Comparison of calculated and measured reaction rates obtained through foil activation in the subcritical dual spectrum facility YALINA-Booster

Research highlights: → Reaction rates were measured by the foil activation technique in the subcritical core of YALINA-Booster. → The experimental results are compared with MCNP calculations using ENDFB-6.8, JEFF-3.1.1 and CENDL-3.1 libraries. → A discrepancy of the C/E values for high-threshold reactions reaches up to 20% for all three libraries. → An inaccurate cross section of 115In(n, γ)116Inm reaction is identified in CENDL-3.1. → The results indicate a difficulty of precise reaction rate calculations by MCNP in subcritical systems using the common neutron cross section libraries. - Abstract: Reaction rates were measured by the foil activation technique to obtain neutron spectrum information in a subcritical core driven by an external neutron source. The experimental results are compared with Monte Carlo calculations in order to examine the capability of the Monte Carlo code MCNP together with ENDFB-6.8, JEFF-3.1.1 and CENDL-3.1 neutron cross section libraries to predict the neutron spectrum dependent reaction rates correctly in a subcritical core. The focus lies on fast neutrons. A discrepancy is found in the calculated-to-experimental values of the reaction rates and an inaccurate cross section is identified in CENDL-3.1.