Evaluation of gamma-rays attenuation competences for waste soda-lime glass containing MoO3: Experimental study, XCOM computations, and MCNP-5 results.

Abstract The present work aims to examine a waste soda-lime-silica (SLS) glass system containing varying amounts of MoO3 for its potential use in radiation shielding applications. A series of 4 different glasses (RG, RGM1 to RGM3) were prepared. The starting materials were precisely weighed and mixed homogeneously. The glass samples were then synthesized by melting the mixtures in a Au-Pt crucible via a conventional electrical resistance furnace at 1300 C. The fabricated glasses were analyzed by performing physical and chemical measurements. Some glass property calculations were done to reveal the effect of changing the contents of MoO3. According to the results, all the fabricated SLS glass samples showed an amorphous structure with a suitable transparent appearance. The density and refractive index values increased as the amount of MoO3 in the glass systems increased. Moreover, the gamma-ray shielding ability of the SLS glass network was evaluated experimentally using a NaI (Tl) detector. The measured values of the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) were confirmed using MCNP-5 simulation code and XCOM program. The LAC increased from 0.184 to 0.235 cm−1 when increasing the MoO3 ratio from 0 to 0.5 wt%, respectively. An agreement between the experimental measurements and theoretical calculations was achieved. The difference between the experimental and theoretical values was within 5 %. Based on the experimental LAC and other essential parameters, such as the half-value layer (∆0.5), mean free path (MFP), transmission factor (TF), and radiation protection efficiency (RPE), the radiation shielding ability of the investigated SLS glass system was determined.