Novel metallic Bi-Pb–Cd-Ag alloys for shielding against neutrons and gamma rays

Abstract

Obtaining high-performance shielding alloys against mixed neutrons and γ-rays is vital in the field of nuclear radiation. In this work, shielding Bi-Pb–Cd-Ag alloys with superior thermal neutron shielding and high ability to attenuate γ-rays were developed. The microstructure, melting behavior, and mechanical properties of the prepared alloys were characterized. The γ-rays mass attenuation coefficients (μ⁄ρ) were obtained using WinXCom program in the energy range of 0.015–15 MeV. The shielding parameters including atomic and electronic cross-sections (σa and σe), effective atomic number (Zeff), effective electron density (Neff) were calculated. The exposure buildup factor (EBF) using a geometric progression (GP) fitting method was estimated. The experimental measurements were carried out at 662 and 1173, 1332 keV of 137Cs, and 60Co isotopes sources, respectively using a scintillation gamma spectrometer NaI(Tl) detector. The calculated results of WinXCom are consistent and in agreement with the experimental values of μ⁄ρ. The macroscopic effective removal cross-section (∑_R) of the samples for fast neutrons were calculated. Also, the attenuation of thermal neutrons through the prepared alloys has been investigated. It was found that the alloy containing 30% Cd complies with the compromise between superior thermal neutron attenuation besides its superior ability to attenuate γ-rays with good mechanical strength and high ductility.

Radiation shielding effectiveness, structural, and mechanical properties of HDPE/B4C composites reinforced with Fe2O3-Al2O3-Al-Fe fillers

“…Moreover, the choice of the shielding material is contingent upon the characteristics of the field in which it is employed. Lead, stainless steel, and concrete are primarily utilized for shielding purposes in several nuclear sectors [3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

Investigation of Radiation Shielding Capacities of Some Bismuth-Based Alloys

“…Bu yüzden yapılan araştırmalarda hâlihazırda sıklıkla kullanılan kurşuna alternatif olabilecek veya kurşun miktarı düşük yeni malzeme arayışları devam etmektedir. Bu amaçla gerçekleştirilen çalışmalarda kurşuna alternatif veya düşük miktarda kurşun içeren kompozit çeşitleri (AlMisned ve ark., 2021;Prabhu ve ark., 2022;Gilys ve ark., 2022;Özkalaycı ve ark., 2022), beton (Makarious ve ark., 1996;Azeez ve ark., 2019), cam (Al-Hadeethi ve ark., 2021ve 2022Al-Ghamdi ve ark., 2022;Chinthakayala ve ark., 2022;Elias ve ark., 2022), mineral (McCaffrey ve ark., 2007Agar, 2018;Mansour ve ark., 2020;Öztürk ve ark., 2022) ve alaşım (Singh ve ark., 2018;Akman ve ark., 2019aAkman ve ark., , 2019bAkman ve ark., ve 2022Levet ve ark., 2020;Abdel-latif & Kassab, 2022;Hamad ve ark., 2022aHamad ve ark., ve 2022bÖzkalaycı ve ark., 2022;Reda & El-Daly, 2022;Saad ve ark., 2022;Turhan ve ark., 2022) gibi malzemelerin araştırmaları devam etmektedir.…”