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We report the optical and experimental gamma-ray and neutron attenuation properties of tantalum pentoxide reinforced Bi2O3–TeO2–ZnO ternary glasses with a nominal composition of 10Bi2O3–70TeO2-(20-x)ZnO-xTa2O5 (where x = 0,2,4, and 6 mol%). Measurements of transmittance and absorbance spectra for all of the synthesized samples are performed with Analytik Jena Specord 210 plus device between the range of 190–1100 nm. Moreover, 133Ba and 241Am/Be sources are utilized for experimental gamma-ray and neutron attenuation studies of BTZT glasses. According to results, the absorption edge is consistently moved from 380 nm to 390 nm as a result of ZnO/Ta2O5 translocation. In addition to decrease in optical band gap values of glass series, the fact that doping the structure containing Ta2O5 is lead to an increase in Urbach energies. The obtained irregularity through an increasing Ta2O5 additive is also changed the overall nuclear radiation attenuation properties of the BTZT glasses. The gamma-ray attenuation properties are obviously enhanced within the energy range of 133Ba radioisotope. The attenuation properties against fast neutron emitted from 241Am/Be were significantly enhanced through increasing Ta2O5 contribution. It can be concluded that BTZT6 glass sample may be regarded as a beneficial glass composition for multifunctional applications. It can be also concluded that ZnO/Ta2O5 translocation in Bi2O3–TeO2–ZnO ternary glasses may be regarded as a monotonic tool where the neutron attenuation properties should be strengthened in addition to gamma attenuation properties.

The purpose of this comprehensive research is to observe the impact of scintillator crystal type on entire detection process. For this aim, MCNPX (version 2.6.0) is used for designing of a physical plastic scintillation detector available in our laboratory. The modelled detector structure is validated using previous studies in the literature. Next, different types of plastic scintillation crystals were assessed in the same geometry. Several fundamental detector properties are determined for six different plastic scintillation crystals. Additionally, the deposited energy quantities were computed using the MCNPX code. Although six scintillation crystals have comparable compositions, the findings clearly indicate that the crystal composed of PVT 80% + PPO 20% has superior counting and detecting characteristics when compared to the other crystals investigated. Moreover, it is observed that the highest deposited energy amount, which is a result of the highest collision number in the crystal volume, corresponds to a PVT 80% + PPO 20% crystal. Despite the fact that plastic detector crystals have similar chemical structures, this study found that performing advanced Monte Carlo simulations on the detection discrepancies within the structures can aid in the development of the most effective spectroscopy procedures by ensuring maximum efficiency prior to and during use.

Half Value Layer calculations theoretically need prior specification of linear attenuation calculations, since the HVL value is derived by dividing ln(2) by the linear attenuation coefficient. The purpose of this study was to establish a direct computational model for determining HVL, a vital parameter in nuclear radiation safety studies and shielding material design. Accordingly, a typical gamma-ray transmission setup has been modeled using MCNPX (version 2.4.0) general-purpose Monte Carlo code. The MCNPX code's INPUT file was designed with two detection locations for primary and secondary gamma-rays, as well as attenuator material between those detectors. Next, Half Value Layer values of some well-known gamma-ray shielding materials such as lead and ordinary concrete have been calculated throughout a broad gamma-ray energy range. The outcomes were then compared to data from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The Half Value Layer values obtained from MCNPX were reported to be highly compatible with the HVL values obtained from the NIST standard database. Our results indicate that the developed INPUT file may be utilized for direct computations of Half Value Layer values for nuclear safety assessments as well as medical radiation applications. In conclusion, advanced simulation methods such as the Monte Carlo code are very powerful and useful instruments that should be considered for daily radiation safety measures. The modeled MCNPX input file will be provided to the scientific community upon reasonable request. © 2022 Korean Nuclear Society Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, PNU: PNURSP2022R149 This work was performed under Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project Number (PNURSP2022R149), Princess Nourah bunt Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The authors express their sincere gratitude to Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.

