Focus on the applications for neutron transport

The accuracy of neutron transport calculations depends on the quality of both simulation codes and input data. The perturbation theory has shown that the calculation of radial fission maps of power reactors is sensitive to neutron inelastic scattering on heavy nuclei but also to neutron prompt spectra. A dedicated experiment has been performed involving the CALIBAN reactor at CEA DAM Valduc, the results have shown an overestimation of about 10% of inelastic cross-sections for incident neutrons with an energy ranging between 2 and 5 MeV. Another way for a better calculation of power distribution in reactor cores is to know energy spectra and angular distributions of scattered neutrons more accurately. Among other nuclear data that are investigated at CEA-DAM, are the radiative neutron capture of ⁵⁶Fe because of the inability of the R matrix method to reproduce its epithermal domain and the inelastic cross sections of ⁹⁰Zr in the range 2 - 10 MeV. (A.C.)