Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group

Abstract The joint evaluated fission and fusion nuclear data library 3.3 is described. New evaluations for neutron-induced interactions with the major actinides $$^{235}\hbox {U}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow/><mml:mn>235</mml:mn></mml:msup><mml:mtext>U</mml:mtext></mml:mrow></mml:math> , $$^{238}\hbox {U}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow/><mml:mn>238</mml:mn></mml:msup><mml:mtext>U</mml:mtext></mml:mrow></mml:math> and $$^{239}\hbox {Pu}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow/><mml:mn>239</mml:mn></mml:msup><mml:mtext>Pu</mml:mtext></mml:mrow></mml:math> , on $$^{241}\hbox {Am}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow/><mml:mn>241</mml:mn></mml:msup><mml:mtext>Am</mml:mtext></mml:mrow></mml:math> and $$^{23}\hbox {Na}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow/><mml:mn>23</mml:mn></mml:msup><mml:mtext>Na</mml:mtext></mml:mrow></mml:math> , $$^{59}\hbox {Ni}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow/><mml:mn>59</mml:mn></mml:msup><mml:mtext>Ni</mml:mtext></mml:mrow></mml:math> , Cr, Cu, Zr, Cd, Hf, W, Au, Pb and Bi are presented. It includes new fission yields, prompt fission neutron spectra and average number of neutrons per fission. In addition, new data for radioactive decay, thermal neutron scattering, gamma-ray emission, neutron activation, delayed neutrons and displacement damage are presented. JEFF-3.3 was complemented by files from the TENDL project. The libraries for photon, proton, deuteron, triton, helion and alpha-particle induced reactions are from TENDL-2017. The demands for uncertainty quantification in modeling led to many new covariance data for the evaluations. A comparison between results from model calculations using the JEFF-3.3 library and those from benchmark experiments for criticality, delayed neutron yields, shielding and decay heat, reveals that JEFF-3.3 performes very well for a wide range of nuclear technology applications, in particular nuclear energy.

New developments have been brought to our energy-, spin-, and parity-dependent nuclear level densities based on the microscopic combinatorial model. As in our previous study, a detailed calculation of the intrinsic state density and of the rotational enhancement factor is included, but this time the vibrational contributions explicitly take the phonon excitations into account. The present model predicts the experimental $s$- and $p$-wave neutron resonance spacings with a degree of accuracy comparable to that of the best global models available. It is also shown that the model gives a reliable extrapolation at low energies where experimental data on the cumulative number of levels can be extracted. The predictions are also in good agreement with the experimental data extracted from the analysis of particle-$\ensuremath{\gamma}$ coincidence in the ($^{3}\mathrm{He}$, $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\gamma}$) and ($^{3}\mathrm{He}$, $^{3}\mathrm{He}$${}^{'}\ensuremath{\gamma}$) reactions. Total as well as partial level densities for more than 8500 nuclei are made available in a table format for practical applications. For the nuclei for which experimental $s$-wave spacings and enough low-lying states exist, renormalization factors are provided to reproduce simultaneously both observables. The same combinatorial method is used to estimate the nuclear level densities at the fission saddle points of actinides and at the shape isomer deformation. Finally, the new nuclear level densities are applied to the calculation of radiative neutron capture cross sections.

TALYS is software that simulates nuclear reactions which involve neutrons, gamma-rays, protons, deuterons, tritons, helions and alpha-particles, in the 1 keV-200 MeV energy range. A suite of nuclear reaction models has been implemented into a single code system, enabling us to evaluate basically all nuclear reactions beyond the resonance range. A short overview is given of the main nuclear models used. The predictive power of the code is illustrated by comparing calculated results with a few sets of experimental observables. Our aim is to show that TALYS represents a robust computational approach that covers the whole path from fundamental nuclear reaction models to the creation of complete data libraries for nuclear applications. All further info on TALYS is available on the website www.talys.eu. As an important applied example we present SALTY, a nuclear data library for all projectiles, target nuclides and energies in both tabular and ENDF-6 format, that is based entirely on the TALYS nuclear model code.

TALYS is a nuclear‐reaction program which simulates nuclear reactions that involve neutrons, gamma‐rays, protons, deuterons, tritons, helions, and alpha‐particles, in the 1 keV – 200 MeV energy range. A suite of nuclear‐reaction models has been implemented into a single code system, enabling us to evaluate basically all nuclear reactions beyond the resonance range. An overview is given of the main nuclear models used, such as newly developed optical models, various compound nucleus, fission, gamma‐ray strength, level density, and pre‐equilibrium models, all driven by a comprehensive database of nuclear‐structure parameters. The predictive power of the code is demonstrated by comparing calculated results with a very diverse set of experimental observables. Our aim is to show that TALYS represents a robust computational approach that covers the whole path from fundamental nuclear‐reaction models to the creation of complete data libraries for nuclear applications.

