Structural and radiation attenuation properties of modified barium lithium bismovanadium borate glasses

This study examines the shielding properties of polyvinylidene difluoride reinforced with 20%, 40%, and 60% weight fractions of tungsten and compares the findings to those obtained from lead. The mass and linear attenuation coefficient, half-value layer, and effective atomic number were calculated using the Phy-X/PSD software. From the photon interactions with matter point of view, the Photoelectric effect dominates in low-energy photons, while pair production is dominant in high-energy photons; meanwhile, Compton scattering remains almost constant across the energy range. The results show that the mass attenuation coefficient is higher for low-energy photons, and composites with a higher weight fraction of tungsten exhibit higher values of mass attenuation coefficients. The half-value layer decreased as the weight fraction of tungsten increased, and the effective atomic number was higher for lower energy photons. These findings were contrasted against calculations derived for lead. Within the energy interval of 20–200 keV, the mass attenuation coefficient for lead was observed to be approximately two times that of the optimal values recorded for the specific composites under examination, whereas at 2 MeV, this discrepancy diminished. The minimum half-value layer for polyvinylidene difluoride augmented with 60% weight proportions of tungsten in comparison to lead was identified at an energy of 2 MeV. During this interval, the half-value layer for this composite material was threefold greater than that of lead. Although the mass attenuation coefficient is higher for lead, in some energy ranges (about two MeV), the findings from the selected composites are completely comparable to those from lead, demonstrating the ability and performance of the polyvinylidene difluoride composites for radiation shielding.

Fabrication, linear/nonlinear optical properties, Judd–Ofelt parameters and gamma-ray attenuation capacity of Er2O3 doped P2O5–ZnO–CdO glasses

This study evaluates the radiation shielding properties of Polydimethylsiloxane reinforced with iron. Using the Py-MLBUF program, we calculated and compared the mass attenuation coefficient, linear attenuation coefficient, half-value layer, effective atomic number, and effective electron number with those of lead. The dominance of the photoelectric effect at lower energies and pair production at higher energies is observed. The contribution of Compton scattering remains relatively constant across the energy spectrum, while Rayleigh scattering is negligible. At lower energy levels, composites reinforced with higher iron weight fractions demonstrate higher mass attenuation and linear attenuation coefficients. Increasing iron weight fractions reduces the half-value layer, improving radiation attenuation up to a threshold. The results show that while lead generally has higher attenuation coefficients, the difference is negligible at energies between 0.7 and 4 MeV. Although lead has lower half-value and tenth-value layers, higher iron weight fractions in PDMS also, provide good radiation shielding due to increased effective atomic and electron numbers. Fe-reinforced PDMS at weight fractions of 10%, 20%, 40%, and 60% show significant potential for radiation shielding, especially in the 0.7 to 4 MeV photon energy range, and in applications requiring flexibility and lightweight materials.

Assessment of radiation shielding performance of Li2O-BaO-Bi2O3-P2O5 glass systems within the energy range from 0.081 MeV to 1.332 MeV via MCNP6 code

In order to use PVA/CMC/PEG/x wt% ZnS/V blended polymers in a variety of electrical, electronic, and radiation shielding applications, this research attempts to examine their AC electrical and radiation shielding capabilities. The structure and crystallite size of powder filler (ZnS/V) were inspected utilizing the X-ray diffraction equipment. The structure and morphology of undoped and doped PVA/CMC/PEG/ x wt% ZnS/V, the impact of ZnS/V loading ratio on the dielectric constant, a c conductivity and electric modulus of PVA/CMC/PEG blended polymer were explored. The optimal energy density value can be achieved with a blend doped with 3 wt% ZnS/V. ZnS/V resulted in an enhancement of both mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) and linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) throughout the whole energy spectrum. Analogous to half-value layer (HVL), the augmentation of ZnS/V concentration in the host blended polymer resulted in a decline of tenth value layer (TVL) and mean free path (MFP) values. The influence of ZnS/V doping ratio on the effective conductivity (C eff), effective atomic number (Z eff), effective electron density (N eff ), material’s atomic and electronic cross sections (ACS and ECS) and energy buildup factors of the host blended polymer was explored. The fast neutron removal cross-section (FNRCS) value of the host blend rose with a rise in ZnS/V doping levels.

