Measurement and calculation of the 233 Pa fission cross-section for advanced fuel cycles

The energy dependence of the neutron-induced fission cross-section of 233 Pa has been measured directly for the first time from the fission threshold up to 8.5 MeV. This fission cross-section is a key ingredient in feasibility studies on fast reactors and accelerator driven systems based on the Th-U fuel cycle. The results are at strong variance with the existing evaluations. The new experimental data give lower cross-section values and resolve the question about the threshold energy. Additionally a new theoretical calculation of the reaction cross-section has been performed with the statistical model code STATIS, showing a very good agreement with the experimental data.