Recycling of steel slag aggregates for the development of high density concrete: Alternative & environment-friendly radiation shielding composite. (1st July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Baalamurugan, J.; Kumar, V. Ganesh; Chandrasekaran, S.; Balasundar, S.; Venkatraman, B.; Padmapriya, R.; Raja, V.K. Bupesh
• Is Part Of: Composites. Number 216(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-07-01
• Subjects: Induction furnace steel slag -- Concrete -- Density -- Compressive strength -- Gamma -- Radiation shielding -- Half value layer; Composite materials -- Periodicals; Materials science -- Periodicals; Composite materials; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 620.118
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.108885
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1359-8368

Abstract

Abstract: The present study aims in developing high density radiation shielding composite using induction furnace (IF) steel slag as an aggregate (coarse/fine) in concrete. IF steel slag is incorporated in concrete specimens (Mix a - 0% of slag, Mix b - 40% of slag as coarse aggregate, Mix c - 40% of slag as coarse aggregate and 100% as fine aggregate) of size 150 × 150 × 50 mm were fabricated. The presence of various iron (Fe) phases such as hematite, iscorite and almandine in IF steel slag composite were confirmed by XRD analysis. Presently, these types of materials are obtained from natural resources are in use for gamma radiation shielding. Density and compressive strength were studied, further concrete blocks were subjected to irradiation using gamma radiation sources such as 137 Cs (0.662 MeV) and 60 Co (1.17 and 1.33 MeV). Concrete specimen morphologies and structural changes of before and after irradiation have been studied using SEM and XRD analysis. The results show that replacement of 40% as coarse aggregate and 100% as fine aggregate of slag in concrete increases the density and compressive strength of conventional concrete from 2.38 g cm −3 to 2.85 g cm −3 and 27.20 N mm −2 to 29.38 N mm −2 respectively. Gamma Attenuation Factor (GAF), Linear Attenuation Co-efficient (LAC) and Half Value Layer (HVL) are better than the conventional concrete. Mix c can be a cost-effective alternate composite for radiation shielding studies and can reduce the exploitation of natural resources. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Recycling of steel slag composite in concrete. 100% replacement of hematite rich steel slag composite as fine aggregate. Compressive strength of steel slag incorporated concrete reaches 29.38 N mm −2 The HVL of steel slag composite incorporated concrete is 3.433 cm for 60 Co source. Gamma shielding material for hot cells and fuel storage area of nuclear industry.