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This work investigates the effects of TeO2 and B2O3 on photon, neutron, and charged particle transmission properties of Bi2O3-BaO-LiF glass system. Photon transmission parameters were obtained via narrow beam setup simulation via FLUKA and those obtained from experimentally proved XCOM calculations. The attenuation factors of $$ {\left(\raisebox{1ex}{$\mu $}\!\left/ \!\raisebox{-1ex}{$\rho $}\right.\right)}_{IS} $$ and $$ {\left(\raisebox{1ex}{$\mu $}\!\left/ \!\raisebox{-1ex}{$\rho $}\right.\right)}_{PP} $$ control the value of $$ \raisebox{1ex}{$\mu $}\!\left/ \!\raisebox{-1ex}{$\rho $}\right. $$ at energies greater than 1.5 MeV; however, the region of influence differs for both absorption processes. While $$ {\left(\raisebox{1ex}{$\mu $}\!\left/ \!\raisebox{-1ex}{$\rho $}\right.\right)}_{IS} $$ peaks occur at 3 MeV, the influence of $$ {\left(\raisebox{1ex}{$\mu $}\!\left/ \!\raisebox{-1ex}{$\rho $}\right.\right)}_{PP} $$ becomes appreciable at E > 5 MeV. The values of linear attenuation factor (μ) ranged from 0.2119–0.5283, 0.2085–0.5248, 0.1837–0.4676, 0.1639–0.4223, 0.1519–0.3971, 0.1370–0.3638, and 0.1222–0.3315 cm-1 as B2O3 increased from 0 to 60 mol % with step of 10, respectively. The spectra of projected range (R) of the ions and CSDA range of electrons show that the TSP of electrons in the glasses increases as B2O3 increased from 0 to 60 mol % for energy lower than 5 MeV; however, it reverses at 10 MeV. The ability of the present glass system for stopping the transmission of various radiation beams reveals its potential use for shielding applications in medical and nuclear facilities.

A quaternary glass system described by the composition 35Pb3O4–60SiO2–(5-x)ZnO–xWO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 5 mol%) was prepared via the ordinary method namely melt quenching. The amorphous state of this system was experimentally evaluated using X-ray diffraction. At room temperature, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was carried out to test the structure of each specimen by using the KBr technique for wavenumber of 4000–400 cm−1. The FTIR test demonstrated that structural units and connectivity of the modifier oxide tetrahedral increased, whereas non-bridging oxygen decreased as ZnO was substituted by WO3. The results of neutron transmission studies showed that 6 mm was the required thickness to reduce by half the intensity of the fast neutron beam; more specifically, the fast neutron transmission factor was 0.54, 0.53, 0.53, 0.51, and 0.49 for the prepared glass specimens G1, G2, G3, G4, and G5, respectively. For charged particles, the maximum range was observed in the high energy region (10 MeV) for all projectiles studied, with 8066.33 μm for electrons, 356.86 μm for protons, 39.30 μm for alpha particles, and 5.83 μm for carbon ions. The prepared glass system has promising features for use in various dosimetry and radiation protection applications at a neutron energy below 10 MeV.

Recently, many studies trended to develop new glass systems to serve for various radiation applications. In this article, we report on the radiation attenuation and shielding performance of the Er/Cd/Li/Gd/Si glass system in the chemical form of 50SiO2·30Li2O·(19 − x)CdO·1Gd2O3·xEr2O3 (here, 0 ≤ x ≥ 2.5 mol%). The shielding performance (LAC, MAC, MFP, EAC, HVL, EBF, EABF, and FNRC) is investigated by using the Monte Carlo method (via Geant4 simulations) and theoretical calculations (via Phy-X approach). The obtained results indicate that the Er2O3 addition has a significant influence on the attenuation performance of the present glasses. We also found that the maximum (minimum) value of MAC is obtained at photon energy of 15 keV (10 meV) with the corresponding value of 20.537 (0.028), 22.525 (0.0283), 24.44 (0.0287), 26.286 (0.0290), and 28.067 (0.0293) cm2/g for SLGC-E1, SLGC-E2, SLGC-E3, SLGC-E4, and SLGC-E5 respectively. This rivals the performance of commercial glass shields (RS-253), concretes (ordinary and barite), and recently developed and studied glass (TBZP10 glass). It can be concluded that the SLGC-E5 glassy material has promising attenuation properties to use for the radiation shielding applications.

