Abstract
Many practical applications of concrete require adjustment of its properties. If concrete is used as casing for radioactive waste deposits, its main purpose is to mitigate radionuclide release and the mix design must conform to this requirement. In this article bentonite as a material with great sorption capacity is used as a concrete component. The main issue is to assess durability of designed mixtures. Therefore, the pore structure and hygric properties are investigated. The experimental results show that bentonite utilization in concrete mixtures leads to a significant growth of pore amount in the range of 0.01 to 1 μm and increase of water transport ability.
Highlights
The global energy consumption has been rapidly growing; by about 10 million gigawatts in last decades
Current demands cannot be satisfied by conventional sources, such as fossil fuels, not even by renewables
Except for superior durability those concrete have to serve as radioactive protection and they should mitigate a radionuclide release [4]
Summary
The global energy consumption has been rapidly growing; by about 10 million gigawatts in last decades. Management of waste disposal is a difficult issue to be addressed [1] It covers many accurate requirements and regulations, which have to be fulfilled in order to prevent radioactive substances release. The radionuclides transport can be inhibited by incorporation of some sorption materials in to the concrete mixture. Bentonite is used as sorption admixture in concrete. High cation exchange value, swelling and plasticity ability belong among its characteristic properties Several mixtures containing this natural clay are investigated, and concrete durability is assessed using basic physical and hygric properties. The reference material was labeled as RBR and it was based on Portland cement and did not contain bentonite. The main role of bentonite should be as a sorption admixture, so in some other mixes it was used as a replacement of silica flour. The last component was portable water, dosed in different amount, so the fresh mixtures reached the same consistency
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