Fly Ash Bricks Research Articles

Bond strength of alkali-activated flyash based masonry system for sustainable construction

Bond strength is a crucial factor that impacts the performance, structural reliability and stability of masonry constructions. This paper aims to examine the efficacy of various masonry unit and mortar combinations and their bond strength thereby, evaluating their adhesion performance. It experimentally analyzes two masonry unit types paired with two mortar combinations. One is the traditional clay brick and the other is an alkali activated flyash based brick. Alkali activated flyash bricks and mortars use flyash as a sole binder, activated with popular alkalis, thereby reducing carbon footprints compared to cement manufacturing. Two types of mortar used are conventional cement mortar and alkali activated flyash mortar. Bonded prisms were tested to determine the compressive, tensile, shear, and flexural bond strengths. The results revealed significant variations in bond strength across different combinations of masonry units and mortar. Notably, it was observed that alkali-activated bricks bonded with alkali-activated mortar exhibited higher bond strength, compared to conventional cement mortar. These findings provide valuable insights in assessing the compatibility between masonry units and mortar, highlighting the potential of this technology for sustainable construction practices.

Development of novel un-fired masonry unit manufactured using silica-rich sandstone mining and cutting waste

This paper aims to give a complete characterization of the novel un-fired bricks manufactured from base material comprising dimensional silica-rich sandstone cutting waste in combination with waste from coal-fired thermal plants with a minimum amount of cement and lime as binder. The study has given promising results with bricks able to achieve a compressive strength in the range of 16–20 MPa besides other enhanced parameters such as water absorption, the initial rate of absorption (IRA), and durability with favorable socio-economic impacts and climate benefits. 250 numbers of these industry-sized novel bricks were cast and subjected to an array of tests such as density, dimensional test, drop test, water absorption, IRA, efflorescence, compressive strength, flexural tensile strength, stress-strain characteristics and durability. The test results were substantiated with the micro-structural characterization through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). The novel bricks manufactured in this study are of exceptional quality satisfying all the requirements of Indian Standards. These bricks can mitigate the problems of landfills formed by wastes generated from the dimensional stone cutting industry and are eco-friendly as they require no burning in kilns, reduce carbon emissions and utilize waste materials thereby ensuing the benefit of reducing carbon footprint. The study of the sand free un-fired bricks in this paper is totally original and gives the most effective alternative to energy-intensive conventional masonry units such as burnt clay bricks and fly ash bricks. This work has also been granted a patent of 20 years by the patent office, the government of India on July 26, 2021 with patent no: 372690.

Characterization of mechanical behavior of different types of masonry with a detailed investigation of full-field strain using digital image correlation

This article presents an experimental study on the mechanical characterization of three different types of masonry: burnt clay bricks, fly ash bricks, and autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks, with a detailed focus on strain distribution and failure mechanism. The specimens were subjected to direct and diagonal compression loading, and the stress–strain curves and failure modes were studied. Digital image correlation (DIC) was used to obtain full-field strain data, allowing for detailed analysis of failure mechanisms, tracking of crack propagation, and examination of other intricate details. The DIC analysis showed that in burnt clay brick and fly ash brick masonry, failure under compression was initiated by the tensile splitting of the brick, while in AAC block masonry, it was initiated by the tensile splitting of the mortar. Additionally, the study identified that the failure modes under diagonal compression were different for each type of masonry, with bed joint sliding being the dominant failure mode in fly ash brick and AAC block masonry. In contrast, the failure mode in burnt clay brick masonry was due to vertical splitting along the loaded diagonal. In the diagonal compression test, the shear strain along both diagonals was negligible, and principal strain directions were observed to be aligned along the two diagonals.

Industrial Production of Fly Ash and Sand-Based Geopolymer Bricks Using Different Molarity of NaOH Solution, and Assessment of their Mechanical and Durability Properties

Industrial Production of Fly Ash and Sand-Based Geopolymer Bricks Using Different Molarity of NaOH Solution, and Assessment of their Mechanical and Durability Properties

Experimental investigation on e-waste plastic (PVC wires) bricks

This study used to focus on minimization of the usage of fine aggregate in the construction projects. Fine aggregate is not available for construction purpose and there is a very high demand for fine aggregate. To control this problem, the Electronic waste collected from Electronic waste plant is used as replacement for fine aggregate in the construction of building components. The need of this investigation is to reuse of polyisoprene (PVC Wires) deriving from e-waste used as a partial replacement for the fine aggregate to manufacture e-waste bricks which can be alternatively used for fly ash bricks. PVC is recovered from electrical cables in which copper is removed, ground and used as replacement of fine aggregate in 5,10 and 15%volume replacement. Tests like X-Ray Diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy of the e-waste are carried out to understand its composition and molecular structure. The resulting bricks are mechanically tested. This experimental investigation resulted that the 10% replacement of E – Waste gives a maximum strength which is greater than normal sand bricks and fly – ash bricks. By using Electronic waste building components decrease the cost of construction of the project and also save the natural resources by replacing of waste in construction projects and reduce the hazards in the environment.

