Development of Gd-Si-O dispersed 316L stainless steel for improving neutron shielding performance
Xinyi Yang, Liangliang Song, Bo Chang, Qi Yang, Xiaodong Mao, Qunying Huang
Abstract
The low solubility of gadolinium (Gd) limits its application in iron-based neutron shielding alloys. In this study, a high content of Gd up to 7.87 wt.% was added into 316L stainless steel by mechanical alloying (MA) of Gd2O3 with 316L powder. Neutronics calculation results showed that the shielding efficiency of 0.2 mm thick 7.87 wt.% Gd-316L alloy was equivalent to that of 33 mm thick 316L for thermal neutrons. Microstructure analysis indicated that Gd-Si-O particles with an average size of 12.5 nm were uniformly dispersed in the matrix. It revealed that Gd2O3 dissolved into the 316L matrix during MA and re-precipitated at around 780 °C as Gd2SiO5 by XRD and TG-DSC. This study provides a novel Gd-containing alloy designed to achieve integration of structural alloys with good neutron shielding function for future application.