Neutron Shielding Flexible B4C

For more than 12 years Brookvine division of Essex X-Ray has manufactured and installed resin bonded Boron Carbide (B4C) panels for shielding within Neutron scattering instruments such as the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) ISIS facility.The Neutron shielding manufactured for RAL uses Boron Carbide grit (commonly referred to as B4C) mixed with a selected epoxy resin in varying ratios and cast into shaped moulds. Mixing with resin is an easier and more cost effective method of fabrication than sintered pieces and is therefore more commonly used.Brookvine's work with RAL has led to the development of various types of mouldings and panels for assorted applications and customers: from crispy mix which has very low resin content for use in vacuum applications to minimise out-gassing, to a higher resin content required for more complex castings, for example ;- intricate shapes like tubes and housings, or bonded to panels of cadmium, and flexible B4C sheets.