The gamma-ray and fast/thermal neutron shielding properties of bismo-borate glasses modified with Nd2O3 in the form B2O3–Bi2O3–SrO-Nd2O3 (BBSN0.0-BBSN5.7) were investigated. The newly developed Phy-X/PSD software and Geant4 simulation code were performed to achieve this goal by evaluating several parameters such as MAC, gamma photons dose rate, FNRCS, and scattering/absorption lengths and cross sections for thermal neutrons. At low photon energy; 0.015 MeV, MAC values varied from 76.72, 76.57, 76.43, 76.29, 76.10, and 75.93 cm2 g−1 for BBSN0.0, BBSN1.0, BBSN2.0, BBSN3.0, BBSN4.3, and BBSN5.7, respectively. The HVL followed reversible trend as follows; BBSN0.0 > BBSN1.0 > BBSN2.0 > BBSN3.0 > BBSN4.3 > BBSN5.7. The highest values for Zeff were found at low energy photon range (0.015 MeV) with the values of 76.71, 76.35, 76.00, 75.65, 75.21, and 74.75, while the lowest values were found at 1.5 MeV; 21.32, 21.42, 21.52, 21.61, 21.73, and 21.87 for BBSN0.0 – BBSN5.7, respectively. The gamma dose rate has a dramatic decrease with increasing the glass thickness from 1 mm to 5 mm. Furthermore, glasses with the highest concentration of Nd2O3 show the best thermal/fast neutron shielding capability among the investigated glasses. One can conclude that BBSN5.7 glass owns the best shielding capacity among all BBSN glasses due to the highest LAC values comparing to other selected ones.

This paper examines gamma-ray shielding properties of SBC-Bx glass system with the chemical composition of 40SiO2–10B2O3–xBaO–(45-x)CaO– yZnO– zMgO (where x = 0, 10, 20, 30, and 35 mol % and y = z = 6 mol % ). Mass attenuation coefficient ( μ / ρ ) which is an essential parameter to study gamma-ray shielding properties was obtained in the photon energy range of 0.015–15 MeV using PHITS Monte Carlo code for the proposed glasses. The obtained results were compared with those calculated by WinXCOM program. Both the values of PHITS code and WinXCOM program were observed in very good agreement. The μ / ρ values were then used to derive mean free path (MFP), electron density (Neff), effective atomic number (Zeff), and half value layer (HVL) for all the glasses involved. Additionally, G-P method was employed to estimate exposure buildup factor (EBF) for each glass in the energy range of 0.015–15 MeV up to penetration depths of 40 mfp. The results reveal that gamma-ray shielding effectiveness of the SBC-Bx glasses evolves with increasing BaO content in the glass sample. Such that SBC-B35 glass has superior shielding capacity against gamma-rays among the studied glasses. Gamma-ray shielding properties of SBC-B35 glass were compared with different conventional shielding materials, commercial glasses, and newly developed HMO glasse. Therefore, the investigated glasses have potential uses in gamma shielding applications.

