Abstract
In the present investigation, mass attenuation coefficients (
) and some related nuclear shielding quantities of various granite samples have been computed at several photon energies of 0.356, 0.662, 1.173, 1.274 and 1.333 MeV by using standard simulation geometry of the Monte Carlo N-particle Transport Code System - extended (MCNPX) code. The estimated data have been compared to those of experimental and NIST standard theoretical. The results are observed to be comparable with each other. This study represented that G1 and G9 granites possess the highest and lowest half-layer value (HVL) among the selected granite samples, respectively. The values of effective atomic number (Z
eff
) of all the granites were found to be almost stationary in the studied energy region. In addition, exposure buildup factor (EBF) values of the granites were computed for the 0.015-15 MeV energy range up to 40 mfp. The largest and lowest values for EBF were obtained for G8 and G2 samples, respectively. The HVLs of nine granite samples were compared with those of concretes, rocks and polyethylene composites at different photon energies. Additionally, mass stopping power (MSP) and projected range (PR) are calculated using the Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter code. The effective removal cross-sections for fast neutrons (Σ
R
) have been also assessed to survey the neutron protection effectiveness of the granites. The results represented that G9 has the best neutron attenuation features. It can be concluded from this study that the G9 granite sample possesses superior gamma and neutron shielding performances.