Research on Enhance of Polyethylene Composite and Its Thermal Neutron Shielding Performance by Borate Whisker

Borate whisker/high density polyethylene (HDPE) composite materials were prepared using magnesium borate and aluminum borate whiskers as neutron absorber object. The effects on tensile strength and shielding ratio of the composites were studied and the experiment results were compared with boron carbide (B₄C) commonly used as shielding materials. The results show that the shielding ratio of three composite materials to the thermal neutron is B₄C>Mg₂B₂O₅>Al₄B₂O₉. The shielding ratio of the composite material increases with borate content and thickness of the composite material. The shielding ratio of the composite material is 86.58% when the thickness of the Mg₂B₂O₅ whisker/HDPE composite material is 15.76 mm. The tensile strength of the whisker/HDPE composite material increases with whisker content. The tensile strength of the Mg₂B₂O₅ whisker/HDPE composite material with 9.1% content of Mg₂B₂O₅ whisker is 24.39 MPa. The composites enhanced by whisker possess prominent mechanical properties compared with B₄C/HDPE composite material.