Effect of using local hematite aggregate on concrete mechanical properties and radiation shielding

Abstract EN

After extensive trials and errors, 4 concrete mixes were prepared by using the coarse aggregates either Hematite or Dolomite and fine aggregate either fine portion of Hematite or sand along with addition to the total content of SEM I for each mix.

To achieve the high-performance concrete, all concrete mixes had a constant water/cement ratio of 0.55, cement content of 400 kg/m3 and sand-to-total aggregate ratio of 40-45% .

The hardened concrete mixes were tested for compressive strength at 7, 14 and 28 days and Compressive strength exposed to elevated temperatures.

In some concrete mixes, compressive strength was also tested up to 28 days upon replacing sand with the fine portions of Hematite.

The hardened concrete mixes were tested for flexure using beams tested up to 28 days for measure deflection and cracks pattern.

The attenuation measurements for concrete shielding using different thickness of concrete plates were performed by using gamma spectrometer of NaI (Tl) scintillation detector.

The utilized radiation sources comprised 137Cs and 60Co radioactive elements with photon energies of 0.662 MeV for 137Cs and two energy levels of 1.173 and 1.333 MeV for 60Co.