Investigating Thermal Neutron and Gamma Ray Shielding Properties of Al Matrix Gd2O3-and W-Doped Composites Using Monte Carlo Simulations

Year 2024, Volume: 19 Issue: 1, 75 - 85, 27.05.2024

Yasin Gaylan , Ahmet Bozkurt

https://doi.org/10.29233/sdufeffd.1364481

Abstract

This study aimed to calculate the thermal neutron (0.0253 eV) total macroscopic cross-section and gamma-ray (1.25 MeV) linear absorption coefficient for (100-x)Al-xGd2O3 (x=5 to 50) and 100-(x+y)Al-xGd2O3+yW (x,y=5 to 50) composites using MCNP6.2 simulation code. The simulation consists of a mono-energy point neutron and gamma-ray source, target material, and detector. The F4 tally from the MCNP6.2 library was used as the detector. The results show the highest thermal neutron total macroscopic cross-section for the 50%Al-50%Gd2O3 composite and the highest linear absorption coefficient for the 50%Al-%5Gd2O3-45%W composite. The results of this study provide a good understanding of the thermal neutron and gamma ray the shielding capabilities of Al matrix Gd2O3 and W doped composites.

Keywords

Al-Gd2O3-W composites, Neutron shielding, Gama shielding, Monte Carlo simulations

