Neutron shielding materials are widely used in aviation, medical treatment, nuclear reactor and other fields. Neutrons is difficult to shield because of their high energy. With the development of neutron shielding materials, different kinds of shielding materials have been developed. Compared with other kinds of materials, composite material is an ideal candidate for neutron shielding material because of their outstanding physical and chemical properties. Therefore, a lot of researchers continue exploring and preparing novel composite neutron shielding materials to meet the complex working conditions. This paper summarized the research status of different neutron shielding materials in recent years, mainly including inorganic non-metallic based neutron shielding materials, polymer based neutron shielding materials, metal based neutron shielding materials, beside for composite shielding materials. Moreover, the existing problems in the research of shielding materials and the possible future development direction are put forward.

Fiberglass porous ceramics were successfully prepared via a foam‐gelcasting process with fiberglass and glass particles. The effects of fiber content on the rheology of foaming slurries and the structure and mechanical properties of as‐prepared porous ceramics were investigated. The results showed that as the ratio of fiberglass to glass particles increased, the thixotropy of slurries decreased, which affected the foamability of slurries. When the ratio of fiberglass to particle was 75:25, the slurries exhibited excellent flowability and outstanding foamability, which was beneficial to optimize the structure of pores and improve the properties of the porous ceramics. The porosity, compressive strength, and thermal conductivity of porous ceramics with a content of 75 wt.% fiberglass treated at 750°C were 78.3%, 2.15 MPa, and .11 W/(m·K) (room temperature), respectively. Therefore, the prepared porous ceramics with a ratio of fiberglass to particle 75:25 were regarded as an ideal candidate for thermal insulation materials.

Fiberglass porous ceramics were prepared via a foam-gelcasting method. The relationship between the rheology of the slurries and the structure of the specimens was investigated. The results show that when the content of the dispersant was 0.25 wt %, the slurries exhibit excellent fluidity. The thixotropic behavior of the slurries was strongly influenced by the content of the foam stabilizer agent and solid content. Furthermore, as the fluidity of the foaming slurries increased, the size of the pores increased. At the same time, the thickness of the pore walls decreased gradually. In addition, promoting the uniform distribution of the pore size by improving the thixotropic behavior of the foaming slurries was beneficial. The optimal foaming slurry was composed of 65 wt % fiberglass, 0.25 wt % dispersant, and 0.1 wt % foam stabilizer agent. After calcination at 750 °C, fiberglass porous ceramics with 78.3% porosity, 2.2 MPa compressive strength, and 0.11 W m −1 K −1 thermal conductivity were obtained.

No abstract