The Influence of Chemical Composition on The Shielding Coefficients for Different Materials to Gamma Rays and Fast Neutrons

Khalid Ahmed  Ibrahim; Sabah Mahmoud  Aman; Saif Amer  Mahdi

doi:10.17605/cajmns.v6i2.2756

Khalid Ahmed Ibrahim Department of Physics-College of Education for Pure Sciences-University of Kirkuk-Kirkuk-Iraq. College of Science, University of Tikrit
Sabah Mahmoud Aman Department of Physics-College of Education for Pure Sciences-University of Kirkuk-Kirkuk-Iraq. College of Science, University of Tikrit
Saif Amer Mahdi Department of Physics-College of Education for Pure Sciences-University of Kirkuk-Kirkuk-Iraq. College of Science, University of Tikrit

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/cajmns.v6i2.2756

Keywords: Effective Atomic Number, Fast Neutron, Gamma Ray, Half, Tenth, Quarter, Layer, Mass Attenuation Coefficient, Molecular Cross-Section, NIST-XCO, SAZ

Abstract

Radiation shielding is critical in nuclear applications to protect human health and sensitive equipment from harmful ionizing radiation. The effectiveness of shielding materials depends on their chemical composition and interaction with gamma rays and fast neutrons. While various materials have been studied for radiation shielding, the selection and optimization of new alloys and concrete mixtures require precise computational and experimental analyses. Existing studies lack a comprehensive comparison of ternary metallic alloys and barite/goethite-based concrete mixtures for shielding both gamma rays and fast neutrons. The effectiveness of these materials under different radiation exposure conditions needs further investigation. This study aims to evaluate the shielding efficiency of selected ternary metallic alloys (Pb-Sb-Sn and Pb-Cu-Te) and barite/goethite-based concrete mixtures against gamma rays and fast neutrons using computational methods. The findings indicate that Pb₀.₇₅-Sb₀.₁₅-Sn₀.₁₀ exhibits the highest attenuation for gamma rays, while barite-based concrete mixtures provide superior neutron shielding compared to dolomite-based mixtures. The study calculates key shielding parameters, including mass attenuation coefficients, mean free path, and half-value layer. Unlike conventional shielding materials, the study integrates computational tools such as XCOM and SAZ to provide a more precise evaluation of shielding performance, offering insights into material selection and design. These results contribute to the development of optimized shielding materials for nuclear applications, improving safety measures in industrial, medical, and research settings by enhancing material performance for radiation protection.

References

N. J. AbuAlRoos, N. A. B. Amin, and R. Zainon, “Conventional and new lead-free radiation shielding materials for radiation protection in nuclear medicine: A review,” Radiation Physics and Chemistry, vol. 165, p. 108439, 2019.

B. Gan et al., “Research progress of metal-based shielding materials for neutron and gamma rays,” Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), vol. 34, no. 12, pp. 1609-1617, 2021.

B. Aygün et al., “Development of new heavy concretes containing chrome-ore for nuclear radiation shielding applications,” Progress in Nuclear Energy, vol. 133, p. 103645, 2021.

D. A. Kahraman, F. T. Cogalmis, A. N. Esen, S. Haciyakupoglu, and B. F. Senkal, “Neutron and gamma-ray shielding effectiveness of novel polyaniline composites,” Radiation Physics and Chemistry, vol. 219, p. 111675, 2024.

D. Giovagnoli, “Image reconstruction for three-gamma PET imaging,” Doctoral dissertation, Ecole nationale supérieure Mines-Télécom Atlantique, 2020.

M. Ragheb, “Gamma rays interaction with matter,” Nuclear, Plasma and Radiation Science. Inventing the Future, pp. 17-22, 2011. [Online]. Available: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mragheb/www.

T. Olsen et al., “Radiation effects on materials for electrochemical energy storage systems,” Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, vol. 25, no. 45, pp. 30761-30784, 2023.

G. O. Depaola, M. L. Iparraguirre, and D. Palacios, “About electrons and position in Triplet Production: some remarks,” Physics Open, vol. 5, p. 100044, 2020.

