Fission of 209Bi, natPb and 197Au in the particle field of a fast accelerator driven system

Accelerator driven systems (ADS) are expected to have particle spectra of significantly greater energy range than that of current power reactors. The Energy plus Transmutation (EpT) set-up of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia, is designed to emulate the neutron spectrum in a fast ADS through the use of a spallation target surrounded by a blanket of natural uranium. The spectrum is further modified by a reflective layer of polyethylene and an internal absorbing layer of cadmium. The spallation target of EpT was irradiated with a beam of 4 GeV deuterons, and the fission rates of bismuth, lead and gold samples, placed in the target-blanket region were recorded using a fission track detector technique. The fission rates were also calculated using the MCNPX Monte Carlo code with the INCL4 cascade model and cross sections for nucleon induced fission obtained from literature. Agreement between the measured and calculated results indicates the model’s ability to predict the particle spectra and spatial distribution.

► Fission rates of Bi, Pb and Au were measured in a particle field similar to that of fast ADS.
► The experimental results on fission rates are in agreement with MCNPX calculations.
► The most up to date fission cross-sections and related parameterizations were used.
► New parameterizations were produced from the published cross-section data.