ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
Latest Magazine Issues
Dec 2025
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
January 2026
Nuclear Technology
December 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
AI at work: Southern Nuclear’s adoption of Copilot agents drives fleet forward
Southern Nuclear is leading the charge in artificial intelligence integration, with employee-developed applications driving efficiencies in maintenance, operations, safety, and performance.
The tools span all roles within the company, with thousands of documented uses throughout the fleet, including improved maintenance efficiency, risk awareness in maintenance activities, and better-informed decision-making. The data-intensive process of preparing for and executing maintenance operations is streamlined by leveraging AI to put the right information at the fingertips for maintenance leaders, planners, schedulers, engineers, and technicians.
Y. Harima
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 85 | Number 1 | September 1983 | Pages 45-51
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE83-A17150
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An empirical formula for gamma-ray buildup factors in two-layer shields is proposed. The values of the parameters are given for the formula when fitted to the dose buildup factors, calculated by the invariant imbedding method, for normally incident gamma rays penetrating two-layer shields comprised of combinations of water, iron, or lead slabs. The results from the present formula are in excellent agreement with the basic data in the 0.66- to 10-MeV energy range and for total thicknesses up to ∼20 mfp. The parameters used in the formula change smoothly with the source energy. Therefore; the buildup factor for any arbitrary energy can easily be estimated by interpolation of the parameters with respect to energy. The buildup factors provided by this formula also are in good agreement with those from transport calculations for two-layer shields consisting of water and lead. These factors also agree with those measured by two ionization chambers for 60Co radiation penetrating two-layer shields comprised of water, iron, or lead slabs.
