Nichrome-5, The ribbon is cut to suitable lengths, which are then made into "bracelets" of varying diameters. These are then fitted into a tube so that they fill the tube with a series of spaced circular elements presenting their ryt. tt A ate See ees ed edges to the air flow. 30 inches. The length of tube which contains active elements is The tubes are spaced in a 45" cylindrical reactor shell of aluminum or zirconium and the volume outside the tubes is filled with light water (or possibly an organic liquid) as a moderator. The water, which will run at 300°F, is expected to pick up about 10% of the total reactor heat and in the "flying model" will be cooled in a radiator so installed that it essentially "flies itself", | It is expected that the pressure drop through the reactor and associated air ducts will be 20-30% of the pressure at the compressor outlet. It was noted that ribbon elements have superseded wire elements as the preferred type. This is due to hydrodynamic difficulties in cooling the wires ae We +. roe wee in thééonfigurations which have been tried to date. It is expected that the design will allow an average air temperature of 1700°F without exceeding 1950°F anywhere in the fuel elements. Tests for structural integrity of the reactor design with heated air blown through the tubes are in progress. G.E. does not yet have a fuel element and a design which assures that the performance as described can be realized. However, their progress is quite encouraging, the effort seems to be well integrated towards a practical power plant, and we feel that strong support is warranted. In our judgement, the program might profitably use more personnel and money for additional studies of materials and components. -——. 5eeee SEBSye aes]iv wo _ gee Boa .