Ядерна фізика та енергетика Nuclear Physics and Atomic Energy   ISSN: 1818-331X (Print), 2074-0565 (Online)   Publisher: Institute for Nuclear Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine   Languages: Ukrainian, English   Periodicity: 4 times per year   Open access peer reviewed journal

Full text (en)

H. Aboud^1,*, I. T. Al-Alawy<sup>1,2

1</sup> Physics Department, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
² Department of Medical Physics, College of Medical Health Technology, Alshaab University, Baghdad, Iraq

^*Corresponding author. E-mail address: han55608@yahoo.com

Abstract: Glass systems of the form (70-x)B₂O₃-10ZnO-10PbO-10CdO-xBi₂O₃ (with x = 0 to 20 mol%) were prepared by the standard melt-quenching approach and characterized. The role of varying Bi₂O₃ doping contents on the radiation shielding, dose rate, and stopping power of the proposed glasses was examined. Various radiation shielding properties, such as exposure buildup factors, gamma-ray constants and dose rates, and total neutron removal cross-section, were estimated. The x-ray diffractometer patterns of the samples showed their amorphous characteristics. Glass density was increased from 5.34 to 6.95 g/cm³, and the energy band gap was reduced with the increase in Bi₂O₃ doping contents. In addition, both mass attenuation numbers and effective atomic numbers of the samples (calculated using Phy-X software) in the gamma-ray energy range of 0.015 to 15 MeV were increased with the increase in Bi₂O₃ contents. With the increase in Bi₂O₃ doping, the gamma-ray shielding, stopping power, and neutron removal cross-section of the glasses were improved. This new glass composition was asserted to be a good candidate for radiation shielding applications.

Keywords: gamma-radiation shielding, borate glass, neutrons cross sections, attenuation parameters.

1. S. Glasstone, A. Sesonske. Nuclear Reactor Engineering: Reactor Design Basics. Vol. 1. 4th edition (New York: Chapman & Hall, 1996) 464 p. Book

2. J.R. Lamarsh, A.J. Baratta. Introduction to Nuclear Engineering. 3rd edition (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001) 783 p. Google book

3. G.F. Knoll. Radiation Detection and Measurement (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2010) 864 p. Book

4. K.A. Mahmoud et al. Investigation of radiation shielding properties for some building materials reinforced by basalt powder. AIP Conf. Proc. 2174 (2019) 020036. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5134187

5. T.A. Taha, A.S. Abouhaswa. Preparation and optical properties of borate glass doped with MnO₂. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 29 (2018) 8100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-8816-7

6. D.K. Gaikwad et al. Comparative study of gamma ray shielding competence of WO₃-TeO₂-PbO glass system to different glasses and concretes. Mater. Chem. Phys. 213 (2018) 508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2018.04.019

7. N. Chanthima, J. Kaewkhao. Investigation on radiation shielding parameters of bismuth borosilicate glass from 1 keV to 100 GeV. Ann. Nucl. Energy 55 (2013) 23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2012.12.011

8. S.F. Olukotun et al. Investigation of gamma radiation shielding capability of two clay materials. Nucl. Eng. Technol. 50(6) (2018) 957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2018.05.003

9. F. Akman et al. Determination of effective atomic numbers and electron densities from mass attenuation coefficients for some selected complexes containing lanthanides. Can. J. Phys. 95(10) (2017) 1005. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjp-2016-0811

10. V.P. Singh et al. Determination of mass attenuation coefficient for some polymers using Monte Carlo simulation. Vacuum 119 (2015) 284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2015.06.006

11. M.I. Sayyed et al. Evaluation of shielding parameters for heavy metal fluoride based tellurite-rich glasses for gamma ray shielding applications. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 139 (2017) 33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2017.05.013

12. J. Singh et al. Fusible alloys: A potential candidate for gamma rays shield design. Prog. Nucl. Energy 106 (2018) 387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2018.04.002

13. R. Bagheri et al. Determination of gamma-ray shielding properties for silicate glasses containing Bi₂O₃, PbO, and BaO. J. Non-Cryst. Solids 479 (2018) 62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2017.10.006

14. M. Dong, B.O. Elbashir, M.I. Sayyed. Enhancement of gamma ray shielding properties by PbO partial replacement of WO₃ in ternary 60TeO₂-(40-x)WO₃-xPbO glass system. Chalcogenide Lett. 14(3) (2017) 113. https://chalcogen.ro/113_SayyedMY.pdf

15. S.A. Tijani et al. Radiation shielding properties of transparent erbium zinc tellurite glass system determined at medical diagnostic energies. J. Alloys Compounds 741 (2018) 293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2018.01.109

16. M. Kurudirek et al. Effect of Bi₂O₃ on gamma ray shielding and structural properties of borosilicate glasses recycled from high pressure sodium lamp glass. J. Alloys Compounds 745 (2018) 355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2018.02.158

17. M.I. Sayyed et al. Radiation shielding study of tellurite tungsten glasses with different antimony oxide as transparent shielding materials using MCNPX Code. J. Non-Cryst. Solids 498 (2018) 167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2018.06.022

18. S.B. Kolavekar et al. Optical, structural and Near-Ir NLO properties of gold nanoparticles doped sodium zinc borate glasses. Opt. Mater. 83 (2018) 34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2018.05.083

19. S. Mohan et al. Spectroscopic investigations of Sm³⁺-doped lead alumino-borate glasses containing zinc, lithium and barium oxides. J. Alloys Compounds 763 (2018) 486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2018.05.319

