The Role of Rare Earth Oxides in Enhancing Radiation Shielding of Thermoplastic Polyurethane Composites: A Combined WinXCom and MCNP6 Study

Abstract

As the use of radiation expands in fields, such as nuclear power, aerospace exploration, medicine, and particle accelerators, protecting the human body from hazardous radiation has become increasingly urgent. This study investigates the shielding performance against ionizing radiation of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composites containing rare earth oxides (REOs) (R2O3, with R= Er, Sm, La) at varying weight percentages of 10% and 30%. Mass attenuation coefficients of TPU and TPU/REOs composites were calculated using the Windows version of photon cross sections on a personal computer (WinXCom) software for photon energies ranging from 1 keV to 100 GeV. These findings were validated through Monte Carlo N-Particle 6 (MCNP6) simulations. Radiation attenuation coefficients, such as the effective atomic number and half-value layer, were also determined based on the mass attenuation coefficients obtained. The WinXCom and MCNP6 simulations showed strong consistency across different additive rates and gamma radiation energies, with relative deviations ranging from 0-12.06 %. Notably, increasing the concentration of rare earth oxides in the TPU matrix improved the shielding properties of the composites, with a 30% by-weight addition of Er2O3 providing the best radiation shielding performance.

Keywords

• MCNP6
• WinXCom
• radiation shielding
• rare earth oxides
• mass attenuation coefficient

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