Investigation of photon, neutron and proton shielding features of H3BO3-ZnO-Na2O-BaO glass system

The current study aims to explore the shielding properties of multi-component borate-based glass series. Seven glass-samples with composition of (80-y)H3BO3-10ZnO-10Na(2)O-yBaO where (y = 0, 5,10,15, 20, 25 and 30 mol.%) were synthesized by melt-quench method. Various shielding features for photons, neutrons, and protons were determined for all prepared samples. XCOM, Phy-X program, and SRIM code were performed to determine and explain several shielding properties such as equivalent atomic number, exposure build-up factor, specific gamma-ray constants, effective removal cross-section (SR), neutron scattering and absorption, Mass Stopping Power (MSP) and projected range. The energy ranges for photons and protons were 0.015-15 MeV and 0.01-10 MeV, respectively. The mass attenuation coefficient (m/r) was also determined experimentally by utilizing two radioactive sources (Ho-166 and Cs-137). Consistent results were obtained between experimental and XCOM values in determining m/r of the new glasses. The addition of BaO to the glass matrix led to enhance the m/r and specific gamma-ray constants of glasses. Whereas the remarkable reductions in SR, MSP, and projected range values were reported with increasing BaO concentrations. The acquired results nominate the use of these glasses in different radiation shielding purposes. (C) 2020 Korean Nuclear Society, Published by Elsevier Korea LLC.

Automated summary

The current study investigated the shielding properties of multi-component borate-based glass series. Seven glass samples were synthesized with varying BaO concentrations, showing that the addition of BaO enhanced the mass attenuation coefficient and specific gamma-ray constants while reducing other shielding parameters. These results suggest the potential use of these glasses in various radiation shielding applications.