mc00141 Guide to the A. C. Menius, Jr. Papers, 1946-1965 MC 00141 Finding aid prepared by Processed by: Sarah G. Carr; machine-readable finding aid created by: Nancy J. Kaiser and Katherine M. Wisser Special Collections Research Center 2001

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This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013-04-26T09:01-0400 Finding aid written in: English A. C. Menius, Jr. Papers MC 00141 Special Collections Research Center 1.25 Linear feet 1946-1965 For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff. The collection contains correspondence, reports, graphs, financial records, and information regarding the nuclear reactor project at North Carolina State College, North Carolina State's Physics Department, and nuclear experimentation at Los Alamos. These records include Menius' research and writings regarding the Manhattan Project, general nuclear energy issues, and the nuclear reactor at North Carolina State College. A. C. Menius, Jr., was a physicist, professor, and dean of the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. 4 archival boxes and oversized materials Menius, Arthur C. (Arthur Clayton), Jr., 1916-1996 Restrictions to Access

This collection is open for research; access requires at least 24 hours advance notice.

North Carolina State University does not own copyright to this collection. Individuals obtaining materials from the NCSU Libraries' Special Collections Research Center are responsible for using the works in conformance with United States copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], A. C. Menius, Jr. Papers, MC 141, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Acquisitions Information

Gift from A. C. Menius, Jr., 1981 August 5.

Acquisitions Information

Gift from A. C. Menius, August 1981.

Biographical Note 1916 Born April 30 in Salisbury, North Carolina 1937 Graduated from Catawba College 1942 Received Ph.D. in physics from University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill 1942-1944 Instructor and assistant professor of physics, Clemson College 1945-1946 Senior Physicist and Head of Battery Group of Proximity Fuse Project, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory 1946 Married Lucille Clark Varner 1949 Arrived at North Carolina State College to teach in Physics Department 1950-1951 Consultant on nuclear aircraft to Sverdrup and Parcel 1950-1956 Involved in the design, implementation, and operation of the first non-government nuclear reactor in the United States on the North Carolina State College campus 1951-1953 Consultant on reactor design to Propulsion Monsanto Chemical 1953-1955 Graduate administrator of Physics Department, North Carolina State College 1954-1956 Consultant on reactor design to Babcock and Wilcox and American Machine and Foundry 1955-1956 Assistant to Dean of Engineering, School of Engineering, North Carolina State College 1955-1957 Director, Summer Institute on Nuclear Energy for Industry 1956 Appointed head of Physics Department, North Carolina State College 1956-1974 Consultant on lasers, missiles, and instrumentation to United States Army Missile Command 1957-1959 Consultant to United States Atomic Energy Commission 1957-1961 Member, Board of Directors, Aeronautical Electronics, Inc. 1958-1960 Director, ASEE-Atomic Energy Commission Summer Institute in Basic Nuclear Engineering 1959 Awarded Alumni Cup at Catawba College 1960 Appointed first Dean of the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, North Carolina State College 1962-1968 Consultant on range development to Pan American Airways 1962-1969 North Carolina State University Council Representative, Oak Ridge Associated Universities 1962-1972 Consultant to Industrial Nucleonics Corporation 1964-1968 Member, Board of Directors, Adams-Millis Company 1968-1969 Vice-Chairman, Oak Ridge Associated Universities Council 1968-1975 Consultant to Frankford Arsenal 1969 Received honorary Doctor of Science degree from Catawba College 1972 Member, Board of Directors, Research Triangle Institute 1981 Retired from North Carolina State University 1996 Died October 13, in Raleigh, North Carolina Scope and Content Note

The A. C. Menius, Jr. Papers contain material relating to his work as a physicist and professor at North Carolina State University. The bulk of the material is from 1950 to 1956, and reflects his work on the design, implementation, and operation of the first U.S. non-governmental nuclear reactor, which was built on the North Carolina State College campus, as well as the design of a second reactor by Babcock and Wilcox beginning in 1955. The original reactor was dedicated in 1953, and decommissioned in 1956. The Babcock and Wilcox reactor became necessary after the reactor staff discovered a leak in the original reactor. Other members of the reactor teams whose work is reflected in the collection are Clifford Beck, Raymond Murray, Newton Underwood, and Arthur Waltner.

Organization of Collection

The collection is divided into six series. The Correspondence series primarily relates to the design and construction of the first and second nuclear reactors at North Carolina State College. The Nuclear Reactor Planning, Research, and Operational Materials series contains notes, calculations, reports, and procedures regarding the design and implementation of the nuclear reactors. The Drawings and Schematics series consists of several architectural and construction drawings of selected components of the two nuclear reactors. The North Carolina State College (NCSC) Reports series contains reports written by senior members of the nuclear reactor team regarding its operation. The Safety and Health Committee series documents the work of the committee concerned with safety and health issues regarding the reactor and its use. The University Related Material series consists of material documenting Dr. Menius' work as a professor and administrator within the Department of Physics.

