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For the purpose of this study, four natural rock samples-namely, diorite, granodiorite, tonalite, and granite-are being investigated about their radiation attenuation. The elemental composition of the rocks was obtained through Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) which examines the microstructural and localized area elemental analyses of the four rock samples. A Monte Carlo simulation (MCNP) was used to determine and evaluate the investigated samples. Additionally, the samples were validated by Phy-X software (within the energy range of 0.015 to 15 MeV), and experimental measurements were achieved through the utilization of an HPGe detector (0.060, 0.662, 1.173, and 1.332 MeV). The investigation was carried out using various parameters such as linear attenuation (µ) and others. Furthermore, the Fast Neutrons Removal Cross Sections (FNRCS) were calculated using theoretical methods. In the case of granodiorite, tonalite, diorite, and granite, the values of µ were found to range from 7.931 to 0.049, 31.922 to 0.061, 17.267 to 0.060, and 23.860 to 0.056 cm−1, respectively. The samples of tonalite and diorite have the highest µ values due to the presence of heavy elements and the high densities of these samples. Granodiorite is the substance that possesses the highest value of FCS (0.108 cm−1) due to the high content of light elements (O = 0.6802%, and C = 0.2286% wt). The results of the study demonstrated that the investigated natural rocks possessed a substantial potential for shielding γ-rays and neutrons from radiation and could be suitable for use in radiological protection applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five ceramic samples have been considered termed as S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5 on the purpose of radiation shielding. Ceramic sample S1 specifies pure MgO (100 wt %) with no other addition of Barite (BaSO4), yet another samples S2, S3, S4, and S5 have been considered 10 wt %, 20 wt %, 30 wt %, and 50 wt % of Barite (BaSO4) instead of MgO. Few shielding parameters such as linear attenuation coefficients (LAC), effective atomic number (Zeff), equivalent atomic number (Zeq) and radiation absorption ratio (RAR) were calculated through Geant4 code and experimental technique for the interest of evaluating the radiation shielding strength of the considered ceramic samples. The value of LAC of the considered ceramic samples via Experimental and Geant4 code were found a negligible difference. Considered ceramic samples S5 presents the most suitable radiation shielding capacity comprising rest of the ceramic samples according to the value of LAC for low energy. Considered ceramic sample S5 with the composition of [MgO (50%)- BaSO4 (50%)] were provided lowest value of HVL, TVL, and MFP. Hence, the obvious concern is that greater amount of Barite (BaSO4) lift up the shielding ability MgO ceramic in place of MgO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the experimental and theoretical radiation attenuation, this study produced and tested a composite material made of polyester reinforced with SnO at varied concentrations and abbreviated as Pol-SnOx, where x = 0–60% with steps of 20 wt% Also, the polyester samples were doped with SnO of different particle sizes: Micro, Nano, and 50% Micro/50% Nano mix to investigate the effect of the particle size on the radiation attenuation performance. In the photon energy range of 0.015–15 MeV, their radiation shielding properties were empirically determined using an HPGe detector and theoretically determined using Phy-X/PSD software. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) values dropped from 1.361 to 0.022 cm−1 for Pol-SnO0, from 13.611 to 0.033 cm−1 for Pol-SnO20, from 31.700 to 0.049 cm−1 for Pol-SnO40, and from 61.076 to 0.076 cm−1 for Pol-SnO60 in the photon energy (Eγ) range from 0.015 to 15 MeV. The LAC values of the fabricated Pol-SnOx samples increased as the SnO concentrations increased. Also, the addition of 50% Micro/50% Nano mix particle size of the SnO to the polyester significantly increased the values of the LAC. The percentages of LAC improvement of SnO nano-particles were 16.625%, 13.236%, 8.714%, and 7.935% at the Eγ values of 0.059, 0.661, 1.173, and 1.332 MeV, respectively. Also, the LAC values were enhanced by adding SnO containing 50% Micro/50% Nano mix particles by 19.097%, 15.271%, 9.854%, and 9.071% at the Eγ values of 0.059, 0.661, 1.173, and 1.332 MeV, respectively, when compared to microparticles. The addition of 50% Micro/50% Nano Mix of SnO with 60% content to the polyester showed the highest LAC and radiation protection efficiency and lowest half-value layer and transmission factor among the other samples due to increased SnO doping and interparticle distances of the Micro and Nano mix.