Effects of La2O3 addition on the mechanical and nuclear shielding properties of zinc borate glasses with the form (55-x)ZnO-45B2O3-xLa2O3: x = 0, 2, 5, and 10 mol% labelled as LZB1-LZB4, respectively were investigated. Bond compression (BC) model and Geant4 simulation code were utilized to achieve these objectives. The value of the bulk modulus (KBC) decreased from 153.116 GPa for LZB1 glass sample to 136.662 GPa for LZB4 glass sample corresponding to an increment of La2O3 from 0 to 10 mol%. Longitudinal modulus (LBC) decreased from 280.729 GPa to 249.610 GPa and the Young's modulus (EBC) also decreased from 238.11 GPa to 211.03 GPa for LZB1 to LZB4 glasses. Poisson's ratio (σBC) increased from 0.240 to 0.243 with the increase of La3+ ions in the LZB-glasses. Hardness of LZB-glasses was decreased from 16.578 GPa to 14.572 Gpa. The nuclear radiation shielding properties of the LZBx glasses were explored by utilizing Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations and different theoretical approaches such as ESTAR and XCOM platforms. The obtained values of mass attenuation (MAC) increased in the glasses in the order: LZB1

Effect of Er3+-doped ions on the mechanical, linear/nonlinear optical properties and radiation shielding features of $$\left[ {\left( {{\text{TeO}}_{{2}} } \right)_{{0.{7}}} \left( {{\text{ZnO}}} \right)_{{0.{3}}} } \right]_{{{1}00 - {\text{x}}}} \left( {{\text{Er}}_{{2}} {\text{O}}_{{3}} } \right)_{{\text{x}}}$$ at different molar fractions, x = 0 to 5 mol% (TZE-A to TZE-F) glasses were reported. Molar polarizability (αMol.) increased from 7.796 × 10−24 to 8.570 × 10−24 cm3, while the molar reflectivity (RMol.) increased from 19.647 to 21.598 (cm3mol−1) as the Er3+ ions content increased from 0 to 5 mol%. Metallization property (MCri.) varied from 0.235 to 0.192, while the transmission factor (TOpt.) decreased from 0.644 to 0.589. The dielectric constant (eSta.) varied from 7.503 to 9.404, the nonlinear refractive index n2Opt. varied from 1.680 × 10−10 to 4.187 × 10−10 esu. Gamma/beta shielding features of the chosen glasses (TZE-A, TZE-B, TZE-C, TZE-D, TZE-E and TZE-F) were investigated. Gamma radiation studies were achieved for photons up to 1.275 MeV, while the beta radiation studies were achieved for electrons up to 0.723 MeV. The gamma shielding investigation was performed using FLUKA and XCOM platforms. The beta shielding study was carried out via ESTAR program by estimating TSP for all the chosen glasses. From the view of practical application, it is found that the half value layer (HVL) and mean free path (MFP) values of the chosen glasses are evidently lower than those of ordinary concrete and Schott RS-253-G18 commercial radiation shielding glass, while they are higher than those of Schott RS-360 commercial radiation shielding glass at low energies.

This work aimed to investigate the mechanical features and radiation shielding properties of (100–2x)TeO2+xAg2O + xWO3 (where x = 7.5, 15, 22.5, and 30 mol%) glass system. Based on Makishima–Mackenzie's theory, the basic mechanical features such as packing density, Poisson's ratio, elastic moduli, hardness, and fractal bond connectivity were studied. The shielding investigations included the radiations of gamma, electron, neutron, and heavy charged particles. Geant4 toolkit and newly developed Phy-X program were employed to evaluate mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ), transmission factors (HVL and MFP), exposure buildup factor (EBF) and effective atomic number (Zeff) of gamma and charged particles for the studied glasses. Neutron shielding investigation was examined by determining neutron removal cross section (NRCS) of the glasses involved. The results showed that Ag2O and WO3 contents had an insignificant effect on the mechanical properties of the investigated glass system. In contrast, the Ag2O and WO3 contents had a significant effect on the shielding capacity of the glasses against gamma radiation and charged particles. The Zeff values were in the range of 24–60 for gamma, 24–31 for electron, 18–24 for proton, 15–23 for alpha, and 13–19 for carbon ion. The shielding properties of these glasses were compared with those of commonly used shields. The investigated glass system can be used in shielding applications, wherein Ag2O and WO3 contents can be balanced with the TeO2 content according to the type and energy of the radiation.

