A radiation shielding sensitivity analysis based on metal hydrides multilayers

In order to shield neutron and gamma rays efficiently, a multilayer model is designed with metal hydrides and heavy metals and is analysed based on Monte Carlo simulations. In terms of shielding performance, the hydrogen in metal hydrides acts as a moderator to slow down the neutron energy and heavy metals are good for absorbing gamma rays. A simulation and calculational analysis are carried out with various parameters such as spectrum change, shield thickness, and number of multilayers. In addition, the rate of DPA (displacement per atom) is analysed to estimate both the lifetime and radiation resistance with the MCNP code. From lots of simulations, ZrH₂ and W couples are the best candidate especially for shielding gamma rays, while TiH₂ with W is good for neutron shielding. The concept of multilayer metal hydride such as TiH₂ and ZrH₂ coupled with W could be one of best combinations to shield both neutron and gamma-rays in many nuclear facilities such as nuclear reactor, fusion reactor and other applications. (paper)