Structural and nuclear radiation shielding properties of bauxite ore doped lithium borate glasses: Experimental and Monte Carlo study

In this work, (Li2B4O7)((100-x)) (Bauxite)(x) (x = 0,10, 20, 30 and 40%) glasses were fabricated by standard melt quenching method. XRD spectra of the glasses were acquired and amorphous structures were verified. The variation of density and molar volume of the bauxite ore doped glasses were examined. The mass attenuation coefficients were measured for 81, 276, 302, 356 and 383 keV of incident photon energies by utilizing transmission method, MCNPX code and WinXCOM program. The obtained results are in good agreement with each other. Other gamma-ray shielding parameters such as half value layer (HVL), and effective atomic number (Z(eff)) for the bauxite doped glasses were also calculated. Additionally, neutron transmission factors and neutron removal cross-sections of the produced glasses were also investigated to interpret the neutron absorption capabilities. It was observed that the obtained parameters changed according to the increasing bauxite percentage of the lithium borate glasses. 40% bauxite doped glass showed the superior gamma and neutron shielding features. The presence of Fe, Ti and Al elements in the Bauxite mine has improved the shielding properties of lithium borate glasses.