Feasibility of producing cement-based sacrificial materials with strontium ferrite: A preliminary study.

• Producing cement-based sacrificial materials with strontium ferrite is feasible. • Adding strontium ferrite decreases the mechanical properties of cement mortar. • Adding strontium ferrite reduces the drying shrinkage of cement mortar. • Strontium ferrite does not participate in the hydration reaction of cement mortar. • A model between the damage of cement mortar and the temperature is proposed. The safety of nuclear power plant can be improved via core catcher, and cement-based sacrificial materials are widely used in most core catchers because of their simple construction process and the low manufacturing cost. This paper carried out a preliminary investigation to explore the feasibility of using strontium ferrite to prepare cement-based sacrificial materials. The effects of strontium ferrite on the room temperature and high temperature properties of cement mortar were systematically studied in the work. In addition, the damage evolution of cement mortar containing strontium ferrite subjected to elevated temperatures was also identified according to the damage mechanics theory. It was found that, (1) the addition of strontium ferrite led to the deterioration of the mechanical properties, microstructure and pore structure of cement mortar; (2) it was feasible to prepare cement-based sacrificial materials containing strontium ferrite that met the requirements on basic properties like mechanical properties, free water content, volume stability, and the high temperature integrity by controlling the content of strontium ferrite; (3) the correlation between the internal damage of cement mortar and the temperature could be described by Weibull Distribution Model, which provided a basis for the identification and evaluation of serious nuclear power accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]