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This research examines the effects of varying titanium oxide (TiO 2) concentrations in glass formulations, denoted as [(53-x)B 2 O 3 –7MgO–20BaF 2 –20Na 2 O-xTiO 2 ] or BMBNTix, where x varies from 0 to 8 mol% in 2 % increments, on optical properties and radiation shielding effectiveness. Using MCNP5 (MC) Monte Carlo simulations and Phy-X software, this study assesses a range of photon energies from 0.015 to 15 MeV, focusing on key radiation shielding metrics such as the linear attenuation coefficient (μ), the half-value layer (HVL), and the tenth value layer (TVL). The results reveal a clear relationship between increased TiO 2 levels in the BMBNTix glasses and improved radiation shielding performance. Notably, the linear attenuation coefficient (μ) steadily climbs from BMBNTi0 to BMBNTi8, highlighting the beneficial effect of a TiO 2 addition to the material's ability to attenuate radiation. This trend is inversely mirrored in HVL values, which decrease from 0.010 cm for BMBNTi0 to 7.646 cm for BMBNTi8, reflecting enhanced shielding efficiency over the entire studied photon energy range. The effective atomic number (Z eff) also showcases a dynamic range from 40.793 to 15.101, suggesting a complex relationship between TiO 2 content and photon interaction. Moreover, the study indicates a slight but consistent increase in the fast neutron removal cross-section (Σ R) from 0.104 cm−1 for BMBNTi0 to 0.106 cm−1 for BMBNTi8, pointing to improved neutron shielding with greater Ti and oxygen content in the glass. These insights highlight the potential of TiO 2 -enriched magnesium borate glasses as superior options for effective photon and neutron shielding, particularly in nuclear medicine, emphasizing their role in enhancing radiation safety measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the interest of obtaining new polyester, heavy metal oxides PbCO3, Bi2O3, and CdO with numerous ratios have been added to the polyester resin. Five samples of labeled PR-1, PR-2, PR-3, PR-4, and PR-5 were prepared for this study. The values of linear attenuation coefficients (LAC) of the new polyester samples were measured using an HPGe detector. In the interest of ensuring the experimental setup, the value of LAC obtained from the HPGe detector as well as the value of LAC calculated using Phy-X software, have both been placed in one graph, which revealed a consistent result. The experimental value of those new polyester samples has been measured within the energy region 0.06–1.332 MeV, whereas the theoretical values have been calculated within the energy limit of 0.015–15 MeV. The results of all the new polyester samples showed an uplifting trend according to the rising energy at 0.06, 0.66, 1.17, and 1.33 MeV. At energy 0.06 MeV, sample PR-5 (ρ = 2.180 g/cm3) showed the lowest half value layer (HVL) among the polyester samples. This result is due to the addition of Bi2O3 and CdO into the samples' composition, increasing their density and enhancing the polyester's reduction ability. Considering the measured shielding parameters studied herein, it has been found that sample PR-5 (50 wt% Polymer resin, 25 wt% Bi2O3, 25 wt% CdO) had the highest shielding ability compared with the rest of the polyester samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this investigation, the photons shielding factors for tungsten tellurite glasses with the yWO3–(90 − y)TeO2–10Na2O (y = 05, 10, 15 and 20 mol%), were reported. The penetration and attenuation factors for this system at various energies were reported using the Phy-X/PSD program. With increasing energy, it is observed that the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) values, which range from 1.087–0.234 cm−1 (for TWN1) to 1.354–0.248 cm−1 (for TWN4), decrease exponentially. The LAC values were found to increase with the addition of WO3 from 1.087 to 1.354 cm−1 at 0.245 MeV and from 0.515 to 0.586 cm−1 at 0.444 MeV. Additionally, the greater potential for photon interactions at higher WO3 concentrations was indicated by the findings of the effective atomic number (Zeff) calculation. According to the obtained results, the maximal Zeff occurred at 0.284 MeV, which is equivalent to 32.53 for TWN1 and 36.89 for TWN4. The half value layer (HVL) for the samples under consideration between 0.245 and 1.458 MeV has been determined using the Phy-X/PSD. The HVL results demonstrated that at 0.284 MeV, more gamma rays are shielded whereas the potential of photon shielding decreases as energy increases. The tenth value layer (TVL) increased with rising energy and decreased with rising WO3 concentrations. TVL for TWN4 is the lowest (1.701 cm at 0.245 MeV and 9.284 cm at 1.458 MeV). