DMSO-Bismuth polymer composite as gamma radiation shield – A computational study

Abstract

The present study deals with investigating several shielding parameters of Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) with varying concentration of bismuth as a filler. Exhaustive work has been done in finding the best shielding material from a multitude of materials, composites, glasses etc., by using multiple methods of study. In this study the chosen composites were explored by using the computational method of finding the shielding parameters, which are an important guide in establishing if the material selected can be a shielding material and whether it is a good option as well. The parameters computed for this study are linear attenuation and mass attenuation coefficient, half value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), mean free path (mfp), effective atomic number, effective electron density and the build-up factors for the said composites using XCOM, XMuDAT and PhyX. Upon obtaining the parameters of these composites and detailed analysis, it is observed that the attenuation coefficient increases with increase in bismuth content and the composite with 90% Bismuth showed the best results in terms of shielding. To understand the efficiency of these shielding materials, they were compared with Lead and Barite which are considered as the traditional shielding materials. From these comparisons, it is seen that 10%DMSO + 90%Bismuth is an ideal candidate for shielding of gamma rays and also proves to be light weight in contrast to the standard shielding materials.