Optimization of pure elemental and oxide-based shielding materials for cost

Abstract

A common aspect to shielding material research is the combination of high atomic number inclusions with binders although the costs of the inclusions will vary with chemical form and have associated density and atomic number dependencies on attenuation properties. As most metals are cheaper in their oxide forms (sometimes drastically) we considered oxide forms to substantially reduce potential cost. This study then investigates the combined shielding and cost optimization of pure elemental and oxide-based shielding materials as well as steel, water and concrete. This focus on shielding effectiveness per cost and weight basis also incorporates contributions from scattered radiation in the form of radiation buildup for these comprehensive materials. In this sense, we define a new metric which incorporates cost, weight and scatter radiation for assessing shielding material attractiveness. We used MicroShield to calculate the shielding ability of each material. Our findings revealed that water, concrete, and lead demonstrated superior performance in terms of cost-effectiveness. This research contributes to the understanding of affordable and efficient shielding materials and has implications for industries reliant on radiation protection, such as nuclear power generation, medical imaging, and space exploration.