Integral experiment on bismuth slabs with D–T neutron irradiation for data validation
摘要
Accurate nuclear data for neutron interactions with bismuth are crucial for applications in nuclear technology and radiation protection. This paper presents a comprehensive benchmark analysis that compares experimental data obtained at multiple angles and thicknesses with simulations based on four nuclear-data libraries: CENDL−3.2, ENDF/B-VIII.0, JENDL–5, and JEFF−3.3. The experiments involved neutron-leakage measurements of bismuth at three thicknesses and six angles, along with standard sample validations. Pulse time distributions were reconstructed using the maximum likelihood expectation–maximization algorithm, and a silicon-carbide detector was employed to accurately distinguish between deuterium–tritium and deuterium–deuterium reaction products. Simulation models validated using polyethylene sample results demonstrated calculated-to-experimental (C/E) values of 1 ± 0.03, thus confirming their reliability. The analysis revealed that CENDL−3.2 exhibited the best overall agreement in the elastic scattering region. In the discrete inelastic scattering region, JENDL–5 performed best at larger angles, while JEFF−3.3 was more accurate at smaller angles. In the continuous inelastic scattering region, JEFF−3.3 demonstrated the best overall performance, with CENDL−3.2 achieving good agreement at selected angles. In the (n,2n) reaction region, ENDF/B–VIII.0 provided C/E values closest to unity, while JENDL–5 ensured better consistency across the full energy spectrum. These findings highlight the importance of selecting appropriate nuclear-data libraries and emphasize the necessity for ongoing data refinement to improve modeling accuracy.