Gamma attenuation characteristics of silicon-rich glasses in Na2O-SiO2-Al2O3-CaO-ZnO system for radiation applications

This study focuses on the investigation of the gamma attenuation properties of a 15Na2O-50SiO2-10Al2O3-(25-x) CaO-xZnO-1CeO2-1Yb2O3 (x = 0, 5, and 10 mol%) glassy system using Geant4 Monte Carlo and theoretical approaches. Geant4, a Monte Carlo simulation package, is employed to accurately model the interaction of photons with the glassy system involved. Additionally, theoretical calculations are utilized to obtain the attenuation parameters based on the elemental composition and density of the glass system by the helping of computer software. Such evaluated key attenuation parameters includes attenuation coefficients, energy deposition profiles, and transmission factors for different radiation sources and energies. Various configurations of the glass system, incorporating different compositions and thicknesses, are analyzed to optimize the shielding effectiveness. The results revealed that the replacement of CaO by ZnO in the composition of the present silicate glassy system lead to increase in the density and this impacts clearly on attenuation ability to be high. For example, the mu/rho values, at 15 keV, are 15.649, 18.286, and 20.831 cm2/g for the samples SiNaAl/CZ1, SiNaAl/CZ2, and SiNaAl/CZ3, respectively as ZnO increases from 0 to 10 mol%. The glass system under examination shows promising potential for radiation shielding applications in nuclear and medical settings. This research contributes to the development of efficient radiation shielding materials, facilitating the design of enhanced safety measures in nuclear and medical industries.