https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202328417010
Neutron thermal cross sections of 3D-printing organic polymers using the Average Functional Group Approximation
1 Physics Department, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”, via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133, Roma, Italy
2 NAST Centre, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”, via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133, Roma, Italy
3 European Spallation Source ERIC, PO Box 176, 22100 Lund, Sweden
4 Istituto IPCP-CNR, Viale J.F. Kennedy 54, 80125 Naples, Italy
* e-mail: giovanni.romanelli@uniroma2.it
Published online: 26 May 2023
We provide a worked example on how to obtain the total neutron scattering cross section of organic polymers at thermal neutron energies by means of the Average Functional Group Approximation. Within this framework, a polymer is rationalised as composed of hydrogen atoms belonging to specific functional groups,therefore taking into account the material-specific incoherent inelastic scattering contributions to the thermal cross section. Such simplified model allows the calculation of thermal neutron cross sections for a broad variety of materials of interest in neutron applications, e.g., sample containers and shielding components. We discuss in detail the case of ABS, often available as a 3D-printing material, whereby three polymers (acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene) can be combined in several mass percentages depending on the final application. Results are obtained using the NCrystal module already featuring the Average Functional Group Approximation.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2023
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