Related Material Related Archival Materials College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Office of the Dean Records (UA 135.001) Beck, Clifford K. Lampe, John Harold, b. 1896 Menius, Arthur C. (Arthur Clayton), Jr., 1916-1996 Murray, Raymond LeRoy, 1920- Pike, F. Phillips Underwood, Newton Waltner, Arthur Drawings Letters (correspondence) Minutes Nuclear engineering Nuclear engineering--Research Nuclear physics--Study and teaching (Higher)--North Carolina Nuclear reactors--North Carolina Nuclear reactors--North Carolina--Design and construction Nuclear reactors--North Carolina--Designs and plans Nuclear reactors--North Carolina--Safety measures Physics--Study and teaching (Higher)--North Carolina Correspondence MC 141 Series 1 Scope and Contents note

This series includes letters and memoranda by members of the Department of Physics and Nuclear Reactor staff relating to the design and construction of both the original nuclear research reactor and its replacement. It also includes letters on the use of the first reactor for research, and shipment of reactor fuel and components to Oak Ridge, Tennessee after a leak was discovered.

1 1 1950 - 1951 1 2 1952 - 1953 1 3 October 1954 - November 1954 1 4 January 1955 - July 1955 1 5 August 1955 - December 1955 1 6 January 1956 - March 1956 1 7 1957 - 1960 Nuclear Reactor Planning, Research, and Operational Materials and undated MC 141 Series 2 1946 - 1956 Scope and Contents note

The largest series in the collection, it consists of notes, calculations, reports, and procedures relating to the planning, research, and operation of the first and second nuclear reactors on the North Carolina State College campus. Included are the original proposal for a nuclear reactor at North Carolina State, reports on the program administration and design of the reactor, and a report of a visit to the nuclear reactor at Los Alamos, N.M. Research materials contain calculations and requirements relating to all elements in the design and use of a nuclear reactor, including shielding, materials composition, critical size and mass, bubble effect and gas activity in the reactor. Menius primarily worked on the theoretical calculations for the reactor. Also included are calculations, notes, and reports on the potential for harmful radioactive dosage exposure and safe dismantling and transportation of the first reactor. Operational materials consist of procedure regulations and reports, staff assignments, and reactor staff bulletins.

The series is arranged chronologically and includes many documents with no date.

The original collection contained several spiral notebooks. These have been dismantled for preservation purposes and the notes are now housed in folders.

