Clay Bricks Research Articles

Effect of variegated biosolids incorporation on the technological properties of fired clay bricks using Taguchi method

Green routes to effectively mitigate the extensive generation of variegated biosolids (VB) from the artisanal basketry sector has been specially constrained with traditional waste management practices. In this investigation, VB is used as a pore forming material in the development of fired clay bricks. Three compositional different bricks formulated with different dosages of VB (i.e., 0, 6 and 12 wt%) inclusion in brickmaking clay (BC) were fired at 900, 1000 and 1100 °C temperatures, and assessed for their physico-mechanical and thermal properties. Weight loss (WL) results showed the bricks WL increased with elevated firing and high addition VB admixed proportion. The highest 12.8% WL was observed among the BS12–1100 bricks. Fired shrinkage (FS) values were within recommended limits of 2.4–7.6%. Apparent Porosity (AP) results ranged from 19.3% to 38.6%. AP increased by 52.3% with VB addition but decreased up to 23.83% due to improved firing. Water absorption (WA) results were mostly found within the quality standards of 9.1 – 19.8%. Bulk density (BD) variations were observed between 1.3 g/cm3 and 2.2 g/cm3. Compressive strength (CS) reductions were in the acceptable range of 25.0 – 9.1 MPa. The thermal conductivity (TC) test results of the bricks showed a 28.59% improvement in the thermal insulation properties of the bricks. The Taguchi method revealed BS12–900 brick series as best optimized products due to its acceptable 9.1 MPa CS and least TC (0.452 W/mK). Thus, the usage of VB for brick production has an important contributory role to the economy and ecology of Ghana.

Effective Use of Waste Plastic As Sand in Metakaolin/Brick-Powder Geopolymer Concrete

This study proposes recycling waste clay brick and waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles as substitution materials in geopolymer concrete. To accomplish this goal, the control mix of geopolymer concrete was prepared based on blended metakaolin and waste clay brick powder (CBP) at a 1:1 mixture by weight. To evaluate the use of shredded PET particles as fine aggregate, three mixtures were made by replacing sand with PET aggregate at volumetric percentages (10%, 15% and 20%). The specimens containing PET aggregate were tested and compared against the control mix (0% PET), with emphasis on the fresh and dry densities, mechanical performance, water absorption and microstructure characteristics. The results indicated the inclusion of PET aggregate to slightly reduce density and improve mechanical properties. When compared to the control mix, the compressive strength of the 20% PET replacement increased to 28.1 MPa after 28 days. Moreover, the concrete with 20% PET obtained the lowest water-absorption rate. The scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the inclusion of waste PET as sand had a significant effect on the microstructure of Mk-CBP geopolymer concrete. When compared to the control mix, the matrix containing 20% PET had a denser microstructure, as well as fewer holes and microcracks, in addition to the packing of paste at the interfacial transition zone. KEYWORDS: Brick powder, Fine aggregate, Geopolymer concrete, Metakaolin, Polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Pore structure and fractal dimension analysis of ancient city wall bricks in China

Comprehensive quantitative characterization of the pore structures of ancient city wall bricks is important for predicting the durability of historical masonry buildings. However, in most previous studies, only one or two methods were used to analyse the pore structures of fired clay bricks. In this study, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), low-temperature nitrogen adsorption (LTNA), and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) were used to characterize the pore structure and fractal dimension of nine different ancient city wall bricks. The results show that the surface relaxivity of ancient bricks measured via the Hahn spin echo (HSE) in LF-NMR ranged from 1.55 to 1.75 μm/s. Furthermore, the porosity of the blue bricks measured via LF-NMR were much lower than that obtained via the gravimetric method owing to a higher number of paramagnetic iron mineral phases. LTNA was not suitable for describing pore size distribution of ancient bricks as the pore diameters were mainly concentrated in the range of 100–1000 nm. The pore structures of ancient bricks in dried and water-saturated states were different, the pore size of the white bricks obtained via LF-NMR was smaller than the MIP-derived pore-throat size by a factor of approximately 2.

