Radiological characteristics of Self-Compacting Concretes incorporating fly ash, silica fume, and slag


Bulut H. A., ŞAHİN R.

JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING, cilt.58, 2022 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 58
  • Basım Tarihi: 2022
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.jobe.2022.104987
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Compendex, INSPEC
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Self-compacting concrete, Fly ash (FA), Silica fume (SF), Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), Radioactivity, Gamma spectrometry, BLAST-FURNACE SLAG, NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY LEVEL, MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES, HARDENED PROPERTIES, COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH, BUILDING-MATERIALS, RADON EXHALATION, PORTLAND CEMENTS, FRESH, DURABILITY
  • Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This article presents the results of a comprehensive study investigating the hypothesis that higher concentrations of natural radionuclides, that are harmful to human health, may be present in Self-Compacting Concretes (SCCs) due to its higher powder material content compared to conventional concretes. The fresh (slump-flow, T-500 time, V-funnel) concrete and compressive strength of SCCs prepared by replacing Portland cement with fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) in the respective range of 5%, 12.5%, and 20% were determined. The radionuclide activity concentration of all solid concrete components and SCCs were determined using the gamma spectrometry method. Radioactivity analyses including the calculation of the activity concentration index and annual effective dose equivalents were also performed. The findings showed that the specimens with the highest average compressive strength at the end of 120th day were, respectively, SF (54.2 MPa), FA (52.2 MPa) and GGBFS (46.1 MPa) added to the SCC. The obtained concentration of the Radium-226 value (41.1) of 20% UK with added SCC was 1.8 times higher than the control concrete (22.7) and 2 times higher than 20% SF added SCC (19.7). The highest Radium equivalent activity (Ra-eq) values were FA20 (89.52), GGBFS20 (72.05), control concrete (70.86) and SF20 (68.01). It was determined that the FA selected for the study exceeded the limit specified for structural material (3.38 > 1) and fell in the radiologically hazardous class. It has been proven that SF can be used as a radioactivity reducing material of concretes. The results revealed that the research hypothesis was confirmed in terms of FA.