Proposal of Evaluation Cases for the Standardization of the Validation Activities of Neutron Unfolding Codes

In the last decades, different scientific and industrial institutions have developed multiple neutron unfolding codes. However, the validation of these codes is generally only done for those cases in which its direct application is of interest to the developers, and many codes are only validated for isotopic neutron sources and some specific workplaces. This point supposes a problem because the codes are not validated for their general application in radioactive and nuclear facilities, which is sometimes motivated by the lack of a procedure or guideline which collects data from different sources. This work presents a series of selected cases that can allow a generic and complete validation of these codes; the cases have been selected by the authors during their works for the validation of their own-developed codes. Validation cases have been selected to cover a wide range of neutron energies in facilities with interest, also considering cosmic rays. The present proposal of procedure aims to be a first step for the standardization of the validation activities of the aforementioned codes, being a first attempt to promote the general and multi-purpose validation of these codes.