Influence of B2O3/Bi2O3 on the radiation absorption and nuclear safety of bismuth borosilicate glass system

Abstract

In the quest to probe the potential of (40-x)B2O3–39SiO2–(20+x)Bi2O3–1Dy2O3 (BSBD1 –BSBD4) glasses, their interaction parameter with multispectral radiation is calculated, analyzed and presented in this report. The FLUKA code was used to simulate photons, charged particles (electrons, protons, ?-particle, and carbon ions), and slow neutron cross sections of the glasses. In addition, the fissile and thermal neutron attenuation cross sections were evaluated through analytic expressions. The mass attenuation coefficient of the BSBD glasses varied from 0.0364 cm2/g to 68.9445 cm2/g for BSBD1, 0.0382 cm2/g to 80.1942 cm2/g for BSBD2, 0.0392 cm2/g to 87.5237 cm2/g for BSBD3, and 0.04001 cm2/g to 92.6780 cm2/g for BSBD4. Other photon attenuation parameters showed that the BSBD4 glass is the best photon attenuator. The range and stopping power of the charged particles also revealed that charged particle attenuation depends strongly on the density and Bi2O3 quantity. The neutron absorbing/shielding ability of the glasses showed a contrasting trend compared to photons and charged particles. While BSBD2 was the best fast neutron absorber, BSBD1 on the other hand, showed greater resilience to thermal and slow neutrons. Based on the analyzed data analyzed in this study, the BSBD glasses showed great potential for radiation protection ability. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd