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ENDF/B-VIII.1: Updated Nuclear Reaction Data Library for Science and Applications

The ENDF/B-VIII.1 library is the newest recommended evaluated nuclear data file by the Cross Section Evaluation Working Group (CSEWG) for use in nuclear science and technology applications, and incorporates advances made in the six years since the release of ENDF/B-VIII.0. Among key advances made are that the 239 Pu file was reevaluated by a joint international effort and that updated 16,18 O, 19 F, 28–30 Si, 50–54 Cr, 55 Mn, 54,56,57 Fe, 63,65 Cu, 139 La, 233,235,238 U, and 240,241 Pu neutron nuclear data from the IAEA coordinated INDEN collaboration were adopted. Over 60 neutron dosimetry cross sections were adopted from the IAEA's IRDFF-II library. In addition, the new library includes significant changes for 3 He, 6 Li, 9 Be, 51 V, 88 Sr, 103 Rh, 140,142 Ce, Dy, 181 Ta, Pt, 206–208 Pb, and 234,236 U neutron data, and new nuclear data for the photonuclear, charged-particle and atomic sublibraries. Numerous thermal neutron scattering kernels were reevaluated or provided for the very first time. On the covariance side, work was undertaken to introduce better uncertainty quantification standards and testing for nuclear data covariances. The significant effort to reevaluate important nuclides has reduced bias in the simulations of many integral experiments with particular progress noted for fluorine, copper, and stainless steel containing benchmarks. Data issues hindered the successful deployment of the previous ENDF/B-VIII.0 for commercial nuclear power applications in high burnup situations. These issues were addressed by improving the 238 U and 239,240,241 Pu evaluated data in the resonance region. The new library performance as a function of burnup is similar to the reference ENDF/B-VII.1 library.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Development of the MPACT 69-group Library for Magnox Reactor Analysis using CASL VERA

The Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) has developed the CASL toolset, Virtual Environment for Reactor Analysis (VERA), for pressurized water reactor (PWR) analysis. Recently the CASL VERA was improved for Magnox reactor analysis, which required the development of a new cross section library and new geometrical and thermal feedback capabilities for graphite-moderated Magnoxreactors. The MPACT neutronics module of the CASL core simulator is a 3D whole core transport code, which requires a new cross section library with a different energy group structure due to the different neutronic characteristics of Magnox compared with PWR. A new 69-group structure was developed based on the MPACT 51-group structure to have more thermal energy groups and to be a subset of the SCALE 252-group structure. The ENDF/B-VII.1 MPACT 69-group library was developed for Magnox reactor analysis using the SCALE/AMPX and VERA-XSTools for which a super-homogenization method was applied, and transport cross sections were generated for graphite using a neutron leakage conservation method. Benchmark results show that new MPACT 69-group library works reasonably well for Magnox reactor analysis.

Kim, Kang Seog↗

SCALE 6.2.4 Validation for Light Water Reactor Decay Heat Analysis

Energy release from the decay of radionuclides in nuclear fuel after its discharge from reactor is a critical parameter for design, safety, and licensing analyses of used nuclear fuel storage, transportation, and repository systems. Well-validated computational tools and nuclear data are essential for decay heat prediction. This paper summarizes the validation of the SCALE nuclear analysis code system version 6.2.4, used with ENDF/B-VII.1 libraries, for decay heat analysis of light water reactor used fuel. The experimental data used for validation include full-assembly decay heat measurements that cover assembly burnups of 5 to 51 GWd/tonne U, cooling times after discharge in the 2- to 27-year range, and initial fuel enrichments up to 4 wt% 235U. The comparison between calculated (C) and experimental (E) decay heat showed very good agreement, with an average C/E over all considered measurements of 1.006 (σ = 0.016) for pressurized water reactor and 0.984 (σ = 0.077) for boiling water reactor assembly measurements. The effect of using assembly-average versus axially varying modeling data on the calculated decay heat, important to thermal analyses for used fuel transportation and storage systems, is discussed.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Modeling of the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment with SCALE

A SCALE model was developed for the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) benchmark that was recently added to the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments. This SCALE model served as a basis for criticality calculations and nuclear data sensitivity and uncertainty analyses with the Monte Carlo code Shift and the TSUNAMI computational capabilities in the SCALE code system. The focus of this work is the assessment of the impact of nuclear data on the calculated eigenvalue results in support of the discussion of differences between the calculated and the experimental eigenvalue result. The differences in the eigenvalues obtained using the ENDF/B-VII.0, ENDF/B-VII.1, and ENDF/B-VIII.0 nuclear data libraries cover a relatively small range of ~230 pcm. Since eigenvalue sensitivity of the MSRE is dominated by the neutron multiplicity and neutron capture of 235 U and elastic scattering in graphite, relevant changes in the ENDF/B libraries for nuclear reactions (such as carbon capture) that caused large differences in other graphite-moderated systems did not have a significant impact. Propagation of nuclear data uncertainty results in an eigenvalue uncertainty of ~700 pcm with the major contributors being 235 U neutron multiplicity, graphite elastic scattering, and 7Li neutron capture. All calculations resulted in large differences of ~2000 pcm in eigenvalue compared to the benchmark experimental value. Several potential contributors to this difference—including uncertainties and gaps in the knowledge of the material, geometry, and nuclear data—were identified. Simplified models of the full MSRE core were developed, and similarity assessments were conduced with the full MSRE core model. It was found that simplified models can serve as adequate surrogates of the full-core model such that they can be used for performing selected nuclear data performance assessments with a lower computational burden.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Monte Carlo Perturbation Analysis of Fuel Temperature Variations in the MCNP Model of the Annular Core Research Reactor

The Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR) Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) model is used by ACRR reactor operators and experiment designers at Sandia National Laboratories for a variety of computational calculations ranging from reactor kinetics parameter estimates and safety analyses to experimental planning. To understand the dominant source of uncertainty within the MCNP model, perturbations in temperature were applied to individual ACRR MCNP fuel rods. Fuel rod temperatures were randomly sampled from a uniform distribution from operational temperatures to quantify temperature-related uncertainty effects. Stochastic mixing was used to blend the cross sections of the desired temperatures using the MCNP continuous and Thermal Neutron Scattering Treatment [S(α,β)] libraries in ENDF/B-VII.1. Furthermore, this uncertainty analysis produced a 640 row × 640 column correlation and covariance matrix of the neutron energy spectra. Positive covariance was produced around the 1-MeV region and the 0.2-eV region. Correlation was found in the thermal and fast energy regions, but no correlation was observed in the slowing-down energy region because interactions in this region are not dominated by fuel.

ACRR↗

The ENDF/B Nuclear Data Library and Its Impact on Reactor Simulations

The ENDF/B library, which is developed, maintained, and distributed by the Cross Section Evaluation Working Group, is the main source of nuclear data for analyses and computational simulations in nuclear applications, like different nuclear reactors concepts, radiation shielding, medical applications, astrophysics, etc. The library is constantly being improved and updated, with each release bringing an optimal representation of nuclear interactions as they are understood in their time. The most recent release, ENDF/B-VIII.1, represents a significant improvement in terms of the performance and consistency of the measured differential data relative to previous versions, as it combines the most recent experimental differential data and advanced theoretical nuclear models. As one of the many highlights, ENDF/B-VIII.1 restores a high-burnup depletion performance, comparable to ENDF/B-VII.1, that had been degraded in ENDF/B-VIII.0, while further improving the performance in criticality benchmarks, such as those in the Mosteller’s suite. Additionally noteworthy is the improved performance of ENDF/B-VIII.1 in radiation shielding and thick-target leakage spectrum integral experiments, which are also important for fusion and reactor applications. In this work we present in a very summarized way the main updates implemented in the ENDF/B-VIII.1 release and its main impacts, and also begin to delineate the path forward as to what to expect in the future for the next ENDF/B release, which, based on the timeline of the past few releases, is estimated to happen around 5 years from now. We emphasize that the ENDF/B-VIII.1 release was the product of an enormous collaborative effort among many authors and that for a complete detailed picture, the reader is strongly encouraged to refer to the article accompanying the release, which is currently in the publication process, but available as preprint [G. P. A. Nobre et al. arXiv Preprint arXiv: 2511.03564 (2025)].

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

An Integral Experiment on Polyethylene Using Radiative Capture in Indium Foils in a High Flux D-D Neutron Generator

In this work, we report here the results of a measurement of the scattered versus unscattered neutron fluence on polyethylene determined via neutron activation of multiple natural indium foils from a deuterium-deuterium (D-D) neutron generator. The neutrons were produced by the High Flux Neutron Generator (HFNG) at the University of California, Berkeley, a specially designed source to maximize neutron flux on a sample while minimizing the total neutron yield. During the experiment, approximately 10 8 n/s were produced with the energies at the indium foils ranging from 2.2 to 2.8 MeV. Both the angle-integrated and the partial angle differential results are consistent with the predictions of the Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport (MCNP) code, using ENDF/B-VII.1. This supports shielding calculations in the fast energy region with high-density polyethylene.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Benchmark of Neutron Thermalization in Graphite Using a Pulsed Slowing-Down-Time Experiment

