Abstract: Environmental concerns related to the disposal of various waste materials have escalated to a worrying level. Depending on the local industries, different types of waste are generated in huge quantities every year. Hence, the demand for more sustainable development has further increased the importance of green construction. In recent years, extensive study efforts have been made to recycle wastes for possible use in the production of concrete products. This is because concrete blocks seem to be the most popular option for the incorporation of recycled waste materials due to the lower quality requirements of materials. This paper reviews published research works on the use of various kinds of wastes (i.e. recycled concrete, crushed brick, soda lime glass, cathode ray tube glass, crumb rubber, ceramic and tile waste, etc.) in the production of concrete blocks. The common concrete block properties as well as the value-added properties of concrete blocks with incorporated waste materials are highlighted and discussed in this paper. Several unique characteristics of recycled crumb rubber, plastic waste and crushed brick enhance the fire resistance, toughness, functional and insulation properties of concrete blocks. Also, the quantity of these materials incorporated into concrete blocks can be maximized up to 100% as natural aggregate replacements, while their usage can also be limited to below 30% in certain applications in order to meet the standard requirements of concrete blocks. The compliance of concrete blocks with standard requirements and the value-added properties have demonstrated good potential for incorporating wastes as aggregate in concrete blocks.

Abstract: A potential use of rice husk ash (RHA), a residual of brick firing process on the manufacturing of fired clay bricks was identified. Although addition of waste RHA may influence the structural properties of building materials, it is not clear how this affects on thermal and acoustic performances . For these reasons, industrial scale productions of fired-clay bricks were used for experimental investigation on structural, thermal and acoustic properties of the fired clay bricks manufactured with the waste RHA. Clay was mixed manually with six different RHA contents: 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%, by weight of the brick. Bricks having the dimensions of 195 mm × 95 mm × 50 mm were prepared and fired in an industrial scale kiln . Physical properties (Atterberg's limits, particle size distribution), chemical composition of materials, structural properties (compressive strength), thermal performance and acoustic performance of the bricks were evaluated. Clay mixed with waste RHA improved the mixture for brick manufacturing. Lightweight bricks produced with waste RHA show the optimum compressive strength of 3.55 N/mm 2, (32.7% improvement compared to the conventional fired clay brick) and water absorption of 19% at 4% RHA, implying that the RHA has a potential to improve the structural properties. At 4% RHA, the brick shows 6 °C in-door temperature reduction and 10 dB noise reduction compared with that of the conventional fired clay brick. Waste RHA added clay brick showed better structural, thermal and acoustic properties compared with the conventional clay bricks, while managing waste RHA by decentralization, which will be a remarkable environmental and ecological achievement.

Abstract: Brick and concrete are the main materials contributing to demolition and construction waste. Considering this precedent, the effects of using both residuals in medium strength concretes are analyzed. Waste brick powder is used as a cement replacement in three different levels: 5%, 10%, and 15%, and it is tested in concretes with no recycled aggregates and concretes with 30% of recycled coarse aggregates replacing natural ones. The compressive strength, the flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity are calculated and compared to a control concrete with no brick powder and no recycled aggregates. The effects of the simultaneous use of both residuals on the physical properties of the recycled concrete are highlighted. Results show that 15% of cement can be replaced by waste brick powder together with 30% of recycled aggregates without suffering significant losses in the strength of the final material when compared to a control concrete.

Abstract: Microbial induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is an environmentally friendly technology to bond sand particle together to form sandstone like materials. In this paper, MICP-treated bio-specimen was developed through MICP. The property of bio-specimen was compared with beams or bricks made through lime modification and cement modification. Ottawa sand was used in MICP-treated bio-specimen preparation. The proportion of lime or cement was in the range of 10–40% by weight of dry sand. The four-point bending tests, brick compression tests and unconfined compression tests were conducted. The test results indicated that flexure strength of MICP-treated bio-specimen was 950 kPa which was similar to flexure strength of 20–25% cement-treated sand beams, but was much higher than flexure strength of 30% lime-treated sand beams. The brick compression strength of MICP-treated bio-specimen achieved 500 kPa, which was similar to brick compression strength of 30% lime-treated sand bricks. The unconfined compression test results showed that the unconfined compression strength (UCS) of MICP-treated bio-specimen (1300 kPa) was higher than UCS of 10% cement-treated specimen (900 kPa), and much higher than UCS of lime-treated sample (around 140 kPa). The relative uniformity of precipitated CaCO3 distribution was achieved through the sample immersing preparation method. SEM images showed that failure pattern of MICP-treated, cement-treated and lime-treated specimens were bond-particle failure.

Abstract: The purpose of the research presented in this paper was to determine the influence of moisture on mechanical properties of brick, mortar and masonry. The strength of masonry structure was primarily influenced by a number of factors such as brick/block, bedding mortar, construction quality, pre/post environmental condition, etc. Among the factors affecting such behavior, the presence of moisture plays a key role in the deteriorating state of masonry structures. For this reason, in the present paper the compressive strength of bricks, cement mortars as well as compressive, shear and bond strength of masonry prisms are investigated, in oven-dry, air-dry and wet conditions. The experimental results demonstrate that moisture significantly reduces the compression strength of a brick and cement mortar; the greater the moisture content the lower compression strength. However, the compressive strength of masonry not improve in oven-dry condition, but reduce in wet condition. Moreover, shear and bond strength of masonry reduce with increase in moisture condition.

Abstract: Robotic building construction has had significant advances in the recent decades, but also has various limitations. In particular, construction typically requires a robot to operate within a large space for long hours and be able to transport between sites. Cable-driven parallel robots (CDPRs) show strong potentials within the automation of construction due to its desirable characteristics, such as high payload-to-weight ratio, transportability, scalability and reconfigurability. This paper proposes a simulation-based analysis, design and pre-execution verification for a cable-driven brick structure building system (CU-Brick), among which a way to determine the buildable workspace where the construction could be constructed is proposed. Simulations are used to do the workspace analysis, design of the brick structure within the workspace and also verification that the motions can be executed. Using this simulation approach, real demonstrations have been performed to show that indeed the system is able to construct the brick structures safely and consistently.

Abstract: A novel glass brick facade has been designed and engineered to reproduce the original brick facade of a former townhouse in Amsterdam. Based on the original design the resulting facade comprises more than 6500 solid glass bricks, reinterpreting the traditional brick pattern, and elaborated cast glass elements for the replication of the window and door frames. To achieve unhindered transparency, the 10 by 12 m glass block facade has to be self-supporting. Previous experimental work by Oikonomopoulou et al. (J Facade Design Eng 2(3–4):201–222, 2015b. doi:10.3233/fde-150021) concluded that it was necessary to use a clear, UV-curing adhesive of high stiffness as bonding material. Experimental work on prototype elements indicated that the desired monolithic structural performance of the glass masonry system, as well as a homogeneous visual result, are only achieved when the selected adhesive is applied in a 0.2–0.3 mm thick layer. The nearly zero thickness of the adhesive together with the request for unimpeded transparency introduced numerous engineering challenges. These include the production of highly accurate glass bricks and the homogeneous application of the adhesive to achieve the construction of the entire facade with remarkably tight allowable tolerances. This paper presents the main challenges confronted during the construction of the novel facade and records the innovative solutions implemented, from the casting of the glass units to the completion of the facade. Based on the conclusions of the research and the technical experience gained by the realization of the project, recommendations are made on the further improvement of the presented glass masonry system towards future applications.