Physical and Mechanical Properties of Compressed Earth Brick (CEB) Containing Sugarcane Bagasse Ash

Abstract

The use of brick in construction is commonly used, especially in the construction of buildings and infrastructure. Various studies have been conducted to produce methods that can increase the strength of brick at the same time can reduce the cost of manufacturing bricks. In order to reduce cost of manufacturing, one of the solution applied was by using waste as part of bricks production materials. In this study, sugarcane bagasse (SuCaB) ash was used as a part of compressed earth brick (CEB) by replacing the quantity of cement for SuCaB ash. The study focused on the physical and mechanical properties of CEB containing SuCaB and the optimum percentage of SuCaB ash as partial cement replacement in CEB. There are 4 types of percentages used; 0%, 20%, 25% and 30% from cement content. All mixed use the same water content of 30% of cement content by weight and the ratio for cement: laterite soil used was 1: 6. A total of 72 specimen with size of 100mm x 50mm x 40mm was produced. The test conducted were Initial Rate Absorption Test (IRA), Density Test, Dimensions Test, Compression Test and Water Absorption Test. From the experimental results, the optimum SuCaB ash percentage as cement replacement in CEB was 20%. It recorded the highest compressive strength of 16.23 MPa at 28 days while for the Initial Rate Absorption test, it lies within the range specified. The density of CEB containing 20% of SuCaB shows slightly lower value where it decreased for about 0.4% from the control specimen. From this study, it can be concluded that waste materials such as sugarcane bagasse can be used as part of construction materials. However, further study needs to be conducted such as on the energy consumption, chemical properties and others to enhance the knowledge on this area before it can be applied into the brick production.