Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
European Physical Journal Plus, cilt.138, sa.8, 2023 (SCI-Expanded)
All living things are exposed to natural or artificial radiation in daily life. One of the methods applied to protect from the possible harmful effects of radiation is shielding. Shielding is generally performed by placing different materials between the radiation source and the system. The traditional shielding material for gamma radiation is lead. Due to the harmful properties of lead, researchers are trying to produce and find alternative shielding materials. In recent years, with the development of the usage areas of polymer-based materials, research as radiation-shielding material has gained importance. The aim of this study is to determine the gamma radiation-shielding properties of vinyl ester resin composite samples prepared by adding boron nitride (BN) at various rates using experimental and theoretical techniques. By using a gamma-ray spectroscopy system with a NaI(Tl) detector, the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) of the formed composites was determined experimentally at three different gamma energies (for 662, 1173 and 1332 keV) emitted from two different 60Co and 137Cs radioactive sources. Theoretical LAC values were calculated using the XCOM database in the energy range of 1 keV‒100 GeV. Experimental and theoretical results obtained for LAC values were compared with each other. Using the experimental LAC results, shielding parameters such as half (HVL) and tenth (TVL) value layer thickness, mean free path, transmission factor, radiation protection efficiency and lead equivalent thickness (d Pb) were calculated. As a result of the comparison of both experimental and theoretical calculated LAC values, it was seen that they were in good agreement. It was clearly seen that the aforementioned shielding parameters improved as the BN ratio increased in the produced VEBN composite samples.