Jump to main content
US EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Search
Search
Main menu
Environmental Topics
Laws & Regulations
About EPA
Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)
Contact Us
Print
Feedback
Export to File
Search:
This record has one attached file:
Add More Files
Attach File(s):
Display Name for File*:
Save
Citation
Tags
HERO ID
7170251
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
Experimental and Monte Carlo investigations of gamma ray transmission and buildup factors for inorganic nanoparticle/epoxy composites
Author(s)
Alavian, H; Samie, Ali; Tavakoli-Anbaran, H; ,
Year
2020
Is Peer Reviewed?
1
Journal
Radiation Physics and Chemistry
ISSN:
0969-806X
Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Location
OXFORD
DOI
10.1016/j.radphyschem.2020.108960
Web of Science Id
WOS:000541372100020
Abstract
The integration of inorganic nanoparticles into a polymer matrix presents a category of advanced materials, known as polymer inorganic nanocomposites (PINCs). In present work, the gamma-ray shielding parameters of epoxy resin loaded with two different proportions (5 and 25 wt%) of Pb, Zn, ZnO, Ti and TiO2 inorganic nanoparticles have been investigated. The prepared samples were characterized through structural investigations including SEM, EDS, XRD and FT-IR analyses. Furthermore, mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were evaluated on the basis of compressive strength. To evaluate the gamma-ray attenuation performance of the nanocomposites, the transmission and flux buildup factors have been measured experimentally. The 59.54 and 662 keV gamma-rays emitted from Am-241 and Cs-137 point sources were counted by a 2 '' x 2 '' NaI(Tl) detector. In addition, experimental results has been confirmed by a theoretical study using MCNPX code. The results showed that gamma-ray shielding effectiveness was enhanced by the increment of the filler loading. The experimental and theoretical calculations of transmission and buildup factors were found to be in a good agreement. As expected, 25 wt% Pb/epoxy nanocomposites indicated better shielding properties than their counterparts. However, it has to be notices that the mechanical strength of Pb/epoxy nanocomposites were determined significantly lower than those of Zn, ZnO, Ti and TiO2/epoxy nanocomposites. To design and choose an appropriate shielding material, therefore, a number of factors have to be considered.
Home
Learn about HERO
Using HERO
Search HERO
Projects in HERO
Risk Assessment
Transparency & Integrity