Appraisal of a cementitious material for waste disposal: Neutron imaging studies of pore structure and sorptivity

Journal Article · Sun Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Cement and Concrete Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2010.03.011· OSTI ID:21418100

Beer, Frikkie C. de ^[1]; Aldridge, Laurence P ^[2]; Radebe, Mabuti J; Nshimirimana, Robert ^[1]; Brew, Daniel R.M.; Payne, Timothy E; Olufson, Kylie P ^[2]

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1. South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), Church Street West Extension, Pelindaba, Brits District, Pretoria 0001 (South Africa)
2. Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, New Illawarra Road, Lucas Heights, NSW 2234 (Australia)

Cementitious materials are conventionally used in conditioning intermediate and low level radioactive waste. In this study a candidate cement-based wasteform has been investigated using neutron imaging to characterise the wasteform for disposal in a repository for radioactive materials. Imaging showed both the pore size distribution and the extent of the cracking that had occurred in the samples. The rate of the water penetration measured both by conventional sorptivity measurements and neutron imaging was greater than in pastes made from Ordinary Portland Cement. The ability of the cracks to distribute the water through the sample in a very short time was also evident. The study highlights the significant potential of neutron imaging in the investigation of cementitious materials. The technique has the advantage of visualising and measuring, non-destructively, material distribution within macroscopic samples and is particularly useful in defining movement of water through the cementitious materials.

• OSTI ID: 21418100
• Journal Information: Cement and Concrete Research, Vol. 40, Issue 8; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconres.2010.03.011; PII: S0008-8846(10)00080-3; Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; ISSN 0008-8846
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
COST ESTIMATION
CRACKS
DISTRIBUTION
INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
PORE STRUCTURE
PORTLAND CEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
TOMOGRAPHY
WASTE FORMS
WATER
BUILDING MATERIALS
CEMENTS
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MICROSTRUCTURE
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES