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An investigation on the concrete properties

containing colemanite

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International Journal of Physical Sciences Vol. 5(3), pp. 216-225, March 2010
Available online at [Link]
ISSN 1992 - 1950 © 2010 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

An investigation on the concrete properties containing

colemanite
Osman Gencel1, 2*, Witold Brostow2, Cengiz Ozel3 and Mümin Filiz3
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bartin University, Bartin, Turkey.
2
Laboratory of Advanced Polymers and Optimized Materials (LAPOM), Department of Materials Science and
Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX-USA.
3
Department of Construction Education, Faculty of Technical Education, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey.
Accepted 9 December, 2009

A radiation dose above the maximum permissible limit is harmful to our environment and our bodies.
Study of radiation absorption in material has become an important subject to protect living creature and
environment from harmful effect of radiation. Thus it is desirable to have the knowledge about the
effective materials for neutron and gamma ray shielding. Concrete is the most widely used construction
material in the world for this purpose. The aggregate of concrete plays an essential role in modifying
concrete properties and physical-mechanical properties of concrete affect significantly shielding
properties of concrete. This paper summarizes the results of investigation carried out on the concrete
containing colemanite at different ratios. The intent of this research was to investigate the effect of the
colemanite on physical and mechanical properties of concrete using colemanite as replacement
aggregate. Slump, air content, compressive strength, split tensile strength, Schmidt hardness, modulus
of elasticity, freeze-thaw durability, unit weight and pulse velocity were physical and mechanical
properties investigated. It was observed that increasing colemanite ratio in volume has affected
engineering properties of concrete and colemanite replacement up to 30% can be considered
acceptable.

Key words: Colemanite, concrete, mechanical properties, concrete radiation shielding.

INTRODUCTION

As the human population and industrial demands grow, Thus, to protect living creature has been first aim.
nuclear technology has oriented humanity towards using Although lead has been used for shielding structures
synthetic energy to complement conventional energy such as nuclear power plant, there is a wrong concept on
sources, which are running out. Constructions of nuclear it. For some cases, for instant, lead has been insufficient
power plants have been increased for many purposes, to shield neutrons. For this purpose, concrete is consi-
especially for energy supply all around the world. How- dered as an excellent and versatile shielding material
ever, the issue of the potential impact of nuclear leakage widely used for shielding in nuclear power plants, particle
on the environment, and a potential crisis is attracting accelerators, research reactors, laboratory hot cells and
much interest and stimulating many discussions (Kan et medical facilities. It is a relatively inexpensive material,
al., 2004). Living isolated from radiation is almost which may be easily handled and cast into complex
impossible in the modern world. Human and animal are shapes. It contains a mixture of many light and heavy
subjected to natural or artificial radiation in the environ- elements and therefore has good nuclear properties for
ment due to increase living standard. Also medical facili- the attenuation of photons and neutrons. Shielding
ties like radiotherapy room need a well-shielded room. characteristics of concrete may be adapted wide range of
usage (Kaplan, 1989; El-Sayed et al., 2002).
In all nuclear installations, concrete is the most
commonly used shielding material to protect from neutron
*Corresponding author. E-mail: osmangencel@[Link]. Tel: radiation. It is a common practice to add boron to
+90 378 223 5413. Fax: +90 378 223 5258. concrete in order to try enhance the thermal neutron
 Gencel et al. 217

100 CSt-I NRS

90
CSt-II B16
80

Percent passing (%)

A16 Mixture
70
60 Cf Cc

50
40
30
20
10
0
0.25 0.5 1 2 4 8 16
Sieve diameter (mm)

Figure 1. Grading curves of aggregates and mixture.

