Comparative shielding properties of some tellurite glasses: Part 1

This article focuses on the shielding properties among 21 tellurite glass samples in the form of TeO2-A(n)O(m), TeO2-WO3-BnOm and TeO2-WO3-Er2O3-PbO where A(n)O(m) = La2O3, CeO2, Sm2O3, MnO2, CoO3, Nb2O5,BnOm = Er2O3, La2O3, Sm2O3 and CeO2 mol%. The mass attenuation coefficient, mu/pi have been computed within the energy range 0.01 MeV-20 MeV using WinXCom software. The obtained mass attenuation coefficients are then utilized to calculate effective atomic numbers, Z(eff), half value layers, HVL and mean free path, MFP. In addition, the macroscopic effective removal cross-section for fast neutron (Sigma(R)) values was also evaluated. In addition, variation of the shielding parameters is compared with other tellurite, borate and silicate glasses to explore the superior shielding properties of tellurite glasses from gamma rays than other glasses.