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Experiments have assessed various polymer composites for radiation shielding in diverse applications. These composites are lighter and non-toxic when compared to lead (Pb), making them particularly effective in diagnostic imaging for shielding against low-energy photons. This study demonstrates the fabrication of four composites by combining a base material, specifically a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) polymer, with 10% and 20% silicon (Si) and silicon carbide (SiC), respectively. Additionally, 5% molybdenum (Mo) was incorporated into the composites as a heavy metal element. The composites obtained were fabricated into 20 disks with a uniform thickness of 2 mm each. Discs were exposed to radiation from a low-energy X-ray source (32.5–64.5 keV). The chemical and physical properties of composites were assessed. The shielding ability of samples was evaluated by determining the linear and mass attenuation coefficients (μ and μm), radiation protection efficiency (RPE), half-value layer (HVL), and mean free path (MFP). According to our findings, supplementing HDPE with additives improved the attenuation of beams. The μm values showed that composite X-ray shielding characteristics were enhanced with filler concentration for both Si and SiC. Polymer composites with micro-molecule fillers shelter X-rays better than polymers, especially at low energy. The HVL and MFB values of the filler are lower than those of the pure HDPE sample, indicating that less thickness is needed to shield at the appropriate energy. HC-20 blocked 92% of the incident beam at 32.5 keV. This study found that increasing the composite sample thickness or polymer filler percentage could shield against low-energy radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims to experimentally report the radiation attenuation factors for four different clays (red, ball, kaolin and bentonite clays) at four selected energies (emitted from Am-241, Cs-137, and Co-60). The highest relative difference in the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) is equal to −3.02%, but most of the other results are much smaller than this value, proving that the experimental and theoretical data greatly agree with each other. From the MAC results, the shielding abilities of the clay samples at 0.060 MeV follow the order of: bentonite > red > ball > kaolin. Thus, at low energies, the bentonite clay sample provides the most effective attenuation capability out of the tested clays. The half value layer (HVL) increases as energy increases, which suggests that, only a thin clay sample is needed to sufficiently absorb the radiation at low energies, while at higher energies a thicker sample is needed to shield the same amount of high energy radiated. Furthermore, bentonite clay has the lowest HVL, while the kaolin clay has the greatest HVL at all energies. The radiation protection efficiency (RPE) values at 0.060 MeV are equal to 97.982%, 97.137%, 94.242%, and 93.583% for bentonite clay, red clay, ball clay, and kaolin clay, respectively. This reveals that at this energy, the four clay samples can absorb almost all of the incoming photons, but the bentonite clay has the greatest attenuation capability at this energy, while kaolin clay has the lowest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have tested the potential of various polymer composites for use in radiation shielding. They are light and non-toxic compared to Pb and have potential as shielding in diagnostic radiology where low-energy photons are predominantly used. This study documents the production of four composites using the combination of a base, i.e. high-density polyethylene (HDPE) polymer, and four other elements/compounds, i.e. molybdenum, molybdenum carbide, tungsten, or tungsten carbide. The resulting composites were synthesized in the form of 20 disks, each with a thickness of 2 mm. The disks were irradiated by a kilovoltage X-ray source (1.5 cm2 field size). The mass attenuation coefficient (μ m), half value layer (HVL), mean free path (MFP), and equivalent atomic number of the disks were measured. We found that supplementing HDPE with additives enhanced the attenuation of beams; the μ m values of the composites were higher than that of the pure HDPE polymer. The μ m values of the measurement and calculation results were in good agreement with each other, with an average error of 5.2%. Among the three additive concentrations that were tested, i.e., 5, 10, and 15%, the 15% concentration in HDPE yielded the best shielding efficiency. Since they possess smaller values of HVL and MFP, the polymer composites containing W and WC performed the best at attenuating the radiation beams. • HDPE with Mo, W, MoC, and WC as additives can replace Pb as radiation shield. • Performance of HDPE with three additive concentrations, 5, 10, and 15%, was tested. • HDPE with 15 wt% of additives shows the highest radiation shielding efficiency. • W- and WC-HDPE composites are the best radiation shield against X-rays. • Proposed HDPE polymers are nontoxic, easy to mold, and lightweight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Materials with high atomic numbers are effective for shielding ionizing radiation. However, some, such as lead, are toxic, and their disposal causes environmental damage. Polymer composites are a good choice for radiation shielding because they are environmentally friendly, lightweight and non-toxic. This study investigated the possibility of using high-density polyethylenhe (HDPE) composites doped with three different materials comprising the carbide (such as tungsten carbide, and molybdenum carbide) and ceramic (silicon carbide) as a kilo-voltage radiation shield. The linear attenuation coefficients of the composites ranged from 0.21 to 2.82 c m − 1 . The measured results are in good agreement with XCOM with an average error of 13.82%. Through meticulous empirical analysis, including the assessment of linear and mass attenuation coefficients, half-value layer (HVL), and mean free path (MFP), our findings suggest that HDPE composites doped with 15% MoC present the most promising configuration for low-energy X-ray shielding (30–50 keV). This work concludes that HDPE composites decorated with MoC and W could be used as an alternative and environment-friendly material for shielding of kilo-voltage X-rays in medical diagnostics and research environments. • HDPE composites doped with WC, MoC & SiC are studied as a kilo-volt X-ray shield. • Measured attenuation properties of the composite show good agreement with XCOM data. • Composite containing heavy metal such as 15% MoC showed the highest attenuation in the 30–50 keV energy. • HDPE + MoC and WC composites offer an alternative for shielding of X-rays in medical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to discover the impact of the tellurium oxide on structural, physical, optical and radiation shielding properties of borate glass samples modified with BaO and MoO 3. The amorphous nature of each glass sample was proven by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was utilized to recognize the functional groups for TeO 2 and B 2 O 3. The results exhibit that the rise of TeO 2 ratio raises the density of glasses and decreases their bandgap. On the other hand, the sample BTM3 shows the highest durability results. Moreover, the radiation shielding features were studied for the fabricated glasses by determining the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) and other related factors. The effect of both B 2 O 3 and TeO 2 on the attenuation performance of the fabricated specimens was discussed. The MAC results show that when we replace the B 2 O 3 with TeO 2 , the MAC increases, which means that the TeO 2 leads to enhancement in the shielding competence of these glasses. At 15 keV, the MAC is 22.39 cm2 g−1 for the free TeO 2 sample, while it is increased to 42.15 cm2 g−1 for the glass with 70 mol% of TeO 2. In addition, when the density changes from 3.4446 to 5.5057 g cm−3, the LAC enhances and changes from 77.14 to 232.05 cm−1 at 15 keV, from 16.81 to 51.81 cm−1 at 50 keV, from 0.309 to 0.511 cm−1 at 0.5 MeV and from 0.096 to 0.211 cm−1 at 15 MeV. The results in this work showed that the current glass samples exhibit good stability that nominates the fabricated samples for different applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]