https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-026-07419-9
Regular Article
Enhancing the structural, morphological, and radiation shielding properties of calcined soil using granite and boric acid
1
Ural Federal University, St. Mira, 19, 620002, Yekaterinburg, Russia
2
General Supervision Department, Center of Studies and Engineering Designs, Ministry of Water Resources, 7602, Baghdad, Iraq
3
Department of Physics, College of Sciences, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), 11623, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
a
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Received:
29
November
2025
Accepted:
6
February
2026
Published online:
21
February
2026
Abstract
The current work aims to fabricate new lightweight, low-cost, and eco-friendly radiation shielding ceramics based on the local Iraqi soil. The mentioned materials were fabricated according to the formula of (85 − x) wt% soil + 15 wt% boric acid (H3BO3) + y granite powder; x = 0, 10, 15, 20, 35, and 50 wt%. The XRD analysis was applied to identify the amorphous and crystal phases of the fabricated composites. Additionally, the FTIR was applied to detect the functional groups created within the fabricated calcined soils due to the interaction between their components. The morphology and elemental composition of the prepared samples were identified utilizing SEM and EDX analysis. The variation of the physical and structural parameters of the ceramics, including pore volume, bulk volume, porosity, water absorption, and density as a result of the substitution of granite powder for Iraqi soil, was experimentally examined. The detected increase in the porosity and density of the prepared samples are anticipated to affect their functional qualities in intricate ways. Additionally, the γ-ray shielding parameters of the prepared ceramics is measured experimentally using a 7.62 cm × 7.62 cm NaI (Tl) detector. The measurements were performed at γ-ray energies of 0.059 and 0.662 MeV emitted from isotopes Am-241 and Cs-137, respectively. The measurements show compatibility with the data obtained from the Monte Carlo simulation code (MCNP-5) at a wide energy interval expanding from 0.033 to 1.408 MeV. The increase in granite concentration within the investigated calcined soils from 0 to 50 wt% enhances the LACs by 70.15% (at 0.059 MeV), 46.54% (at 0.662 MeV), and 46.44% (at 1.408 MeV). Thereafter, the theoretical calculations were applied to evaluate the removal cross section ∑R against the fast neutrons.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2026
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.
