@article{article_1676129, title={INVESTIGATION OF RADIATION SHIELDING PROPERTIES OF EIGHT WOOD SPECIES WITH XCOM PROGRAM AND EXPERIMENTAL DATA}, journal={Mühendislik Bilimleri ve Tasarım Dergisi}, volume={13}, pages={932–943}, year={2025}, author={Şimşek Türker, Yasemin and Kılınçarslan, Şemsettin}, keywords={Yapı malzemesi, Ahşap Malzeme, Radyasyon, XCOM}, abstract={In this study, radiation shielding properties of 8 different wood species (T1–T8) were investigated experimentally and theoretically using the XCOM program. The densities and elemental compositions of the samples were determined by EDAX analysis, and a NaI (Tl) detector was used in gamma spectroscopy experiments performed at energy levels of 662 keV, 1173 keV and 1332 keV. Strong correlations were observed between the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) obtained from the experimental data and the density; this relationship was particularly evident at 662 keV (R² = 0.9195, slope = 0.0792). The highest mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) values were determined as ~0.085 at 662 keV in samples T3, T4 and T5. On the other hand, the lowest MAC values were observed in sample T1 (between ~0.045–0.060). The half-value layer (HVL) values increased with energy; Sample T1 had the highest HVL at all energies, reaching approximately 125 mm at 1173 keV. HVL values for species such as T4 and T5 remained in the range of 10–30 mm. Similarly, the tenth value layer (TVL) and mean free path (MFP) values were measured at the highest levels for T1; at 1332 keV, TVL reached approximately 420 mm and MFP reached 180 mm. These values were lower for other wood species. The theoretical MAC values obtained with the XCOM program were found to be in very good agreement with the experimental data (R² > 0.98). These results demonstrated that high-density wood species provide more effective attenuation against low-energy gamma photons and that the XCOM program is a reliable tool for the radiation protection analysis of wood materials.}, number={3}, publisher={Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi}