Estimation of minimum detectable concentration of chlorine in the blast furnace slag cement concrete

Prompt gamma-ray analysis of chlorine in superpozz cement concrete

“…Cylindrical SPZ cement concrete specimen with 12.5 cm radius and 14 cm height was used. This size was similar to the size used previously in transmission type PGNAA setup [11][12][13].…”

“…Since the yield depends upon the concentration of the elements of interest in the specimen as well as thermal neutron flux available at the position of the specimen, it requires optimization of the size of the moderator and the specimen [13]. In this study, optimum moderator size was determined through thermal neutrons yield calculations in the specimen volume as a function of the moderator thickness.…”

“…The Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation (PGNAA) technique is a non-destructive technique and can be used to analyze bulk concrete samples [6][7][8][9][10]. Previously, the chloride concentration in blended cement concretes, such as FA, SF and BFS were measured utilizing the accelerator-based PGNAA setup at KFUPM [11][12][13]. In the PGNAA technique, the detection sensitivity of chlorine concentration and its Minimum Detectable Concentration (MDC) in concrete is affected due to the interference between gamma-rays from chlorine and calcium [12].…”

“…The previous PGNAA studies for the measurement of chlorine concentration in the plain and blended cement concrete specimens were based upon the measurement of chlorine prompt gamma-ray intensities transmitted through the concrete specimen [11][12][13]. These studies were carried out to gather data about the applicability of the PGNAA technique for developing the MDC data of chlorine in the chloride-contaminated FA, SF and BSF cement concretes.…”

“…The reported study is part of a comprehensive project currently being conducted by the authors to develop a portable neutron generator-based PGNAA field monitor for assessing the elemental composition of concrete in plain and blended concrete at (KFUPM) [11][12][13]. The study was conducted into two parts, first part consisted of design calculations and their experimental validations.…”