Search

This study investigates the naturally occurring radionuclides in Egyptian black sands collected from the Mediterranean Sea Coast, an area rich in sediments from the White Nile, Blue Nile, and Atbara rivers. The black sands mainly comprise two groups of minerals: the gangue group, consisting of quartz, feldspar, amphiboles, pyroxenes, epidote, and micas, and the economic minerals group, which includes magnetite, garnet, zircon, monazite, and uncommon commercial minerals like thorite. A gamma spectrometry with a NaI (Tl) detector was employed to analyze black sand samples for the presence of radionuclides. Additionally, radium equivalent activities (Raeq), absorbed dose rate, annual effective dose, gamma radiation hazard index (Iγ), external hazard index, internal hazard index (Hin), and lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) were calculated based on the measured activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K. This comprehensive analysis contributes valuable insights into the radiological properties and potential hazards associated with Egyptian black sands. Due to the significant radioactive risk associated with these black sand samples, specifically in the Mediterranean Sea Alexandria coastal area, must be considered while using them as building materials. Measured values include Ra-226 (56 Bq/kg), Th-232 (77 Bq/kg), and K-40 (55 Bq/kg). [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 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]

The mechanical behavior and gamma radiation attenuation features of borosilicate glasses with chemical compositions 16ZnO–8BaO-5.5SiO 2 -0.5Sb 2 O 3 -(70-x)B 2 O 3 /xBi 2 O 3 are extensively investigated. Makishima-Mackenzie principle, Monte Carlo code, and Phy-X/PSD software are utilized in terms of determining these properties. Our results showed that the total packing density (V t) decreased from 0.634851 to 0.571458, while the total dissociation energy increased from 26.612 (kJ/cm3) to 29.652 (kJ/cm3) for S1-glass (with 10 mol% of Bi 2 O 3) and S5-glass (with 30 mol% Bi 2 O 3). All elastic moduli are enhanced by increasing the Bi 2 O 3 additive in the investigated glasses. Poisson's ratio was decreased from 0.281226 for S1-glass to 0.256957 for S5-glass. In terms of gamma-ray shielding parameters; linear (μ) and mass attenuation (μ m) coefficients for the rich glass sample with B 2 O 3 (S5) possess the highest values among all investigated (S1–S5) samples. The glass sample S5 is reported with the lowest values of tenth (TVL) and half (HVL) value layers among all studied glasses. In addition, the exposure (EBF) and energy absorption (EABF) bulidup factors were decreased with increasing the amount of Bi 2 O 3 reinforcement for mean free path values from 0.5 to 40 mfp. The lowest possible levels of attenuation (minimum transmission) were measured at a thickness of 3 cm for all of the glass samples. • The mechanical behavior of borosilicate is intensively investigated. • Makishima-Mackenzie principle, and Monte Carlo code are utilized in terms of determining these properties. • Characterization of nuclear radiation shielding properties performed in-silico methods. • Obtained remarkably interesting results on B 2 O 3 –ZnO–BaO–SiO 2 –Sb 2 O 3 –Bi 2 O 3 glasses. • All the obtained results have been linked to their monotonical attitudes. [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]