Effect of gamma and lead as an additive material on the resistance and strength of concrete

Nowadays, concrete is extensively used for transporting, storing radioactive wastes and as a shield in nuclear planets. For this purpose, concrete must have a certain property like density in particular. Several of the specimens were produced to examine the effect of gamma radiation on compressive strength of concrete during solidification. The results show that the strength of gamma radiated concrete specimens has greatly been increased and it has been confirmed by perceiving their microstructure using scanning electron microscope (SEM). In another section, concrete is mixed with different percentages of lead to study gamma-ray shielding properties. By comparing obtained data from concrete specimens with and without lead, it was observed that, if the powder of lead with 90% ratio of lead-to-cement by weight is added in concrete mixture, the compressive strength of concrete reaches a maximum value and concrete can be a suitable shield against gamma-ray.