ELEMENTS
GAMMA DETECTION