A benchmark has been developed using a pulsed slowing-down-time experiment to isolate the thermalization process in graphite. The experiment was conducted at the Oak Ridge Electron Linear Accelerator facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and it measured the time spectrum of neutrons leaking from a graphite pile during slowing down and thermalization within graphite. Simulations of the benchmark experiment were performed using the MCNP6.1 Monte Carlo code and the ENDF/B-VII.1 and ENDF/B-VIII.0 cross-section databases. The benchmark provides a time spectrum (i.e., time-dependent counts in a detector) that allows for validation of the graphite thermal scattering libraries (TSLs). The impact on the simulations using a suite of graphite TSLs was compared with the experimental results. Given the density of nuclear graphite, the TSL corresponding to graphite with 30% porosity, as implemented in ENDF/B-VIII.0, was found to most accurately represent the measured time spectrum corresponding to the thermal energy range with an average deviation of ±1.7%.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Development of HELIOS/BIPR/PARCS/MCNP6 Computation Route for WWER RPV Neutron Fluence Analysis and Validation Against Ex-Vessel Detector Measurement Data

Here, a computational route was developed for precise calculation of fast neutron fluence on a WWER-type reactor pressure vessel (RPV). The method is based on the transfer of neutronics data from HELIOS-2 lattice calculations and nodal diffusion neutronics data (power, density, and temperature) from BIPR7.1 and PARCS 3.36/PATHS core calculations into a three-dimensional (pinwise axially distributed) fixed neutron source for modeling of transport of fast neutrons from the reactor core to the outer surface of the RPV using MCNP6.2. Validation of the proposed computational method was carried out based on comparative analysis of MCNP6.2-predicted and neutron dosimetry–measured reaction rates [ 54 Fe(n,p) 54 Мn, 93 Nb(n,n') 93 mNb, and 58 Ni(n,р) 58 Со] on the outer surface of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) Unit 2 RPV. Validation revealed that the MCNP6.2-predicted fast neutron fluence results are very sensitive to the ENDF-B neutron data. Particularly, MCNP6.2 with ENDF/B-VIII.0 significantly underpredicts (20% to 30%) fast neutron fluence while using ENDF/B-VII.1 data overpredicts it. Adding revised beta-released evaluations of 54 Fe, 56 Fe, 57 Fe, and 16 O from the International Nuclear Data Evaluation Network (INDEN) to ENDF/B-VIII.0 allows one to obtain reasonable agreement with measurement results for all types of measured reaction rates.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Nuclear Data–Induced Uncertainties in Criticality Safety Analyses for High-Burnup and Extended Enrichment Fuels

Criticality safety analyses are conducted to show compliance with regulatory standards and to demonstrate safe operational conditions during the storage and transportation of spent nuclear fuel. Given the increased interest in the industry in low-enriched uranium plus (LEU+) and higher-burnup fuel, it is important to study the impact of such fuels’ use on criticality safety analyses and the resulting nuclear data–induced uncertainties. Here, in this work, nominal pressurized water reactor assemblies with LEU+ fuel enrichments up to 8 wt% 235 U and high burnups up to 80 GWd/tonne U were studied. The assemblies were placed in a generic burnup credit cask GBC-32. As a result of the different covariance libraries, using the ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear data library consistently resulted in lower nuclear data uncertainties than did the use of the ENDF/B-VIII.0 data library. The highest contribution in the nuclear data–induced uncertainties resulted from the major actinides, and their contribution increased with increasing burnup and enrichment.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Extending the Nuclide Inventory Validation Basis for High-Burnup Fuel with New Radiochemical Assay Data

Efforts are underway at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to improve the nuclide inventory validation basis for spent nuclear fuel at high burnups. Recently conducted radiochemical assay experiments provided new measurement data for nine samples of fuel irradiated in a pressurized water reactor, with estimated sample burnups in the 30 to 70 GWd/t range. This type of destructive assay data is essential for validating computational methods, tools, and nuclear data applied in nuclear safety analyses and for improving our understanding of the bias and uncertainty in code predictions. The measurement data include key actinides and fission products that span a gamut of needs and interests for nuclear science and engineering applications in criticality safety, reactor physics, nuclide inventory, decay heat, and radiation shielding. The SCALE 6.3 code system with ENDF/B-VII.1 cross-section libraries was used to simulate the irradiation histories of the measured fuel samples. The calculated nuclide concentrations are compared to corresponding measurement data. The significance of the comparisons is discussed, emphasizing how the addition of the new measurement data fills gaps in the validation basis at high burnups and contributes to the decrease in bias and uncertainty for predicted nuclide concentrations. The discussion addresses the effect of the sample burnup used in the simulation—which is based on reactor operator records or on calibration to measured data for burnup indicator fission products—on the validation results.