The combinatorial model of nuclear level densities has now reached a level of accuracy comparable to that of the best global analytical expressions without suffering from the limits imposed by the statistical hypothesis on which the latter expressions rely. In particular, it provides naturally, non-Gaussian spin distribution as well as nonequipartition of parities which are known to have a significant impact on cross section predictions at low energies. Our previous global model [S. Goriely, S. Hilaire, and A. J. Koning, Phys. Rev. C 78, 064307 (2008)] suffered from deficiencies, in particular in the way the collective effects---both vibrational and rotational---were treated. We have recently improved the level density calculations using simultaneously the single-particle levels and collective properties predicted by a newly derived Gogny interaction [S. Goriely, S. Hilaire, M. Girod, and S. P\'eru, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 242501 (2009)], therefore enabling a microscopic description of energy-dependent shell, pairing, and deformation effects. In addition, for deformed nuclei, the transition to sphericity is coherently taken into account on the basis of a temperature-dependent Hartree-Fock calculation which provides at each temperature the structure properties needed to build the level densities. This new method is described and shown to give reasonable results with respect to available experimental data.

Abstract Platinum-based chemotherapeutics exhibit excellent antitumor properties. However, these drugs cause severe side effects including toxicity, drug resistance, and lack of tumor selectivity. Tumor-targeted drug delivery has demonstrated great potential to overcome these drawbacks. Herein, we aimed to design radioactive bisphosphonate-functionalized platinum ( 195m Pt-BP) complexes to confirm preferential accumulation of these Pt-based drugs in metabolically active bone. In vitro NMR studies revealed that release of Pt from Pt BP complexes increased with decreasing pH. Upon systemic administration to mice, Pt-BP exhibited a 4.5-fold higher affinity to bone compared to platinum complexes lacking the bone-seeking bisphosphonate moiety. These Pt-BP complexes formed less Pt-DNA adducts compared to bisphosphonate-free platinum complexes, indicating that in vivo release of Pt from Pt-BP complexes proceeded relatively slow. Subsequently, radioactive 195m Pt-BP complexes were synthesized using 195m Pt(NO 3 ) 2 (en) as precursor and injected intravenously into mice. Specific accumulation of 195m Pt-BP was observed at skeletal sites with high metabolic activity using micro-SPECT/CT imaging. Furthermore, laser ablation-ICP-MS imaging of proximal tibia sections confirmed that 195m Pt BP co-localized with calcium in the trabeculae of mice tibia.

Twenty type classifiers scored body condition (BCS) of 91,738 first-parity cows from 601 sires and 5518 maternal grandsires. Fertility data during first lactation were extracted for 177,220 cows, of which 67,278 also had a BCS observation, and first-lactation 305-d milk, fat, and protein yields were added for 180,631 cows. Heritabilities and genetic correlations were estimated using a sire-maternal grandsire model. Heritability of BCS was 0.38. Heritabilities for fertility traits were low (0.01 to 0.07), but genetic standard deviations were substantial, 9 d for days to first service and calving interval, 0.25 for number of services, and 5% for first-service conception. Phenotypic correlations between fertility and yield or BCS were small (-0.15 to 0.20). Genetic correlations between yield and all fertility traits were unfavorable (0.37 to 0.74). Genetic correlations with BCS were between -0.4 and -0.6 for calving interval and days to first service. Random regression analysis (RR) showed that correlations changed with days in milk for BCS. Little agreement was found between variances and correlations from RR, and analysis including a single month (mo 1 to 10) of data for BCS, especially during early and late lactation. However, this was due to excluding data from the conventional analysis, rather than due to the polynomials used. RR and a conventional five-traits model where BCS in mo 1, 4, 7, and 10 was treated as a separate traits (plus yield or fertility) gave similar results. Thus a parsimonious random regression model gave more realistic estimates for the (co)variances than a series of bivariate analysis on subsets of the data for BCS. A higher genetic merit for yield has unfavorable effects on fertility, but the genetic correlation suggests that BCS (at some stages of lactation) might help to alleviate the unfavorable effect of selection for higher yield on fertility.

Context. Nuclear reaction rates of astrophysical applications are traditionally determined on the basis of Hauser-Feshbach reaction codes. These codes adopt a number of approximations that have never been tested, such as a simplified width fluctuation correction, the neglect of delayed or multiple-particle emission during the electromagnetic decay cascade, or the absence of the pre-equilibrium contribution at increasing incident energies.

