Search Results

open access

Calcium Oxalate Carrier Precipitation of Pu

Description: This technical report describes a plant-scale procedure for concentrating plutonium and americium in slag and crucible (metal reduction residues) and other recovery solutions by a calcium oxalate carrier precipitation Conclusions from exploratory laboratory tests on the variables affecting the efficiency are included.
Date: February 25, 1954
Creator: Maraman, W. J.
open access

The Calibration of Tritium Monitoring Devices

Description: The increased use of tritium monitoring devices has made it necessary to devise a scheme for the calibration of such instruments. Several methods for setting up known concentrations of tritium were considered. A dynamic system containing tritium as HTO vapor or gaseous HT was selected because of the ease of control of variables. The variables that have been considered are: ,1. The effect of rate of air flow through the instruments. 2. The effect of humidity on instrument response. 3. The effect… more
Date: June 1954
Creator: Robbins, M. Chain
open access

The Colorimetric Determination of Boron in Zirconium Hydride

Description: The quantitative estimation of submicrogram amounts of boron in zirconium hydride using a colorimetric procedure is described. Solution of the sample in sulfuric acid or hydrofluoric acid and subsequent distillation of methyl borate without boron loss or contamination is shown to be possible. Using the curcumin color reaction, quantities of boron as low as 0.01 microgram can be detected. The method should apply equally well to zirconium metal and compounds, providing they can be dissolved under… more
Date: July 1954
Creator: Waterbury, Glenn R. & Metz, Charles F.
open access

Critical Masses of Graphite-Tamped Heterogeneous Oy-Graphite Systems

Description: Critical mass measurements on graphite-tamped, heterogeneous oralloy-graphite systems have been made as a safety guide for certain oralloy casting procedures. Various concentrations were obtained by alternately stacking 10.5 in. diameter oralloy and graphite plates. In the relation Oralloy critical mass = constant x (fraction of oralloy in the core volume) -n values for the exponent, n, in the neighborhood of 0.70 were obtained.
Date: May 1954
Creator: Hoogterp, J. C.
open access

Determination of Hydrogen in Lithium Hydride

Description: Abstract: "A method for determining hydrogen in lithium hydride by heating samples with lead at 600 C, was developed. The hydrogen evolved during thermal decomposition of the hydride is purified and oxidized to water with cupric oxide at 400 C. The analysis is completed by collecting and weighing this water. Success in development of the analytical procedure has depended upon a careful design and assembly of equipment for handling samples in a dry, inert atmosphere. For seven pure hydride sampl… more
Date: May 1954
Creator: Bergstresser, K. S. & Waterbury, Glenn R.
open access

Determination of Thorium in Plutonium-Thorium Alloys

Description: A spectrophotometric method used in the determination of thorium was modified for the purpose of analyzing plutonium alloys which contained 0.01 to 0.8 percent thorium. Absorbance values were measured at 545 millimicrons for solutions containing thorium and thorin, the organic reagent added to form a colored complex with thorium in the presence of plutonium (III) . With plutonium-thorium 0.8 percent thorium, the average recovery of thorium was 99.6 +- 1.5 percent. For similar samples containing… more
Date: September 1954
Creator: Bergstresser, K. S. (Karl Samuel), 1909-2004 & Smith, Maynard E. (Maynard Elliott)
open access

Determination of Tritium in Urine and Water

Description: The sample, water or urine, is prepared for counting in a vacuum line. Urine or water is dropped onto metallic calcium, and hydrogen and tritium are evolved. The gas flowing into the evacuated system is passed through liquid nitrogen cooled traps to remove unreacted water and condensable gases. The gas is allowed to flow into a tube similar to a Geiger-Muller tube until a pressure of 15 cm of mercury is attained. Ethylene and argon are added to give a total pressure of 22 cm of mercury. The bet… more
Date: March 1954
Creator: McClelland, Jean.; Milligan, Morris F.; Bayhurst, Barbara P.; Eutsler, Bernard C.; Foreman, W. W.; Head, Billye M. et al.
open access

Effect of Plutonium on the Fluorometric Determination of Uranium

Description: The fluorometric method for determining microgram quantities of uranium dissolved in concentrated sulfuric acid was reinvestigated for the purpose of measuring any interference caused by plutonium in uranium samples. No plutonium fluorescence, and therefore no positive errors due to plutonium, were observed. Limited transmittance of hexavalent plutonium in sulfuric acid at 513, and especially at 360 millimicrons, produces variable negative errors in uranium determinations.
Date: July 1954
Creator: Bergstresser, K. S. (Karl Samuel), 1909-2004
open access

