Boron carbide based tungsten containing sandwich composites as neutron shield materials

DOI: 10.62564/M4-LC1745

Levan Chkhartishvili^1,2, Natia Barbakadze³, Otar Tsagareishvili², Archil Mikeladze², Matlab Mirzayev^4,5, Oliko Lekashvili³, Ketevan Kochiashvili³, Roin Chedia<sup>2,3

1</sup>Georgian Technical University, Georgia
²Ferdinad Tavadze Metallurgy and Materials Science Institute, Georgia
³Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Petre Melikishvili Institute of Physical and Organic Chemistry, Georgia
⁴Institute of Radiation Problems, Azerbaijan
⁵Western Caspian University, Innovation and Research Center, Azerbaijan


Nuclear power industry requires structural materials that effectively absorb neutron radiation. For this purpose, boron and boron-rich compounds and, in particular, boron carbide B4C and its composites are widely used. Both theoretically (see, e.g., [1, 2]) and experimentally (see, e.g., [3, 4]) it has been shown that one such promising class of materials is boron carbide compositions with tungsten B4C–W: tungsten phase inclusions containing heavy W atoms provide effective attenuation of the secondary gamma-radiation that accompany the absorption of primary neutrons by the boron 10B isotope atoms. Composites with sandwich and poly-sandwich morphologies – W/B4C/W, W/B4C/W2B5, W2B5/B4C/W2B5, etc. – in which boron carbide layers alternate with metallic tungsten and/or tungsten boride ones, were produced and investigated. Surface metallization of boron carbide crystals or grains with tungsten (a) powder, (b) plate or (c) coating (formed by peroxpolytungstic acid aqueous solution treatment at 600°C in hydrogen flow) was done by SPS (Spark-Plasma Sintering) at temperature of 1300–1700°C and pressure of 20–40 MPa for 6–10 min. Such layered composites were also obtained by standard thermal sintering at temperature of 1300–1500°C in argon atmosphere or vacuum of the components bonded with organic compounds aqueous solutions containing 0.5–1% boric acid. SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) structural-morphological, XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) phase- and EDS (Energy Dispersive Spectrometry) chemical-compositions analysis of the obtained samples has established that transition layers of pentaboride W2B5 are formed on the boron carbide–tungsten interfaces, which ensures component-layers strong bonding.

Keywords
boron carbide, tungsten, layered composite, radiation shield

Acknowledgments
Not provided

References
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