In cooperation with the Iranian Nuclear Society

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Energy Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, P.O.BOX: 1114-14565, Tehran - Iran

Abstract

In this study, using the MCNP Monte Carlo code, the gamma-ray protection properties of the glass system with the composition of (55-x)Bi2O3-15Pb3O4-20Al2O3-10ZnO-xTiO2 with certain concentrations (35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 = mol percent) were examined by calculating the several parameters related to photon attenuation such as half-value layer (HVL), mean free path (MFP), mass attenuation coefficient (𝜇m), effective atomic number (Zeff) and buildup factor (BF) for different energies in the range of 1500-100 keV. To verify the simulation results, a comparison was made with the XCOM database. It was observed that the data extracted from the NIST-XCOM database and the MCNP simulation results are in reasonable agreement with each other. The percentage deviation (PD) between the data extracted from the NIST-XCOM database and the results obtained from the MCNP simulations was less than 0.59% in most cases. The results show that compared to conventional protective materials such as concrete and lead, the new composition shows more effective attenuation parameters in addition to physical properties. The glass with the highest concentration of TiO2 has the most favorable properties in terms of density compared to the investigated protective materials. In this study, one of the variance reduction methods was used in order to reduce the error in MCNP calculations. The agreement between the data extracted from the NIST-XCOM database and the results of the simulations of this study shows that Monte Carlo modeling is an effective method to investigate gamma-ray shielding characteristics.

Highlights

  1. A. Kumar, et al., Effect of PbO on the shielding behavior of ZnO–P2O5 glass system using Monte Carlo simulation, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 481, 604-607 (2018).

 

  1. T. Shams, M. Eftekhar, A. Shirani, Investigation of gamma radiation attenuation in heavy concrete shields containing hematite and barite aggregates in multi-layered and mixed forms, Construction and Building Materials, 182, 35-42 (2018).

 

  1. M. Sayyed, et al., Radiation shielding properties of pentaternary borate glasses using MCNPX code, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, 121, 17-21 (2018).

 

  1. M. Sayyed, et al., Comparative investigations of gamma and neutron radiation shielding parameters for different borate and tellurite glass systems using WinXCom program and MCNPX code, Materials Chemistry and Physics, 215, 183-202 (2018).

 

  1. H.O. Tekin, et al., Photon shielding characterizations of bismuth modified borate–silicate–tellurite glasses using MCNPX Monte Carlo code, Materials Chemistry and Physics, 211, 9-16 (2018).

 

  1. M. Sayyed, et al., Structural, optical, and shielding investigations of TeO2–GeO2–ZnO–Li2O–Bi2O3 glass system for radiation protection applications, Applied Physics A, 125(6), 1-8 (2019).

 

  1. F. Akman, et al., Investigation of photon shielding performances of some selected alloys by experimental data, theoretical and MCNPX code in the energy range of 81 keV–1333 keV, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 772, 516-524 (2019).

 

  1. N. Sabry, et al., Gamma-ray attenuation, fast neutron removal cross-section and build up factor of Cu2MnGe [S, Se, Te] 4 semiconductor compounds: Novel approach, Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 179, 109248 (2021).

 

  1. M. Dong, et al., A comparative study on gamma photon shielding features of various germanate glass systems, Composites Part B: Engineering, 165, 636-647 (2019).

 

  1. D. Gaikwad, et al., Physical, structural, optical investigation and shielding featuresof tungsten bismuth tellurite based glasses, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 503, 158-168 (2019).

 

  1. O. Agar, et al., Er2O3 effects on photon and neutron shielding properties of TeO2-Li2O-ZnO-Nb2O5 glass system, Results in Physics, 13, 102277 (2019).

 

  1. M. Kamislioglu, E. Altunsoy Guclu, H. Tekin, Comparative evaluation of nuclear radiation shielding properties of xTeO2+(100–x) Li2O glass system, Applied Physics A, 126(2), 1-16 (2020).

