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less energy. For more information: Zhi-
gang Zak Fang, 801/581-8128,
,
Shielding stops neutrons cold
When faced with the challenge of
protecting sensitive scientific equipment
and computers from radiation, engineers
at the DOE’s Thomas Jefferson National
Accelerator Facility, Newport News, Va.,
came up with three innovative products
that could soon find their way to nuclear
power plants, particle accelerators, and
other radiation-generating devices
around the world. The technologies form
a system for shielding that is less expen-
sive, lighter, and less bulky than standard
products and are easily manufactured
using existing techniques. They consist of
recipes for a lightweight concrete that is
4 × better at slowing down neutrons than
ordinary concrete, a boron-rich concrete
that absorbs neutrons using less material,
and a thin, boron-rich paneling for use in
space-restricted areas. Their system,
while using clever new techniques to
shield against neutrons, works on the
same principles as those currently in use.
It consists of a concrete layer to slow
down neutrons, a material to absorb
them, and a thin lead layer to halt any
residual radiation. .
Three new products for shielding against
neutrons consist of a boron-rich paneling for
use in space-restricted areas (front),
boron-rich concrete that absorbs neutrons
using less material (left), and a lightweight
concrete that is 4 × better at slowing down
neutrons than ordinary concrete (right).
Courtesy of DOE’s Jefferson Lab.
A unique solar panel design could provide less expensive sustainable power that is more
efficient and requires less manufacturing time. It was developed by a team led by
scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, both in Philadelphia.
The tests were conducted, in part, at the Advanced Photon Source at the DOE’s Argonne
National Laboratory, Ill. The new class of ceramic materials has three main benefits: It
can produce a solar panel thinner than today’s silicon-based market leaders, it uses less
expensive materials than those used in today’s high-end thin-film solar panels, and it is
ferroelectric, a key trait for exceeding the theorized energy-efficiency limits of today’s
solar cell material. , ,
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • FEBRUARY 2014 7