Gamma and Neutron Interaction Characteristics of Hf-Reinforced CuAlNi Alloys: Experimental and Monte Carlo Evaluation

Abstract

This study presents the gamma and neutron radiation shielding efficiency of CuAlNi alloys reinforced with different weight percentages (3 wt%, 6 wt%, and 9 wt%) of Hf, the secondary radiations generated due to the radiation interaction with the produced alloys, and the Total ionizing dose and displacement per atom parameters to determine the radiation effect on the considered alloys. CuAlNi-Hf alloys are promising because of their shape memory property. Experimental gamma radiation measurements were performed with a high-purity germanium detector using 241Am, 133Ba, 22Na, 137Cs, and 60Co radioactive sources, while Monte Carlo simulations and theoretical calculations were performed with the GEANT4, FLUKA, and WinXCOM programs.The gamma radiation shielding efficiency of the CuAlNi-based alloys increased with higher Hf content, whereas their thermal neutron shielding efficiency decreased. According to the obtained results of all the presented parameters, the CuAlNiHf9 alloy had the best gamma radiation shielding properties, while the CuAlNiHf0 alloy exhibited superior shielding properties at epithermal energies neutron (100 eV). The CuAlNiHf9 alloy, with mass attenuation coefficient values of 1.6136 cm2/g-1 at 59.5 keV, 0.0871 cm2/g-1 at 661.7 keV, and 0.0515 cm2/g-1 at 1332.5 keV, was identified as the alloy that provided the highest protection against gamma radiation. The total ionizing dose and displacement per atom values were observed to rise with increasing gamma-ray energy, while thermal and fast neutrons exhibited a nonlinear trend.