• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.10
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• pp.3151-3157
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• 2021

Copper is an important structural material in various nuclear energy applications, therefore the correct knowledge of copper cross sections is crucial. The presented paper deals with a validation of different copper transport libraries by means of activation of selected samples. An intense ²⁵²Cf(sf) source with a reference neutron spectrum was used as a neutron source. After irradiation, the samples were measured using a high purity germanium detector and the dosimeter reaction rates were inferred. These experimental data were compared with MCNP6 calculations using CENDL-3.1, JENDL-4.0, ENDF/B-VII.1, ENDF/B-VIII.0, JEFF-3.2 and JEFF-3.3 evaluated Cu transport libraries. The experiment specifically focuses on ⁵⁸Ni(n,p)⁵⁸Co, ⁹³Nb(n,2n)^92mNb, ¹⁹⁷Au(n,g)¹⁹⁸Au and ⁵⁵Mn(n,g)⁵⁶Mn dosimetry reactions. Evaluated activation cross sections of these dosimetric reactions were taken from the IRDFF-II library. The best library performance depends on the energy region of interest.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.959-964
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• 2022

Lead is an important material, both for fusion or fission reactors. The cross sections of natural lead should be validated because lead is a main component of lithium-lead modules suggested for fusion power plants and it directly affects the crucial variable, tritium breeding ratio. The presented study discusses a validation of the lead transport libraries by dint of the activation of carefully selected activation samples. The high emission standard ²⁵²Cf neutron source was used as a neutron source for the presented validation experiment. In the irradiation setup, the samples were placed behind 5 and 10 cm of the lead material. Samples were measured using a gamma spectrometry to infer the reaction rate and compared with MCNP6 calculations using ENDF/B-VIII.0 lead cross sections. The experiment used validated IRDFF-II dosimetric reactions to validate lead cross sections, namely ¹⁹⁷Au(n, 2n)¹⁹⁶Au, ⁵⁸Ni(n,p)⁵⁸Co, ⁹³Nb(n, 2n)^92mNb, ¹¹⁵In(n,n')^115mIn, ¹¹⁵In(n,γ)^116mIn, ¹⁹⁷Au(n,γ)¹⁹⁸Au and ⁶³Cu(n,γ)⁶⁴Cu reactions. The threshold reactions agree reasonably with calculations; however, the experimental data suggests a higher thermal neutron flux behind lead bricks. The paper also suggests ²⁵²Cf isotropic source as a valuable tool for validation of some cross-sections important for fusion applications, i.e. reactions on structural materials, e.g. Cu, Pb, etc.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.304-309
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• 2023

In the last decade, nuclear medicine appears to be a good choice of medicine. ⁵⁸Co, ⁹⁹Mo, ⁹⁹Tc, ⁹⁹Re, ¹³³Xe and ¹⁸⁶Re are very important radionuclides for nuclear medicine. In this study, the excitation functions of ⁵⁸Ni (n, p) ⁵⁸Co, ⁹⁹Tc (n, p) ⁹⁹Mo, ⁹⁹Ru (n, p) ⁹⁹Tc, ¹³¹Xe (n, p) ¹³¹I, ¹³³Cs (n, p) ¹³³Xe and ¹⁸⁶Os (n, p) ¹⁸⁶Re nuclear reactions were calculated at neutron energies between 1 and 20 MeV using TALYS 1.95 and EMPIRE 3.2 nuclear codes. Furthermore, the cross sections were calculated with the empirical formula derived in our past study at 14-15 MeV. The obtained results were compared with the measured values in EXFOR library, and with the evaluated data of (JENDL-4.0/HE, JEFF-3.3, TENDL-2019, ENDF/B-VIII.0, IRDFF-II, JENDL/ImPACT-18). The results are in good agreement with those of the evaluated data libraries and experimental results and indicates that these radioisotopes can be produced by smaller cyclotrons.