Fabrication of a new "Epoxy-Gd 2 O 3 " neutron-shielding composite and its characterization by experimental and simulation methods

Fabrication of a new "Epoxy-Gd 2 O 3 " neutron-shielding composite and its characterization by experimental and simulation methods | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Fabrication of a new "Epoxy-Gd 2 O 3 " neutron-shielding composite and its characterization by experimental and simulation methods Seyed Mohammad Reza Safavi, Mohammad Outokesh, Naser Vosoughi, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4908043/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A new neutron shielding composite was fabricated by homogenous dispersion of gadolinium oxide in the epoxy resin. It was found that the addition of Gd 2 O 3 , up to 2% has a positive effect on the tensile strength of the epoxy matrix so that its strength reached 44.5 MP with 3.1% elongation rate. This is despite the fact that according to the FTIR and XRD results, Gd 2 O 3 and epoxy preserved their chemical natures in the matrix. The addition of Gd 2 O 3 also enhanced the thermal resistance of the epoxy matrix, as it was evidenced by the TGA analysis. The neutronic shielding performance of the fabricated composite was evaluated by both experiments and simulation. The new composite offers appreciable neutronic absorption so that its sample with 4 cm thickness and 10% Gd 2 O 3 content captures 70% of the incident neutrons. The accuracy of the MCNP code in the simulation of neutronic data of our sample was noticeable, and it was around 13.5% on average. Physical sciences/Chemistry Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Materials science Physical sciences/Physics Neutron Shields Epoxy Composite Gadolinium Oxide Simulation Monte Carlo Method Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure 15 Figure 16 Figure 17 1-Introduction Widespread applications of radioisotopes and other sources of elementary particles, e.g., accelerators and reactors, have given rise to significant risks of exposure to ionizing radiation 1 – 4 . One of the most hazardous ionizing radiation is neutron, whose great deal of usage in medicine (e.g., neutron capture therapy) 5 , 6 , industry (e.g., nuclear power plants, online elemental analyses) 7 , 8 , and science (neutron microscopy and imaging) has necessitated the effort for the development of effective neutron shields 9 . Concrete has been traditionally used as the most exploited neutron shield 10 despite its apparent deficiencies, such as transportation problems and its heavy and inflexible nature 11 , 12 . Recently, however, attention has been drawn more toward polymeric composites due to their light weight, mechanical strength, corrosion resistance, and easier fabrication processes 13 , 14 . As the matrix of neutron shields, various polymers have been utilized, from both thermoset and thermoplastic groups 15 . Polymeric matrices that comprise hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon provide a large cross-section for the scattering of fast neutrons and reducing their energies into the thermal energy range 16 . The thermal neutrons, then, are captured by the absorber atoms, which are incorporated into the composite structure 17 – 19 . This combined effect makes the polymeric composites, efficient neutron shields 20 . One of the most applied thermoplastic polymers in neutron shielding is polyethylene, in both of its high—density (HDPE) and low-density (LDPE)forms. Shang 21 fabricated a multilayer neutron shield consisting of alternating HDPE/hBN and LDPE layers through a two-step hot-pressing process. In this composite, the hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) in the HDPE/hBN layers is highly oriented in the in-plane direction. The composite maintains a stable, continuous multilayer structure with strong adhesion between the adjacent layers. This PE/hBN composite demonstrates effective neutron shielding capabilities. Specifically, when the filler content is 30 wt%, the multilayer PE/hBN film exhibits a \(\frac{I}{{{I_0}}}\) value of 4.16%. In addition to PE, other thermoplastic polymers such as polystyrene, polyurethane, and silicon also have been used in recent works. Meanwhile, thermoset polymers such as epoxy resins also have been used in the fabrication of a wide range of neutron shields. The appreciable mechanical and thermal stability of epoxy resins, as well as the simplicity of their application, arising from their initial liquid form, makes the epoxy prime matrix of the neutron shields 22 . Okuno, in 2005 23 , showed that the shielding performance and mechanical strength of epoxy shields are superior to the concrete and polyethylene. The composites, used for the neutron shielding must contain elements with a large neutronic absorption cross-section. According to Table 1 , Gadolinium, Boron, Samarium, and Cadmium, or a combination of these elements, are the active ingredients of the neutron shields and were used in the previous investigations 24 . Table 1 Thermal neutron absorption of common elements Isotope / Element 0.025 eV Neutron Absorption Cross Section (barn) [JANISWeb] Boron-10 ~ 3,840 Samarium-149 ~ 40,550 Gadolinium-157 ~ 254,250 Cadmium-113 ~ 20,600 Adeli et al. 25 produced and examined a composite shielding material that used epoxy as the matrix and boron carbide (B 4 C) as a filler to absorb thermal neutrons. His 9.8 mm thick fabricated shield reduced incident neutrons by up to 80% by adding 3% B 4 C. Furthermore, he significantly improved the composite's shielding performance by more than 60% by incorporating aluminum Tri hydroxide and tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ) powder. WO 3 has been utilized in various types of gamma shields, and as a result, it was integrated into the epoxy/B 4 C composite. In another study, Kiani et al. 26 designed and reinforced an epoxy/B 4 C composite shield by adding nano clay. They showed that the stability of the shield is appreciably enhanced by this method. According to them, the optimal concentration of nano clay was 3 percent. The data indicated that a macroscopic absorption cross-section of 1.047 cm − 1 could be achieved by adding 20 percent B 4 C. Regarding the Gd2O3-containing composites, Irim et al. 27 designed a neutron shield that comprised a polyethylene matrix and investigated its neutron attenuation performance by adding different concentrations of h-BN and Gd 2 O 3 . They achieved the best absorption efficiency by adding 3% Gd 2 O 3 and 11% h-BN. In a computational approach, Castley et al. 28 investigated the shielding performance of a silicone rubber composite that contained three different neutron adsorbers, namely Gd 2 O 3 , Sm 2 O 3 , and B 4 C. It was shown that when thoroughly mixed, a composite containing 10% Gd 2 O 3 and 2% B 4 C can exhibit the most effective neutron attenuation while maintaining a lower photon radiation dose compared to the 5% borated polyethylene material. As mentioned before, samarium is also a thermal neutron absorber. Toyen et al. 29 dispersed samarium oxide in an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene shield, and applied samarium oxide at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 percent concentrations. According to these authors, the optimal concentration of Sm 2 O 3 was somewhere between 10 and 20%. Among the stable elements of the periodic table, gadolinium possesses the highest absorption cross-section for the thermal neutrons. The current study was aimed at the fabrication of a new neutron-shielding composite, through compounding of the epoxy resin as the polymeric matrix, and gadolinium oxide as the neutron absorber. After fabrication, the obtained composite was characterized by different physicochemical methods to disclose its chemical, structural, mechanical, and thermal properties. The neutron attenuation behavior of the sample was examined using an Am-Be source. Attention was also drawn to the simulation of the neurotic response of the fabricated samples using the Montecarlo method. This was done to achieve a deeper insight into the neutronic behaviors of the manufactured composite. 2- Experimental section 2-1- Materials The epoxy resin used in the current study was based on bisphenol A, and its hardener was a polyamine. These materials, with the respective trademarks of ML-506 and HA-11, were purchased from the Mokarrar industrial company, Tehran, Iran. The viscosity and density of the ML-506 resin at 25 o C were 1450 cP and 1.11 g/cm 3 , respectively. The resin had an aliphatic structure that increased the flexibility of the produced composite. Reagent-grade gadolinium oxide powder (Gd 2 O 3 ) of 99.9% purity was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. 2-2- Composite fabrication According to the manufacturer's instructions, the weight ratio of resin to hardener was taken 100:15. Fabrication of composite was started by pouring adequate amounts of resin and hardener into a laboratory beaker and their rigorous mixing, using a stirring agitator, which rotated at 400 to 450 rpm, for 15 min. At this stage, gadolinium oxide powder was gradually added to the resin mixture, and the rotation speed of the agitator was increased to 650 to 700 rpm for an additional 45 min. Afterward, the homogenized mixture was transferred to Petri dishes, and its temperature was controlled at room temperature, for 5 to 6 h, by the air stream of a blowing fan. The reaction was complete at this point, and the formed composite became dry and hard. Composites with different Gd 2 O 3 content from 0.5–10%, along with a neat epoxy sample, were fabricated and tested in the current study. Given the volume of the composite sample as "V," the required mass of resin, hardener, and gadolinium oxide were calculated by the following formula: $$\:{m}_{composite}=\frac{V}{\left[\frac{x}{{\rho\:}_{Gd2O3}}+\frac{1-x}{{\rho\:}_{Epoxy}}\right]}\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\left(1\right)$$ $$\:{m}_{Resin}={\frac{100}{115}m}_{Epoxy\:\:\:\:}\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\left(2\right)$$ $$\:{m}_{Hardener}={\frac{15}{115}m}_{Epoxy\:\:\:\:}\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\left(3\right)$$ $$\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:{m}_{Gd2O3}={\frac{x}{1-x}{m}_{Epoxy}\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\left(4\right)}_{\:\:\:\:}$$ where “ x ” denotes mass fraction of Gd 2 O 3 in the composite, and “ \(\:{\rho\:}_{Gd2O3}=7.41\:g/c{m}^{3}\) " and " \(\:{\rho\:}_{Epoxy}=1.11\:g/c{m}^{3}\) " were densities of gadolinium oxide and cured epoxy resin, respectively. 2-3- Physicochemical characterization Static light scattering analysis (SLS, FRITSCH, ANALYSETTE 22, Germany) was used to analyze the particle size distribution of the Gd 2 O 3 absorber. Crystalline phases of the fabricated composites and gadolinium oxide were detected by X-ray diffractometry (XRD, X'Pert PRO MPD, Panalytical, Netherlands). Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM, TeScan-Mira III, Czech Republic) was used to study the dispersion states of the absorber particles within the composite matrix, as well as the fracture pattern of the samples under the tensile forces. Meanwhile, the molecular structure of the composites was studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, Thermo, AVATAR, USA). Another significant property of the composite was its mechanical strength, which was evaluated by tensile strength analysis according to ISO standard 6892. The system employed in this experiment was a tensile testing machine model H10KS, Hounsfield, USA. To check heat resistance and thermal stability of the prepared composites, a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA, Mettler Toledo, Switzerland) was undertaken with a temperature rise of 10 o C/min in the ambient atmosphere. 2-4- Neutron attenuation experiment The neutron attenuation experiments were carried out on the experimental setup of Fig. 1 . According to this figure, an Am-Be neutron source was positioned at the center of a cylindrical container, which was filled with water and boric acid. Well-collimated thermal neutrons collided with the sample after they were sufficiently thermalized, by moving an adequate distance through a polyethylene slab. A 6 Li glass scintillator, a preamplifier, and an amplifier were used for the neutron detection and counting. 2-5- Monte Carlo simulation In addition to the experiment, the neutronic response of the fabricated composite was investigated by the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) computer code, especially its MCNPX version. Our simulation consisted of two steps: At the first, the geometry and configuration of the neutronic test apparatus were entered into the MCNP code to result in the intensity and energy spectrum of the incident beam. Thereafter, interactions of the incident beam with the composite specimens, including scattering and neutron capture were evaluated. In each run of the second step, one million particles were generated and transported through the composite sample. Given the presence of light materials in the neutron passage, and the relatively large dimensions of the equipment, to reduce the computational price, an initial run was conducted to determine the energy and angular distributions of neutron flux at the trailing edge of the collimator. The results indicated that the neutron flux had a predominantly forward angular distribution, aligned with the surface's normal vector. In order to calculate the attenuation coefficient, we utilized the neutron flux output from the collimator, and its value at the exit of the shield. Since the interaction rate of thermal neutrons with lithium-6 (resulting in the production of alpha particles and lithium) is measured in a lithium glass detector, this rate can be incorporated into the definition of the attenuation coefficient using the following equation: $$\mu =1 - \frac{{{\varphi _{surface,out}}}}{{{\varphi _{surface,in}}}}=1 - \frac{{{{\left( {{\Sigma _{n,\alpha }}{\varphi _v}} \right)}_{shield}}}}{{{{\left( {{\Sigma _{n,\alpha }}{\varphi _v}} \right)}_{void}}}}$$ 5 This reaction rate was calculated using the tally 4 and card MT = 205 in the detector cell, with the results presented in the results and discussion section. Considering that the detector's performance is highly dependent on the energy spectrum of the incident neutron beam, this rate was calculated for 50 logarithmic energy intervals ranging from the thermal region to the fast area. 3- Results and discussion 3-1-Physicochemical characterization The gadolinium oxide particle size distribution was obtained using SLS analysis (Fig. 2 -b). As it is seen, most of the particles were between 1 and 10 micrometers. Additionally, the SEM image (Fig. 2 -a) displays the structure and particle size of Gd 2 O 3 powder, confirming the SLS results. The EDX analysis of the sample was also performed (Fig. 3 ), and the results indicated that the particles were made of pure gadolinium oxide. Figure 4 demonstrates the elemental map of gadolinium within the composite, indicated by the green color dots. The absorber particles were dispersed in the polymeric matrix in an entirely random manner. Such homogeneous dispersion of particles was observed at different concentrations of Gd 2 O 3 . The neutron shield composite, including epoxy and dispersed Gd 2 O 3 , is demonstrated in Fig. 5 -a. As precipitation of denser gadolinium oxide might occur during the manufacturing of the composite, it was necessary to check if the Gd 2 O 3 particles were homogeneously dispersed in the cured samples. For this purpose, we took the SEM images of the surface (Fig. 5 -b) and cross section of the broken composite (Fig. 5 -c). The results demonstrated a uniform distribution of particles throughout the body of the samples. Figure` 6- XRD spectrum of a) Epoxy, b) Gd 2 O 3 , c) Epoxy / Gd 2 O 3 composite To study the molecular structure of the neat epoxy resin, and the potential effect of composite formation on the functional groups of the polymer, samples of epoxy and epoxy/gadolinium oxide composite were analyzed by the FTIR ATR method. In both spectra, the peak around 3200 cm − 1 corresponds to the stretching vibration of O-H bond, the regions between 2800 and 2950 cm − 1 are attributed to symmetric and asymmetric stretching of C-H bonds in CH 2 and CH 3 groups, the peak at 1720 cm − 1 is related to the stretching vibration of carbonyl group C = O, and the observed peaks at 1630 and 1504 cm − 1 refers to the stretching of C-C and C = C bonds in aromatic compounds. Also, the absorptions in the regions of 1288, 1220, and 1105 cm − 1 are respectively ascribed to the stretching vibrations of C-O-C, C-O, and C-OH bonds. According to Fig. 7 , the functional groups of the epoxy have not undergone significant changes due to the presence of Gd 2 O 3 particles, so the addition of gadolinium oxide did not affect the molecular structure of the polymer, an observation that is in agreement with the previous studies 34 , 35 . In the ATR analysis, the radiation used has a limited penetration depth in the sample. When a composite sample is present with a filler on its surface, the incident beam, at some points, might less effectively penetrate the surface, which in turn, might cause lower intensities of the composite peaks. In the applications of the prepared composites, often, mechanical strength is one of the most significant requirements. In order to evaluate this property, a tensile test was performed on the Gd 2 O 3 -Epoxy composite. According to ISO 527 standard (Fig. 8 ), three dumbbell-shaped specimens were made from the foregoing composite, a tensile test was carried out on all of the specimens, and the average value of strengths was used in the calculations. The test was repeated on the composites with different Gd 2 O 3 concentrations. The gauge length has been considered to be 75 mm according to the ISO tensile standard. Initially, the pure epoxy sample was tested as the control sample, and the other samples were measured relative to it. The stress-strain curves are exhibited in Fig. 9 . Also, the calculated values of the elastic modulus, tensile strength, and percentage of elongation at break are displayed in Fig. 10 for comparison. In Fig. 9 , the stress-strain curves of all composite samples change almost linearly up to the point of fracture. This trend indicates the rigid nature of the fabricated composites, which has also been observed in other studies, which compounded tantalum oxide 36 , bismuth oxide 37 and gadolinium oxide 38 with epoxy in the composites. Based on the comparison of the tensile characteristics of different samples (Fig. 10), it can be concluded that by increasing of the percentage of Gd 2 O 3 , at first, elastic modulus and tensile strength increase, but above 2% Gd 2 O 3 content, they start diminishing. Such behavior can be explained by the following mechanisms: 1) At lower concentration of Gd 2 O 3 , where the epoxy matrix is still homogenous, satisfactory adhesion of resin and Gd 2 O 3 , causes effective transferring of the mechanical load to the stiffer gadolinium oxide, thereby enhancing its mechanical strength, and 2) Higher Gd 2 O 3 content, ruins the uniformity of the matrix and the obtained composite cannot act as an integrated and cohesive material 39 , 40 . Note that the non-uniform distribution of metallic oxides at higher Gd 2 O 3 concentrations may lead to the accumulation of particles in some points of the matrix. Such an effect is evidenced in Fig. 11 . The points marked with yellow circles are the location of the particle accumulation in the 10% Gd 2 O 3 sample. Apparently, sample fracture begins from these agglomerations. Besides the aforementioned effects, the percentage of elongation at the breakpoint showed a decreasing trend with the increasing Gd 2 O 3 content. The results of Fig. 10 are comparable with those reported by Prabhu et al. for the Ta2O5-reinforced composite 36 . Based on the results of the mechanical tests of the current study, the optimal concentration of Gd 2 O 3 in the epoxy composite was found to be around 2%. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) was performed on the plain and Gd 2 O 3 -containing composites to scrutinize their thermal resistances, and the potential changes, imposed on Gd 2 O 3 -containing samples during the fabrication. Our TG tests were started at the ambient temperature, and reached to700 o C, with a 10 \(\frac{{{}^{o}C}}{{\hbox{min} }}\) growing rate, in the nitrogen atmosphere. According to Fig. 12 , the highest percentage of the degradation occurred at 350 o C, but samples were completely decomposed at 700 o C. Adding the gadolinium oxide to the polymeric matrix, had a positive effect on the thermal stability of the composite (Fig. 12 ), likely because compounding with Gd 2 O 3 increases the thermal conductivity of the samples, which in turn leads to a better dissipation of destructive thermal energy from the composite specimens. Similar results were reported by the previous researchers 41 – 43 . 