Use of Industrial Wastes in Clay Based Brick

It is well known that industrial wastes are considerably hazardous to the environment therefore recycling wastes by merging them into the building materials is an appropriate solution. This research reviews usability of waste casting sand (WCS) and waste boron (WB) in clay based bricks. For this purpose, composite bricks produced by adding appropriate mixtures of wastes and various chemical additives in cement free clay. Firing temperature of the composite bricks was 800ºC. When compared with standard specifications, experimental results showed that with the addition of WCS into the bricks, strength and bulk density improved. Moreover, drying shrinkage and water absorption values decreased. The presence of WCS and WB in clay bricks enhanced the compression strength which is higher than standard bricks.

Thermal Performance Study of Building Materials in an Urban Form

A tropical Chennai city, is already enduring heat stresses in its urban areas and is extremely vulnerable to temperature rise. Furthermore, Chennai continues to expand, thus the need to conduct research and make informed decisions on sensible strategies and regulations on how to construct and with what to construct attains much significance in recent times. One of the major contributors to the urban heat is the materials used on the surfaces of the urban form. The current paper assesses and demonstrates the performance of two wall materials – Clay Brick and AAC, usually utilized in urban developments within the context of an optimal urban morphological region. This is accomplished by making a compact mid-rise urban form of residential typology and utilizing ENVI-met 4.0 and re-creating the outdoor microclimatic conditions with AAC and Clay Brick walls. The urban form created with the Clay brick walls are found to be cooler by 0.010°C. Compared to daytime, at night time, the outside air temperature with clay brick walls and AAC dividers are cooler respectively. This investigation additionally discovered that a huge distinction to outside air temperature for studied urban form structure can be made by expanding the Sky View Factor (SVF), contrasted with an adjustment of material. The understandings from this study can be expanded and be applied productively to impact changes in Urban development guidelines.

Sustainable Eco-Friendly Building Material – A Review Towards Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks and Fire Burnt Clay Bricks

The aim of the current research article is to provide a comprehensive review and discuss and conclude on two types of earth blocks i.e., stabilized compressed earth blocks and fire-burnt clay bricks. A direct correlation exists between the number of greenhouse gases emitted and the amount of coal used to manufacture the fire-burnt clay bricks. To address this issue, new construction materials have been developed. Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEBs) is an enhanced earth-based masonry material as it is not burnt. CSEBs are manufactured by compressing the soil under pressure. Coal and other burning fuels are not used at any point in the manufacturing process of CSEBs. Environment-friendly and energy-efficient construction materials that encourage the sustainable development have grown significantly in the recent years, as the public have become highly conscious. Since the building materials are produced in local communities, the local resources are efficiently used, transportation costs get reduced and high-quality housing is made available to a large spectrum of people. Less time-consuming construction techniques and low labour demand results in increased strength, insulation and thermal characteristics, lower carbon emissions and embodied energy during the life cycle of the materials and exceptionally low levels of trash that can be easily disposed of. When locally-produced materials are used for building purposes, it creates jobs and is more eco-friendly, during the times of crisis. CSEB and conventional bricks require different amounts of energy and release significantly different amounts of carbon dioxide throughout the production process. A review of the construction process that utilizes clay bricks and CSEBs has been conducted using the data and reports from numerous research papers and organizations. According to this review, the Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks outperform the fire-burnt clay bricks in terms of advantages. When it comes to creating new environment-friendly construction materials, the CSEBs remain a viable option.

Experimental study on hollow interlocking FaL-G bricks

Thermal power industries produce a large amount of fly ash, a waste product. Lime is a material used in many companies in chemical processes and deposited as waste. A by-product of the fertiliser business is phosphogypsum. In our country the proper disposal of the industrial waste is a big issue. To find remedial measure for disposal of the industrial waste, in this study an attempt is made to check whether it is possible to create hollow interlocking bricks out of all these waste materials. The present study reveals that all these materials can be effectively used to produce an alternative to conventional burnt clay bricks. If such bricks are used in construction activities, it will help to check the land pollution which is there due to use of good agricultural clay for the manufacturing of bricks as well as avoid the air pollution due to burning of bricks. The bricks manufactured using fly ash, gypsum and lime (Fal-G) require air drying no burning is required hence avoid air pollution as well.

