Effect of Bi2O3 content on mechanical and nuclear radiation shielding properties of Bi2O3-MoO3-B2O3-SiO2-Na2O-Fe2O3 glass system

The melt quench method has been used to prepare the xBi(2)O(3)-(30-x) MoO3-40B(2)O(3)-20SiO(2)-9Na(2)O-1Fe(2)O(3) glass system, where x=15, 17.5, 20, 25 and 30 mol. %. In the energy range of 0.015-15 MeV, the mass attenuation coefficient (mu(m)), half value layer (HVL) and effective atomic number (Z(eff)) values have been calculated using MCNPX code for prepared glasses. Using the Geometric progression (G-P) fitting method the exposure buildup factor (EBF) and energy absorption buildup factor (EABF) have been computed. In addition, the removal crosssection (Sigma(R)) values for fast neutrons have been evaluated. Moreover, the mass attenuation coefficient for different compositions glasses have been calculated using XMuDat program and XCOM and have been compared with MCNPX values. The mu(m), HVL and Sigma(R) values of the investigated glass samples have been compared with the different types of concretes in other glass materials. Using the pulse-echo technique, the elastic moduli for glass samples have been measured. The glass sample 30Bi(2)O(3)-40B(2)O(3)-20SiO(2)-9Na(2)O-1Fe(2)O(3) shows the highest values of mu(m) and lowest values of HVL, which indicate that this glass composition is the most effective at radiation shielding.