Warpage-Resistant, Under-Extrusion-Free, High-Surface-Quality Additive Manufacturing Process for Polyethylene-Based Composite Radiation Shielding Material

Authors

• Duo Xu, MIT School of Engineering
• Volodymyr Korolovych, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• You Lyu, MIT School of Engineering
• Jacqueline Aslarus, MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Domingo R. Flores-Hernandez, MIT School of Engineering
• Simo Pajovic, MIT School of Engineering
• William T. Heller, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Lembit Sihver, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• Svetlana V. Boriskina, MIT School of Engineering

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-26-2025

Abstract

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.

Comments

© 2025 American Chemical Society  

Recommended Citation

Xu, Duo, Volodymyr Korolovych, You Lyu, Jacqueline Aslarus, Domingo R. Flores-Hernandez, Simo Pajovic, William T. Heller, Lembit Sihver, and Svetlana V. Boriskina. "Warpage-Resistant, Under-Extrusion-Free, High-Surface-Quality Additive Manufacturing Process for Polyethylene-Based Composite Radiation Shielding Material." ACS Applied Polymer Materials 7, no. 18 (2025): 12304-12320. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.5c02057

First Page

12304

Last Page

12320

Publication Title

ACS Applied Polymer Materials

DOI

10.1021/acsapm.5c02057