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Initial Investigation of the Mechanical Properties of Uranium at Elevated Temperatures

Description: Introduction: "Knowledge of the mechanical properties of uranium at elevated temperature is essential in order to understand and predict the fabrication characteristics and pile behavior of this metal. This report presents the experimental data obtained from beta heat-treated specimens which were originally machined from one production, alpha-rolled uranium rod."
Date: December 2, 1952
Creator: Hueschen, R. E. & Pitt, C. H.
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X-ray Photometric Assay of Plutonium in Metal Castings

Description: This following report discusses certain topics pertinent to the x-ray photometric method, such as the optimum size of sample and of sample concentration, the technique of measurement for high precision, the use of easily prepared uranium standards for future calibrations and corrections for extraneous substances, and it compares results obtained by both x-ray and chemical assays.
Date: December 12, 1952
Creator: Lambert, M. C.
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Nitration Reactions of Shell Spray Base under Purex Waste Recovery Process Conditions

Description: Abstract: "Experiments were performed to characterize the types of nitro compounds that might be formed by reaction of Shell Spray Base with nitric acid, to determine the extent of their formation, if any, and their path under conditions of nitric acid recovery in the Purex Process. It is concluded that the instability of Shell Spray Base to nitration, under conditions to prevail in the plant, presents neither a disposal problem nor a safety problem."
Date: December 5, 1952
Creator: Wagner, R. M.
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Heavy Aggregate Investigation

Description: This report follows a manuscript report made in January 11, 1952, and provides results of a survey that gives corrections as well as suggestions for new and local sources of aggregate material in comparison to the original report. These reports were made in response to a heavy desire of improvement in reactor design and shielding.
Date: December 19, 1952
Creator: Brown, R. E.
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Short Time Corrosion Tests of Bronze, Mild Steel, T-304 Stainless Steel and 2S Aluminum in 10% Potassium Tetraborate Solution

Description: Report summarizing corrosion tests meant to determine the corrosion rates of bronze, mild steel, T-304 stainless steel and 2S aluminum in 10% potassium tetraborate solution. Tests were completed under the boiling point of each solution except for 2S aluminum, which was tested at 40C, the approximate temperature in a pile.
Date: December 14, 1951
Creator: Katayama, Y. B.
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Thermal Spikes and Uranium Instability

Description: Thermal spikes occurring during the life of a slug in a pile cause a momentary destruction of the original configuration of atoms in the metal. This process occurs at such a rate that in a thermal neutron flux of 10(13) neutrons per square centimeter per second each atom in the metal will be subject to temperatures above the melting point of uranium every 40 minutes.
Date: December 10, 1952
Creator: Last, G. A. & McLachlan, D., Jr.
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Wet Fluoride Studies: Calcium Plutonium (IV) Fluoride

Description: Laboratory studies have shown that the double salt, CaF2-PuF4, can be precipitated by rapid addition of hydro-fluoric acid to solutions containing 25 to 75 g Pu/1, caleium equimolar to plutonium, and 1 to 10 M HNO3. The precipitate, which is subsequently washed with water and dried to 300 degrees C in dehumidified, deoxygenated argon, can be reduced thermally by calcium to give high yields of plutonium metal.
Date: December 22, 1953
Creator: Branin, P. B.
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Plutonium Trichloride: Preparation by Reaction with Phosgene or Carbon Tetrachloride and Bomb Reduction to Metal

Description: Thirty gram patches of plutonium dioxide can be readily chlorinated by reaction with phosgene or carbon tetrachloride at temperatures of 350 and 450 C respectively. Plutonium trichloride prepared by either method can be reduced to the metal in a hermetically sealed bomb by reaction with calcium. On a twenty gram scale yields of approximately 97 per cent are obtained when a calcium-iodine booster is employed. It has been demonstrated that a method for reduction of plutonium trichloride to the… more
Date: December 3, 1953
Creator: Tolley, W. B.
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The Ratio of Plutonium 239 to Uranium 235 Fission Cross Sections from 0.020 to 1.0 Electron Volts

Description: Foils of plutonium 239 and uranium 235 have been mounted back to back in a dual ionization fission chamber in the diffracted beam of the Hanford neutron crystal spectrometer. A quantity proportional to the ration of fission cross sections of Pu239 to U235 has been measured as a function of neutron energy from 0.020 to 1.0 electron volts. The results of this investigation are presented graphically in the text.
Date: December 1, 1953
Creator: Leonard, B. R., Jr.; Hauser, S. M. & Seppi, E. J.
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