Supplying Accurate Nuclear Data for energy and non-energy Applications

Project Information

SANDA

Grant agreement ID: 847552

DOI

10.3030/847552

Project closed

EC signature date 23 May 2019

Start date 1 September 2019

End date 31 August 2024

Funded under

• Euratom

Total cost

€ 4 666 600,00

EU contribution

€ 3 499 948,00

Coordinated by

CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIONES ENERGETICAS MEDIOAMBIENTALES Y TECNOLOGICAS
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - SANDA (Supplying Accurate Nuclear Data for energy and non-energy Applications)

Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Nuclear data (ND) tools are a critical element of the nuclear energy industry and research, playing an essential role in the simulation of nuclear systems for nuclear energy and non-energy applications, for the assessment of safety and performance of reactors and for the use of radioactive materials in health and other applications. No matter how sophisticated any tool is, no simulation or calculation can be better than the ND they use. Several parameters, particularly safety parameters of reactors, need a precision < 0.1% requiring nuclear data precisions of few percent. In other cases the precision needed can range from 5 to 20% but the isotope or material to be measured is highly radioactive or scarce. So,these precisions have still not been reached for all the data needed, raising important challenges. The tools and experiments developed in SANDA, bring at reach the target precision for some important isotopes. In addition, SANDA will contribute to prepare the path for future experiments addressing the remaining ND needs.

The SANDA project objective was to put together most of the European ND community and infrastructures to prepare the detectors, facilities and tools to produce accurate and reliable nuclear data tools (data, codes and methods) that can be used to simulate, analyse and optimize the safety of nuclear energy and non-energy applications. The project covers the whole energy region for the needs of thermal and fast neutron reactors and non-energy applications, including the high energy data needed for the ADS and medical applications. The project is built taking into account the High Priority Nuclear Data needs list from OECD/NEA and IAEA.

In conclusion, SANDA has been a successful project that has achieved a very large fraction of its objectives. It has provided impressive set of new detectors that have been immediately adopted as standard tools, huge collection of new nuclear data measurements, transferred to the international repositories, new evaluations and validation of cross sections and decay data, and large number of publications and student training.

ND R&D needs to be continued and SANDA results will made it more efficient.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

SANDA has provided significant progress in the design of advanced detectors and facilties for involved in nuclear data experiments, including fission detectors (Micromegas and GPRT proton recoil) and the gas cell for IGISOL. Improvements on FALSTAFF already used for experiments at NFS. New design of new versions od BELEN (BELEN-62, miniBELEN) and test with designs miniBELEN and BRIKEN. Test of the new facility for half-lives at CEA/LNE-LNHB. Construction of a SCONE neutron detector and test and validation. Stilbene n detector test and characterization. New electronics for HPGe at n_TOF for neutron inelastic signatures and actual use in experiments. Design, construction and validation of capture detectors sTED and I-TED. Design and test of detector telescopes for DDX for the neutron-induced emission of light charged particles.
SANDA has also performed new nuclear data measurements including:
- new determinations of cross sections at n_TOF and other laboratories for fission in 235U, 230Th, 241Am and 239Pu and nubar data taken at MONNET@JRC-Geel
- in-beam tests and detectors (MEDLEY) for (n,chp) adapted to NFS. Experiments have started to measure 16O(n,alpha), 19F(n,alpha) and natC(n,lchp) . Also 89Y(n,xp/xd) was measured at NPI facilities
- activation experiments at the LR-0 and VR-1 reactors with foils of 54Fe, Fe, Y, Mo, Au, V, Ti, Cu, Nb), 14N, 58Ni, 27Al and 19F
- cross sections of 239Pu(n,g) and 239Pu(n,f) and 94,95,96Mo(n,g) at n_TOF and GELINA
- cross sections of inelastic reactions at GELINA for 14N, 238U, 233U and 182,184,186W
- 209Bi(n,g) and 209Bi(n,tot), 208Pb(n,tot) at GELINA
- TAGS meas. of the 96,96mY isomers at the IGISOL
- β-delayed neutrons for isotopes ranging from Sb to La at RIKEN using BELEN and AIDA detectors
- 235U fission yields with LOHENGRIN at ILL and by FALSTAFF at NFS
- FF from 238U(p,2p) fission, as subrogate for 237Pa, at GSI/FAIR
- for non-energy applications: 117Sn(n,inl)117mSn data for dosimetry
- production cross sections of long-lived β + emitters (used for health diagnostic) via: 12C(p,x)11C, 14N(p,x)11C, 14N(p,x)13N, 14N(p,γ)15O, 16O(p,x)11C, 16O(p,x)13N and 16O(p,x)15O up to 200 MeV of p energy. Also for short lived beta emitters 12C(p,n)12N, 31P(p,pnn)29P and 40Ca(p,ppn)38mK up to 200 MeV.
In the preparation of some of these experiments, new targets were specifically prepared for SANDA and other experiments for Nuclear Data: Ta-179, Se-79, Nb-94, Be-10, U-235, 4x U-238, 3xPu-239.
In parallel there was a big effort in evaluation and validation including:
- New versions of TALYS and EMPIRE. Progress on new evaluations of cross sections of actinides (U235, U238 and Pu239), structural materials (Al27, Ti48, Ti50, Ni58,60,61,64, Cr50,52,53,54) and fission fragments as Os186-188, and La139
- Evaluation of the nuclear structure and decay of 1333,131I, 140La (monitoring), 47Sc, 187Re, 117Sn, and the A=101, A=86, 103 and A=107 mass chains.
- Improving processing and sensitivity calculations already helped improving JEFF3-3 and provided AMPX-version of the JEFF libraries. Also the ESFR, MYRRHA and ALFRED sensitivity and impact studies have been completed.
- Furthermore, the most relevant existing benchmarks, for different applications of nuclear data, had been identified and many C/E validations had been performed for the benchmarks selected.
- Additionally, new integral experiments are being prepared at GELINA, MINERVE, LR-0 and TAPIRO. Experiments at GELINA using MINERVE samples affect 107Ag, 109Ag and 99Tc and other isotopes. On the other hand, the experiments at LR-0 have provided a new benchmark for βeff.
The exploitation is very extensive. The new detectors developed are now routinely used in new experiments and will be used in the new project APRENDE . New measurements are being used to improve the corresponding data, improving safety of present reactors, management of nuclear waste and design of new reactor models. The new evaluations are directly applied by researchers and industry from the international databases.
Dissemination has been implemented by international conferences and direct communication to bodies responsible for nuclear data validation and distribution like NEA and IAEA, In addition to progress information the actual data is provided for long term storage, maintenance and open access distribution.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The new detectors has improved performance on efficiency, sensitivity and resolution beyond the present state of the art. The preparation for an isotope separator will have large impact on samples for future experiments. The measurements of SANDA improved the precision of previous data, provide non-existing data and extend the energy and isotope ranges.

With all these elements, the project will contribute to the enhancement of the safety and competitiveness of the European nuclear industry. This enhancement of safety also will apply to the waste management, storage, reprocessing or disposal, and to the decommissioning of nuclear facilities.

Special attention was given to use the research in SANDA for training of young scientists and engineers that will learn by doing during their PhD. Also, special care has been applied to the early and efficient dissemination of the project results to the EU community of nuclear data users.

SANDA Objectives