Shielding Properties Of Fly Ash Based Geopolymer Using Barium Sulphate For Diagnostic Radiology
Loading...
Date
2018-02
Authors
Shalbi, Sabri Mansur Himeedh
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
This work was conducted to study the properties of fly ash geopolymer (FAGP) in order to use as an alternative cement mortar (OPC) material as shielding material by adding barium sulphate (BaSO4) as an additional material. The fabrication of the FAGP involved the dissolution of aluminosilicate material in a highly alkaline solution and subsequent combination with sand. The shielding properties of FAGP were enhanced with the addition of BaSO4. The FAGP was dried in an oven for one day at 60 - 70 ℃, and then cooled at room temperature for 28 days. The fabricated FAGP was subjected to elemental composition analysis using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) to calculate the Zeff which in turn hints to the ability of FAGP in shielding. To indicate the presence of attenuation when using the FAGP in shielding, the μ/ρ was calculated by XCOM program for all the samples. The μ/ρ of OPC, FAGP, FAGP with 5%, 10%, and 15% BaSO4 was measured at 16.61, 17.47, 21.17, 22.16 and 25.27 keV energies using X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Narrow beam geometry was used to measure transmission does, the μ/ρ and attenuation percentages of the samples using the energy of 59.54 keV. To obtaining the thickness of FAGP which equivalent in attenuation to the 1mm thickness of lead, X-ray with 80, 100, and 120 kVp was used to compare the FAGP + 15% BaSO4 thicknesses with the thicknesses of lead, as the optimal shielding capacity was achieved with 5 cm thick FAGP with 15% BaSO4 and 1 mm thick lead. Based on the optimum results obtained, the design shielding box was fabricated with
5 cm thickness and 15% BaSO4 added to FAGP. The performance of the shielding box was evaluated by calculating the μ/ρ by two ways, that is, Gafchromic XR-QA2 dosimetry film and ion chamber calculation, using 80, 100 and 120 kVp diagnostic X-ray. In this study, it is clear that the FAGP is a promising material to be used in shielding materials. The results show that the FAGP with addition of 15% BaSO4 is a good attenuation material for diagnostic X-ray of low energies.
Description
Keywords
Fly ash based geopolymer using barium sulphate , for diagnostic radiology