Effects of Certain Variables Upon the Reactions for Preparation, by the Dry Method, of UF4 from U3O8

Description: The effects of certain process variables on the production of uranium tetrafluoride from U3O8 on the 250 g. (uranium) scale, and smaller scales in a few cases, have been studied. It was found that the initial step (reduction of U3O8 to UO2 by hydrogen) is essentially complete in 15 minutes at 700 degree C. The rate of conversion was shown to be temperature dependent, the greatest increase in rate of conversion occurring in the vicinity of 500 degree C. In the conversion of UO2 to UF4 by hydroge… more
Date: November 1954
Creator: Fry , O. E. & Kewish , R. W.
open access

Emission Probabilities of Prompt Neutrons from Spontaneous and Neutron-Induced Fission

Description: A method is developed for using the relatively easily measured fission parameters, together with the mass equation of fission and the evaporation model of the nucleus, to determine the emission probabilities of the fission neutrons. The distribution of the kinetic energies of the fragment pairs enters into these calculations in a sensitive manner. Neutron emission probabilities are computed for the fission of the compound nuclei U/sup 234/ U/sup 236/, and Pu/sup 240/, for which cases reasonably… more
Date: December 1954
Creator: Leachman, R. B.
open access

An Estimate of the Lapre Power and Steam Flow Characteristics

Description: A method of numerical solution is developed for calculating the Lapre coolant pressure drop and power output with variable coolant inlet pressure, flow rate, and reactor solution temperature. The results of a series of calculations are presented that show excessive pressure drops and sonic exit flow as the flow rate is increased and the inlet pressure is decreased. Both supercritical and subcritical coolant flow regions are investigated. Reactor power is shown to be strongly dependent on the so… more
Date: August 1954
Creator: Durham, Franklin P.
open access

A Hazards Summary for the Proposed Los Alamos Omega West Reactor

Description: The proposed Los Alamos Omega West Reactor is designed to be a research tool delivering a maximum neutron flux of approximately 5 x 10/sup 13/ n/sec/cm/ sup 2/ at its maximum operation power level of 5 megawatts. Solid fuel elements of the type developed for the Materials Testing Reactor will be utilized. Cooling will be accomplished with circulating demineralized water and evaporative coolers. Experimental facilities will include numerous horizontal ports, two of which will incorporate built-i… more
Date: February 1954
Creator: Jurney, Edward Thornton, 1921-
open access

Height Burst for Atomic Bombs, 1954 : Part I., The Free-Air Curve

Description: This paper is issued in two volumes: LA-1664 and LA-1665. In LA-1664, the fundamental properties of a shock in free air are described, including the reasons for failure of similarity scaling. The results of an analytic solution for strong shocks are presented, which permit a determination of the energy in a shock wave from its rate of growth without recourse to similarity assumptions; from it the scaling laws for both homogeneous and inhomogeneous atmospheres are explicitly shown. The total ene… more
Date: May 1954
Creator: Porzel, F B
open access

Height of Burst for Atomic bombs, 1954. Part II, Theory of Surface Effects

Description: This paper is issued in two volumes: LA-1664 and LA-1665. In LA-1664, the fundamental properties of a shock in free air are described, including the reasons for failure of similarity scaling. The results of an analytic solution for strong shocks are presented, which permit a determination of the energy in a shock wave from its rate of growth without recourse to similarity assumptions; from it the scaling laws for both homogeneous and inhomogeneous atmospheres are explicitly shown. The total ene… more
Date: May 1954
Creator: Porzel, F. B.
open access

Incinerator for Radioactive Residue

Description: A batch-type incinerator has been built which will dry and burn 12 liters of wet, packed rags or the equivalent in other organic matter in 8 hours. The material is ignited and burned in a stream of oxygen. Tars in the off-gas are trapped in a water bubble, residual contaminated particles are caught by a CWS filter, and acid vapors are reacted in a caustic scrubber. The unit was designed to processes plutonium residues; however, other radioactive materials could be handled by the use of appropri… more
Date: March 1954
Creator: McNeese, W. D.; Maraman, W. J. & Chronister, T. E
open access

