New resolved resonance region evaluation for 63,65Cu for nuclear criticality safety program

A new resolved resonance region evaluation of 63,65Cu was done in the energy region from 10−5 eV to 99.5 keV. The R-Matrix SAMMY method using the Reich-Moore approximation was used to create a new set of consistent resonance parameters. The new evaluation is based on three experimental transmission data sets: two measured at ORELA and one at MITR, plus two radiative capture experimental data sets from GELINA. A total of 141 new resonances were identified for 63Cu and 117 for 65Cu. The corresponding set of external resonances for each isotope is based on the identified resonances above 99.5 keV from the ORELA transmission data. The negative external levels (bound levels) have been determined to match the thermal cross section measured at the MITR. Differential elastic scattering cross sections have been calculated from the new set of resonance parameters. Benchmarking calculations were carried out on a set of ICSBEP benchmarks.JRC.D.4-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard