Nuclear Techniques ›› 2015, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (3): 30605-030605.

• NUCLEAR ENERGY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING •

Optimal design of the carbon fiber reinforcing B4C/Al neutron absorbing materials

ZHANG Peng1 ZHANG Zhewei2

1. 1(College of Physics and Optoelectronics, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China) 2(College of Material Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China)
• Received:2014-11-05 Revised:2014-12-02 Online:2015-03-10 Published:2015-03-09
• Contact: ZHANGPENG ZHANG E-mail:741853430@qq.com

Abstract: Background: The neutron absorbing materials used for spent fuel storage grids in the nuclear power plant need to meet the structural and functional integration requirements. Purpose: This paper has proposed the high content B4C/Al neutron absorbing materials reinforced by carbon fiber. Methods: Monte Carlo method has been used to calculate the neutron transmittances of carbon-fiber reinforcing B4C/Al neutron absorbing materials (Cf/B4C/Al). Result: The effects of some factors on the neutron transmittances of Cf/B4C/Al composite have been studied such as B4C and Cf contents, incident neutron energy and material thickness, which also have been compared with those of B4C/Al materials. Conclusions: The results show that for 1 eV?0.1 MeV incident neutron, when the content of B4C is less than 35%, the addition of carbon fibers can significantly improve the neutron shielding performance of B4C/Al composite. For 100-eV incident neutron, the transmittance of the material decreases exponentially with the increase of B4C content. The neutron transmission of Cf/B4C/Al decreases with the increase of carbon fiber content up to 10%. The optimal component ratios of Cf/B4C/Al were designed as 35% B4C and 10% Cf. In order to shield the neutron radiation as effectively as a 0.5-mm-thick cadmium plate, the thickness of Cf/B4C/Al was also designed as 9.42 mm. The study will provide the theoretical guidance for the design and application of the neutron absorbing materials.