In the present work, an experimental study is performed to study the radiation shielding characteristics of SrTiO3 (STO) perovskite ceramic added with different amounts (x = 0, 2, 5, and 10%) of tungsten trioxide nanoparticles (WO3 NPs). The four ceramic samples were prepared using the solid-state reaction method. The structural properties were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques. The analysis showed the successful formation of WO3- doped STO samples. The crystallite size, estimated using the Scherrer equation, was found in the range of 50.86–41.17 nm. The effect of WO3 NPs on the radiation shielding performance of these ceramics was studied. Different parameters, such as linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) and other related factors, were experimentally determined. The linear attenuation coefficient results demonstrated that the additional amount of WO3 in the ceramics correlates with an improvement in their shielding abilities. The half-value layer (HVL) values for the ceramics with 2% WO3 nanoparticles are equal to 0.071, 1.760, 2.407, and 2.564 cm at 0.060, 0.662, 1.173, and 1.333 MeV, respectively. As the energy increases, more radiation can pass through the material; therefore, a larger thickness is required to absorb half of the total photons, leading to a greater HVL. The tenth value results reaffirmed that increasing the WO3 content in the STO ceramics improves their shielding efficiency. The radiation protection efficiency (RPE) of the four prepared STO ceramics was reported. From the RPE, we found that more photons can be attenuated at lower energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The radiation shielding abilities of waste marbles with different concentrations of WO3 (tungsten oxide) nanoparticles were investigated. Four marbles were prepared with 0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 WO3 nanoparticles. The study aims to investigate the effect of the WO3 concentration, the density, and the particle size of the waste marble samples. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) of the S1 sample, the sample with no WO3, was determined theoretically and experimentally, and the results demonstrated that they were close enough together to adequately determine the LAC of the other samples. Additionally, the samples with nano-WO3, rather than micro-WO3, were found to have a greater LAC, showing that decreasing the particle size of the sample improves their shielding ability. Samples with greater WO3 content also had higher LAC values. The LAC of the marbles was also evaluated at a wide energy range (0.015–15 MeV) to examine the shielding properties of the samples for a wide range of applications, and an inverse trend between LAC and energy was observed. The radiation protection efficiency (RPE) of the marbles demonstrated that the marbles absorb almost all incoming photons at low energies. As energy increases, the efficiency of the samples naturally drops, as the photons are able to penetrate through them with greater ease. High energy dependence was found when calculating the half-value layers (HVL) of the samples. When comparing the LAC and mean free paths (MFP) of the marbles, an inverse relationship was observed. Furthermore, the samples with nano-WO3 had a smaller MFP than those with micro-WO3, meaning that decreasing the particle size of the samples improves their radiation shielding ability. The Zeff of the micro-WO3 samples was also determined and the values followed three distinctive trends depending on the energy range of the incoming photons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the attenuation properties of silicon rubber (SR) composites reinforced by both micro- and nano-sized Tungsten trioxide (WO3) particles are studied. Different SR composites with different combinations of micro-WO3 and nano-WO3 have been prepared. The main composite, SR-(WO3)60m (40% SR containing 60% micro-WO3), and other compositions were prepared by replacing percentages of microparticles with nanoparticles of WO3. The linear attenuation coefficient for these composites was measured in the range of 0.06–1.333 MeV. The existence of micro and nanoparticles together may result in enhanced interactions with incoming photons, leading to greater shielding. In other words, micro-WO3 and nano-WO3 have various sizes and surface areas. At 0.06 MeV, we notice a distinguished decrease in the half value layer (HVL) from SR-W60m to SR-W60n. The sequence of reducing HVL values (SR-(WO3)60m > SR-(WO3)60n > SR-(WO3)40m20n > SR-(WO3)20m40n > SR-(WO3)30m30n) suggest that the inclusion of both micro- and nano-WO3 contributes to more efficient radiation shielding compared to the reference material. The radiation shielding efficiency (RSE) for SR-(WO3)30m30n at 0.662 MeV is 38.40%. This means that if a beam of photons with energy of 0.662 MeV interacts with SR-W40m20n sample, only 38.12% of the photons are successfully absorbed or stopped, whereas the remaining 61.88% can pass through this sample. At 1.333 MeV, the lowest RSE is observed, which means that the prepared composites have weak attenuation ability at higher energy levels.

The radiation shielding characteristics of the polyester resin composites reinforced with cerium(iv) oxide (CeO2) have been studied. The prepared composites were pure polyester–resin (Poly/CeO2-0), 90% per weight polyester resin and 10% CeO2 (Poly/CeO2-10), (Poly/CeO2-30), (Poly/CeO2-50), and (Poly/CeO2-60). The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) values for the free polyester and polyester samples with CeO2 were experimentally measured compared with the XCOM data. The experimental LAC value was found to be 0.2377 cm−1 at 0.0595 MeV, which is in good agreement with the calculated value of 0.2454 cm−1. Also, for the same sample, the experimental LAC was found to be 0.1034 cm−1 at 0.662 MeV, showing a good agreement with the calculated value of 0.1057 cm−1. The LAC values for the free polyester, Pol/CeO2-30, and Pol/CeO2-60 are 1.43, 31.82, and 107.77 cm−1 at 0.015 MeV, respectively. The big difference in the LAC values between the composite with 0 and 60% CeO2 is evident. The radiation shielding efficiency (RSE) of the polyester with different amounts of CeO2 was experimentally measured at four energy values. Also, we extended the calculation of RSE at other energy values in the range of 0.015–15 MeV). The exposure buildup factor (EBF) values for the free CeO2 sample and the samples with CeO2 are calculated. The EBF is small at low energies, then increases, and attains a maximum value at moderate energy; the EBF shows a decreasing trend with an increase in the energy.

We fabricated porcelain ceramics embedded with WO3 nanoparticles (NPs) for radiation shielding applications. The linear attenuation coefficients were experimentally determined to study the efficiency of the manufactured samples against gamma rays. When the thickness increases from 0.5 to 2 cm, there is a reduction in the photon transmission through the ceramics. At 0.662 MeV, the transmission factor for Porc-1 changes from 0.91 (thickness: 0.5 cm) to 0.83 (thickness: 1 cm), and to 0.69 (thickness: 2 cm). From I/I 0 results, we found that attenuation performance is improved as the sample thickness increases. We evaluated the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) and examined the influence of the concentration of WO3 NPs on the MAC. We found that Porc-5 which contains a greater quantity of WO3 NPs compared to the other samples has the highest MAC. At 0.06 MeV, the HVL (half value layer) for Porc-1 is 1.063 cm, while at 1.333 MeV this increases to 5.247 cm. Meanwhile, for Porc-2, at 0.06 MeV, a thin layer of thickness 0.806 cm is required to shield 50% of the photons, and at 1.333 MeV, the thickness of the layer must increase to 5.058 cm to shield the photons.