attenuation properties and to suppress secondary material based on colemanite and epoxy resin. And Yarar
gamma-ray generation. Since pure boron is difficult to (1996) studied activation characteristics of concrete
obtain by common extraction methods, the use of boron- shields containing colemanite. However, very little infor-
bearing minerals is more economical and practical (Yarar mation has been conducted about engineering properties
and Bayülgen, 1994). Boron is one of the most important of concrete containing boron or colemanite. In the study
underground richness of Turkey, having about 60% of the of Gencel et al. (in press), rats were housed in concrete-
world boron reserves. Commercial boron ores of Turkey protected cages and then irradiated to investigate
are colemanite, tincal and ulexite (Demir and Kele , protective effect of radiation shielding concrete produced
2006). Colemanite (2CaO.3B2O3.5H2O) is a calcium with colemanite. In the present work, we aimed to
borate mineral with hardness between 4 and 4.5 and investigate effects of colemanite used as aggregate at
3
specific gravity of about 2.4 g/cm . Pure colemanite has a different volumes on concrete properties in point of fresh
B2O3 content of about 51%. Although colemanite has and hardened engineering properties.
been fairly widely used in radiation shielding concrete,
there is another point to consider that concrete used in
nuclear applications must have adequate and satisfactory MATERIALS AND METHODS
structural and engineering properties such as like com- Properties of concrete-making materials are presented in this
pressive strength, shrinkage, workability, tensile strength section. And the experimental studies of concretes produced with
and modulus of elasticity, which is a factor of importance colemanite were described. Information about physical and mecha-
in large stationary installations (Kaplan, 1989). nical experiments on concrete with colemanite is also provided.
Ordinary concrete is made with Portland cement,
ordinary aggregates of normal weight and water. Many
materials have been added to concrete to improve many Aggregates
of its properties. Aggregates, which are the largest Aggregates typically constitute 70 - 80 wt. % of concrete, aggregate
constituent (about 70 - 80% of the total weight of normal types and sizes play an essential role in modifying concrete
concrete), play an essential role modifying engineering properties. We have created plain concrete (PC) using limestone-
properties of concretes (Khatita et al., 2009) and the type based aggregates with three different grain sizes: up to 3 mm size
and quantity of aggregate in the concrete, are important crushed stone (CSt-I), up to 7 mm size natural river stone (NRS)
and 7 - 15 mm size crushed stone II (CSt-II). The aggregates were
components for radiation protection properties of
obtained from Atabey, Isparta, Turkey, graded, washed and
concretes (Akkurt et al., 2006). cleaned of clay and silts. To reduce difficulties of producing, mixing
Several studies as follows were conducted on radiation and placing of concretes and to prevent segregation of aggregates
shielding properties of materials containing boron and in the fresh concretes, the maximum aggregate size was selected
colemanite. Icelli et al. (2003) investigated X-ray trans- as 16 mm diameter. Results of sieve analysis of fine and coarse
mission factors of some boron compounds. Shiao and aggregates used are presented in Figure 1.
Colemanite was obtained from ETI Mine Works Inc., Turkey and
Tsai (1989) have made a study on improving masonry prepared as aggregate by sorting it via sieves into two groups as
cement for the solidification of borate wastes and found course (Cc) and fine (Cf). Physical property of all aggregates was
out that boron compound decrease radiation transmission listed in Table 1. Chemical composition of colemanite was listed in
of concrete. Okuno (2005) investigated neutron shielding Table 2.
218 Int. J. Phys. Sci.

Table 1. Physical and mechanical properties of aggregates.

3 3
Aggregate codes Specific gravity (g/cm ) Water absorption (%) Loose unit weight (kg/m )
CSt-I 2.61 2.91 1913
NRS 2.63 3.13 1830
CSt-II 2.70 0.83 1676
Cf 2.41 3.28 1455
Cc 2.42 1.35 1315

Table 2. Chemical composition of permeability cell is a rigid cylinder made of stainless steel.
colemanite (weight %).

