Experimental Study on a Barite Heavyweight Self-Consolidating Concrete

Abstract

This paper describes how heavyweight concrete made of water, cement, and heavyweight aggregate is used for shielding in structures where radiation protection is required. Water reduction helps to achieve high density mixtures, since water is the component with the lowest specific gravity. Thus, the use of superplasticizers helps to obtain workable concrete with low water-cement ratio (w/c) and high density. This paper discusses properties for heavy-weight self-consolidating concrete (SCC) made with polycarboxilic-based superplasticizer and barite aggregate. Fresh concrete properties were characterized using the suitable test methods employed in SCC. Since segregation is a key issue in this type of concrete due to the large difference between the densities of the mortar and coarse aggregate, some specific tests were carried out in concrete columns to verify homogeneity of the concrete, including the measurement of the capillarity and water permeability.