Abstract—An experimental investigation of radiation
shielding properties of high performance concretes (HPCs) was
mad under effect of different variables. HPCs were produced
from different normal and heavyweight aggregate with three
low water-to-cementitious materials ratios (w/cm) to obtain
different compressive strengths. The linear attenuation
coefficients were measured at 0.663 MeV γ-rays energy of 137Cs
radioactive using NaI (Tl) scintillation detector. It was found
that the compressive strength of heavyweight HPCs plays an
important role in enhancing the attenuation of γ-rays. The
compressive strength and attenuation of γ-rays have a near to
linear relation. While in the normal concrete, the strength has
no effect on the attenuation of γ-radiation. The mass
attenuation coefficients were also compared with the values
obtained by the United States National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST). The comparison showed a reasonable
agreement. It was observed that the attenuation of γ-rays is
considerably affected by concrete density.
Index Terms—High performance concrete, γ-attenuation
coefficients, aggregate types, compressive strength,
water-to-cementatious materials ratio.
The authors are with Civil Engineering Department, College of
Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (e-mail:
alhumaiqani@hotmail.com; ashuraim@gmail.com; raja386@hotmail.com).
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Cite:Mohammed M. Al-Humaiqani, Ahmed B. Shuraim, and Raja Rizwan Hussain, "Effect of Compressive Strength on γ-Radiation
Attenuation Coefficients for High Performance Concrete," International Journal of Engineering and Technology vol. 5, no. 5, pp. 566-572, 2013.