Cc Cf Mix proportions

B2O3 41.24 39.48 To investigate the effect of colemanite on the physical and mecha-
CaO 24.35 24.42 nical properties of concrete, the mixture of concrete containing
colemanite in different volumes and plain concrete were designed.
MgO 1.42 1.59
Concrete for radiation shielding can be proportioned using the ACI
Fe2O3 0.44 0.76 method of absolute volumes developed for normal concrete
SiO2 5.07 6.38 (Mindess and Young, 1981). The use of this method is generally
LOI
*
24.28 24.83 accepted and is considered to be more convenient for radiation
shielding concrete (Postacioglu, 1955). Hence, the absolute volume
* Loss of ignition. method was used for the calculation of the concrete mixture. Mix
proportions and volumes of aggregates in the mixture are listed in
Tables 5 and 6, respectively.
In this study, many trial tests were conducted to determine the
Table 3. Chemical composition of cement water/cement ratio (w/c). Basing on results of these tests and
(weight %). considering workability without using chemical (plasticizer) and
mineral admixtures, optimum w/c was observed as 0.42. It is well
Total SiO2 22.90 known that w/c should be kept below 0.50 to prevent cracking.
Al2O3 5.32 Besides, the ACI Manuel of Concrete Practice advices that neither
type III cement nor accelerators should be used to avoid high and
Fe2O3 3.63
rapid hydration heat and potential consequent cracking (ACI, 1996)
CaO 55.83 and for radiation shielding concrete, cement content is generally
MgO 1.99 quite high, greater than 350 kg/m3. This helps to improve the
SO3 2.62 shielding characteristics of the concrete because of the high bound
water content of the paste (Mindess and Young, 1981; Topcu,
Cl 0.00
*
2003). Special performance requirements using conventional
LOI 4.20 materials can be achieved only by adopting low w/c, which requires
Free CaO 0.82 high content of cement (Bharatkumar et al., 2001). Thus, cement
Total Admixture 19.45 content and w/c was 400 kg/m3 and 0.42 in the all mixtures
respectively. 10% (CC10), 20% (CC20), 30% (CC30), 40% (CC40)
* Loss of ignition and 50% (CC50) of colemanite aggregate in volume in the testing
program to examine the effect of colemanite on the physical and
mechanical properties of concrete were replaced with lime stone
based aggregates. Since segregation affecting both shielding and
Cement engineering properties of concrete can be more pronounced in
producing concrete, the concrete should be handled, transported,
The Portland cement used in all mixtures was produced according placed, compacted and finished carefully in every step in point of
to the European Standards EN-197/1 and labeled as CEM II/A-M keeping homogeneity of fresh concrete. The plain concrete (PC)
(P-LL) 42.5N in this study. The cement was manufactured at Goltas would be used for comparison purpose.
cement factory in Isparta, Turkey. Physical and mechanical
properties and chemical analysis of cement are presented
respectively in Tables 3 and 4. We note more than doubling of the Mixing, curing and testing specimens
compressive strength between 2 and 28 days and nearly doubling
the flexural strength in the same period. In a typical mixing procedure, the materials were placed in the
The Le Chatelier method of cement characterization is based on mixer with capacity of 56 dm3 in the following sequence: first course
using a 30 mm longitudinally split cylindrical mold with 2 indicators aggregates, fine aggregates followed by cement, initially dry
containing the cement paste - exposed to boiling water at the material mixed for 1 min and finally addition of 80% of water. After
atmospheric pressure for 3 h. The cement is acceptable if the 1.5 min of mixing, rest of the mixing water was added. Total mixing
distance between the indicators is 10 mm (European Committee time was 5 min. It was observed that flocculation occurred and
on Standardization). course aggregates were crashed during the mixing process. All the
The Blaine method follows the ASTM C-204-07 standard. The concrete specimens were cast in molds and the molds of specimen
Blaine air permeability apparatus allows drawing a definite quantity were subjected to vibration. Demoulding time was observed as over
of air through a prepared bed of cement of definite porosity. The 48 h. and then the specimens were cured in lime saturated water at
 Gencel et al. 219

Table 4. Physical and mechanical properties of Portland cement.

