Photon and Fast Neutron Transmission Parameters of Metakaolin Doped Concrete

Photon and Fast Neutron Transmission Parameters of Metakaolin Doped Concrete

DOI: 

https://doi.org/10.30564/jbms.v3i2.3817

Abstract

Radiation-shielding properties of metakaolin doped concrete samples wereinvestigated in this report. The gamma photon mass attenuation coefficientsand exposure buildup factor of the samples were determined theoreticallyusing WinXcom and EXABCal software respectively for the energyrange of 15 keV - 15 MeV and fast neutron removal cross section for theconcrete sample was evaluated. Results indicated that, oxides of silicon,aluminum, calcium and iron determined through the energy dispersiveX-ray fluorescence spectrometric analysis constitute more than 85% ofthe chemical composition of the concrete samples. The oxides contribute85.46, 86.47, 87.55, 88.75, and 86.15 % of the total chemical oxides inMK00, MK05, MK10, MK15, and MK20 respectively. Densities of theprepared MK doped concrete were in the range of 2.575-2.667 g/cm3 .Compressive stress of prepared MK doped concretes increased consistentlywith the curing period for each concrete sample. CS grew from 8.71 -10.63, 8.84 - 10.83, 9.44 - 11.22, 10.89 - 11.53, and 10.76 - 11.43 MPafor MK00, MK05, MK10, MK15, and MK20 respectively as the periodextends from 7 to 28 days. Mass attenuation coefficient decrease steadilywith an increase in energy up to about 0.1 MeV and the decrease becomesmaller beyond this energy with increasing energy for all the mixtures. Fastneutron removal cross section results indicate that MK10 (0.07693 cm-1)has the highest value of ΣR followed by MK15 (0.07628 cm-1) and MK20(0.07537 cm-1) while MK00 (0.07380 cm-1) and MK05 (0.07404 cm-1)have approximately the same value. It was found that MK10 concrete hasthe best gamma radiation and fast neutron shielding ability among the MKdoped concrete under study.

Keywords: 

Metakaoline, Photons, Thermal neutrons, Concrete, EXABCal