Calculations of Neutron and γ Transport through Rare earth Doped Polymer

Key words: 
• nuclear shielding material /
• MCNP simulation /
• neutron and γ /
• rareearth/polymer/heavy metal

Abstract: A series of shielding analyses have been performed to estimate the material composition and optimum thickness required for a new radiation shield with various rareearth doped polymer and heavy metal mixtures. The neutron and γ photon fluxes have been calculated by Monte Carlo NParticle(MCNP) transport code. The results indicate that the relative fluxes of γ photon and neutron in both traditional and new composite materials follow an exponential decay rule with the distance of penetration. It can be seen that the composite material consisting of rareearth doped polymer and heavy metal has stronger neutron shielding performance than leadboron polyethylene, but weaker γ shielding effectiveness than WNi alloy. It is also found that materials with more components of rare earth elements don’t always provide better neutron shielding performance.