Gamma-ray shielding effectiveness of novel light-weight clay-flyash bricks

• Lightweight bricks were produced with fly ash addition to clay in different proportions.
• Photon attenuation coefficients depend on density of samples.
• Bricks show adequate attenuation against gamma radiation.

The radiation shielding parameters of lightweight clay-flyash bricks produced with different flyash aggregate compositions have been investigated by using 241Am (59.4 keV), 137Cs (661.6 keV), and 60Co (1173.2 keV and 1332.5 keV) radioactive sources. It was observed that the different percentages of flyash in clay lead to significant variations in these parameters. The elemental compositions of the clay-flyash bricks were analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF). The obtained results were compared to those pertaining to concrete in order to see the effect of flyash content on the radiation shielding properties. The radiation protection efficiency of the tested clay-flyash bricks demonstrated that multilayer exterior walls built from these bricks could effectively attenuate moderate-energy gamma rays. Bricks using residual flyash could be preferentially used for buildings to address the issues of radiation shielding, cost-effective radioactive waste management and disposal of flyash in a useful manner.