Neutron shielding characteristics of polymer composites with boron carbide

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Tuna T., Akdoğan Eker A. , Kam E.

Journal Of The Korean Physical Society, vol.1, no.1, pp.1-8, 2021 (Journal Indexed in SCI Expanded)

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 1 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s40042-021-00089-z
  • Title of Journal : Journal Of The Korean Physical Society
  • Page Numbers: pp.1-8

Abstract

In this study, the neutron shielding capabilities of boron carbide (

B4C)-reinforced polyester-matrix composite materials

were investigated. For the study, 20- 40- and 60-mm-thick specimens were first prepared by reinforcing with 10–50% B4C,

and later their neutron shielding characteristics were studied by using various characterization techniques. The shielding

capability of the composite materials was observed to increase with specimen thickness. In addition, increased amounts of

B4C

reinforcement improved the attenuation ratio of the material thereby increasing the shielding effectiveness. This trend,

however, changed when the B4C

ratio reached 40% and 50% at which a gradual decrease in neutron attenuation was observed.

The experimental setup was also simulated using the Monte Carlo code MCNP-5, and similar computations were carried

out. The experimental data almost completely agreed with computational results.

Keywords Neutron radiation · Shielding · Polymer composite · B4C · Monte Carlo