Validation of KENO V.a for criticality safety calculations of low-enriched uranium-235 systems

The criticality safety analysis program KENO V.a, together with a 27-energy-group ENDF/B-IV criticality safety cross-section library, has been validated by comparison of calculations with the experimental results from critical benchmarks dealing with low-enriched (≤ 5 wt%) 235U systems, obtained both from the literature and from recent AECL Research experiments with the SLOWPOKE Demonstration Reactor. The combination of the code and this data library is shown to be very suitable for criticality safety analyses of low-enriched 235U systems, with mean values of the calculated reactivities being within 1% of the experimental values. (6 figs., 3 tabs., 37 refs.)