Radiation and nuclear technologies have side effects in addition to their important applications, so appropriate shields must be used to protect users and the public from high doses as a result of exposure to this radiation. In this work, the attenuation coefficients for polyester composites doped with waste iron filings (IFs) were studied. Six samples of different IF concentrations were manufactured, namely, Poly, Poly-IF20, Poly-IF30, Poly-IF40, Poly-IF50, and Poly-IF60 (where Poly-IF60 represents 40% polyester and 60% IF). We measured the attenuation factors using high purity germanium (HPGe)-detector along with three radioactive sources 241Am (emitting energy of 0.06 MeV), 137Cs (emitting energy of 0.662 MeV), and Co-60 (emitting energy of 1.173 and 1.333 MeV). We compared the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) obtained by theoretical (i.e., XCOM software) and experimental (i.e., HPGe-detector) approaches for the prepared polyester composites at various photon energies (0.060, 0.662, 1.173, and 1.333 MeV). The greatest difference between the LAC values of the samples occurs at 0.060 MeV, where the Poly-IF60 sample has a much greater LAC than the other shields, followed by the Poly-IF50 sample, Poly-IF40 sample, and so on until the pure polyester shield. Specifically, their values are equal to 0.245, 0.622, 0.873, 1.187, 1.591, and 2.129 cm−1 for Poly, Poly-IF20, Poly-IF30, Poly-IF40, Poly-IF50, and Poly-IF60, respectively. We calculated the transmission factor (TF) and the radiation shielding efficiency (RSE), and found that the TF for Poly-IF30 is equal to 28.82%, 77.94%, 82.75%, and 83.75% at 0.060, 0.662, 1.173, and 1.333, respectively, while its RSE is equal to 82.57%, 24.00%, 18.80%, and 17.72%, respectively. The fast neutron removal cross-section (FNRC) of the polyester samples was calculated and the values increase when more Ifs are added to the samples. More specifically, the FNRC values are equal to 0.095, 0.100, 0.103, 0.107, 0.110, and 0.113 cm−1 for Poly, Poly-IF20, Poly-IF30, Poly-IF40, Poly-IF50, and Poly-IF60, respectively.

In this study, we developed flexible composites using silicone rubber (SR) or polydimethylsiloxane as the matrix and WO3 and BaO nanoparticles as filler to analyze their radiation-shielding performance. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) values for the prepared composites were reported to range from 0.059 to 1.333 MeV by using the experimental method. At 0.059 MeV, the SR with 40% of BaO NPs possesses the highest LAC, followed by SR with 20% of BaO and WO3 NPs. The SRs S-2 and S-4 that contain WO3 and/or BaO exhibit continuously greater LAC values than the sample S-1. Numerically, the LAC for S-2 (with 40% of BaO NPs) is 1.6 times greater than that for S-1 (free BaO and WO3) at 0.662 MeV, while the LAC for S-2 is 1.47 times more than that for S-1 at 1.275 MeV. We examined the impact of the thickness of the prepared composites on the attenuation performance by studying the transmission factor (TF) at two different thicknesses (1 and 2 cm). For S-1 and S-2, the TF decreases due to the increase of the thickness from 1 to 2 cm. The TF for S-1 with a thickness of 1 cm is 75% at 0.059 MeV, while it is 56% (for 2 cm). We evaluated the percentage decrease in the TF at 0.059 MeV for every SR as the thickness changes from 1 to 2 cm. For S-3, S-4, S-5, and S-6, the percentage decrease in the TF is extremely significant varying from 98% to 99%. This suggests that increasing the thickness of these SR samples from 1 to 2 cm has a major effect on the shielding capabilities they possess, particularly at low energies.

To obtain better radiation shielding, a new polyester has been made by the combination of 40 wt% of polyester and 30 wt% of fine waste marble mixed along with PbO (30–0) wt% and Bi2O3 (0–30) wt%. A few significant shielding parameters such as linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), half-value layer (HVL), mean free path (MFP), and effective atomic number (Z eff) have been measured experimentally using an HPGe detector. Theoretical values have also been calculated using XCOM software. With the aim of validating the experimental setup, the measured shielding parameters, such as LAC and HVL, have been compared with their theoretical analogs. At 0.662 MeV energy, the prepared new polyester’s HVL and MFP exhibited that the sample PWPBi-10 composed of polyester (40 wt%), fine waste marble (30 wt%), PbO (20 wt%), and Bi2O3 (10 wt%) provides the best shielding ability among other studied polyesters herein. The MFP behavior indicates that the ratio of Bi2O3 and PbO on these new polyesters has a direct impact on their radiation-shielding properties. It is noteworthy that new polyester PWPBi-10 exposed the lowest value of MFP compared to the rest of the studied samples. In conclusion, considering all the measured shielding parameters, it can be stated that the sample PWPBi-10 has the ultimate radiation diffusion capability among the rest of the studied samples.

A thorough comparative analysis was conducted between pure epoxy and a novel epoxy composite that included bentonite and WO3 nanoparticles in varying ratios. This study examined five distinct novel epoxy samples (E00, EB0, EBW1, EBW2, and EBW3) to assess their radiation shielding efficiency (RSE), taking into account the addition of bentonite and WO3 nanoparticles. Furthermore, the study compared the RSE of pure epoxy with that of the novel epoxy composite. To evaluate the radiation shielding ability of the studied epoxy samples, a few radiation shielding parameters such as linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), mean free path (MFP), RSE, and transition factor (I/I 0) were calculated. The RSE values of the epoxy samples were E00 (63.41%), EB0 (87.17%), EBW1 (98.26%), EBW2 (99.82%), and EBW3 (99.99%) at an energy of 0.06 MeV with 4 cm thickness. With the increase in the incident energy, the half-value layer and MFP values were increased, whereas the LAC and MAC values decreased. In conclusion, it can be stated that the sample EBW3 is more suitable among the five epoxy samples studied for attenuating the incident photon energy from 0.06 to 1.33 MeV. Noteworthily, the obtained results demonstrate that the addition of WO3 nanoparticles enhances the shielding ability of epoxy when compared to the addition of the same amount of bentonite.

