• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.1758-1771
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• 2017

In this study, to determine the most effective alloy for shielding against gamma-rays, the gamma-ray shielding parameters of six types of cerrobend alloys have been investigated. Gamma-ray interaction with the cerrobend alloys has been discussed mainly in terms of total mass attenuation coefficient (${\mu}_t$), half value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), effective atomic number ($Z_{eff}$), and effective electron density ($N_{eff}$). These parameters have been calculated by theoretical approach using the ParShield program in a photon energy range between 0.1 MeV and 100 GeV. The dependence of these parameters on the incident photon energy and chemical composition of the cerrobend alloys has been studied.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.2570-2575
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• 2024

The study aims to develop a novel, lead-free, flexible and lightweight composite shielding material against ionizing radiation. For this, it was used bismuth oxide (Bi₂O₃) in RTV-2 silicon matrix. The shielding tests were carried out in both diagnostic X-ray energies and intermediate gamma-ray energy range of up to 662 keV to determine the radiation attenuation properties of this material in terms of attenuation ratio, half value layer, tenth value layer, mean free path and lead equivalency of samples in weight of 30%, 40%, 50% in Bi₂O₃. In the diagnostic X-ray energy range, half value layer, tenth value layer and lead equivalency (in mm Pb) of the produced samples were measured at 80 and 100 kVp narrow beam conditions according to the requirements of EN IEC 61331-1 standard. The results show that lead equivalent values of the produced novel sheets was measured to be 0.16 mm Pb, corresponding to a 6 mm thickness of the flexible sample when it contains 30% wt. Bi₂O₃ in RTV matrix. The experimental findings for durability and flexibility also indicated that this new RTV-based flexible, lead -free shielding composite can be used safely for especially for manufacturing aprons, garments and thyroid guards used in mammography, radiology, nuclear medicine and dental applications in practice.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3470-3477
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• 2022

Soils are porous materials with high shielding capability to attenuate gamma and X-rays. The disposal of radionuclides throughout the soil profile can expose the living organisms to ionizing radiation. Thus, studies aiming to analyze the shielding properties of the soils are of particular interest for radiation shielding. Investigations on evaluating the shielding capabilities of highly weathered soils are still scarce, meaning that additional research is necessary to check their efficiency to attenuate radiation. In this study, the radiation shielding properties of contrasting soils were evaluated. The radiation interaction parameters assessed were attenuation coefficients, mean free path, and half- and tenth-value layers. At low photon energies, the photoelectric absorption contribution to the attenuation coefficient predominated, while at intermediate and high photon energies, the incoherent scattering and pair production were the dominant effects. Soils with the highest densities presented the best shielding properties, regardless of their chemical compositions. Increases in the attenuation coefficient and decreases in shielding parameters of the soils were associated with increases in clay, Fe₂O₃, Al₂O₃, and TiO₂ amounts. In addition, this paper provides a comprehensive description of the shielding properties of weathered soils showing the importance of their granulometric fractions and oxides to the attenuation of the radiation.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.61-75
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• 2014

This study aimed to investigate the suitability of some concrete components for producing "high-performance heavy density concrete" using different types of aggregates that could enhances the shielding efficiency against ${\gamma}$-rays. 15 mixes were prepared using barite, magnetite, goethite and serpentine aggregates along with 10% silica fume, 20% fly ash and 30% blast furnace slag to total OPC content for each mix. The mixes were subjected to compressive strength at 7, 28 and 90 days. In some mixes, compressive strengths were also tested up to 90 days upon replacing sand with the fine portions of magnetite, barite and goethite. The mixes containing magnetite along with 10% SF reaches the highest compressive strength exceeding over M60 requirement by 14% after 28 days. Whereas, the compressive strength of concrete containing barite was very close to M60 and exceeds upon continuing for 90 days. Also, the compressive strength of high-performance concrete incorporating magnetite fine aggregate was significantly higher than that containing sand by 23%. On the other hand, concrete made with magnetite fine aggregate had higher physico-mechanical properties than that containing barite and goethite. High-performance concrete incorporating magnetite fine aggregate enhances the shielding efficiency against ${\gamma}$-rays.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 2017

Background: Ionizing radiation is known to be harmful to human health. The shielding of ionizing radiation depends on the attenuation which can be achieved by three main rules, i.e. time, distance and absorbing material. Materials and Methods: The mass attenuation coefficient, linear attenuation coefficient, Half Value Layer (HVL) and Tenth Value Layer (TVL) of X-rays (32 keV, 74 keV) and gamma rays (662 keV) are measured in Barium compounds. Results and Discussion: The measured values agree well with the theory. The effective atomic numbers ($Z_{eff}$) and electron density (Ne) of Barium compounds have been computed in the wide energy region 1 keV to 100 GeV using an accurate database of photon-interaction cross sections and the WinXCom program. Conclusion: The mass attenuation coefficient and linear attenuation coefficient for $BaCO_3$ is higher than the $BaCl_2$, $Ba(No_3)_2$ and BaSO4. HVL, TVL and mean free path are lower for $BaCO_3$ than the $BaCl_2$, $Ba(No_3)_2$ and $BaSO_4$. Among the studied barium compounds, $BaCO_3$ is best material for x-ray and gamma shielding.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.1218-1224
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• 2023

We investigated the radiation shielding competence for TeO₂-V₂O₅-MoO₃ glasses. The Phy-X software was used to report the radiation shielding parameters for the present glasses. With an increase in TeO₂ and MoO₃ content, the samples' linear attenuation coefficient improves. However, at low energies, this change is more apparent. At low energy, the present samples have an effective atomic number (Z_eff) that is relatively high (in order of 16.17-24.48 at 0.347 MeV). In addition, the findings demonstrated that the density of the samples is a very critical factor in determining the half value layer (HVL). The minimal HVL for each sample can be found at 0.347 MeV and corresponds to 1.776, 1.519, 1.391, 1.210 and 1.167 cm for Te1 to Te5 respectively. However, the highest HVL of these glasses is recorded at 1.33 MeV, which corresponds to 3.773, 3.365, 3.218, 2.925 and 2.908 cm respectively. The tenth value layer results indicate that the thickness of the specimens needs to be increased in order to shield the photons that have a greater energy. Also, the TVL results demonstrated that the sample with the greatest TeO₂ and MoO₃ concentration has a higher capacity to attenuate photons.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.318-325
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• 2022

In this study, composites containing undoped and barium-doped Bi₂WO₆:Ba²⁺were investigated for their shielding against diagnostic X-ray. At first, Bi₂WO₆ and barium-doped Bi₂WO₆ were synthesized with different weight percentages of barium oxide through a hydrothermal process. The as-synthesized nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Raman spectroscopy (RS). After that, some shields were generated with undoped and barium-doped Bi₂WO₆:Ba²⁺ nanostructure particles incorporated into polyvinyl chloride (PVC) polymer with different thicknesses and 15% weight of the nanostructure. Finally, the prepared samples were exposed to an X-ray tube at 40, 80, and 120 kV voltages, 10 mAs and, 44.5 cm SID (i.e. the distance from the X-ray beam source to the specimen). Linear and mass attenuation coefficients were also calculated for different samples. The results indicated that, among the samples, the one with 7.5 mmol barium-doped Bi₂WO₆ had the most attenuation at the voltage of 40kV, and the attenuation coefficients would increase with an increase in the amount of barium. The samples with 15 and 17.5 mmol barium-doped Bi₂WO₆ had higher attenuation than the others at 80 and 120 kV. Moreover, the half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL) and 0.25 mm lead equivalent thickness were calculated for all the samples. The lowest HVL value was for the sample with 7.5 mmol barium-doped Bi₂WO₆. As the result clearly show, an increment in the barium-doping content leads to a decrease in both HVL and TVL. In every three voltages, 0.25 mm lead equivalent thickness of the barium-doped composites (7.5 mmol and 15 mmol) had less than the other composites. The lowest value of 0.25 mm lead equivalent thickness was 7.5 barium-doped in 40 kV voltage and 15 mmol barium-doped in 80 kV and 120 kV voltages. These results were obtained only for 15% weight of the nanostructure.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.247-256
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• 2024

The glass series modified by tungsten oxide was created using the compounds (75-x) B₂O₃- 10SrCO₃- 8TeO₂- 7ZnO - xWO₃, where x = 0, 1, 5, 10, 22, 27, 34, and 40% mole percentage. A UV-visible spectrophotometer and thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) methods were employed to characterize the specimen's optical and phase transition attributes, respectively. The mass-attenuation coefficient (AC) of all created glasses from BSTZW0 to BSTZ7 was estimated using Geant4 code from 0.05 to 3 MeV and compared to the XCOM software results, with a relative difference of less than 2% between the two results. The increase of WO₃ percentage lead to an increase in the Linear-AC at each studied energy, and this is mainly due to the fact that the higher the percentage of WO₃ in the glass increases its density which causes an increase in the Linear-AC, so an energy of 0.06 MeV, as an example, the values of the Linear-AC was 4.009, 4.509, 5.442, 6812, 8.564, 9.856, 10.999 and 11.628 cm^-1 form BSTZW0 too BSTZW7, respectively. The Half-VL (value layer), Mean-FP (free path), Tenth-VL, and Radiation attenuation performance (RAP) were also calculated for the current BSTZW-glass samples and revealed that BSTZW7 had the best gamma ray attenuation performance at all discussed energies when compared to other studied glass samples.