Measurements and Analyses of Reactivity Effect of Fission Product Nuclides in Epithermal Energy Range

Abstract

Experimental data usable for evaluating cross sections of main fission product elements (Rh, Cs, Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd) in the epithermal energy range were measured. A cadmium-covered vessel containing a pure water or an aqueous solution of a fission product element was inserted at the center of TCA (Tank-type Critical Assembly) core. Reactivity effects were obtained by the difference in the critical water levels between a pure water and an aqueous solution in the vessel. The measured reactivity was more than 1¢ and it was greater than the experimental uncertainties. Since the adjoint thermal flux below the cadmium-cutoff energy are largely depressed in the vessel, the reactivity effects in epithermal energy range could be measured. The analyses for the experiments were performed using the SRAC code system and neutron transport calculation code TWOTRAN. The exact perturbation theory was applied to calculate the reactivity effects of fission product elements. The calculated reactivity effects using JENDL-3.2 and ENDF/B-IV cross-section libraries were compared against the measured values. The analyses using JENDL-3.2 gave reasonable results for these measurements.