Infinite Conductivity Theory of the Pinch

Description: With the assumption of infinite conductivity a simple model may be constructed for the dynamic construction of a current carrying plasma, i.e., the pinch effect. The magneto-hydrodynamic equations of this model are discussed and solved. It is also shown that the infinite conductivity model can be derived from a picture of particles orbiting without collisions in the fields set up by their motions.
Date: September 14, 1954
Creator: Rosenbluth, M.; Garwin, R. & Rosenbluth, A.
open access

The Influence of a Precipitation Hardening Heat Treatment on the Hardness of Several Uranium-Molybdenum Alloys

Description: Four uranium alloys containing nominally 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 w/o molybdenum were investigated with respect to their response to hardening by heat treatment. The several alloys were heated at elevated temperatures to secure solid solution, then quenched and reheated at lower temperatures to obtain hardening. The procedure followed the well known industrial practice of solution treatment and precipitation hardening. The results showed that all the alloys could be hardened by a suitable heat tr… more
Date: August 1954
Creator: Jones, T. I.; Hoffman, C. G.; Taub, J. M.; Doll, D. T. & Montoya, F. M.
open access

Material Replacement Measurements in Topsy and Godiva Assemblies

Description: This report brings together an extensive accumulation of material replacement (danger coefficient) data for the various oralloy critical assemblies at Pajarito. Corresponding values of effective absorption and transport cross sections are derived. In certain favorable cases, inelastic scattering contributions to the effective absorption cross sections are estimated. Special applications of material replacement data include computation of the relationship between oralloy critical mass and concen… more
Date: June 1954
Creator: Engle, L. B.; Hansen, G. E.; Paxton, Hugh Campbell; Hoogterp, J. C. & Young, D. S.
open access

On the Conductivity of ionized Gas

Description: The conductivity of ionized gases is treated by a method similar to that used by Alfven in his book "Cosmical Electrodynamics". The results differ from those of Alfven. In particular, it is shown that Alfven's conclusion, that whenever the Hall current disappears the conductivity becomes independent of the magnetic field, is not true in general. Moreover, it is not true under just the conditions of interest for the "Pinch Effect". The main conclusions of the present paper are (1) of currents do… more
Date: September 15, 1954
Creator: Konopinski, Emil Jan, 1911-
open access

Opacity of Air at High Altitudes and High Temperatures

Description: The opacity and thermodynamic properties of air at temperatures above 10 e.v. and densities below normal have been calculated under the guidance of H. Mayer in accordance with the prescription given in AECD 1870 (LA-647). Corresponding to given densities and temperatures, self-consistent distributions of electrons in bound states and their eigen energies are determined. With this information we compute the thermodynamic properties of air and the frequency-dependent absorption coefficients. Fina… more
Date: August 5, 1954
Creator: Kivel, B. & Mayer, H.
open access

Plant-Scale Concentration of Am and Pu III Using Tributyl Phosphate

Description: Am III and Pu III have been recovered on a plant scale by extraction with tributyl phosphate from slag and crucible and other recovery solutions. Process losses were 0.03% Am and 0.01% Pu. The product stream contained 0.08 gram Am per liter and 0.15 gram Pu per liter. The final solution cleanup to allow discard (total alpha activity equivalent to less than 10(-4) gram Pu per liter) was accomplished by tributyl phosphate extraction of Pu III under conditions of low acidity and high nitrate.
Date: August 2, 1954
Creator: Maraman, W. J.; Beaumont, A. J. & Day, R. S.
open access

A Portable Apparatus for the Determination of Tritium in Liquid Samples

Description: A glass vacuum manifold and ionization chamber are evacuated and filled to atmospheric pressure with hydrogen and tritium. The hydrogen and tritium are evolved by dropping liquid, urine or water, on calcium metal and dried by passing through a suitable freezing bath. The current produced by the beta activity due to tritium is measured with a vibrating reed electrometer. The method has a precision of +3 per cent between the ranges of 100 and 1500 pc of tritium per liter. From O to 100 pc of trit… more
Date: May 1954
Creator: McClelland, Jean
open access

The Preparation of the Hydrides of Magnesium and Beryllium

Description: This technical report summarizes the work which has been done to date on the preparation of magnesium hydride and the attempted preparation of beryllium hydride. Although pure beryllium hydride has not yet been made, the work is continuing, and this report indicates which phases are thought to be worth further work.
Date: April 1, 1954
Creator: Holley, Charles E., Jr.
Back to Top of Screen