Sintered X-ray Shielding Material for Complex Shapes
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing X-ray shielding materials, such as those described in Patent Document 1, are difficult to manufacture in complex shapes due to poor processability and require significant time and effort to stack layers, making them inefficient for use in X-ray inspection apparatuses.
Innovation Solution
The development of an X-ray shielding material composed of a sintered body containing a metal binder with a small atomic number and metal powder with an atomic number equal to or larger than the binder, allowing for easy manufacturing and improved processability to accommodate complex shapes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a layered structure of shielding materials is used, then radiation shielding performance is improved, but manufacturing complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple shielding material layers into a single integrated sintered body. Instead of stacking separate metal plates and layered materials as in the prior art, the invention creates one homogeneous sintered component that achieves the same radiation shielding effect, thereby eliminating manufacturing complexity while maintaining shielding performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining metal powder (having high atomic number for radiation shielding) with binder material in a sintered body. This composite structure provides both radiation shielding performance and improved processability, allowing the material to be formed into complex shapes in a single manufacturing step rather than requiring multiple layered components.
2Reliability
If metal plates with large atomic number are used, then shielding performance is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical and chemical parameters of the shielding material by using metal powder instead of solid metal plates, and by controlling the sintering process. This allows optimization of density and atomic number distribution within the sintered body, achieving effective shielding while reducing overall weight compared to solid metal plates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by distributing metal powder particles with high atomic number throughout the sintered body matrix. Rather than using uniform thick metal plates, the high-Z metal particles are dispersed locally throughout the structure, providing shielding performance where needed while maintaining lower overall weight through the porous sintered structure.
3Reliability
If traditional layered shielding materials are used, then radiation shielding is achieved, but processability and adaptability to complex shapes deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing parameters from mechanical assembly of layered plates to a sintering process. By controlling sintering temperature, pressure, and time parameters, the material can be directly formed into complex three-dimensional shapes with integrated shielding functionality, greatly improving processability and adaptability to complex geometries.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical stacking and fastening system of layered shielding materials with a thermal-sintering process. Instead of mechanically assembling multiple components, the metal powder and binder are compacted and sintered into a unified structure, eliminating the need for mechanical assembly and enabling complex shapes that would be difficult to fabricate using traditional mechanical methods.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration results in a lightweight X-ray shielding material that maintains effective shielding performance while being easier to manufacture and more adaptable to complex shapes compared to traditional materials.
Implementation Method 1
a sintered body containing a metal binder and a metal powder of metal having an atomic number that is equal to or larger than an atomic number of the metal binder
Implementation Method 2
shields X-rays
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are an X-ray shielding material that is lightweight, easy to be manufactured, and excellent in processability to be able to respond to a complicated shape, an X-ray inspection apparatus including the X-ray shielding material, and a method of manufacturing an X-ray shielding material. The X-ray shielding material is used for an X-ray inspection apparatus and shields X-rays. The X-ray shielding material is configured by a sintered body containing a metal binder and a metal powder of metal having an atomic number that is equal to or larger than an atomic number of the metal binder.