Flexible stretchable low-energy X-ray (30–80 keV) radiation shielding material: Low-melting-point Ga1In1Sn7Bi1 alloy/thermoplastic polyurethane composite

The usage of X-ray generating devices and gamma-ray sources such as 60Co and 137Cs for medical diagnostic and therapeutic applications has increased globally. However, exposure to radiation from these sources can cause detrimental effects on biological tissues. Thus, to optimise radiation safety, effective radiation shields are required. This study used the photon shielding and dosimetry (PSD) software to simulate and compare the photon shielding properties of phosphate, bismuthate, tellurite, silicate and borate glass for use in medical facilities. The parameters investigated included mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), half-value layer (HVL), mean-free path (MFP), and effective atomic number (Zeff). The results showed that bismuthate glass had the highest MAC and LAC values followed by tellurite, silicate, phosphate and borate glass respectively. It was also found that bismuthate glass had the lowest HVL and MFP values followed by tellurite, silicate, phosphate and borate glass. Since materials with high MAC and LAC and low HVL and MFP are associated with higher photon stoppage powers, bismuthate glass are better photon shielding materials compared to the rest of the glass examined in this study. Conversely, borate glass presented the least shielding potential compared to phosphate, silicate and tellurite glass.

The thermal and mechanical stability besides environmentally friendly of some low-melting binary systems dopant with third element such as Bi started to gain much attention. This study provides the synthesized, effects of rapid solidification processing (RSP) and Bi doping on the microstructural, mechanical performance and gamma radiation shielding of various lead-free binary and ternary alloys have compositions Sn-(50-x)Zn-xBi (where x = 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 wt.%) using high cooling rate. Microstructure modifications, elastic and plastic behavior were investigated. As well as the gamma-ray shielding performance of all as-prepared melt-spun process alloys was examined experimentally using FH 40G dose rate measuring unit. Phy-X/PSD software was used to compute the μ m values across a large energy range of 0.015 MeV–15 MeV. To clearly understand the gamma radiation shielding capability of the melt-spun process alloys, different shielding parameters includes linear attenuation coefficients, LAC, mass attenuation coefficient, MAC, mean free path, MFP, half value layer (HVL) and tenth value layer (TVL) were calculated and compared to other commonly shielding materials. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the presence of different phases such as β-Sn, Bi, Zn as well as two IMCs Sn0.95Bi0.05 and Sn0.85Zn0.15. The morphology features of the samples using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that Bi particles dopant the matrix led to refine the microstructures as well as forming a uniform and homogeneous distribution of IMCs. It is also, reported that the increase of Bi dopant led to enhancing the Bi segregation in the matrix in addition to decreasing the crystallite size which reinforces the mechanical strength and radiation shielding properties. The elastic modulus and Vickers microhardness increase with increasing Bi additions to about 35% and 27%, respectively. The results showed that correlation between activation energy and shielding properties of as-prepared alloys. The mass and linear attenuation coefficient for all prepared samples increases as Bi increases from 10 to 40 wt.%. On the other hand, low activation energies indicate easier formation and growth of IMCs. The results also show that the Sn-10Zn-40Bi alloy has the highest mechanical and shielding attenuation properties. It may be attributed to promoting the brittleness of Bi, refinement of crystallite size, extended the solid solubility and microstructure features accompanying Bi content using rapid cooling. As a result, Sn-10Zn-40Bi alloy may be recommended as a preferable alloy for radiation shielding performance to be used for medical, industrial and nuclear waste storage fields. In the current work, an attempt has been made not only to summarize the various investigations made so far on visualizing the feasibility of alloys as radiation shielding material; but also, to provide a comparative study for further consideration to be used in other fields.

