Precision neutronic calculations of experiments on the neutron transmission through the reflector layers at the BFS critical facilities for expanding the verification database to justify lead cooled fast reactor designs

The paper presents the results of the efforts concerned with expanding the verification database and estimating the calculation uncertainty of the power density in the steel reflector of lead cooled fast reactor designs based on experiments performed in different years at the BFS critical assemblies by analyzing and revising earlier calculation and experimental studies on the transmission of neutrons through the steel reflector layers. The discussion includes experiments at the BFS-66 critical assembly to model neutron and photon fluxes in the reactor core shielding compositions, as well as experiments at the BFS-64 and BFS-80-2 critical assemblies to model the transmission of neutrons and gamma quanta through the reflector layers of various materials. The information provided in earlier materials with the descriptions of the above experiments has been analyzed and expanded through respective data required to prepare precision calculation models for Monte-Carlo neutronic codes. Precision neutronic models have been developed based on actualized and updated data with a detailed description of the BFS heterogeneous structure and experimental devices, and test calculations have been carried out to confirm their efficiency. The calculations of key neutronic characteristics measured at the BFS-66, -64 and -80-2 assemblies were performed using codes based on the Monte Carlo method (MCU-BR, MCNP, MMK-RF, MMK-ROKOKO) with BNAB-RF and MDBBR50 neutron data and the ROSFOND evaluated neutron data library. The developed precision calculation neutronic models of the experiments discussed can be used to justify lead cooled fast reactor designs, to verify neutronic codes and neutron data, and to evaluate the associated uncertainties.