We present synthesis and thorough characterization phases of newly developed 20P2O5·30TeO2.(50-x)ZnO.xCdO (x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 mol%) glasses. Experimental gamma-ray and neutron transmission systems are used in terms of exploring the monotonic effects of increasing CdO reinforcement on behavioural changes of synthesized glasses through well-known melt-quenching method. A conventional gamma-ray setup along with a high purity germanium detector as well as 133Ba radioisotope is used for determination of attenuation coefficients. Glass shields are irradiated with a241Am/Be neutron source using the Canberra NP-100B BF3 gas proportional detector. The addition of 10% mole CdO to the basic glass composition had a significant favorable impact on the transition resistance to gamma and neutron radiation. In comparison to all available shielding materials, (except RS-520), the C10 sample demonstrated superior gamma-ray attenuation capabilities. According to results, C glasses generally exhibit superior neutron attenuation capabilities than conventional moderators. It can be concluded that C glass family may be considered as suitable gamma-shield and neutron moderator in different types of applications from research to medical radiation fields. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. 2-s2.0-85130343951

In this study, three heavy metal oxide glasses (A:46.0PbO-42.0Bi2O3-12.0Ga2O3, B:45.94PbO-42.66Bi2O3-10.0Ga2O3-1.4BaO, C:72.8PbO-17.0GeO2-10.2Ga2O3) were synthesized to determine their optical and gamma-ray shielding properties in terms of assessing their potential applications in medical and industrial radiation facilities. Glasses were synthesized using melt quenching method. The optical band gap energy is calculated by the absorption spectrum measured at room temperature. We found a large band at 500 nm that refers to Bi+ions and appears to samples A and B that contain Bi2O3 in their compositions. Optical band gap energies were reported as 2.014 ev, 2.055 eV and 2.430 eV for A, B and C samples, respectively. Next, fundamental gamma-ray parameters were also determined using MCNPX general Monte Carlo code and Phy-X/PSD in 0.15–15 MeV photon energy. Our findings clearly showed that the B sample, which includes the highest concentration of Bi2O3, has a considerable advantage in terms of gamma-ray attenuation. Moreover, the results also showed that sample B has significantly higher attenuation properties than shielding concretes and several glass shields. It can be concluded that Bi2O3 is a useful component for heavy metal oxide glasses in terms of improving gamma-ray shielding capabilities for radiation shielding applications. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. 2-s2.0-85123891851

Introduction: Graphene-based materials have gained increasing attention for use in radiation attenuation applications. In this study, pristine graphene nanoplatelet-containing (1, 3, 5, and 10 wt%) borate-based bioactive glass composites were prepared.Methods: Structural properties, Vickers microhardness, and gamma-ray radiation shielding properties of the fabricated composites were examined in detail.Results and Discussion: Results revealed that the inclusion of the graphene in the glass matrix led to a decrease in the bulk density of the glass-based composites from 2.41 to 2.31 g/cm3. Similarly, a decrease in Vickers hardness was obtained as the graphene concentration was increased due to a convoluted effect of the non-uniform distribution of graphene nanoplatelets in the bioactive glass matrix and the higher residual porosity. Vickers hardness of the bare and the 10 wt% graphene-containing bioactive glass discs were measured to be 5.03 ± 0.28 GPa and 1.87 ± 0.56 GPa, respectively. On the other hand, the incorporation of graphene starting from 3 wt% decreased the crack propagation after indentation which may be attributed to an increase in fracture toughness. In the study, fundamental gamma ray absorption properties of graphene-containing bioactive glasses were examined in the 0.015–15 MeV incident photon energy range. For this purpose, the Py-MLBUF code was employed to determine gamma ray absorption parameters. Results showed that linear attenuation coefficients of the glass-based composites decreased due to a decrease in the density of the samples. On the other hand, as graphene was incorporated into the bioactive glass structure, exposure buildup factor and energy absorption buildup factor values increased. The growing graphene ratio in the glass structure contributed negatively to the photon’s tendency to interact with the material.

