Investigation of the Gamma Attenuation Behaviors on the ZK60-Based Composite Materials

In this study, the interaction of ZK60-based composite materials with gamma rays was investigated using the Phy-x/PSD software. To understand the photon interaction with these composite materials, fundamental parameters including MFP (mean free path), Zeff (effective atomic number), HVL (half-value layer), LAC (linear attenuation coefficient), effective electron density (Neff), MAC (mass attenuation coefficient), and tenth-value layer (TVL) were theoretically calculated for the energy range of 0.001 MeV to 10 MeV. The outcomes showed that rising the BaSO₄ content in Mg-based composite materials led to a decline in HVL, MFP, and TVL values. Especially in the low-energy range, HVL values varied between 4.386 cm-2.456 cm, TVL values between 14.570 cm-8.158 cm, and MFP values between 6.328 cm-3.543 cm. Conversely, an increase in BaSO₄ content caused an increase in LAC and MAC values. Because of the high atomic number (Z) and of barium, 50BaSO₄ showed the highest Zeff and Neff values, 17.54 for Zeff and 9.35 × 10²³ electrons/g for Neff.