Gamma photon-neutron attenuation parameters of marble concrete by MCNPX code

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the gamma photon-neutron attenuation parameters of the marble concrete such as the linear attenuation coefficient ($\mu$), Mass Attenuation Coefficient (MAC), Half Value Layer (HVL), neutron removal cross-section (∑_R), and Exposure Buildup Factor (EBF) by MCNPX Monte Carlo code to examine the possibility of utilizing selected samples against gamma photon-neutron. The six types of marble concrete were exposed to different energies ranging from 511 to 1332 keV. The shielding effectiveness of the selected marble concrete was compared to each other and the obtained results show that the increment of the penetration depth causes an increase in the value of EBF and the sharp peak is monitored at 200 keV. The ∑_R (neutron removal cross-section) values were also reported for all types of marble concrete. The outcomes depict that ∑_R is strongly relevant to the weight fractions of light elements of the selected shielding materials. Furthermore, the variations of ${\sigma }_a$ (total atomic cross-section) were reviewed and discussed versus wide energy ranges. Findings in all sections confirmed that NM-15 has the best gamma photon shielding quality in comparison with the other types of marble concrete, while NM-0 and NM-15 show the highest neutron proficiency.

KEYWORDS:

• MCNPX
• marble concrete
• radiation protection
• Exposure buildup factor

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Iskender Akkurt

Iskender Akkurt was born in Kilis in 1971. He completed doctorate at Glasgow University in 1998.In the same year, he was appointed as assistant professor to Süleyman Demirel University.

Roya Boodaghi Malidarre

Roya Boodaghi Malidarre got her bachelor's and master's degrees in condensed matter physics, then got PHD position from payame nour university in nuclear physics in 2018 and she also continued the studies in radiation protection field.