Within EURADOS working group 2, a system for self-sustained intercomparisons for individual monitoring services for external radiation was developed. With the intercomparison results, the participants can show compliance within their quality management system, compare their results with those from other participants and develop plans for improvement of their system. The costs of the exercises are covered by the participants fees. In this programme, the first intercomparison exercise for whole-body dosemeters has been executed in 2008 with 62 participating dosimetry systems from participants across Europe. In general, film systems show the largest deviations, although the results of some participants indicate that it is possible to achieve results with a film system with similar quality as for thermoluminescence dosimetry (TLD) systems. A second intercomparison has been organised for extremity dosemeters in 2009. For 2010 it is planned to organise a second intercomparison for whole-body dosemeters.

In this paper, we report results of a numerical investigation of turbulent natural gas combustion for a jet in a coflow of lean combustion products in the Delft-Jet-in-Hot-Coflow (DJHC) burner which emulates MILD (Moderate and Intense Low Oxygen Dilution) combustion behavior. The focus is on assessing the performance of the Eddy Dissipation Concept (EDC) model in combination with two-equation turbulence models and chemical kinetic schemes for about 20 species (Correa mechanism and DRM19 mechanism) by comparing predictions with experimental measurements. We study two different flame conditions corresponding to two different oxygen levels (7.6% and 10.9% by mass) in the hot coflow, and for two jet Reynolds number (Re = 4,100 and Re = 8,800). The mean velocity and turbulent kinetic energy predicted by different turbulence models are in good agreement with data without exhibiting large differences among the model predictions. The realizable k-ε model exhibits better performance in the prediction of entrainment. The EDC combustion model predicts too early ignition leading to a peak in the radial mean temperature profile at too low axial distance. However the model correctly predicts the experimentally observed decreasing trend of lift-off height with jet Reynolds number. A detailed analysis of the mean reaction rate of the EDC model is made and as possible cause for the deviations between model predictions and experiments a low turbulent Reynolds number effect is identified. Using modified EDC model constants prediction of too early ignition can be avoided. The results are weakly sensitive to the sub-model for laminar viscosity and laminar diffusion fluxes.

Context. Nuclear reaction rates of astrophysical applications are traditionally determined on the basis of Hauser-Feshbach reaction codes. These codes adopt a number of approximations that have never been tested, such as a simplified width fluctuation correction, the neglect of delayed or multiple-particle emission during the electromagnetic decay cascade, or the absence of the pre-equilibrium contribution at increasing incident energies. Aims. The reaction code TALYS has been recently updated to estimate the Maxwellian-averaged reaction rates that are of astrophysical relevance. These new developments enable the reaction rates to be calculated with increased accuracy and reliability and the approximations of previous codes to be investigated. Methods. The TALYS predictions for the thermonuclear rates of relevance to astrophysics are detailed and compared with those derived by widely-used codes for the same nuclear ingredients. Results. It is shown that TALYS predictions may differ significantly from those of previous codes, in particular for nuclei for which no or little nuclear data is available. The pre-equilibrium process is shown to influence the astrophysics rates of exotic neutron-rich nuclei significantly. For the first time, the Maxwellian-averaged ($n,2n$) reaction rate is calculated for all nuclei and its competition with the radiative capture rate is discussed. Conclusions. The TALYS code provides a new tool to estimate all nuclear reaction rates of relevance to astrophysics with improved accuracy and reliability.