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have attempted to develop the gamma radiation shielding abilities of newly prepared epoxy composites by introducing ZrO2. The radiation shielding parameters are experimentally reported below. The experimental setup included an HPGe detector and different radioactive point sources which emitted photons with energies of 0.06, 0.662, 1.173, and 1.333 MeV. The gamma radiation shielding abilities of the epoxy composites were examined in the context of the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), half-value layer (HVL), radiation absorption ratio, and other factors. The experimental and Phy-X results for the LAC were compared, and acceptable consistency was reported. The lowest LAC values were reported for EBZr-0 (free of ZrO2), and we found that the photon attenuation competence of the present epoxy improved as a result of increasing the ZrO2 content. We compared the LAC values for the present epoxy composites with other samples, and we found that the prepared composites with 20% to 40% ZrO2 had higher LAC values than epoxy with 30% Yahyali Stone. The HVL lengths of the epoxy composites reduced with the addition of ZrO2 for the four selected energies, which confirmed that introducing ZrO2 improves the radiation absorption abilities of epoxy composites. At 0.06 MeV, the HVL for the ZrO2-free epoxy was 2.60 cm, which fell to 0.23 cm after adding 40% ZrO2. The mean free path (MFP) for the prepared composites was less than 1 cm at 0.06 MeV (standard for EBZr-0), while it was 1.32 cm for EBZr-10. For the other energies, it was higher than 6 cm, and became higher than 10 cm at 1.333 MeV for all composites. The obtained results suggest that non-toxic, natural, and cheap epoxy composites with high ZrO2 content have the potential to improve the gamma ray shielding competence of epoxy composites for low energy radiation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current study is to investigate the impact of introducing micro- and nanoparticle MgO as a filler into epoxy resin on the radiation shielding abilities of the prepared samples. To this end, we performed a gamma-radiation spectroscopy experiment with the help of an HPGe detector and Am-241, Cs-137, and Co-60 sources. We evaluated the particle size effect (PSE) and detected the maximum PSE value with the addition of 50 wt% MgO particles, indicating that nanoparticle MgO was more successful in shielding against incoming radiation than microparticle MgO. We compared the half-value layer (HVL) for the samples with 10 wt%, 20 wt%, and 30 wt % micro-MgO and nano-MgO and found that the HVL values were lower for the nanoparticle samples than for the microparticles samples, confirming that smaller particle sizes enhanced the shielding ability of the samples against radiation. The MFP results showed that epoxy matrices containing micro-MgO, for all investigated energies, resulted in higher MFP values that those containing nano-MgO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aims to investigate the radiation shielding properties of mortar samples with Fe2O3 nanoparticles for radiation protection applications. For the reference mortar (free Fe2O3 nanoparticles) and the mortar with different concentrations of Fe2O3 nanoparticles, we experimentally measured the transmission factor (I/I0) for four different thicknesses of the prepared mortar. The I/I0 results indicated that the transmission of the photons through the mortars decreases with increases in the mortar's thickness. The lowest TF was found for the mortar coded as MI-25 (contains 25 wt.% of Fe2O3 nanoparticles), which gives an indication about the development in the attenuation ability of the prepared mortar samples due to the addition of Fe2O3. Similarly, the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) results showed an increasing trend with the addition of Fe2O3 nanoparticles for the four tested energies. These results confirm that increasing the ratio of Fe2O3 nanoparticles can lead to a remarkable improvement in the gamma ray shielding. We reported the half value layer (HVL) and we found that the HVL for the reference mortar at 0.06 MeV is 1.223 cm, while it changed from 1.19 to 1.074 cm for the mortar with 5 and 25 wt.