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The ACEN group’s research activities are dedicated to fission and capture reaction studies on nuclides of interest for present or future fuel cycle and for nuclear waste transmutation.
The group is involved in national and EU programs dedicated to nuclear data measurement, i.e. precise determination of neutron induced reaction cross section fission and capture cross section measurement, in the fast neutron energy range (MeV) or in the resolved resonance region (1-100 eV). Experiment are performed at AIFIRA local facility, and at several national and European facilities (IRMM Geel, IPN Orsay, CEA/DAM Bruyères-le-Châtel, Oslo University, GSI Darmstadt).
We are also interested in fission fragment experimental studies (fission fragment charge, mass and energy distribution) and modelisation.
The ACEN group is engaged in the systematic measurement of neutron cross-sections for actinides: these are nuclides involved in the present U/Pu fuel cycle (235,238U, Pu) or in the innovative thorium fuel cycle (233U, Th and Pa) and minor actinides that are the most radioactive part of the nuclear waste on the thousand year range (Np, Am and Cm isotopes).
The measurements of neutron cross-sections for these heavy nuclei very often represent a challenge for experimentalists due to their high α-activity, their scarcity and technical difficulties arising from the fabrication of isotopically-pure targets. According to the nature and availability of the studied elements, we use two complementary approaches to measure their cross-sections:
We are also involved in experiments on fission fragment properties and distribution studies and in fission process modelling, via the development of a performant code (GEF).
Our activities have been within the successive interdisciplinary programmes of CNRS (PACEN/GEDEPEON) and/or form a part of integrated European projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programme.