Development of air pressure mirroring particle dispersion method for producing high-density tungsten medical radiation shielding film

Radiation shielding films used in medical institutions are manufactured by mixing polymer materials with eco-friendly shielding materials. However, it is not easy to distribute the shielding material particles uniformly during the process. The uniform distribution of the shielding material particles is key to the reproducibility of the shielding performance of the films. Therefore, in this study, an air pressure mirroring particle dispersion method was developed to maintain a uniform distribution of the shielding material by dispersing the shielding material on a curved reflector through an air nozzle. The particle distribution state, density, and shielding performance of the cross-section and surface of the shielding films developed using the single-sided dispersion, double-dispersion, and air pressure mirroring particle dispersion methods were evaluated. Compared to the conventional single-sided distribution method, the shielding film produced by the air pressure mirroring particle dispersion method increased the particle packing by 41.5%, density by 12.9%, shielding material content by 22.2%, and shielding performance by 21.4%. Thus, the proposed dispersion method enables better shielding performance through uniform dispersion of shielding material, which is the most important parameter in the manufacture of low-dose shielding films.