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Application of Dry Grass for Clay Brick Manufacturing

Article  in  Key Engineering Materials · October 2017

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.757.35

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Key Engineering Materials Submitted: 2017-03-21
ISSN: 1662-9795, Vol. 757, pp 35-39 Revised: 2017-05-31
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.757.35 Accepted: 2017-07-18
© 2017 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland Online: 2017-10-27

Application of Dry Grass for Clay Brick Manufacturing

Nonthaphong Phonphuak1*
1
Department of Engineering Management, Faculty of Engineering,
Rajabhat Maha Sarakham University, Maha Sarakham 44000, Thailand
phonphuak@gmail.com

Keywords: Dry grass; Lightweight clay brick; Porosity; Brick manufacture; Firing temperature

Abstract. In this paper, effects of incorporation of dry grass on the properties of clay bricks were
investigated. Clay bricks fabricated with 0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 % (w/w) of dry grass were tested. The
clay brick specimens were fired at 900, 1000 and 1100 oC to study for bulk density, apparent
porosity water absorption and compressive strength of brick samples were investigated. Results
revealed that the bulk density of clay bricks were reduced when dry grass dosages increased.
Results also shown that the increasing in bulk density were obtained when the firing temperature
increased. The compressive strength of clay bricks was decreased when dry grass dosages
increased. The addition of 2.5 % (w/w) dry grass fired at 1100 °C showed the optimal condition
which indicated 11.6 MPa of compressive strength and 1.78 g/cm3 of bulk density. However, results
indicated that a decrease in water absorption and apparent porosity were found when the firing
temperature increased. Test results also revealed that the addition of dry grass for clay brick
production lead to utilize a potential material as the additive to raw clay-bricks in the manufacturing
of lightweight clay bricks.

Introduction
Bricks are widely used around the world as construction materials. In Thailand, clay bricks are
the most popular. It is locally produced as household products using local clay in a rural area.
Thailand has produced bricks for construction use since ancient time. Bricks can be sun-dried or
fired in a furnace at the temperatures ranging from 900 – 1200 oC. However, fired bricks are usually
stronger than sun-dried bricks, especially when they are made of clay. The fired clay brick should
also contain high amount of pores to give it a lighter weight and the associated low thermal
conductivity [1,2]. Bricks with good properties: lower water absorption, high compressive strength
and high density, can endure harsh weather and last long with little maintenance [3]. The main
factors involved in manufacturing clay bricks are the type of raw material used and the firing
temperatures, both of which affect the final product [4]. The most frequently used pore formers in
clay brick manufacturing can be classified into two groups: organic and inorganic pore generators.
Organic pore formers are generally cheaper than inorganic ones and also have the advantage of
ensuring a heat contribution to the firing furnace. Thus, it is more fuel efficient and environmentally
friendliy than firing pure clay bricks. However, inorganic pore formers have less environmental
problems but they may change the plasticity of the clay system negatively and increase the amount
of water needed to maintain acceptable plasticity [5].
The aim of this study was thus to determine the feasibility of using the dry grass as a pore
forming additive in making of fired clay bricks with firing temperatures of 900 - 1100 oC. The
effects on the physical and mechanical properties of clay bricks were examined and assessed.

Experimental Procedure
The clay used in this study was obtained from the local brick plants Maha Sarakham province,
Thailand. Chemical analysis of clay was carried out prior to characterization by X-ray fluorescence
technical. The chemical composition of clay is given in Table 1. The mineralogical composition of
raw brick clay was achieved using an X-ray diffractometry technique. The crystalline phases found
in clay were quartz and muscovite (Fig 1) The particle size of dry grass additive was obtained by

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36 Green Convergence on Materials Frontiers

dry sieving step by step through No. 35 and 40 meshes and finally the dry grass particle size
obtained was 2.0 - 3.0 mm. The results showed the particle size distribution in the range of
1-200 µm with D [4,3] of 14.91 µm as shown in Fig. 2.
Table 1. Chemical composition of the clay used in the experiment (wt.%).
SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO K2O Na2O P2O5 TiO2 MnO LOI.
58.76 21.34 5.10 0.21 3.10 - - 0.93 1.18 8.74

Fig. 1 XRD pattern of clay Fig. 2 Particle size distribution of clay.

(Q = quartz, M = muscovite).
Characterization of sintered specimens
The dosages of 0, 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 % (w/w) dry grass were used in making the specimens. The
clay and dry grass were mixed in a ball mill to obtain homogenous mixture. Clay brick specimens
with sizes of 14x6.5x4.0 cm. The specimens were dried at 110 oC for 24 h and then fired at three
different temperatures; 900, 1000 and 1100 ºC using a heating rate of 2 oC/min and soaking time of
30 min. The physical properties of specimens after firing were characterized. The linear shrinkage
was measured in accordance with the standard ASTM C326-09. The density, water absorption, and
apparent porosity of brick specimens were tested using the Archimedes method in accordance with
ASTM C373-14a. The mechanical strengths of fired clay bricks were measured using the methods
specified in ASTM C773-88.

