Subjects: Nuclear Science and Technology >> Other Disciplines of Nuclear Science submitted time 2024-06-19
Abstract： [Background]: Transparent protective materials are an important component of nuclear radiation protection equipment and a key factor in reducing radiation damage to the eye lenses of radiation workers. [Purpose]: Gadolinium-containing polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were prepared by intrinsic polymerization, and the shielding properties of PMMA with different Gd(MA)3 content against neutron and gamma rays were studied. [Methods]: The neutron and gamma shielding performance of gadolinium-containing PMMA was measured by Cf-252 neutron source and Am-241 gamma source, respectively. MCNP simulation was also employed to study the neutron shielding performance of PMMA containing Gadolinium [Results]: The results showed that with the increase of Gd(MA)3 content, the shielding properties of the PMMA against Cf-252 neutrons (moderated by 12cm polyethylene) continuously improved. However, when the Gd(MA)3 content exceeds 10%, the increase in neutron shielding performance was not significant, whereas the shielding performance against gamma rays continues to improved. The PMMA containing 10% and 30% Gd(MA)3 has absorption cross-sections for Cf-252 neutrons and linear attenuation coefficients for 59.5 keV (Am-241) gamma rays of 0.79 cm-1 and 2.10 cm-1, respectively. In addition, with the thickness of the PMMA increases, its neutron shielding performance increases exponentially, 90.2% of Cf-252 fast neutrons were shielded by PMMA with a thickness of 10 cm and a Gd(MA)3 content of 10%. [Conclusions]: The addition of gadolinium to the PMMA could effectively enhances its shielding properties against thermal neutrons and gamma rays, and it maintains good visible light transmittance and to some extent improves the heat resistance of the material, but its mechanical strength is reduced. The results of this study provide valuable information for the development of apparent neutron/gamma shielding equipment.
Subjects: Nuclear Science and Technology >> Other Disciplines of Nuclear Science submitted time 2024-06-18
Abstract： [Background]: Transparent protective materials are an important component of nuclear radiation protection equipment and a key factor in reducing radiation damage to the eye lenses of radiation workers. [Purpose]: Gadolinium-containing polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were prepared by intrinsic polymerization, and the shielding properties of PMMA with different Gd(MA)3 content against neutron and gamma rays were studied. [Methods]: The neutron and gamma shielding performance of gadolinium-containing PMMA was measured by Cf-252 neutron source and Am-241 gamma source, respectively. MCNP simulation was also employed to study the neutron shielding performance of PMMA containing Gadolinium [Results]: The results showed that with the increase of Gd(MA)3 content, the shielding properties of the PMMA against Cf-252 neutrons (moderated by 12cm polyethylene) continuously improved. However, when the Gd(MA)3 content exceeds 10%, the increase in neutron shielding performance was not significant, whereas the shielding performance against gamma rays continues to improved. The PMMA containing 10% and 30% Gd(MA)3 has absorption cross-sections for Cf-252 neutrons and linear attenuation coefficients for 59.5 keV (Am-241) gamma rays of 0.79 cm-1 and 2.10 cm-1, respectively. In addition, with the thickness of the PMMA increases, its neutron shielding performance increases exponentially, 90.2% of Cf-252 fast neutrons were shielded by PMMA with a thickness of 10 cm and a Gd(MA)3 content of 10%. [Conclusions]: The addition of gadolinium to the PMMA could effectively enhances its shielding properties against thermal neutrons and gamma rays, and it maintains good visible light transmittance and to some extent improves the heat resistance of the material, but its mechanical strength is reduced. The results of this study provide valuable information for the development of apparent neutron/gamma shielding equipment.
Key words PMAM; Gadolinium; Neutron protection; Gamma protection; Transparent materials
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