Investigation on the Neutron Transmission of B₄C/CF/PI/AA6061 Hybrid Composite Laminates: Experimental and Numerical Simulation Results

A novel neutron shielding B₄C/CF/PI/AA6061 composite laminate (NSCL) with different layups containing 10 to 50 wt% of boron carbide (B₄C) particles was successfully fabricated using a hot molding process. The effects of different B₄C loadings and various configurations on the neutron transmission of the NSCLs were evaluated correspondingly. The MCNP 5.0 program was used to probe the neutron transmission mechanism of the NSCLs. The results showed that B₄C particles are an effective absorbent, and neutron transmission of the NSCLs decreased with the increment of layups, B₄C loadings, and the laminate thickness. Fast neutrons emitted from a ²⁴¹Am-Be neutron source were first moderated by low atomic elements (hydrogen) and then absorbed by ¹⁰B nuclide contained in the B₄C particles. Numerical simulation corroborated the experimental testing results.