Enhancing mechanical properties of composite polymer concrete with lanthanum oxide additive for potential use in anti-radiation applications
Jakub Jała, Bartłomiej Nowacki
Quarterly No. 2, 2023 pages 104-109
DOI:
keywords: polymer concrete, composite, lanthanides, anti-radiation, mechanical properties
abstract Polymer concretes constitute a commonly used group of materials with known and well-studied properties for construction applications. The following research is a preliminary investigation into the basic mechanical properties and structure of a proposed novel polymer concrete with a lanthanum oxide nanopowder additive. The composite material is made from epoxy resin binder with milled expanded clay filler and La2O3 nanopowder. The research samples were made by simple and scalable casting methods. The conducted mechanical testing included compression and flexural examinations typical for this group of materials, as well as Brinell hardness measurements. The microstructure of the manufactured samples was examined utilizing scanning electron microscopy supported by EDS analysis. The obtained results reveal acceptable mechanical properties for the investigated materials, with slight increases in the measured property values for increasing amounts of the nanoparticle addition. The SEM and EDS investigations show the dispersion of filler and nanopowder additive throughout the samples, which is advantageous for the macroscopic properties of the material. The slight agglomeration of the lanthanum oxide powder could be further decreased with the inclusion of another processing step, for example, resin mixture sonication. The mechanical properties of the investigated materials are adequate and further research is suggested to test the possibilities of developing the examined polymer concrete for anti-radiation and radiation shielding applications.