Construction materials used in the nuclear industry used to be mainly heavy materials, including lead plates, radiation-resistant heavy concrete, etc. However, these materials are either toxic after a long time of use (lead) or difficult to construct (radiation-resistant heavy concrete) and their cost is rather high. Therefore, there is a need for the manufacturing of a new kind of material with good radiation resistance, which is light, easy to use, and costs less. Barium is less toxic and more cost-effective than lead. Due to the importance of barium compounds in radiation shielding, the study of gamma radiation interactions within these compounds becomes essential, so the most important part of such a study is the experimental one, which shows the effect of the barite powder in the radiation resistance of the mortar. The research results show that the higher the thickness and percentage of barite powder, the higher is the radiation resistance.

The chloride penetration into concrete is one of the most popular topics and very exciting in the field of concrete durability. The chloride ion acts as a main factor in causing the corrosion of the reinforcement in concrete structure. Moreover, chloride transport mechanisms in concrete are very complicated. Specifically, the cracks were recognized as one of the primary reasons causing an increase in the corrosion rate of reinforcements due to chloride attack. The aim of this research is to propose models for predicting the chloride profile at crack locations of reinforced concrete. In the present paper, the tapered crack (V-shaped crack) was introduced as a natural crack due to flexural loads. In addition to the crack width, the crack depth also played as a factor influencing the chloride penetration depth and chloride profile. Finally, the validity of the proposed model was verified by comparing with experimental results under the influence of crack characteristics. The research results showed that the predicted results fitted well with experimental ones when the immersion periods were larger than 4 weeks.