Heavy Element-Enhanced Polymer Composites for Gamma and Neutron Radiation Shielding: A Simulation Study

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Mohamadreza Alipoor ¹
• Mahdi Eshghi ²

¹ Department t of Physics, Imam Hossein Comprehensive University, Tehran, Iran

² Department of Physics, Imam Hossein University, Tehran, Iran

10.22067/jmme.2025.89902.1161

Abstract

Lead-free polymer composite shields are used in radiotherapy to protect patients from unnecessary radiation exposure. Monte Carlo simulation was used to estimate the gamma ray shielding properties of tungsten-doped polymer composites in the photon energy range of 15 keV to 10 MeV. The linear and mass attenuation coefficients, half-value layer, tenth-value layer, effective atomic number, and stacking coefficient were calculated. To validate the simulation, the results were compared with theoretical data obtained from the Phy-x program. It was observed that the Phy-X program data and the Geant4 simulation tool were in good agreement. To evaluate the neutron modulation, the fast and thermal neutron removal cross sections of the polymer composites were investigated. According to the results, it was observed that sample P-6 showed a significant increase in density due to the addition of tungsten, which led to improved protection against gamma radiation. The results showed that energy levels significantly affect gamma ray penetration. The results showed that increasing tungsten in the samples does not always lead to an increase in the fast neutron removal cross section values. Consequently, according to these results, sample P-3 showed better protection against gamma and neutron radiation than the other samples. These results indicate that the composition and microstructure of the polymer composite can be optimized to improve radiation attenuation properties for medical physics applications.

Keywords

• Gamma ray
• Neutron
• Shielding
• Polymer-Composites
• Phy-x
• Geant4

Main Subjects

• Advanced Materials

---