Computational Codes for Fast Neutrons and Gamma Ray Interactions Coefficients in Different Material

Abstract

In this research, many materials used as shields against ionizing radiation (neutrons and gamma rays) were studied. Seven glass systems compounds and five polymeric compounds were used to test their effectiveness in attenuating fast neutrons. These compounds are (S1-S7) as shown in table (1) and polymeric compounds as shown in table (3), many attenuation coefficients for these compounds were calculated through the use of a computer program called (SAZ) written in the Python programming language, which is used to calculate a number of basic parameters based on certain semi-empirical equations. The results showed that the sample (S7) and C9H9O is the best glass system compound and polymeric compound for neutrons attenuation, because they have a largest value of ΣR.
Also, a number of Eco-friendly metallic compounds as shown in table (2) were used, to test them in shielding against gamma rays. The mass attenuation coefficient was calculated through the NIST-XCOM program for a range of energies starting from 59.53 keV up to 1 GeV. These compounds differed in their ability to attenuate gamma rays, as the results showed that the best studied compound against gamma rays was the PbS compound because it contains the Lead element, which has a largest atomic number.