The gamma-ray shielding features of Bi2O3-CaO-K2O-Na2O-P2O5 glass systems were experimentally reported. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) for the fabricated glasses was experimentally measured at seven energy values (between 0.0595 and 1.33 MeV). The compatibility between the practical and theoretical results shows the accuracy of the results obtained in the laboratory for determining the MAC of the prepared samples. The mass and linear attenuation coefficients (MACs) increase with the addition of Bi2O3 and A4 glass possesses the highest MAC and LAC. A downward trend in the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) with increasing the energy from 0.0595 to 1.33 MeV is found. The highest LAC is found at 1.33 MeV (in the range of 0.092–0.143 cm−1). The effective atomic number (Zeff) follows the order B1 > A1 > A2 > A3 > A4. This order emphasizes that increasing the content of Bi2O3 has a positive effect on the photon shielding proficiencies owing to the higher density of Bi2O3 compared with Na2O. The half value layer (HVL) is also determined and the HVL for the tested glasses is computed between 0.106 and 0.958 cm at 0.0595 MeV. The glass with 10 mol% of Bi2O3 has lower HVL than the glasses with 0, 2.5, 5, and 7.5 mol% of Bi2O3. So, the A4 glass needs a smaller thickness than the other glasses to shield the same radiation. As a result of the reported shielding parameters, inserting B2O3 provides lower values of these three parameters, which in turn leads to the development of superior photons shields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glass system of 45B 2 O 3 -20ZnO-30BaO-5X, (where X represents CaO, MgO, Al 2 O 3 , TiO 2 , CuO and Fe 2 O 3 ) in mole percentage was investigated for gamma ray radiation shielding experimentally. Six glass composites were fabricated and the density was measured experimentally and the BZBCa glass sample has the least density with a value of 3.932 g cm -3 and this is due to the presence of CaO in it, and the sample BZBFe has the highest density with a value of 4.031 g cm -3 . Through comparing the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) data (experimental and Phy-X) for the BZBX glass samples, the LAC values for glass samples obtained experimentally and using Phy-X are in a very close range. All the glass samples have the greatest LAC values at 0.0595 MeV, the lowest energy value. Sample BZBCu has a LAC value of 16.203 1/cm, which is also the highest LAC value among all the studied glasses, this is as a result of the high density of this glass and due to the high atomic number of Cu. The glasses' transmission factor (TF) at 1 cm thickness against energy was determined. The TF values of all the glasses were almost zero. The TF values increased significantly for all the glasses when the energy was increased to 0.662 MeV, and for sample BZBCa its TF value increases 74.08%, which was the highest TF value increase. The half-value layer and other shielding parameters have been determined experimentally., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

The aim of the current study is to evaluate the radioactivity estimate the radiological risk of some granites and marbles rocks and explaining the cause of increased radioactivity in some types of rocks. The radioactivity of some granites and marbles produced in Egypt were determined by using a Germanium detector. Three types of marble (Breshia, Galala, and Trista) and three types of granite (Gandola, White Halayeb, and Red Aswani) were collected. All marble samples show low radioactivity with average activity concentrations of 20 ± 2, 4.50 ± 0.5, and 6.70 ± 1.2 Bqkg - 1 for 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K respectively. Granite samples have higher activity concentration with averages of 152 ± 7, 129 ± 8, and 1228 ± 15 Bqkg - 1 for 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K respectively which exceed the world average values of soil (32,45,412 Bqkg - 1 for 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K respectively) excluding Granite G.2 (white Halayeb) as it shows an insignificant level of radioactivity. The annual effective doses of marble samples Breshia, Galala, and Trista were measured to be 4.42 ± 0.4; 158 ± 14 and 153 ± 15 µSvy - 1 , and 1008 ± 147, 80 ± 7 and 987 ± 45.0 µSvy - 1 for the granite samples Gandola, White Halayeb and Red Aswani respectively. The radiation hazard parameters show a higher value for granite samples than marble samples, primarily due to the presence of potassium feldspar minerals in these types of granites. marbles were observed to be radiologically safer than granite because they possess a neglected 40 K content and a trace quantity of uranium and thorium. Moreover, the minimum potassium content is enough to make a rock radiological unsafe due to 40 K only being determined to be about 13.2%., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The aim of the present study is to assess the shielding performance of a novel lead-free epoxide material against ionizing radiation. The effect of variation in particle size and concentration of tin oxide (SnO), which was added to epoxy resin polymer (ER), on its radiation shielding properties has been investigated in this research. Ten samples of ER samples incorporated with different concentrations (0%,20%,40%,60%) of SnO microparticles, nanoparticles, and both sizes combined were prepared and assessed. The linear attenuation coefficients (LAC) were measured experimentally through the collimated gamma-ray beam at 0.0595 MeV, 0.6617 MeV, 1.1730 MeV, and 1.330 MeV emitted from Am-241, Cs-137 and Co-60, respectively (to cover all energy range of gamma rays) for all samples with various concentrations and particle sizes of SnO. The other radiological shielding parameters such as half value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), and radiation protection efficiency (RPE) were estimated and compared for all different samples. The results prove that the increasing of the concentration and reducing the particle size of SnO leads to the enhancement of the radiation protection properties of the ER polymer. Moreover, it was observed that the incorporation of SnO micro- and nanoparticles together improves the radiation shielding properties of ER samples. Conclusively, the reinforcing of ER polymer material matrix by micro/nanoparticles of SnO as composite with enhanced radiation shielding specifications was highlighted., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