Results and Discussion

Firing shrinkage of clay bricks
The linear shrinkage was due to the lost of water from clay bodies. When the clay body lost
some water and the solid particles move closer resulting in the shrinkage of clay brick. It is
desirable to have low shrinkage of less than 8 % [2, 6-8]. As expected, the firing shrinkage
increased with increasing firing temperatures of 900, 1000 and 1100 oC. Also, there was an
indication that the linear shrinkage increased with increasing amount of dry grass from 2.5 - 7.5 %
(w/w) in the clay mixture. This influenced the burning characteristics of clay brick. With increased
dry grass dosages, the linear shrinkage increased as a result of reduced density and increased
porosity of the brick. However, the linear shrinkages of clay brick specimens were in the range of
4.65 - 6.37 %. The control specimen without any dry grass addition had comparable firing
shrinkage of 4.73 % - 6.37 % (Fig 3a).
Bulk density of clay bricks
The density of clay brick is an important parameter indicating the performance of the fired clay
bricks. The low-density brick results in the low dead load of the structure as well as providing a
reduced thermal conductivity of the brick. The density of clay bricks decreased with an increasing
dosage of dry grass. This trend is expected and it is associated with the porosity brought about by
the combustion of dry grass. The density of specimen also increased with the increasing firing
temperatures. Results indicated that the values of bulk density of samples containing dry grass were
 Key Engineering Materials Vol. 757 37

1.55 - 1.77 g/cm3 (Fig 3b). It is evident that the bulk density controls the durability and water
absorption characteristics of clay bricks.

Fig. 3 Physical properties of fired clay bricks (a) firing shrinkage and (b) bulk density.
Water absorption of clay bricks
The durability of clay brick is related to the water absorption of clay brick. The durability of
clay brick is reduced as the brick is infiltrated by water [9]. It is imperative that the brick is dense to
reduce the water infiltrating into the brick body. From Fig. 4a, it could be seen that the water
absorption increased with increasing amounts of dry grass and were in the range of 16.8 - 29.2 %.
In general, water absorption of clay bricks decreased with increasing sintering temperatures where
the bricks got stronger. The increase in water absorption causes clay bricks to adhere to each other
and this is undesirable as it could weaken the wall strength. However, the dosage of 2.5 and 5 %
(w/w) of dry grass only lightly increased the water absorption and thus exerted minimal adverse
effect on the brick properties. For example, at 1100 oC, the water absorption of brick were 10.8,
16.8, 19.2 and 26.4 % the 0, 2.5 5.0 and 7.5 % (w/w) dry grass dosages.
Apparent porosity of clay bricks
The apparent porosity of fired clay brick is related to the capacity of water absorption [8]. The
high porosity of clay brick is beneficial in the terms of thermal properties of brick i.e. brick with
high porosity also has low thermal conductivity and is good for the insulating properties. The
results indicated that the apparent porosity depended on the amount of dry grass used. The highest
porosity of 34.8 % occurred when the fired clay brick with 7.5 % (w/w) dry grass addition and fired
at 900 oC. While the lowest porosity of 19.9 % and 26.5 % occurred when the bricks had 0 and
2.5 % (w/w) dry grass additions and fired at 1100 oC as shown in Fig. 4b. This indicated that the
high dosage of dry grass led to the high porosity of fired clay brick due to the burning out of dry
grass during firing process. Therefore, the higher the dosage of dry grass in clay brick, the higher
the open porosity and hence the more porous clay brick as a result (Fig. 5).

Fig. 4 Effects of dry grass addition on the fired clay bricks (a) water absorption and (b) apparent
porosity.
38 Green Convergence on Materials Frontiers

Fig. 5 Surface texture of clay bricks fired at 900 Fig. 6 Mechanical strength of the clay bricks.
to 1100 oC with different percentages of dry grass.
Compressive strength of clay bricks
Strength is one of the most important parameter for the quality of construction materials [10].
According to TISI-77, 2002 Thai standard [11], the grade bricks must have minimum compressive
strength of 3.5 MPa. In this study, the compressive strength of specimens fired at 900 - 1100 oC
depended on the dosage of dry grass. With increasing temperature, the strength of bricks increased
due to a decrease in porosity and an increase in density. The results showed that the compressive
strengths of specimens were 2.15 - 11.6 MPa with corresponding dry grass dosage of 2.5 -
10 % (w/w). The results as shown Fig. 6 showed that bricks with 2.5 % (w/w) dry grass fired at
900 ºC had adequate strength of 4.64 MPa. At firing temperature of 1100 ºC, bricks with 2.5, 5.0
and7.5 % (w/w) dry grass had adequate strengths of 11.6, 9.3 and 5.5 MPa.

Summary
In conclusion, the results showed that dry grass could be used as pore forming additive in
making fired clay bricks. The results indicated that the addition of dry grass does have a reduction
effect on compressive strength. However, good strength bricks which meet the TIS 77 (2002)
strength requirement of 3.5 MPa could be obtained with 2.5% (w/w) dry grass fired at 900-1100 oC.
The dry grass -clay bricks had lower density due to pore forming characteristics of dry grass when
compared to the control bricks without dry grass. The reduced density was the added beneficial
property of fired clay and lightweight bricks.

Acknowledgments
The author also would like to acknowledge the financially support of Rajabhat Maha Sarakham
University.

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 Key Engineering Materials Vol. 757 39

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