We report the functional assessment of various rare-earth (RE) ion types on gamma-ray attenu- ation properties of GeO2-B2O3-P2O5-ZnO-Tb2O3-RE (where; RE=0; 1 %Ho, 1 %Pr, 1 %Er, 1 %Nd, 1 %Dy, 1 %Ce) magneto-optical glasses. The elemental fractions and densities of each glass sample were specified separately for the MCNPX Monte Carlo code. In addition to fundamental gamma absorption properties, Transmission Factors throughout a broad radioisotope energy range were measured. According to findings, Holmium (Ho) incorporation into the glass structure resulted in a net increase of 0.3406 g/cm3, whereas Cerium (Ce) addition resulted in a net in- crease of 0.2047 g/cm3. The Ho-doped S2 sample was found to have the greatest LAC value, despite the fact that seven glass samples exhibited identical behavior. The Ho-doped S2 sample had the lowest HVL values among the glass groups evaluated in this work, computed in the energy range of 0.015–15 MeV. The lowest EBF and EABF values were reported for Ho reinforced S2 sample with the highes LAC and density values. For all glass samples, a decrease in TF values was observed depending on the increase in thickness. Among the investigated glasses, Ho and Er reinforced samples (i.e., S2 and S4) showed the minimum TF values at used radioisotope energies. It can be concluded that Ho and Er type rare earth elements may provide the most effective gamma ray absorption properties when they are incorporated into the GeO2-B2O3-P2O5-ZnO- Tb2O3 system

This study aimed to investigate the protective properties of Bi2O3 heavy metal oxide-doped glassy portable containers and the effect of reinforcement amount on these properties using the MCNPX (version 2.6.0) general-purpose Monte Carlo code. Accordingly, 60Co and 137Cs radioisotopes were defined as point isotropic radioactive sources to be transported with the newly designed containers. Four containers with different heavy metal oxide additives varying between 5% and 20% were designed and the deposited energy (MeV/g) values in the air were calculated for both 60Co and 137Cs radioisotopes. According to the findings of the first phase of the investigation, the sample (S4) with a 20% Bi2O3 additive ratio showed the highest protective properties and the least amount of deposited energy amount in the air. In the second and benchmarking phase of the investigation, we compared the amount of deposited energy in the air for the superior S4 glass container and a concrete container with a high amount of bitumen additive. The findings demonstrated that the S4 portable glass container with a 20% Bi2O3 reinforcement provided significantly lower deposited energy in the air and therefore greater nuclear safety than the concrete container. Heavy metal oxide-doped glass may be considered a viable choice for nuclear waste management and transportation operations due to its nuclear safety properties and superior physical, optical, and mechanical capabilities in comparison with concrete. WOS:000864071400002 Q1 - Q2

Bismuth based fluorophosphate (PBNS) glasses doped with samarium ions were fabricated by well-known melt quenching method. The structural, optical and fluorescence properties of PBNS glasses, were extensively investigated via XRD, FTIR, EDAX, optical absorption and fluorescence emission along with lifetime decay analysis. The intensity parameters (Ω2, Ω4, Ω6) were calculated using the Judd – Ofelt hypothesis, which follows the Ω4 > Ω6 >Ω2 trend. PBNSSm glasses doped with 1.0 mol% samarium ions (PBNSSm10) had a greater emission peak intensity than the produced glasses according to the emission spectra. The 4G5/2 → 6H7/2 transition emitting the radiation at 597 nm was more intense than the other transitions and got higher values for optical gain bandwidth (10.70 x 10−25 cm3), stimulated emission cross-section (10.05 x 10−20 cm2) branching ratio (0.48), and optical gain parameter (28.65 x 10−25 cm2s). The emission spectral results have been used to evaluate the colorimetric analysis of the 1931 CIE coordinates, and CCT values fall in the visible spectrum region. Moreover, the degree of protection of the synthesized PBNS glasses against gamma radiation was also evaluated. The obtained results suggested that the PBNS glass doped with 1.0 Sm3+ ions could be useful for multi-band visible laser applications. It was also concluded that 2.0% Sm3+ addition effectively increases the gamma-ray shielding properties of PBNS glasses, and therefore PBNSSm20 can be an alternative shielding material. WOS:000861371700005 Q2

