) yf xe 4ie4 4 ;t se aEh gs | UNCLASSIFIED a REACTOR DEVELOPMENT I. je Ae read aaye Letea, we ahey sng f weet aw Mee ad, ae - Different slurries were investigated and corrosion tests were conducted by Babcock & Wilcox and BNL, The testing and construction.of in-pile loops continued. Plutonium-recycle type, Over-all design of the Plutonium Recycle Test Reactor (PRTR) at Hanford was 85 percent complete. Excavation for the containment vessel was finished and concrete work begun, Research and development work continued on fuel elements and com- ponents, Architect-engineering work was under way for the Fuel Technology Center at the Argonne National Laboratory. The center is to be the first facility devoted primarily to research on solid plutonium fuels. Heavy water type. Preliminary design for the Heavy Water Components Test Reactor (HWCTR) at Savannah River was well under way. Research and development work continued on fuel elements and components, Gas~cooled type. Preliminary design by Kaiser Engineers-ACF Industries was well ad- vanced for the Gas-Cooled Power Reactor (GCPR), a prototype reactor of 40,000 electric kilowatts capacity and fueled with partially enriched uranium. Supporting research and development continued onfuel fabrication and testing, materials compatibility, and fluid dynamics, A review of coolant gases for the reactor indicated a relative advantage In performance for helium over carbon dioxide. The change to helium as a coolant will not affect the time for construction. Power Demonstration Reactor Projects First invitation. Construction of the pressurized water reactor plant for the Yankee Atomic Electric Company at Rowe, Massachusetts, was on schedule and approximately 4 percent complete. Concrete was poured for the foundation of the generator mat and turbine room. Delivery of the in-pile test loop for the Yankee project to the Materials Testing Reactor (MTR) at the National Reactor Testing Station was scheduled for August. The reactor vessel for the Power Reactor Development Company fast breeder reactor was installed at the plant site at Monroe, Michigan. An order for fuel was placed, and contracts were let for additional buildings at the site. Tests on uranium oxide fuel for the Consumers Public Power District sodium graphite reactor project were conducted at the MTR. The preliminary results revealed a thermal con- ductivity of about half the expected value, indicating a need for increasing the dimensions of the core in the reference design. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the plant were held at the end of June at Hallam, Nebraska, Commissioner Graham represented the AEC. } Second invitation. Contracts were signed with the Rural Cooperative Power Association (RCPA) for plent operation and with ACF Industries, Inc., for the development and design of a boiling water reactor for the RCPA project at Elk River, Minnesota. The Joint Committee had waived the 45-day waiting period. ? Conceptuel design and testing of components for the organic-moderated reactor proposed by the City of Piqua, Ohio, were being carried out by Atomics International. Contract negotiations were continuing with Atomics International for the fabrication, construction, test opera~ tion, and training, and with the City of Piqua for the operation of the reactor. ; t A feasibility study of the sodium-cooled, heavy-water-moderated reactor for the Chugach Electric Association at Anchorage, Alaska, was being completed by the Nuclear Development Corporation of America (NDA). An agreement was reached with NDA on the scope of work for astmantof ERS gs 22 teers ¥ Petaistene’s BRcn =~ DOE ARCHIVES : NCLASS IF JD | VS |