Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Nuclear Technology, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
This study investigated the effect of adding BaSO4 to polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) polymer materials at 5%-10%-15% by weight on the photon shielding of these materials depending on the changing BaSO4 ratio. Phy-x/PSD and Xcom programs were used during the analysis. In addition, the percentage differences between the two programs were investigated. Moreover, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) analyses of BaSO4 powder material and XRD, SEM, reduced total reflectance, differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimeter characterization analyses of the polymer materials were performed. As a result, the study revealed that the difference between the Xcom and Phy-x programs was less than 1%. The photon shielding properties of the PP and HDPE materials improved depending on the increasing BaSO4 ratio. Due to its higher density, HDPE exhibited better photon shielding performance than PP. The shielding properties of the HDPE material were better. The 0.005888 MeV (55Fe) energy was also 8.688 cm−1, 31.401 cm−1, 61.329 cm−1, and 98.471 cm−1 linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) values for the P1, P2, P3, and P4 coded samples on the order of 8.688 cm−1, 31.401 cm−1, and 98.471 cm−1 LAC values, while the H1, H2, H3, and H4 coded samples were on the order of 9.387 cm−1, 33.387 cm−1, 64.462 cm−1, and 102.613 cm−1 LAC values. At photon energies of 0.005888 MeV and 15 MeV, the half-value layer values of the PP, PP + 5% BaSO4, PP + 10% BaSO4, and PP + 15% BaSO4 materials had thickness values that varied between 0.080 to 43.796 cm, 0.022 to 34.622 cm, 0.011 cm to 28.266 cm, and 0.007 to 23.631 cm, respectively. The HDPE, HDPE + 5% BaSO4, HDPE + 10% BaSO4, and HDPE + 15% BaSO4 materials had thickness values that varied between 0.074 to 40.535 cm, 0.021 to 32.562 cm, 0.011 to 26.892 cm, and 0.007 to 22.677 cm, respectively. The materials produced by reinforcing the polymer materials with BaSO4 are expected to be promising materials in application areas such as hospitals, agriculture, industry, etc. where low photon energy emissions occur due to their lightness and nontoxicity.