Abstract
The mechanical and gamma radiation shielding properties of the B2O3-TeO2-Al2O3-ZnO-MgO-Li2O glass system were investigated. In the glass matrix, TeO2 was substituted for B2O3 in amounts ranging from 10 to 60 mol%. The glasses had Young's modulus of 45-87 GPa, a bulk modulus of 32-77 GPa, a shear modulus of 18-33 GPa, and a longitudinal modulus of 56-121 GPa. The role of TeO2 in transforming bridging oxygens into non-bridging oxygens was established by the decreasing elastic moduli and increasing molar volume with successive TeO2 additions. EpiXs software was used to investigate the changes in the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) with varying photon energy and TeO2 content. The ratio of the mean free path (MFP) of the glasses with the lowest and highest TeO2 contents at various energies was investigated. The glass with the highest content of TeO2 had the smallest half-value layer (HVL) and tenth value layer (TVL), making it the best attenuator of all samples evaluated. The radiation shielding parameters of the titled glass system were compared to those of various similar glass systems, and the results indicated that the titled glass system may be used in radiation shielding.