Study of mechanical, thermal, and nuclear radiation attenuation properties of tourmaline loaded heavy weight heat resistant concrete as reactor shielding materials

Three heavy weight concrete mixtures incorporating barite and goethite as coarse and fine aggregates, respectively, were prepared in order to examine the nuclear radiation attenuation properties of such concrete. The three mixtures incorporated 0 wt%, 25 wt%, and 50 wt% tourmaline ore by mass as partial replacement of fine aggregates (goethite). Workability in terms of slump test and mechanical properties in terms of compressive and tensile strength tests were carried out. Moreover, physical properties in terms of bulk density and water absorption and porosity tests were done. Finally, thermal analysis and nuclear radiation attenuation measurements were performed. Ten different gamma-ray energy lines up to 1407 keV were used to determine the mass attenuation coefficients (σ) of gamma rays for the concrete specimens. Good agreement was obtained between the experimental results and theoretical calculations carried out using “WinXCom” computer program. Four neutron energy bands (slow neutrons, total slow neutrons, neutrons of energies greater than 0.4 eV as well as neutrons of energies greater than 10 keV) were used to determine the macroscopic neutron cross-sections (Σ) for the concrete mixtures under investigation. Additionally, once the optimum results of mixing proportions were achieved, the study was expanded to examine the effect of heat on the mechanical and nuclear properties of such concretes. Results showed that the addition of tourmaline ore to the concrete mixtures has significantly improved its mechanical properties, in addition to the obvious improvement in its ability to attenuate neutrons of different energy bands. Heating of concrete specimens up to 400 °C show no significant effect on the attenuation of gamma rays, while a slight decrease in the ability of samples to attenuate neutrons. Finally, concrete mix containing 50 wt% tourmaline is recommended as a heat resistant concrete at 100 °C and 400 °C, for power nuclear reactors. •Three concrete mixtures were prepared to be used as nuclear radiation shielding barrier and heat resistant concrete•Four neutron types and ten energy lines of g-rays were used to measure the attenuation properties of concretes•Tourmaline ore addition improved the physical, mechanical, and nuclear properties of concrete samples•Increasing temperature to 400 did not have a significant impact on the efficiency of studied concretes.