Pile Kinetics Paper, by L.W. Nordheim, Clinton Laboratories 1 8 April 1946 Proposal of a Nuclear Reactor at North Carolina State College, March 1 9 1950 Informal Conference on Nuclear Engineering Education and on the Proposed Nuclear Reactor at North Carolina State College 1 10 April 1950 Program Administration and Installation Design of the Nuclear Reactor Project at North Carolina State College 1 11 July 1950 Prior Development and Present Status of the Nuclear Reactor Project at North Carolina State College 1 12 November 1950 U.S. Atomic Energy Commission , Security Questionnaire 1 13 1950 Spiral Notebook Notes 1 14 1950 Spiral Notebook Notes: Fission Products, Gaseous Products 1 15 1950 Beta Particle Transmission for Aluminum Windows 1 16 April 1951 Control and Safety Rods 1 17 April 1951 Friction Loss in Stack 1 18 April 1951 Rate of Power Rise with Control Rod Removal 1 19 April 1951 Water Window Thickness 1 20 April 1951 Concrete 1 21 June 1951 Report of Los Alamos Visit, June 22, 1951 1 22 June 1951 Comparison of Bartyes from Different Sources 1 23 July 1951 Design of the Nuclear Reactor at North Carolina State College 1 24 July 1951 Exposure Ports 1 25 July 1951 Disturbance of Neutron Flux in Reactor by a Control Rod 1 26 August 1951 Test of Heat Exchanger for H 2-O 2 Disposal Unit 1 27 August 1951 Shim Widths 1 28 September 1951 Spiral Notebook Notes 1 29 October 1951 Stack Meterology 1 30 October 1951 Boron Curtain 1 31 1951 Enriched Homogeneous Nuclear Reactor, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1 32 1951 Gas System 1 33 1951 Graphite, Lead, and Stainless Steel Requirements 2 1 1951 Rod Removal Rate and General Information Concerning Control Rods at Los Alamos 2 2 1951 Activity of Reactor Cooling Water 2 3 January 1952 Envelope Materials 2 4 May 1952 Analyses of Uranyl Sulfate and Nitrate (Solid Salts) 2 5 November 1952 Reactor Instrumentation 2 6 1952 Antimony-Beryllium Neutron Sources 2 7 April 1953 Reactor Operating Procedures 2 8 September 1953 Miscellaneous Memoranda to Reactor Staff 2 9 1953 Reactor Staff Assignments 2 10 February 1954 Reactor Staff Bulletin, 1-2 2 11 1954 Fission Products Xe 133 and I 131 2 12 May 1955 Study of Incident Involving Fuel Leak in North Carolina State College Reactor 2 13 June 1955 Optimization of a Water-Boiler Type Reactor Phase II 20% U 235 Enrichment 2 14 October 1955 Specifications on Valve Assemblies for the North Carolina State College Reactor Assembly 2 15 December 1955 Application for Reactor Irradiation of Samples 2 16 1955 Babcock and Wilcox Reactor Calculations 2 17 1955 Reactor Staff Bulletin, 1 and 4 2 18 1955 Revised Shielding of the Reactor 2 19 February 1956 Activity in Stack Gas, undated 2 20 Activity of Gaseous Products, undated 2 21 Bubble Effect, undated 2 22 Building Evacuation Procedure, undated 2 23 Control Mechanisms and Neutron Sources, undated 2 24 Coolant Pipes, undated 2 25 Core S.S., undated 2 26 Critical Size and Mass, undated 2 27 Effect of P b and Bismuth in Thermal Column, undated 2 28 Effect of Proposed A1 Liners in Vicinity of Reactor, undated 2 29 Effectiveness of Series Holding System for Radioactive Gases, undated 2 30 Equilibrium of Radioactive Product of Intermittent Reactor Operation, undated 2 31 Exposure of Coolant (H 2O) to Reactor Radiation, undated 2 32 Final Report on Concrete Tests, undated 2 33 Heat from Fission Product Radioactivity in Reactor, undated 2 34 I.D. Tubing Pressure Drop Calculations, undated 2 35 Maximum Plutonium (P u) Production, undated 2 36 Preparation and Loading of Fuel Storage Tank into Special Shield for Shipment to Oak Ridge, undated 2 37 Preparation of Uranium Foils, undated 2 38 Pressure Necessary to Circulate Coolant, undated 2 39 Pseduo-Adiabetic Chart, undated 2 40 Radioactive "Cloud" and Dosage Calculations, undated 2 41 Reactor Calculations, undated 2 42 Reactor Instrument Check Out Procedure, undated 2 43 Reactor Period vs. Reactivity, undated 2 44 Reflector Thickness, undated 2 45 Shielding, undated 2 46 Slow Neutron Distribution Within Reflector, undated 2 47 Temperature Coefficient, undated 2 48 U-235 Mass-Volume Relations for Uranium Salt Solutions, undated 2 49 Drawings and Schematics MC 141 Series 3 Scope and Contents note

This series consists of architectural and construction drawings and schematics of several components of the nuclear reactors. Such components include the catalyst chamber, gas cooler, packed scrubbing tube, and primary condenser. Large scale plans include the H 2-O 2disposal system, water boiler, reinforcing details for the nuclear reactor building, and the wiring diagram for reactor cubicle.

Catalyst Chamber 2 50 October 1951 Condensate Trap 2 51 October 1951 Gas Cooler 2 52 October 1951 Packed Scrubbing Tube 2 53 October 1951 Primary Condenser 2 54 October 1951 Water Boiler oversize 1 February 1951 Proposed Plan, Hydrogen-Oxygen Disposal (2 sheets) oversize 2 June 1951 H 2-O 2 Disposal System oversize 3 October 1951 2MXB and 1/2 H.P. Varidrive Syncrogear Motor oversize 4 October 1951 Miscellaneous Steel, Nuclear Reactor Building oversize 5 October 1951 Reinforcing, Nuclear Reactor Building oversize 6 October 1951 Reinforcing Details, Nuclear Reactor Building oversize 7 October 1951 Wiring Diagram for Recorder Cubicle for Nuclear Reactor oversize 8 January 1952 Gas Cooler, Babcock and Wilcox oversize 9 August 1955 Packed Scrubbing Tube, Babcock and Wilcox oversize 10 August 1955 North Carolina State College (NCSC) Reports MC 141 Series 4 Scope and Contents note

Includes formal reports by members of the reactor team regarding the operation and procedures of the first reactor and design of the Babcock and Wilcox reactor. Includes first and second annual reports to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, and reports concerning the reactor leak in May 1955 and the plans for its repair and removal.

The series is arranged chronologically.