In this study, six newly developed glass systems with nominal composition of 50B2O3 − 20BaCO3 – 30Li2O3 – xNiO where (x = 0, 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15 wt%) have been prepared by conventional melting method. Structure, physical, optical, gamma-ray and neutron shielding features for the prepared samples were investigated. The amorphous nature was tested by using X-ray diffraction measurements for each glass sample. Density and molar volume were calculated. UV–Vis spectra of the prepared samples were observed in the range of 190–1100 nm. Band gaps for indirect transition (EOpticalIndirect) and for direct transition (EOpticalDirect) decreased from 3.02 eV to 1.89 eV and from 3.27 to 2.91, respectively. Index of refraction (n) takes values between 2.38 and 2.74. The static dielectric constant ( e S t a t i c ) varies from 5.70 to 7.53, while the optical dielectric constant ( e O p t i c a l ) varies from 4.70 to 6.53 for the proposed glasses. Mass attenuation coefficients ( μ / ρ ) were generated by using PHITS code and WinXCOM program in the photon energy range of 0.015–15 MeV for all prepared samples. The results of PHITS code and WinXCOM program were observed in good agreement. The μ / ρ values were then used to compute the gamma shielding parameters like the effective atomic number (Zeff), mean free path (MFP), electron density (Neff), and half value layer (HVL) for the glasses involved. Additionally, neutron shielding capacity of these glasses was estimated by determining removal cross sections for the fast neutrons. It was found that radiation shielding features were evolved by adding NiO content in the present glasses. It can be concluded that our prepared glasses are superior shields and can be used in radiation shielding applications as compared with different international shielding materials.

In this paper, we report on the radiation attenuation properties of the essential DNA nucleobases such as guanine, adenine, cytosine, uracil, and thymine. Gamma attenuation parameters such as linear attenuation factor (LAF) and effective atomic number (EAN) are investigated by using FLUKA simulation code for seven chosen photon energies named 0.6, 1.25, 1.5, 2, 3, 5, and 10 MeV. The validation of the simulation results is performed by using XCOM calculations. Moreover, neutron and charge particles attenuation properties are examined for the essential DNA nucleobases. We also compare the radiation attenuation properties of the essential DNA nucleobases to those of liquid water. Our results indicate that the maximum LAF is observed at 0.6 MeV with the value of 0.183, 0.134, 0.130, 0.110, 0.103, and 0.089 cm−1 for guanine, adenine, cytosine, uracil, thymine, and liquid water, respectively. At a given photon energy, the exposure rate (ER) follows the trend: (ER)liquid water > (ER) thymine > (ER)cytosine > (ER)adenine. At 10 MeV, total stopping power (TSP) of electron interactions with the essential DNA nucleobases are 1.952, 1.977, 1.994, 1.990, 2.013, and 2.149 MeVcm2/g for guanine, adenine, cytosine, uracil, thymine, and liquid water, respectively. Comparatively, TSP of electron