The purpose of this study is to conduct a thorough examination of the direct and indirect impacts of increasing the quantity of heavy WO3 on gamma-ray transmission, shielding and mechanical properties for some selected barium-phosphate-tungsten glasses. Accordingly, mechanical properties of barium-phosphate-tungsten oxides with chemical formula (50-x)P2O5-50BaO-xWO3 (x = 0.0(S1), 5.0(S2), 10(S3), and 15(S4)) mol% was evaluated using Makishima-Mackenzie model. Next, newly online Phy-X/PSD software and Monte Carlo code were used to examine the gamma radiation characteristics. Gamma-ray transmission factor (TF) values were calculated for S1, S2, S3 and, S4 glass samples for a range of well-known radioisotope energies such for 67Ga, 57Co-57, 111In-111, 133Ba, 201Tl, 99 mTc, 51Cr, 131I, 58Co, 137Cs, 60Co. The total packing density (Vt) was enhanced from 0.589 for S1 glass sample (free with WO3) to 0.605 for S4 glass sample (with highest WO3 =15 mol%). The total energy dissociation (Gt) of the investigated glasses was increased with increasing the WO3 content: from 51.7 (kJ/cm3) for S1 glasses to 52.45 (kJ/cm3) for S4 glasses. All mechanical moduli were improved with increasing the tungsten trioxide concentration in the studied glasses. Poisson's ratios were increased with increasing the WO3 concentration. The trend of linear (LAC) and mass attenuation (MAC) coefficients were followed as: (LAC, MAC) S1 < (LAC, MAC) S2 < (LAC, MAC) S3 < (LAC, MAC) S4. Half (HVL) and tenth (TVL) value layers have the trend as (HVL, TVL) S1 > (HVL, TVL) S2 > (HVL, TVL) S3 > (HVL, TVL) S4. The effective atomic number (Zeff) and electron density (Neff) have the same trend. The lowest transmission Factor (TF) values for all glass specimens were examined at a thickness of 3 cm. Furthermore, the S4 sample displayed the least transmission tendency across all glass thicknesses evaluated. © 2022 The Authors Princess Nourah bint Abdul Rahman University Researchers Supporting Project Number (PNURSP2022R149).

A comprehensive set of experimental measurements was carried out to investigate the influence of Nd3+ ions on the structure, electrical conductivity, and gamma-ray protection of CdO/PbO-B2O3 glasses containing neodymium oxide with the chemical formula 20CdO/20PbO/(60-x)B2O3/xNd2O3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 4 wt%) (5.034-5.232 g/cm3). Raman spectra have been obtained over a range of 1600-180 cm−1, and electrical conductivity (σ) has been measured at frequencies of 0.120, 1, 10, and 100 KHz, as well as at other frequencies. In this study, gamma-ray attenuation has been studied at various gamma-ray energies (ranging from 0.081 to 2.614 MeV). The results revealed that the PbO in the investigated glass networks fills the interspaces of [BO3] units with Pb2+ ions, therefore serving as a network member. In general, it was found that (σ) of the examined glasses falls as temperature increases, reaching its lowest value at the composition's transition temperature. Above this transition temperature, conductivity rises. Using 0.662 MeV, the studied samples exhibited experimental linear attenuation coefficients (μexp.) of 0.3369 cm−1, 0.3401 cm−1, 0.3434 cm−1, 0.3467 cm−1, and 0.3501 cm−1 (for the Nd-0.0, Nd-1.0, Nd-0.2, Nd-0.3, and Nd-4.0 glasses, respectively). With respect to the half value thickness (T1/2) and mean free path (λ), the Nd-4.0 sample has the lowest values at all of the gamma-ray energies tested. According to these results, the Nd-4.0 glass sample exhibits higher attenuation capabilities against ionizing radiation when compared to the other samples. © 2022

