Investigation on radiation shielding parameters of ordinary, heavy and super heavy concretes

Shielding of a reactor is required for protection of people and environment during normal operation and accidental situations. In the present paper we investigated the shielding parameters viz. mass attenuation coefficients, linear attenuation coefficients, tenth-value layer, effective atomic numbers, kerma relative to air and exposure buildup factors for gamma-ray for ordinary, heavy, and super heavy concretes. Macroscopic effective removal cross-sections for fast neutron had also been calculated. Ordinary concrete is economically suitable for mixture high energy gamma-ray and neutron as it has large weight fraction of low-Z as compared with super heavy concretes to slow down the neutron. Super heavy concretes are superior shielding for both reactor operation and accident situations. The study is useful for optimizing for shielding design and radiation protection in the reactors.