Investigation of the radiation shielding capacity of asphalt and sand for fast neutron sources

The internal wall of the cavity of experimental assemblies, involved with high energy fusion neutrons, can be covered by an asphalt-sand layer for radiation protection purposes. The calculations have demonstrated that asphalt has a radiation protection capability superior to that of concrete, on equivalent weight basis. For an experimental cavity using a 10 (12) neutrons/sec neutron generator, the best structure has been found to be a 10% asphalt-90% red sand homogeneous mixture, against neutron + gamma energies, with a protection capability of more than 200% compared to the same thickness of a concrete structure. This work has proved that the local and cheap asphalt and sand can replace the relatively expensive concrete in constructing biological radiation shielding of experimental assemblies on fusion neutronics. 15 refs