Nuclide inventory↗

Benchmark of the Chlorine Worth Study Experiments in Support of Chlorine Nuclear Data Validation for Nuclear Criticality Safety

The Chlorine Worth Study (CWS) was a critical experiment to address an urgent need for thermal chlorine nuclear data validation in plutonium systems. This urgent need is tied directly to plutonium recycle and recovery operations in the plutonium facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where exceptionally conservative criticality safety limits are used because no credit is taken for the neutron capture by chlorine. The experiment used weapons-grade plutonium metal plates clad in stainless steel, known as the PANN (plutonium aluminum no nickel) ZPPR (zero power physics reactor) plates. The plutonium was reflected and moderated by high-density polyethylene and included combinations of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) as absorbers. The experiment and benchmark included three configurations mimicking 30 g 239 Pu/L plutonium, 300 g 239 Pu/L plutonium, and 600 g 239 Pu/L plutonium in an aqueous chloride solution. Uncertainties in the benchmark included five broad categories: (1) criticality measurement, (2) mass and density, (3) dimensions, (4) material compositions, and (5) positioning. The largest contribution to the overall uncertainties for all three cases came from the material compositions, in particular the PVC and CPVC absorber compositions. A detailed model was created to be a near match (that is within expectations of transport code users) and a simplified model was created to minimize offset dimensions and expedite modeling for code validation. Sample calculations were completed in MCNP6.3 with ENDF/B-VIII.0 and ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear data. For the detailed and simplified models, the average difference between the computed and experimental k eff was 951 pcm. CWS will serve as the key validation experiment for nuclear criticality safety in support of aqueous chloride operations. The sensitivity to the chlorine capture cross section is orders of magnitude greater than other existing benchmarks. The current limits, as defined by nuclear criticality safety, are 520 g Pu per batch, i.e. the minimum critical mass of the Pu solution infinitely reflected by water [Criticality Handbook: Volume II, (1969)]. This extremely conservative critical mass limit does not credit any neutron capture by chlorine (in particular neutron capture by 35 Cl) and greatly impedes the throughput required for current and future operations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Nuclear Data Impact Assessment for the HTR-10 Pebble-Bed Reactor Using SCALE

The HTR-10 was used as a representative pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactor in this assessment of nuclear data’s impact on important reactor and spent fuel metrics, including safety-related quantities such as the effective multiplication factor (k eff ), temperature reactivity feedback, spent fuel inventory, and decay heat. Using the SCALE code system tools and ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear data libraries, we quantify the effect of nuclear data uncertainties on these key performance metrics for both fresh fuel and equilibrium core configurations. For reactor core key parameters, important contributors to uncertainty include reactions of 235 U [$\bar{v}$, fission, (n, γ)], 238 U [elastic, (n, γ)], and graphite [elastic, (n, γ)]. Additional important contributors for the equilibrium core include reactions of higher actinides ( 239 Pu, 240 Pu) and fission products ( 135 Xe, 149 Sm). For spent fuel analysis, most nuclide inventory uncertainties remain below 5%. Higher uncertainties up to 11% are being observed for minor actinides like 243 Am and 244 Cm. Additionally, fission product uncertainties in 155 Eu and 155 Gd, of 25% and 23% respectively, are also significant and have implications for burnup credit applications. 110m Ag also shows high uncertainty of up to 11%, mainly due to fission product yield uncertainties. Decay heat relative uncertainties remain below 0.6% up to 10 years’ cooling time after fuel discharge. The highest relative uncertainty of 1.5% occurs at 500 years of cooling; however, because the decay heat value is very low at that time, the absolute uncertainty is not significant. This work demonstrates that extending assessments beyond fresh fuel k eff to include irradiated cores, nuclide inventories, and decay heat is essential in understanding the behavior of uncertainties as a function of fuel burnup and can support improvements of safety margins and spent fuel management.

