Photofission Analysis for Fissile Dosimeters Dedicated to Reactor Pressure Vessel Surveillance

Abstract

Fissile dosimeters are commonly used in reactor pressure vessel surveillance programs. In this paper, the photofission contribution is analyzed for in-vessel 237Np and 238U fissile dosimeters in French PWR. The aim is to reassess this contribution using recent tools (the TRIPOLI-4 Monte Carlo code) and latest nuclear data (JEFF3.1.1 and ENDF/B-VII nuclear libraries). To be as exhaustive as possible, this study is carried out for different configurations of fissile dosimeters, irradiated inside different kinds of PWR: 900 MWe, 1300 MWe, and 1450 MWe. Calculation of photofission rate in dosimeters does not present a major problem using the TRIPOLI-4® Monte Carlo code and the coupled neutron-photon simulation mode. However, preliminary studies were necessary to identify the origin of photons responsible of photofissions in dosimeters in relation to the photofission threshold reaction (around 5 MeV). It appears that the main contribution of high enough energy photons generating photofissions is the neutron inelastic scattering in stainless steel reactor structures. By contrast, 137Cs activity calculation is not an easy task since photofission yield data are known with high uncertainty.