ML20247D512
| ML20247D512 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 05000047 |
| Issue date: | 12/31/1966 |
| From: | ARMY, DEPT. OF |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20244A667 | List: |
| References | |
| FOIA-89-315 NUDOCS 8909140285 | |
| Download: ML20247D512 (9) | |
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W OPERATIONS REPORT OF gfp-n.
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THE U. S. ARMY MATERIALS RESEARCH AGENCY uc
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REPORT NO. 3 JANUARY 1, 1966 TO DECEMBER 31, 1966
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'....A NUCLEAR RESEARCH LABORATORY le k-U. S. ARMY HATERIALS RESEARCH AGENCY WATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS
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II.
OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS l
A.
Water Leakage Through Shield During the report period the water leakage has not changed signifi-
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W $' cantly. During the summer months when operating at the new 2 megawatt power 4
level and tht: higher pool water temperature of 110 F, there was an increase 0
Jf in the rate of the existing leaks. This increased rate did not present an M
operational problem and no corrective action was attempted. Operation at F did not show any discernible increase.
y 2 megawatts with the pool at 1000 It has been decided that a complete stainless steel lining of the pool Ab
- LY will provide the ultimate solution and this step has been initiated.
1; i This problem will not be discussed in future reports.
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B.
Secondary Coolant Syst em There have been no problems encountered in this system since replacing h
the aluminum tube bundle with a stainless steel bundle and installing a re-
$qd circulating water cooling tower to provide secondary coolant. Quality of the secondary water has been successfully maintained by continuous bleed
[O off of a water volume greater than the volume lost by evaporation.
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fT This problem will not be d$ scussed in future reports.
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' m, J III. OlANGES Increase in Power Level n
A.
%g f rom it s The reactor operated at a licensed power level of 1 megawatt initial criticality in June 1960 to June 1966.
y-i In June 1966, by Amendment No. 6 to its Facility License No. R65, the reactor's licensed power level was increased to 2 megawatts to provide higher g[p[
neutron fluxes for the experimental program of the Army Materials Research Agency.
The procedure followed was to increase power in steps of 200 kilowatts gg The and observe all measured parameters for several hours at each step.
D only instrumentation modification required was to the range of the thermal g
power measuring system. Repositioning of the chambers was required, as m.
The chambers well as a change in alarm setting on pool water temperature.
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in the level safety system were repositioned initially to correspond to the expected 2 megawatt position. The chambers in the log N and linear systems l
were repositioned after attaining the new power level of each step to cor-
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respond to the 1007. reading on their respective recorders.
The new power level was verified by the thermal power measuring system. The approach to dhlf l
15, 1966.
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All measured parameters were linear with the increased power level.
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Secondary Sump Alam g
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l In January high and low level alarms were installed in the secondary j, j coolant sump in order to give an early warning in the event of a loss of
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cecondary coolant or an increase in sump level which could result in an over-W flow.
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Thermal Power Alam and Heat Exchanger Outlet Temperature Alarm.
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In January the alarms from the heat exchanger outlet high temperature 1
l clam and the thermal power alarm were tied into the annunciator system in 4
l crder to achieve a unifom system for displaying and identifying alarm con-ditions.
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Switch Noise Filter In January fuses in the switch noise filter fuses on the drive switchcr.
9 were changed to 1/100 amp slow blow type (Ref. US AMRR Operations Report No. 2,Section III, par. C).
This change makes the protection more sensi-lj l
tive to real failures.
E.
Emergency Power Addition ke j
In February additional control ir.strumentation was added to the gas i
powered emergency generator to provide more control information in the event h
l of a power failure.
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Primary Coolant Scrm f
In May the loss of primary coolant flow scram was modifled to be 7
l cctuated by any two o' the following loss of flow on the recorder, loss
.p cf pressure in the primary line and loss of electrical power to the pump.
j Previously, this scram was activated only by the flow recorder and was in-3 cperative if the recorder malfunctioned in a manner which left the indica.L I
i up scale. This modification greatly increases the reliability of the pro.