Memorandum on Operating Plans for the Raleigh Research Reactor (Beck) NCSC-59, 3 1 February 1953 An Incident of Polonium Contamination in the Physics Department, Discovered April 10, 1953 (Beck) NCSC-62, 3 2 May 1953 Procedure for Critical Experiment (Murray and Reactor Staff) NCSC-64, 3 3 July 1953 Summary of Early Experiments on Characteristics and Behavior of the Raleigh Research Reactor (Reactor Staff) NCSC-67, 3 4 December 1953 Annual Report to AEC on Raleigh Research Reactor Project (Beck) NCSC-68, 3 5 April 1954 Calculation of Critical Mass of Babcock and Wilcox Reactor (Murray, Menius and Beck) NCSC-69, 3 6 April 1954 Flux Distribution in the Babcock and Wilcox Reactor (Murray and Menius) NCSC-70, 3 7 April 1954 Revision of Reactor Components; Policies and Procedures of Operation (Beck) NCSC-73, 3 8 May 1954 Critical Loading and Flux Distribution in in Babcock and Wilcox Research Reactor (Murray, Menius and Beck) NCSC-74, 3 9 June 1954 Information Relative to Instruction and Research in Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State College (Beck) NCSC-75, 3 10 July 1954 Optimization of Flux in Homogeneous Water- Moderated, Graphite-Reflected Reactor (Murray and Menius) NCSC-76, 3 11 July 1954 Report on ASEE Summer Institutes on Inclusion of Modern and Solid State Physics in the Curricula of all Engineers (Beck) NCSC-79, 3 12 September 1954 Comments on Nuclear Engineering in the Open Conference (Beck) NCSC-80, 3 13 September 1954 Emergency Procedures in Case of Catastrophe Involving the Raleigh Research Reactor (Beck) NCSC-84, 3 14 September 1954 University Research Reactors: Their Purpose and Potentiality (Beck) NCSC-86, 3 15 October 1954 Control Rod Reactivity Values for Babcock and Wilcox Reactor (Murray and Menius) NCSC-87, 3 16 October 1954 Temporary Loss of Reactivity Due to Precipitation of Fuel in the Raleigh Research Reactor (Beck) NCSC-88, 3 17 November 1954 Additional Flux Measurements on the Raleigh Reactor (Waltner and Dayton) NCSC-90, 3 18 November 1954 Effect of Shims on Babcock and Wilcox Research Reactor (Murray and Menius) NCSC-91, 3 19 November 1954 Second Annual Report to Atomic Energy Commission on the Raleigh Research Reactor Project (Beck) NCSC-103, 3 20 May 1955 Evidences of a leak in the Gas System of the Raleigh Research Reactor; Plans for Repair (Beck) NCSC-104, 3 21 June 1955 Further Data on Reactor Operations up to Removal of Fuel from the Fuel Cylinder (Reactor Staff) NCSC-108, 3 22 August 1955 Memo on Proposed Gamma Irradiation Facility (Beck) NCSC-113, 3 23 September 1955 Conference with Babcock and Wilcox on Reactor Design (Beck) NCSC-118, 3 24 November 1955 Current Status of Plans for Revised Physical Facilities of the Raleigh Research Reactor (Beck) NCSC-129, 3 25 February 1956 Safety and Health Committee MC 141 Series 5 1953 - 1958 Scope and Contents note

This series consists of correspondence, weekly reports, meeting minutes, and memoranda relating to the work of the committee regarding safety and health issues surrounding the reactor project. Also included is correspondence relating to a group of consultants sent to advise the Safety and Health Committee on their responsibility for encouraging research on nuclear radiation and all matters that might involve radiological safety and public health.

Correspondence 3 26 1953 - 1954 3 27 January 1955 - April 1955 3 28 May 1955 3 29 June 1955 3 30 July 1955 3 31 August 1955 - September 1955 3 32 October 1955 3 33 November 1955 - December 1955 3 34 1956 - 1958 Minutes 3 35 December 1954 - February 1956 Weekly Reports of the Radiological Safety Officer 3 36 1955 3 37 1956 University Related Material MC 141 Series 6 1949 - 1965 Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence and reports relating to Menius' work as a professor and administrator within the Department of Physics at North Carolina State University. Contains curriculum requirements for students in nuclear engineering, letters of recommendation by Menius for former students, vitae and correspondence relating to his work on a search committee for a new Head of the Department of Chemistry, and material relating to two nuclear power short courses for industry.

Letters of Recommendation 4 1 1949 - 1958 School of Engineering, Graduate Requirements 4 2 1949 - 1954 Nuclear Engineering, Curriculum in 4 3 1950 Correspondence, Graduate School 4 4 1953 - 1958 Graduate Staff Meetings, Minutes 4 5 1954 Nuclear Engineering: An Introduction to the Applications of Nuclear Energy (Raymond L. Murray) 4 6 1954 Nuclear Power Short Course 4 7 1955 - 1956 Search Committee, Department of Chemistry Head 4 8 1959 - 1960 Faculty Television Lecture, "Science: Its Past, Your Future," 4 9 1965 Training Opportunities in a Nuclear Research Center (Raymond L. Murray), undated 4 10