Assessment of Steel Slag and Steel Fiber to Control Electromagnetic Shielding in High-Strength Concrete

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of steel slag (SS) and steel fibers on the electrical resistivity and electromagnetic (EM) shielding effectiveness of high-strength concrete (HSC). It was found that the electrical resistivity of mixtures were mainly influenced by free water. Thus, the EM shielding effectiveness was evaluated without the effect of free water. HSC with 20% replacement ratio of SS exhibited slightly improved EM shielding, lower electrical resistivity, and reduced strength (compressive and flexural) compared to HSC without SS. However, HSC with steel fibers exhibited significantly improved EM shielding, lower electrical resistivity, and higher strength and toughness compared to HSC without steel fibers. An increase in the steel fiber content in the HSC significantly decreased the electrical resistivity and increased the shielding effectiveness, strength, and toughness. Regardless of the fiber content in the fiber volume fraction of mixture, the shielding effectiveness is similar for cases with and without SS whose electrical resistivity values differ only slightly. This proves that the EM shielding effectiveness was mainly affected by the electrical resistivity and these properties are significantly correlated when the electrical resistivity values differ noticeably. HSC reinforced with rebar with 50 mm spacing exhibited a 23.5-75.6% increase in the shielding effectiveness in the 600-1,000 MHz frequency region compared to pristine HSC.