Lithium-boro-tellurite glasses with ZnO additive: Exposure Buildup Factors (EBF) and Nuclear Shielding Properties

Abstract

The effect of ZnO increment on lithium boro tellurite (Li2O-B2O3-P2O5-ZnO) glass structure was investigated with the study of gamma and neutron attenuation properties. The gamma-ray shielding effectiveness of materials can be understood with the help of several different shielding parameters that play an important role in understanding the shielding capacities of the material. The mass attenuation coefficients (µ/ρ) for Li2O-B2O3-P2O5-ZnO glass samples were calculated by using the XCOM program based on the DOS-based compilation XCOM. To compare the theoretical and simulation results of the mass attenuation coefficients of the samples, MCNPX (Monte Carlo N-Particle) simulation code was handled with the XCOM program in the energy range of 0.02 MeV - 20 MeV. In addition, effective atomic numbers (Zeff), electron densities (Nel), effective removal cross-section (ƩR) and the transmission factor (TF) for sample glasses, have also been examined in that energy range. In addition to these parameters the Half-value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL) and also mean free path (MFP) values were calculated by using the µ/ρ. Moreover, exposure buildup factors (EBF) was calculated at 0.015–15 MeV up to 15 mfp by utilizing the G-P fitting approach. The glass having 20 mol% ZnO was found to has better gamma-ray shielding properties among the investigated glass samples. As a result, sample ZL5 among studied glasses has marvelous attenuation effectiveness whereas sample ZL1 has the best neutron radiation shielding performance. The outcomes of the present extended research can provide significant information for the comparison of new generation shielding materials with conventional shielding materials used in ionizing radiation facilities.