Evaluated Nuclear Data

This chapter describes the current status of evaluated nuclear data for nuclear technology applications. We start with evaluation procedures for neutron-induced reactions focusing on incident energies from the thermal energy up to 20 MeV, though higher energies are also mentioned. This is followed by examining the status of evaluated neutron data for actinides that play a dominant role in most of the applications, followed by coolants/moderators, structural materials, and fission products. We then discuss neutron covariance data that characterize uncertainties and correlations. We explain how modern nuclear evaluated data libraries are validated against an extensive set of integral benchmark experiments. Afterward, we briefly examine other data of importance for nuclear technology, including fission yields, thermal neutron scattering, and decay data. A description of three major evaluated nuclear data libraries is provided, including the latest version of the US library ENDF/B-VII.0, European JEFF-3.1, and Japanese JENDL-3.3. A brief introduction is made to current web retrieval systems that allow easy access to a vast amount of up-to-date evaluated nuclear data for nuclear technology applications.