Specific
Compressive strength Initial setting Final setting Le Chatelier Blaine
Flexural strength (MPa) gravity 2
(MPa) time (hour) time (h) (mm) 3 (cm /g)
(g/cm )
2 Days 7 Days 28 Days 2 Days 7 Days 28 Days
2.25 3.15 1 3.15 4150
22.5 36.6 47.8 3.7 5.6 6.9

Table 5. Mixtures of heavyweight concrete composition for 1 m3.

PC CC10 CC20 CC30 CC40 CC50

Cement (kg) 400 400 400 400 400 400
Water (kg) 168 168 168 168 168 168
W/C 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42
Air content (%) 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
CSt-I (kg) 447.30 402.57 357.84 313.11 268.38 223.65
NRS (kg) 443.44 399.10 354.75 310.41 266.06 221.72
CSt-II (kg) 926.83 834.14 741.46 648.78 556.10 463.41
Cf (kg) - 79.40 158.80 238.19 317.59 396.99
Cc (kg) - 82.43 164.86 247.28 329.71 412.14

Table 6. Volumes of aggregates in the mixture (%).

Code CSt-I NRS CSt-II Cf Cc

PC 25.0 25.0 50.0 - -
CC10 22.5 22.5 45.0 5.0 5.0
CC20 20.0 20.0 40.0 10.0 10.0
CC30 17.5 17.5 35.0 15.0 15.0
CC40 15.0 15.0 30.0 20.0 20.0
CC50 12.5 12.5 25.0 25.0 25.0

20 ± 2°C temperature prior to testing. this fresh solid mass has been crucial. A wide range of
Slump (ASTM C 143) and air content (ASTM C 231) of the fresh techniques and systems are available for these pro-
concrete were also measured for each mix, providing useful data to
determine the amount of voids. Three items of specimens made
cesses. Slump test has been widely accepted and used
from the above six mixtures were fabricated. The 15 × 15 × 15 cm for this purpose (Newman and Choo, 2003). Figure 2
cubic specimens were primarily used for compressive strength, shows that slump values of mixes were decreased by
Schmidt test and pulse velocity of concrete. Cylinders of 150 mm in dependant on increase colemanite ratio in concrete. And
diameter and 300 mm in height were used to determine the it was observed that fresh concrete has flocculated more
properties of concrete, including the modulus of elasticity, stress- at increase of colemanite ratio in volume during the
strain and splitting tensile strength.
mixing process. The reason for slump loss may be this
flocculation. Cement paste reacts with colemanite
RESULTS and DISCUSSION aggregates resulting in melting, which may cause the
flocculation (Figure 3). However, ACI and ASTM defines
Physical properties of concrete workability as property of freshly mixed concrete or
mortar which determines the ease and homogeneity with
Fresh concrete is a transient material with continuously which it can be mixed, placed, consolidated and finished
changing properties. It is, however, essential that har- (ACI, 1990). Besides, that property determines the effort
dened properties of concrete have been affected by fresh required to manipulate a freshly mixed quantity of
phase of concrete. As well as to form a homogenous concrete with minimum loss of homogeneity (ASTM,
batch, usually void-free concrete, testing and measuring 1993) and slump of 50 mm is considered enough to fulfill
220 Int. J. Phys. Sci.

70

60

Slump (mm) 50

40

30

20

10
PC CC10 CC20 CC30 CC40 CC50
Concrete types

Figure 2. Slums values of concretes.

Figure 3. Polarization view of interaction zone between cement paste colemanite aggregate.

