The Cross Section Sensitivity of the Minor Actinides on a Lead-bismuth Cooled Accelerator-Driven Burner System

Abstract

In order to validate the detailed sensitivity of each minor actinide datum in ENDF/B-VI Release 6, JEF-2.2 and JENDL-3.2 on an accelerator-driven minor actinide burner benchmark system, a lead-bismuth cooled sub-critical system was analyzed. The impacts on the system by the ten minor actinides were compared. The k_eff values and reaction rates were calculated by exchanging the data sets of each minor actinide from ENDF/B-VI.6 to JEF-2.2 or JENDL-3.2. At the equilibrium core, the k_effdifferences from ENDF/B-VI.6 by the ten minor actinides can cause more than 5, 500 pcm for JEF-2.2 and 3, 500 pcm for JENDL-3.2. The fission reaction rates of ^242mAm and ²⁴³Cm with ENDF/B-VI.6 show differences of more than 15% from those with JEF-2.2 and JENDL-3.2. ²⁴¹Am, ²⁴³Am and ²⁴⁵Cm in JEF-2.2 and americium isotope data and ²⁴⁵Cm in JENDL-3.2 are sensitive to the fission spectrum.

Keywords:

• minor actinide
• ENDF/B-VI.6
• JEF-2.2
• JENDL-3.2
• accelerator-driven burner system
• transmutation
• benchmark
• fission spectrum
• cross section