In May 2002, an 'Exploratory Meeting of Experts to Define an Action Plan on the Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Codes to Nuclear Reactor Safety Problems' was held at Aix-en-Provence, France. One of three recommended actions was the formation of this writing group to report on the need for guidelines for use of CFD in single phase Nuclear Reactor Safety (NRS) applications. CSNI approved this writing group at the end of 2002, and work began in March 2003. A final report was submitted to GAMA in September 2004, summarizing existing Best Practice Guidelines (BPG) for CFD, and recommending creation of a BPG document for Nuclear Reactor Safety (NRS) applications. The present document is intended to provide an internally complete set of guidelines for a range of single phase applications of CFD to NRS problems. However, it is not meant to be comprehensive; it is recognized that for any specific application a higher level of specificity is possible on questions of nodalization, model selection, and validation. This document should provide direct guidance on the key considerations in known single phase applications, and general directions for resolving remaining details. The intent is that it will serve as a template for further application specific (e.g. PTS, induced break) BPG documents that will provide much more detailed information and examples. The document begins with a summary of NRS related CFD analysis in countries represented by the authors. Chapter 3 deals with definition of the problem and its solution approach. This includes isolation of the portion of the NRS problem most in need of CFD, and use of a classic thermal hydraulic (TH) safety code to provide boundary conditions for the CFD based upon less detailed simulation of the balance of plant. Chapter 4 provides guidance in choosing between various options, and also discusses use of a transient calculation with tightly coupled CFD and TH codes. Chapter 5 discusses selection of physical models available as user options. As is appropriate for single phase CFD, most of the emphasis is on selection of turbulence models. Recommendations are provided for high level selection between Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS), Large Eddy Simulation (LES), and hybrid approaches such as Detached Eddy Simulation (DES). Chapter 7 focuses on the numerical approximations available to solve the flow equations. Guidelines are provided for nodalization, and for choice of discrete approximations to the differential equations. Guidance is also given on convergence of iterative solutions, and numerical techniques for following free surfaces. Chapter 7 discusses general assessment strategy. Chapter 8 covers approaches to limiting errors associated with discretization and numerical solution methods (verification). This step is a necessary precursor to quantifying errors associated with physical models (validation) as described in Chapter 9. Guidance on documentation is provided in Chapter 10. Chapter 11 provides some examples of NRS applications; the first two examples are boron dilution and pressurized thermal shock; the third example explores the use of Fluent for simulation of dry cask storage of spent fuel (this example is highly suited to single phase CFD analysis)

Most trees form symbioses with ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) which influence access to growth-limiting soil resources. Mesocosm experiments repeatedly show that EMF species differentially affect plant development, yet whether these effects ripple up to influence the growth of entire forests remains unknown. Here we tested the effects of EMF composition and functional genes relative to variation in well-known drivers of tree growth by combining paired molecular EMF surveys with high-resolution forest inventory data across 15 European countries. We show that EMF composition was linked to a three-fold difference in tree growth rate even when controlling for the primary abiotic drivers of tree growth. Fast tree growth was associated with EMF communities harboring high inorganic but low organic nitrogen acquisition gene proportions and EMF which form contact versus medium-distance fringe exploration types. These findings suggest that EMF composition is a strong bio-indicator of underlying drivers of tree growth and/or that variation of forest EMF communities causes differences in tree growth. While it may be too early to assign causality or directionality, our study is one of the first to link fine-scale variation within a key component of the forest microbiome to ecosystem functioning at a continental scale.

Milk, fat, and protein loss due to a new subclinical mastitis case may be economically important, and the objective of this study was to estimate this loss. The loss was estimated based on test-day (TD) cow records collected over a 1-yr period from 400 randomly selected Dutch dairy herds. After exclusion of records from cows with clinical mastitis, the data set comprised 251,647 TD records from 43,462 lactations of 39,512 cows. The analysis was carried out using a random regression test-day modeling approach that predicts the cow production at each TD based on the actual production at all previous TD. The definition of new subclinical mastitis was based on the literature and assumed a new subclinical case if somatic cell count (SCC) was >100,000 cells/mL after a TD with SCC <50,000 cells/mL. A second data set was created by applying an adjustment to correct low SCC for the dilution effect when determining if the previous test-day SCC was <50,000 cells/ mL. Thereafter, the loss was estimated for records with SCC >100,000 cells/mL. The production (milk, fat, or protein) losses were modeled as the difference between the actual and predicted production (milk, fat, or protein) at the TD of new subclinical mastitis, for 4,382 cow records, and 2,545 cow records after dilution correction. Primiparous cows were predicted to lose 0.31 (0.25-0.37) and 0.28 (0.20-0.35) kg of milk/d at an SCC of 200,000 cells/mL, for unadjusted and adjusted low SCC, respectively. For the same SCC increase, multiparous cows were predicted to lose 0.58 (0.54-0.62) and 0.50 (0.44-0.56) kg of milk/d, respectively. Moreover, it was found that the greater the SCC increase above 100,000 cells/mL, the greater the production losses. The estimated production losses were more precise than previously reported estimates.

Current R&D activities on materials for fusion power reactors are mainly focused on plasma facing, structural and tritium breeding materials for plasma facing (first wall, divertor) and breeding blanket components. Most of these activities are being performed in Europe, Japan, the People's Republic of China, Russia and the USA. They relate to the development of new high temperature, radiation resistant materials, the development of coatings that will act as erosion, corrosion, permeation and/or electrical/MHD barriers, characterization of candidate materials in terms of mechanical and physical properties, assessment of irradiation effects, compatibility experiments, development of reliable joints, and development and/or validation of design rules. Priorities defined worldwide in the field of materials for fusion power reactors are summarized, as well as the main achievements obtained during the last few years and the near-term perspectives in the different investigation areas.

