Abstract: This study is focused on the behaviour of fired-clay brick from the area around Beruas (Malaysia) that is known for it brick industries. The firing temperatures were set from 800 o C to 1250 o C and soaking time was fixed for an hour. The effects of firing temperature on the phase changes, microstructure, compressive strength, water absorption and porosity of the bricks were investigated. Test results indicate that the optimum firing temperature was found to be 1200 o C. The percentage of porosity significantly reduces from 39.33% to 5.87% when sintered from 1000 o C to 1250 o C. Bricks sintered at 1200 o C exhibited the highest strength of 89.5 N/mm 2 . The effect of firing temperature significantly improved the

Abstract: The work presented in this paper is a part of a comprehensive research project aimed at developing and testing a system for strengthening historical buildings. The system is composed of a combination of textile mesh and mortar. Representative wall specimens were tested for their out-of-plane flexural behavior under static and cyclic loadings. The parameters investigated include the types of masonry wall (concrete block, sandstone, and brick), mortar (natural lime and cement-based), and textile (bitumen coated E-glass, basalt, or coated basalt fibers). Companion specimens, strengthened using a steel wire mesh, were also tested for comparison. All textile-mortar reinforced masonry (TRM) wall specimens failed in a combination of transverse detachment of the textile-mortar matrix due to the transverse displacement of the blocks relative to each other, and combined transverse shear-tension fracturing of the textile fibers. Regardless of the mode of failure, the TRM specimens developed a substantial increase in their out-of-plane load and displacement capacities under static loading, and low stiffness and strength degradation, and considerable displacement capacities under cyclic loading. The wire mesh-mortar reinforced masonry specimens developed the highest load capacity but were the least ductile when compared to the TRM specimens.

Abstract: Earth as a building material has already known for centuries started with plain mud and straw utilized sun dried producing brick adobe with low strength and durability until its evolved to become fired clay brick with mass rapid production in the kiln In the growing concern of awareness regarding sustainable building material and environmental issue, Compressed Stabilized Earth Brick (CSEB) give the view of energy efficient, cost reduction and environmental friendly building materials, overall contribution on the sustainable development It turned out that CSEB properties can be very easy bear comparison with other materials such as concrete block or normal fired brick

Abstract: . On 6 April 2009 an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 occurred in L'Aquila city, Italy. In the city center and surrounding villages many masonry and reinforced concrete (RC) buildings were heavily damaged or collapsed. After the earthquake, the inspection carried out in the region provided relevant results concerning the quality of the materials, method of construction and the performance of the structures. The region was initially inhabited in the 13th century and has many historic structures. The main structural materials are unreinforced masonry (URM) composed of rubble stone, brick, and hollow clay tile. Masonry units suffered the worst damage. Wood flooring systems and corrugated steel roofs are common in URM buildings. Moreover, unconfined gable walls, excessive wall thicknesses without connection with each other are among the most common deficiencies of poorly constructed masonry structures. These walls caused an increase in earthquake loads. The quality of the materials and the construction were not in accordance with the standards. On the other hand, several modern, non-ductile concrete frame buildings have collapsed. Poor concrete quality and poor reinforcement detailing caused damage in reinforced concrete structures. Furthermore, many structural deficiencies such as non-ductile detailing, strong beams-weak columns and were commonly observed. In this paper, reasons why the buildings were damaged in the 6 April 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy are given. Some suggestions are made to prevent such disasters in the future.

Abstract: The present paper deals with the modeling of the mechanical behavior of masonry elements regarded as heterogeneous systems, made of mortar and bricks joined by means of interfaces. The adopted computational strategy consists of modeling the brick units, the mortar joints and the interfaces responsible for the mortar-brick decohesion mechanisms; to this end, a special interface model combining damage and friction is adopted. A numerical procedure, based on the backward Euler time-integration scheme, is introduced; the time step is solved adopting a displacement driven predictor-corrector algorithm. Some numerical applications are performed in order to assess the ability of the proposed model and algorithm in reproducing the nonlinear response of masonry elements. Finally, unreinforced and FRP-reinforced masonry arches, for which experimental results are available, are modeled and the mechanical response is investigated. The results obtained by the numerical model are put in comparison with the experimental...

