Evaluation of the radiation shielding capabilities of the Na2B4O7–SiO2–MoO3-Dy2O3 glass quaternary using Geant4 simulation code and Phy-X/PSD database

The important gamma and neutron radiation shielding parameters of the Dy3+ doped (65-x)Na2B4O7–15SiO2–20MoO3-xDy2O3 (x = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 mol%) glass quaternary system were investigated to provide decisive information for their application in radiation environment. Gamma and neutron attenuation properties of the glass systems studied here were evaluated in terms of the mass attenuation coefficient (μm), transmission fraction (TF), half value layer (HVL), mean free path (MFP), effective atomic number (Zeff), exposure buildup factors (EBF) and fast neutron removal cross-section (∑R) parameters. Investigation of the each aforementioned parameter was performed thanks to the utilization of Monte Carlo simulations along with the Phy-X/PSD database. The photon attenuation characteristics were evaluated for gamma ray energies varying between 0.284 and 5.0 MeV. This study indicated that increase of the Dy2O3 content from 0% to 20% mole, enhances the gamma shielding capability due to the increase of the parameters μm and Zeff. In this study it was also observed that ∑R increases from 0.099 to 0.107 cm−1 as the molar fraction of Dy2O3 increases.