Radiation shielding features of Na2O–P2O5 glasses doped with MnO experimentally and using FLUKA and Phy-X

Abstract

This research focused on examining the radiation shielding performance of (50% - x/2)P2O5-(50%-x/2)Na2O-xMnO (where x = 0, 5, 15, 25, and 33 mol%) glass system. The shielding review covered the radiation of photons, electrons, particles of heavy-charged, and neutrons. Hence, multiple parameters such as coefficient of mass attenuation (μm), transmission and buildup factors (HVL, MFP, EBF, and EABF), effective atomic number for samples (Zeff), and removal cross-section for fast neutron (FNRCS) of the selected samples were investigated. The results are determined experimentally and by employing FLUKA Monte Carlo software and Phy-X (ZeXTRA and PSD) theoretical programs. A relative discrepancy (RD) and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) were applied to verify the deviation between FLUKA and Phy-X values. An excellent agreement is noticed between measured, simulated, and calculated results. The research revealed that increasing MnO content improves the gamma, electron and heavy charged particle shielding efficiency of studied glasses. Although the addition of MnO has an insignificant impact on FNRCS (from 0.086 to 0.092 cm−1), obtained results identified the relationship between the packing density and shield ability against neutrons for ternary phosphate glasses. We found that the HVL values dropped from 13.898 cm to 11.568 cm at 15 MeV. A range of 7–12 for gamma, 8–12 for electron, 10–11 for proton, 10–11 for alpha, and 9–11 for carbon ion was the maximum value of Zeff that could be obtained. These glasses' shielding behaviors were contrasted with those of conventional materials. Accordingly, the sample with the highest mole fraction (x = 33 %) has higher shielding efficiency than ordinary concrete, Pyrex, and RS253-G18. Finally, the studied glass system can be a good compromise between highest effectiveness of shielding, lowest fabrication cost and environment-friendly shield.