Improved activation tests of fusion structural materials with a deuteron–beryllium neutron source

In the framework of the European Activation File (EAF) task of the European Fusion Technology Programme, the EAF data relevant to the steel types F82H-mod and MANET-2 were benchmarked experimentally. Samples were activated in an intense neutron field produced in a thick beryllium target by a 19-MeV deuteron beam of the Karlsruhe Isochron-Zyklotron. The irradiated samples were investigated by γ spectrometry. The results were compared with calculations using the FISPACT code, the EAF-4.1 library and the source neutron spectrum as measured by activation foil dosimetry. Calculation-over-experiment ratios between 0.96 and 1.19 are found for the more important medium-halflife radionuclides produced in F82H-mod. Similar values are found for MANET-2.