% of Fe2O3 nanoparticles. The HVL results demonstrated that increasing the ratio of Fe2O3 nanoparticles can lead to a notable reduction in the HVL. The tenth value layer results proved that we can develop new mortars for radiation shielding applications by introducing more concentrations of Fe2O3 nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glass gained much attention to be utilized in various applications, for this reason different kinds of glass compositions was the subject of investigation. In this work, we successfully fabricated a series of tellurite–germanate glasses with a composition of (70-x)TeO2–10GeO2–10ZnO–10Li2O–xBi2O3, where x = 0, 5, 10 and 15 (all in mol%). Ordinary melt-quenching was used to synthesize the mentioned glass series with 975 °C as a melting temperature for 30 min and 300 °C for annealing to release the internal stress. To study the structural properties of these glasses, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to confirm the glassy structure of these glasses. Regarding that, XRD profiles were recorded in ranges between 10° and 80° for all samples. Moreover, FTIR was employed to study the functional groups of all elements, which were used in the composition with the range of 4000–400 cm−1. Optical absorption was used to investigate the cutoff wavelength and optical band gap. Optical absorption was measured at the range of 200–800 nm. The variation of the attenuation properties for the tested tellurite–germanate glasses has been investigated using WinXcom software for photon energy ranges between 0.015 and 15 MeV. The examined attenuation properties include linear and mass attenuation coefficients, half value layer and mean free path, and effective atomic number of the radiation shielding glass. The present results suggest the utilization of the new prepared glass samples in radiation shielding applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the radiation shielding features of ball clay-cement-iron slag as an alternative to concrete. Using a variety of cement, ball clay, and iron slag compositions, six samples were fabricated. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) was experimentally reported using three point sources (Am-241, Cs-137and Co-60) and a HPGe detector. The results show that the LAC Exp and LAC XCOM values for the ball clay-cement-iron slag composites harmonized well. For the composite, the difference between the LAC values for the composite, 0.06 MeV, is notable; at the same time, they are almost negligible at 0.662 and 1.173 MeV. At 0.06 MeV, the difference between the LAC, from C1 and C6 is 0.56; yet, it is only 0.017 and 0.013 at 0.662 and 1.173 MeV. The LAC results confirm that adding iron slag to the prepared composites has a positive impact on their radiation attenuation competence. The composite's half value layer (HVL) at 0.06 MeV is reduced by about half when the iron slag content changes by 50 w.t%. According to the HVL results, the current alteration to iron slag contents reduces the influence of gamma photons. • The LAC of ball clay-cement- iron slag composites were reported. • A good harmony was reported between the LAC Exp and LAC XCOM values. • The Z eff for the prepared ball clay-cement- iron slag composites were determined. • The LAC was increased with adding iron slag to the composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, six borate-bismuth glasses have been synthesized using a conventional melt-quenching-aneling process with a composition of (80-x)B 2 O 3 10ZnO 10MgO-xBi 2 O 3 where x = 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 mol%. The glasses were melted at 975 °C for 30 min and annealed at 300 °C for 5 h. Different physical properties of these glasses have been measured and estimated. X-ray diffraction has been utilized to investigate the structural nature of these glasses. Optical absorption and transmittance spectra have been measured for all samples in the range of 300–800 nm at room temperature. The cutoff wavelength of all glass samples was determined. In addition, the radiation shielding characterization for the glass samples was done by calculating the linear and mass attenuation coefficients, mean free path, and half value layer of the photon energy ranges between 0.015 and 15 MeV using MicroShield. It was found that the glass with the highest Bi 2 O 3 content showed the best performance in attenuating gamma radiation by exhibiting the highest linear attenuation coefficient and both lowest mean free path and half value layer due to its high density of 7.107 g/cm3. • B 2 O 3 ZnO MgO Bi 2 O 3 glasses were prepared by conventional melt-quenching method. • Optical absorption has been measured for all samples in the range of 300–800 nm. • The radiation shielding parameters were reported using MicroShield. • Bi60 sample showed the best performance in attenuating gamma radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]