Evaluation of the readiness of clay bricks with partially replaced rice husk ash

Environmentally acceptable alternatives are replaced for the raw construction materials to alleviate sustainability concerns with construction materials. Rice husk ash, an agricultural byproduct, can be substituted in the production of construction materials. In this study, the effect of adding rice husk ash from organic agricultural waste on brick quality is explored. In this study, four sets of bricks are cast with various percentages of rice husk ash, ranging from 0% to 20% with a 5% increment, and then burned in a furnace for varying durations of time. This research examines the compressive strength and water absorption of bricks containing varying concentrations of rice husk ash. According to the findings, an increase in rice husk ash reduces compressive strength and increases water absorption. The present findings reveal that a brick containing 5% rice husk ash has a higher compressibility of 4.70 N/mm2 and a decreasing compressive strength as the proportion of rice husk ash increases. The results also demonstrated an 11.65 % reduction in water absorption at a rice husk ash concentration of 5 %, and the absorption rate increases consistently up to 10 % rice husk ash before decreasing with a further increase in rice husk ash. Therefore, the technology of creating bricks by casting combinations of clay, sand, and rice husk ash is not only useful for constructing walls but also for reducing environmental pressure and promoting sustainable development.

Age influence on compressive strength for concrete made with different types of aggregates after exposed to high temperatures

This study investigates the influence of concrete age and the type of coarse aggregate on compressive strength after exposure to high temperatures. Three coarse aggregates were used: crushed clay bricks as recycled aggregates, expanded glass as lightweight aggregates, and normal quartz aggregates. Specimens were initially cured in water for seven days, and then kept in laboratory conditions for different durations (28 days, 120 days, and 240 days). On the age of 120 and 240 days, specimens were exposed to high temperatures ranging from 200 °C to 1000 °C, and their residual compressive strength was determined.Results indicate that the compressive strength tests for the unheated specimens revealed an increase in strength with age, which can be attributed to the hydration of cement and the formation of a denser microstructure. The results of the residual compressive strength tests for concrete with quartz aggregates (M1-QZ) at 120 and 240 days showed a decline with increasing temperature and age. At 120 days, the strength ranged from 74.3% to 16.9%, and at 240 days, it ranged from 83.5% to 23.8%. Similarly, concrete with expanded glass aggregates (M2-EG) demonstrated decreased compressive strength with increasing temperature and age. The strength ranged from 94.3% to 8.6%, and 88.9% to 10.3% at 120 and 240 days, respectively. In contrast, concrete with crushed clay bricks (M3-CB) exhibited more favourable resistance to high temperatures, with a lower compressive strength reduction. The values ranged from 97.9% to 23.1% at 120 days and from 98.7% to 22.2% at 240 days. The reduced compressive strength after exposure to high temperatures can be attributed to the differences in thermal expansion and aggregates and the moisture loss.These findings demonstrate that the coarse aggregate type significantly influences the concrete's residual compressive strength after exposure to high temperatures.

Investigation of Indoor Air Quality by Incorporating Sewage Sludge Waste into Fired Clay Brick

Generally, the production of sewage sludge waste has increased due to rapid growth of the population. Due to that, the disposal method has become crucial issues nowadays. Therefore, this research focuses on the investigation of indoor air quality of fired clay brick incorporating with sewage sludge. The bricks were incorporated with 0% and 5% of two type of sewage sludge and fired at 1050°C with heating rates 1°C/min. The experiment of Indoor Air Quality was obtained by measuring gases emissions of total volatile organic compound (TVOC), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), formaldehyde (HCHO) and particulate matter (PM10) and were compared with Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality requirement standard. From the result shows that by incorporation of 5% of sewage sludge into fired clay brick complied with the standard requirement for building material usage with no negative effect to the environment. As the conclusions, the use of sewage sludge as clay replacement reduces the waste disposal in landfills and produce the low-cost building materials.

Recycled mineral admixtures based on recycled clay brick

The utilization of construction demolition waste as recycled mineral admixtures can simultaneously reduce cement consumption and the environmental impact on the construction industry. Thus, recycled mineral admixtures based on recycled clay brick powder (CBP) were prepared and circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) fly ash was introduced as the activity compensation and sulfate excitation component. The effects of the hydration of recycled mineral admixtures on the mechanical performance and drying shrinkage of mortar were investigated. The results indicated that the incorporation of CFBC fly ash into the blended cement paste accelerated the hydration of C3S and shortened the induction period. The fly ash also promoted the secondary hydration of C3A and the conversion of ettringite to the monosulfate phase. The CBP consumed portlandite to form a calcium–silicate–hydrate gel at a later age, whereas CFBC fly ash promoted the pozzolanic reaction to occur earlier. The incorporation of the CBP and CFBC fly ash increased the porosity and pore volume of the blended paste.