Experimental Investigation on Fly Ash Bricks using Industrial Waste

Abstract: Although there are several benefits to using fly ash, its early lack of hydration results in low strength. In order to establish the appropriate fly ash brick mix percentage, an experimental investigation was carried out in the study. In brick specimens measuring 230mm by 110mm by 90mm, the compressive strength of various mix proportion of fly ash (14-30%), gypsum (5.5-8%), lime (14.5-30%), crusher waste (42-45%), cement (5.5%) was investigated. The objective is to find out the optimum mix design for making brick so as to achieve the maximum compressive strength.

Carbon and water footprint analysis of pig farm buildings in Northeast China using building-information-modeling enabled assessment

Environmental impact evaluation of buildings is critical for further analysis and optimization of pig farms for sustainable pork production. This study is the first attempt to quantify the carbon and water footprints of a standard intensive pig farm building using building information modeling (BIM) and operation simulation model. The model was constructed with carbon emission and water consumption coefficients, and a database was built. The results showed that the operational stage of pig farm accounted for most of the carbon footprint (49.3–84.9 %) and water footprint (65.5–92.5 %). Building materials production ranked second in carbon (12.0–42.5 %) and water footprints (4.4–24.9 %), and pig farm maintenance ranked third in carbon (1.7–5.7 %) and water footprints (0.7–3.6 %). Notably, the mining and production stages of building materials contributed the largest carbon and water footprints of pig farm construction. Masonry materials have a significant impact on the overall carbon and water footprints of the pig farm. Pig farm using aerated concrete could reduce 41.1 % of the total carbon footprint and 58.9 % of the total water footprint compared to that using coal gangue sintered brick and autoclaved fly ash brick. This study presented a BIM-enabled method for carbon and water footprint analysis of pig farms and illustrated how the model can be used to facilitate the low carbon design of agricultural buildings.

Application of sustainable prefab walling panels in erection of a toilet unit at a rural village

Industrialization has made solid waste disposal a challenge. Utilizing locally available industrial by-products in construction is a sustainable approach. Prefabrication is one of the innovative technologies approved by the Indian Government through which volumetric mass construction was made possible with effective cost and time savings. This study focusses on developing a lightweight prefab walling material that can replace the commercially available walling materials such as red clay and fly ash brick masonries. An agro-industrial by-product, co-fired ash is introduced into the mix design by partially replacing 10% of the fine aggregates. Waste expanded polystyrene beads are used to achieve lighter density and thermal insulation. Fly ash and cement are blended in equal proportions as cementitious ingredients. Crushed sand is completely replaced with river sand. Several mixes were tested for their density and compressive strength for finalizing the optimum mix. This was further tested for physico-mechanical, durability, and thermal properties. These properties are compared to the commercially available walling materials. Based on the results, the final lightweight mix is found to be around 18% and 27% lighter, 1% and 8% stronger, & 68% and 62% less thermally conductive than the red clay brick and fly ash brick respectively. As the developed product is suitable for construction, a prefab toilet unit is constructed at a rural village named Wadhona, Nagpur district, India. It is a part of the Clean India campaign initiated by the Indian government. Prefab elements are cast, stacked, and cured for 28 days. Later, these are transported to the site and erected within 2 days. The total construction and erection cost is similar to the Government approved technique. Thus, the developed end-product is found to be lightweight, sustainable, thermally conductive, and quick in construction at an affordable cost.

Utilization of ground granulated blast-furnace slag powder in brick industry: A new generation building material

This study presents research on the use of geopolymer bricks in construction, which are made using materials such as fly ash, GGBS, sand, cement, and alkali activators. The study focuses on the use of GGBS as a fractional replacement for cement in the bricks and investigates the effects of different molarities and silicate-to-hydroxide (S/H) ratios on the properties of the bricks. The results show that the bricks made with a molarity of 10 M and S/H ratio of 2.5 had the highest compressive strength of 27.22 MPa. The study suggests that using geopolymer bricks is a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective option than traditional fly ash or burnt clay bricks in the construction industry.

Firing-Associated Recycling of Coal-Fired Power Plant Fly Ash.