E tection desired.
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Magnet Control Amplifiers In June the OA2 vacuum tubes in these amplifiers were replaced by zener diodes (IN 3011B) to increase the stability of the amplifiers.
H.
Retention Tank In October a liquid level indicating recorder was installed in the out-I door liquid waste retention tank. Not only does this facilitate waste mana gement, it provides.a method of monitoring the tank for any appreciable f
leakage.
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Centrol Air 1
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In October a dehumidifier was added to the supply lines of control air f used for the ventilation system.
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Excessive Magnet Current Protection
- .. p In November the meter-relays, used to measure magnet currents, were yj wired in to cause a slow scram if two or more magnets draw excessive cur-m
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rent. This protects the magnets and protects against the loss of the safety system due to accidental grounding of the sigma bus voltage, GQ) n IV.
RESEARCH PROGRAMS A.
Present and Planned Programs J
4 The status of present programs is unchanged since the previous report.
The planned programs are outlined below
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1.
Reactor Facility: Six-Inch Horizontal Beam Tube N
Principal Investigators Dr. John J. Antal, U. S. Army Materials
.8 Resetrch Agency
}k;7 Experimental Apparatust Velocity Selector - Crystal Spectrometer (VSC Spectrometer) f.
Experiments Use at Five Megawatts - Radiation Ef fect Studies.
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Graphite is becoming an ever more important structural material to Armed Forces but there is still a great deal that we do not know about this very
-Q important material. Radiation effect studies will give us some additional
.A information about this material and can be carried out at the 5 megawatt j
level.
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Interstitial defects in graphite, of sizes ranging from a single g
interstitial to that of a benzene ring, are postulated to occur during j
f neutron bombardment of graphite and during any subsequent annealing. This i
range of defects can be readily detected by subthermal neutron scattering, t
as has been shown earlier, but the detailed arrangement of the defects has I
not yet been discovered because there has been insufficient neutron intensity to measure the angular dependence of the scattering, only the integral trans-mitted intensity losses have been measured.
The diamond structure lattices are of great importance in the field j
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h of solid state electronics but here, as in graphite, there is much that is still unknown. With the higher neutron intensities available from 5 mega-k watt operation, it will be possible to carry out such additional studies on p
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3 Crystallographic point defects in silicon offer an excellent oppor-ft
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tunity for the study of radiation effects in a diamond-structure lattice by Q.
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subthermal neutron scattering. Silicon is available in high purity and with 3 well-catalogued physical properties.
Its higher neutron absorption cross A
L section, however, means that higher neutron intensities are necessary to
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study defects in this system.
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Reactor Facility Six-Inch Horizontal Seam Tube gggorma Pnature Principal Investigators:
Dr. Henri Boutin, Dr. Henry Prask, and
, fundam Dr. Samuel Trevino, Picatinny Arsenal b
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Experimental Apparatust Fixed Scattering - Angle Time-of-Flight
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g Spectrometer (Slow Neutron Chopper)
EP difff stud 3 1 Experiment Use at Five hegawatts - Existing theories of explosive I.,
as i; initiation indicate that the initiation of a detonation reaction in an ex-ment plosive solid is a function of specific solid state processes in the material.
j hold Preliminary experiments have shown that the nature and distribution of lat-such tice vibrational modes in an explosive solid may be directly related to the relative case with which an explosive may be initiated. These experiments have, for the first time, provided a means whereby the energy deposition and transport processes in these solids may be studied in order to arrive at a
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quantitative description of the initiation process. Experiments now planned in this area are directly related to other explosives research studies aimed I
at understanding the specific solid state processes involved. Spe cifi cally,
'l the following is planned.
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Determine the effect of heat and radiation on the 2
lattice dynamics of explosive solids.