An investigation into the optical and mechanical properties of a novel borate glasses with the chemical composition of 70 B 2 O 3 -10 Li 2 O-10ZnO-5Bi 2 O 3 -5CaO-xEu 2 O 3 was conducted. The glassy specimens of Eu 3+ -doped borate were prepared by the melting-quenching technique. An enhanced density from 3.0860 to 3.2176 g cm -3 and reduced molar volume from 29.27819 to 29.17447 (cm 3  mol -1 ) are the outcome of increasing the concentration of Eu 3+ in glasses. Plotting the extinction coefficient, dielectric constant (ε 1 , ε 2 ), and refractive index (n) against wavelength reveals that they all rise as level of Eu 3+ elements in the glass lattice increases. An increase in Eu 3+ concentration results in a decrease in both the volume (VELF) and surface (SELF) energy loss functions. Also, all elastic-mechanical moduli (such as Young's, Bulk, Shear, and Elongation) increase with increasing the quantity of Eu 3+ ions in the glass lattice. The Young's modulus (Y, GPa) of the glassy specimens was 34.512, 36.089, 36.504, 36.730 and 37.114 GPa for x equal 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 mol ratio in the glass system, and coded by Eu-0.0, Eu-0.25, Eu-0.5, Eu-0.75 and Eu-1.0, respectively. Growing Eu 2 O 3 levels resulted in an increase in Micro-Hardness from 2.050 to 2.146 GPa. Poisson's ratio values for Eu-0.0, Eu-0.250, Eu-0.5, Eu-0.75 and Eu-1.0 were 0.273, 0.275, 0.277, 0.277 and 0.278, respectively., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In the present work, a glass system with developed composition consisting of B 2 O 3 , ZnO, Na 2 O and Fe 2 O 3 samples has been investigated. Glass samples were prepared using the melt quenching method and the density of the system was measured using Archimedes' principle. Spectroscopic analysis using a gamma source and a high-purity germanium detector at four energies of 0.0595, 0.6617, 1.173, and 1.333 MeV emitted from Am-241, Cs-137, and Co-60 were used to determine the attenuation parameters of present glass composites. The sample containing 45 B 2 O 3  + 10 Na 2 O + 40 ZnO + 5 Fe 2 O 3 (coded BNZF-4) had the highest mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) value at all the energies discussed compared to the other composites. Whoever, the BNZF-1 sample had the lowest value at all ranges of energies. The transmission factors (TF, %) of the manufactured samples were calculated, at 0.0595 MeV (TF, %) values are 32.6429 and 6.4612 for samples BNZF-1 and BNZF-4, respectively. The statistical results demonstrated significantly better to increase the ZnO concentration in the sample, where the percentage of zinc oxide inside the prepared glass samples has the following direction BNZF -4 > BNZF -3 > BNZF -2 > BNZF -1. The significance of this study is that transparent, environmentally harmless glass composites with relatively high density have been prepared that can be used as shielding materials against gamma rays, especially at low energies., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In this work, we studied the effect of bismuth oxide particle size and its attenuation capacity as a filler additive in epoxy resins. Six samples were prepared according to the amount of microparticles and nanoparticles in the sample and were coded as ERB-1, ERB-2, ERB-3, ERB-4, ERB-5, and ERB-6. One of the composite epoxies contained Bi 2 O 3 microparticles at a 50:50 ratio (ERB-6) and was chosen as the control composite, and the number of microparticles (MPs) was gradually decreased and replaced by nanoparticles (NPs) to produce epoxy-containing Bi 2 O 3 nanoparticles at a 50:50 ratio (ERB-1). The morphological and thermal characteristics of the studied composites were tested. The attenuation capability of the prepared composites, which is determined by the Bi 2 O 3 particle size, was determined experimentally using a semiconductor detector, an HPGe-detector, and three different gamma-ray point sources (Am-241, Co-60, and Cs-137). The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) of ERB-3, which contained 30% nanoparticles and 20% microparticles, had the highest value compared to the other composites at all the energies discussed, while the ERB-6 composite had the lowest value at all energies. The radiation-shielding efficiency (RSE) of the prepared samples was determined at all discussed energies; at 662 keV, the radiation-shielding efficiency values were 15.97%, 13.94%, and 12.55% for ERB-3, ERB-1, and ERB-6, respectively. The statistics also proved that the attenuation capacities of the samples containing a combination of nanoparticles and microparticles were much superior to those of the samples containing only microparticles or nanoparticles. A ranking of the samples based on their attenuation capacity is as follows: ERB-3 > ERB-4 > ERB-2 > ERB-1 > ERB-5 > ERB-6.

