2025/09/16 by Duo Xu, Volodymyr F. Korolovych, You Lyu +6 · 1 voice
Engineering · Materials Science · #Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies #Polymer Nanocomposite Synthesis and Irradiation #Radiation Shielding Materials Analysis
paper · doi:10.1021/acsapm.5c02057
openalex publication_date 2025/09/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Polyethylene (PE) is one of the best shielding materials for primary space radiation due to its high hydrogen content. For effective secondary neutron shielding, boron-rich fillers are incorporated to enhance performance. The semicrystalline nature and high thermal expansion coefficient of PE impede its adoption for in situ additive manufacture in space via the fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. We developed an optimized PE blend to mitigate the effects of under-extrusion and warpage. Guided by studies on extrusion and warpage, we developed an optimal set of printing parameters for the proposed PE blend. The optimum PE blend─both in its pure form and when doped with fillers─has been tested on different FDM printers. The printed structures exhibit high and uniform density, smooth surfaces, no warpage, and competitive mechanical properties. The FDM-printed plates demonstrate efficient shielding from thermal neutrons, predicted via modeling and confirmed experimentally using extended Q-range small-angle neutron scattering.