Experimental and computational investigation of radiation shielding performance of high-strength copper-based alloys

The radiation shielding performance of four high-strength copper-based alloys, namely CuBe 2 , CuCoNiBe, CuNi 2 SiCr, and CuCrZr, was investigated against gamma rays, fast neutrons, and charged particles (protons and helium ions). Gamma-ray attenuation coefficients were experimentally measured at photon energies of 0.511–1.332 MeV using a NaI(Tl) detector and theoretically evaluated over the energy range 0.2–10 MeV using the Phy-X/PSD. The calculated results were validated through comparison with WinXCom calculations and experimental data, showing good agreement. The mass stopping power and projected range of protons and helium ions were evaluated using SRIM Monte Carlo simulations. The CuCrZr alloy demonstrates the best gamma-ray shielding performance, while CuNi 2 SiCr exhibits the highest mass stopping power for both protons and helium ions. Fast neutron shielding evaluation, based on the fast neutron effective removal cross section (FNERCs) software, indicates that CuCoNiBe provides the most effective neutron attenuation. The results highlight the potential of high-strength copper-based alloys as multifunctional materials for radiation shielding applications involving mixed radiation fields.