Nuclear data impact↗

Differential cross sections of the 16 O (𝑛,𝛼) reaction at neutron energies from 3.8 to 15 MeV

The importance of studying the 16 O (𝑛,𝛼) reaction is motivated by multiple nuclear applications which rely on an accurate nuclear reaction data library for oxygen. Discrepancies between past experimental data on the 16 O (𝑛,𝛼) 13 C reaction and its time-reverse 13 C ⁡(𝛼,𝑛) 16 O reaction have led to various different nuclear data evaluations. Here, we have measured 16 O (𝑛,𝛼) reaction cross sections using the LENZ instrument with the unmoderated white neutron source at LANSCE. Results from 2016/2017 data are discussed and used to benchmark the mcnp and geant simulations of the LENZ experimental setup. We report partial differential cross sections of 16 O (𝑛,𝛼 0 ) at 𝐸 𝑛 = 3.8–15 MeV and 16 O ⁡(𝑛,𝛼 1 +𝛼 2 +𝛼 3 ) at 𝐸 𝑛 =9–15 MeV, based on the new measurement in 2021. The resonances that we observed are in good agreement with the levels in 17 O that were previously measured. The LENZ cross sections are in better agreement with the ENDF/B-VIII.0 evaluation than the with reduced cross section found in ENDF/B-VII.1 up to 6 MeV. However, the current results for 16 O ⁡(𝑛,𝛼 0 ) 13 C g.s. appear to be in the best agreement over the entire energy range with that of JENDL/AN-2005 (ENDF/B-VI.0).

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

TRIPOLI-4 neutronics calculations for IAEA-CRP benchmark of CEFR start-up tests using new libraries JEFF-3.3 and ENDF/B-VIII

Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors (SFR) are one of the promising Generation IV fast reactors. The China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) is a 65 MWth pool-type SFR with a high neutron leakage core using high enriched uranium oxide fuel. The CEFR start-up tests in 2010 consist of series of neutronics experiments. Essential experimental data are available from the 2018 IAEA-CEFR-CRP benchmark document and useful for the validation of neutron transport codes and nuclear data libraries. The TRIPOLI-4 Monte Carlo transport code is a general-purpose neutronics code using continuous-energy nuclear data libraries. It has a rich validation database covering different computational and experimental benchmark data sets to assure the accuracy and credibility of numerical studies. Previous TRIPOLI-4 SFR core physics calculations used mainly MOX fuels. SFR control rod worth studies with TRIPOLI-4 were mainly on big-size cores. To test the modeling capability of TRIPOLI-4 on fuel loading patterns and on variable control rods positions for SFRs and to check recent nuclear data libraries, it is interesting to investigate the CEFR start-up tests in this work, including core states from subcritical to supercritical, control rods and rod group worth, point kinetics parameters, and radial foil activation measurements. TRIPOLI-4 calculation results using new data libraries JEFF-3.3, ENDF/B-VIII, and those of ENDF/B-VII.1 for different CEFR core states are reported here. By means of different options of TRIPOLI-4, control-rod SAs reactivity worth, point kinetics parameters, and radial {sup 237}Np(n,f) fission rate distribution were successfully evaluated. Both ENDF/B-VIII and JEFF-3.3 nuclear data libraries provided reliable results with a difference of 170 +/- 11 pcm in k{sub eff}.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of PWR spent fuel observables to operational and model parameters

Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) observables - decay heat, neutron and γ-ray emission rate - to operational and model parameters have been performed. A 2D model representing a typical PWR 17x17 UO{sub 2} fuel assembly has been taken as reference. The Serpent code and ENDF/B-VII.1 evaluated nuclear data library have been used for the analyses. Relative uncertainty of decay heat, neutron and γ-ray emission rates due to Monte Carlo counting statistics, as well as the number of fuel pin radial regions required for an accurate characterization of SNF neutron emission, have been estimated. A parametric study has been carried out to investigate the impact of the homogenization to an average value of the fuel and moderator temperature, boron concentration power and burnup on the prediction of the selected observables. In addition, linear sensitivity coefficients have been calculated. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Data Testing of Polyethylene Thermal Scattering Law with New Thermal Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) Plutonium Baseline Benchmark, PU-MET-MIXED-002

Five plutonium baseline experiments completed in September of 2018 from the Thermal Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) program have been accepted by the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project as PU-MET-MIXED-002 and will be included in the 2020 version of the handbook. The experiments were made up of stacked layers of plutonium Zero Power Physics Reactor (ZPPR) plates moderated by polyethylene (PE, chemical formula C2H4) to varying degrees to create configurations with five different neutron spectra, including one fast configuration, one thermal configuration, and three mixed configurations. Calculations of the benchmark show overprediction of k eff when using the most recent release of the Evaluated Nuclear Data File Version B (ENDF/B) library release (VIII.0) cross sections, particularly when compared to the previous ENDF/B-VII.1 results. One potential source of overprediction was hypothesized to be the new Molecular Dynamics (MD) generated PE Thermal Scattering Law (TSL). The overprediction was shown via calculation to not be caused by the new ENDF/B-VIII.0 thermal scattering law, and in fact the overprediction was mitigated by the new PE TSL.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