A study on radiation interaction parameters of boron carbide/zirconium boride composites

In this study, photon interaction parameters such as radiation protection efficiency ( RPE ), total mass attenuation coefficient ( μ/ρ ), linear attenuation coefficients ( μ ), half value layers ( HVL ), tenth value layers ( TVL ), mean free paths ( MFP ), effective atomic numbers ( Z Eff ) and effective electron densities ( N Eff ) were experimentally investigated for the BCZrB-0, BCZrB-10, BCZrB-20, BCZrB-30, BCZrB-40 and BCZrB-50 in the energy range from 59.5 keV to 1332.5 keV. In the experiment, HPGe detector and 241 Am (59.5 keV), 133 Ba (81 keV, 276.4 keV, 302.9 keV, 356 keV and 383.9 keV), 22 Na (511 keV and 1274.5 keV), 137 Cs (661.7 keV), and 60 Co (1173.2 keV and 1332.5 keV) radioactive point sources were used. Experimental results compared with results of the WinXCOM, GEANT4 simulation code and FLUKA simulation code. Energy absorption build-up factors ( EABF ) and exposure build-up factors ( EBF ) were calculated with G-P fitting method in the energy region 0.015 MeV ≤ E ≤ 15 MeV. Kerma relative to air values were investigated in the energy region 0.001 MeV ≤ E ≤ 20 MeV. Effective removal cross section, total macroscopic cross section and number of transmitted neutron values were defined for composites. The agreement between experimental and WinXCOM program, between experimental and GEANT 4 simulation codes and between experimental and FLUKA simulation codes of gamma-ray interaction parameters are