Comparison of backscattered photons from various thicknesses of ordinary and baryte concretes using FLUKA code for energies 0.25–20 MeV

Abstract

With the advancement of medical technology and increased radiation technologies, the main material in radiation building construction is concrete, either ordinary or, more recently, heavy-weight concrete called baryte concrete (BaSO4). Numerous studies were performed on calculating and measuring linear attenuation coefficients μ (cm−1) for ordinary and baryte concrete, but few for backscattered photons and reflection coefficients. As a result, determining the photon reflection coefficient and backscattered photon data for ordinary and baryte concrete has become more commonplace. The ability to provide precise reflection coefficient data has consequences in various fields, including radiation protection, industry, and radiotherapy room design. As a result, the purpose of this study is to determine photon reflection coefficients for different thicknesses of ordinary and baryte concrete. This new information might be applied to various uses, such as saving money and space by enhancing the design of mazes used in radiation facilities. The FLUKA Monte Carlo code was used to calculate photon reflection coefficients with different energies and for varying thicknesses of ordinary and baryte concrete to investigate the impact of concrete wall thicknesses. The reflection coefficient as a function of various energies has been tabulated and figured to study the dose reduction factor compared to ordinary concrete. Recent research reveals that baryte concrete with a high density is beneficial as a shield for constructing radiation facilities to minimise the backscattered photon exposure in the incident energy range below 2 MeV. This new data has been presented in many applications, such as improving the mazes used for radiotherapy rooms; reducing cost and space requirements. In addition, the Monte Carlo method enables calculating the energy distribution of reflected photons, and these were shown for a range of angles.