Simulation of neutron shielding performance of Al-Cd alloy for radioactive waste container

Abstract

Neutron shielding material is necessary for the container of radioactive waste emitting neutrons, such as spent fuel from research reactor. This study aimed to determine the shielding performance of Al-Cd material for neutron radiation emitted by radioactive radiation. The calculations of neutron shielding were carried out using MNCP5 software. The Al-Cd shielding was simulated to withstand a neutron radiation source with 2.538×10−8 MeV energy and 4.5 MeV energy moderated with paraffin. The Al-Cd was simulated as a homogeneously-mixed alloy and Al coated with Cd. The results show that addition of Cd to Al increased the neutron shielding performance for thermal and fast neutron. With the addition of 10% Cd to Al, the neutron shielding performance increased by more than 90% for thermal neutron, and 30% for fast energy neutron moderated with 5 cm thick paraffin. It shows that Al-Cd alloy is potential for radioactive waste container which requires high neutron shielding performance.