STUDY OF THE MASS ATTENUATION COEFFICIENTS AND EFFECTIVE ATOMIC NUMBERS IN SOME MULTIELEMENT MATERIALS

The mass attenuation coefficients (mu(c)) and effective atomic numbers (Z(eff)) of 8 different composite materials for total and partial photon interactions have been calculated in the energy range 10(-2) to 10(5)MeV. It is found that in the case of mass attenuation coefficients, except the total interaction process, the behaviour of all composite materials is identical at all energies. There is no such systematic variation in Z(eff). The significant variation in mu(c) and Z(eff) is due to the variations in the domination of different interaction processes in different energy regions.