Evaluation of Radiation Shielding Parameters of Different Metallic Glass Compositions for α, β, γ, n, and p Radiation

This study aimed to investigate the radiation shielding properties of six heavy metallic glasses (HMGs), focusing on their photon attenuation capabilities and the impact of density on shielding performance. The composition of the HMGs was as follows: (30B₂O₃ + 70TeO₂), (29.55B₂O₃ + 68.95TeO₂ + 1.5CuO), (40P₂O₅ + 38ZnO + 1CuO + 20Na₂O + 1Fe₂O₃), (40P₂O₅ + 38ZnO + 1CuO + 17Na₂O + 4Fe₂O₃), (88P₂O₅ + 2CoO + 10 K₂O), and (88P₂O₅ + 0.5Fe₂O₃ + 2CoO + 9.5 K₂O). The parameters computed include the mass attenuation coefficient (µ_m), linear attenuation coefficient (µ), effective atomic number (Z_eff), and fast neutron removal cross-section (Σ_R), exploring the relationship between the mean excitation energy of electrons and the density of the samples, total stopping power (TSP), and continuous slowing down approximation (CSDA) range. These parameters were computed for gamma-ray energy in the range of 0.015–15 MeV using Phy-X, XCOM, and Geant4 software programs. The ESTAR program was used to assess the beta shielding action of the glasses by calculating the TSP and CSDA. SRIM Monte Carlo software was used to calculate the range of charged ions at chosen energies between 0.01 and 30 MeV. Results show that the values of μ (ranging from 19.266 to 151.895 cm⁻¹ at 15 keV), μ_m, Σ_R, and Z_eff increase with the increase in glass density (2.43 to 4.373 g/cm³). Conversely, the half-value layer (HVL) decreases from 4.540 cm to 2.698 cm at 1 MeV as the glass density increases. BTC1 metallic glass exhibits the highest shielding capability, with μ reaching up to 151.895 cm⁻¹ at 15 keV γ-ray energy and a density of 4.373 g/cm³, and the lowest transmission factor (TF) of 0.01% at 1 MeV. TSP values for H⁺¹ ions at 0.08 MeV range from 226.184 to 550.130 MeV cm²/g, and for He⁺² ions at 0.7 MeV, they range from 661.703 to 1470.435 MeV cm²/g. CSDA ranges for H⁺¹ at 15 keV vary from 5.479 to 3.694 × 10⁻⁵ g/cm², and for He⁺², they range from 3.721 to 2.435 × 10⁻⁵ g/cm². These findings suggest that higher-density metallic glasses like BTC1 provide superior radiation shielding against γ-rays, neutrons, and charged particles, making them excellent candidates for advanced radiation shielding applications.