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Determine the effect of doping and impurities on the I.I I
s lattice vibrational modes of explosives.
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Determine the role of surface vs. bulk reactions in the
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The above experiments can only be done with the slow chopper (2),
N triple axis spectrometer (4), neutron diffraccometer (5), and modified slow 4A chopper (6). Each instrument has a special application to the whole prob-1em and adds a specific point to the total picture. The present low power level precludes the use of the modified slow chopper and triple axis spec-
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These instruments provide data on film (or surface) vs. bulk scattering and phonon direction, respectively, shich are essential to the pA exact definition of lattice dynamics. The lack of this complementary data W
renders it unlikely that an exact description of energy deposition and trans-
?fi port in explosive solids could be achieved.
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Reactor Facility: Six-Inch Horizontal Beam Tube r
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8 Principal Investigators:
Dr. David R. Chipran and Dr. Laurence
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D. Jennings, U. S. Army Materials Research Agency
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Experimental Apparatus: Polarized Neutron Diffractometer Y
Experiment: Use at Five Megawatts - Nearly all of the current
- 4 information about many of our structural materials are phenomenological in nature and it is becoming increasingly important to understand from both
^'f fundamental experimental and theoretical studies more about the interatomic foret t..ich are actually the source of properties of materials.
4 The use of a polarized primary beam of neutrons in (out-of-pile) m diffraction experiments has proven to be a very powerful technique for studying the distribution of unpaired electrons in magnetic materials such as iron and nickel. These experiments are most important to the advance-V ment of theoretical understanding of interatomic forces, the forces which
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hold materials together and determine important practical characteristics fj such as strength and hardness.
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Reactor Facility: Six-Inch Horizontal Beam Tube jy, Principal Investigators:
Dr. Henri Boutin, Dr. Henry Prask, and Dr. Samuel Trevino, Picatinny Arsenal T
Experimental Apparatus: Triple Axis Crystal Spectrometer Experiment Use at Five Megawatts - The discussion presented in I
2, listing the experiments to be done, applies here as well. This equipment is complementary to the slow chopper and is required to obtain data on the phonon directions in explosive solids. This information is essential to the 4
complete characterization of lattice dynamics and their relationship to ex-plosive sensitivity.
6-5.
Reactor Facility: Six-Inch Horizontal Beam Tube 21 Principal Investigators:
Dr. Henri Boutin, Dr. Henry Prask, and g
Dr. Samuel Trevino, Picatinny Arsenal Experimental Apparatus Neutron Diffractometer Experiment: Use at Five Megawatts - The existing power level per-j mits the use of the diffractometer on an adequate, if slow, basis. However, this instrument provides supporting information on crystal structure which I
L is necessary for the interpretation of lattice vibrational spectra. As 5
such, therefore, it is also crucial to the overall research program and will be used to a g;reater extent if the use factors of other instruments are in-
[M creased. An increase in power level would then permit a more efficient
- 1 utilization of the existing apparatus.
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Reactor 'Facili ty: Six-Inch Horizontal Beam Tube x.
Principal Investigators Dr. Henri Boutin, Dr. Henry Prask, and Dr. Samuel Trevinc,, Picatinny Arsenal Experimental Apparatust Variable Scattering Angle Time-of-Flight Spectrometer (Slow Ciopper) 4 Experieent Use at Five Megawatts - This apparatus is necessary f
for the positive identification of scattering peaks obtained in the study of
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lattice dynamics via inelastic neutron scattering. The existing slow chopper represents a first approximation to the definition of this phenomena but it is impossible to differentiate between coherent aad incoherent scattering i
with the existing apparatus. This capability is assential to pennit the de-
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termination of changes in surface properties as a function of coating or
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cther treatment. Such data is necessary to separate the relative contribu-tion of bulk vs. surface processes in explosive initiations.
m The increase in power level will make it possible to install such a modified slow chopper and obtain data which will pe emit the exact assign-3 ment of lattice vibrational modes and the accurate definition of energy transport and deposition in explosives. As discussed in : tem 2, this knowl-hp edge is essential to the ultimate understanding of explosive initiation and h
will be very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve without the data ob-h tainable by this modified slow chopper.
