Development of Sustainable Radiation-Shielding Blend Using Natural Rubber/NBR, and Bismuth Filler

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-2023

Abstract

This research entailed the production of composite materials through the combination of natural rubber and acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, along with nano-silica-loaded bismuth (III) oxide, in varying concentrations ranging from 0 to 45 parts per hundred parts of rubber (phr). The gamma attenuation properties of the composites at different concentrations of Bi2O3 were measured. Additionally, the mechanical properties of the resulting composites, including hardness, tensile strength, and elongation, were tested. The composites with a concentration of 20 phr exhibited the highest tensile strength and elongation at break, followed by a subsequent decrease as the concentration of Bi2O3 increased. The gamma mass-attenuation coefficient of the composites increased as the Bi2O3 concentration increased from 0 to 45 phr, with values ranging from 0.083 to 0.090 cm2/g at 0.662 MeV. Moreover, the fast neutron mass removal cross-sections ranged from 0.092 to 0.072 cm2/g, corresponding to the variation of Bi2O3 concentration from 0–45 phr are also determined. Various parameters related to gamma-ray shielding, including the half-value layer, exposure build-up factor (EBF) up to 40 mean free path (mfp) penetration depth, and effective atomic number (Zeff) are also included. The radiation-induced aging of the prepared blend is tested by measuring the effect of radiation exposure on its shielding capability via its porosity change. The obtained results indicated that the prepared composites could be used for several radiation-protection applications.

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