The design, fabrication and properties of B4C/Al neutron absorbers

Neutron absorber is used for the criticality safety during the storage or transportation of spent nuclear fuel. In this work, the metal matrix composite with good mechanical property and thermal neutron absorbing ability was investigated based on B4C/Al neutron radiation shielding material. The composition ratio for B4C/Al composite was firstly designed and the dependence of the neutron transmission on the thickness of the material was calculated. By vacuum hot-pressing technique at a low temperature, the neutron absorbers with high concentration of B4C were fabricated. Furthermore, the corresponding microstructure, physical, mechanical and corrosion properties as well as fracture surface were analyzed, proving that the developed composites can shield the neutron radiation as effectively as cadmium materials. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.