https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-024-05714-x
Regular Article
An experimental study on the nuclear radiation attenuation properties of Fe–Sb–Pb doped concretes prepared with different cement types
Department of Electricity and Energy, Ispir Hamza Polat Vocational School, Ataturk University, 25240, Erzurum, Turkey
a aytaclevet@atauni.edu.tr, a.levent25@gmail.com
Received:
2
September
2024
Accepted:
3
October
2024
Published online:
25
October
2024
The article presents an experimental study investigating the nuclear radiation attenuation properties of concretes doped with different percentages (4–8–12–16–20%) of iron (Fe), antimony (Sb), and lead (Pb), prepared using different cement types (CEM I and CEM IV). The samples were irradiated using Am-241 and Ba-133 radioactive sources, and the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), effective atomic number (Zeff), effective electron density (Neff), half-value layer (HVL), and mean free path (MFP) were both theoretically and experimentally calculated. WinXCom program was used for theoretical calculations. The samples were placed between the detector and the radiation source in the experimental measurements, and transmission measurements were taken. In addition, the samples’ Exposure (EBF) and Energy Absorption (EABF) Buildup Factors values were calculated theoretically and their changes according to energy and penetration depth were evaluated. The samples with higher percentages of Fe, Sb, and Pb have higher effective atomic numbers and electron densities, leading to improved radiation shielding performance. The study found no significant difference in radiation shielding performance between concretes made with CEM I and CEM IV cement types. Among the concretes, those with 20% Sb (Sb20) and 20% Pb (Pb20) dopes exhibited the best radiation attenuation capabilities. Sb-doped concretes showed promising results, with a performance close to that of Pb-doped concretes despite Sb’s lower atomic number, making it a potentially more cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to lead in radiation shielding applications.
Copyright comment Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