3 − 2 Neutron shielding performance Epoxy samples with 0.5, 2, 5, and 10% Gd 2 O 3 content underwent neutron attenuation experiments. For each of the aforesaid weight percentages, the neutronic test was carried out on the specimens with thicknesses ranging from 1 to 4 cm. All experiments and simulations were repeated three times, and their average values are reported, here. Neutron shielding simulation was carried out by the Monte Carlo particle transport model using the MCNPX code. At the large sample thicknesses, neutron moderation is significant, and scattering and absorption cross-sections increase as its consequence. This change in energy of the neutron beam leads to a greater effect of changes in the gadolinium mass fraction in thicker samples compared to the thinner ones. Note that at the fast and epithermal energies, any reduction in the neutron energy increases the absorption rate much more than the scattering rate. According to the experiments, all composites with 0.5%, 2%, 5%, and 10% Gd 2 O 3 content performed better than the neat epoxy in terms of neutron absorption (Figs. 13 – 17 ). Most notably, the composite with 10 wt% gadolinium oxide could absorb 70% of the incident neutrons at a 4 cm thickness. The results indicate that Gd 2 O 3 -bearing composites are effective materials for neutron shielding. Here, there is a point that deserves attention: Although neutron capture increases with increasing both thickness and absorber content, absorption of the neutron in 157 Gd isotope is accompanied by the production of gamma rays, and characteristic X-rays, which on the other hand increase the total dose of the personnel. As a result, the optimum values of Gd 2 O 3 and composite thickness are those values that minimize the total dose of "neutron + gamma", and simultaneously meet the economical considerations. Engaging in such optimization processes, that require detailed information about the neutron reactions, and cost analysis is beyond the scope of the current study. Table 2 Attenuation factor through experiment and simulation Thickness (cm) Attenuation factor (ΔI/I 0 × 100) 0.0% Absorber 0.5% Absorber 2.0% Absorber 5.0% Absorber 10.0% Absorber Exp. Sim. Exp. Sim. Exp. Sim. Exp. Sim. Exp. Sim. 1 7% 10% 20% 23% 34% 30% 42% 36% 47% 42% 2 19% 16% 34% 30% 48% 39% 52% 46% 58% 49% 3 30% 24% 46% 42% 56% 48% 59% 54% 66% 57% 4 37% 35% 54% 55% 63% 59% 66% 62% 70% 68% Average absolute error (AAE, %) 12.8 Table 2 presents the experimental and computational values of the attenuation factor ( Af ) for different examined samples. The last row of the table indicates an average absolute error ( AAE , %), that is defined as: $$AAE,\% =\frac{{\sum\limits_{1}^{n} {\frac{{\left| {A{f_{cal.}} - A{f_{\exp .}}} \right|}}{{A{f_{\exp .}}}}} }}{n} \times 100$$ 6 where indices "cal." and "exp." denote the calculated and experimental values of " Af ", respectively; and "n" refers to the total number of the experiment. According to Table (2), ( AAE , %) is about 12.5% which shows a relatively fair agreement between simulation and experiment. In addition to the attenuation factor ( Af ), the experimental data and calculation resulted in the effective macroscopic absorption cross-section (Σ a ). The data presented in Table 3 indicate that the macroscopic absorption cross-section increases nonlinearly with the Gd 2 O 3 content. This observation could be attributed to the increased likelihood of microbubble and porosity formation when higher filler concentrations are used. Additionally, the formation of agglomerates becomes more prevalent at higher concentrations, which may have a detrimental effect on the shielding performance. The average error of MCNP in the simulation of the experiments was about 14% which is fairly acceptable (Table 3 ). Table 3 Macroscopic absorption cross-section, based on experiment and simulation Macroscopic Absorption Cross Section (Σ a , cm − 1 ) Gd 2 O 3 (w/w, %) Experiment MCNP 0.5 0.242 0.261 2 0.425 0.356 5 0.541 0.446 10 0.643 0.544 Average absolute error (AAE, %) 14.26 4- Conclusion A new neutron shielding composite was fabricated by homogenous dispersion of gadolinium oxide particles in the epoxy resin. According to the results of XRD and FTIR analysis, both components of the composite preserved their identities and no significant chemical interaction was observed between them. SEM images revealed that the gadolinium oxide particles were well distributed in the body and surface of the composites, and followed a random distribution. The tensile test indicated that the addition of Gd 2 O 3 , at first has a positive effect on the tensile strength of the composite, so that the 2% Gd 2 O 3 sample presents the highest tensile strength of 44.5 mega-pascals and a 3.1% elongation magnitude, but above 2%, the trend is reversed. The addition of Gd 2 O 3 also enhances the thermal resistance of the epoxy matrix, as it was evidenced by the TGA analysis. The performance of the fabricated composite was evaluated from the standpoint of neutronic shielding by both experiments and simulation. The new composite offers appreciable neutronic absorption performance so that 4 cm of its sample comprising 10% gadolinium oxide could capture 70% of the incident neutrons. The accuracy of MCNP code in the simulation of the neutronic data was noticeable, as it could compute attenuation factor and macroscopic absorption cross-section, with 12.8 and 14.26% average errors, respectively. Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Author Contribution S.M.R.S., A.Y., M.A.K., and A.M. contributed to the experimental section. S.S.J. and S.M.R.S. performed the simulations. S.M.R.S. wrote the main manuscript, then M.O. and A.Y. reviewed it. M.O. and N.V. supervised the study. All the authors discussed and analyzed the study and its results. Acknowledgement The authors thank the Sharif University of Technology for supporting this study. 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Stacey, W. M. Nuclear reactor physics (Wiley, 2018). Adeli, R., Shirmardi, S. P. & Ahmadi, S. J. Neutron irradiation tests on B4C/epoxy composite for neutron shielding application and the parameters assay. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 127 , 140–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2016.06.026 (2016). Kiani, M. A., Ahmadi, S. J., Outokesh, M., Adeli, R. & Mohammadi, A. Preparation and characteristics of epoxy/clay/B4C nanocomposite at high concentration of boron carbide for neutron shielding application. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 141 , 223–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2017.07.013 (2017). İrim, Ş. G. et al. Physical, mechanical and neutron shielding properties of h-BN/Gd2O3/HDPE ternary nanocomposites. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 144 , 434–443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2017.10.007 (2018). Castley, D., Goodwin, C. & Liu, J. Computational and experimental comparison of boron carbide, gadolinium oxide, samarium oxide, and graphene platelets as additives for a neutron shield. 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HBRC J. 11 , 151–156. 10.1016/j.hbrcj.2014.06.001 (2015). Parameswaranpillai, J., Pulikkalparambil, H., Rangappa, S. M. & Siengchin, S. Epoxy Composites (Wiley Online Library, 2021). Sahmetlioglu, E., Mart, H., Yuruk, H. & Sürme, Y. Synthesis and characterization of oligosalicylaldehyde-based epoxy resins. Chem. Papers- Slovak Acad. Sci. 60 , 65–68. 10.2478/s11696-006-0012-1 (2006). Duraibabu, D., Alagar, M. & Kumar, S. A. Studies on mechanical, thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of functionalized nanoalumina reinforced sulphone ether linked tetraglycidyl epoxy nanocomposites. RSC Adv. 4 , 40132–40140 (2014). Prabhu, S., Bubbly, S. G. & Gudennavar, S. B. Thermal, mechanical and γ-ray shielding properties of micro- and nano-Ta2O5 loaded DGEBA epoxy resin composites. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 138 , 51289. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.51289 (2021). Muthamma, M. V., Prabhu, S., Bubbly, S. G. & Gudennavar, S. B. Micro and nano Bi2O3 filled epoxy composites: Thermal, mechanical and γ-ray attenuation properties. Appl. Radiat. Isot. 174 , 109780. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.109780 (2021). Li, R. et al. Effect of particle size on gamma radiation shielding property of gadolinium oxide dispersed epoxy resin matrix composite. Mater. Res. Express . 4 , 035035 (2017). Husseinsyah, S. & Ahmad, R. Properties of low-density polyethylene/palm kernel shell composites: Effect of polyethylene co-acrylic acid. J. Thermoplast. Compos. Mater. 26 10.1177/0892705711417028 (2013). Kiran, M., Govindaraju, H., Jayaraju, T. & Kumar, N. Effect of fillers on mechanical properties of polymer matrix composites. Materials Today: Proceedings 5, 22421–22424 (2018). Sun, J. et al. Lignin epoxy composites: preparation, morphology, and mechanical properties. Macromol. Mater. Eng. 301 , 328–336 (2016). Guo, Q. et al. One-pot synthesis of bimodal silica nanospheres and their effects on the rheological and thermal–mechanical properties of silica–epoxy composites. RSC Adv. 5 10.1039/C5RA06914A (2015). Nazarenko, O. & Melnikova, T. & P.M, V. Thermal and Mechanical Characteristics of Polymer Composites Based on Epoxy Resin, Aluminium Nanopowders and Boric Acid. Journal of Physics: Conference Series 671, 012040, doi: (2016). 