Effects of WO₃ particle size in WO₃/epoxy resin radiation shielding material

To verify the influence of the functional elements particular size for the radiation attenuation coefficients and mechanical properties radiation shielding material based on epoxy resin, we prepare two WO₃/E44 samples with different particular sizes of WO₃ by a solidified forming approach. The linear attenuation coefficients of these samples are measured for γ-ray photo energies of 59.6, 121.8, and 344.1 keV, etc. using narrow beam transmission geometry. It is found that the linear attenuation coefficients would increase with the decreasing particle size of the WO₃ in the epoxy resin based radiation shielding material. The theoretical values of the linear attenuation coefficients and mass attenuation are calculated using WinXcom, and good agreements between the experimental data and the theoretical values are observed. From the studies of the obtained results, it is reported that from the shielding point of view the nano-WO₃ is more effective than micro-WO₃ in the epoxy resin based radiation shielding material. (authors)