References

• E. G. Aydın, E. Tel, A. Kaplan, and A. Aydin, "Equilibrium and pre-equilibrium calculations of neutron production in medium-heavy targets irradiated by protons up to 100 MeV," Annals of Nuclear Energy, 35(12), 2306–2312, 2008.
• M. M. Castellanos, A. McAuley, and J. E. Curtis, "Investigating Structure and Dynamics of Proteins in Amorphous Phases Using Neutron Scattering," Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, 15, 117–130, 2017.
• A. Lombardi, D. Sediako, A. Machin, C. Ravindran, and R. MacKay, "Transient analysis of residual strain during heat treatment of multi-material engine blocks using in-situ neutron diffraction," Materials Letters, 157, 50–52, 2015.
• F. Mireles, J. I. Davila, J. L. Pinedo, E. Reyes, R. J. Speakman, and M. D. Glascock, "Assessing urban soil pollution in the cities of Zacatecas and Guadalupe, Mexico by instrumental neutron activation analysis," Microchemical Journal, 103, 158–164, 2012.
• T. Örs, F. Gouraud, R. Guinebretière, M. Huger, V. Michel, and O. Castelnau, "Neutron diffraction measurements of residual stress distribution in large zirconia based refractory bricks produced by electro-fusion and casting," Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 37(5), 2295–2302, 2017.
• T. Seymour, P. Frankel, L. Balogh, T. Ungár, S. P. Thompson, D. Jädernäs, J. Romero, L. Hallstadius, M. R. Daymond, G. Ribárik, and M. Preuss, "Evolution of dislocation structure in neutron irradiated Zircaloy-2 studied by synchrotron x-ray diffraction peak profile analysis," Acta Materialia, 126, 102–113, 2017.
• P. Schofield, B. Geiger, K. Sim, and A. J. Einstein, "ICRP Tahunan," 1–125, 2012.
• ICRP, "Annals of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, ICRP Publication 103," Ann. ICRP, 37(3–4), 332, 2007.
• R. C. Baumann and E. B. Smith, "Neutron-induced boron fission as a major source of soft errors in deep submicron SRAM devices," 2000 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings, 152–157, 2000.
• S. Normand, B. Mouanda, S. Haan, and M. Louvel, "Discrimination methods between neutron and gamma rays for boron loaded plastic scintillators," Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 484(1–3), 342–350, 2002.
• M. Bastürk, J. Arztmann, W. Jerlich, N. Kardjilov, E. Lehmann, and M. Zawisky, "Analysis of neutron attenuation in boron-alloyed stainless steel with neutron radiography and JEN-3 gauge," Journal of Nuclear Materials, 341(2–3), 189–200, 2005.
• A. Nishimura, Y. Izumi, M. Imaizumi, S. Nishijima, T. Hemmi, and T. Shikama, "Neutron and gamma ray irradiation effects on interlaminar shear strength of insulation materials with cyanate ester-epoxy blended resin," Fusion Engineering and Design, 86(6–8), 1558–1561, 2011.
• Y. Tanabe, E. Yasuda, S. Kimura, T. Iseki, T. Maruyama, and T. Yano, "Neutron irradiation effects on dimension and mechanical properties of carbon fiber/carbon composite," Carbon, 29(7), 905–908, 1991.
• R. Lo Frano, G. Pugliese, and G. Forasassi, "Thermal analysis of a spent fuel cask in different transport conditions," Energy, 36(4), 2285–2293, 2011.
• F. Tang, X. Wu, S. Ge, J. Ye, H. Zhu, M. Hagiwara, and J. M. Schoenung, "Dry sliding friction and wear properties of B4C particulate-reinforced Al-5083 matrix composites," Wear, 264(7–8), 555–561, 2008.
• M. Alizadeh, "Strengthening mechanisms in particulate Al/B4C composites produced by repeated roll bonding process," Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 509(5), 2243–2247, 2011.
• M. Khakbiz and F. Akhlaghi, "Synthesis and structural characterization of Al-B4C nano-composite powders by mechanical alloying," Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 479(1–2), 334–341, 2009.
• A. Yazdani and E. Salahinejad, "Evolution of reinforcement distribution in Al-B4C composites during accumulative roll bonding," Materials and Design, 32(6), 3137–3142, 2011.
• K. Deng, J. Shi, C. Wang, X. Wang, Y. Wu, K. Nie, and K. Wu, "Composites : Part A Microstructure and strengthening mechanism of bimodal size particle reinforced magnesium matrix composite," Composites Part A, 43(8), 1280–1284, 2012.
• G. Luo, J. Wu, S. Xiong, Q. Shen, and C. Wu, "Microstructure and mechanical behavior of AA2024 / B 4 C composites with a network reinforcement architecture," Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 701, 554–561, 2017.
• I. Topcu, H. O. Gulsoy, N. Kadioglu, and A. N. Gulluoglu, "Processing and mechanical properties of B4C reinforced Al matrix composites," Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 482(1–2), 516–521, 2009.
• H. S. Chen, W. X. Wang, Y. L. Li, P. Zhang, H. H. Nie, and Q. C. Wu, "The design, microstructure and tensile properties of B4C particulate reinforced 6061Al neutron absorber composites," Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 632, 23–29, 2015.
• P. Zhang, Y. Li, W. Wang, Z. Gao, and B. Wang, "The design, fabrication and properties of B4C/Al neutron absorbers," Journal of Nuclear Materials, 437(1–3), 350–358, 2013.
• H. S. Chen, W. X. Wang, Y. L. Li, J. Zhou, H. H. Nie, and Q. C. Wu, "The design, microstructure and mechanical properties of B4C/6061Al neutron absorber composites fabricated by SPS," Materials and Design, 94, 360–367, 2016.