 

  1. M. Berger, NIST XCOM: photon cross sections database, http://www. nist.gov/pml/data/xcom/ index. cfm, (2010).

 

  1. A. Abouhaswa, et al., Examinations the optical, mechanical, and shielding properties of Ag2O doped B2O3–Bi2O3–SrF2–Na2O glasses for gamma ray shield applications, Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1-13 (2022).

 

  1. Y. Rammah, A. Ali, F. El-Agawany, γ-ray shielding features and crystallization of TiO2 borotellurite glasses, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 526, 119720 (2019).

 

  1. Y. Al-Hadeethi, M. Sayyed, BaO–Li2O–B2O3 glass systems: potential utilization in gamma radiation protection, Progress in Nuclear Energy, 129, 103511 (2020).

 

  1. Y. Alajerami, et al., Radiation shielding properties of bismuth borate glasses doped with different concentrations of cadmium oxides, Ceramics International, 46(8), 12718-12726 (2020).

 

  1. A. Asadi, S.A. Hosseini, Investigation of the gamma-ray shielding performance of the B2O3-Bi2O3-ZnO-Li2O glasses based on the Monte Carlo approach, Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 189, 109784 (2021).

 

  1. J.P. Kleijnen, A. Ridder, R. Rubinstein, Variance reduction techniques in Monte Carlo methods, (2010).

 

  1. Y. Rammah, et al., Responsibility of Bi2O3 content in photon, alpha, proton, fast and thermal neutron shielding capacity and elastic moduli of ZnO/B2O3/Bi2O3 glasses, Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials, 31(8), 3505-3524 (2021).

 

  1. A. Rabi'ee, S. Hosseini, Extraction of theoretical equation for the gamma ray buildup factor of the three-layered spherical shield, Journal of Instrumentation, 14(04), P04011 (2019).

 

  1. K. Mahmoud, M. Sayyed, O. Tashlykov, Gamma ray shielding characteristics and exposure buildup factor for some natural rocks using MCNP-5 code, Nuclear Engineering and Technology, 51(7), 1835-1841 (2019).

 

  1. F. Akman, et al., A comparative study on the nuclear shielding properties of BiBr3 and PbSO4 incorporated composites, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, 152, 109978 (2021).

 

  1. Y. Rammah, et al., Investigation of mechanical features and gamma-ray shielding efficiency of ternary TeO2-based glass systems containing Li2O, Na2O, K2O, or ZnO, Ceramics International, 46(17), 27561-27569 (2020).

 

  1. A. Sharma, et al., Simulation of shielding parameters for TeO2-WO3-GeO2 glasses using FLUKA code, Results in Physics, 13, 102199 (2019)

Keywords

  1. A. Kumar, et al., Effect of PbO on the shielding behavior of ZnO–P2O5 glass system using Monte Carlo simulation, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 481, 604-607 (2018).

 

  1. T. Shams, M. Eftekhar, A. Shirani, Investigation of gamma radiation attenuation in heavy concrete shields containing hematite and barite aggregates in multi-layered and mixed forms, Construction and Building Materials, 182, 35-42 (2018).

 

  1. M. Sayyed, et al., Radiation shielding properties of pentaternary borate glasses using MCNPX code, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, 121, 17-21 (2018).

 

  1. M. Sayyed, et al., Comparative investigations of gamma and neutron radiation shielding parameters for different borate and tellurite glass systems using WinXCom program and MCNPX code, Materials Chemistry and Physics, 215, 183-202 (2018).

 

  1. H.O. Tekin, et al., Photon shielding characterizations of bismuth modified borate–silicate–tellurite glasses using MCNPX Monte Carlo code, Materials Chemistry and Physics, 211, 9-16 (2018).

 

  1. M. Sayyed, et al., Structural, optical, and shielding investigations of TeO2–GeO2–ZnO–Li2O–Bi2O3 glass system for radiation protection applications, Applied Physics A, 125(6), 1-8 (2019).

