MCNP-X Monte Carlo Code Application for Mass Attenuation Coefficients of Concrete at Different Energies by Modeling 3 × 3 Inch NaI(Tl)‎ Detector and Comparison with XCOM and Monte Carlo Data

Abstract EN

Gamma-ray measurements in various research fields require efficient detectors.

One of these research fields is mass attenuation coefficients of different materials.

Apart from experimental studies, the Monte Carlo (MC) method has become one of the most popular tools in detector studies.

An NaI(Tl) detector has been modeled, and, for a validation study of the modeled NaI(Tl) detector, the absolute efficiency of 3 × 3 inch cylindrical NaI(Tl) detector has been calculated by using the general purpose Monte Carlo code MCNP-X (version 2.4.0) and compared with previous studies in literature in the range of 661–2620 keV.

In the present work, the applicability of MCNP-X Monte Carlo code for mass attenuation of concrete sample material as building material at photon energies 59.5 keV, 80 keV, 356 keV, 661.6 keV, 1173.2 keV, and 1332.5 keV has been tested by using validated NaI(Tl) detector.

The mass attenuation coefficients of concrete sample have been calculated.

The calculated results agreed well with experimental and some other theoretical results.

The results specify that this process can be followed to determine the data on the attenuation of gamma-rays with other required energies in other materials or in new complex materials.

It can be concluded that data from Monte Carlo is a strong tool not only for efficiency studies but also for mass attenuation coefficients calculations.