X-Ray Lead Lined Plate

X-ray lead lining is a core material in the field of radiation protection, which is specially used to absorb and scatter X-rays to ensure the safety of personnel and the environment. Its core characteristics and applications are as follows:

1. Material characteristics and structure

The lead lining is made of high-purity lead (≥99.9%) as the main material, with a density of 11.34 g/cm³ and an atomic number of 82. It efficiently attenuates X-rays through the photoelectric effect and Compton scattering. The common thickness is 0.5-5mm lead equivalent (1mm lead equivalent can shield about 90% of low-energy X-rays). To enhance practicality, it is often compounded with other materials:

Pure lead plate: 0.5-10mm thick, used for fixed protection of walls, floors, etc.;

Flexible lead lining: such as lead rubber (lead powder + rubber) or lead polyethylene, which can be bent to fit the gap of equipment;

Composite structure: lead + steel plate to improve strength (used for protective doors), lead + PVC/stainless steel coating to prevent oxidation.

2. Core advantages

Efficient shielding: The shielding rate of 50-150 keV energy X-rays exceeds 90%, which is better than concrete (thickness is only 1/10 of that);

Economic and durable: The cost is lower than tungsten alloy, it has strong corrosion resistance and a service life of more than 20 years;

Flexible adaptation: The shape can be customized to adapt to complex scenarios such as medical and industrial;

Environmentally friendly and recyclable: The lead recovery rate exceeds 95%, reducing resource waste.

3. Application scenarios

Medical field: CT/DR room walls (1-3mm lead equivalent), interventional operating room lead doors/lead glass, mobile lead screens;

Industrial inspection: X-ray flaw detector shielding room, container security equipment lining;

Nuclear energy and scientific research: Radioactive storage container lining, with boron polyethylene to shield neutron radiation.

4. Installation and maintenance

Installation points: overlap the seams by 20% to prevent leakage, use lead screws or special adhesives to fix, and cover the surface with a protective layer (such as PVC) to prevent oxidation;

Maintenance requirements: check for deformation or cracking regularly, and waste lead plates need to be professionally recycled to avoid lead pollution.

5. Limitations and alternatives

Heavy weight: pure lead plates increase the load-bearing capacity of buildings, and high-rise buildings need structural reinforcement;

Toxicity risk: lead dust must be prevented during processing, and the surface must be sealed after installation;

High-energy ray restrictions: for gamma rays >1 MeV, concrete or tungsten alloy must be combined.

Compared with other materials: tungsten alloy is lighter and thinner but more expensive; boron-containing polyethylene is good at shielding neutrons, but has low efficiency for X-rays; depleted uranium has excellent shielding but there are radioactive disputes.

Summary: Lead lining plates are still the mainstream choice for medium and low-energy X-ray protection due to their high cost-effectiveness, mature technology and stable performance. They are especially suitable for medical and industrial scenarios that need to balance cost and efficiency, but they need to be combined with other materials for optimized design in high-energy radiation or special environments.