Coal-fired power plant fly ash is a global environmental concern due to its small particle size, heavy metal content, and increased emissions. Although widely used in concrete, geopolymer, and fly ash brick production, a large amount of fly ash remains in storage sites or is used in landfills due to inadequate raw material quality, resulting in a waste of a recoverable resource. Therefore, the ongoing need is to develop new methods for recycling fly ash. The present review differentiates the physiochemical properties of fly ash from two coal combustion processes: fluidized bed combustion and pulverized coal combustion. It then discusses applications that can consume fly ash without strict chemical requirements, focusing on firing-associated methods. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of fly ash recycling are discussed.

Investigation of agro-forestry and construction demolition wastes in alkali-activated fly ash bricks as sustainable building materials

Production of burnt clay bricks, cement and burning of agricultural/forestry wastes are responsible for major greenhouse gases emission. The present work investigate the effect of treated rice straw and forestry leaves in alkali-activated fly ash bricks with construction & demolition wastes for non-load bearing partitions walls at elevated temperature of 800 °C. 1–4 wt% incorporated agro-forestry wastes fly ash bricks with 10 and 20 wt% ground granulated blast slag (GGBFS) addition shows compressive strength ranging from 8 to 15 MPa. The thermal conductivity of the panels with 1–4 wt% agro-forestry addition varies from 0.4 to 0.5 W/m.K. The sound transmission class (STC) of 20 mm thick agro-forestry waste fly ash samples depict moderate sound insulation properties over the range of 24 to 37 dB. The wallette units of burnt clay bricks and agro-forestry based fly ash bricks show load carrying capacity of 360 kN, 273 kN and 195 kN, 110 kN at temperatures of 35 °C and 800 °C respectively. The present study shows a potential green solution toward sustainable building materials in construction sector leading to reduced depletion of fertile soil used in production of burnt clay bricks.

Comparative study on net-zero masonry walls made of clay and fly ash bricks and grouts/mortars/stuccos with the effect of super fine fly ash blended cement—low carbon cement

Abstract In the construction sector, cement plays a vital role in all the members and components in which it acts as a binder and strength-dependent material. The production of cement material emits a large quantity of CO2 gas, which has been the main cause of global warming and other environmental and health issues. To overcome this issue, low carbon or net-zero cement production and utilization is a necessity, which equally satisfies the binder ability of conventional ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The fly ash from thermal power stations that is deposited in the yard is the most frequently used replacement material for cement. Due to its excellent pozzolanic properties, this fly ash can be utilized in place of binding materials in the building industry to achieve carbon neutrality. In this investigation, fly ash is used to prepare net-zero mortars in place of a significant amount of cement. Fly ash is utilized both in its natural form and after being ground into tiny particles for increased reactivity and effectiveness. The test for compressive strength allows for a detailed examination of the mechanical properties by altering the ratio of water to cement with and without the use of super plasticizer (SP). The best mortar is fine F fly ash (FFFA), which is made using a water-to-cement ratio of 0.4 + 1% SP. To validate the outcomes of this investigation, a characterization study of the improved mortars was examined.

A Study on Customer Preference for Fly Ash Bricks

The purpose of this study, which was based on a market survey, was to pinpoint the factors that influence fly ash brick quality from the standpoint of customers. With a focus on those working in the building and construction industries, questionnaires and in-person interviews were used to gather data on fly ash and clay bricks. This experiment demonstrates the benefits fly ash bricks have over traditional clay bricks. From the study, it was found that the six factors (price, weight, strength, water absorption, lesser breakage, durability) are found to be significantly related to the preference of the consumer for the fly ash bricks. It was also found that fly ash bricks were comparatively better in the aspects of price, weight, strength, durability and water absorption capacity.

Exploring the viability of fly ash bricks as an alternative material for building construction

Fly ash, which is recovered from the gases produced when coal is burned to produce power, is essentially a fine glass powder. Fly ash is a siliceous substance that has an amorphous or glassy bulk associated with it. These tiny earth elements are mainly composed of silica, alumina, and iron. When flyash is combined with lime and water, a cementitious substance is created. Under conditions of high steam pressure and temperature, the components of flyash combine with lime to form calcium silicate-hydrate and calcium aluminate hydrate. Portland cement and this newly produced solvent have characteristics that are very comparable. Due to their similarity, fly ash and cement can be substituted as a fundamental element in concrete, with fly ash having certain clear quality advantages. The surfaces produced by this concrete's formation are smoother, tighter, and denser, improving the characteristics of fly ash. In developing countries, flyash bricks are an economical and efficient means of low and medium-rise building construction, using very less resources. This paper examines the case of Flyash bricks for load-bearing wall construction as well as filler material and also discusses the engineering viability and properties of such Flyash bricks. The paper comes to the conclusion that Flyash bricks are a practical substitute for traditional bricks with more ancillary advantages.

