Modification of 3D Printable Polymer Filaments for Radiation Shielding Applications
There is a growing need to develop lead-free shielding materials that are safe, low weight, durable, environmentally friendly, chemically and mechanically stable and customizable for specific applications. Fused deposition modeling (FDM), an additive manufacturing technique based on the extrusion of...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/15/7/1700 |
| _version_ | 1797607189988245504 |
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| author | Antonio Jreije Swaroop Kumar Mutyala Benas Gabrielis Urbonavičius Aušrinė Šablinskaitė Neringa Keršienė Judita Puišo Živilė Rutkūnienė Diana Adlienė |
| author_facet | Antonio Jreije Swaroop Kumar Mutyala Benas Gabrielis Urbonavičius Aušrinė Šablinskaitė Neringa Keršienė Judita Puišo Živilė Rutkūnienė Diana Adlienė |
| author_sort | Antonio Jreije |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is a growing need to develop lead-free shielding materials that are safe, low weight, durable, environmentally friendly, chemically and mechanically stable and customizable for specific applications. Fused deposition modeling (FDM), an additive manufacturing technique based on the extrusion of a thermoplastic filament into a 3D printed object one layer at a time, could be employed well in applications involving ionizing radiation due to its relatively low cost, design flexibility and high manufacturing precision. This study aimed at developing 3D printing composites that contain Titanium dioxide as a filler agent for shielding in a medical radiation environment. First, the effect of low-dose ionizing radiation (up to 15 Gy) on the mechanical properties of common 3D printing polymers, ABS, ULTRAT, PLA, NYLON, ASA and PETG, was investigated. Since ABS experienced the lowest variation in its ultimate tensile strength (±5%) and Young’s modulus (−5%/+11%), it was chosen as a matrix for a new extruded 3D filament containing TiO<sub>2</sub> at 1 wt.%, 3 wt.%, and 5 wt.%. With the incorporation of TiO<sub>2</sub> at different filler contents, the UTS of the ABS composites varied between 24.1 MPa and 28.4 MPa, with the highest value recorded for 3 wt.% TiO<sub>2</sub>. Young’s modulus values were dependent on both the TiO<sub>2</sub> concentration and on the irradiation dose. In addition, the ABS/TiO<sub>2</sub> composites with a higher filler content (3 wt.% and 5 wt.%) maintained their attenuation ability even after exposure to a radiation dose of 100 Gy as opposed to pure ABS, which exhibited a ~2.5% reduction in its mass attenuation coefficient after exposure to the same dose of radiation. The pilot investigation performed demonstrated that the newly developed ABS/TiO<sub>2</sub> composite containing 5 wt.% of filler can be successfully employed to shield electronic devices operating in a radiotherapy room. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:26:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-62b05e5f8695424ab214e4261cc60ea2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:26:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-62b05e5f8695424ab214e4261cc60ea22023-11-17T17:26:17ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602023-03-01157170010.3390/polym15071700Modification of 3D Printable Polymer Filaments for Radiation Shielding ApplicationsAntonio Jreije0Swaroop Kumar Mutyala1Benas Gabrielis Urbonavičius2Aušrinė Šablinskaitė3Neringa Keršienė4Judita Puišo5Živilė Rutkūnienė6Diana Adlienė7Department of Physics, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu˛ Str. 50, 51368 Kaunas, LithuaniaDepartment of Physics, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu˛ Str. 50, 51368 Kaunas, LithuaniaDepartment of Physics, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu˛ Str. 50, 51368 Kaunas, LithuaniaDepartment of Physics, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu˛ Str. 50, 51368 Kaunas, LithuaniaDepartment of Physics, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu˛ Str. 50, 51368 Kaunas, LithuaniaDepartment of Physics, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu˛ Str. 50, 51368 Kaunas, LithuaniaDepartment of Physics, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu˛ Str. 50, 51368 Kaunas, LithuaniaDepartment of Physics, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu˛ Str. 50, 51368 Kaunas, LithuaniaThere is a growing need to develop lead-free shielding materials that are safe, low weight, durable, environmentally friendly, chemically and mechanically stable and customizable for specific applications. Fused deposition modeling (FDM), an additive manufacturing technique based on the extrusion of a thermoplastic filament into a 3D printed object one layer at a time, could be employed well in applications involving ionizing radiation due to its relatively low cost, design flexibility and high manufacturing precision. This study aimed at developing 3D printing composites that contain Titanium dioxide as a filler agent for shielding in a medical radiation environment. First, the effect of low-dose ionizing radiation (up to 15 Gy) on the mechanical properties of common 3D printing polymers, ABS, ULTRAT, PLA, NYLON, ASA and PETG, was investigated. Since ABS experienced the lowest variation in its ultimate tensile strength (±5%) and Young’s modulus (−5%/+11%), it was chosen as a matrix for a new extruded 3D filament containing TiO<sub>2</sub> at 1 wt.%, 3 wt.%, and 5 wt.%. With the incorporation of TiO<sub>2</sub> at different filler contents, the UTS of the ABS composites varied between 24.1 MPa and 28.4 MPa, with the highest value recorded for 3 wt.% TiO<sub>2</sub>. Young’s modulus values were dependent on both the TiO<sub>2</sub> concentration and on the irradiation dose. In addition, the ABS/TiO<sub>2</sub> composites with a higher filler content (3 wt.% and 5 wt.%) maintained their attenuation ability even after exposure to a radiation dose of 100 Gy as opposed to pure ABS, which exhibited a ~2.5% reduction in its mass attenuation coefficient after exposure to the same dose of radiation. The pilot investigation performed demonstrated that the newly developed ABS/TiO<sub>2</sub> composite containing 5 wt.% of filler can be successfully employed to shield electronic devices operating in a radiotherapy room.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/15/7/17003D printingfused deposition modelingpolymer compositesradiation shieldingionizing radiation |
| spellingShingle | Antonio Jreije Swaroop Kumar Mutyala Benas Gabrielis Urbonavičius Aušrinė Šablinskaitė Neringa Keršienė Judita Puišo Živilė Rutkūnienė Diana Adlienė Modification of 3D Printable Polymer Filaments for Radiation Shielding Applications Polymers 3D printing fused deposition modeling polymer composites radiation shielding ionizing radiation |
| title | Modification of 3D Printable Polymer Filaments for Radiation Shielding Applications |
| title_full | Modification of 3D Printable Polymer Filaments for Radiation Shielding Applications |
| title_fullStr | Modification of 3D Printable Polymer Filaments for Radiation Shielding Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modification of 3D Printable Polymer Filaments for Radiation Shielding Applications |
| title_short | Modification of 3D Printable Polymer Filaments for Radiation Shielding Applications |
| title_sort | modification of 3d printable polymer filaments for radiation shielding applications |
| topic | 3D printing fused deposition modeling polymer composites radiation shielding ionizing radiation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/15/7/1700 |
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