Characteristics of Lightweight Bricks Composed of Clay and Diatomite

Abstract

The widely used conventional bricks are made from clay. However, the apparent density of bricks made of clay is high due do the high bulk density of clay. In this study, the diatomite which has low bulk density was used to replace the clay partially and totally in order to produce lightweight brick. The purpose of this study therefore was to obtain the characteristic (i.e. apparent density, specific gravity, absorption, single and paired compressive strength) of bricks composed of clay and diatomite. Five clay to diatomite ratios in volume which are 1: 0; 0.75: 0.25; 0.50: 0.50; 0.25: 0.75 and 0: 1 were prepared and tested in accordance with the standards. Analysis of variance was performed in order to see the significance of the influence of diatomite content on the characteristic of the bricks. The test results showed that lightweight bricks can be produced by composing of the clay and the diatomite. The bulk density and specific gravity of the bricks decreased with increasing in diatomite content. In contrary, however, the absorption of the bricks increased with increasing in diatomite content. The diatomite content did not affect the compressive strength of bricks. According to SNI 15-2094-2000 all bricks composed at different clay to diatomite ratio can be classified as one class, which is Class 50. Using regression analysis, the relationships between diatomite content and apparent density, specific gravity and absorption of bricks as well as relationship between single and pair bricks compressive strength were proposed.