Abstract
The method for calculating the effective atomic number Z эф of complex environments consisting of elements with very different atomic numbers has been proposed. In order to account for the strong nonlinear dependence of the total atomic attenuation coefficient from the atomic number of the element, in contrast to the well-known process, the exponent “ n ” is introduced in the calculation of the total atomic cross section per electron atom multielement material (electronic section). The verification of the method was carried out by comparing the values Z эф of the total atomic attenuation coefficient obtained with effective atomic number and calculated by the rule of additivity of atomic ratios. The significant improvement was shown in the accuracy of determining the effective atomic number of complex substances. Effective atomic numbers of the two-component samples Al - X (X = 26 Fe, 29 Cu, 40 Zr, 41 Nb, 42 Mo, 46 Pd, 47 Ag, 48 Cd, 49 In, 50 Sn) for four photon energies 40.32, 59.54, 94.52, and 136.55 keV were calculated using the atomic attenuation coefficient taken from XCOM table. The effective atomic number value were also obtained for the sample of binary composition Al - Sn at various weight concentrations Sn (0.1-0.9) and energy of 59.54 keV, and Al-Sn (~ 0.08) at four of the above energies. It has been shown that a significant impact on the obtained values is provided not only by the difference between the atomic numbers ( Z max - Z min ) of elements of the substance’s composition, but also by the ratio of the concentrations of these elements. The impact of the above factors was significantly reduced with the increasing photon energy because it reduced the contribution of the photoelectric absorption in the general weakening. The knowledge of the effective atomic number of the medium is necessary to assess the quality of the materials in relation to their use in radiation protection, medical diagnostics, in separation of rocks with different material composition for the operational control of the useful component’s mass fraction and others. Key words: X-ray radiation, attenuation coefficient, effective atomic number, binary alloys, widely differing atomic numbers DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15826/analitika.2017.21.2.005 A.N. Eritenko, A.L.Tsvetyanskii and A.A.Polev Southern Federal University, 105, ul. B. Sadovaia, Rostov-na-Donu, 344004, Russian Federation
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