• Y. Gaylan, B. Avar, M. Panigrahi, B. Aygün, and A. Karabulut, "Effect of the B4C content on microstructure, microhardness, corrosion, and neutron shielding properties of Al–B4C composites," Ceramics International, 49(3), 5479–5488, 2023.
• F. Zhang, X. Wang, J. B. Wierschke, and L. Wang, "Helium bubble evolution in ion irradiated Al/B4C metal metrix composite," Scripta Materialia, 109, 28–33, 2015.
• R. G. Abrefah, R. B. M. Sogbadji, E. Ampomah-Amoako, S. A. Birikorang, H. C. Odoi, and B. J. B. Nyarko, "Comparison of the effects of cadmium-shielded and boron carbide-shielded irradiation channel of the Ghana Research Reactor-1," Nuclear Engineering and Design, 241(8), 3017–3020, 2011.
• S. Wan, W. Wang, H. Chen, J. Zhou, Y. Zhang, R. Liu, and R. Feng, "155/157Gd areal density: A model for design and fabrication of Gd2O3/316L novel neutron shielding composites," Vacuum, 176, 2020.
• R. Florez, H. A. Colorado, C. H. C. Giraldo, and A. Alajo, "Preparation and characterization of Portland cement pastes with Sm2O3 microparticle additions for neutron shielding applications," Construction and Building Materials, 191, 498–506, 2018.
• Z. G. Xu, L. T. Jiang, Q. Zhang, J. Qiao, D. Gong, and G. H. Wu, "The design of a novel neutron shielding B4C/Al composite containing Gd," Materials and Design, 111, 375–381, 2016.
• L. T. Jiang, Z. G. Xu, Y. K. Fei, Q. Zhang, J. Qiao, and G. H. Wu, "The design of novel neutron shielding (Gd+B4C)/6061Al composites and its properties after hot rolling," Composites Part B: Engineering, 168, 183–194, 2019.
• Y. Li, W. Wang, J. Zhou, H. Chen, and P. Zhang, "10B areal density: A novel approach for design and fabrication of B4C/6061Al neutron absorbing materials," Journal of Nuclear Materials, 487, 238–246, 2017.
• J. J. Park, S. M. Hong, M. K. Lee, C. K. Rhee, and W. H. Rhee, "Enhancement in the microstructure and neutron shielding efficiency of sandwich type of 6061Al-B4C composite material via hot isostatic pressing," Nuclear Engineering and Design, 282, 1–7, 2015.
• P. Zhang, J. Li, W. xian Wang, X. yue Tan, L. Xie, and F. yun Guo, "The design, microstructure and mechanical properties of a novel Gd2O3/6061Al neutron shielding composite," Vacuum, 162(January), 92–100, 2019.
• S. Cong, Y. Li, G. Ran, W. Zhou, and Q. Feng, "Microstructure and its effect on mechanical and thermal properties of Al-based Gd2O3 MMCs used as shielding materials in spent fuel storage," Ceramics International, 46(9), 12986–12995, 2020.
• K. Karimi-Shahri, L. Rafat-Motavalli, and H. Miri-Hakimabad, "Finding a suitable shield for mixed neutron and photon fields based on an Am-Be source," Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 298(1), 33–39, 2013.
• H. Turkez, B. Cakmak, and K. Celik, "Evaluation of the Potential In Vivo Genotoxicity of Tungsten (VI) Oxide Nanopowder for Human Health," Key Engineering Materials, 543, 89–92, 2013.
• S. M. Hulbert and K. A. Carlson, "Is lead dust within nuclear medicine departments a hazard to pediatric patients?," Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology, 37(3), 170–172, 2009.
• V. F. Sears, "Neutron News Neutron scattering lengths and cross sections," Neutron News, 1992.
• S. Cong, G. Ran, Y. Li, and Y. Chen, "Ball-milling properties and sintering behavior of Al-based Gd2O3–W shielding materials used in spent-fuel storage," Powder Technology, 369, 127–136, 2020.
• C. J. Werner, J. S. Bull, C. J. Solomon, F. B. Brown, G. W. McKinney, M. E. Rising, D. A. Dixon, R. L. Martz, H. G. Hughes, L. J. Cox, A. J. Zukaitis, J. C. Armstrong, R. A. Forster, and L. Casswell, "MCNP Version 6.2 Release Notes," 2018.
• M. I. Sayyed, K. A. Mahmoud, S. Islam, O. L. Tashlykov, E. Lacomme, and K. M. Kaky, "Application of the MCNP 5 code to simulate the shielding features of concrete samples with different aggregates," Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 174(March), 108925, 2020.
• R. El-Mallawany, M. I. Sayyed, M. G. Dong, and Y. S. Rammah, "Simulation of radiation shielding properties of glasses contain PbO," Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 151, 239–252, 2018.
• R. B. Malidarre, H. O. Tekin, Gunuglu Kadir, and H. Akyıldırım, "Assessment of Gamma Ray Shielding Properties for Skin," International Journal of Computational and Experimental Science and Engineering, 9(1), 6–10, 2023.
• B. Oruncak, "Computation of Neutron Coefficients for B2O3 reinforced Composite," International Journal of Computational and Experimental Science and Engineering, 9(2), 50–53, 2023.
• Z. Aygun and M. Aygun, "An Analysis on Radiation Protection Abilities of Different Colored Obsidians," International Journal of Computational and Experimental Science and Engineering, 9(2), 170–176, 2023.
• A. Coşkun, B. Cetin, İ. Yiğitoğlu, and H. Topakli, "Comparison of the Radiation Absorption Properties of PbO doped ZrB2 Glasses by using GATE-GEANT4 Monte Carlo Code and XCOM Programme," International Journal of Computational andExperimental Science and ENgineering (IJCESEN), 9(3), 274–279, 2023.
• J. E. Martin, Physics for Radiation Protection, Third Edition (Wiley-VCH, 2013).
• A. T. Boothroyd, Principles of Neutron Scattering from Condensed Matter (Oxford University Press, 2020).