Sudheran-jo-Thul: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives

The Sudhern-jo-Thul is located in Taluka Mula Katyar, District Tando Muhammad Khan along the eastern edge of present Indus River. Its western is the hilly and remaining surrounded are the agriculture area. The Thul / Stupa is built with mud clay and mud bricks, and broken vessels of plain and painted are scattered. This historical site is described by the historian but they have not provided the archaeological evidences in details. And also focus the current situation of the site. Researcher visited site many times collected archaeological evidences to analysis scientifically uses Global Position System (GPS), compass and survey tools to record the site as well as the photographic information was also collected. It has been resulted that the site belongs different chronology / cultural affiliation of the history of human. It shows the site is belonging to the 1st century BC to 2nd century AD. It has been suggested that necessary attention be given to the site and sign boars should be installed over the surface of the site and to save it.

Lightweight fired clay brick production for archeological heritage site maintenance application

Lightweight fired clay brick production for archeological heritage site maintenance application

The Use of Recycled Tire Rubber, Crushed Glass, and Crushed Clay Brick in Lightweight Concrete Production: A Review

Worldwide, vast amounts of waste are produced every year and most waste is sent directly to landfills or burnt, which has severe and harmful impacts on the environment. Recycling waste materials is considered the most visible solution to protect the environment. Using scraps in concrete production is a proper method for getting rid of wastes, improving the characteristics of concrete, reducing the consumption of natural aggregates, and can be used as cementitious materials that decrease cement production so that the CO2 that is produced during cement manufacturing decreases. This review paper summarizes the use of recycled waste materials, including rubber tires, crushed glass, and crushed clay brick in concrete, as a fractional replacement of aggregates, cement, etc., to develop eco-friendly lightweight construction materials. It has been concluded that the dry density of sustainable concrete decreased to 4, 21.7, and 31.7% when crushed glass, clay brick, and rubber tire were incorporated into the concrete instead of traditional aggregate, respectively. Waste rubber has good results in sulfate, thermal, and impact resistance, while glass powder and finely crushed clay brick helped to improve mechanical properties by increasing reach by 33% for glass and a slight increase for crushed clay brick, as well as thermal resistance compared to normal concrete. Moreover, due to the low particle density of these waste materials compared to that of normal-weight aggregates, these materials can be utilized efficiently to produce lightweight concrete for structural and non-structural applications such as road engineering, flooring for mounting machinery, highway and rail crash barriers, permeable pavement, interlocking bricks, insulation, filling concrete, and bearing walls.

Integrating three smart predictive models using a power-law committee machine for the prediction of compressive strength in masonry made of clay bricks and cement mortar

Due to the importance of the compressive strength of masonry (CSM) prisms made of clay bricks and cement mortar in the design of masonry structures, it is crucial to develop a reliable method for accurate prediction. This paper presents an innovative approach for estimating CSM by integrating an optimized convolutional neural network (OCNN), extreme learning machine (ELM), and decision tree (DT) using a power-law committee machine (PLCM). The strategy consists of two steps: firstly, three regression approaches (OCNN, ELM, and DT) are developed to model CSM, and secondly, the results of these methods are combined through a PLCM. The convolutional neural network is enhanced using the cuckoo search (CS) algorithm to determine its weights and bias, thereby improving its ability to model CSM accurately. The CS algorithm is also employed in the PLCM structure to extract the optimal contribution of each individual model in the overall prediction. To statistically evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the developed models and compare them with previously established empirical correlations for estimating CSM values, various visualization methods and statistical parameters are utilized. The evaluation demonstrates that OCNN, ELM, and DT can estimate CSM with remarkable accuracy and further confirms that PLCM outperforms its individual elements as well as empirical methods. This study provides evidence of the significant improvement in the performance of PLCM in modeling CSM.

