Benchmark experiments for validation of reaction rates determination in reactor dosimetry

•Use of zero power reactor for validation of reaction rates calculations.•Reaction rates measurement in reactor core by He-3 detector and Au wires.•Validation of reaction rates calculation by MCNP5.•Comparison of measured and calculated RR for different positions in core.

The precision of Monte Carlo calculations of quantities of neutron dosimetry strongly depends on precision of reaction rates prediction. Research reactor represents a very useful tool for validation of the ability of a code to calculate such quantities as it can provide environments with various types of neutron energy spectra. Especially, a zero power research reactor with well-defined core geometry and neutronic properties enables precise comparison between experimental and calculated data. Thus, at the VR-1 zero power research reactor, a set of benchmark experiments were proposed and carried out to verify the MCNP Monte Carlo code ability to predict correctly the reaction rates. For that purpose two frequently used reactions were chosen: He-3(n,p)H-3 and Au-197(n,γ)Au-198. The benchmark consists of response measurement of small He-3 gas filled detector in various positions of reactor core and of activated gold wires placed inside the core or to its vicinity. The reaction rates were calculated in MCNP5 code utilizing a detailed model of VR-1 reactor which was validated for neutronic calculations at the reactor. The paper describes in detail the experimental set-up of the benchmark, the MCNP model of the VR-1 reactor and provides a comparison between experimental and calculated data.