Investigation of neutron attenuation through FeB, Fe2B and concrete

Abstract

Neutrons produced in high-energy nuclear facilities are very penetrative and travel deeply through many materials. Neutron shielding slows down the high-energy neutrons to thermal energies and absorbing them with suitable materials is an important problem. Neutron attenuation in the shielding is accomplished through elastic and inelastic scattering reactions. For shielding to be efficient, minimum thickness needs to be achieved. To shield from these neutrons, concrete and iron are important materials. In this study, the neutron attenuation effects through shielding materials (concrete, FeB, and Fe2B) were investigated for various thicknesses of the materials. The high-energy neutrons were generated from the interaction protons with energies of 50–1000 MeV and copper target. Neutron dose rate attenuation curves were determined by using FLUKA Monte Carlo code. The results show that the extent of attenuation related to neutron energy depends on the density and thickness of the shielding material. © 2020 Polish Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.