Measurement and analysis of the 238U(n, 2n) reaction rate in depleted uranium/polyethylene shells

In order to check the conceptual design of the subcritical blanket in a fusion-fission hybrid reactor, a depleted uranium/polyethylene simulation device with alternate shells has been established. The measurement of the 238U(n, 2n) reaction rate was carried out using an activation technique, by measuring the 208 keV γ rays emitted from 237U. The self-absorption of depleted uranium foils with different thicknesses was experimentally corrected. The distribution of the 238U(n, 2n) reaction rate at 90° to the incident D+ beam was obtained, with uncertainty between 5.3% and 6.0%. The experiment was analyzed using MCNP5 code with the ENDF/BVI library, and the calculated results are all about 5% higher than the measured results.