 

  1. F. Akman, et al., Investigation of photon shielding performances of some selected alloys by experimental data, theoretical and MCNPX code in the energy range of 81 keV–1333 keV, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 772, 516-524 (2019).

 

  1. N. Sabry, et al., Gamma-ray attenuation, fast neutron removal cross-section and build up factor of Cu2MnGe [S, Se, Te] 4 semiconductor compounds: Novel approach, Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 179, 109248 (2021).

 

  1. M. Dong, et al., A comparative study on gamma photon shielding features of various germanate glass systems, Composites Part B: Engineering, 165, 636-647 (2019).

 

  1. D. Gaikwad, et al., Physical, structural, optical investigation and shielding featuresof tungsten bismuth tellurite based glasses, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 503, 158-168 (2019).

 

  1. O. Agar, et al., Er2O3 effects on photon and neutron shielding properties of TeO2-Li2O-ZnO-Nb2O5 glass system, Results in Physics, 13, 102277 (2019).

 

  1. M. Kamislioglu, E. Altunsoy Guclu, H. Tekin, Comparative evaluation of nuclear radiation shielding properties of xTeO2+(100–x) Li2O glass system, Applied Physics A, 126(2), 1-16 (2020).

 

  1. M. Berger, NIST XCOM: photon cross sections database, http://www. nist.gov/pml/data/xcom/ index. cfm, (2010).

 

  1. A. Abouhaswa, et al., Examinations the optical, mechanical, and shielding properties of Ag2O doped B2O3–Bi2O3–SrF2–Na2O glasses for gamma ray shield applications, Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1-13 (2022).

 

  1. Y. Rammah, A. Ali, F. El-Agawany, γ-ray shielding features and crystallization of TiO2 borotellurite glasses, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 526, 119720 (2019).

 

  1. Y. Al-Hadeethi, M. Sayyed, BaO–Li2O–B2O3 glass systems: potential utilization in gamma radiation protection, Progress in Nuclear Energy, 129, 103511 (2020).

 

  1. Y. Alajerami, et al., Radiation shielding properties of bismuth borate glasses doped with different concentrations of cadmium oxides, Ceramics International, 46(8), 12718-12726 (2020).

 

  1. A. Asadi, S.A. Hosseini, Investigation of the gamma-ray shielding performance of the B2O3-Bi2O3-ZnO-Li2O glasses based on the Monte Carlo approach, Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 189, 109784 (2021).

 

  1. J.P. Kleijnen, A. Ridder, R. Rubinstein, Variance reduction techniques in Monte Carlo methods, (2010).

 

  1. Y. Rammah, et al., Responsibility of Bi2O3 content in photon, alpha, proton, fast and thermal neutron shielding capacity and elastic moduli of ZnO/B2O3/Bi2O3 glasses, Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials, 31(8), 3505-3524 (2021).

 

  1. A. Rabi'ee, S. Hosseini, Extraction of theoretical equation for the gamma ray buildup factor of the three-layered spherical shield, Journal of Instrumentation, 14(04), P04011 (2019).

 

  1. K. Mahmoud, M. Sayyed, O. Tashlykov, Gamma ray shielding characteristics and exposure buildup factor for some natural rocks using MCNP-5 code, Nuclear Engineering and Technology, 51(7), 1835-1841 (2019).

 

  1. F. Akman, et al., A comparative study on the nuclear shielding properties of BiBr3 and PbSO4 incorporated composites, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, 152, 109978 (2021).

 

  1. Y. Rammah, et al., Investigation of mechanical features and gamma-ray shielding efficiency of ternary TeO2-based glass systems containing Li2O, Na2O, K2O, or ZnO, Ceramics International, 46(17), 27561-27569 (2020).

 

  1. A. Sharma, et al., Simulation of shielding parameters for TeO2-WO3-GeO2 glasses using FLUKA code, Results in Physics, 13, 102199 (2019)