Clay bricks using building debris

Abstract

It is generally a practice to dispose the demolished building debris in landfills, which ultimately leads to the percolation and fertility of the soil being affected. This project is intended to reduce wastage and use them as a replacement for conventional building materials. The primary building materials used in a clay brick are clay, red earth, and water. The idea is to find a replacement for these materials using building debris. A novel method to separate aggregate from the concrete matrix was adopted in which the waste concrete block was subjected to alternate cycles of heating to about 650 °C and cooling, followed by pulverization. This results in the complete removal of water and breakage of cementitious bonds. The separated aggregate was washed and subjected to crushing and impact tests. The results obtained confirmed the conventional aggregate standards mentioned in the relevant IS codes. Hence, they can be reused in construction activities. Further, it is intended to replace red earth with recycled residue that remains after the separation of aggregate. To ensure economy and eco-friendliness clay shall be replaced by flyash in small amounts.