Applicability Boron-Containing Materials Obtained by Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis in Radiation Protection Technology

Research on obtaining heavy-metal borides for the radiation protection of non-extended objects by an energy-efficient method of unconventional powder metallurgy – self-propagating high-temperature synthesis – is presented. The protective properties of two materials based on lanthanum hexaboride and tungsten boride were synthesized and investigated. Mechanical activation of the charge was used as a method of controlling self-propagating high-temperature synthesis at the sample preparation stage in order to obtain systems with the specified optimal phase composition. The lanthanum hexaboride and tungsten boride samples obtained with weight content 90 and 85%, respectively, in the course of the experiments were investigated as materials providing shielding against a high-energy neutron flux from a plutonium-beryllium source. It was found on the basis of the experiments that the nuclear-physical properties as well as the mass and size parameters of the obtained materials are suitable for effective protection of non-extended objects from a fast-neutron flux.