Variation of gamma radiation shielding properties with incident photon energy and penetration depth for WC/Al composites

In this work, we examined the usefulness of the WCx/Al100−x composites (x = 10, 20, 50, 80 wt. %) for gamma-ray shielding materials. The mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ), effective atomic number (Zeff), electron density (Ne) and energy absorption buildup factor (EABF) and exposure buildup factor (EBF) for WCx/Al100−x composites have been calculated by theoretical approach using XCOM program within the energy range 1 keV–100 GeV, 10 keV–1 GeV, 10 keV–1 GeV and 0.015 MeV–15 MeV, respectively. The results showed that both the values of mass attenuation coefficient and Zeff of the WCx/Al100−x composites tend to increase with the increase of the WC concentration. For the energy region below 3 MeV, the WC80/Al20 composite was found to possess superior gamma-ray shielding effectiveness due to its higher values of both mass attenuation coefficient and effective atomic number, and lower values of both EABF and EBF values. However, for the energy region above 3 MeV, the EBF and EABF values of the WC/Al composites are directly proportional to their Zeff values, leading to the lowest EBF and EABF values of the WC10/Al90 composites.