This study presents the shielding parameters for directly and indirectly ionization radiations of PCBBC glasses with the chemical composition: xPbF2–(25-x)CaF2–49.8B2O3–25Bi2O3–0.2Cr2O3 and coded as PCBBC1—PCBBC4 for x = 0, 5, 15, and 25 mol. %, respectively. Photon shielding coefficients were estimated by Monte Carlo simulation method via FLUKA code and by XCOM calculations for energies ranging from 0.1–10 MeV. In addition, the total stopping powers (TSP) and projected range (R) of electron ( e − 1 ) , proton ( p + ), alpha particle ( α ) , and carbon ion ( C + ) ) were used to investigate the shielding ability of the glasses against charged particles while fast Σ R and thermal σ T neutron cross sections were also estimated for the investigated glasses. For PCBBC1—PCBBC4, the photon linear (mass) attenuation coefficient varies from 16.346 (3.571)–0.170 (0.037), 17.151 (3.723)–0.173 (0.038), 20.128 (3.987)–0.194 (0.038), and 22.972 (4.209)–0.213 cm−1 (0.039 cm2g−1) respectively. At 10 MeV, the half value layer was 3.879, 3.782, 3.343, and 3.013 cm corresponding to PbF2 molar content increase from 0%–25% in the PCBBC glasses. Generally, effective atomic number (electron density) Z eff ( N eff ) vary with energy within the range of 18.49 −71.75 (2.93–11.37), 19.35–72.68 (2.92–10.98), 21.04–74.18 (2.91–10.25), and 22.70–75.34 (2.89–9.600 N A electrons/g). values of TSP and R follow the order: PCBBC1 > PCBBC2 > PCBBC3 > PCBBC4. Σ R changed from 0.09989–0.10358 cm−1 with PCBBC4 having the maximum value while σ T grew from 95.14954–113.45969 cm−1 for PCBBC1—PCBBC4 respectively. Compared to conventional glass shields PCBBC4 glass possesses superior shielding ability and it is a potential material for radiation shielding applications in emerging radiation-based technology.

In the present work, we have studied the effect of Sb2O3 addition on gamma, neutron, and charged particles attenuation properties of tellurite glasses in the chemical structure of 84TeO2 + xSb2O3 + 1V2O5 + (15-x)Nb2O5, where x is between 0 and 15 mol% with step of 5. Monte Carlo simulations (by using FLUKA code) were employed to investigate the gamma attenuation parameters for photon energies of 0.6, 1.25, 1.5, 2, 3, 5, and 10 meV. For every photon energy, the results of FLUKA simulations were theoretically approved using the XCOM approach. The obtained results show that the Sb2O3 addition increased the mass attenuation coefficient (µ/ρ) ranges from 0.03318 to 0.08003, 0.03334–0.08021, 0.03349–0.08038, and 0.03363–0.08054 cm2 g−1 for TSVN1, TSVN2, TSVN3, and TSVN4, respectively. For the studied glasses, the maximum (minimum) effective atomic number (Zeff) was obtained at 10 meV (1.25 meV) with corresponding values of 28.85 (21.58), 29.80 (22.27), 30.77 (23.00), and 31.78 (23.77). The exposure rate (ER) follows the trend: (ER)TSVN4 > (ER)TSVN3 > (ER)TSVN2 > (ER)TSVN1. Different effects of Sb2O3 addition were observed on the shielding properties for the thermal and fast neutrons. Finally, the influences of Sb2O3 addition on the attenuation features of the studied glasses were discussed in detail for charged particles such as protons, alpha particles, and electrons. It is concluded that the investigated glass specimens can be utilized for various nuclear applications as non-toxic shields against the radiation of gamma, neutron, and charged particles.

This paper reports the effect of lead oxide (PbO) on the optical properties and radiation shielding efficiency of Sb2O3–Na2O–WO3–PbO glasses. The optical properties of the glasses were tested by estimating molar refraction (Rm), molar polarizability (αm), metallization principle (M), optical transmission (T), dielectric coefficients (static and optical), and reflection loss (RL). Additionally, the gamma radiation shielding efficiency of the glasses was evaluated via the Monte Carlo method (Geant4 simulations) and the XCOM program. The mass attenuation coefficient (µ/ρ) and other related factors such as effective atomic number (Zeff), half-value layer (HVL), and mean free path (MFP) were calculated at the energy range of 0.25–1.25 meV. Furthermore, the dependence of radiation protection efficiency (RPE) on the thickness of glasses was discussed in detail. The results revealed that at 40 mol% of PbO, the optical transmission was 0.7774 and the reflection loss was 1.1997. A notable increase in RPE as the thickness of the glass changes from 0.5 to 2 cm. The gamma shielding efficiency of the glasses was compared with those of commonly used shields. The reported glasses showed superior properties to apply for radiation shielding applications.