New Monte Carlo estimators of the effective delayed neutron fraction βeff are presented in this paper. By looking at the physical interpretation of the adjoint function, one can incorporate its effect on the delayed neutron fraction without explicitly calculating the adjoint function itself. We have implemented these estimators into MCNP. In a standard keff calculation, the code now reports a βeff value. The method does not slow down the code by more than 0.5%. We propose an extensive experimental benchmark set for βeff, which we use to test our method and two known approximate methods. Our method reproduces all experimental values.

This paper presents an estimation of the European (EU28) industrial heat pump market potential in terms of magnitude, sizing and number of units. This study is carried out in order to provide technology suppliers and manufacturers of industrial heat pumps perspectives for the technology. Potential heat pump applications in the food, paper, chemical and refining sectors are identified considering a maximum sink temperature of 200°C. This is achieved utilising a bottom-up methodology that uses detailed information from individual processes in the aforementioned sectors. Combining individual process data with typical plant capacities provides information on the heating capacities of heat pumps. The data is upscaled to European level, using production statistics relevant to the individual processes analysed. Since the database of processes is generic in nature and not fully covering the whole industrial sector, the results of this analysis provide a conservative estimate of the heat pump market potential. The results show a potential cumulative heating capacity of industrial heat pumps in EU28 of 23.0 GW, consisting of 4174 heat pump units which are able to cover 641 PJ/a of process heat demand. The largest number of heat pump units (%) can be found for heating capacities <10 MW, making up about 50% of the total market cumulative heating capacity. Clearly, there is a large market ahead for industrial heat pump manufacturers and suppliers.

Key features of this process are the high yield of cellulose, monomeric hemicellulose sugars and lignin combined with limited solvent loss due to acetone self-condensation.

Subclinical ketosis is a metabolic disorder in high-producing dairy cattle that can be detected by ketone bodies in milk: acetone (Ac), acetoacetate (AcAc), and beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry is to a growing extent used for determination of milk constituents in milk recording, but as yet there is no calibration for ketone bodies available. The objective of this study was therefore to build a calibration for the MilkoScan FT6000 (FOSS Analytical A/S, Hillerød, Denmark) for Ac, AcAc, and BHBA and to evaluate the FTIR predictions for detection of subclinical ketosis. From 217 herds, 1,080 milk samples were taken from fresh multiparous dairy cows. The Ac, AcAc, and BHBA concentrations were determined by chemical methods using segmented flow analysis. Because of its low concentration, AcAc seemed to be hardly detectable and was therefore not considered further. The correlation between the chemical method results of Ac and BHBA was 0.82, indicating that both ketone bodies were elevated in milk during subclinical ketosis. In wk 1 postpartum, however, most samples with a high Ac concentration did not have a high BHBA concentration, whereas after wk 5 postpartum most samples with a high BHBA concentration did not have a high Ac concentration. For Ac and BHBA, the correlation coefficients between the FTIR predictions and the chemical results were around 0.80 with standard error of cross validation values of 0.184 and 0.064 mM for Ac and BHBA, respectively. Using thresholds of 0.15 mM for Ac and 0.10 mM for BHBA, high values for Ac or BHBA were detected with a sensitivity of 69 to 70%, a specificity of 95%, with 25 to 27% false positives and 6 to 7% false negatives. It is argued that FTIR predictions for Ac and BHBA are valuable for screening cows on subclinical ketosis, especially when used in combination with other indicators, and can serve in the evaluation of the herd health status with respect to subclinical ketosis.

Recently, a sound description of some of the basic nuclear ingredients required in the calculation of fission cross sections has been obtained. These concern in particular fission barriers within the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) method and nuclear level densities at the fission saddle points within the combinatorial model. Both ingredients are determined coherently, the nuclear level densities being estimated on the basis of the single-particle scheme and pairing strength of the same mean field model that was used to determine the fission saddle points. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the quality of such inputs in the calculation of fission cross sections. Although the barrier height can still not be predicted with an accuracy better than about 700 keV, the use of the full HFB fission path and the corresponding WKB calculation of the probability to penetrate the fission barrier clearly provides a better way to estimate fission cross section in comparison with highly parametrized phenomenological models, when no experimental data is available. It is shown that a satisfactory estimate of the fission cross section for nonenergy applications can be achieved with a global renormalization of the barrier height and the microscopic nuclear level densities at the fission saddle points. Good agreement with experimental data can be obtained if both the fission barrier heights and level densities are independently renormalized. The resulting barrier heights required to reproduce experimental cross sections are found to be smaller by a few hundred keV with respect to previous analyses.