Aiming to extend the scope of utilizing glass in radiation shielding, this work investigates the radiation interaction response of a borate-based glass system. Four borate-glass samples of different substituting concentrations of calcium oxide ( 70 - x )B 2 O 3 : 10 Na 2 O : 5 Al 2 O 3 : 15 BaO: x CaO were prepared. To assess the shielding performance of the prepared glass samples, a high-purity germanium detector and different radioactive sources (different energies) were used. Via the narrow beam method, the linear attenuation coefficients (LACs) were experimentally measured. So, the transmission factor (TF), the half-value layer (HVL), the tenth value layer (TVL), the mean free path (MFP), and the radiation protection efficiency (RPE) were calculated for all prepared samples. It was observed that the increase of the concentration of calcium oxide in the proposed borate-based glass samples leads to improve their performance in shielding against radiation. At low energy, the RPE of the samples is almost 100%. However, it was observed that as energy of the radiation source increases, the shielding performance of the samples will decrease. High energy dependence was found when calculating TF, HVL, TVL, and MFP. They were increased with the increase of the energy of the incident photons. At 0.662 MeV, the TF values are equal to 79.26, 79.00, 79.72, and 78.43% for BNABC-1, BNABC-2, BNABC-3, and BNABC-4 in the same oder, respectively. The application of the proposed composition of borate-based glass as a transparent shield against low-energy ionizing radiation was highlighted., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The current work discusses the radiation attenuation capability and different shielding characteristics of different mortar samples. The samples were prepared by replacing different percentages of fine aggregate with iron filling and replacing different percentages of hydrated lime with Bi 2 O 3 (0-50 wt.%). The prepared mortar samples are coded as CHBFX where X = 0, 10, 30, and 50 wt.%. The mass and linear attenuation coefficient was determined experimentally using a narrow beam technique, where a high purity germanium detector, and different point gamma-ray sources (such as Am-241, Cs-137, and Co-60). The linear attenuation coefficient was also calculated using the Monte-Carlo simulation code and the online Phy-X/PSD software. The comparison of the three methods showed a good agreement in the results. The linear attenuation coefficient drops from 19.821 to 0.053 cm -1 for CHBF0, from 27.496 to 0.057 cm -1 for CHBF10, from 42.351 to 0.064 cm -1 for CHBF30, and from 55.068 to 0.071 cm -1 for CHBF50 at photon energy range from 0.015 to 15 MeV. The half-value layer thickness, tenth-value layer thickness, and mean free path of the prepared mortar composites were also calculated photon energy ranged from 0.015 to 15 MeV. The fast neutron removal cross-section of the prepared CHBFX mortar samples have values of 0.096 cm -1 , 0.098 cm -1 , 0.103 cm -1 , and 0.107 cm -1 for the mortar samples CHBF0, CHBF10, CHBF30, and CHBF50, respectively. The results showed that the mortar sample with the highest iron filing concentration, CHBF50, provides the best protection against gamma rays and fast neutrons which could be used in the nuclear and medical fields., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

With the use of multilayer materials such as concrete, mortar and ceramics that were fortified with PbO, WO 3 and Bi 2 O 3 nanoparticles, our study's objective was to produce a an effective photon shielding system. Experimental evaluation of the radiation shielding efficiency of two sets of samples with various thicknesses was conducted. The elemental content and morphology of the samples were corroborated by SEM and EDX studies, with ceramic samples exhibiting superior particle distribution and fewer voids than concrete and mortar specimens. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) was studied both experimentally and numerically using the Phy-X program, and it was found that the two sets of values were in satisfactory agreement. The values of LAC were consistently greater for samples with 30% of the selected heavy metal oxides than for those with 10%. The LAC for Cer-1 was 5.003 cm -1 at 0.059 MeV, whereas the corresponding LAC for Cer-2 was 2.123 cm -1 . The LAC values were as follows: ceramics (5.003 cm -1 ), mortar (2.999 cm -1 ), concrete (2.733 cm -1 ), and the transmission factor (TF) examination of the multiple-layer specimens showed that the TF of the 3 cm thick multilayer sample was lower than that of the 2 cm thick sample and that both multilayer samples displayed better attenuation efficiency in comparison to single-layer specimens. The results show the possibility for employing multilayer structures with different densities, thicknesses, and sizes in suitable radiation shielding applications., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

This study aims to investigate the impact of CeO 2 content and particle size on the radiation shielding abilities of polydimethylsiloxane, also known as silicon rubber (SR). We prepared different SR samples with 10, 30, and 50% of micro and nano CeO 2 and we measured the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) for these samples. We found that the LAC of the SR increases by increasing the CeO 2 and all prepared SR samples had higher LACs than the pure SR. We examined the effect of the size of the particles on the LAC and the results demonstrated that the LAC for nano CeO 2 is higher than that of micro CeO 2 . We investigated the half value layer (HVL) for the prepared SR samples and the results revealed that the SR with 10% micro CeO 2 had a greater HVL than the SR with 10% nano CeO 2 . The HVL results demonstrated that the SR containing nanoparticles had higher attenuation effectiveness than the SR with micro CeO 2 . We also prepared SR samples containing CeO 2 in both sizes (i.e., micro and nano) and we found that the HVL of the SR containing both sizes was lower than the HVL of the SR with nano CeO 2 . The radiation protection efficiency (RPE) at 0.059 MeV for the SR with 10% micro and nano CeO 2 was 94.2 and 95.6%, respectively, while the RPE of SR containing both sizes (5% micro CeO 2 + 5% micro CeO 2 ) was 96.1% at the same energy. The RPE results also indicated that the attenuation ability was improved when utilizing the micro and nano CeO 2 as opposed to the micro CeO 2 or nano CeO 2 at 0.662, 1.173, and 1.333 MeV.