10.1088/1742-6596/671/1/012040 Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 17 Sep, 2024 Reviews received at journal 13 Sep, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Sep, 2024 Reviews received at journal 03 Sep, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Aug, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Aug, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 26 Aug, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 26 Aug, 2024 Editor invited by journal 23 Aug, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 23 Aug, 2024 First submitted to journal 13 Aug, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4908043","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":355004704,"identity":"5d693066-2f92-48e8-8c50-846c73ff1b27","order_by":0,"name":"Seyed Mohammad Reza Safavi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sharif University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Seyed","middleName":"Mohammad Reza","lastName":"Safavi","suffix":""},{"id":355004705,"identity":"00ff978f-7e6e-470a-858d-96e7445fe8fc","order_by":1,"name":"Mohammad Outokesh","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA20lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACfiBmbGBgSOBn4AEyDeSARAJ+LZINzBAtkg1gLcaEtRgcgGoxOADSwkCMlhv5Bx/OqKjLMz5/9uDnigIDBn72HAMCWpKZDTecOVxsdiMvWfKMgQGDZM8bglrYJB+2HUjcdoPHQLLB4A9QhLAtQC3/6hI3958x/tkAtMWeKC0bG5gTNzDkmEmCtBhIENAi2fPY2HDGscOJM27kmFkCtfBInHlWgFcLP3viw4c9NXWJ/UCH3Wz4YyDH3568Aa8WDMBDmvJRMApGwSgYBVgBAMz/Sbalm9ERAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Sharif University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohammad","middleName":"","lastName":"Outokesh","suffix":""},{"id":355004706,"identity":"08cfc0f1-d3e8-44f0-b413-026738c93288","order_by":2,"name":"Naser Vosoughi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sharif University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Naser","middleName":"","lastName":"Vosoughi","suffix":""},{"id":355004707,"identity":"a720cdb4-e626-4850-9b1d-a9ae879c978f","order_by":3,"name":"Amin Yahyazadeh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sharif University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amin","middleName":"","lastName":"Yahyazadeh","suffix":""},{"id":355004708,"identity":"48693706-95d0-4fca-929c-4e20f19b12e5","order_by":4,"name":"Aghil Mohammadi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Amirkabir University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Aghil","middleName":"","lastName":"Mohammadi","suffix":""},{"id":355004709,"identity":"3b7d9ab9-08e6-41b0-bf29-bf7e2adf3aa4","order_by":5,"name":"Mohammad Amin Kiani","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sharif University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohammad","middleName":"Amin","lastName":"Kiani","suffix":""},{"id":355004710,"identity":"76939620-6509-4683-8a64-c6f09fae610d","order_by":6,"name":"Seyed Sajad Jabalamelian","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sharif University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Seyed","middleName":"Sajad","lastName":"Jabalamelian","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-08-13 15:06:59","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4908043/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4908043/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":65113476,"identity":"8fd96a02-f7c1-43f9-9895-fd13d9e5664b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:52:29","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":398662,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSchematic of neutron attenuation\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/deb9b940e1e0265d01afc5f9.jpg"},{"id":65112512,"identity":"fbe489f9-4f56-4257-ab03-e57f373a2f51","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:28:28","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":2237698,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ea) SEM image of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e particles; b) size distribution and\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/c8609837231862e6a185db0e.png"},{"id":65112509,"identity":"4aa59ecd-450d-45d0-a880-2e3a1553ab1d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:28:28","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":58106,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEDX analysis of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/d6f25ca5e9c653c137ed37ea.jpg"},{"id":65112746,"identity":"b79f16d6-d466-4929-8a3f-57b51cb1c42b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:36:28","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":10467141,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eElemental map of a) 0.5%; b)2%; c)5% filler\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/f2d7064e079ba937088dfb1c.png"},{"id":65113283,"identity":"77ccbf5f-1205-47df-bd28-f045c15b278a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:44:29","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":4803934,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ea) Epoxy / Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e composite. Distribution of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e particles; b) in the cross-section; c) on the surface of the polymer\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/fbd67e96e05f6653ce528eb2.png"},{"id":65112510,"identity":"dff372d6-430b-4213-854e-cbd9a58bb5b7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:28:28","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":216657,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eXRD spectrum of a)\u003csub\u003e \u003c/sub\u003eEpoxy, b) Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, c) Epoxy / Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e composite\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/c5888a1c6a698a3e4c2e66ba.png"},{"id":65112524,"identity":"f1bdf47a-f4c3-4462-aed2-07c2187bd59c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:28:29","extension":"jpg","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":198730,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;FTIR ATR spectrum of Epoxy / Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e and Epoxy\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure7.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/6e21b7cc7f1d6f6817217ac9.jpg"},{"id":65112750,"identity":"53e567a3-deab-47c1-a1ae-6ba374c4698a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:36:29","extension":"jpg","order_by":8,"title":"Figure 8","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":280096,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEN ISO 527-2 type 1B geometry for the tensile test specimen. All dimensions are in mm.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure8.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/8b2bc40405328aeb88ed8c04.jpg"},{"id":65112522,"identity":"6573cc0d-bbd0-4a05-88d7-86e69bdef70f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:28:29","extension":"jpg","order_by":9,"title":"Figure 9","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":220702,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eStress-strain curve for neat epoxy and epoxy with different concentrations of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure9.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/f5fb9062282135df10147290.jpg"},{"id":65112751,"identity":"a2fe9315-d699-4413-97ac-724a20a40126","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:36:29","extension":"png","order_by":10,"title":"Figure 10","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":192962,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ea)Elastic Modulus; b)Tensile strength; c)Elongation of neat epoxy (0% filler) and other composites (0.5, 2, 5,10 % filler)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"10.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/e01ee0fc2649a959eab2801c.png"},{"id":65114083,"identity":"37dc03c5-6317-40c2-a87a-2d31d299f0c9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 19:00:29","extension":"jpg","order_by":11,"title":"Figure 11","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":96048,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eCross-section SEM image of tensile 10% sample\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure11.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/10d58822f15703da9cb05fab.jpg"},{"id":65112523,"identity":"51963538-b70e-4c0b-a192-d032acbc44ea","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:28:29","extension":"jpg","order_by":12,"title":"Figure 12","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":124989,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eTG curves of neat epoxy and composite\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture12.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/572a4f24c802a21f2bbd76c3.jpg"},{"id":65112519,"identity":"ca298989-4746-482b-af1c-799e19f3f56b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:28:29","extension":"jpg","order_by":13,"title":"Figure 13","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":109791,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eExperimental and simulation neutron attenuation of neat epoxy\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture13.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/5e601af398770c8a793c0121.jpg"},{"id":65112521,"identity":"8e74d34c-6005-454f-90c4-ff067011cc39","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:28:29","extension":"jpg","order_by":14,"title":"Figure 14","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":114044,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eExperimental and simulation neutron attenuation of epoxy / Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e 0.5%\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture14.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/1bb32e20ce445831fed97877.jpg"},{"id":65112516,"identity":"c69664f8-0f93-41f1-afa3-b7bb3990450f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:28:29","extension":"jpg","order_by":15,"title":"Figure 15","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":112586,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eExperimental and simulation neutron attenuation of epoxy / Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e 2\u003cstrong\u003e%\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture15.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/6e978307c2575c9ef9299698.jpg"},{"id":65113477,"identity":"3b4bbfe6-5d43-4b0a-8998-d4f250d1d2d8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:52:29","extension":"jpg","order_by":16,"title":"Figure 16","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":111829,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eExperimental and simulation neutron attenuation of epoxy / Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e 5%\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture16.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/9d297fc7c9db7c160b7bd098.jpg"},{"id":65112525,"identity":"cbcf4a4b-7d0b-4ad6-bc50-868529dcf4a1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 18:28:29","extension":"jpg","order_by":17,"title":"Figure 17","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":112262,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eExperimental and simulation neutron attenuation of epoxy / Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e 10%\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture17.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/39711f13c5650edfb24b11ad.jpg"},{"id":65431704,"identity":"6c9bfdc0-02f6-4364-b4ff-cf96fdb4baee","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-27 11:58:17","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":18759488,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4908043/v1/2bd8afdb-1b5e-48b4-b683-4bc1fc390ac7.