Structural effects of radiation-induced volumetric expansion on unreinforced concrete biological shields

Pape, Yann Le

doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2015.09.018

Cited by 40 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Radiation-induced volumetric expansion (RIVE) of aggregate appears as a firstorder mechanism explaining irradiation damage of concrete (Seeberger and Hilsdorf, 1982;Field et al, 2015;Le Pape et al, 2015). Neutron high-attenuation, structural restrains and RIVE amplitude (order of magnitude 1%) result in elastic stresses in the CBS exceeding the strength of irradiated concrete (Le Pape, 2016). Two concurrent mechanisms can relax the developed stresses: damage, i.e., cracking, and viscous or quasi-viscous effects, i.e., creep.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Computing Creep-Damage Interactions in Irradiated Concrete

Giorla¹,

Pape²,

Dunant³

2017

J. Nanomech. Micromech.

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Among the various degradation mechanisms possibly affecting the long-term operation of nuclear power plants, the effects of induced expansion and internal degradation that occur in concrete exposed to high-flux neutron radiation require additional research. Notably, the utilization of short-term test-reactor data to assess the long-term structural significance of light water reactor concrete biological shields necessitates to properly capture the concurrent time-dependent effects, e.g., creep and damage caused by radiation-induced volumetric damage. As this poses significant numerical challenges, a creep-damage algorithm was developed to account simultaneously for the progress of damage and visco-elastic processes in the concrete microstructure. The algorithm uses a time-adaptative scheme in which the instants at which damage occurs are explicitly searched for. This provides a non-local continuum damage procedure with very low sensitivity to the time or loading step. The proposed method is then used to simulate creep and restraint effects on radiation-induced degradation in concrete.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Computing Creep-Damage Interactions in Irradiated Concrete

Giorla¹,

Pape²,

Dunant³

2017

J. Nanomech. Micromech.

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“…RIVE; 𝐃𝐃 is the elastic constitutive matrix; 𝛼𝛼 is the thermal expansion coefficient (assumed isotropic). This model accounts for an estimate of RIVE in function of the neutron fluence Φ [n/cm 2 ] in line with the sigmoidal growth model proposed in [8], where 𝐈𝐈 = [1 1 1 0 0 0] 𝑇𝑇 is the identity vector, and 𝜀𝜀 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 , 𝜅𝜅, and 𝛿𝛿 are material parameters calibrated over irradiated concrete specimen of different aggregate nature.…”

Section: Mathematical Modelmentioning

confidence: 81%

A coupled thermo-mechanical and neutron diffusion numerical model for irradiated concrete

Zhang

2023

Theoretical and Applied Mechanics - AIMETA 2022

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Neutron irradiation plays an important role in nuclear-induced degradation for concrete shielding materials, specifically in determining the radiation induced volume expansion (RIVE) phenomenon driving its failure. When analyzing at the structural level the effects of nuclear radiation on concrete, a non-uniformed distribution of neutron radiation must be considered. This can be done via particle transport calculations preventive to the thermo-mechanic study, or by solving numerically the coupled set of governing equations of the problem. In this work the second approach is pursued in the theoretical framework of the Finite Element Method (FEM). The proposed formulation not only considers an accurate neutron transport model based on the two-group theory, but also it includes the effects induced by thermal neutrons to the temperature field. The formulation lends itself to include RIVE and the other relevant radiation induced effects on the mechanical field. The governing equations are presented and discussed, and some results obtained by using the general 3D numerical formulation proposed herein are compared to results from literature obtained via analytical methods addressing simplified 1D problems.

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“…Increased surface stresses from treatments can also in uence diffraction patterns, causing peak shifts towards higher angles. Radiation exposure in ordinary concrete can disrupt the atomic scale of silica, leading to amorphization and metamictization of structures, causing volume expansion, especially in quartz 21,104 The irradiation-induced change in minerals' elastic constants can affect the Young's modulus of aggregates, particularly those with a high silica content 103 . The irradiation-induced change in the minerals' elastic constants contributes to the Young's modulus of aggregates with a silica content of over 65%.…”

Section: Xrd Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing Shielding Efficiency of Ordinary and Barite Concrete in Radiation Shielding Utilizations

Ahmad,

Idris,

Hussin

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Concrete has been used as a radiation shielding material due to its properties and integrity. Radiation shielding materials play a crucial role in various applications, ranging from nuclear power plants to medical facilities. Despite the prevalent use of concrete as a radiation-shielding material, uncertainties persist regarding the most suitable concrete grades for optimal attenuation, emphasizing the necessity for systematic investigation. In this study, we investigate the efficacy of ordinary and barite concrete as radiation shielding materials across different grades: M15, M25, M35, and M45. Ordinary concrete (OC), composed of cement, water, and limestone as aggregates, is compared with barite concrete (BC), where barite is added as an aggregate substitute to enhance radiation attenuation properties. An assessment is conducted on the physical attributes and gamma-ray attenuation characteristics of these concrete mixtures after exposure to Cobalt-60 and Caesium-137 radioactive elements. Key properties, including density, compressive strength, linear attenuation coefficient (µ), mass attenuation coefficient (µm), half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), radiation protection efficiency (RPE), mean free path (MFP), radiation efficiency, and lead equivalent, were examined. The concrete is irradiated in a thermal column for 24, 48, and 72 hours to assess changes in crystalline size and lattice parameters following neutron exposure. The addition of barite as an aggregate substitute enhances the density, with the density of OC ranging from 2.1 g/cm3 to 2.39 g/cm3, accompanied by compression strength ranging from 20 MPa to 44 MPa. In contrast, barite concrete (BC) has a density ranging from 3.07 g/cm3 to 3.55 g/cm3, with compression strength ranging from 18.15 MPa to 39.71 MPa. Irradiation with Cobalt-60 reveals lower linear attenuation (µ) within the range of 0.172 to 0.195 cm− 1, with consistent mass attenuation for all grades at 0.81 cm2/g. The HVL ranges from 3.559 cm to 4.020 cm, with a corresponding TVL spanning 11.825 cm to 13.354 cm. XRD testing reveals a shift in the SiO2 and BaSO4 peaks towards the right after irradiation, indicating crystalline expansion in size, with the most significant changes observed after 24 hours of irradiation. Concerning lattice parameters, the d-value (inter-atomic spacing) shows the most significant decrease of 0.10 after 48 hours of irradiation in grade 25, while the most notable increase is 0.02 after 24 hours of irradiation in grades 15 and 45. The experiment suggests that ordinary concrete is effective for radiation shielding against 137Cs but lacks sufficient efficacy against 137Co.

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Structural effects of radiation-induced volumetric expansion on unreinforced concrete biological shields

Cited by 40 publications

References 27 publications

Computing Creep-Damage Interactions in Irradiated Concrete

Computing Creep-Damage Interactions in Irradiated Concrete

A coupled thermo-mechanical and neutron diffusion numerical model for irradiated concrete

Enhancing Shielding Efficiency of Ordinary and Barite Concrete in Radiation Shielding Utilizations

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