Radiation Aspects and Performance of Geo-polymerized Zeolite Concrete

A series of concrete mixtures was prepared by substituting cement with zeolite at replacement levels of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 wt%. The study examined the mechanical properties, corrosion behavior of embedded steel reinforcement, and various nuclear radiation attenuation parameters for five concrete mixes. Corrosion performance was assessed through multiple electrochemical methods and optical microscopy. Furthermore, three neutron energy levels and nine gamma-ray energy lines (ranging from 121.78 to 1407.92 keV) were employed to determine the macroscopic neutron cross-sections (Σ, cm⁻¹) and the mass attenuation coefficients (σ, cm²/g) for gamma rays within the concrete speci-mens. The findings indicated that both the mechanical strength of the concrete and the corrosion resistance of the embedded steel improved with the addition of zeolite up to 50 wt.%. For the mass attenuation coefficients corresponding to most of the investigated gamma-ray energies, the optimal zeolite content was found to be 50 wt.%.