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Fabrication of a new \"Epoxy-Gd 2 O 3 \" neutron-shielding composite and its characterization by experimental and simulation methods","fulltext":[{"header":"1-Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eWidespread applications of radioisotopes and other sources of elementary particles, e.g., accelerators and reactors, have given rise to significant risks of exposure to ionizing radiation\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR2 CR3\" citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. One of the most hazardous ionizing radiation is neutron, whose great deal of usage in medicine (e.g., neutron capture therapy)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, industry (e.g., nuclear power plants, online elemental analyses)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, and science (neutron microscopy and imaging) has necessitated the effort for the development of effective neutron shields\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcrete has been traditionally used as the most exploited neutron shield\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e despite its apparent deficiencies, such as transportation problems and its heavy and inflexible nature\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Recently, however, attention has been drawn more toward polymeric composites due to their light weight, mechanical strength, corrosion resistance, and easier fabrication processes \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs the matrix of neutron shields, various polymers have been utilized, from both thermoset and thermoplastic groups\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Polymeric matrices that comprise hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon provide a large cross-section for the scattering of fast neutrons and reducing their energies into the thermal energy range\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. The thermal neutrons, then, are captured by the absorber atoms, which are incorporated into the composite structure\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR18\" citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. This combined effect makes the polymeric composites, efficient neutron shields\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne of the most applied thermoplastic polymers in neutron shielding is polyethylene, in both of its high\u0026mdash;density (HDPE) and low-density (LDPE)forms. Shang \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e fabricated a multilayer neutron shield consisting of alternating HDPE/hBN and LDPE layers through a two-step hot-pressing process. In this composite, the hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) in the HDPE/hBN layers is highly oriented in the in-plane direction. The composite maintains a stable, continuous multilayer structure with strong adhesion between the adjacent layers. This PE/hBN composite demonstrates effective neutron shielding capabilities. Specifically, when the filler content is 30 wt%, the multilayer PE/hBN film exhibits a \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\frac{I}{{{I_0}}}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e value of 4.16%. In addition to PE, other thermoplastic polymers such as polystyrene, polyurethane, and silicon also have been used in recent works.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, thermoset polymers such as epoxy resins also have been used in the fabrication of a wide range of neutron shields. The appreciable mechanical and thermal stability of epoxy resins, as well as the simplicity of their application, arising from their initial liquid form, makes the epoxy prime matrix of the neutron shields \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Okuno, in 2005 \u003csup\u003e23\u003c/sup\u003e, showed that the shielding performance and mechanical strength of epoxy shields are superior to the concrete and polyethylene.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe composites, used for the neutron shielding must contain elements with a large neutronic absorption cross-section. According to Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, Gadolinium, Boron, Samarium, and Cadmium, or a combination of these elements, are the active ingredients of the neutron shields and were used in the previous investigations\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThermal neutron absorption of common elements\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIsotope / Element\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.025 eV Neutron Absorption Cross Section (barn) [JANISWeb]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoron-10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e~\u0026thinsp;3,840\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSamarium-149\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e~\u0026thinsp;40,550\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGadolinium-157\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e~\u0026thinsp;254,250\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCadmium-113\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e~\u0026thinsp;20,600\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdeli et al. \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e produced and examined a composite shielding material that used epoxy as the matrix and boron carbide (B\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003eC) as a filler to absorb thermal neutrons. His 9.8 mm thick fabricated shield reduced incident neutrons by up to 80% by adding 3% B\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003eC. Furthermore, he significantly improved the composite's shielding performance by more than 60% by incorporating aluminum Tri hydroxide and tungsten trioxide (WO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e) powder. WO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e has been utilized in various types of gamma shields, and as a result, it was integrated into the epoxy/B\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003eC composite. In another study, Kiani et al. \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e designed and reinforced an epoxy/B\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003eC composite shield by adding nano clay. They showed that the stability of the shield is appreciably enhanced by this method. According to them, the optimal concentration of nano clay was 3 percent. The data indicated that a macroscopic absorption cross-section of 1.047 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e could be achieved by adding 20 percent B\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003eC. Regarding the Gd2O3-containing composites, Irim et al. \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e designed a neutron shield that comprised a polyethylene matrix and investigated its neutron attenuation performance by adding different concentrations of h-BN and Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e. They achieved the best absorption efficiency by adding 3% Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e and 11% h-BN. In a computational approach, Castley et al. \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e investigated the shielding performance of a silicone rubber composite that contained three different neutron adsorbers, namely Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, Sm\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, and B\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003eC. It was shown that when thoroughly mixed, a composite containing 10% Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e and 2% B\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003eC can exhibit the most effective neutron attenuation while maintaining a lower photon radiation dose compared to the 5% borated polyethylene material. As mentioned before, samarium is also a thermal neutron absorber. Toyen et al. \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e dispersed samarium oxide in an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene shield, and applied samarium oxide at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 percent concentrations. According to these authors, the optimal concentration of Sm\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e was somewhere between 10 and 20%.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmong the stable elements of the periodic table, gadolinium possesses the highest absorption cross-section for the thermal neutrons. The current study was aimed at the fabrication of a new neutron-shielding composite, through compounding of the epoxy resin as the polymeric matrix, and gadolinium oxide as the neutron absorber. After fabrication, the obtained composite was characterized by different physicochemical methods to disclose its chemical, structural, mechanical, and thermal properties. The neutron attenuation behavior of the sample was examined using an Am-Be source. Attention was also drawn to the simulation of the neurotic response of the fabricated samples using the Montecarlo method. This was done to achieve a deeper insight into the neutronic behaviors of the manufactured composite.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2- Experimental section","content":"\n\u003ch3\u003e2-1- Materials\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe epoxy resin used in the current study was based on bisphenol A, and its hardener was a polyamine. These materials, with the respective trademarks of ML-506 and HA-11, were purchased from the Mokarrar industrial company, Tehran, Iran. The viscosity and density of the ML-506 resin at 25 \u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC were 1450 cP and 1.11 g/cm\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e, respectively. The resin had an aliphatic structure that increased the flexibility of the produced composite.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReagent-grade gadolinium oxide powder (Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e) of 99.9% purity was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e2-2- Composite fabrication\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to the manufacturer's instructions, the weight ratio of resin to hardener was taken 100:15. Fabrication of composite was started by pouring adequate amounts of resin and hardener into a laboratory beaker and their rigorous mixing, using a stirring agitator, which rotated at 400 to 450 rpm, for 15 min. At this stage, gadolinium oxide powder was gradually added to the resin mixture, and the rotation speed of the agitator was increased to 650 to 700 rpm for an additional 45 min. Afterward, the homogenized mixture was transferred to Petri dishes, and its temperature was controlled at room temperature, for 5 to 6 h, by the air stream of a blowing fan. The reaction was complete at this point, and the formed composite became dry and hard.