3.00 these definitions. In presented mixture design, colemanite

2.50 content up to 30% can be added to concrete when the
workability is considered.
Air content (%)

2.00
Air content is another test method to have opinion
1.50
about the homogeneity of fresh concrete. Based on test
1.00 result, as seen in Figure 4, air content was observed that
0.50 concretes containing colemanite up to 30% have 1.5%
aimed air content. Flocculation occurs over 30%
0.00
PC CC10 CC20 CC30 CC40 CC50
colemanite content in concrete.
According to studies conducted by (Boncukoglu et al.,
Concrete types
2002; Erdogan et al., 1998; Olgun et al., 2007), the
cement produced with boron has affected the setting time
of concrete. Also it is well-known that boron in cement
Figure 4. Air content. has caused high hydration heat induced cracks. In this
 Gencel et al. 221

70

Compressive strength (MPa)

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
PC CC10 CC20 CC30 CC40 CC50

Concrete types

Figure 5. Compressive strengths of concretes.

study, colemanite including boron was used as aggregate

in concrete and it was observed that even if colemanite
was used as aggregate, it could delay the setting
concrete. The reason behind that may be fine colemanite
ratio to which course crumbled colemanite attributed
since water soluble boron minerals, even in small
quantities, delay the setting of concrete. Stable and
insoluble boron minerals are generally not available in
large quantities for concrete aggregate. The effects of
colemanite on the setting of Portland cement concrete
also depends upon the possible presence of sodium
borate impurities and on the temperature, as well as on
the chemical composition of the ore which can vary from
batch to batch (Kaplan, 1989). Also, increasing fine
particles due to aggregates crumbled in the mixtures may Figure 6. Interface of colemanite and lime-based
cause flocculation. aggregate with matrix.

Mechanical properties of concrete

of concrete. This may be due to the interaction between
The procedures for testing most fundamental mechanical cement paste and colemanite which causes weak
properties, such as compressive strength (ASTM C 39- adhesion between paste and aggregates (Figure 3) and
86), splitting tensile strength (ASTM C 496-87), modulus structure of colemanite aggregate. We can see from
of elasticity (ASTM C 569-87), freeze-thaw durability Figure 6 that as a result of this interaction, wide and deep
(ASTM C 666) and pulse velocity (ASTM C 597-02) were cracks occur around colemanite aggregate in the matrix
tested. The pulse velocity and freeze-thaw durability were compared to limestone-based aggregate. Reductions in
measured on 15 cm cubic samples. compressive strength due to colemanite were parallel to
the reduction of densities. Yarar and Bayulken (1994)
reported that using different colemanite volumes at 0.50
Compression strength w/c ratio could produce concrete strength between 8 and
22 MPa. Even though 20 MPa seems adequate, in fact
It can be seen from Figure 5 that the 28-day compressive more is needed in regard to prolong life and durability
strength of concrete produced with colemanite was and seismic-resistant structures.
14.51, 19.35, 30.65, 40.32 and 51.61% lower than that of
PC, respectively. All concrete specimens with colemanite; Splitting tensile strength
showed decreasing strength with increasing colemanite
ratio at volume. As seen from Figure 5, the colemanite The splitting tensile test was used to determine the
ratio is inversely proportional to the compressive strength tensile strength of concrete samples with colemanite at
222 Int. J. Phys. Sci.

Splitting tensile strength (Mpa)

4

0
PC CC10 CC20 CC30 CC40 CC50
Concrete types

Figure 7. Relationship between colemanite ratio and 28 day splitting tensile

strength.

60
Elastic modulus (GPa) s

50

40

30

20

10 ACI CEB-FEB Test

0
PC CC10 CC20 CC30 CC40 CC50
Concrete type

Figure 8. Elastic modulus variations of concrete.

different ratios. As seen from Figure 7, the splitting tensile measurement placed to cylindrical specimens was used.
strength of concrete with colemanite was lower than that The E modulus was obtained from - curves using
of PC. Splitting tensile strength values ranged from 3.7 to Secant Method. And the test results were compared with
2.2 MPa. The maximum splitting tensile strength, 3.7 E modulus predicted from the ACI and CEB-FIP codes
MPa was obtained from PC. The lowest 28-day splitting and dynamic modulus. As it can be seen from Figure 8,
tensile strength, 2.2 MPa was found for the CC50. It also concretes with colemanite had low modules of elasticity
decreases with increasing colemanite ratio. It seems that and it showed decreasing with increasing colemanite in
this was due to effect of increasing air voids in the the mixes. Modules of E on experimental test have varied
mixtures. It varied between 8 and 10% of 28 day between 18 and 40 GPa depending on colemanite
compressive strength (Neville, 1996). content.

Modulus of elasticity Pulse velocity test

The modulus of elasticity (E) of all concrete measured in Figure 9 shows, pulse velocity values ranged from 2691
this study were obtained at an age of 28 days. The curing to 4073 m/s. The PC had the highest value and the pulse
condition of specimen was the same as the condition for velocity of concrete with colemanite has decreased with
determining compressive strength. To take data, a frame on colemanite ratio in concrete. The reason for this is
named strain-gauge having sensitivity of 0.002 on mea- formation of air voids increased by increasing colemanite
 Gencel et al. 223

4000

3000
Pulse velocity (m/ s)
2000

1000

0
PC CC10 CC20 CC30 CC40 CC50

Concrete types
Figure 9. Pulse velocity of concretes.

50

40
Schmidt hardness

30

20

10

0
PC CC10 CC20 CC30 CC40 CC50
Concrete types

Figure 10. Schmidt harness of concretes.

in the concrete. Nonetheless, Whitehurst (1951) hammer to prevent the dissipation of hammer striking
classified the concretes as excellent, good, doubtful, poor energy due to the lateral movement of the specimen.
and very poor for pulse velocity values of 4500 m/s and Striking points were uniformly distributed to reduce the
above, 3500 - 4500, 3000 - 3500, 2000 - 3000, and 2000 influence of local aggregates distribution, and the
m/s, respectively. According to this classification, more rebound number of the specimen was obtained by
than 30% of colemanite in the concrete is not adequate in averaging the results. Rebound values on Schmidt
this respect to strength. hammer readings were found to decrease with increasing
colemanite content when compared with the PC (Figure
10).
Schmidt hardness test

In order to obtain information on the hardness of Unit weight

concrete, the Schmidt hardness experiment was applied
to concrete samples. This test, one of the most popular Linear attenuation coefficient is the probability of a
nondestructive testing methods, is an economic and easy photon interacting in a particular way with a given
method to evaluate the compressive strength of concrete. material, per unit path length, and is of great importance
A uniform compressive stress of 2.5 MPa was provided to in radiation shielding. However, linear attenuation
the test specimen along the vertical direction, the same coefficients depend on the density of shielding materials
direction of casting direction, before striking it with the (Kaplan, 1989; El-Sayed et al., 2002).
224 Int. J. Phys. Sci.

2500

2000

Unit weight (kg/ m3)

1500

1000

500

0
PC CC10 CC20 CC30 CC40 CC50

Concrete types

Figure 11. Unit weight of concretes.

25

20
Strength loss (%)

15

10

0
PC CC10 CC20 CC30 CC40 CC50

Concrete types

Figure 12. Freeze-thaw durability of concretes.

