Study on a High-Boron-Content Stainless Steel Composite for Nuclear Radiation

In this research, a high-boron-content composite material with both neutron and gamma rays shielding properties was developed by an optimized design and manufacture. It consists of 304 stainless steel as the matrix and spherical boron carbide (B4C) particles as the functional particles. The content of B4C is 24.68 wt%, and the particles' radius is 1.53 mm. The density of the newly designed material is 5.17 g & BULL;cm(-3), about 68.02% of that of traditional borated stainless steel containing 1.7 wt% boron, while its neutrons shielding performance is much better. Firstly, focusing on shielding properties and material density, the content and the size of B4C were optimized by the Genetic Algorithm (GA) program combined with the MCNP program. Then, some samples of the material were manufactured by the infiltration casting technique according to the optimized results. The actual density of the samples was 5.21 g cm(-3). In addition, the neutron and gamma rays shielding performance of the samples and borated stainless steel containing 1.7 wt% boron was tested by using an Am-241-Be neutron source and Co-60 and Cs-137 gamma rays sources, respectively, and the results were compared. It can be concluded that the new designed material could be used as a material for nuclear power plants or spent-fuel storage and transportation containers with high requirements for mobility.

Automated summary

The study developed a high-boron-content composite material with optimized design and manufacture, achieving improved neutron and gamma rays shielding performance. By using a Genetic Algorithm to optimize the content and size of boron carbide, the material showed potential for use in nuclear power plants and spent-fuel storage and transportation containers.