High-Entropy Alloys (HEAs) are regarded as potential structural materials for fusion and next-generation fission reactors, which will be required to fulfil growing nuclear energy demands. In this study, a HEA-composite was synthesized by adding B4C to an HEA containing Ni. The microstructure of the obtained HEA-composite was examined and the changes in its mechanical properties were revealed. Additionally, the nuclear radiation shielding properties of the Ni-containing HEA, and the HEA-composite are investigated using experimental and theoretical methods. Our initial findings showed that with the addition of 2.5% B4C to the alloy, the hardness increased more than two times. The addition of B4C to the HEA matrix resulted in a more than 90% and a nearly twofold increase in compressive strength. The shielding qualities of gamma-ray and neutron radiation were investigated using experimental and theoretical approaches. Our findings demonstrated that increasing the B4C reinforcement considerably enhanced the composite material's neutron attenuation capabilities. On the other hand, no significant change in the gamma-ray shielding characteristics of HEA and HEA-composite samples was observed. The gamma-ray shielding characteristics of HEA and HEA-composite samples were compared to those of other alloy shields and commercial products. Our findings indicate that both HEA and HEA-composite samples exhibit superior gamma-ray shielding characteristics when compared to the control samples. It can be concluded that increasing B4C reinforcement may be a multifunctional tool in terms of improving the mechanical properties as well as neutron attenuation properties for advanced applications in nuclear radiation facilities and next-generation fission reactors. Additionally, due to their promising material features and higher gamma-ray shielding capabilities compared to other kinds of alloys and commercial shields, HEAs may be beneficial materials. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd 2-s2.0-85130328135

We report the synergistic effects of boron nitride and graphene nanosheets on physical, structural, and nuclear radiation attenuation properties of polyester matrix-incorporated nanocomposites. Some critical material properties are thoroughly evaluated for several types of synthesized samples. Polyester is employed to strengthen graphene and boron nitride nanolayers, and their characteristics are investigated in detail. Additionally, we report the gamma-ray and fast neutron attenuation characteristics of synthesized nanocomposites to get a better understanding of the reinforcing effect as a function of material type and weight percentage. Thermal analysis findings indicate that adding graphene lowers the decomposition temperature but co-adding graphene and BNNS enhances thermal decomposition in comparison to graphene itself. Tensile tests showed that the inclusion of both GRP and GRP/BNNS strengthens the material. Among the polyester composite samples analyzed, the G3 sample with the most GNP reinforcement had the lowest HVL values throughout the broadest range of energy levels investigated. The recent findings may be beneficial to the scientific community in terms of incorporating these reinforcing types and ratios into polyester materials for a variety of applications, including industrial and research purposes. © 2022 2-s2.0-85130401014

The Pakkanadu Ultramafic–Alkaline–Carbonatite complex of Salem district has been studied using geochemical and remote sensing aspects. The samples collected from different locations of Pakkanadu were taken for mineralogical and geochemical analysis (XRF). Visible Near Infrared (VNIR) and Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) region of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data were used to retrieve the different band combinations to demarcate the carbonatite rock from adjacent lithologies. The image processing analysis of True Color Composite (1, 2, 3), False Color Composite (3, 2, 1), PCA derived band combinations of (3, 4, 8), and band ratio (2/1, 5/4, 8/2) outputs have given enhanced images which helped to demarcate the boundaries of litho units. Moreover, gamma-ray shielding competencies of studied complex materials were determined in the 0.015–15 MeV photon energy range. Our finding showed that the dunite sample, which has the maximum Fe2O3 amount in composition, has superior shielding properties among the investigated materials. It can be concluded that nominal compositions and material densities of studied natural materials have a direct impact on investigated properties. It can also be concluded that dunite's superior shielding properties are worth investigating for other types of radiations such as neutron and heavy ions. © 2022 The Author(s) 2-s2.0-85123939520