Comparative Study of Micro and Nano Size WO₃/E44 Epoxy Composite as Gamma Radiation Shielding Using MCNP and Experiment

Abstract

The radiation shielding characteristics of 50 wt% WO3/E44 epoxy composite in various gamma energies from 80 keV to 1.33 MeV are investigated via the MCNP code. Thus two scales are considered for WO3 filler particles: micro and nano with sizes of and 50 nm, respectively. The simulation results show that WO3 nano particles exhibit a larger increase in linear attenuation coefficient in comparison with micro size particles. Finally, validation of simulation results with the published experimental data shows a good agreement.

Nano-structured natural bentonite clay coated by polyvinyl alcohol polymer for gamma rays attenuation

“…Moreover, some studies have been carried out on the effect of shielding materials grain size on linear attenuation coefficients. It is widely believed that nano-sized particles are able to disperse more uniformly within the matrix with fewer agglomerations when compared with micro-sized particles, thus improving the radiation attenuation ability of the materials [49]. As mentioned before, the particle size of the natural bentonite clay was measured to be 59.79 nm.…”

A Monte Carlo Study on the Shielding Properties of a Novel Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA)/WO3 Composite, Against Gamma Rays, Using the MCNPX Code

“…Similar studies showed that the WO 3 filler with a weight percentage of 50 wt% had an interesting performance in attenuation/absorption of high-energy gamma photons [8,11]. Therefore, similar weight percentage was selected (including 50% PVA and 50% WO 3 with 2.04 g/cm 3 density), and the Monte Carlo N-particle Transport Code (MCNPX 2.6.0) was used to carry out the simulation, which will be explained as follow.…”

“…polymeric matrix with proper filler have shown to have unique properties, due to large surface-area-to-volume ratio of fillers in the polymer matrix, and it is expected that the overall weight of a shield will decrease while its absorption/attenuation abilities improves. Furthermore, this type of material will have higher conformability and lower toxicity comparing to lead [6,8]. In this regard, extensive research has been carried out on the use of metal oxides, such as tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ) as a filler in different polymer matrices, and acceptable results were obtained when applied to gamma and X-ray radiation shields [8-13].…”

“…Furthermore, this type of material will have higher conformability and lower toxicity comparing to lead [6,8]. In this regard, extensive research has been carried out on the use of metal oxides, such as tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ) as a filler in different polymer matrices, and acceptable results were obtained when applied to gamma and X-ray radiation shields [8-13].…”

Устойчивость Полимерных Композитов С Оксидом Вольфрама К Воздействию Электронного Облучения

“…Кроме того, WO 3 обладает полупроводниковыми свойствами [18], что при введении его в диэлектрическую полимерную матрицу позволит значительно снизить или полностью исключить накопление большого электрического заряда при взаимодействии композита с быстрыми электронами в космическом пространстве. Большинство российских и зарубежных работ посвящено в основном изучению радиационнозащитных свойств композитов с WO 3 по отношению к рентгеновскому и гамма-излучению [19][20][21][22]. Работы по оценке радиационно-защитных свойств композитов с WO 3 по отношению к электронному и протонному излучениям немногочисленны.…”