RADIATION MEASUREMENTS, vol.102, pp.1-9, 2017 (SCI-Expanded)
This work investigates the effect of particle size on the thermoluminescence(TL) response of household salt that is classified into five size fractions between 63 and 250 gm. Irradiation induced two main TL peaks at 110 and 240 degrees C for each particle size fraction. In addition to these peaks, two additional glow peaks were observed at 80 and 300 degrees C for particles with small size (<90 mu m). The complexity of the glow curve pattern increased with decreasing particle size (<125 mu m). The intensity of the main dosimetric TL peak at 240 degrees C increased with increasing particle size. The maximum beta radiation sensitivity of the salt samples was obtained for the particle sizes of 125-180 and 180-250 mu m. For different particle sizes, the stability of the dosimetric TL peaks atroom temperature was studied over a storage period of 30 days. No systematic difference in the minimum detectable dose values observed for each grain size fraction and it was found to be 0.4 Gy for each grain size fraction. The kinetic parameters of the dosimetric TL peak were determined for different, particle sizes using the initial rise and variable heating rate methods. Moreover, the variations in the glow peaks depending on the heating rate were also analyzed. While an expected behavior of low temperature TL at 110 degrees C was observed, an interesting heating rate behavior (anti quenching) of the high temperature dosimetric TL peak at 240 degrees C was observed. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.