A. Martin, S. Harbison, K. Beach, and P. Cole, An introduction to radiation protection, CRC Press, 2018.

P. Rinard, “Neutron interactions with matter,” in Passive nondestructive assay of nuclear materials, 1991, pp. 375-377.

Z. M. Nuri, A. A. Aziz, and S. M. A. Allah, “Investigation of the Protective Armours for Gamma Rays and Fast Neutrons Parameters,” Nanotechnology Perceptions, pp. 546-560, 2024.

T. E. Johnson, Introduction to health physics, McGraw Hill Professional, 2017.

B. Tellili, Y. Elmahroug, and C. Souga, “Investigation on radiation shielding parameters of cerrobend alloys,” Nuclear Engineering and Technology, vol. 49, no. 8, pp. 1758-1771, 2017.

M. Maqbool, “Interaction of gamma rays and X-rays with matter,” in An Introduction to Medical Physics, pp. 43-61, 2017.

B. Akça and S. Z. Erzeneoğlu, “The mass attenuation coefficients, electronic, atomic, and molecular cross sections, effective atomic numbers, and electron densities for compounds of some biomedically important elements at 59.5 keV,” Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations, vol. 2014, p. 901465, 2014.

S. R. Manohara, S. M. Hanagodimath, K. S. Thind, and L. Gerward, “On the effective atomic number and electron density: a comprehensive set of formulas for all types of materials and energies above 1 keV,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, vol. 266, no. 18, pp. 3906-3912, 2008.

B. Koirala et al., “Cancer radiotherapy based on attenuation coefficient,” International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science, vol. 6, no. 12, pp. 21-24, 2021.

A. M. Alqahtani et al., “Study of ionizing radiation attenuation of glass as: gamma rays shielding material,” Chalcogenide Letters, vol. 19, no. 4, 2022.

V. Jalal, “The dependence of X-ray attenuation parameters of (Al, Cu, and Zr) metals on their atomic number,” Available at SSRN, vol. 4392990, 2023.

B. V. Kheswa, “Gamma radiation shielding properties of (x) BiO–(0.5–x) ZnO–0.2 BO–0.3 SiO glass system,” Nukleonika, vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 23-29, 2024.

I. S. Mustafa, N. A. N. Razali, A. R. Ibrahim, N. Z. Yahaya, and H. M. Kamari, “From rice husk to transparent radiation protection material,” Jurnal Intelek, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 1-6, 2016.

B. V. Kheswa, S. N. T. Majola, and S. N. Majola, “Impact of Bi2O3 on the X-ray shielding characteristics of telluro-borate-bismuth glass for medical applications,” Journal of Theoretical and Applied Physics, vol. 18, no. 3, 2024.

S. A. Al-Shelkamy, H. M. Hashish, and E. Salama, “Radiation attenuation, structural, mechanical and lubricant wear analysis against 5% wt. NaCl of heat treated stainless steel grades,” 2021.

A. E. S. Abdo, “Calculation of the cross-sections for fast neutrons and gamma-rays in concrete shields,” Annals of Nuclear Energy, vol. 29, no. 16, pp. 1977-1988, 2002.

K. H. S. Abdullah and S. A. Mahmod, “Calculation the fast neutrons interaction parameters for several carbohydrates,” Stallion Journal for Multidisciplinary Associated Research Studies, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 56-62, 2024.

A. El Abd, G. Mesbah, N. M. Mohammed, and A. Ellithi, “A simple method for determining the effective removal cross section for fast neutrons,” J. Radiat. Nucl. Appl., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 53-58, 2017.

M. A. H. Abdullah et al., “Recent trends in advanced radiation shielding concrete for construction of facilities: materials and properties,” Polymers, vol. 14, no. 14, p. 2830, 2022.

I. M. Nabil et al., “Experimental, analytical, and simulation studies of modified concrete mix for radiation shielding in a mixed radiation field,” Scientific Reports, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 17637, 2023.

H. Nulk, “Computional investigation of gamma shielding behaviour of cementbasalt composite for nuclear energy applications,” Tartu: Tartu Ülikool, 2014.

A. Ali et al., “A comparative study of gamma radiation shielding parameters for sodium silicate glass containing bismuth, barium and lead oxide in the energy range (0.6–1.5 MeV),” Wadi Alshatti University Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 16-22, 2024.

T. Singh, A. Kaur, J. Sharma, and P. S. Singh, “Gamma rays’ shielding parameters for some Pb-Cu binary alloys,” Engineering Science and Technology, An International Journal, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 1078-1085, 2018.