Experimental Investigation Of The Effects Of Brick Waste On Concrete Properties

Abstract

Due to the fact that urbanization is a relatively recent phenomenon, some cities have been built far from the sources of building materials like wood, sand, stone, and cement. This problem is particularly acute in developing nations at the moment. Knowing the engineering properties of locally accessible materials and enhancing them may be an alternative option rather than only depending on standard materials like concrete. This study examined how fired brick waste as a partially substituted fine aggregate affects workability, mechanical properties, water absorption, and volume of void in C-25-grade concrete. Control and four different concrete mixes were prepared to contain 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% fired brick waste replaced with sand. Then the workability and density of concrete decrease when the percentage of brick waste is increased. The test results indicated that the compressive strength of concrete increased by 5.66% and 5.4% when brick waste was used as a partial replacement for fine aggregate at 5% and 10%, respectively, but decreased by 17.71% and 24.65% at 15% and 20%, respectively, compared to the control mix at 28 days. Likewise, the split tensile strength test showed an increase in strength at 6.8% and 13.6% for 5% and 10% replacements, respectively, but a decrease at 15% and 20% by 6.52% and 11.9%. Additionally, the concrete's flexural strength increased by 0.29% and 6.74% at 5% and 10% replacements, respectively, but decreased by 9.9% and 19.37% at 15% and 20%. Finally, the water absorption and volume of voids of 10% brick waste replacement by river sand were lower than the control concrete by 0.072% and 1.319%, respectively. This study found that all concrete qualities performed better when fired brick waste from frustale brick production area where replaced by river sand up to 10%.