Gamma-ray shielding properties of heavyweight concrete with Electric Arc Furnace slag as aggregate: An experimental and numerical study

This study investigates, both experimentally and numerically, the radiation shielding properties of two types of heavyweight concretes, one containing barite and one made with Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) slag as coarse aggregates. Fresh and hardened concrete properties are preliminary analyzed and compared to a conventional mix containing natural aggregates, namely: fresh and hard bulk density, consistency, compressive and tensile strength, elastic modulus. Three specimens per each mix are subsequently irradiated with both a high-activity (8.97 TBq) and a low-activity (280 kBq) 60Co gamma-ray source to measure their linear attenuation coefficients. Gamma-ray shielding characteristics are also numerically analyzed via a Monte Carlo code assessing radiation transport calculations. Experimental and numerical results indicate that EAF concrete has comparable shielding properties to baritic one, and it allows a certain decrease in thickness of the radiation shield, if compared to an ordinary concrete, however it has superior mechanical properties than the other studied mixtures.