Comparison of concrete containninig barite and graphite powders against gamma-ray and MCNP code

With regard to the development of nuclear technology in the world and the use of this technology in the industry and medical centers, the attention of countries to this topic and investment in this area has increased. In this research, concrete is made in two series. In the first series, barite powder was replaced with 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100 percent sand replacement and in the second series, barite powder with the percentages mentioned and 10 percent graphite powder was prepared. In present study, the amount of cement 400 kg/m3 and water to cement ratio of 0.4 and additives have been added to the concrete containing 10% microsilica. The mechanical properties of these concrete were determined such as compressive strength and tensile strength. Their effect was also tested as a protection against gamma radiation using the CS-137 source, and then examined by comparing the MCNP simulation code by Monte Carlo method. The results indicated that a sample containing 10% barite powder plus 10% graphite powder could be an optimal amount of protection against gamma rays. Also, the comparison of experimental results with the MCNP code showed a fairly good agreement, and the trend of increasing and decreasing it was almost the same.