Abstract: Construction and demolition materials account for a major proportion of the waste materials present in landfills in Australia. Crushed brick and crushed rock are, however, viable substitute materials for natural resources used as construction materials in engineering applications. Crushed brick is one of the major components of demolition materials. The crushed rock used in this study originates from ‘basalt floaters’ or surface excavation rock (basalt), which commonly occurs near the surface to the north and west of Melbourne, Australia. The engineering characteristics of various proportions of crushed brick blends with crushed rock obtained from extensive laboratory testing are presented in this paper. The engineering properties obtained were compared with existing local road authority specifications for pavement sub-base or light-duty base material and backfill material for drainage systems to ascertain the potential use of crushed brick blends. The materials for the experimental works were collected f...

Abstract: . During the last earthquakes in Turkey, reinforced concrete structures in the cities and masonry structures in the rural part were exposed to damage and failure. Masonry houses such as earthen, brick and stone structures are composed of building blocks with weak inter-binding action which have low tension capacity. Bending and shear forces generate tensile stresses which cannot be well tolerated. In this paper, the performance of masonry structures during recent earthquakes in Turkey is discussed with illustrative photographs taken after earthquakes. The followings are the main weakness in the materials and unreinforced masonry constructions and other reasons for the extensive damage of masonry buildings. Very low tensile and shear strength particularly with poor mortar, brittle behaviour in tension as well as compression, stress concentration at corners of windows and doors, overall unsymmetry in plan and elevation of building, unsymmetry due to imbalance in the sizes and positions of walls and openings in the walls, defects in construction such as use of substandard materials, unfilled joints between bricks, not-plump walls, improper bonding between walls at right angles etc.

Abstract: Although hollow brick infills, widely used as partition walls, are considered as non-structural members, experimental studies revealed that hollow brick infills have favourable effects on strength and stiffness of structures. In this work, analytical studies were conducted to investigate the hollow brick infill behaviour, in which infills were modeled by diagonal compression struts. Results were compared with experimental ones obtained from tests of one-bay, one or two story reinforced concrete (RC) frames, tested under both vertical and reversed-cyclic lateral loads simulating earthquake. Test frames have intentionally been constructed poorly to reflect the most common deficiencies encountered in Turkey such as strong beam-weak column connections, insufficient confinement, low-grade concrete, poor workmanship and insufficient lap-splice length. Experimental studies shows that hollow brick infills increased both strength and stiffness of RC frames. Analytical studies conducted, shows that hollow brick infills could adequately be modeled by diagonal compression struts. Key words: Reinforced concrete, strength, stiffness, hollow brick infill, diagonal compression strut and reversed-cyclic lateral load.

Abstract: Historic structures are a part of our cultural heritage and nowadays, in the polluted environment, the need of their preservation is more intense than ever. One of the anticipated problems includes new materials that have to be compatible with those existing in older structures. In the case of mortars, traditional binders such as lime, natural pozzolanas, brick dust, and white cement have been combined successfully. In the present article a series of mixtures combining lime, two types of natural pozzolanas, brick dust, and different types of cement have been produced in order to measure their thermal conductivity for the first time. The parameters tested are: the binder type, the proportion of the binders, and the water/binder ratio. For the measurement of the thermal conductivity of the samples, a commercial instrument was used. To test its operability and extend its range, a transient hot-wire instrument was employed.

Abstract: This paper provides scaling relationships between constituent properties and the uniaxial tensile response of synthetic “brick and mortar” composite materials inspired by nacre. The macroscopic strength and ductility (work of fracture) are predicted in terms of the brick properties (size, strength, and layout) and interface cohesive properties (e.g., maximum shear and normal stresses and separations). The results illustrate the trade-off between increasing strength and decreasing ductility with the increasing aspect ratio of the bricks. The models can be used to identify optimum mortar properties that maximize toughness for a given brick strength.

Abstract: Huge amounts of cotton and textile ash waste are disposed of by countries all over the world. The majority of cotton wastes and textile ash wastes is expelled in such a way as to cause serious environmental problems. The present study involves experimental research investigating the potential use of cotton and textile ash wastes combination for producing a new and lightweight composite building material with good insulation properties. The results showed that the cotton and textile ash waste bricks fulfill the compressive strength and heat conductivity requirements of the ASTM and Turkish Standards. A cotton and textile ash waste brick house has been found to be superior to a concrete brick house for regulating indoor temperatures. The production process can be easily applied in conventional brick plants. The product is a light weight composite which can be used for making bricks and wall and ceiling panels with good insulation properties.

