Feasibility of polymer-based composite materials as radiation shield

Almurayshid, Mansour; Alsagabi, Sultan; Alssalim, Yousif A.; Alotaibi, Zayed; Almsalam, Rashed

doi:10.1016/j.radphyschem.2021.109425

Cited by 64 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…A recent development in nanotechnology has helped to change the medical rules used to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases, and we are living in the era of nanomedical technology, for example, the manufacture of certain types of clothes that contain nanoparticles such as lead and bismuth, and these clothes are resistant to radiation in medical centers and industrial environments [ 8 , 9 ]. These nanoparticles are also added as a combination with concrete and mortar to work at a good attenuation of radiation coming from radioactive sources and radiological medical devices [ 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Gamma Ray Shielding Behaviors of Polypropylene Using PbO Nanoparticles: An Experimental Study

et al. 2022

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Recently, polymers have entered into many medical and industrial applications. This work aimed to intensively study polypropylene samples (PP) embedded with micro and nanoparticles of PbO for their application in radiation shielding. Samples were prepared by adding 10%, 30%, and 50% by weight of PbO microparticles (mPbO) and adding 10% and 50% PbO nanoparticles (nPbO), in addition to the control sample (pure polypropylene). The morphology of the prepared samples was tested; on the other hand, the shielding efficiency of gamma rays was tested for different sources with different energies. The experimental linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) was determined using a NaI scintillation detector, the experimental results were compared with NIST-XCOM results, and a good agreement was noticed. The LAC was 0.8005 cm−1 for PP-10%nPbO and 0.6283 cm−1 for PP-10%mPbO while was 5.8793 cm−1 for PP-50%nPbO and 3.9268 cm−1 for PP-50%mPbO at 0.060 MeV. The LAC values have been converted to some specific values, such as half value layer (HVL), mean free path (MFP), tenth value layer (TVL), and radiation protection efficiency (RPE) which are useful for discussing the shielding capabilities for gamma-rays. The results of shielding parameters reveal that the PP embedded with nPbO gives better attenuation than its counterpart pp embedded with mPbO at all studied energies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Gamma Ray Shielding Behaviors of Polypropylene Using PbO Nanoparticles: An Experimental Study

et al. 2022

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“…In order to generate a radiation shielding material suitable for gamma radiation and neutrons, researchers have attempted to prepare polymer-based composites mixed with elements or materials and examine and characterize their radiation attenuation ability. For example, the possibility of using an X-ray shield based on a Pb-free HDPE composite material has been examined [ 8 ]. The filler materials were tungsten (W) and molybdenum (Mo), added in different percentage to the HDPE.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of New Lead-Free Composite Materials as Potential Radiation Shields

et al. 2021

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Utilizing a polymer-based radiation shield offers lightweight, low cost, non-toxic compared to lead and solution for eliminating generated secondary neutrons. Incorporating silicon (i.e., one of the most abundant elements) in new applications, such as shielding, would have an impact on the economy and industry. In this study, seven potential shielding materials, composed of silicon, silicon carbide, and boron carbide embedded ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymers, are proposed. The shielding performance of these composite materials, including the attenuation coefficients (µ), the mass attenuation coefficients (µm), the half value layer (HVL), the mean free path (MFP), and the radiation protection efficiency (RPE) were examined using photon beams. Measured µm were verified against the calculated values. The averaged agreement was within ±7.4% between the experimental measurements and the theoretical calculation results. The HVL and MFP measured values for the polymer composites were lower than that for the pure EVA polymer, indicating the fillers in the polymers enhanced the shielding performance. The EVA + SiC (30%) and EVA + Si (15%) + B4C (15%) composites required the lowest thickness to stop 50% of the incident photons. The evaluation of experimental results of the RPE revealed that the polymer composites containing SiC (30%), Si (15%) + B4C (15%), or SiC (15%) + B4C (15%) succeeded in blocking 90–91% of X-rays at nearly 80 keV. However, a thicker shield of the proposed composite materials or combined layers with other high-Z materials could be used for higher energies.

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“…The µ values were observed to decrease with energy and the composite coded LB-15 containing 15% of the Bi2O3 possesses the highest attenuation across all energies of the incident beams compared to other composites. It is clear that the fillers have enhanced the efficiency compared to pure LDPE especially in low energy below 200 keV region where the predominant mechanism is photoelectric absorption which has a strong dependency on the incoming photon energy (1/E 3 ) and the atomic number of the material (Z 4.5 ) [45]. For verification purposes of the experimentally measured results, Table 7 illustrates the measured values of µm and the calculated results of µm extracted from the XCOM calculator based on the NIST database for the present composite samples.…”

Section: Shielding Ability Investigation Of the Polymer Compositesmentioning

confidence: 99%

LDPE/Bismuth Oxide Nanocomposite: Preparation, Characterization and Application in X-ray Shielding

et al. 2021

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Recently developed polymer-based composites could prove useful in many applications such as in radiation shielding. In this work, the potential of a bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) nanofiller based on an LDPE polymer was developed as lead-free X-ray radiation shielding offering the benefits of lightness, low-cost and non-toxic compared to pure lead. Three different LDPE-based composites were prepared with varying weight percentages of Bi2O3: 5%, 10% and 15%. The characterizations were extended to include structural properties, physical features, mechanical and thermal properties, and radiation shielding efficiency for the prepared nanocomposites. The results revealed that the incorporation of the Bi2O3 nanofiller into an LDPE improved the density of the composites. There was also a slight increase in the tensile strength and tensile modulus. In addition, there was a clear improvement in the efficiency of the shield when fillers were added to the LDPE polymer. The LDPE + Bi2O3 (15%) composite needed the lowest thickness to attenuate 50% of the incident X-rays. The LDPE + Bi2O3 (15%) polymer can also block around 80% of X-rays at 47.9 keV. In real practice, a thicker shield of the proposed composite materials, or a higher percentage of the filler could be employed to safely ensure the radiation is blocked.

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Feasibility of polymer-based composite materials as radiation shield

Cited by 64 publications

References 21 publications

Improving Gamma Ray Shielding Behaviors of Polypropylene Using PbO Nanoparticles: An Experimental Study

Improving Gamma Ray Shielding Behaviors of Polypropylene Using PbO Nanoparticles: An Experimental Study

Development of New Lead-Free Composite Materials as Potential Radiation Shields

LDPE/Bismuth Oxide Nanocomposite: Preparation, Characterization and Application in X-ray Shielding

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