Experimental Investigation of Radiation Shielding Competence of Bi(2)O(3)-CaO-K(2)O-Na(2)O-P(2)O(5) Glass Systems

The gamma-ray shielding features of Bi(2)O(3)-CaO-K(2)O-Na(2)O-P(2)O(5) glass systems were experimentally reported. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) for the fabricated glasses was experimentally measured at seven energy values (between 0.0595 and 1.33 MeV). The compatibility between the practical and theoretical results shows the accuracy of the results obtained in the laboratory for determining the MAC of the prepared samples. The mass and linear attenuation coefficients (MACs) increase with the addition of Bi(2)O(3) and A4 glass possesses the highest MAC and LAC. A downward trend in the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) with increasing the energy from 0.0595 to 1.33 MeV is found. The highest LAC is found at 1.33 MeV (in the range of 0.092–0.143 cm(−1)). The effective atomic number (Z(eff)) follows the order B1 > A1 > A2 > A3 > A4. This order emphasizes that increasing the content of Bi(2)O(3) has a positive effect on the photon shielding proficiencies owing to the higher density of Bi(2)O(3) compared with Na(2)O. The half value layer (HVL) is also determined and the HVL for the tested glasses is computed between 0.106 and 0.958 cm at 0.0595 MeV. The glass with 10 mol% of Bi(2)O(3) has lower HVL than the glasses with 0, 2.5, 5, and 7.5 mol% of Bi(2)O(3). So, the A4 glass needs a smaller thickness than the other glasses to shield the same radiation. As a result of the reported shielding parameters, inserting B(2)O(3) provides lower values of these three parameters, which in turn leads to the development of superior photons shields.