Gamma-ray shielding and structural properties of PbO-SiO2 glasses

Gamma-ray attenuation coefficients have been determined experimentally using a narrow beam transmission method for the xPbO(1-x)SiO2 (x = 0.45-0.70) glass system at 662, 1173 and 1332 keV photon energies. These values have also been obtained theoretically using the 'mixture rule' and the 'XCOM' computer software. The results have been used to calculate half value layer parameters. Gamma-ray shielding properties of PbO-SiO2 glass samples have been compared with standard radiation shielding concretes. The molar volume, FTIR and acoustic investigations have been used to study the structural properties of the prepared glass system. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.