Battelle Northwest
Now known as Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
E. Ivar Husa

A very early assignment for me was in a corrosion engineering group. I drew a field assignment in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles at the China Lake Naval Weapons Center.

I supervised drilling and geological sampling from core drilling done near Coso Hot Springs in the Mojave Desert. Temperatures were measured to estimate geothermal energy potential on the China Lake Naval Weapons Center, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains (in background).	This truck-mounted drilling rig was used to bore over a dozen holes in the desert floor. A bare cinder cone can be seen in the background, indicating recent volcanic activity.

I was hired to work primarily on energy related projects requiring special fabrication processes, including welding. I spent a lot of time working on intergranular stress corrosion cracking in austenitic stainless steels. I also assembled nuclear fuel 'pins', sealing the uranium-bearing zirconium tubes inside glove boxes.

Heat Sink Welding stainless steel pipe. Compressive stresses are induced at inside surface of pipe by welding while pipe is filled with flowing, cold water. Multi-weld specimens were tested for susceptibility to cracking in a special test apparatus that simulated reactor loading and water chemistry conditions.	Heat sink welding on 24" pipe, a typical size used in boiling water reactor primary cooling systems. These systems were plagued by intergranular stress corrosion cracking.

Special Fabrication Processes

I worked in the 306W building, in which were housed some of the most interesting fabrication tools. I operated rotary swages on stock up to 2" diameter. I ran furnaces for heat treatment of steel (usually), and glove boxes for welding reactive metals, such as zirconium.

I used drawbenches to reduce tubing and wire to specifications. Many of the tasks were related to programs testing new materials for breeder reactors. I assembled nuclear fuels inside zirconium tubes, and sealed them by autogenous gas tungsten arc welding. This work required documented procedure development, and adherence.

A particular accomplishment I was proud of was welding a zirconium 'strongback'. It was seven feet long, and had to be welded and restored to 'straight' with rather close tolerances. The fabricated 'angle' (1.5"x1.5"x0.062 thick) had to be 'true' within 1/32" over its length. This was accomplished by a complex welding and peening procedure.

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