20. M.I. Sayyed et al. ZnO-B₂O₃-PbO glasses: Synthesis and radiation shielding characterization. Physica B: Condensed Matter 548 (2018) 20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physb.2018.08.024

21. I.O. Olarinoye. Photon buildup factors for some tissues and phantom materials for penetration depths up to 100 mfp. J. Nucl. Res. Dev. 13 (2017) 57. http://www.jnrd-nuclear.ro/images/JNRD/No.13/jnrd_115_art10.pdf

22. Y. Harima. An historical review and current status of buildup factor calculations and applications. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 41(4-5) (1993) 631. https://doi.org/10.1016/0969-806X(93)90317-N

23. M.I. Sayyed et al. A comprehensive study of the energy absorption and exposure buildup factors of different bricks for gamma-rays shielding. Results Phys. 7 (2017) 2528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinp.2017.07.028

24. S. Singh et al. Effect of finite sample dimensions and total scatter acceptance angle on the gamma ray buildup factor. Ann. Nucl. Energy 35(12) (2008) 2414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2008.08.008

25. S. Singh et al. Measurements of linear attenuation coefficients of irregular shaped samples by two media methods. Nucl. Instrum. Methods B 266(7) (2008) 1116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2008.02.019

26. A. Kumar et al. Effect of PbO on the shielding behavior of ZnO-P₂O₅ glass system using Monte Carlo simulation. J. Non-Cryst. Solids 481 (2018) 604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2017.12.001

27. M. Kurudirek, S. Topcuoglu. Investigation of human teeth with respect to the photon interaction, energy absorption and buildup factor. Nucl. Instrum. Methods B 269(10) (2011) 1071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2011.03.004

28. V.P. Singh, N.M. Badiger. Energy absorption buildup factors, exposure buildup factors and Kerma for optically stimulated luminescence materials and their tissue equivalence for radiation dosimetry. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 104 (2014) 61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2013.11.025

29. Y. Karabul et al. Computation of EABF and EBF for basalt rock samples. Nucl. Instrum. Methods A 797 (2015) 29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2015.06.024

30. H.C. Manjunatha, L. Seenappa. Pocket formula for mass attenuation coefficient, effective atomic number, and electron density of human tissues. Nucl. Sci. Tech. 30(3) (2019) 36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-019-0565-7

31. M. Kurudirek. Photon buildup factors in some dosimetric materials for heterogeneous radiation sources. Radiat. Environ. Biophys. 53 (2014) 175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-013-0502-9

32. M.F. Kaplan. Concrete Radiation Shielding (New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc., 1989) 448 p. Book

33. J. Wood. Computational Methods in Reactor Shielding (Oxford, Pergamon Press, 2013). Book

34. E. Sakar et al. Phy-X / PSD: Development of a user friendly online software for calculation of parameters relevant to radiation shielding and dosimetry. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 166 (2020) 108496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2019.108496

35. V.F. Sears. Neutron scattering lengths and cross sections. Neutron News 3(3) (1992) 26. https://doi.org/10.1080/10448639208218770

36. P. Kaur et al. Investigation of bismuth borate glass system modified with barium for structural and gamma-ray shielding properties. Spectrochim. Acta A 206 (2019) 367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2018.08.038

37. K.A. Mahmoud et al. The role of cadmium oxides in the enhancement of radiation shielding capacities for alkali borate glasses. Ceram. Int. 46(15) (2020) 23337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2020.02.219

38. A.M. Abu El-Soad et al. Simulation studies for gamma ray shielding properties of Halloysite nanotubes using MCNP-5 code. Appl. Radiat. Isot. 154 (2019) 108882. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.108882

39. V.P. Singh, N.M. Badiger. Gamma ray and neutron shielding properties of some alloy materials. Ann. Nucl. Energy 64 (2014) 301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2013.10.003

40. H.C. Manjunatha, B. Rudraswamy. External bremsstrahlung spectra of the ⁹⁰Sr source in some lead compounds measured using NaI detector. Radiat. Meas. 47(1) (2012) 100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2011.10.006

41. V.P. Singh, N.M. Badiger. Shielding efficiency of lead borate and nickel borate glasses for gamma rays and neutrons. Glass Phys. Chem. 41 (2015) 276. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1087659615030177

42. A. El Abd et al. A simple method for determining the effective removal cross section for fast neutrons. J. Radiat. Nucl. Appl. 2(2) (2017) 53. http://dx.doi.org/10.18576/jrna/020203

43. M.H.A. Mhareb et al. Investigation of photon, neutron and proton shielding features of H₃BO₃-ZnO-Na₂O-BaO glass system. Nucl. Eng. Technol. 53(3) (2021) 949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2020.07.035

44. Y.S. Alajerami et al. Radiation shielding properties of bismuth borate glasses doped with different concentrations of cadmium oxides. Ceram. Int. 46(8) (2020) 12718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2020.02.039

45. P. Kaur et al. Investigation of a competent non-toxic Bi₂O₃-Li₂O-CeO₂-MoO₃-B₂O₃ glass system for nuclear radiation security applications. J. Non-Cryst. Solids 545 (2020) 120235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2020.120235

46. J.F. Ziegler, M.D. Ziegler, J.P. Biersack. SRIM – The stopping and range of ions in matter (2010). Nucl. Instrum. Methods B 268(11-12) (2010) 1818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2010.02.091