Abstract: Increasing amount of disposed paper sludge and palm oil fuel ash (POFA) from industries has recently attracted concern for an alternative environmentally sustainable application. This paper presents results of laboratory work carried out on these by-products in order to evaluate application performance. Brick specimens made with various proportions of cement, paper sludge and POFA were fabricated and studied under laboratory conditions. Curing periods of 7, 28 and 84 days were applied followed by compressive strength test. Leaching and water absorption capacities were also assessed as prime steps towards monitoring durability in service. It was found that paper sludge-POFA brick made with 60% cement, 20% sludge and 20% POFA satisfies the strength requirements of BS 6073 Part 2: 2008 and that the amount of copper as well as lead resulting from leaching are within the acceptable limits of ‘Malaysia Environmental Waste Disposal Act’

Abstract: Ignimbrite is one of the pyroclastic volcanic rock formations. Its soundness, lightness and shape workability are the most advantageous properties. These properties get its usage since prehistoric ages as construction materials, like bricks and caves. This kind of pyroclastic volcanic rock exists all over the world, particularly in volcanic and high seismicity provinces. Some physical and mechanical properties of ignimbrite rock samples are obtained in order to interpret influence of aggregate strength on concrete produced and for comparing with other lightweight aggregate concretes. The ignimbrite and pumice are used as crushed aggregate in the present work. The aggregate concentration of concrete specimens is designed in four different groups by using 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% ignimbrite and pumice, as a proportion of aggregate volume with the same water cement ratio of 0.6 and the dosage of 300 kg/m3 lightweight concrete manufactured. All concrete specimen groups are settled in steel formworks and water cured for 7, 14 and 28 days. According to the pumice and perlite like lightweight concretes, the ignimbrite concretes had higher strength. So, its usage as a construction material like lightweight concrete, brick or panel is more advantageous in producing cheap anti-seismic constructions. Therefore, ignimbrite concretes lighter the building, get less earthquake loads and behave better than gas, pumice or perlite concrete. Another advantage of ignimbrite is its occurrence in active fault zones (earthquake areas) all over the world. Key words: Ignimbrite, pumice, lightweight concrete, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength.

Abstract: The invention relates to a heat insulation non-burning refractory brick, belonging to the technical field of refractory material. The heat insulation non-burning refractory brick comprises the components by weight percent: 60-90% of compact refractory raw material with the particle size of 0-10mm, 5-30% of light refractory raw material with the particle size of 0-5mm and 2-30% of binding agent. The method takes the compact refractory raw material as main material which is added with part of light refractory raw material to be prepared into the non-burning heat insulation refractory material with the performance between the compact refractory raw material and the light refractory raw material, so that the non-burning heat insulation refractory material has the compression strength and the corrosion resistance of the compact refractory raw material as well as heat preservation and heat insulation performances of the light refractory raw material; and an industrial kiln built by the heat insulation non-burning refractory brick reduces the heat loss and the energy consumption.

Abstract: The wiggled brick bond is a generalized running bond which can be locally compressed. It was introduced to apply a bond onto two intersecting double curved bands. The wiggled bond is capable of shrinking and stretching with a constant gap between the bricks. Furthermore, the wiggled bond provides us with a generic crossing between two brick walls at an arbitrary angle. In this paper the mathematical techniques behind this bond are examined in detail.

Abstract: The construction industry has historically consumed large quantities of raw materials. Waste generation from the use of these materials can have a significant impact on the environment. Ma...

Abstract: Granite and marble sawing powder wastes is widespread by-product of industrial process in India. Generally these wastes pollute and damage the environment due to sawing and polishing processes. Granite and marble wastes were collected from companies located in Salem district. Local clay and fired industrial brick materials were collected from Salem as well as nearby districts Namakkal and Erode, Tamilnadu, India. Fired industrial brick was characterized by using FTIR and Mossbauer spectroscopic techniques. Mixtures were prepared with 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 wt. % w astes incorporated into the raw clay material. For the briquette specimens fired in between 500 and 900℃, the technological properties such as compressive and flexural strengths, water absorption, porosity and bulk density are determined and the same properties have also been obtained for industrial bricks. The results shows that granite and marble waste content upto 50 wt.% can be added into clay materials of Salem, Namakkal and Erode in the production of bricks with no major determinal effect on the properties of the sintered briquette specimens anticipating no costly modifications in the industrial production.