Molecular dynamics study on structural characteristics and mechanical properties of sodium aluminosilicate hydrate with immobilized radioactive Cs and Sr ions Show others and affiliations
2023 (English) In: Applied Clay Science, ISSN 0169-1317, E-ISSN 1872-9053, Vol. 243, article id 107042Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
As a low-carbon, environment-friendly and economical resource for nuclear power generation, radionuclide emission and storage has received worldwide attention. Geopolymer concrete is a green and sustainable building material that can be used to immobilize radionuclides. In the present study, molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to investigate the structural and mechanical properties of sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (NASH) gel, the main component of geopolymer concrete, with/without immobilized radioactive Cs and Sr ions. The three-dimensional structure of NASH gel enabled good immobilization of both radioactive Cs and Sr ions owing to the large radius of Cs ions and high charge density of Sr ions. Addition of Cs ions reduced the strength of the gel and increased the fracture strain, whereas addition of Sr ions increased the strength and significantly increased the ductility. Addition of Sr ions increased the number of penta-coordinated Al in the structure. Consequently, breakage of these bonds required more energy to be absorbed from outside. The nanoscale molecular dynamics simulations provided a theoretical support at atomic level for understanding the structural and mechanical characteristics of geopolymers pertinent to the immobilization of nuclear waste.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages Elsevier Ltd , 2023. Vol. 243, article id 107042
Keywords [en]
Geopolymer, Mechanical properties, Molecular dynamics, NASH gel, Nuclear waste
National Category
Other Materials Engineering
Research subject Structural Engineering
Identifiers URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-99432 DOI: 10.1016/j.clay.2023.107042 ISI: 001043766900001 Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85164669652 OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-99432 DiVA, id: diva2:1786878
Note Validerad;2023;Nivå 2;2023-08-10 (joosat);
Funder: Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 51378104); National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (grant no. 52125802); Jiangsu Province (grant no. BZ2021011); Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2242022k30030, 2242022k30031)
2023-08-102023-08-102024-03-07 Bibliographically approved