Rock-Forming Minerals Radiation-Induced Volumetric Expansion – Revisiting Literature Data

Abstract

Neutron radiation-induced volumetric expansion (RIVE) of concrete aggregate is recognized as a major degradation mechanism causing extensive damage to concrete constituents (Hilsdorf et al. 1978;Seeberger and Hilsdorf 1982;. Nearly 400 RIVE data obtained in test-reactors on varied rock-forming minerals were collected by Denisov et al. (2012). These data were input into the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) irradiated minerals, aggregates and concrete (IMAC) database and were reanalyzed in order to develop a general empirical model for minerals RIVE and interpret the susceptibility of silicates toward expansion. The empirical models best regression coefficient (r 2 ≈ 0.95) is obtained by combining two different modeling techniques: (1) an interpolation-like model based on the relative distance to existing data points, and, (2) a nonlinear regression model assuming varied mathematical forms to describe RIVE as a function of the neutron fluence 3 and the average irradiation temperature. The susceptibility to develop irradiation-induced expansion greatly varies with the nature of minerals. Silicates, i.e., [SiO 4 ] 4-bearing minerals show a wide range of maximum RIVEs, from a few percents to what appears as a bounding value of 17.8% for quartz. The maximum RIVE of varied silicates appears to be governed, macroscopically, by three parameters: (1) Primarily, the dimensionality of silicate polymerization (DOSP), (2) the relative number of Si-O bond per unit cell, and, (3) the relative bonding energy (RBE) of the unit cell.

Development and Characterization of 3D-Printed Cementitious Sytems for Innovative Nuclear Systems

“…Magnetite and hematite exhibits RIVE on the order of ~0.4%, which is comparable and hence compatible with calcium carbonates (Le Pape et al 2018). In terms of elevated temperature stability, most nonsiliceous aggregates are stable up to about 600°C.…”

Modal Analysis of Rock Forming Minerals: Contribution of XRD/Rietveld Analysis Compared to the Classic Point Counting Method

“…This strain is restrained creating stress and cracks through the concrete. A similar differential behavior exists also at the level of aggregates between the different composing minerals (Denisov et al 2012;Maruyama et al 2017;Le Pape et al 2018). The RIVE is related to many properties of the original rock like its mineral composition, grain size and orientation of minerals (Denisov et al 2012;Maruyama et al 2017;Le Pape et al 2020).…”

“…The RIVE is related to many properties of the original rock like its mineral composition, grain size and orientation of minerals (Denisov et al 2012;Maruyama et al 2017;Le Pape et al 2020). For instance, it is well known that silicate-bearing aggregates develop higher RIVE compared to carbonate-bearing aggregates (Maruyama and Muto 2016;Le Pape et al 2018). Therefore, to assess the degradation risk of the biological shield, it is neces-sary to have the accurate mineralogy of aggregates and their properties in a such environment (Maruyama et al 2017;Le Pape et al 2020).…”

MOSAIC: An Effective FFT-based Numerical Method to Assess Aging Properties of Concrete

“…MOSAIC utilizes the composition knowledge by assigning the appropriate constitutive properties to each pixel based on its phase assignment. Moreover, the irradiated minerals, aggregate and concrete (IMAC) database links to MOSAIC, providing detailed material parameters for the identified minerals (Le Pape et al 2018). The principal objective of MOSAIC is to simulate the effects of nonlinear aging mechanisms occurring in nuclear environments on the macroscopic mechanical properties of specific concrete microstructures.…”

“…Metal oxides and carbonate-bearing minerals are respectively modeled by exponential and "threshold" laws. See details in (Le Pape et al 2018). These RIVE laws are directly accessed by MOSAIC when linked to the IMAC database.…”