Geopolymer’s radiation absorption detected by Geiger-Muller counter

Abstract

Fly ash (FA), which is an industrial solid waste released by the burning of coal in thermal power plants, is responsible for causing environmental problems. Radiation is also an environmental problem besides causing health problems for human being. Geopolymer is a specialized building material resulting from the reaction of a source material, which is rich in silica and alumina, with alkaline solution. It is ordinary Portland cement (OPC) free building material. It has been reported that geopolymer building material has good engineering properties with a reduced carbon footprint resulting from the total replacement of OPC as greener alternative. In this study, it is aimed to measure radiation absorption of geopolymers produced from the reaction of FA, which was supplied from İsken Sugözü Thermal Power Plant (Adana, Turkey) and rich in silica and alumina in total content of 83.74, with alkaline activators (sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate) at curing temperatures (70 °C and 100 °C). In the study, lattice measurement system consisting of nested lead plates to avoid unwanted radiation was designed to determine radiation absorption of geopolymers. By using this new system, geopolymer was found to be 5% better radiation absorption capacity than OPC building material when it is compared.