Study the Effect of Weight Fractions of Different Powders on the Attenuation Performances of the Epoxy Composite

Abstract

Among all types of radiation, X-ray has always garnered the most interest, owing to the growing availability of X-ray tubes in industry, research institutions, and medical facilities. In this research, the linear (μl) and mass (μm) attenuation coefficient, half value layer (HVL) and mean free path (λ) of the epoxy polymer-based composites which includes both lead oxide (Pb3O4), mixture of (Fe2O3 + Pb3O4) and barium sulfate (BaSO4) with different weight percentages were determined experimentally for the incident photon energies of (29-35 kV) emitted from (X-rays) source. The dispersion of the filler was also investigated using a scanning electron microscope to examine the composites morphology. The obtained results showed that adding these powders to epoxy has an effect on the X-ray shielding abilities of the prepared composites, meaning that there is a direct relationship between the weight ratios of the composite material with the linear (μl) and mass (μm) attenuation coefficient, and an inverse relationship with the half value layer (HVL) and free path rate (λ). While changing the X-ray shield with applied voltages showed a behavior opposite to what was mentioned above. The result also shows that the lead oxide (Pb3O4) composites yield better attenuation performance than the pure epoxy and the other two composites, especially at high weight fraction (50 Wt.%) of this filler, which due to the high density of these fillers and fine dispensability in the polymer matrix.