Evaluation of radiation attenuation properties of fiber cement board with powdered tabagwang shells filler and corn cob cellulose fibers using EpiXS and XCOM

Abstract

This study evaluates the radiation shielding capabilities of fiber cement boards (FCB) with powdered tabagwang (Jagora asperata) snail shells (PTS) and corn cob cellulose fibers using EpiXS and XCOM. Key attenuation parameters (MAC, LAC, HVL, and MFP) were computed over photon energies from 60 keV to 1332 keV. XRF analysis confirmed that PTS is primarily composed of calcium (95.70 wt%), iron (2.63 wt%), and traces of other heavy metals, and has a density of approximately 1.763 g/cm³. We found that at 60 keV, FCB with PTS achieved a MAC of about 0.664 cm²/g alongside low HVL (≈0.706 cm) and MFP (≈1.014 cm), indicating effective shielding with minimal material thickness, although performance decreased at higher energies. While EpiXS and XCOM produced consistent MAC results, with XCOM requiring manual calculations for LAC, HVL, and MFP based on the material’s density. These results suggest that using PTS as fillers in FCB is an effective way to add to the radiation shielding properties of FCB, particularly for lower photon energies such as in X-ray applications.