In this paper, five barium borate glasses in the chemical composition of $$40\hbox {SiO}_2$$–$$10\hbox {B}_2\hbox {O}_3$$–xBaO–(45-x)CaO–yZnO–zMgO (where $$x = 0, 10, 20, 30$$, and 35 mol$${y}=z=6\,\hbox { mol}\%$$) have been reported for radiation protection applications. Mass attenuation coefficient ($$\mu /\rho$$) was obtained in the photon energy range of 356 keV–2.51 MeV using PHITS code for the proposed glasses. The $$\mu /\rho$$ values generated by PHITS code were verified by using both of FLUKA code and XCOM program. The $$\mu /\rho$$ values were then applied to derive effective atomic number ($${Z}_\mathrm{eff}$$), mean free path (MFP), and half value layer (HVL) for all the glasses involved. Additionally, the fast neutron removal cross sections were calculated for each glass. The results reveal that gamma-shielding properties evolve upon adding BaO content in the glasses. It is found that SBC-B35 glass has superior shielding capacity against gamma rays and fast neutrons as compared with different conventional shielding materials and commercial glasses.

The present study presents the preparation of a glass system with composition of 55B2O3 - 30Pb3O4- ( 15 − x ) Al2O3- x MoO3, where x : ( 0 ≤ x ≤ 5 mol % ) by melt quenching conventional method. The structure of the synthesized samples was examined by XRD and FT-IR techniques. It was found that the molybdenum acts as a modifier and enhances the change between BO3 and BO4 structural units. Increasing MoO3 in the sample improved the glass network compactness. The influence of MoO3 content was studied on several physical parameters such as inter-ionic distance (Ri), the polaron radius (rp) and internuclear distance (ri), B—B separation (dB-B) average coordination number, number of bonds, field strength of (Mo+3), and the floppy modes. Increasing MoO3 doping concentration from 0–5 mol % produced corresponding increase in fast neutron effective removal cross section Σ R from 0.07127–0.10825 cm−1, total cross section for thermal neutrons σ T from 68.35875–105.7526 cm−1, and an increment in the cold neutron scattering cross section. Furthermore, the influence of MoO3 doping in the glasses was such that the stopping powers ( S p ) and ranges RCSDA /Rp of electrons, proton, alpha particles, and carbon ion follows the trend: ( S p ) BPAM-G1 > ( S p ) BPAM-G2 > ( S p ) BPAM-G3 > ( S p ) BPAM-G4 > ( S p ) BPAM-G5, and (RCSDA /Rp)BPAM-G1 > (RCSDA /Rp)BPAM-G2 > (RCSDA /Rp)BPAM-G3 > (RCSDA /Rp)BPAM-G4 > ((RCSDA /Rp)BPAM-G5 respectively. On the other hand, the doping produced no noticeable differences in the equivalent atomic number and the exposure buildup factor of the glasses.

In this paper, a new glass system based on (55-x) B2O3-x Ag3PO4-45 ZnO-5 Na2O (x = 0.0, 5.0, 10.0 and 15.0 mol%) is synthesized via melt quenching technique and the corresponding glass specimens named as BZN-AP1, BZN-AP2, BZN-AP3, and BZN-AP4. X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-IR are employed to evaluate the structure of the samples. The XRD analysis shows that all glass samples are amorphous in nature. UV-IR shows that the increase in Ag3PO4 concentrations results in a red shift in the region of lower photon energy and the energy band gap decreases as the concentration of Ag3PO4 increases. The neutron radiation shielding’s characteristics such as neutron coherent, incoherent and absorption cross section and transmission factor NTF of the glass sample are evaluated. The value of the neutron transmission factor NTF reduced as the thickness of the glass specimen increases. The fast and slow neutron shielding ability of the present glass system reduced as the Ag3PO4 content increased. However, the increase in Ag3PO4 content decreases the coherent, incoherent and absorption cross sections. The results presented in this work demonstrate the pivotal role of Ag3PO4 content on the synthesis, structure, optical, and neutron shielding properties of (55-x) B2O3 – x Ag3PO4 – 45 ZnO-5Na2O) glasses.

