Neutron Shielding Performance of Mortar Containing Synthetic High Polymers and Boron Carbide

Concrete walls of neutron generating facilities such as fusion reactors and fission reactors become radioactive by neutron irradiation. Both low-activation and neutron shielding are a critical concern at the dismantling stage after the shutdown of facilities with a requirement of radioactive waste management. To tackle this, two types of additives were investigated in fabricating mortar specimens: synthetic high polymers and boron carbide. It is well known that a hydrogen atom is effective in neutron shielding by an elastic scattering because its mass is almost the same as that of the neutron. And boron is an effective neutron absorber with a big neutron absorption cross section. In this study, the effect of the type, shape, and size of polymers were investigated as well as that of boron carbide. Total 16 mix designs were prepared to reveal the effect of polymers on mechanical properties and neutron shielding performance. The neutron does equivalent of polymers-based mortar for fast neutrons decreased by 36 %, and the count rate of boron carbide-based mortar with regard to thermal neutrons decreased by 90 % compared to conventional mortar. These results showed that a combination of polymers and boron carbide compounds has potential to reduce the thickness of neutron shields as well as radioactive waste from reactors.