Calculations of ADS with deep subcritical uranium active cores - comparison with experiments and predictions

The main characteristics of the neutron field formed within the massive (512 kg) natural uranium target assembly (TA) QUINTA irradiated by deuteron beam of JINR Nuclotron with energies 1,2,4, and 8 GeV as well as the spatial distributions and the integral numbers of (n,f), (n,γ) and (n,xn)- reactions were calculated and compared with experimental data [1] . The MCNPX 27e code with ISABEL/ABLA/FLUKA and INCL4/ABLA models of intra-nuclear cascade (INC) and experimental cross-sections of the corresponding reactions were used. Special attention was paid to the elucidation of the role of charged particles (protons and pions) in the fission of natural uranium of TA QUINTA. Extensive calculations have been done for quasi-infinite (with very small neutron leakage) depleted uranium TA BURAN having mass about 20 t which are intended to be used in experiments at Nuclotron in 2014-2016. As in the case of TA QUINTA which really models the central zone of TA BURAN the total numbers of fissions, produced ²³⁹Pu nuclei and total neutron multiplicities are predicted to be proportional to proton or deuteron energy up to 12 GeV. But obtained values of beam power gain are practically constant in studied incident energy range and are approximately four. These values are in contradiction with the experimental result [2] obtained for the depleted uranium core weighting three tons at incident proton energy 0.66 GeV.