Claims
- 1. A composition for stopping high fluxes of gamma and neutron radiation and showing resistance to high temperatures, said composition comprising a uniform mixture of:
between about 7% and about 15% by weight an organic polymer selected from the group consisting of silicone rubber, siloxanes, silanols, epoxies, vinyl elastomers and fluorocarbon polymers for providing a flexible or resilient matrix; between about 50% to about 93% by weight of a primary gamma radiation shielding material selected from the group consisting of copper, lead, tin, tungsten, antimony, indium, and bismuth for increasing gamma radiation shielding of the mixture; and sufficient additional materials to constitute 100%.
- 2. The composition according to claim 1, wherein the primary gamma shielding material is metallic.
- 3. The composition according to claim 1, wherein the gamma shielding material comprises tungsten.
- 4. The composition according to claim 3, wherein the tungsten comprises tungsten carbide.
- 5. The composition according to claim 1, wherein the primary gamma shielding material is a salt.
- 6. The composition according to claim 5, wherein the salt comprises a salt of iodine.
- 7. The composition according to claim 1, wherein the additional materials are selected from the group consisting of a neutron absorbing material, diamond powder, silicon dioxide, barium sulfate, and a hydrogen absorbing material.
- 8. The composition according to claim 7, wherein the neutron absorbing material comprises between about 2.5% and about 10% by weight of the mixture.
- 9. The composition according to claim 7, wherein the neutron absorbing material is selected from the group consisting of boron, cadmium and gadolinium.
- 10. The composition according to claim 7, wherein the neutron absorbing material comprises boron.
- 11. The composition according to claim 10, wherein the boron comprises one of boron carbide, boron nitride and a mixture of boron carbide and boron nitride.
- 12. The composition according to claim 7, wherein the diamond powder comprises up to about 5% by weight of the mixture to increase thermal conductivity.
- 13. The composition according to claim 7, wherein the silicon dioxide comprises up to about 5% by weight of the mixture.
- 14. The composition according to claim 7, wherein the powdered silicon dioxide comprises quartz.
- 15. The composition according to claim 7, wherein the barium sulfate comprises up to about 5% by weight of the mixture.
- 16. The composition according to claim 7, wherein the hydrogen absorbing material comprises between about 2% and 10% of the mixture.
- 17. The composition according to claim 7, wherein the hydrogen absorbing material is selected from the group consisting of palladium, lithium, calcium, titanium, scandium, lithium nickel compounds, lanthanum nickel compounds, yttrium nickel compounds, samarium cobalt compounds and yttrium cobalt compounds.
- 18. The composition according to claim 7, wherein the hydrogen absorbing material comprises sponge palladium.
- 19. The composition according to claim 1, wherein the organic polymer comprises a silicone rubber.
- 20. The composition according to claim 19, wherein the silicone rubber is formulated to produce a flexible foam upon polymerization.
- 21. The composition according claim 7, wherein the organic polymer consists essentially of silicone rubber foam, the gamma radiation shielding material consists essentially of tungsten carbide, and the neutron absorbing material consists essentially of boron.
- 22. A container for highly radioactive material comprising:
an inner container; an outer container surrounding the inner container and spaced apart therefrom; and a space between the inner container and the outer container, said space filled with the composition of claim 1.
- 23. A composition for stopping high fluxes of gamma and neutron radiation and showing resistance to high temperatures, said composition comprising a uniform mixture of:
between about 5% and about 15% by weight silicone rubber for providing a flexible matrix; between about 50% and about 75% by weight of powdered tungsten for increasing gamma radiation shielding of the mixture; between about 2.5% and about 10% by weight of powdered boron carbide for increasing neutron absorption of the mixture; up to about 15% by weight of barium sulfate powder for increasing neutron absorption and electrical conductivity of the mixture; and between about 2% and 8% by weight of a material selected from the group consisting of palladium, lithium, calcium, titanium, scandium, lithium nickel compounds, lanthanum nickel compounds, yttrium nickel compounds, samarium cobalt compounds and yttrium cobalt compounds for absorbing hydrogen gas.
- 24. A container for highly radioactive material comprising:
an inner container; an outer container surrounding the inner container and spaced apart therefrom; and a space between the inner container and the outer container, said space filled with the composition of claim 23.
- 25. A composition for stopping high fluxes of gamma and neutron radiation and showing resistance to high temperatures, said composition comprising a uniform mixture of:
between about 5% and about 15% by weight silicone rubber for providing a flexible matrix; between about 60% and about 75% by weight of bismuth oxide for increasing gamma radiation shielding of the mixture; between about 2.5% and about 10% by weight of powdered boron carbide for increasing neutron absorption of the mixture; and up to about 15% by weight of barium sulfate powder for increasing neutron absorption and electrical conductivity of the mixture.
- 26. A composition for stopping high fluxes of gamma and neutron radiation and showing resistance to high temperatures, said composition comprising a uniform mixture of:
between about 5% and about 15% by weight high temperature epoxy for providing a resilient matrix; between about 65% and about 85% by weight of copper metal for increasing gamma radiation shielding of the mixture; and between about 2.5% and about 10% by weight of powdered boron carbide for increasing neutron absorption of the mixture.
- 27. A composition for stopping high fluxes of gamma and neutron radiation and showing resistance to high temperatures, said composition comprising a uniform mixture of:
between about 5% and about 15% by weight polyester epoxy for providing a resilient matrix; between about 35% and about 55% by weight of bismuth oxide for increasing gamma radiation shielding of the mixture; between about 35% and about 55% by weight of copper metal for increasing gamma radiation shielding and conductivity of the mixture; between about 2.5% and about 10% by weight of powdered boron carbide for increasing neutron absorption of the mixture; and between about 2.5% and about 10% by weight of barium sulfate powder for increasing neutron absorption and electrical conductivity of the mixture.
- 28. A composition for stopping fluxes of gamma and neutron radiation and showing resistance to high temperatures, said composition comprising a uniform mixture of:
between about 10% and about 20% by weight polyester silicone rubber foam as a matrix; between about 35% and about 55% by weight of bismuth metal for increasing gamma radiation shielding of the mixture; between about 15% and about 25% by weight of alumina as a refractory ceramic precursor; and between about 10% and about 20% by weight of barium sulfate powder for increasing neutron absorption and electrical conductivity of the mixture.
Parent Case Info
[0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/878,005 filed Jun. 8, 2001.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09878005 |
Jun 2001 |
US |
Child |
10346680 |
Jan 2003 |
US |