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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
Gokul Vasudevamurthy, Travis W. Knight
Nuclear Technology | Volume 163 | Number 2 | August 2008 | Pages 321-327
Technical Paper | Materials for Nuclear Systems | doi.org/10.13182/NT08-A3991
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Composite nuclear fuel consisting of uranium carbide (UC) fuel microspheres dispersed in an inert matrix is one of the fuel forms being actively considered for use in gas-cooled fast reactors (GFRs). High-density UC electrodes were required for the production of fuel microspheres by the rotating electrode method as an alternate method to the sol-gel particle production route. These compacts (to serve as electrodes) were fabricated by the exothermic combustion synthesis reaction of uranium hydride and graphite powders. Ignition of combustion synthesis was then followed by solid-state sintering at different temperatures of 1521, 1779, and 1929°C. During the course of testing the electrodes for microsphere production, it was found that the structural integrity of the electrodes and thus their suitability for microsphere production depended on the microstructural characteristics of the electrodes. Those produced at higher temperatures (1929°C) had higher densities (86.6% theoretical density) and lower open porosities (2.3%) and were shown to withstand the mechanical forces and thermal stresses imposed by this microsphere production method. The processing conditions were chosen to evaluate sintering characteristics of UC and to the extent possible to find the lowest possible process temperature. Here it is understood that the intended future GFR fuel form should involve recycled fuels including minor actinides (MAs). Concern over MA volatility in high-temperature processes thus motivated investigating the effects of lower processing temperatures. It was deduced from this study that a delicate balance exists between the processing parameters, the microstructural characteristics of the electrodes, and microsphere production.