Feasibility of a Novel Shield of Nuclear Radiation with W-Ni-Fe-Co and La-Bi Alloys Alternative to Pb and Ordinary Concrete Absorbers

Preventing people and electronic apparatuses from high-energetic nuclear radiation photons has been a significant concern. Due to disadvantages of lead, many studies have been carried out on different materials for several decades. The purpose of this investigation is to exhibit a novel shield design of alloys formed by the combination of W, La and Bi contents as a desired replacement for conventional lead-based absorbers. Photon shielding performances of the investigated alloys have been studied by estimation of mass attenuation coefficient, half-value layer by applying Monte Carlo GEANT4 simulation code and XCOM computer software. Moreover, the EBFs of the alloys were calculated by geometric progression (G-P) fitting formula for photon energy 0.015–10 MeV up to 40 mfp penetration depth. Consequently, the shielding performance of W-3 alloy shows that it is better by a factor of 1.52 and 8.29 than Pb and OC materials, respectively.