Half-Value Layer Calculation

The thickness of any given material where 50% of the incident energy has been
attenuated is know as the half-value layer (HVL). The HVL is inversely
proportional to the attenuation coefficient (m) and the two values are related by
the following equation. Since m is normally given in units of cm-1, the HVL is
commonly expressed in units of cm.

This relationship comes from the intensity attenuation equation.

It can be seen that if an incident energy of 1 and a transmitted energy is 0.5 (1/2
the incident energy) is plugged into the equation, the thickness (x) multiplied
by m must equal 0.693 (since the number 0.693 is the exponent value that give
a value of 0.5). X in this case is the half-value layer.
Example Calculation
What is the HVL for a material with a attenuation coefficient of 0.45/cm?

Radiographic Inspection - Formula Based on

Newton's Inverse Square Law
Radiographic Inspection - Exposure-Distance
Relationship

Where:
E1 =Exposure at D1
E2 =Exposure at D2
D1 =Distance 1 from source
D2 =Distance 2 from source
When producing radiographs, it is sometimes necessary to change the source-tofilm distance. Since the intensity of the source varies inversely with the square
of the distance from the source, the exposure must be adjusted. When the
exposure at one distance is known, this information can be used to calculate the
new exposure with the equation above. Since exposure is the product of time
and amperage, either of these variables can be substituted directly for exposure
in the equation.
Example 1) An exposure of 560 milliampere seconds produces an acceptable
radiograph at a source-to-film distance of 30 inches. What would the exposure
need to be if the source-to-film distance is decreased to 24 inches?
Solve the equation for E2, plug in known values, and solve.

Example 2) An exposure time of 1.86 minutes and an amperage of 5.6 mA

produces an acceptable radiograph at a source-to-film distance of 30 inches.
What would the exposure time need to be to produce a similar radiograph at a
source-to-film distance of 24 inches.

In radiographic inspection, the radiation spreads out as it travels away from the
gamma or X-ray source. Therefore, the intensity of the radiation follows
Newton's Inverse Square Law. As shown in the image to the right, this law
accounts for the fact that the intensity of radiation becomes weaker as it spreads
out from the source since the same about of radiation becomes spread over a
larger area. The intensity is inversely proportional to the distance from the
source.
In industrial radiography, the intensity at one
distance is typically known and it is necessary
to calculate the intensity at a second distance.
Therefore, the equation takes on the form of:

Where:
I1 =Intensity 1 at D1
I2 =Intensity 2 at D2
Distance 1 from
D1 =
source
Distance 2 from
D2 =
source
Note: This is the commonly found form of the equation. However, for some it
is easier to remember that the intensity time the distance squared at one location
is equal to the intensity time the distance squared at another location. The
equation in this form is:
I1 x d12 = I2 x d22
Example 1) Use Newton's Inverse Square Law to calculate the intensity of a
radioactive source at a different distance than the distance it was originally
measured. If the intensity of a Iridium 192 source was found to be 62
milliroentgen/hour 100 feet, what is the exposure at a distance of 1 foot.