An appropriate balance of mechanical and ionized radiation shielding performance across some tin binary alloys: A comparative investigation

Abstract

In this work, five tin alloys have been synthesized by rapid solidification process using melt-spun technique. Physical analysis demonstrates that, adding high density metals to tin alloy produces high density alloys between 6.99 and 8.9 g/cm3 and molar volumes between 12.7 and 19.17 cm3/mol. Utilizing Match 3's Rietveld refinement, the structural features of the prepared alloys were reported by X-ray diffraction. In terms of mechanical properties, the Sn-50Ag alloy found to have the greatest values of Young's modulus (184.5 GPa), tensile strength (470.2 MPa), yield strength (483.8 MPa), critical shear stress (12.3 GPa) and toughness (14.6 ×106 J/m3) among all the prepared alloys. Using NaI(TL) scintillation detector and Co60 and Cs137point sources, gamma-ray linear and mass attenuation coefficients μ & μm, half-value layer (HVL) and mean free path (λ) were determined experimentally at three energy lines (0.667, 1.177 and 1.334 MeV). The measured μm values were compared with those estimated using WINXCOM software with good agreement between them. Various gamma-ray shielding parameters were estimated in the energy range between 0.015 MeV to 15 MeV using WINXCOM program. In comparison to other typical shielding materials and newly studied materials, the results show that the studied alloys are effective gamma shielding materials. The Sn-50Ag and Sn-50In alloys have the best mechanical efficiency with relatively good gamma-ray shielding performance. While the Sn-50Bi alloy found to have the best gamma-ray shielding performance with relatively good mechanical efficiency. As a result, the Sn-50Ag and Sn-50Bi can achieve a good balance between the shielding and mechanical performance and hence they are validated for radiation protection. The findings also show that, when compared to all other prepared alloys, common neutron shielding materials and recent studied materials, the Sn-50Ag has the best neutron absorption capability with ΣR= 0.124 cm-1. Finally, the Sn-50Bi alloy exhibits the best attenuation performance for protons (H+1) and alpha particles (He+2) with regard to projected range (PR) and stopping power (MSP). These findings suggest that the Sn-50Ag and Sn-50Bi alloys make excellent nuclear shielding and mechanical performance for a variety of uses including the storage of nuclear waste, industrial and medicinal applications.