Determination of some heavyweight aggregate half value layer thickness used for radiation shielding

Abstract

A radiation dose above the maximum permissible limit is very dangerous for human being. In radiation shielding, absorbent materials' properties must be well known. Heavyweight concrete is the most widely used in the world for this aim. The aggregate component of concrete plays an important role in improving concrete properties and this is effect of shielding properties of concrete. The thickness of any given material where 50% of the incident energy has been attenuated is known as the half-value layer. The half-value layer is expressed in units of distance (mm or cm). Like the attenuation coefficient, it is photon energy dependent. Increase of the penetrating energy of a stream of photons will result in an increase in a material's half-value layer. In this study, half-value layer thickness of concrete containing limonite, siderite and barite at different ratios was investigated; for this purpose measurements have been obtained by a collimated beam of gamma ray from sources 60Co. The total linear attenuation coefficient (μ), half-value layer thickness is evaluated in this study.