Investigation of Physical, Mechanical, Durability, and Radiation Shielding Properties of Siderite-Based Shotcrete

Abstract In this study, the physical, mechanical, durability, and radiation shielding properties of wet-mix shotcrete (SC) containing crushed stone (CS), ferrochrome slag (FS), and siderite (S) aggregates were investigated. S aggregate replaced FS at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% to produce various SC groups. Physical and mechanical properties, including density, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), and compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strengths, were examined. Durability was assessed through freeze–thaw and sulfate resistance tests. Gamma radiation shielding was evaluated using a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector with sources emitting 276.5–1,332.5 keV energies. The mass attenuation coefficient ( μ / ρ ), linear attenuation coefficients ( μ ), half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), mean free path (MFP), and radiation protection efficiency (REF) were determined. Experimental results were compared with theoretical (WinXCOM) and simulation (FLUKA) data. Increasing siderite content enhanced both gamma attenuation and mechanical strength. The findings suggest that siderite-based shotcrete is suitable for radiation protection applications.