Development and Investigation of High-Strength Neutron-Absorbing Composite Coatings Based on Borides of Metals

Abstract

At present, structural materials capable of absorbing thermal neutrons are used for long-term, compacted storage of spent nuclear fuel. This is necessary to prevent the occurrence of a fission reaction in clusters of nuclear materials. A promising direction in this area is the use of neutron-absorbing coatings. In this paper, it is proposed to use coatings of the B-Ti system for this purpose. The model calculations carried out using the MCU-REA program show the sufficient effectiveness of such coatings. The average path length of the neutron in the coating is ~ 90 μm. The dependence of the degree of attenuation of the neutron flux on the thickness of the coating is shown. Calculations show that the main role is played not by the thickness of the coating, but by the boron concentration in the material. For the synthesis of coatings, the method of magnetron sputtering is considered. Аn experimental magnetron boron-containing target for a four-channel magnetron installation VUP-5M was fabricated.