Microstructural, thermal analysis, and gamma-ray shielding properties of bricks made of various local natural materials

In this study, we prepared five brick samples based on clay (C), granite (G), laterite (L), basalt (B) and assessed their radiation shielding performances. The densities of the bricks were calculated by dividing the mass of each sample by their volumes. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray techniques (EDX), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were respectively used to identify the crystal structure, morphological structure, chemical composition, and thermal behaviour of the prepared bricks. The radiation shielding properties of prepared brick samples were examined to check the ability of the prepared materials in attenuating the gamma-ray photons. At 0.033–2.506 MeV, basalt and granite bricks have the highest linear attenuation coefficient, of 22.332-0.097 cm−1 (for basalt bricks) and 35.633–0.096 cm−1 (for granite bricks) among the prepared bricks. The study shows that basalt and granite brick samples have suitable shielding properties.