Simulation and prediction of the attenuation behaviour of the KNN-LMN-based lead-free ceramics by FLUKA code and...

The significance and novelty of the present work are the preparation of the non-lead ceramic by the general formula of (1-x) K_0.5Na₀.₅NbO₃-xLa Mn_0.5Ni_0.5O₃ (KNN-LMN) with different x (0252Cf neutron source is simulated by the HI-PROBE, RADDECAY and DCYSCORE cards using the FLUKA code. As a result, the neutron-gamma photon shielding ability of the KNN-LMN lead-free ceramics exposed to the ²⁵²Cf neutron source is estimated and predicted. Findings show that by increasing the concentration of the x in (1-x) K_0.5Na₀.₅NbO₃-xLa Mn_0.5Ni_0.5O₃ lead-free ceramics results in an ascending trend in density. In addition, the increment of the x rate (x refers to the concentration of La Mn_0.5Ni_0.5O₃ in KNN-LMN non-lead ceramics) causes an increase in the value of the neutron attenuation parameter ($$), and a strong relationship is monitored between $$ and density. Moreover, descending order of $$ is reported for half-value layer values against gamma photon. From the attained results, it can be concluded that increaisng the rate of x results in the better shielding proficiency in terms of neutron and gamma photon for chosen KNN-LMN-based lead-free ceramics.