This study aimed to prepare silicone rubber composites with heavy metal oxide nanoparticles for gamma ray shielding applications. Different heavy metal oxide nanoparticles were incorporated into the silicone rubber matrix, and the prepared composites were characterized for their thermal, mechanical, and radiation shielding properties. The density of the prepared SR samples ranged from 1.25 to 2.611 g·cm -3 , with SR-2 having the highest density due to the presence of lead oxide. Additionally, the thermal stability of the materials improved with the addition of HMO nanoparticles, as indicated by TGA results. The prepared SR materials showed ultimate deformation displacement ranging from 14.17 to 21.23 mm, with the highest value recorded for SR-3 and the lowest for SR-2. We investigated the transmission factor (TF) of gamma rays through silicone rubber (SR) composites with different heavy metal oxide (HMO) nanoparticles. The addition of HMOs resulted in a decrease in TF values, indicating improved radiation shielding performance. The TF was found to be lowest in SR-5, which contained 15% of Bi 2 O 3 , WO 3 , BaO, and Zr 2 O 3 each. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) of the SR samples was also evaluated, and it was found that the incorporation of HMOs increased the probability of photon interactions, leading to improved radiation protection effectiveness. The half-value layer (HVL) of the SR samples was also examined, and it was found that the addition of HMOs resulted in a significant reduction in HVL values, particularly at low energy levels. SR-5 had the lowest HVL among the group, while SR-2, SR-3, and SR-4 had higher HVL values. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of using HMOs in enhancing the radiation shielding properties of SR composites, particularly for low-energy gamma rays.

This study aimed to develop a mortar composite with improved gamma ray shielding properties using WO 3 and Bi 2 O 3 nanoparticles, as well as granite residue as a partial replacement of sand. The physical properties and effects of sand substitution and nanoparticle addition on the mortar composite were analyzed. TEM analysis confirmed the size of Bi 2 O 3 and WO 3 NPs to be 40 ± 5 nm and 35 ± 2 nm, respectively. SEM images showed that increasing the percentage of granite residues and nanoparticles improved the homogeneity of the mixture and decreased the percentage of voids. TGA analysis indicated that the thermal properties of the material improved with the increase in nanoparticles, without decreasing the material weight at higher temperatures. The linear attenuation coefficients were reported and we found that the LAC value at 0.06 MeV increases by a factor of 2.47 when adding Bi 2 O 3 , while it is enhanced by a factor of 1.12 at 0.662 MeV. From the LAC data, the incorporation of Bi 2 O 3 nanoparticles can greatly affect the LAC at low energies, and still have a small but noticeable effect at higher energies. The addition of Bi 2 O 3 nanoparticles into the mortars led to a decrease in the half value layer, resulting in excellent shielding properties against gamma rays. The mean free path of the mortars was found to increase with increasing photon energy, but the addition of Bi 2 O 3 led to a decrease in MFP and better attenuation, making the CGN-20 mortar the most ideal in terms of shielding ability among the prepared mortars. Our findings on the improved gamma ray shielding properties of the developed mortar composite have promising implications for radiation shielding applications and granite waste recycling.

We developed new composites for photons shielding applications. The composite were prepared with epoxy resin, red clay and bismuth oxide nanoparticles (Bi 2 O 3 NPs). In order to establish which ratio of red clay to Bi 2 O 3 NPs provides the best shielding capabilities, several different ratios of red clay to Bi 2 O 3 NPs were tested. The transmission factor (TF) was calculated for two different thicknesses of each sample. From the TF data, we found that epoxy resin materials have a high attenuation capacity at low energy. For ERB-10 sample (40%Epoxy + 50% Red clay + 10% Bi 2 O 3 NPs), the TF values are 52.3% and 14.3% for thicknesses of 0.5 and 1.5 cm (at 0.06 MeV). The composite which contains the maximum amount of Bi 2 O 3 nanoparticles (40%Epoxy + 50% Red clay + 10% Bi 2 O 3 NPs, coded as ERB-30) has lower TF than the other composites. The TF data demonstrated that ERB-30 is capable of producing more effective attenuation from gamma rays. We also determined the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) for the prepared composites and we found that the LAC increases for a given energy in proportion to the Bi 2 O 3 NPs ratio. For the ERB-0 (free Bi 2 O 3 NPs), the LAC at 0.662 MeV is 0.143 cm -1 , and it increases to 0.805 cm -1 when 10% of Bi 2 O 3 NPs is added to the epoxy resin composite. The half value layer (HVL) results showed that the thickness necessary to shield that photons to its half intensity can be significantly lowered by increasing the weight fraction of the Bi 2 O 3 NPs in the epoxy resin composite from 0 to 30%. The HVL for ERB-20 and ERB-30 were compared with other materials such as (Epoxy as a matrix material and Al 2 O 3 , Fe 2 O 3 , MgO and ZrO 2 as filler oxides in the matrix at 0.662 MeV. The HVL values for ERB-20 and ERB-30 are 4.385 and 3.988 cm and this is lower than all the selected epoxy polymers., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Due to the present industrial world, the risk of radioactivity is notably increasing. Thus, an appropriate shielding material needs to be designed to protect humans and the environment against radiation. In view of this, the present study aims to design new composites of the main matrix of bentonite-gypsum with a low-cost, abundant, and natural matrix. This main matrix was intercalated in various amounts with micro- and nanosized particles of bismuth oxide (Bi 2 O 3 ) as the filler. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) recognized the chemical composition of the prepared specimen. The morphology of the bentonite-gypsum specimen was tested using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM images showed the uniformity and porosity of a cross-section of samples. The NaI (Tl) scintillation detector was used with four radioactive sources ( 241 Am, 137 Cs, 133 Ba, and 60 Co) of various photon energies. Genie 2000 software was used to determine the area under the peak of the energy spectrum observed in the presence and absence of each specimen. Then, the linear and mass attenuation coefficients were obtained. After comparing the experimental results of the mass attenuation coefficient with the theoretical values from XCOM software, it was found that the experimental results were valid. The radiation shielding parameters were computed, including the mass attenuation coefficients (MAC), half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), and mean free path (MFP), which are dependent on the linear attenuation coefficient. In addition, the effective atomic number and buildup factors were calculated. The results of all of these parameters provided the same conclusion, which confirms the improvement of the properties of γ-ray shielding materials using a mixture of bentonite and gypsum as the main matrix, which is much better than using bentonite alone. Moreover, bentonite mixed with gypsum is a more economical means of production. Therefore, the investigated bentonite-gypsum materials have potential uses in applications such as gamma-ray shielding materials.

