Ensemble machine learning regression technique to select the type of concrete as radiation shielding material

The selection of exact material for shielding analysis is challenging in radiation protection. The primary objective of shielding analysis is to reduce radiation exposure to the occupational worker at their workplace. Generally, high-density concrete is selected as the shielding material to prevent accidental exposure to gamma and neutron radiation. Composite material or multilayer shielding materials are generally used to optimise the cost of concrete with maximum benefit to the society of occupational radiation workers. A surrogate model for concrete's overall strength using cement, fly ash, and coarse and fine aggregates is created using machine learning and ensemble learning. Ensemble learning in machine learning solves underfitting and overfitting problems when fitting a regression model for shielding analysis. As density increases, concrete overall strength decreases. Several samples of various types of concrete (different compositions) are collected as input data. Finally, a multi-attribute decision-making method is applied to select the appropriate type of concrete. The research presents the ensemble learning based regression technique coupled with multi attribute decision making method to recommend the exact variety of concrete for shielding gamma and neutron radiation.