Boronizing effect on the radiation shielding properties of Hardox 450 and Hardox HiTuf steels

In this work, the variation with boronizing process of radiation shielding properties of Hardox 450 and Hardox HiTuf steels was studied. Some radiation shielding parameters as mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), half value layer (HVL), tenth layer value (TVL) and mean free part (MFP) of the steel samples were measured before and after boronizing. Also, the boronizing temperature effect on the radiation shielding was investigated for the heated samples at 800, 900 and 1000 °C. The radiation shielding parameters were determined at photon energy range of 80.99–778.90 keV. The experimental results were compared with the theoretical values obtained from WinXCom program, and good agreements were observed between the values of MAC before boronizing (H0 and HH0). It is observed that the values of MAC have increased with the increasing temperature and the best absorption is observed for the samples heated at 1000 °C. The results show that the gamma rays more shielded effectively with boronizing process in steel samples and boronizing and temperature effect on the absorption of Hardox-HiTuf steel is more than Hardox 450. •Hardox 450 and Hardox HiTuf steels were heat treated at 800, 900 and 1000 °C for 5 h for boronizing.•Hardox 450 and Hardox HiTuf steels shielded gamma radiations more effectively with boronizing process.•The boronizing temperature increased the effect of the radiation shielding.•Hardox-HiTuf steel provided more advantage in terms of radiation shielding than Hardox 450 steel.