Monte Carlo study of gamma radiation shielding capabilities of PVC-based composites reinforced with heavy transition metal carbides

IF 1.5 3区物理与天体物理 Q3 INSTRUMENTS & INSTRUMENTATION

Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research Section B-beam Interactions With Materials and Atoms Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-12 DOI:10.1016/j.nimb.2026.166045

Amina Hadjal , Asmaa Saim , Ferdi Akman , Hasan Özdoğan , Anis Samy Amine Dib , Abdelghani Tebboune

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Abstract

In this study, the gamma radiation shielding properties of PVC-based composites containing 50%, 60%, and 70% mass fractions of heavy transition metal (TM) carbides (HfC, TaC, and WC) were investigated. The evaluation was conducted based on several shielding parameters, build-up factors and the production of generated secondary radiation using the GEANT4, MCNP6, and PHITS Monte Carlo codes over an energy range of 0.05–10 MeV. The simulation results showed a strong correlation with WinXCOM theoretical data, demonstrating the reliability of the Monte Carlo methods. Moreover, increasing the heavy metal carbide content in the PVC matrix improved the shielding efficiency, as indicated by higher values of the linear attenuation coefficient (μ), mass attenuation coefficient (μ_m), effective atomic number (Z_eff), and effective electron density (N_eff), along with lower mean free path (MFP), half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), and lead-equivalent thickness (

x_{eq})

. Among the studied composites, PVC-70WC demonstrated the highest effectiveness, whereas PVC-70TaC and PVC-70HfC exhibited slightly lower performance. These results suggest that PVC composites reinforced with heavy transition metal carbides (PVC/TMCs) are promising lead-free substitutes for gamma-ray shielding applications in radiodiagnostics and nuclear medicine.

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重过渡金属碳化物增强聚氯乙烯基复合材料屏蔽γ辐射能力的蒙特卡罗研究

在这项研究中，研究了含有50%，60%和70%质量分数的重过渡金属（TM）碳化物（HfC， TaC和WC）的pvc基复合材料的伽马辐射屏蔽性能。使用GEANT4、MCNP6和PHITS蒙特卡罗编码，在0.05-10 MeV的能量范围内，根据几种屏蔽参数、累积因素和产生的二次辐射进行了评估。仿真结果与WinXCOM理论数据具有较强的相关性，证明了蒙特卡罗方法的可靠性。此外，随着PVC基体中重金属碳化物含量的增加，其屏蔽效率有所提高，表现为线性衰减系数（μ）、质量衰减系数（μm）、有效原子序数（Zeff）和有效电子密度（Neff）增大，平均自由程（MFP）、半值层（HVL）、十值层（TVL）和铅当量厚度（xeq）减小。在所研究的复合材料中，PVC-70WC的效能最高，而PVC-70TaC和PVC-70HfC的效能略低。这些结果表明，以重过渡金属碳化物（PVC/TMCs）增强的PVC复合材料是在放射性诊断和核医学中应用于伽马射线屏蔽的无铅替代品。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research Section B-beam Interactions With Materials and Atoms 物理-核科学技术

CiteScore

2.80

自引率

7.70%

发文量

231

审稿时长

1.9 months

期刊介绍： Section B of Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research covers all aspects of the interaction of energetic beams with atoms, molecules and aggregate forms of matter. This includes ion beam analysis and ion beam modification of materials as well as basic data of importance for these studies. Topics of general interest include: atomic collisions in solids, particle channelling, all aspects of collision cascades, the modification of materials by energetic beams, ion implantation, irradiation - induced changes in materials, the physics and chemistry of beam interactions and the analysis of materials by all forms of energetic radiation. Modification by ion, laser and electron beams for the study of electronic materials, metals, ceramics, insulators, polymers and other important and new materials systems are included. Related studies, such as the application of ion beam analysis to biological, archaeological and geological samples as well as applications to solve problems in planetary science are also welcome. Energetic beams of interest include atomic and molecular ions, neutrons, positrons and muons, plasmas directed at surfaces, electron and photon beams, including laser treated surfaces and studies of solids by photon radiation from rotating anodes, synchrotrons, etc. In addition, the interaction between various forms of radiation and radiation-induced deposition processes are relevant.