International Concrete Abstracts Portal

Engineered enchancement of or engineered alternatives to shallow land disposal of low-level radioactive (LLW) is likely to be the disposal technique adopted by a majority of states in the U.S. Such disposal techniques involve extensive use of concrete as an engineered barrier to prevent the escape of radionuclides into the environment. The LLW will be contained in concrete vaults or bunkers buried underground or covered with earth. U.S. Regulation 10 CFR 61 establishes the regulatory responsibilities for licensing LLW disposal sites. Implicit in the regulations is the need for the concrete of the LLW disposal system to have a service life of 500 years. Discusses the regulatory responsibilities governing LLW disposal. It also discusses results of a research project at the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to predict the service life of underground concrete for LLW applications. Assuming that disposal will be above the water table, the major degradation mechanisms affecting the concrete would be those due to sulfate attack, chloride ions, alkali-aggregate reaction, and leaching. Mathematical modeling of the degradation mechanisms and the validation of those models with accelerated laboratory tests suggests that service lives of 500 years for concrete structures can be reliably achieved.

SP-132 Published in two volumes...The first volume contains papers dealing with fly ash and natural pozzolans. The second volume consists of papers dealing with condensed silica fume and ferrous and non-ferrous slags.

The use of high-volume fly ash as a supplementary cementing material in controlling alkali-aggregate reactivity is an attractive solution. Fly ashes are often used in reducing the expansions due to alkali-aggregate reaction in concrete. However, in the past, only smaller quantities of fly ash, less than 30 percent by weight of cement, have been used. This paper presents the results of a study to determine the influence of very high quantities of fly ash in reducing the expansion due to alkali-aggregate reactions. Ten samples of sands collected from various locations in South Dakota were tested for alkali-aggregate reactivity using both standard ASTM C 227 and accelerated test methods. Five of the sands that caused greater expansions than permitted were tested with high fly ash contents, using the accelerated test method. Cements satisfying ASTM Type I and a low-calcium fly ash (ASTM Class F) were used for the entire investigation. The water/fly ash + cement ratio was 0.44 and the fly ash/fly ash + cement ratios expressed as percentages were 40, 50, 60, and 70. Control mortar specimens containing the same Type I cement and alkali content were used for comparison. An accelerated test method proposed by the Canadian Standards Association was used for the detection of potentially deleterious expansion of mortar bars. The test results had shown that high fly ash replacement levels were very effective in reducing the expansion due to alkali-aggregate reaction. The expansions of the mortar bars made with the highly reactive sands and high volumes of fly ash were negligible as measured in the accelerated test method.

A considerable amount of natural zeolite has been used as an admixture for portland cement in the People's Republic of China. Paper first deals with a comprehensive characterization of inorganic admixtures such as natural zeolites with different mineralogical compositions, a fly ash, a fine blast furnace slag, and a silica fume. Binders, such as ordinary portland cement and a quick lime for the substitution of portland cement, were also subjected to the characterization. Next, bending and compressive strength and drying shrinkage of the test mortars were measured under the constant flow value. Standard test mortars were prepared by making use of the ordinary portland cement and quick lime-substituted portland cement, and blended cement mortars were also tested with the inorganic admixtures previously mentioned. As a result, natural zeolite was proven to be of sufficient applicability as an admixture for cement.

Study examines the microstructure properties of cement-based grout consisting of Type II rapid-hardening portland cement, Saskatchewan fly ash, and brine. The liquid brine is composed mainly of salts of sodium, calcium, potassium, and magnesium obtained from an underground potash mine. A scanning electron microscope (SEM), with an electron probe x-ray microanalyzer, was used to study the mechanism by which fly ash and brine alters the microstructure characteristics of cement grouts under confining pressures of 0, 3.4, and 6.9 MPa (0, 500, and 1000 psi). The SEM examination was conducted at 7, 14, and 365 days. This examination revealed that grout mixes containing brine had a gel-like substance covering the entire surface of the hydrated products. The probe x-ray microanalyzer identified the gel-like substance as consisting mainly of sodium chloride salt. Fly ash cement particles were also found to be encapsulated by the sodium chloride gel-like substance. This encapsulation may decrease the rate of pozzolanic reaction between fly ash particles and the lime available in the cement. Microscopic examination of specimens mixed with brine also showed the presence of long fibrous crystals with diameters ranging from 3 to 20 æm growing on the surface of the gel-like substance. Generally, at 7 and 14 days, the fly ash-cement grouts were found to have more such fibers than the grout containing no fly ash. This trend reversed at 365 days.