Water Permeability Characteristics of Normal Strength Concrete Made from Crushed Clay Bricks as Coarse Aggregate

Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad,Mohammad Anwar Hossain

doi:10.1155/2017/7279138

Abstract

Water permeability characteristic of concrete made from crushed clay bricks as coarse aggregate is investigated and compared with concrete made from natural stone aggregate. For this, six different brick and five different natural stone samples were selected. Crushing strength of brick samples and water absorption of aggregate produced from them were also measured. Concrete samples of three different compressive strengths were prepared as per ACI mix design method from each of these aggregate samples. Compressive strength of concrete that could be achieved with brick aggregate varied between 19 and 28 MPa, whereas, for stone aggregate, compressive strength varied between 24 and 46 MPa. These samples were then tested for water permeability using the AT 315 machine as per EN 12390-8: “Depth of Penetration of Water under Pressure.” Experimental results and subsequent analysis indicate that water permeability of brick aggregate concrete is 225% to 550% higher than that of concrete made from natural stone aggregate of identical compressive strength. Water permeability was found to be directly related to compressive strength, water absorption, and porosity of hardened concrete. It was also observed that water permeability of concrete is influenced by water absorption of brick aggregate and crushing strength of brick.

Highlights

Concrete is the main ingredient in ever growing construction industry of Bangladesh
Since coarse aggregate occupies a large share of concrete volume, it is presumable that the properties of concrete made from brick aggregate will vary appreciably from that made of stone aggregate
This paper examined the water permeability properties of crushed clay brick aggregate concrete and compared it with concrete made from natural stone aggregate

Summary

Introduction

Concrete is the main ingredient in ever growing construction industry of Bangladesh. As natural stone is in short supply and expensive, crushed burnt clay bricks are extensively used as an economic alternative coarse aggregate in preparation of concrete in Bangladesh for construction of midrise residential and factory buildings, rigid pavements, and small and medium span bridges and culverts [1]. Authors of this work feel that a systematic and comparative study of both natural stone and crushed clay brick aggregate concrete will assist in understanding the salient features of water permeability characteristics of brick aggregate concrete. This will help designers and engineers using brick aggregate concrete in predicting the expected water permeability behavior. Concrete samples having three different compressive strengths were prepared from each of the natural stone and crushed clay brick aggregate These samples were subjected to water permeability testing using European standard AT 315 machine as per BS EN. Influence of these properties on water permeability behavior of corresponding concrete was investigated

Materials Used

Testing Scheme

Results and Discussion

Water Permeability Related to Brick and Brick Aggregate

Conclusion