Investigation of the effect of boron waste on engineering properties of fly ash based geopolymer bricks

Recently, studies on sustainable and energy-saving materials have started to increase in the field of building materials. Brick, which is one of the most widely used building materials in the field of construction, is one of the materials to be worked on. Improving the properties of the brick by using waste materials is important in terms of waste disposal. In this thesis, it is targeted to produce geopolymer bricks by using Eskişehir Kırka region boron waste and Seyitömer thermal power plant waste fly ash. In this study, it was aimed to produce geopolymer brick, which is more durable than normal brick physically and mechanically and has thermal insulation properties. Within the scope of the study, the rate of fly ash was kept constant as 10%, and geopolymer bricks were produced by using different ratios (10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% and 60%) of boron waste. In order to determine the physical properties of the produced brick samples, waterloged weight per unit of volume, water absorption (by weight), porosity, heat transmission coefficient of solid objects tests were done. For the determination of its mechanical properties, compressive strength and bending tensile strength tests were applied. As a result of the study, it was observed that with the increase in the amount of boron waste, waterloged weight per unit of volume, water absorption (by weight), porosity and heat transmission coefficient values of solid objects decreased. It was determined that the compressive strength values of the samples increased up to 50% and the boron waste substitution decreased by 60%. It was observed that the flexural strength values were decreased up to 50%, and the boron waste substitution of 60% increased. In addition, it was concluded that there is no harm in using boron waste and fly ash substitution at certain rates in the production of geopolymer bricks, and this situation will have positive effects on the environment and human health.