Determination of gamma and fast neutron shielding parameters of magnetite concretes

Highlights: •Ordinary and magnetite concretes were produced. •The γ-ray and fast n⁰ shielding parameters were investigated. •Buildup factors of the samples were calculated by G-P fitting method. •Magnetite concrete is more effective than ordinary concrete for γ-ray and fast n⁰ shielding. -- Abstract: In this study, some gamma shielding parameters such as mass attenuation coefficient (μ_ρ), effective atomic number (Z_eff), electron density (N_el) and buildup factors have been investigated for concretes with and without magnetite aggregate. The measurements have been carried out using 1.25 MeV (mean energy of 1.1732 MeV and 1.3325 MeV photons of a ⁶⁰Co radioactive source) gamma photons. The theoretical values of μ_ρ have been calculated in the energy range from 1 keV to 100 GeV by WinXCom computer code and these values were used in order to calculate the values of Z_eff and N_el. And fast neutron shielding parameter namely effective removal cross-sections (Σ_R, cm⁻¹) have been calculated. In addition, Energy absorption buildup factors (EABF) and exposure buildup factors (EBF) values of concrete samples have been calculated for photon energy 0.015–15 MeV up to 40 mfp (mean free path) penetration depths. The results of this study showed that the magnetite concrete is more efficient than the ordinary concrete for fast neutrons and gamma rays.