GAMMA AND NEUTRON ATTENUATION OF HEAVYWEIGHT CONCRETE USING AGGREGATES IN THAILAND

Abstract

At present, nuclear energy is used for power generation or industrial processes or medical and sanitation purposes. However, to obtain nuclear energy, radioactive substances must be used which energies and particles are released. It is released that adversely affects living organisms and their environment which takes a long time to decompose. Therefore, the best protection against any possible hazard is to prevent the occurrence of radiation leakage. From several previous research found that the concrete which used for radiation shielding has the property of high density or also known as heavy concrete. This research will focus on protection against gamma and neutron rays. When we are considering domestic material sources to find minerals suitable that can be used as a substitute for aggregates in making heavy concrete. We find that barite is a suitable mineral for both procurement and properties for using in heavy concrete. We collect the data from 25 mixed proportions in this experiment then we determine the relationship between the density of heavy-weight concrete and the gamma attenuation coefficient. The results showed that the density of the concrete influenced the gamma attenuation coefficient. When the density of the concrete increases, the gamma attenuation coefficient will be increased.