• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.46 no.3
• /
• pp.187-195
• /
• 2023

A shield was made by mixing materials such as bismuth(Bi) and barium(Ba) with silicon to evaluate its shielding ability. Bismuth was made into a shield by mixing a bismuth oxide(Bi₂O₃) colloidal solution and a silicon base and applied to a fibrous fabric, and barium was made by mixing lead oxide(PbO) and barium sulfate(BaSO₄) with a silicon curing agent and solidifying it to make a shield. The test was conducted according to the lead equivalent test method for X-ray protective products of the Korean Industrial Standard. The experiment was conducted by increasing the shielding body one by one from the test condition of 60 kVp, 200 mA, 0.1sec and 100 kVp, 200 mA, 0.1 sec. At 60 kVp, 2 lead oxide-barium sulfate shields, 2 bismuth oxide 1.5 mm shields, and 5 bismuth oxide 0.3 mm shields showed shielding ability equal to or higher than that of lead 0.5 mm. At 100 kVp, 2 lead oxide-barium sulfate shields and 2 bismuth oxide 1.5 mm shields showed shielding ability equal to or higher than that of lead 0.5 mm. It was confirmed that when using 2 pieces of lead oxide-barium sulfate and 1.5 mm of bismuth oxide, respectively, it has shielding ability equivalent to that of lead. Bismuth oxide and lead oxide-barium sulfate are lightweight and have excellent shielding ability, thus they have excellent properties to be used as an apron for radiation protection or other shielding materials.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.8
• /
• pp.3307-3314
• /
• 2024

For traditional spent fuel shielding materials, due to physical and chemical defects and cost constraints, they have been unable to meet the needs. Therefore, this paper carries out the first discussion on the application and performance of bismuth in neutron shielding by establishing Monte Carlo simulation on the neutron flux model of shielded spent fuel. Firstly, functional fillers such as bismuth oxide, lead oxide, boron oxide, gadolinium oxide and tungsten oxide are added to the matrices to compare the shielding rates of aluminum alloy matrix and silicone rubber matrix. The shielding rate of silicone rubber mixture is higher than aluminum alloy mixture, reaching more than 56%. The optimal addition proportion of bismuth oxide and lead oxide is 30%, and the neutron radiation protection efficiency reaches 60%. Then, the mass attenuation coefficients of bismuth oxide, lead oxide, boron oxide, gadolinium oxide and tungsten oxide in silicone rubber matrix are simulated with the change of functional fillers proportion and neutron energy. This simulation result shows that the mixture with functional fillers has good shielding performance for low energy neutrons, but poor shielding effect for high energy neutrons. Finally, in order to further evaluate the possibility of replacing lead oxide with bismuth oxide as shielding material, the half-value layers and various properties of bismuth oxide and lead oxide are compared. The results show that the shielding properties of bismuth oxide and lead oxide are basically the same, and the mechanical properties, heat resistance, radiation resistance and environmental protection of bismuth oxide are better than that of lead oxide. Therefore, in the case of neutron source strengths in the range of 0.01-6 MeV and secondary gamma rays produced below 2.5 MeV, bismuth can replace lead in neutron shielding applications.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.53 no.9
• /
• pp.3051-3057
• /
• 2021

