The work is aimed at experimental determining and computer simulating the independent and cumulative yields of residual product nuclei in the target and structure materials of the transmutation facilities driven by high-current accelerators. The ITEP U-10 accelerator was used in 48 experiments to obtain more than 4000 values of the yields of radioactive residual product nuclei in 0.1-2.

The work is aimed at experimental determination of the independent and cumulative yields of radioactive residual nuclei produced in intermediate-energy proton-irradiated thin targets made of highly isotopic enriched and natural lead ( 206,207,208,nat Pb) and 209 Bi. 5972 radioactive product nuclide yields have been measured in 55 thin targets induced by 0.04, 0.07, 0.10, 0.15, 0.25, 0.6, 0.8, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, and 2.6 GeV protons extracted from the ITEP U-10 proton synchrotron. The measured data have been compared with data obtained at other laboratories as well as with theoretical simulations by seven codes. We found that the predictive power of the tested codes is different but is satisfactory for most of the nuclides in the spallation region, though none of the codes agree well with the data in the whole mass region of product nuclides and all should be improved further.

A qualitative and quantitative comparison of the recent OSI measurements of the nuclide yields from 208Pb and 238U at 1 OeV/nucleon and 197 Au at 800 MeV/nucleon interactions with protons with the codes LARET (with both IS-ABEL and Bertini options), CEM95, CEM97, CEM2k, CASCADE, CASCADElINPE, YIELDX, RETC, and INUCL is presented The predictive power of these codes is reasonable for nuclides in the near spallation region but is worse for deep spallation and much worse in the fission region. None of these codes agree well with the data in the whole mass region of product nuclides and all must be improved to become reliable tools for accelerator-dri ven applications.

Considering the prospects of using the W-Na target assemblies in ADS facilities, the experiments were made to study the nuclear-physics characteristics of W and Na, and the composite structures thereof in their interactions with 0.8-GeV and 1.6-GeV protons. The neutron and proton-induced reaction rates were measured inside, and on the surface of, a cylinder-shaped heterogeneous W-Na assembly together with the double-differential spectra of secondary neutrons emitted from different-depth W and Na discs. The measurement results were simulated by the LAHET, CEM2k, and KASKAD-S codes in terms of the latest versions of nuclear databases.

Verification of neutron fission cross-sections of minor actinides from some recently available evaluated nuclear data libraries was carried out by comparison of the reaction rates calculated by the MCNP6.1 computer code to the experimental values. The experimental samples, containing thin layers of 235U, 237Np, 238,239,240,241Pu, 242mAm, 243Cm, 245Cm, and 247Cm, deposited on metal support and foils of 235U (pseudo-alloy 27Al + 235U), 238U, natIn, 64Zn, 27Al, and multi-component sample alloy 27Al + 55Mn + natCu + natLu + 197Au, were irradiated in the channels of the tank containing fluorine salts 0.52NaF + 0.48ZrF4, labelled as the Micromodel Salt Blanket, inserted in the lattice centre of the MAKET heavy water critical assembly at the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Moscow. This paper is a continuation of earlier initiated scientific-research activities carried out for validation of the evaluated fission cross-sections of actinides that were supposed to be used for the quality examination of the fuel design of the accelerator driven systems or fast reactors, and consequently, determination of transmutation rates of actinides, and therefore, determination of operation parameters of these reactor facilities. These scientific-research activities were carried out within a frame of scientific projects supported by the International Science and Technology Center and the International Atomic Energy Agency co-ordinated research activities, from 1999 to 2010. Obtained results confirm that further research is needed in evaluations in order to establish better neutron cross-section data for the minor actinides and selected nuclides which could be used in the accelerator driven systems or fast reactors.