Experimental and Theoretical Study of Radiation Shielding Features of CaO-K(2)O-Na(2)O-P(2)O(5) Glass Systems

The gamma radiation shielding ability for CaO-K(2)O-Na(2)O-P(2)O(5) glasses were experimentally determined between 0.0595 and 1.41 MeV. The experimental MAC results were compared with theoretical results obtained from the XCOM software to test the accuracy of the experimental values. Additionally, the effect of increasing the P(2)O(5) in the glass composition, or reducing the Na(2)O content, was evaluated at varying energies. For the fabricated glasses, the experimental data strongly agreed with the XCOM results. The effective atomic number (Z(eff)) of the fabricated glasses was also determined. The Z(eff) values start out at their maximum (12.41–12.55) at the lowest tested energy, 0.0595 MeV, and decrease to 10.69–10.80 at 0.245 MeV. As energy further increases, the Z(eff) values remain almost constant between 0.344 and 1.41 MeV. The mean free path (MFP) of the fabricated glasses is investigated and we found that the lowest MFP value occurs at the lowest tested energy, 0.0595 MeV, and lies within the range of 1.382–1.486 cm, while the greatest MFP can be found at the highest tested energy, 1.41 MeV, within the range of 8.121–8.656 cm. At all energies, the KCNP40 sample has the lowest MFP, while the KCNP60 sample has the greatest. The half value layer (HVL) for the KCNP-X glasses is determined. For all the selected energies, the HVL values follow the order of KCNP40 < KCNP45 < KCNP50 < KCNP55 < KCNP60. The HVL of the KCNP50 sample increased from 0.996 to 2.663, 3.392, 4.351, and 5.169 cm for energies of 0.0595, 0.245, 0.444, 0.779, and 1.11 MeV, respectively. The radiation protection efficiency (RPE) results reveal that decreasing the P(2)O(5) content in the glasses improves the radiation shielding ability of the samples. Thus, the KCNP40 sample has the best potential for photon attenuation applications.