Modelling the in-plane/out-of-plane interaction of brick and stone masonry structures using Applied Element Method

This research focuses on the numerical modelling of the seismic behaviour of unreinforced masonry (URM) structures with interconnected in-plane (IP) loaded and out-of-plane (OOP) loaded walls. The mechanical behaviour of such wall assemblies is complex and comparatively more challenging than that of isolated components, involving the interaction between interlocked orthogonal elements subjected to different load types. IP/OOP interaction phenomena are also challenging to model numerically, and their simulation is still relatively unexplored using the Applied Element Method (AEM) – the discrete simplified micro-modelling strategy employed in this paper. To fill this knowledge gap, the AEM is herein adopted to simulate the experimentally observed seismic behaviour of two URM building prototypes, one made of clay bricks and the other of stone blocks. The AEM models developed are calibrated and validated against previous experimental data, showing a satisfactory agreement between measured and numerical responses. In addition, a parametric study was performed using pushover analysis to investigate the influence of key material properties on the overall behaviour of the clay brick masonry specimen. The study suggests that the AEM models used in this study are suitable for conducting subsequent seismic assessment of URM structures with interlocked IP/OOP loaded walls, providing validated modelling strategies that can be useful to both researchers and engineering practitioners.

An environmental sustainability roadmap for partially substituting agricultural waste for sand in cement blocks

Agricultural waste can be used in cement block production for a number of reasons, including its environmental, economic, and labor benefits. This study examines the mechanical, durability, and cost-effectiveness characteristics of cement blocks. A cement block made from agriculture waste promotes sustainable construction practices, since waste agriculture is often dumped in landfills and regarded as a waste material. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced by the construction sector, either from the firing of clay bricks or from the production of cement, contribute significantly to global warming. In many developing countries, air pollution from agricultural activities is primarily accounted for the emissions from agricultural machinery and openly burning agro-waste. Farming is one of the leading causes of water and soil pollution. Hence, adopting agricultural waste into cement production would significantly reduce the environmental impact of concrete structures. The goal of this research is to determine whether agricultural waste products, such as vermiculite, pistachio shells, sugarcane bagasse, and coconut husks, can be used to substitute sand in concrete blocks. The water absorption capacity of waste materials, density, flexural strength, fire resistance, and compressive strength of waste materials as admixtures in concrete were evaluated using experimental tests. In most cases, the concrete blocks made from agricultural waste were strong enough to satisfy ASTM standards. The specimens containing coconut husks and pistachio shells, among others, were found to be fairly strong and durable, even when isolating them from water.

A contribution to debate on surface roughness of clay brick powder generated using varying milling treatments

Recently, the correlation between surface roughness and fineness of materials including pozzolans has been subjected to too much debate in literature. Exploiting the surface roughness of pozzolans has been proven to be significant for cement-based composites. Although research works have been conducted to assess the effects of milling treatments on surface roughness of pozzolans, limited dedicated studies have explored the use of multi-scale characterisation methods for analysing this complex parameter. In this research, an economic and novel technique was employed to characterise the surface roughness of clay brick powder (CBP) subjected to varying milling treatments of various sample masses. The main aim of this research was to investigate the correlations between fineness levels of CBP and surface roughness parameters. Characterisation of CBP generated from ball milling was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Gwyddion. There was significant effort employed during the search for significant trends between roughness parameters and grinding clay bricks using different specimen masses, sadly without success. The results of amplitude roughness parameters, fast Fourier transformations, autocorrelation functions and power spectral density functions demonstrated no significant trends for CBP specimens generated under varying specimen masses. Although CBP specimen with highest fineness level seemed to illustrate the lowest roughness characteristics in some cases (i.e. root mean square roughness of 159.182 nm and mean roughness of 115.444 nm), CBP specimen with lowest fineness level did not illustrate the highest surface roughness properties. Through the analyses, it seemed that CBP specimens subjected to different fineness levels could not illustrate significant differences in surface roughness properties and this observation is contrary to some findings in literature. It is believed that the algorithms used for surface roughness characterisation in this research facilitate the understanding of surface roughness properties of CBP specimens subjected to different fineness levels.

The utilization of silica sand beneficiation cake as a fluxing agent in production of clay brick

The utilization of silica sand beneficiation cake as a fluxing agent in production of clay brick

Effect of Diss fibers on the mechanical and thermophysical characteristics of unfired clay bricks for use as construction material

Effect of Diss fibers on the mechanical and thermophysical characteristics of unfired clay bricks for use as construction material