7.
Reactor Facility: Six-Inch Horizontal Beam Tube
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Principal Investigators Dr. Christopher B. Walker, U. S. Army g
Materials Research Agency g
y Experimental Apparatus Triple Axis Crystal Spectrometer Experiment Use at Five Megawatts - Many of our important materials g@
j are binary alloys about which there is still a fairly limited amount of in-j formation.
In particular, the binary copper zine alloys are of tremendous g(75 importance to the Armed Forces and fundamental studies on these alloys are y
needed in order to better use them in struttural applications.
yr The triple axis neutron diffractometer is a versatile instrument
- $g that can be used either for diffraction or inelastic scattering experiments, ff and the automatic control of its operation by its electronic programmer m
allows a great deal of flexibility and sophistication in the way such experi-14 j
ments are planned and carried out.
The following set of experiments illus-N trate the type of problems of interest that could be carriec out on such an g
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E Inelastic scattering studies of lattice vibrations I
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for metals and alloys. Measurements of inelastically scattered neutrons from a single crystal specimen using appropriate modes of operation (viz., constant Q, constant E, etc.) would yield directly the experi-
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mental dispersion relations (v vs. q) of the thermal
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vibrations of the crystal,.and these, in additf on to being interesting themselves, are the most direct l!
J source of information about interatomic forces cur-I 1
rently known. Thus, such experiments would give values
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for the interatomic forces and how these change on al-s j
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loying or as phase transitions are approached. A spe-g f cific example of interest is the element copper and its
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alloys with zinc, where, depending on composition and
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,.e temperature, one can find a number of structures, a
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g martensitic transformation, an order-disorder trans-o formation, pas phase boundaries of various curvatures.
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Elastic diffraction studies of order-disorder and l
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'f precipitation transformations in alloys. Measure-ments of the superlattice reflection and the diffuse
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scattering yield information about the ordering of the
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atoms on the lattice sites as a function of tempera-H ture and composition, complementing similar studies h
using x-ray techniques. A specific example again is i
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the copper-zine system, where in the O-phase accurate g
quantitative values are still needed, and where in the U
c-phase there has been considerable speculation but no direct experiment as yet.
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8.
Reactor Facility: Six-inch Horizontal Beam Tube a
f Principal Investigator:
Dr. John J. Antal, U. S. Army Materials Research Agency f-Experimental Apparatus Velocity Selector Crystal Spectrometer p
Experiment Use at Five Megawatts - Studies of very minute point
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defects, caused either by crystallographic effects or by impurities will Ir lead to considerable improvement of many of our common structure materials x
such as nickel and steel and a great deal of phenomenological research has been carried out on these materials but the complete understanding of their
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properties can only result from further careful fundamental studies.
h.
The crystallography of point defects in cold-worked nickel was the subject of a study several years ago, but was not brought to fruition be-4 cause material of sufficient purity for neutron scattering work was not available.
Higher purity nickel is now available, and with a higher neu-
-g tron flux at 5 megawatts, success in the study is far more likely to be as-sured.
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Carbon'in iron is a system which has been the subject of a vast a
amount of research. Still, it is uncertain as to the exact nature of the point defects as they coalesce into the grephite particles which result in materials such as cast iron. This system should be readily available for study by neutron scattering if sufficient neutron intensity is available to y y give a detectable amount of scattering from the very small amount of carbe.-
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neutron intensity for these studies.
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present.. Five megawatt operation of the reactor should provide sufficier..
B.
Completed Programs N
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Irradiation Program n
G The facilities previously described are still in use and the type c '
4 irradiations are essentially the same.
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