The production of neutron armor materials with different polyethylene glycol (PEG-300) concentrations and investigation of the neutron absorption properties

It is generally known that the ionizing radiation has a harmful effect on human-being and environmental life. To avoid from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation, the radiation shielding materials may be the best choice and the aim of the radiation shielding materials is to attenuate the radiation flux to a safety level. In nuclear technology, the shielding materials are heavy concrete, steel and aluminum and these have some disadvantages stated as micro-cracks, corrosion and lower thermal resistance. Especially, commonly radiation shielding materials are inconvenient due to its high cost and toxic property. In recent years, novel type of polymer composites gains more attention as a neutron absorber material owing to its superior mechanical and thermal properties. In this study, the neutron absorption capability of polyurethane foams with different PEG-300 concentrations were investigated at first due to the complexity of neutron interactions.