The concrete is considered as an important radiation shielding material employed widely in nuclear reactors, particle accelerators, laboratory hot cells and other different radiation sources. The present research is dedicated to the shielding properties study of the ordinary concrete reinforced with different weight fractions of lead oxide micro/nano particles. Lead oxide particles were fabricated by chemical synthesis method and their properties including the average size, morphological structure, functional groups and thermal properties were characterized by XRD, FESEM-EDS, FTIR and TGA analysis. The gamma ray mass attenuation coefficient of concrete composites has been calculated and measured by means of the Monte Carlo simulation and experimental methods. The simulation process was based on the use of MCNP Monte Carlo code where the mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ) has been calculated as a function of different particle sizes and filler weight fractions. The simulation results showed that the employment of the lead oxide filler particles enhances the mass attenuation coefficient of the ordinary concrete, drastically. On the other hand, there are approximately no differences between micro and nano sized particles. The mass attenuation coefficient was increased by increasing the weight fraction of nanoparticles. However, a semi-saturation effect was observed at concentrations more than 10 wt%. The experimental process was based on the fabrication of concrete slabs filled by different weight fractions of nano lead oxide particles. The mass attenuation coefficients of these slabs were determined at different gamma ray energies using ²²Na, ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co sources and NaI (Tl) scintillation detector. The experimental results showed that the HVL parameter of the ordinary concrete reinforced with 5 wt% of nano PbO particles was reduced by 64% at 511 keV and 48% at 1332 keV. Reasonable agreement was obtained between simulation and experimental results and showed that the employment of nano PbO particles is more efficient at low gamma energies up to 1Mev. The proposed concrete is less toxic and could be prepared in block form instead of toxic lead blocks.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2004.08a
• /
• pp.544-547
• /
• 2004

Glass frits for dielectric layers are mostly used for screen printing process. Several additives have already been known to be well matched with lead-oxide glasses system. The use of lead oxide, however, creates environmental problems, so many recent studies on lead-free glasses compositions have been carried out. A study of the suitability between additives and lead-free glass system is needed. In this study, we have used a screen-printing method to make thick films of lead-oxide glass and lead-free glass using different additives, and analyzed and compared the transmittance of the thick films.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.113-117
• /
• 2003

To reduce the doming of the shadow mask due to thermal expansion and to prevent the color discrepancy, the electron reflecting layer with lead tungsten oxides on the electron gun side of shadow mask was formed by screen printing method and doming property was evaluated in CRT. First, the lead tungsten oxides were prepared by calcining the mixture of lead oxide and tungsten oxide above 600$^{\circ}C$. Second, the paste which has the anti-doming composition including the lead tungsten oxides was coated by screen-printing method. As a result, the doming of the shadow mask was reduced about from 30 to 45%.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2009

Nuclear power plants (NPP) using Alloy 600 (Ni 75wt%, Cr 15wt%, Fe 10wt%) as a heat exchanger tube of the steam generator (SG) have experienced various corrosion problems by ageing such as pitting, intergranular attack (IGA) and stress corrosion cracking (SCC). In spite of much effort to reduce the material degradations, SCC is still one of important problems to overcome. Especially lead is known to be one of the most deleterious species in the secondary system that cause SCC of the alloy. Even Alloy 690 (Ni 60wt%, Cr 30wt%, Fe 10wt%) as an alternative of Alloy 600 because of outstanding superiority to SCC is also susceptible to leaded environment. An oxide on SG tubing materials such as Alloy 600 and Alloy 690 is formed and modified expanding to complex sludge throughout hideout return (HOR) of various impurities including Pb. Oxide formation and breakdown is requisite for SCC initiation and propagation. Therefore it is expected that an oxide property such as a passivity of an oxide formed on steam generator tubing materials is deeply related to PbSCC and an inhibitor to hinder oxide modification by lead efficiently can be found. In the present work, the SCC susceptibility obtained by using a slow strain rate test (SSRT) in aqueous solutions with and without lead was discussed in view of the oxide property. The oxides formed on Alloy 600 and Alloy 690 in aqueous solutions with and without lead were examined by using a transmission electron microscopy (TEM), an energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), an x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.33 no.9
• /
• pp.1486-1491
• /
• 2004

