Studying the impact of CaO on the radiation-shielding properties of BaO–Na2O–Al2O3–B2O3–CaO glasses using Eu-152 energy source

A series of glasses with the chemical composition 15BaO–10Na2O–5Al2O3-(70-x)B2O3-xCaO, (x = 5, 10, 15 and 20 mol%) was prepared, and their radiation shielding characteristics were studied. The prepared glasses' basic attenuation factors were estimated using Phy-X program, utilizing the Eu-152 source. With the photon energy increasing from 0.122 to 1.458 MeV, a notable linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) decrease is reported. The LAC findings showed that the optimal photon shielding occurs low energy range, with LAC values at 0.122 MeV ranging from 1.334 to 1.431 cm−1 for compositions with x = 5 to x = 20 mol%, respectively. The results of the effective atomic number (Zeff) revealed an increase in the CaO content in the present glasses to cause an enhancement in the Zeff, with a noticeable increase in the Zeff from x = 5% to x = 20%, illustrating the impact of compositional changes on the material's shielding efficiency. Moreover, the prepared samples' half-value layer (HVL) was calculated for the energies emitted from Eu-152 source. The results demonstrated a reduction in the HVL with the addition of more CaO content, suggesting that increased glass density results in decreased HVL.