PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ANTIMONY ORE IMBEDDED SILICONE RUBBER MATERIALS FOR RADIATION PROTECTION
Özlem VURAL Nesrin ALTINSOY Bülent BÜYÜK
AbstractIn the present work antimony ore imbedded silicone rubber materials were produced for radiation shielding applications. Natural antimony ore was used in the experiments. The production parameters of the samples were investigated. Antimony oxide percentage in the ore was measured about 6.95 wt. % and average particle size of the ore was decreased to 500 microns. Up to 70% of antimony ore could be imbedded successfully into silicone rubber. Optimal stiffener ratio for silicone rubber+ antimony ore mixture was investigated as 3-5 wt. % for the studied samples. The thickness of the materials was decreased to 0.1 cm where 15 cm of diameter. Decreasing particle size caused to more homogenous materials production. Some non-homogenous region and air bubbles were observed by using X-ray radiography films for 10 wt. % antimony ore imbedded silicone rubber. An experimental study was realized to produce radiation shielding materials for medical applications