Evaluation of radiation shielding and mechanical properties of palm nut shell ash modernized concrete: a comparative analysis

Gamma radiation poses health and environmental risks, creating the need for sustainable, low-cost, and eco-friendly shielding materials. In this study, we modified ordinary concrete with palm nut shell ash (PNSA) to examine its mechanical, physical, and gamma ray shielding performance. The adopted W/C (water-to-cement) ratio was 0.5 for the entire mixtures and the ratio of the samples’ masses to their respective volumes gives the densities of our samples. The results reported that, as PNSA advances from 0 to 0.15 kg, the concrete density decreased from 2.40 to 2.25 g/cm3, accompanied by a rise in porosity from 14.5% to 21.5% as well as an increase in water absorption from 6.8% to 8.6%, 6.4% to 8%, and 5% to 7% respectively for 7, 14, and 28 curing days. The mechanical characteristics decrease as PNSA is added to the concrete matrix. The Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) and Phy-X/PSD simulation results showed that CPNSA2 had superior linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), confirming higher gamma ray attenuation ability. Generally, this work displayed the prospect of adding PNSA for the purpose of shielding against the low and intermediate gamma-ray energy. This study contributes by introducing palm nut shell ash as a sustainable cement substitute, demonstrating improved gamma-ray attenuation with CPNSA2, and reducing reliance on costly and toxic conventional shielding materials.