Evaluation of Radiation Shielding Features of Co and Ni-Based Superalloys Using MCNP-5 Code: Potential Use in Nuclear Safety

Abstract

Due to their excellent heat resistance, superalloys are used predominantly in the manufacturing of engine parts and accessories for aircraft and aerospace equipment. The Monte Carlo simulation (MCNP-5) code was performed to estimate the mean track length of the incident photons inside six different alloys. Then, based on the simulated track length, other important γ-ray shielding parameters were calculated. In this study, the highest mass attenuation coefficient was obtained for alloys encoded MAR-302 and MAR-247 and varied in the range 0.035–72.94 and 0.035–71.98 cm2·g−1, respectively. The lowest mass attenuation coefficient was found for alloys coded Inconel-718 and Nimocast-75 with a range of 0.033–59.25 and 0.32–59.30 cm2·g−1, respectively. Use was made of a recently developed online program Phy-X/PD to calculate the effective atomic number, equivalent atomic number, and the buildup factors for the alloys of interest. The effective removal cross-section for the fast neutron was also calculated for the studied alloys: the highest value was found for the alloys coded with Inconel-718 (∑R = 0.01945 cm2·g−1) and Nimocast-75 (∑R = 0.01940 cm2·g−1), and the lowest value was obtained for alloy coded MAR-302 (∑R = 0.01841 cm2·g−1). Calculated data indicate that MAR-302 and MAR-247 are superior candidates for shielding of gamma-rays, while Inconel-718 and Nimocast-75 MAR-302 are suitable for the shielding of fast neutrons.