Tungsten Alloy Shielding For Nuclear Electricity Generation

Nuclear electricity generation is the use of fissile materials in nuclear reactors (such as uranium-235, plutonium-239, uranium-233, etc.) that release thermal energy by nuclear fission to generate electricity. Nuclear fission is a radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts. The fission process often produces free neutrons and gamma photons, and releases a very large amount of energy. A nuclear chain reaction occurs when one single nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more subsequent nuclear reactions, thus leading to the possibility of a self-propagating series of these reactions. Nuclear chain reaction is the precondition of nuclear electricity generation. Compared with thermal power generation, which uses thermal energy generated by the combustion of chemical fuels to generate electricity, the heat energy released from the nuclear reactor is much higher than that released from the combustion of fossil fuels, while the volume of fuels required is much less.

Fission fragment which is generated when the nuclear fission of nuclear fuels is radionuclide that will occur a series of decay with strong radioactivity (mainly are β-ray and γ-ray). β ray is a high-energy, high-speed electron or positron, whose penetrating power is stronger than α-ray. When it penetrates the skin, it can cause radiation injury. And when it enters the body, it will change the chemical balance of cells, causing cells to become cancerous and the genetic material DNA to be damaged; the penetrating power of γ-ray is also very strong, it can enter into human body to interact with cells in vivo, to damage the molecular components of living cells (such as proteins, nucleic acids and enzymes), leading the body's normal chemical processes to get disturbed, thus causing harm to humans. Neutron radiation emitted by nuclear reactor also has manifested the very strong lethality, it can cause organ failure, central nervous system and digestive system damage.

Tungsten alloy shielding can be used for shielding the radiation released from the process of nuclear electricity generation. Experts find that radiation exposure could be reduced by maxing shielding. The radiation shielding ability of a material is related to its density. Higher density means better radiation shielding ability. Due to a higher density, tungsten heavy alloy has a much higher radiation shielding ability than lead. Alternatively equal amounts of tungsten alloy shielding provide diminished exposure risks than equivalent lead shielding. 

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