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eComposites with different Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e content from 0.5\u0026ndash;10%, along with a neat epoxy sample, were fabricated and tested in the current study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGiven the volume of the composite sample as \"V,\" the required mass of resin, hardener, and gadolinium oxide were calculated by the following formula:\u003cdiv id=\"Equa\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equa\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:{m}_{composite}=\\frac{V}{\\left[\\frac{x}{{\\rho\\:}_{Gd2O3}}+\\frac{1-x}{{\\rho\\:}_{Epoxy}}\\right]}\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\left(1\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equb\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equb\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:{m}_{Resin}={\\frac{100}{115}m}_{Epoxy\\:\\:\\:\\:}\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\left(2\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equc\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equc\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:{m}_{Hardener}={\\frac{15}{115}m}_{Epoxy\\:\\:\\:\\:}\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\left(3\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equd\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equd\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:{m}_{Gd2O3}={\\frac{x}{1-x}{m}_{Epoxy}\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\left(4\\right)}_{\\:\\:\\:\\:}$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ewhere \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003ex\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rdquo; denotes mass fraction of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e in the composite, and \u0026ldquo;\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{\\rho\\:}_{Gd2O3}=7.41\\:g/c{m}^{3}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\" and \"\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{\\rho\\:}_{Epoxy}=1.11\\:g/c{m}^{3}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\" were densities of gadolinium oxide and cured epoxy resin, respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e2-3- Physicochemical characterization\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStatic light scattering analysis (SLS, FRITSCH, ANALYSETTE 22, Germany) was used to analyze the particle size distribution of the Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e absorber.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCrystalline phases of the fabricated composites and gadolinium oxide were detected by X-ray diffractometry (XRD, X'Pert PRO MPD, Panalytical, Netherlands).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eField emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM, TeScan-Mira III, Czech Republic) was used to study the dispersion states of the absorber particles within the composite matrix, as well as the fracture pattern of the samples under the tensile forces.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, the molecular structure of the composites was studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, Thermo, AVATAR, USA).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnother significant property of the composite was its mechanical strength, which was evaluated by tensile strength analysis according to ISO standard 6892. The system employed in this experiment was a tensile testing machine model H10KS, Hounsfield, USA.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo check heat resistance and thermal stability of the prepared composites, a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA, Mettler Toledo, Switzerland) was undertaken with a temperature rise of 10 \u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC/min in the ambient atmosphere.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e2-4- Neutron attenuation experiment\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe neutron attenuation experiments were carried out on the experimental setup of Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. According to this figure, an Am-Be neutron source was positioned at the center of a cylindrical container, which was filled with water and boric acid. Well-collimated thermal neutrons collided with the sample after they were sufficiently thermalized, by moving an adequate distance through a polyethylene slab. A \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003eLi glass scintillator, a preamplifier, and an amplifier were used for the neutron detection and counting.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e2-5- Monte Carlo simulation\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to the experiment, the neutronic response of the fabricated composite was investigated by the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) computer code, especially its MCNPX version. Our simulation consisted of two steps: At the first, the geometry and configuration of the neutronic test apparatus were entered into the MCNP code to result in the intensity and energy spectrum of the incident beam. Thereafter, interactions of the incident beam with the composite specimens, including scattering and neutron capture were evaluated. In each run of the second step, one million particles were generated and transported through the composite sample.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGiven the presence of light materials in the neutron passage, and the relatively large dimensions of the equipment, to reduce the computational price, an initial run was conducted to determine the energy and angular distributions of neutron flux at the trailing edge of the collimator. The results indicated that the neutron flux had a predominantly forward angular distribution, aligned with the surface's normal vector. In order to calculate the attenuation coefficient, we utilized the neutron flux output from the collimator, and its value at the exit of the shield. Since the interaction rate of thermal neutrons with lithium-6 (resulting in the production of alpha particles and lithium) is measured in a lithium glass detector, this rate can be incorporated into the definition of the attenuation coefficient using the following equation:\u003cdiv id=\"Equ1\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equ1\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\mu =1 - \\frac{{{\\varphi _{surface,out}}}}{{{\\varphi _{surface,in}}}}=1 - \\frac{{{{\\left( {{\\Sigma _{n,\\alpha }}{\\varphi _v}} \\right)}_{shield}}}}{{{{\\left( {{\\Sigma _{n,\\alpha }}{\\varphi _v}} \\right)}_{void}}}}$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"EquationNumber\"\u003e5\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis reaction rate was calculated using the tally 4 and card MT\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;205 in the detector cell, with the results presented in the results and discussion section. Considering that the detector's performance is highly dependent on the energy spectrum of the incident neutron beam, this rate was calculated for 50 logarithmic energy intervals ranging from the thermal region to the fast area.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"3- Results and discussion","content":"\n\u003ch3\u003e3-1-Physicochemical characterization\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe gadolinium oxide particle size distribution was obtained using SLS analysis (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e-b). As it is seen, most of the particles were between 1 and 10 micrometers. Additionally, the SEM image (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e-a) displays the structure and particle size of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e powder, confirming the SLS results. The EDX analysis of the sample was also performed (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e), and the results indicated that the particles were made of pure gadolinium oxide.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e demonstrates the elemental map of gadolinium within the composite, indicated by the green color dots. The absorber particles were dispersed in the polymeric matrix in an entirely random manner. Such homogeneous dispersion of particles was observed at different concentrations of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e. The neutron shield composite, including epoxy and dispersed Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, is demonstrated in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e-a. As precipitation of denser gadolinium oxide might occur during the manufacturing of the composite, it was necessary to check if the Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e particles were homogeneously dispersed in the cured samples. For this purpose, we took the SEM images of the surface (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e-b) and cross section of the broken composite (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e-c). The results demonstrated a uniform distribution of particles throughout the body of the samples.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eFigure` 6- XRD spectrum of a) Epoxy, b) Gd\u003c/b\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cb\u003e2\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e \u003cb\u003eO\u003c/b\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cb\u003e3\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e, \u003cb\u003ec) Epoxy / Gd\u003c/b\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cb\u003e2\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cb\u003eO\u003c/b\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cb\u003e3\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cb\u003ecomposite\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo study the molecular structure of the neat epoxy resin, and the potential effect of composite formation on the functional groups of the polymer, samples of epoxy and epoxy/gadolinium oxide composite were analyzed by the FTIR ATR method.