Comparative study of two bismuth–borate glasses in terms of gamma shielding parameters at medical diagnostic energies and neutron shielding characteristics

Abstract

Gamma shielding parameters for Bi2O3–B2O3 and Bi2O3–BaO–Na2O–MgO–B2O3 glasses have been investigated at medical diagnostic energies (20, 30, 40 and 60 keV). Mass attenuation coefficients calculated using the FLUKA code and XCOM program have been shown to be in very good agreement with each other. The evaluated parameters have indicated that the gamma shielding performance, at a specific energy, of each of the glass systems increases with the increment of Bi2O3. At 20 and 30 keV (40 and 60 keV), 55Bi2O3–45B2O3 (40Bi2O3–20BaO–10Na2O–10MgO–20B2O3) sample exhibits the best gamma shielding performance. At 40 and 60 keV, mass attenuation coefficients of all the glass samples are comparable to that of lead. Furthermore, both of the glass systems exhibit better shielding characteristics than the ordinary concrete. Finally, calculations of the macroscopic removal cross-sections of the glass systems have shown that 45Bi2O3–55B2O3, among all the samples, has the best shielding ability against fast neutrons.