The usage of radiation is mandatory for modern life; in the same manner, controlling the outflow of harmful radiation is vital and could be achieved via employing a shielding material to eliminate any potential nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents. Considering this point, this study aims to manufacture composite samples based on waste marble as novel radiation shields. The physical and radiation shielding ability of the prepared shields were determined and analyzed. For this purpose, a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector was used to detect the incoming photons emitted from three point sources (Am-241, Cs-137, and Co-60). The radiation attenuation factors for the new marble-based composites were measured for some energies, ranging from 0.06 to 1.333 MeV. We examined the effect of increasing the PbCO 3 and CdO contents on the physical properties and radiation attenuation factors of the newly developed radiation shielding absorber. We found that the density of the samples increases from 1.784 to 1.796 g/cm 3 when the CdO changes from 0 to 12.5 wt%. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) for all marble compositions has the maximum value at 0.06 MeV, while the LAC decreases with increasing energy. The highest LAC was found for Marb-3, with a composition of waste marble (50 wt%), polyester (25 wt%), PbCO 3 (17.5 wt%), and CdO (7.5 wt%). We studied the impact of the addition of CdO on the expense of PbCO 3 and we found that the half value layer (HVL) decreases with increasing the CdO content. Hence, when there is no space problem, the newly developed radiation shielding absorber can be used to maintain the cost effectiveness and environmentally friendliness of products.

The use of radiation is mandatory in modern life, but the harms of radiation cannot be avoided. To minimize the effect of radiation, protection is required for the safety of the environment and human life. Hence, inventing a better shield than a conventional shielding material is the priority of researchers. Due to this reason, this current research deals with an innovative shielding material named EKZ samples having a composition of (epoxy resin (90-40) wt %-kaolin clay (10-25) wt %-ZnO-nano particles (0-35) wt %). The numerous compositional variations of (epoxy resin, kaolin clay, and ZnO-nano particles on the prepared EKZ samples varied the density of the samples from 1.24 to 1.95 g/cm 3 . The radiation shielding parameter of linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), half value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), and radiation protection efficiency (RPE) were measured to evaluate the radiation diffusion efficiency of newly made EKZ samples. These radiation shielding parameters were measured with the help of the HPGe detector utilizing the three-point sources (Am-241, Cs-137, and Co-60). The obtained results exposed that the value of linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) and radiation protection efficiency (RPE) was maximum, yet the value of half value layer (HVL), and tenth value layer (TVL), were minimum due to the greater amount of kaolin clay and ZnO-nanoparticles, whereas the amount of epoxy resin was lesser. In addition, it has been clear that as-prepared EKZ samples are suitable for low-dose shielding applications as well as EKZ-35 showed a better shielding ability.

In this work, morphological and attenuation parameters of gamma ray protection were studied. Dimethyl polysiloxane (Silicon Rubber) Mixed with micro-size and nano-size lead oxide particles at different weight percentage were prepared. The morphological structure of PbO/SR composites was investigated by SEM test, according to SEM images the nano PbO particles are more uniform micro PbO particles. The radiation attenuation test was carried out using 3" × 3" NaI (TI) detector for (Am-241), (Cs-137), (Co-60), (Ba-133), and (Eu-152). The effect on attenuation property of SR-PbO shown that the increase of PbO filler significantly increases the linear attenuation coefficient and improve the other radiation protection parameters especially at low gamma energy. It's found that a significant agreement between the experimental result and theoretical result from Xcom program. In this study it's found matrix filled with nano-PbO have higher gamma shielding ability compared to micro-PbO matrix at the same filler concentration. It can say that SR-nano PbO has a higher radiation protection than SR-micro PbO compositions., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

For extensive radiation exposure, inventing a novel radiation shielding material is a burning issue at present for the purpose of life saving. Considering this thought, in this study, by adding sundry amounts of Bi 2 O 3 into pure high-density polyethylene (HDPE), six HDPE systems were prepared to evaluate the radiation shielding efficiency. These HDPE systems were HDPEBi-0 (pure HDPE), HDPEBi-10 (10 wt% Bi 2 O 3 ), HDPEBi-20 (20 wt% Bi 2 O 3- ), HDPEBi-30 (30 wt% Bi 2 O 3 ), HDPEBi-40 (40 wt% Bi 2 O 3 ), and HDPEBi-50 (50 wt% Bi 2 O 3 ). The values of the linear attenuation coefficients of the experimental results (calculated in the lab using HPGe) were compared with the theoretical results (obtained using Phy-X software) at 0.060, 0.662, 1.173, and 1.333 MeV energies. To ensure the accurateness of the experimental results, this comparison was made. It was crystal clear that for energy values from 0.06 MeV to 1.333 MeV, all the experimental values were in line with Phy-X software data, which demonstrated the research setup's reliability. Here, the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), and mean free path (MFP) shielding parameters were assessed. At the energy of 1.333 MeV, sample HDPEBi-0 showed an HVL value 1.7 times greater than that of HDPEBi-50, yet it was 23 times greater at 0.0595 MeV. That means that for proper radiation protection, very-low-energy HDPE systems containing 10-50% Bi 2 O 3 could be used; however, the thickness of the HDPE system must be increased according to the energy of incident radiation.