Enhanced radiation shielding performance of tungsten borides-epoxy composites

IF 8.3 1区材料科学 Q1 MATERIALS SCIENCE, COMPOSITES

Composites Science and Technology Pub Date : 2025-05-20 DOI:10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111233

Furkan Erdogan, Santiago Bermudez, Reza Mohammadi, Jessika V. Rojas

{"title":"Enhanced radiation shielding performance of tungsten borides-epoxy composites","authors":"Furkan Erdogan, Santiago Bermudez, Reza Mohammadi, Jessika V. Rojas","doi":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111233","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Epoxy composites were prepared by varying the amounts of tungsten tetraboride, tungsten monoboride, and ditungsten pentaboride as reinforcing microparticles. These composites were subsequently tested for their radiation shielding performance and mechanical properties to evaluate their potential in nuclear applications. Gamma-ray and thermal neutron attenuation capabilities, along with mechanical behavior, were systematically characterized. Gamma-ray measurements showed enhanced shielding with increased tungsten content, particularly at lower photon energies, with tungsten monoboride–epoxy composites exhibiting superior attenuation due to the highest tungsten concentration among the selected borides. Neutron attenuation tests confirmed that increasing filler content reduced neutron transmission effectively. Material's hardness improved with filler content, indicating enhanced load-bearing capacity, while tensile testing revealed increased stiffness but reduced tensile strength and ductility at higher filler contents. The effects of irradiation were also examined, showing that the composites retained mechanical integrity under radiation exposure. Reinforcing epoxy matrices with tungsten borides significantly improved radiation shielding against gamma rays and neutrons while enhancing mechanical performance. These findings highlight the potential of tungsten borides -epoxy composites as lightweight materials for advanced radiation protection applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":283,"journal":{"name":"Composites Science and Technology","volume":"269 ","pages":"Article 111233"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Composites Science and Technology","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0266353825002015","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, COMPOSITES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Epoxy composites were prepared by varying the amounts of tungsten tetraboride, tungsten monoboride, and ditungsten pentaboride as reinforcing microparticles. These composites were subsequently tested for their radiation shielding performance and mechanical properties to evaluate their potential in nuclear applications. Gamma-ray and thermal neutron attenuation capabilities, along with mechanical behavior, were systematically characterized. Gamma-ray measurements showed enhanced shielding with increased tungsten content, particularly at lower photon energies, with tungsten monoboride–epoxy composites exhibiting superior attenuation due to the highest tungsten concentration among the selected borides. Neutron attenuation tests confirmed that increasing filler content reduced neutron transmission effectively. Material's hardness improved with filler content, indicating enhanced load-bearing capacity, while tensile testing revealed increased stiffness but reduced tensile strength and ductility at higher filler contents. The effects of irradiation were also examined, showing that the composites retained mechanical integrity under radiation exposure. Reinforcing epoxy matrices with tungsten borides significantly improved radiation shielding against gamma rays and neutrons while enhancing mechanical performance. These findings highlight the potential of tungsten borides -epoxy composites as lightweight materials for advanced radiation protection applications.

查看原文本刊更多论文

增强硼化钨-环氧复合材料的辐射屏蔽性能

采用四硼化钨、单硼化钨和五硼化二钨作为增强微粒，制备了环氧复合材料。随后测试了这些复合材料的辐射屏蔽性能和机械性能，以评估其在核应用中的潜力。系统地表征了伽马射线和热中子衰减能力以及力学行为。伽马射线测量表明，随着钨含量的增加，特别是在光子能量较低的情况下，单硼化钨-环氧复合材料表现出优异的衰减，这是由于在所选的硼化物中钨浓度最高。中子衰减试验证实，增加填料含量可有效降低中子透射率。随着填料含量的增加，材料的硬度提高，表明承载能力增强，而拉伸测试显示，在较高的填料含量下，材料的刚度增加，但拉伸强度和延性降低。研究了辐照的影响，表明复合材料在辐照下仍保持机械完整性。用硼化钨增强环氧树脂基体，显著改善了对伽马射线和中子的辐射屏蔽，同时提高了机械性能。这些发现突出了硼化钨环氧复合材料作为先进辐射防护应用的轻质材料的潜力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Composites Science and Technology 工程技术-材料科学：复合

CiteScore

16.20

自引率

9.90%

发文量

611

审稿时长

33 days

期刊介绍： Composites Science and Technology publishes refereed original articles on the fundamental and applied science of engineering composites. The focus of this journal is on polymeric matrix composites with reinforcements/fillers ranging from nano- to macro-scale. CSTE encourages manuscripts reporting unique, innovative contributions to the physics, chemistry, materials science and applied mechanics aspects of advanced composites. Besides traditional fiber reinforced composites, novel composites with significant potential for engineering applications are encouraged.