LAUSR

Abstract The high-density shielding materials containing higher percentage (>80%) of BaSO4 have been developed and their gamma-ray attenuation parameters have been investigated. Three samples have been prepared [Sample-1 ( 83.75 % ) , Sample-2 ( 84.75 % ) , and Sample-3 ( 82.75 % ) ], their elemental composition has been determined by the EDX method, and the density has been measured experimentally for Sample-1 ( 3.362 g/cm3), Sample-2 ( 3.365 g/cm3), and Sample-3 ( 3.358 g/cm3). The mass attenuation coefficients (μ/ρ) have been calculated analytically in order to generate a database for the photon energy range from 1 k e V to 100 M e V using WinXcom software. For validation, this parameter has been measured experimentally for gamma-ray emitted from 133Ba radioactive sources using HPGe detector (with relative efficiency ≈ 20 % relative to a 3 " × 3 " N a I ( T l ) detector, and resolution 2.3 k e V at 1.33 M e V γ-lines). The linear attenuation coefficient ( μ ) , total atomic cross section ( σ a ) , total electronic cross section ( σ e ) , effective atomic number ( Z e f f ) , effective electron density ( N e f f ) , and relaxation length (λ) have been calculated for the same energy range. All parameters have been compared with the values for five different concretes namely barite, serpentine, ilmenite-magnetite, ordinary concrete, and basalt-magnetite. Transmission graphs have been drawn for some widely used radioactive sources. Sample-2 with the highest density ( 3.365 g/cm3) and comprising relatively higher atomic number elements is found to be the most effective shield for gamma-ray attenuation.