Scope of Pb-Sn binary alloys as gamma rays shielding material

Highlights: •Prepared binary alloys of Pb-Sn in different compositions. •Computed Z_eff, N_e, mfp and EBF values. •Analyzed the variation of Z_eff, N_e, mfp with photon energy. •Analyzed the variation of EBF with photon energy, penetration depth and chemical composition/Z_eff. •Results are in good agreement with ANSI/ANS 6.4.3. -- Abstract: An attempt has been made to prepare binary alloys of Pb and Sn in different compositions. The physical properties of the prepared alloys viz. dimensions and density has been measured. Further, different shielding parameters: effective atomic number (Z_eff), electron density (N_e), mean free path (mfp) were computed for the prepared Pb-Sn binary alloys in the wide energy range from 1.0 keV to 100.0 GeV. The variation of effective atomic number, electron density, mean free path for the selected alloys with incident photon energy has been analyzed. The work has been extended to compute exposure buildup factor (EBF) using five parametric geometric progression (GP) fitting method in the energy range 0.015–15.0 MeV and up to the penetration depth of 40 mfp. Further, the variation of exposure buildup factor with incident photon energy as well as penetration depth for the selected alloys has been investigated.