Nuclear energy applications require knowledge of fundamental nuclear physics in order to design and operate facilities. Advanced reactor designs have target accuracies in essential operating quantities that are beyond the current state of the art in modelling and simulation. Improved understanding of the relevant physics and/or uncertainties is therefore necessary to achieve these accuracies, requiring new measurements and/or data evaluations.
In this context, the NEA Working Party on International Nuclear Data Evaluation Co-operation (WPEC) launched a project to study the physics of 241Am, the isotope with the greatest opportunity for uncertainty reduction in some advanced systems. The recently published report Improving nuclear data accuracy of the Am-241 capture cross-section provides a state-of-the-art evaluation of the essential 241Am physics for advanced nuclear system operation.
The WPEC also completed a report on Processing of covariance data in the resonance region that benchmarks methods for uncertainty quantification in the so-called resolved resonance region. Both reports are based on co-ordinated international experiments and reviews by experts from NEA member countries.