So unit weight of concrete is one of the most desired pores, the volume increase of ice causes tension in the
properties of it for especially gamma rays and x-rays surrounding concrete. If the tensile stress exceeds the
shielding. The shielding effectiveness of concrete is to a tensile strength of concrete, micro-cracks occur. By
large extent dependent on its density. If unit weight of continuing FTCs, more water can penetrate the existing
concrete is increased, improvement of shielding pro- cracks during thawing, causing higher expansion and
perties is seen. The greater the density, the smaller the more cracks during freezing. The load carrying area will
thickness of concrete required. Due to density of cole- decrease with the initiation and growth of every new
manite, increasing of colemanite ratio in volume makes crack. So the compressive strength will decrease with
the unit weight of concretes decrease as seen from FTCs (Shang et al., 2008). In this work, all specimens
Figure 11. Also because of flocculation of fresh concrete were subjected to 30 FTCs, 2 h freezing and 1 h thawing.
with colemanite, samples have not gained full compaction Figure 12 shows that all concrete types had lost
in the casting process affecting density. strength, however series of colemanite had less strength
lost than that of PC. Compressive strength loss of
concrete was following: PC 21.3%, CC10 16.3%, CC20
Freeze-Thaw durability 14.1%, CC30 13.4%, CC40 8.8% and CC50 7.2%. The
value of strength loss of concrete with colemanite,
Micro-cracks mainly exist at cement paste-aggregate increasing in volume, observed here somewhat less than
interfaces within concrete even prior to any load and that of PC. This is inversely proportional to the air content
environmental effects. When the number of Freeze-Thaw of colemanite concretes. More air voids in concrete leads
Cycle (FTC) increases, the degree of saturation in pore to high water absorption. PC had the highest
structures increases by sucking in water near the con- compressive strength loss with 21%, nonetheless, it is
crete surface during the thawing process at temperatures acceptable level according to ASTM C 666 code. Also it
above 0°C. Some of the pore structures are filled was observed that there was no reduction of the weight
completely with water. Below the freezing point of related of the specimens and desquamation of concrete surfaces
 Gencel et al. 225

after FTCs. Erdogan Y, Zeybek MS, Demirbas A (1998). Cement Mixes Containing
Colemanite from Concentrator Wastes. Cement Concrete Res 28 (4):
605-609.
Gencel O, Naziroglu M, Celik O, Yalman K, Bayram D (In press).
Conclusion
Selenium and vitamin E Modulates Radiation-Induced Liver Toxicity
in Pregnant and Non-pregnant Rat: Effects of Colemanite and
Using colemanite ranging from 10 up to 50% as aggre- Hematite Shielding. Biol. Trace Elem. Res.
gate in concrete has a negative effect, in respect to both Icelli O, Erzeneoglu S, Boncukcuoglu R (2003). Measurement of X-ray
physical and mechanical properties. When increased transmission factors of some boron compounds. Radiat. Meas. 37:
613.
(over 50%), this effect would be more.
Kan YC, Pei KC, Chang CL (2004). Strength and fracture toughness of
It has delayed the setting time of concrete. It is heavy concrete with various iron aggregate inclusions. Nucl. Eng.
recommended that an addition up to 30% of colemanite Design 228: 119-127.
into concrete is considered as the acceptable level in the Kaplan MF (1989). Concrete Radiation Shielding. John Wiley & Sons,
New York.
workability and strength of these concretes. More Khatita MH, Yousef S, AlNassar M (2009). The effect of carbon powder
investigation to solve problems about physical and addition on the properties of hematite radiation shielding concrete.
mechanical properties of concrete containing colemanite Prog. Nucl. Energy 51: 388-392.
should be done. Mindess M, Young JF (1981). Concrete. Prentice-Hall, Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey.
Neville AM (1996). Properties of concrete. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
New York.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Newman J, Choo BS (2003). Advanced concrete technology : Concrete
Properties. Butterworth-Heinemann Press, Great Britain.
Okuno K (2005). Neutron shielding material based on colemanite and
The authors would like to thank The Scientific and
epoxy resin. Radiat. Prot. Dosim. 115: 258-261.
Technical Research Council of Turkey (TÜB TAK) for the Olgun A, Kavas T, Erdogan Y, Once G (2007). Physico-chemical
financial support, Project no: 106M442. characteristics of chemically activated cement containing boron.
Build. Environ. 42(6): 2384-2395.
Postacioglu B (1955). Design of concrete mixes, Material Laboratory
Bulletin, no. 3, ITU, Civil Engineering Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey, 1955,
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