Investigation of Ionizing Radiation Shielding and Mechanical Properties of Tin-Based Metal Alloys

The growing use of ionizing radiation in industrial, medical and nuclear sectors demands effective and eco-friendly shielding materials. In this study, Sn-based alloys (Sn-Cu-Ni, Sn-Ni-Zn, and Sn-Cu-Zn) were synthesized by stir casting and evaluated for their gamma-ray shielding and mechanical properties. Shielding performance was assessed with the EpiXS program, which provided parameters such as the mass and linear attenuation coefficients, mean free path, half-value layer, effective atomic number, and electron density across photon energies from 59.5 to 1332 keV, covering common sources including Am-241, Co-57, Ba-133, Cs-137, and Co-60. The computational results closely matched NIST XCOM values, with deviations below 0.32%. Among the alloys Sn-Cu-Zn performed best at low energies due to its higher atomic number, while Sn-Ni-Zn maintained balanced attenuation over the entire range. Mechanical testing indicated that Sn-Cu-Zn had the highest strength and hardness but limited toughness, whereas Sn-Cu-Ni showed superior impact resistance. Sn-Ni-Zn, though mechanically weaker, proved effective against high-energy photons. These results suggest that alloy composition can be tailored to meet specific shielding needs in diagnostic, therapeutic, or structural applications.