Cs-137 Gamma Ray Attenuation Properties of Flexible Silicone Rubber Materials

Abstract

In this study, pure silicone rubber and iron ore concentrate added silicone rubber materials were performed against Cs-137 gamma source. Cs-137 is accepted medium energy level gamma source in nuclear technology. Up to 67 wt. % iron ore concentrate added into silicone rubber materials were used in the experiments. Linear attenuation graphs were carried out for the studied samples against Cs-137 gamma source which has unique peak at 0.662 MeV energy. Increasing iron ore ratio in the materials caused the higher radiation shielding performance for Cs-137 gamma source. In addition, increasing iron ore ratio decrease the total volume air bubbles in the samples. Decreasing air bubbles in the samples has contributed to gamma ray shielding. 0.5 mmPbE and 1 mmPbE Lead equivalent (PbE) values were determined for the samples. 0.5mmPbE standard has been provided by using 2.83 mm thick of 67 wt. % iron ore concentrate imbedded silicone rubber at 0.662 MeV gamma energy. In conclusion, iron ore concentrate imbedded silicone rubber materials are among the promising economic radiation shielding materials which could be alternative to lead.

Keywords

• Cs-137
• silicone rubber
• iron ore concentrate
• gamma attenuation
• Lead equivalent thickness
• iron ore concentrate

Kaynakça

1. Shultis J.K., R.E. Faw R.E. “Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering”, ISBN: 0-8247-0834-2, Marcel-Dekker Inc., New York, USA, 2002.
2. Zhou R.F., Zhou X.J., Li X.B., Li P., 2016. “Radiation protection in the design of γ-ray industrial computed tomography systems,” Nuclear Science and Techniques, vol. 27, 100, 2016.
3. Powsner R.A., Powsner E.R., 2006. “Essential Nuclear Medicine Physics,” 2nd Ed., ISBN: 978-1-4051-0484-5, Blackwell Pub., Massachusetts, USA, 2006.
4. McCaffery J.P., Tessier F., Shen H., 2012. “Radiation shielding materials and radiation scatter effects for interventional radiology (IR) physicians,” Medical Physics, 39(7), pp4537-4546, 2012.
5. Eder H., Schlattl H., 2018. IEC 61331-1: A new setup for testing lead free X-ray protective clothing. Phys Med. 45:6-11.
6. Mori H., Koshida K., Ishigamori O., Matsubara K., 2014. “Evaluation of the effectiveness of X-ray protective aprons in experimental and practical fields,” Radiological Physics and Technology, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 158–166, 2014.
7. Kacal M.R., Akman F., Sayyed M.I., 2018. Investigation of radiation shielding properties for some ceramics. Radiochimica Acta, 20183030.
8. Li R., Gu Y., Yang Z., Li M., Hou Y., Zhang Z., 2017. Gamma ray shielding property, shielding mechanism and predicting model of continuous basalt fiber reinforced polymer matrix composite containing functional filler. Materials & Design, 124. 121-130.

9. Bagheri N., 2013. “Comparing the Effect of Different Metal Plates and Lead Apron for Reducing the Dose Rate from Cs-137 and Ba-133 Gamma Ray,” International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, vol. 3(4), pp. 965-969, 2013.
10. Azeez A.B., Kahtan S., Mohammed K.S., Al Bakrı Abdullah M.M., Zulkeplı N.N., Sandu A.V., Hussın K., Rahmat A., 2014. “Design of Flexible Green Anti Radiation Shielding Material against Gamma-ray,” Materiale Plastice, 51(3), pp300-308, 2014.
11. McCaffrey J.P., Shen H., Downton B., Mainegra-Hing E., 2007. “Radiation attenuation by lead and nonlead materials used in radiation shielding garments,” Medical Physics, 34(2), pp530-537, 2007.
12. Singh V.P., Badiger N.M., Kothan S., Kaewjaeng S., Korkut T., Kim H. J., Kaewkhao J., 2016. “Gamma-ray and neutron shielding efficiency of Pb-free gadolinium-based glasses,” Nuclear Science and Techniques, vol. 27, 103, 2016.
13. Buyuk B., 2018. “Preparation and characterization of iron-ore-imbedded silicone rubber materials for radiation protection,” Nuclear Science and Techniques, vol. 29, 135, 2018.
14. Tekin H.O., Manici T., 2017. “Simulations of mass attenuation coefficients for shielding materials using the MCNP-X code,” Nuclear Science and Techniques, vol. 28, 95, 2017.
15. Colas A., Curtis J., 2004. “Silicone Biomaterials: History and Chemistry & Medical Applications Of Silicones,” Biomaterials Science, 2nd Ed. Elsevier Academic Publishing. ISBN: 0-12-582463-7, 2004.
16. https://www.xiameter.com/EN/Products/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=01004875&lir=X23#characteristicsAnchor , Accessed 01.11.2018.
17. Zaim N., Bayhatun O., 2018. A Study on the Gamma-Ray Attenuation Coefficients of Al2O3 and Al2O3.TiO2 Compounds. Süleyman Demirel University Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences Volume 22 (2018), Special Issue, 312-318, 2018.
18. Berger M.J., Hubbell J.H., Seltzer S.M., Chang J., Coursey J.S., Sukumar R., Zucker D.S., Olsen K., 2014. http://www.nist.gov/pml/data/xcom/ , XCOM: photon crossection database, USA, 2014.