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn both spectra, the peak around 3200 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e corresponds to the stretching vibration of O-H bond, the regions between 2800 and 2950 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e are attributed to symmetric and asymmetric stretching of C-H bonds in CH\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e and CH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e groups, the peak at 1720 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e is related to the stretching vibration of carbonyl group C\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;O, and the observed peaks at 1630 and 1504 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e refers to the stretching of C-C and C\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;C bonds in aromatic compounds. Also, the absorptions in the regions of 1288, 1220, and 1105 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e are respectively ascribed to the stretching vibrations of C-O-C, C-O, and C-OH bonds. According to Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e, the functional groups of the epoxy have not undergone significant changes due to the presence of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e particles, so the addition of gadolinium oxide did not affect the molecular structure of the polymer, an observation that is in agreement with the previous studies \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. In the ATR analysis, the radiation used has a limited penetration depth in the sample. When a composite sample is present with a filler on its surface, the incident beam, at some points, might less effectively penetrate the surface, which in turn, might cause lower intensities of the composite peaks.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the applications of the prepared composites, often, mechanical strength is one of the most significant requirements. In order to evaluate this property, a tensile test was performed on the Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e -Epoxy composite. According to ISO 527 standard (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e), three dumbbell-shaped specimens were made from the foregoing composite, a tensile test was carried out on all of the specimens, and the average value of strengths was used in the calculations. The test was repeated on the composites with different Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e concentrations. The gauge length has been considered to be 75 mm according to the ISO tensile standard. Initially, the pure epoxy sample was tested as the control sample, and the other samples were measured relative to it. The stress-strain curves are exhibited in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig9\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e. Also, the calculated values of the elastic modulus, tensile strength, and percentage of elongation at break are displayed in Fig.\u0026nbsp;10 for comparison.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig9\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e, the stress-strain curves of all composite samples change almost linearly up to the point of fracture. This trend indicates the rigid nature of the fabricated composites, which has also been observed in other studies, which compounded tantalum oxide \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, bismuth oxide \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and gadolinium oxide \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e with epoxy in the composites. Based on the comparison of the tensile characteristics of different samples (Fig.\u0026nbsp;10), it can be concluded that by increasing of the percentage of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, at first, elastic modulus and tensile strength increase, but above 2% Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e content, they start diminishing. Such behavior can be explained by the following mechanisms: 1) At lower concentration of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, where the epoxy matrix is still homogenous, satisfactory adhesion of resin and Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, causes effective transferring of the mechanical load to the stiffer gadolinium oxide, thereby enhancing its mechanical strength, and 2) Higher Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e content, ruins the uniformity of the matrix and the obtained composite cannot act as an integrated and cohesive material \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e40\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Note that the non-uniform distribution of metallic oxides at higher Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e concentrations may lead to the accumulation of particles in some points of the matrix. Such an effect is evidenced in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig10\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e. The points marked with yellow circles are the location of the particle accumulation in the 10% Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e sample. Apparently, sample fracture begins from these agglomerations. Besides the aforementioned effects, the percentage of elongation at the breakpoint showed a decreasing trend with the increasing Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e content.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results of Fig.\u0026nbsp;10 are comparable with those reported by Prabhu et al. for the Ta2O5-reinforced composite \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Based on the results of the mechanical tests of the current study, the optimal concentration of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e in the epoxy composite was found to be around 2%.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) was performed on the plain and Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e-containing composites to scrutinize their thermal resistances, and the potential changes, imposed on Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e-containing samples during the fabrication. Our TG tests were started at the ambient temperature, and reached to700 \u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC, with a 10 \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\frac{{{}^{o}C}}{{\\hbox{min} }}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e growing rate, in the nitrogen atmosphere.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig11\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e, the highest percentage of the degradation occurred at 350 \u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC, but samples were completely decomposed at 700 \u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC. Adding the gadolinium oxide to the polymeric matrix, had a positive effect on the thermal stability of the composite (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig11\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e), likely because compounding with Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e increases the thermal conductivity of the samples, which in turn leads to a better dissipation of destructive thermal energy from the composite specimens. Similar results were reported by the previous researchers \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR42\" citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e3 − 2 Neutron shielding performance\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEpoxy samples with 0.5, 2, 5, and 10% Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e content underwent neutron attenuation experiments. For each of the aforesaid weight percentages, the neutronic test was carried out on the specimens with thicknesses ranging from 1 to 4 cm. All experiments and simulations were repeated three times, and their average values are reported, here. Neutron shielding simulation was carried out by the Monte Carlo particle transport model using the MCNPX code. At the large sample thicknesses, neutron moderation is significant, and scattering and absorption cross-sections increase as its consequence. This change in energy of the neutron beam leads to a greater effect of changes in the gadolinium mass fraction in thicker samples compared to the thinner ones. Note that at the fast and epithermal energies, any reduction in the neutron energy increases the absorption rate much more than the scattering rate. According to the experiments, all composites with 0.5%, 2%, 5%, and 10% Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e content performed better than the neat epoxy in terms of neutron absorption (Figs.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig12\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig16\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e). Most notably, the composite with 10 wt% gadolinium oxide could absorb 70% of the incident neutrons at a 4 cm thickness. The results indicate that Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e-bearing composites are effective materials for neutron shielding. Here, there is a point that deserves attention: Although neutron capture increases with increasing both thickness and absorber content, absorption of the neutron in \u003csup\u003e157\u003c/sup\u003eGd isotope is accompanied by the production of gamma rays, and characteristic X-rays, which on the other hand increase the total dose of the personnel. As a result, the optimum values of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e and composite thickness are those values that minimize the total dose of \"neutron\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;gamma\", and simultaneously meet the economical considerations. Engaging in such optimization processes, that require detailed information about the neutron reactions, and cost analysis is beyond the scope of the current study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAttenuation factor through experiment and simulation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"11\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThickness\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(cm)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"10\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAttenuation factor (ΔI/I\u003csub\u003e0\u003c/sub\u003e \u0026times; 100)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.0% Absorber\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.5% Absorber\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.0% Absorber\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.0% Absorber\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.0% Absorber\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSim.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSim.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSim.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSim.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSim.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e47%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e49%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e56%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e57%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e63%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"9\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAverage absolute error (AAE, %)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e presents the experimental and computational values of the attenuation factor (\u003cem\u003eAf\u003c/em\u003e ) for different examined samples. The last row of the table indicates an average absolute error (\u003cem\u003eAAE\u003c/em\u003e, %), that is defined as:\u003cdiv id=\"Equ2\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equ2\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$AAE,\\% =\\frac{{\\sum\\limits_{1}^{n} {\\frac{{\\left| {A{f_{cal.}} - A{f_{\\exp .}}} \\right|}}{{A{f_{\\exp .}}}}} }}{n} \\times 100$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"EquationNumber\"\u003e6\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ewhere indices \"cal.\" and \"exp.\" denote the calculated and experimental values of \"\u003cem\u003eAf\u003c/em\u003e \", respectively; and \"n\" refers to the total number of the experiment. According to Table\u0026nbsp;(2), (\u003cem\u003eAAE\u003c/em\u003e, %) is about 12.5% which shows a relatively fair agreement between simulation and experiment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition to the attenuation factor (\u003cem\u003eAf\u003c/em\u003e ), the experimental data and calculation resulted in the effective macroscopic absorption cross-section (Σ\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ea\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e). The data presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e indicate that the macroscopic absorption cross-section increases nonlinearly with the Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e content. This observation could be attributed to the increased likelihood of microbubble and porosity formation when higher filler concentrations are used. Additionally, the formation of agglomerates becomes more prevalent at higher concentrations, which may have a detrimental effect on the shielding performance.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe average error of MCNP in the simulation of the experiments was about 14% which is fairly acceptable (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMacroscopic absorption cross-section, based on experiment and simulation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMacroscopic Absorption Cross Section (Σ\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ea\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e, cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e (w/w, %)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExperiment\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMCNP\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.242\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.261\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.425\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.356\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.541\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.446\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.643\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.544\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAverage absolute error (AAE, %)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e14.26\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"4- Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eA new neutron shielding composite was fabricated by homogenous dispersion of gadolinium oxide particles in the epoxy resin. According to the results of XRD and FTIR analysis, both components of the composite preserved their identities and no significant chemical interaction was observed between them. SEM images revealed that the gadolinium oxide particles were well distributed in the body and surface of the composites, and followed a random distribution. The tensile test indicated that the addition of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, at first has a positive effect on the tensile strength of the composite, so that the 2% Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e sample presents the highest tensile strength of 44.5 mega-pascals and a 3.1% elongation magnitude, but above 2%, the trend is reversed. The addition of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e also enhances the thermal resistance of the epoxy matrix, as it was evidenced by the TGA analysis. The performance of the fabricated composite was evaluated from the standpoint of neutronic shielding by both experiments and simulation. The new composite offers appreciable neutronic absorption performance so that 4 cm of its sample comprising 10% gadolinium oxide could capture 70% of the incident neutrons. The accuracy of MCNP code in the simulation of the neutronic data was noticeable, as it could compute attenuation factor and macroscopic absorption cross-section, with 12.8 and 14.26% average errors, respectively.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eS.M.R.S., A.Y., M.A.K., and A.M. contributed to the experimental section. S.S.J. and S.M.R.S. performed the simulations. S.M.R.S. wrote the main manuscript, then M.O. and A.Y. reviewed it. M.O. and N.V. supervised the study. All the authors discussed and analyzed the study and its results.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe authors thank the Sharif University of Technology for supporting this study.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe corresponding author holds the experimental datasets and simulation source codes, which can be provided upon reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTyagi, G., Singhal, A., Routroy, S., Bhunia, D. \u0026amp; Lahoti, M. Radiation Shielding Concrete with alternate constituents: An approach to address multiple hazards. \u003cem\u003eJ. Hazard. 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Thermal and Mechanical Characteristics of Polymer Composites Based on Epoxy Resin, Aluminium Nanopowders and Boric Acid. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Physics: Conference Series\u003c/em\u003e 671, 012040, doi: (2016). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.1088/1742-6596/671/1/012040\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1088/1742-6596/671/1/012040\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Neutron Shields, Epoxy Composite, Gadolinium Oxide, Simulation, Monte Carlo Method","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4908043/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4908043/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eA new neutron shielding composite was fabricated by homogenous dispersion of gadolinium oxide in the epoxy resin. It was found that the addition of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, up to 2% has a positive effect on the tensile strength of the epoxy matrix so that its strength reached 44.5 MP with 3.1% elongation rate. This is despite the fact that according to the FTIR and XRD results, Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e and epoxy preserved their chemical natures in the matrix. The addition of Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e also enhanced the thermal resistance of the epoxy matrix, as it was evidenced by the TGA analysis. The neutronic shielding performance of the fabricated composite was evaluated by both experiments and simulation. The new composite offers appreciable neutronic absorption so that its sample with 4 cm thickness and 10% Gd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e content captures 70% of the incident neutrons. The accuracy of the MCNP code in the simulation of neutronic data of our sample was noticeable, and it was around 13.5% on average.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Fabrication of a new \"Epoxy-Gd 2 O 3 \" neutron-shielding composite and its characterization by experimental and simulation methods","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-09-23 18:28:23","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4908043/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2024-09-17T05:30:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-09-13T08:33:11+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"327046215445742302436143590416557558263","date":"2024-09-04T15:51:53+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-09-03T06:39:02+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"704298543300281782210774567260215907","date":"2024-08-29T04:21:30+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"275252222981461481122541714309806406098","date":"2024-08-27T05:41:22+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-08-26T14:34:28+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-08-26T14:33:28+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2024-08-23T18:34:06+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-08-23T05:43:54+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2024-08-13T15:05:29+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"89fc4c81-48a3-4950-9d46-5a475602f5ff","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 23rd, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":37734477,"name":"Physical sciences/Chemistry"},{"id":37734478,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"},{"id":37734479,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science"},{"id":37734480,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-10-18T12:23:33+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-09-23 18:28:23","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4908043","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4908043","identity":"rs-4908043","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}