The synthesis of alloys doped with a heavy element is proven to be a successful strategy to boost the shielding ability against ionizing radiation. In this paper, four compositions of Al-alloys doped with different weights of Pb are synthesised and studied for their physical features and nuclear radiation shielding characteristics. The produced samples are encoded as PbAl-1, PbAl-2, PbAl-3, and PbAl-4 for Pb content of 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80%, respectively. The gamma shielding characteristics of the produced alloys are investigated via Monte Carlo technique, XCOM theory, and gamma transmission experiment. Moreover, we studied the ability of the produced alloys to stop or attenuate the charged particles and neutrons beam. Finally, the radiation shielding ability of our produced alloys is compared with that of standard and commercial ones. Generally, the PbAl-4 alloy is found to be the best shield possessing the lowest MFP values among the other shielding materials in the whole selected energy region. As a result, these novel alloys show promising features to be used in a range of potential applications available in various medical and nuclear sites.

The melt-quench method was used to create our amorphous with the chemical formula 55 B 2 O 3 – 30 Pb 3 o O 4 – ( 15 − x ) Al 2 O 3 − x Mo O 3 , : ( 0 ≤ x ≤ 5 ) . The purpose of the article is to search and investigate the structural, mechanical characteristics, and radiation proficiency features of prepared glasses. The nature of these glasses has been tested using XRD analysis. Furthermore, the molar volume was obtained, and it decreased with the addition of MoO3 content while the density increased. The mechanical properties were enhanced of the current glass sample by adding MoO3 to modify the glass structure. The ultrasonic speeds ( v L , v T ) and L, G, Y and K of present glass were observed to improve. The radiation shielding performance of the produced glassy samples was assessed via Geant4 simulations and directly through the Phy-X/PSD software. Analysis of obtained results showed that the photon shielding proficiency of the present glassy specimens improved with the increase of MoO3 content. The calculated neutron removal cross section of the glasses grew from 0.07125 to 0.10822 cm−1 as MoO3 content rise from 0 to 5 mol%. The gamma ray and fast neutron absorbing ability of the glass with the highest MoO3 content was superior among the presently investigated glasses and some conventional shields.

This research article aims to study the neutron and charged particle attenuation properties of volcanic rocks collected from the western region of Saudi Arabia. The rock samples labeled as VR1, VR2, VR3, and VR4 were experimentally investigated by a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). The neutron transmission factor (TF) was estimated by using the Monte Carlo technique for different thicknesses varying from 0 to 3 mm. Moreover, we studied the charged particles' interaction properties with the present volcanic rocks for projectile energy up to 2.5 MeV. The obtained results reveal that the neutron TF decreased from 95.2, 95.8, 94.9, and 95.3 % at 0.5 mm to 74.4, 77.4, 73.4, and 75.1 % at 3 mm for the rock samples of VR1, VR2, VR3, and VR4, respectively. We found that the maximum projectile range (ℜ) occurred at the low energy region (0.2 MeV) for charged particle interactions. In comparison, the minimum ℜ occurred at the high energy level (2.5 MeV). Additionally, the values of ℜ come in the order of ℜ electron > ℜ proton > ℜ alpha > ℜ carbon with the minimum values of 185.6, 221.8, 178.8, and 189.8 μm in the case of the electron, and with the values of 0.696, 0.8141, 0.669, and 0.716 μm in the case of carbon ion for VR1, VR2, VR3, and VR4, respectively. This result revealed the VR3 rock sample as a superior shielding material against neutron beams and charged particles among the studied volcanic rocks.