Comparative study of Conventional Clay Bricks and Mechanically Pressed Fly Ash Brick

Comparative study of Conventional Clay Bricks and Mechanically Pressed Fly Ash Brick

Performance assessment on manufacturing of unfired bricks using industrial wastes

This paper presents eco-friendly unburnt bricks made up of fly ash, waste plastic powder, waste glass powder, lime, gypsum and crusher sand as alternatives to conventional burnt clay bricks for sustainable development. The research focuses on the maximum utilization of industrial waste in eco-friendly unburnt brick production. Materials are characterized according to their chemical and geotechnical properties. In this research, we use a milled waste glass powder of size less than 600μm and plastic powder obtained from plastic waste of size less than 600μm are added along with crushed sand, gypsum, lime and fly ash with various mix proportions concerning FaL-G mix concept. All the proportions were taken on a weight basis. Compressive strength, water absorption, and efflorescence are the key parameters chosen for comparing the innovative brick with conventional fly ash brick. There are five different mixes (Type A, B, C, D & E) are made in this research. The plastic and glass powders are replaced by crusher sand at the increased rate of 2% in every mix whereas 2%,4%,6%,8%, and 10%. It was found that the type B bricks have 17.63% strength was increased when compared to base mix. From the test results, type B bricks have enhanced mechanical performance when compared to all other mixes.

Assessment of Natural Radionuclides Content and Radon Exhalation of Clay Pulverized Fly Ash Bricks

Assessment of Natural Radionuclides Content and Radon Exhalation of Clay Pulverized Fly Ash Bricks

Employment of cisco metal slag in fly ash bricks for a progressive sustainable solution for reusing waste from manufacture of creation materials

The metal-production industry creates a wide exhibit of strong waste, fluid effluents, and vaporous squanders. The stable wastes include slag, powdery materials, sludge, and scrap. So feasibility have a look at of metal slag recycling in fly ash bricks applied laboratory assessments and commercial trials on three exceptional styles of wastes and clay bodies. Crucial necessities consist of slag grinding at 90micron in size, in addition to magnetic separation. In an effort to replace everyday conventional bricks with Cisco metallic ash CSA) and Fly Ash (FA), lime is used as a binder cloth and whereas gypsum as a stabilizer. A huge variety of houses became examined, which includes unit weight and workability of fresh concrete, compressive strength, dihydrogen monoxide (water absorption), efflorescence of hardened concrete. In keeping with Indian codal provision three types were taken in account (Type1, Type2, Type3) with alternative of composition like [Type I - Fly ash: lime: M-sand: gypsum, Type II-Fly ash: cisco steel: M-sand: gypsum, Type III- - Fly ash: cisco steel: lime: M-sand: gypsum] to test the energy properties. While doing the test with metallic ash composition, it effects in higher electricity in lieu of metallic performs a tension position at some stage in loading. Although this addition of metal slag consequences in the discount of shrinkage which ends up in financial and better nice bricks.

Utilization of lignite coal ash and steel slag in fly ash brick manufacturing: A review

Brick plays an important role in the construction industry due their excellent properties like compressive strength and durability. From the earliest times they were considered an important factor in the purpose of the building. Considering the different types of bricks, fly bricks are the best in recent times because they are resource intensive and cost effective. This article provides an up-to-date review of current studies of bricks, categorizing these publications according to the materials used and the methods used for the production of invention bricks. In addition, this article makes an important note about coal ash, which may be the focus of future brick products as an alternative to fly-gray bricks with some amount of steel slug, and the main challenge is to go one step further in the properties of the bricks by implementing the respective requirements.

Study on Compressive Strength of Reinforced and Cavity Wall Brickwork

The research of the mechanical behaviour of reinforced and cavity wall brickwork is the focus of this paper. In this paper, the casting of specimens are done manually and totally 18 specimens are prepared. The different proportions were followed for casting the bricks and specimens. The bricks used are red bricks, fly ash bricks and solid bricks. Conventional method of casting is done using mortar and casting of reinforced brick prism is done with red bricks, fly ash bricks and solid bricks. The cavity wall is constructed and finally the compressive strength is estimated for the reinforced and cavity wall brickworks. The obtained compressive strength for various bricks is plotted in the form of graph to interpret the exact results and comparison is drawn for all types of bricks used.