Case study of Er- and Dy-doped boron-aluminosilicate glasses on radiation shielding performance in the energy range 0.015–10 MeV with MCNP6.2

Unveiling the potential of Nd2O3 in optimizing the radiation shielding performance of B2O3–TiO2–BaO–ZnO-Nd2O3 glasses

Radiation and nuclear shielding performance of tellurite glass system containing Li2O and MoO3: XCOM and FLUKA Monte Carlo

This study aimed to investigate the ferric oxide effect on optical and radiation shielding behaviors of bismuth borate glasses. Gamma-ray attenuation competencies of six glass samples along with optical properties were investigated in terms of their utilization suitability as a shield or personal protection equipment in industrial and medical fields. The chemical composition (60-x) B2O3 + 20Bi2O3 + 20Li2O+xFe2O3 with different Fe2O3 concentrations were prepared using the melt-quenching technique. Gamma-ray attenuation competencies of six glass samples along with optical properties were investigated in terms of their utilization suitability in industrial and medical fields. The outcomes of optical investigations indicated that direct optical band gap (Eg direct) decrease from 5.11 eV to 4.82 eV, while for indirect transition (Eg indirect) decrease from 4.62 eV to 3.79 eV, with increasing Fe2O3 concentrations. To determine the radiation shielding performance, mass attenuation coefficients (μ m) of samples were calculated using FLUKA code and XCOM program between 0.015–15 MeV photon energy range. Accordingly, gamma shielding parameters such as mass (MAC) and linear (LAC) attenuation coefficients, half-value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), mean free path (MFP), effective atomic numbers (Zeff), electron density (Nel), and fast neutron removal cross sections (ΣR) were evaluated for all glass samples. The results showed that increasing Fe2O3 concentration in glass structure increased the MAC and Zeff. The Fe-10 was reported with the lowest HVL values in addition to the highest MAC and Zeff values.

Exploration of material characteristics of tantalum borosilicate glasses by experimental, simulation, and theoretical methods

Tailoring glass radiation shielding properties through the Integration of ZnO and CaO

In this study, we investigate the shielding properties of borate glass systems [30Li2O + 10MgO + 5Gd2O3 + (55-x)B2O3 + xNd2O3], where x = 0, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mol %: by varying x, the concentration of both B2O3 and Nd2O3 changes. We exploit robust Phy-X software, developed for photon shielding and dosimetry, to carry out the calculations for the determination of the shielding properties such as linear and mass attenuation coefficients, effective atomic number, half value layer, mean free path, and tenth value layer versus photon energy in the range of 0.08 to 15 MeV. The HVL decreases from 9.91 to 8.86 cm while moving from sample 1 to sample 6, which is attributed to its highest density among all samples. Compared to the other five samples, the results indicate that sample 6 with 2.0 mol % Nd2O3 is more likely to attenuate gamma and X-ray photons due to its lower tenth values of tenth value layer, half value layer, mean free path, and higher mass attenuation coefficient and effective atomic number. In the energy range of 0.08–15 MeV, the mass attenuation coefficient for sample 1 varies between 86.96 and 0.024 cm2/g, while the mass attenuation coefficient for sample 6 with the highest Nd concentration ranges between 104.66 and 0.026 cm2/g. We find that among all samples, sample 6 with 2.0 mol % Nd2O3 is more likely to attenuate the gamma and X-ray photons, i.e. the incorporation of Nd2O3 improves shielding properties, as indicated by the increase in linear and mass attenuation coefficients and effective atom number with increasing the Nd2O3 concentrations, while the half value layer, mean free path, and tenth value layer decrease with increasing Nd2O3 content. Therefore, the glass with composition 30Li2O + 10MgO + 5Gd2O3 + 53B2O3 + 2Nd2O3 turns out to be the most promising material among the studied glass samples for the X-ray and gamma-ray shielding.