Background

Radiation is a source of damage for everything from living tissue to electronic systems. Humans and electronics that operate in high radiation environments, such as outer space or while handling nuclear waste, need highly effective shielding to prevent radiation damage.

Highly effective radiation shielding does exist, such as lead paneling. Unfortunately, such lead shielding is typically high in mass. Thus, for mass sensitive applications like satellite shielding or transportation of nuclear waste, these traditional shielding methods can result in excessive end of cycle waste and prohibitively high costs.

Therefore, a novel low mass form of radiation shielding is highly desirable.

Technology Overview

NC State researchers have developed a novel, low mass, radiation shielding material known as MOICC (Metal Oxide Infused Conformal Coating) which provides a low mass shielding option that also allows a substantial reduction in radioactive waste of the shielding material itself for nuclear reactor operations and so would be ideal for micro reactors which would require ground transport prior to and after use.

Standard conformal coating is a low mass, commonly applied protective layer for spacecraft electronics. It provides protection against dust, moisture, etc. However, it has limited radiation protective qualities in its standard state and is largely ineffective for shielding against photons. The MOICC technology infuses a specifically selected metal oxide powder into the coating before application, which allows the conformal coating to provide standard protection against dust, moisture, etc., while also providing very substantial radiation protection against all forms of radiation, all for a low weight and relatively low cost.

In particular, MOICC shows a reduction of 300 fold for gamma radiation in photon flux below 10 keV, and substantial shielding effects for energies between 10 keV and 300 keV, reducing as energy increases. Thus, substantial shielding can be achieved with only slight weight increases (although this is energy and particle type dependent). As a further benefit, this shielding can be applied easily via spray coating and potentially 3D printing.

It was also determined that the MOICC technology can be designed to have a very low neutron activation potential, which should ideally produce nuclear wastes no higher than class B in terrestrial nuclear applications. This may prove particularly useful in reducing “activated waste” during Deactivation & Decommissioning phases.

Benefits

Low mass radiation shielding.
Low off-gassing potential.
Relatively low financial cost.
Reduced launch mass for protected satellites.
Improved personal protection gear.
Spray on, easy application.
Low neutron-activation potential.

Applications

Protecting satellites from space-based radiation.
Low mass radiation protection.
Low mass containment of nuclear waste.
Reduce quantity and radioactivity of Deactivation & Decommissioning waste.

Low Mass, Radiation Resistant Coating