The estrogenicities of six heavy metal compounds, which contaminate frequently in foods, were assayed using a combination of in vitro and in vivo assays. The assays were 1) estrogen receptor dependent transcriptional expression assay, 2) E-screen assay and, 3) the uterotropic assay in mice. The chemicals studied were 17$\beta$ -estradiol, diethylstilbestrol (DES), arsenic oxide, bis(tri-n-butyltin), cadmium chloride, chromium chloride, lead acetate, and mercuric chloride. Using the estrogen receptor dependent transcriptional expression assay, the following estrogenicity ranking was measured: bis(tri-n-butyltin) > cadmium chloride > chromium chloride >> mercuric chloride >lead acetate = arsenic oxide. Using E-screen test, the following estrogenicity ranking was measured: bis(tri-n-butyltin) > cadmium chloride > chromium chloride >> mercuric chloride > lead acetate = arsenic oxide. Results from the uterotropic assay showed that bis(tri-n-butyltin), cadmium chloride, chromium chloride caused an increase in uterine wet weight, while lead acetate, mercuric chloride, and arsenic oxide failed to do so. Bis(tri-n-butyltin), cadmium chloride and chromium chloride showed the highest estrogenicity in three assay systems. Recent studies suggesting that bis(tri-n-butyltin), cadmium chloride have estrogenicities are compatible with the present finding. Furthermore, our study is suggesting that chromium chloride may be estrogenic. The results demonstrate that this three level-assay combination (transcriptional activation, cell proliferation, and an in vivo effect in an estrogen-responsive tissue) could serve as a useful method to assess the estrogenicity of heavy metals.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.118-124
• /
• 2011

Alloy 600 (Ni 75 wt%, Cr 15 wt%, Fe 10 wt%) as a heat exchanger tube of the steam generator (SG) in nuclear power plants (NPP) has been degraded by various corrosion mechanism during the long-term operation. Especially lead (Pb) is known to be one of the most deleterious species in the secondary system causing outer diameter stress corrosion cracking (ODSCC). Oxide formation and breakdown is requisite for SCC initiation and propagation. Therefore it is expected that a property change of the oxide formed on SG tubing materials by lead addition into a solution is closely related to PbSCC. In the present work, the SCC susceptibility was assessed by using a slow strain rate test (SSRT) in caustic solutions with and without lead for Alloy 600 and Alloy 690 (Ni 60 wt%, Cr 30 wt%, Fe 10 wt%) used as an alternative of Alloy 600 because of outstanding superiority to SCC. The results were discussed in view of the oxide property formed on Alloy 600 and Alloy 690. The oxides formed on Alloy 600 and Alloy 690 in aqueous solutions with and without lead were examined by using a transmission electron microscopy (TEM), equipped with an energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS).

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.77-84
• /
• 1999

Sequential extraction was applied to characterize the soil-metal binding mechanism in three kinds of soils contaminated with lead and copper The results showed that soil-metal binding was dependent on soil characteristics and metal species. In Munwha dong soil, lead was mainly carbonate form (37.7%), in agriculture soil was associated with amorphous Fe oxide form (23.9%) and in industry area was associated with exchangeable form (22.9%) Meanwhile for copper. organically bound form represented main fraction in most soil and also carbonate and amorphous Fe oxide form showed high fraction. Crystallized Fe oxide and residuals form of copper showed higher fraction than those of lead. Thus, it can be concluded that copper is bound with soil stronger and more difficult wash out Consequently, this mechanism analysis through sequential extraction can provide useful informations for better soil remediation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.7
• /
• pp.2570-2575
• /
• 2024

The study aims to develop a novel, lead-free, flexible and lightweight composite shielding material against ionizing radiation. For this, it was used bismuth oxide (Bi₂O₃) in RTV-2 silicon matrix. The shielding tests were carried out in both diagnostic X-ray energies and intermediate gamma-ray energy range of up to 662 keV to determine the radiation attenuation properties of this material in terms of attenuation ratio, half value layer, tenth value layer, mean free path and lead equivalency of samples in weight of 30%, 40%, 50% in Bi₂O₃. In the diagnostic X-ray energy range, half value layer, tenth value layer and lead equivalency (in mm Pb) of the produced samples were measured at 80 and 100 kVp narrow beam conditions according to the requirements of EN IEC 61331-1 standard. The results show that lead equivalent values of the produced novel sheets was measured to be 0.16 mm Pb, corresponding to a 6 mm thickness of the flexible sample when it contains 30% wt. Bi₂O₃ in RTV matrix. The experimental findings for durability and flexibility also indicated that this new RTV-based flexible, lead -free shielding composite can be used safely for especially for manufacturing aprons, garments and thyroid guards used in mammography, radiology, nuclear medicine and dental applications in practice.