Project Type
Coordinated Research Project
Project Code
F41024
CRP
1409
Approved Date
20 December 2006
Expected End Date
30 June 2011
Completed Date
27 July 2012
Description
The strategies foreseen for future development and employment of nuclear power generation underline the use of nuclear energy systems in which the nuclear fuel contains consistent and controlled amounts of the minor actinides (MA). These minor actinides, particularly neptunium and americium, are produced as normal by-products of the operation of thermal power reactors. Because of the existence of long-lived isotopes of these elements, they constitute the major sources of the radiation in spent fuel and in wastes resulting from their reprocessing. Reliable and accurate neutron-induced reaction cross section data are required for the important isotopes of these MAs, including reasonably low uncertainties for sound core design studies and high burn-up strategies.
The Agency has initiated a Coordinated Research Project on “Neutron Reaction Data for Minor Actinides (MANREAD)” as part of a worldwide effort to determine the present status of our knowledge on MA neutron reaction data. Experimental facilities will be assessed to undertake measurements of neutron reaction cross sections for the important isotopes of the MA elements. The CRP is expected to deliver the results of this experimental, theoretical and nuclear data evaluation work by the end of 2011
Objectives
The overall objectives of the CRP are the critical evaluation, uncertainty assessment and production of neutron cross section data for an agreed set of minor actinides. This CRP is composed of research groups performing relevant experiments at the most appropriate facilities in Europe, United States of America, Japan and elsewhere, addressing agreed overall objectives of the CRP and delivering up-to-date results on neutron reaction data for the minor actinides.
Specific objectives
A worldwide assessment will be made of the experimental capabilities to undertake measurements of neutron reaction cross sections for the important isotopes of the minor actinides;
Publish a final technical report and make new reaction cross section data available online and for distribution on CD-ROM.
Report measurements of neutron-induced reaction cross sections on MA just completed or planned in the period of activity of the CRP, at research laboratories worldwide;
Uncertainty assessment of available experimental information on MA neutron cross section data (including data from measurements to be performed in the next two-year period). Assessment of the quality and uncertainties of MA data present in the evaluated nuclear data libraries (ENDF/B-VII, JEFF3.1, BROND-2.2, JENDL-3.3, etc.);
Impact
The CRP participants were able to measure, assess and evaluate neutron induced reaction cross sections for a set of minor actinides ( 234,236U, 237Np, 238,240,241,242Pu, 241,242,242m,243Am). These newly obtained experimental and evaluated data will be incorporated in the next releases of national data libraries such as ENDF/B, JEFF, JENDL, CENDL and BROND, and will provide more accurate inputs for reactor core designing. In such a way the results of this CRP will have a significant impact on developments of next generation nuclear energy systems (e.g., GEN IV reactors, accelerator-driven minor actinide burner, hybrid fusion-fission system) carried out by Member States.
Relevance
237Np(n,f) cross sections measured at LANL LANSCE facility was used as an input to the least-squares analysis (GMA) for evaluation of JENDL-4.0.
CRP Publications
Type
Journal article
Year
2010
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.82.034601
Description
Neutron-induced fission cross section of 234U and 237Np measured at the CERN Neutron Time-of-Flight (n_TOF) facility, Phys. Rev. C82, 034601.
Country/Organization
ITA/Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; FRA/Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA); BEL/Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM); USA/Group LANSCE-NNS; GFR/Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH (FZK); AUS/Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator; GRE/National Technical University of Athens
Type
Journal article
Year
2012
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10512-012-9514-9
Description
243-Am neutron fission cross section and resonance parameters (Atom. Energy 111, 428)
Country/Organization
RUS/State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation
Type
Journal article
Year
2007
Description
High Resolution Measurement of the 234U(n,f) Cross Section in the Neutron Energy Range from 0.5 eV to 100 keV (Nucl. Sci. Eng. 156, 211)
Country/Organization
BEL/Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM)
Type
Journal article
Year
2007
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.75.034610
Description
Neutron induced fission cross section of 237Np from 100 keV to 200 MeV (Phys.Rev.C75, 034610)
Country/Organization
USA/Group LANSCE-NNS
Type
Journal article
Year
2009
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.79.014613
Description
Neutron induced fission of 240,242Pu from 1 eV to 200 MeV (Phys.Rev.C79, 014613)
Country/Organization
USA/Group LANSCE-NNS
Type
Journal article
Year
2010
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1134/S1063778810090036
Description
Cm-244 subbarrier fission cross-section (Phys.Atom.Nucl.73, 1487)
Country/Organization
RUS/State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation
Type
Journal article
Year
2010
Description
Cross Sections for 239Pu(n,f) and 241Pu(n,f) in the Range En= 0.01 eV to 200 MeV (Nucl. Sci. Eng. 165, 224)
Country/Organization
USA/Group LANSCE-NNS
Type
Journal article
Year
2008
Description
Subthreshold Fission Cross Section of 237Np (Nucl. Sci. Eng. 159, 94)
Country/Organization
USA/Group LANSCE-NNS
Type
Journal article
Year
2009
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10512-009-9204-4
Description
Cm-243 neutron fission cross section (Atom. Energy, 107, 110)
Country/Organization
RUS/State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation
Type
Journal article
Year
2007
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.77.034309
Description
Measurement of the 237Np(n,?) cross section from 20 meV to 500 keV with a high efficiency, highly segmented 4p BaF2 detector (Phys. Rev. C 75, 034610)
Country/Organization
USA/Group LANSCE-NNS
Type
Journal article
Year
2011
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10512-011-9376-6
Description
Neutron fission cross sections and resonance integrals for Cm-246-248 (Atom. Energy 109, 408)
Country/Organization
RUS/State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation
Type
Journal article
Year
2011
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.3327/jnst.48.1
Description
JENDL-4.0: A new library for nuclear science and engineering (J. Nucl. Sci. Technol. 48, 1)
Country/Organization
JPN/Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)
Type
Journal article
Year
2010
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.81.064604
Description
High resolution measurements of the 241Am(n,2n) reaction cross section (Phys.Rev.C81, 064604)
Country/Organization
BEL/Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM); USA/Group LANSCE-NNS; GFR/Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH (FZK);
Type
Journal article
Year
2011
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.84.044618
Description
Measurement of the 236U(n,f) cross section from 170 meV to 2 MeV at the CERN n_TOF facility (Phys.Rev. C84, 044618)
Country/Organization
ITA/Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; FRA/Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA); BEL/Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM); USA/Group LANSCE-NNS; GFR/Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH (FZK); AUS/Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator; GRE/National Technical University of Athens
Type
Journal article
Year
2009
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.3327/jnst.46.510
Description
JENDL Actinoid File 2008 (J. Nucl. Sci. Technol. 46, 510)
Country/Organization
JPN/Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)
Type
Journal article
Year
2009
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10512-009-9142-1
Description
Am-242m and Cm-245 neutron fission cross sections (Atom. Energy 106, 133)
Country/Organization
RUS/State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation
Type
Journal article
Year
2010
Publication URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2010.07.048
Description
Neutron-induced fission cross sections of short-lived actinides with the surrogate reaction method (Phys.Lett.B692, 297)
Country/Organization
FRA/Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA)
