Low cost radiation shielding material for low energy radiation applications: Epoxy/Yahyali Stone composites

In the present study, the gamma-ray shielding performance of the epoxy polymer matrix has been tried to develop by loading the matrix with a natural stone named as Yahyali Stone (YS), The YS has been collected from the Fairy Chimneys of Kayseri, Turkey. The chemical composition of the YS, which has been analyzed by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, revealed that the main components of the stone are Fe2O3 (75.28 wt%), SiO2 (17.21 wt%), and Al2O3 (4.24 wt%). The Epoxy/YS composites that include 5 wt%, 10 wt%, 20 wt% and, 30 wt% YS have been prepared by mechanical mixing technique. The experimental setup contained a133Ba, 137Cs, and 60Co point radioactive sources, which emit 81 keV, 356 keV, 662 keV, 1173 keV, and 1332 keV photons, and a NaI(Tl) detector. The gamma-ray shielding capability of the samples has been discussed in the context of mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ), half-value layer (HVL), and mean free path (MFP). The mass attenuation coefficient, HVL, and MFP have also been calculated by WinXCom software. The experimental and WinXCom software results have been compared and good consistency has been established between these results. Finally, the effective atomic number (Zeff) and effective electron density (Neff) have been calculated by using the interpolation method. In conclusion, it can be suggested that low cost, natural and non-toxic reinforcing YS material has a promising role in enhancing the radiation shielding ability of the epoxy matrix for low energy radiation applications.