THERMAL, EPITHERMAL AND THERMALIZED NEUTRON ATTENUATION PROPERTIES OFILMENITE-SERPENTINE HEAT-RESISTANT CONCRETE SHIELD

Experimental measurements were carried out to study the attenuation pr operties of low-energy neutrons transmitted through unheated and prehe ated barriers-of heavy-weight, highly hydrated and heat-resistant conc rete shields. The concrete shields under investigation have been prepa red from naturally occurring ilmenite and serpentine Egyptian ores. A collimated beam obtained from an Am-Be source was used as a source of neutrons, while the measurements of total thermal, epithermal, and the rmalized neutron fluxes were performed using a BF-3 detector, multicha nnel analyzer and Cd filter. Results show that the ilmenite-serpentine concrete proved to be a better thermal, epithermal and thermalized ne utron attenuator than the ordinary concrete especially at a high tempe rature of concrete exposure.