Is blast furnace slag suitable for the production of radiation shielding glass?

Abstract

This study examined the physical and radiation shielding properties of compounds formed by adding 0–50 wt % Bi2O3 to blast furnace slag. Physical properties: density included molar volume, oxygen molar volume, and oxygen packing density were calculated. The radiation protection properties of the prepared glasses were calculated theoretically using Phy-X/PSD software. Experimental shielding measurements were also made at some energy levels to verify the shielding values. The addition of Bi2O3 increased the composition density from 2.87 to 4.54 g/cm3. Mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) results showed increased radiation shielding performance with adding Bi2O3. While the highest MAC value for the pure composition was 1.222 cm2/g, the lowest was calculated as 0.054 cm2/g for the sample with 50% Bi2O3 added by weight. In addition, effective atomic charge (Zeff) and electron densities (Neff) were also determined, and it was observed that these values increased significantly with the addition of Bi2O3. Fast neutron removal cross-section values of the compositions were determined and compared with some commercial/alternative shielding materials.