In this research article, the radiation shielding properties of newly developed high Fe content amorphous alloys were reported. The chemical compositions of these alloys were Fe83B9C3Si4P1, Fe84B10C2Si2P, Fe85B8C3Si3P1, and Fe86B5C8P1. Monte Carlo simulation method was successfully used to study the problem of radiation propagation through theses alloys under suitable boundary conditions of vacuum. Our results indicate that MAC value decays as photon energy grows varying from 0.0997 to 0.0387, 0.0997–0.0387, 0.0998–0.0387, and 0.0998–0.0387 cm2/g for FBCSP1, FBCSP2, FBCSP3, and FBCSP4 respectively. However, gradual increase was observed in both parameters of mean free path (MFP) and half value layer (HVL) as energy increases. The maximum and minimum value of the effective atomic number (Zeff) was 23.09 and 22.97, 23.29 and 23.17, 23.41 and 23.30, and 23.4 and 23.29 for FBCSP1– FBCSP4 respectively. FNRC (Fast Neutron Removal Cross-section) values were: 0.1538, 0.1538, 0.1536, and 0.1561cm-1 for FBCSP1– FBCSP4 respectively. Moreover, an extensive comparison was reported between the radiation shielding proficiency of the studied alloys and that of the traditional materials. It can be concluded that, FBCSP alloys can conveniently replace the traditional materials in photon shielding application especially when space is a constraint.

This study focuses on the effect of Ag2O/V2O5 substitution on the radiation shielding ability of tellurite glass system with the chemical composition of xAg2O + 40TeO2 + (60 − x)V2O5 with 0 ( Γ ) x = 50 > ( Γ ) x = 40 > ( Γ ) x = 30 > ( Γ ) x = 20 > ( Γ ) x = 10 > ( Γ ) x = 0 . For all the charged particles, the projectile range was noted in the order of (R)x=0 > (R)x=10 > (R)x=20 > (R)x=30 > (R)x=40 > (R)x=50. Finally, we provide an extensive comparative study between AVT-glass systems and standard traditional materials. The obtained results suggest the sample of x = 50 mol% as the best photon, fast neutron and charged particle shield amongst the present glass systems. Hence, AVT6 could be used in radiation safety applications as a shield.

This paper examines the nuclear shielding characteristics for two different lead-zinc-tellurite glass systems with the composition of TeO2–Bi2O3 – ZnO–PbO and TeO2–Na2O – ZnO–PbO coded as series A and series B, respectively. Nuclear shielding features of these glasses have been tested in terms of mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ), half value layer (HVL), removal cross section (∑R), exposure buildup factor (EBF), effective atomic number (Zeff), and mean free path (MFP). The μ/ρ values of these systems were generated by Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations over an extended energy range of 0.015–15 MeV. The generated data of μ/ρ were confirmed by XCOM calculations. The results show that the nuclear shielding ability of the lead-zinc-tellurite system increases as Bi2O3 content increases in the glasses of series A and as PbO content increases in the glasses of series B. Moreover, the nuclear shielding ability of the current glass systems have been compared with those of some conventional shielding materials and commercial glasses. It can be concluded that the present lead-zinc-tellurite glass systems could be useful to serve as novel shields for nuclear protection applications.

The gamma-ray shielding properties, mass attenuation coefficient, mean free path and half value layer of lead tellurite glass systems were investigated in the photon energy range of 0.015–15 MeV using particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS) with the use of narrow beam transmission technique. The gamma shielding efficiency of studied glass systems was compared to that of standard concretes in terms of mean free path and half value layer. The obtained results show that PHITS is very capable for investigation of radiation shielding properties to good accuracy with maximum percentage differences of less than 2% comparing to the results by XCOM database. This will make a useful alternative technique for studying radiation parameters of other glasses, for which no experimental results are available.