Effectiveness of Serpentine Concrete as Shielding Material for Neutron Source Facility Using Monte Carlo Code

Abstract

In recent years, much attention has been dedicated to finding techniques to reduce exposure doses. This work examines the effectiveness of using serpentine concrete to shield a neutron source using a 241Am-Be neutron source facility at the National Nuclear Research Institute (NNRI) as a case study. The results obtained for both neutrons and gamma indicate that serpentine concrete provides better shielding as compared to ordinary concrete. At a distance of 100 cm from the Am-Be source, when shielded with serpentine concrete, it was found that personnel will receive an average gamma dose of 4.395.395 ± 0.122 μSv/h while a dose of 10.399 ± 0.083 μSv/h will be received for ordinary concrete shield. The average neutron dose equivalent at 100 cm, for ordinary concrete and serpentine concrete were 32.189 ± 0.277 and 9.276 ± 0.505, respectively. All dose equivalents obtained were also within internationally accepted limits.