Investigation of fast neutron shielding properties of new polyurethane-based composites loaded with B₄C, BeO, WO₃, ZnO, and Gd₂O₃ micro-and nanoparticles

The aim of the current research was to study the radiation shielding properties of polyurethane-based shielding materials filled with B₄C, BeO, WO₃, ZnO, and Gd₂O₃ particles against fast neutrons. The macroscopic cross sections of composites containing micro- and nanoparticles with a diameter of 10 µm and 50 nm were calculated using MCNPX (2.6.0) Monte Carlo code. The results showed that adding nano-scaled fillers to polyurethane matrix increases attenuation properties of neutron shields compared to micro-scaled fillers for intermediate and fast neutrons. Among the studied composites, WO₃ and Gd₂O₃ nano-composites presented higher neutron cross section compared to others.