Structural investigations of bismuth lead borosilicate glasses under the influence of gamma irradiation through ultrasonic studies

Abstract

The ultrasonic velocity measurements for different compositions of irradiated bismuth lead borosilicate glasses xBi2O3–(50–x)PbO–20B2O3–30SiO2 (x=2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 mol.%) were performed at room temperature using pulse-echo technique. Densities of glass samples were measured by Archimedes’ principle using n-hexane as the immersion liquid. The results from the studies show that ultrasonic velocity, elastic moduli, Poisson's ratio, microhardness, and the Debye temperature increase with increasing bismuth oxide content and increasing gamma-radiation dose (3–12 Gy).