Development of Sustainable Radiation-Shielding Blend Using Natural Rubber/NBR, and Bismuth Filler

Abstract

This research entailed the production of composite materials through the combination of natural rubber and acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, along with nano-silica-loaded bismuth (III) oxide, in varying concentrations ranging from 0 to 45 parts per hundred parts of rubber (phr). The gamma attenuation properties of the composites at different concentrations of Bi2O3 were measured. Additionally, the mechanical properties of the resulting composites, including hardness, tensile strength, and elongation, were tested. The composites with a concentration of 20 phr exhibited the highest tensile strength and elongation at break, followed by a subsequent decrease as the concentration of Bi2O3 increased. The gamma mass-attenuation coefficient of the composites increased as the Bi2O3 concentration increased from 0 to 45 phr, with values ranging from 0.083 to 0.090 cm2/g at 0.662 MeV. Moreover, the fast neutron mass removal cross-sections ranged from 0.092 to 0.072 cm2/g, corresponding to the variation of Bi2O3 concentration from 0–45 phr are also determined. Various parameters related to gamma-ray shielding, including the half-value layer, exposure build-up factor (EBF) up to 40 mean free path (mfp) penetration depth, and effective atomic number (Zeff) are also included. The radiation-induced aging of the prepared blend is tested by measuring the effect of radiation exposure on its shielding capability via its porosity change. The obtained results indicated that the prepared composites could be used for several radiation-protection applications.

Design and Study of Novel Composites Based on EPDM Rubber Containing Bismuth (III) Oxide and Graphene Nanoplatelets for Gamma Radiation Shielding

“…The compound with the highest elongation is EPDM/B/P with 440%, followed by EPDM/B/GN/P and EPDM/B/GN compounds with 299% and 325%, respectively. The increase in elongation resulting from the addition of bismuth (III) as filler to NR/NBR rubber blend has been reported [ 33 ]. On the other hand, the EPDM/B/GN/P and EPDM/B/GN compounds have a higher maximum stress of 1.90 MPa and 2.65 MPa, respectively.…”

High filler content acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene composites containing tungsten and bismuth oxides for effective lead‐free x‐ray radiation shielding

“…Moreover, ABS is readily available as a recycled polymeric material, as it is used in several high‐volume applications, 32 and its properties remain robust even after repeated mechanical recycling cycles 33 . Furthermore, ABS's suitability as a polymer matrix in composites has already been demonstrated for radiation shielding applications, including electromagnetic shielding, 34 x‐ray shielding, 35 gamma and neutron shielding, 36,37 thanks to its good mechanical performance for ABS‐based panels, particularly in terms of flexural properties 38 …”