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Procedia Computer Science 00 (2015) 000–000
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Procedia Computer Science 111 (2017) 420–426

8th International Conference on Advances in Information Technology, IAIT2016, 19-22

December 2016, Macau, China

Study on Physical and Mechanical Properties with Its

Environmental Impact in Konawe - Indonesia upon Utilization of
Sago Husk as Filler in Modified Structural Fly Ash - Bricks
Kurniati Ornam1,a*, Masykur Kimsan2, La Ode Ngkoimani3, and Santi1
1
1
Halu Oleo University, Architecture Department, 93232 Kendari, Indonesia
2
2
Halu Oleo University, Civil Engineering Department, 93232 Kendari, Indonesia
3
3
Halu Oleo University, Geology Engineering Department, 93232 Kendari, Indonesia

Abstract

Utilization sago husk as brick’s filler is aimed not only to be insulator for burning process, as shown on sawdust and reed, but
also to reduce bad environmental impact indeed. Therefore, it is paramount importance to obtain range of composition of sago
husk, as filler upon fly ash brick’s production that results proper quality as building material. Some standard i.e. ASTM C 67-14,
ASTM D 2487-06, and SNI 15-2094, 2000 are used in this this research as minimum requirements and quality control of each
steps of brick’s production. Eight compositions of sago husk mixed with clay and fly ash i.e. 1.3%, 1.7%, 2%, 2.3%, 2.6%, 2.9%,
3.1%, and 3.3%, will be evaluated on its dimension, weight, initial rate of absorption and compressive strength. The results show
that sago husk as filler upon brick’s production decreases the compressive strength of fly ash brick, yet meet the minimum
requirement. All composition meet requirement from ASTM C 67-14, ASTM D 2487-06, and SNI 15-2094, 2000. In terms of
environmental impact, there might be significant values in reduction of sago husk waste in the river stream, since based on
demand analysis, the waste still can be used for admixture of structural bricks.
© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
© 2017 The Authors.
Peer-review Published by
under responsibility of Elsevier B.V. committee of the 8th International Conference on Advances in Information
the organizing
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of the 8th International Conference on Advances in Information
Technology.
Technology
Keywords: fly ash brick, sago husk, density, compressive strength, sustainability

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: kurniati.ornam@yahoo.co.id

1877-0509 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of the 8th International Conference on Advances in Information Technology.

1877-0509 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of the 8th International Conference on Advances in Information
­Technology
10.1016/j.procs.2017.06.043
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Kurniati Ornam et al. / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2015) 000–000

1. Introduction

Additional admixture in increasing productivity and efficiency of traditional brick’s production would be
valuable for those working in the field. It might be utilized with the additive chemical admixtures as utilized in
concrete e.g. fly ash. However, in recent development, there are various possibilities in recycling useless waste to be
utilized as additional raw material in brick’s production, particularly in local home industry 1-8. In terms of
sustainability, this will be a mainly undemanding contribution to the environment by the local craftsmen. Moreover,
they might decrease time of production and defect on bricks.
Bricks, buiilding material produced in home industry, have several advantages i.e. good thermal isolation,
workability and relatively inexpensive for middle-down class. On the other hand, bricks production, especially in
South East Sulawesi, performed steady productivity and tend to decrease due to traditionally conventional process
and method of production. Moreover, environmental impact due to soil excavation and tree logging for firewoods
might lead into flood and erossion 1- 7. Some research in bricks engineering has been developed by combining with
additional material such as fiber substance and waste e.g. bricks with rice husk, sawdust and reed as filler 1- 7, bricks
with corn and coconut waste 9, bricks with lime sand 10. and bricks with bagasse ash 11. Therefore, sago husk as
similar organic fiber should yield comparable performance when it is mixed with soil in bricks production 12. For
that reason, this research aimed to determine physical and mechanical properties of bricks with sago husk as filler.
Physical properties include density, colour, dimension, texture and shape. Yet mechanical properties include merely
compressive strength. This research is expected to contribute in home industry in terms of increase of productivity
and efficiency.
Sago is well recognized as basic material in making local food i.e. Sinonggi, in South East Sulawesi – Indonesia
and it has become one of popular traditional food.

Figure 1. Placement of sago husk in sago processing

The way in processing sago is very conventional and in prolonged period. It is carried out in different places for
each processing phase in the riverbank where the palm trees are existed. As shown on figure 1, the sago husk as the
waste of the sago processing is left in the riverbank, and sometimes in the riverstream. Hence, utilization of this
waste as filler in brick is aimed to contribute to the quality of the environtment.
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Figure 2. Local home industry of brick production

2. Brick properties

Brick is building material that is originally created from clay and additional mineral that can be shaped in certain
size. There are 3 (three) methods in production of bricks 13, i.e. Stiff-mud process, with 12 - 15 % water content;
Soft-mud process, with 20 - 30 % water content and Dry-press process, with 7 - 10% water content (low plasticity).
Here are some steps of bricks production 13, i.e. Mining and storage of raw materials; Size reduction and screening;
Forming and Molding; Coating and drying; Burning and cooling; Storage and shipping.
Physical properties of bricks is properties without any treatment on bricks. Some of them are ASTM C67-14,
2014 13-18.

2.1. Density

Density is sample mass in one unit of its volume. Required density is between 1,60 gr/cm3 and 2,00 gr/cm3.
Density is calculated as follows:

D = Wd / V (1)

Where D is bulk density (gr/cm3), Wd is dry weight (gr) and V is volume (cm3)

2.2. Colour, dimension, texture and shape

Brick colour depends on clay colour, additive material colour (if any) and burning process. Standard colour for
bricks is brownish orange. Should the fly ash is mixed with the clay, the colour might be dark brown.
Brick is requred to have maximum 16 in (40 cm) in length, 3 in – 12 in (7,50 cm – 30,0 cm) in width, and 2in – 8
in (5 cm – 20 cm) in thickness. Bricks shape should be in accordance with proper length, width and thickness as
mentioned. Bricks surface should be relatively plan and rough, square, rough surface, red color, having loud voice
when it is tapped, no crack, and unbreakable.

2.3. Initial rate of absorption and salt content

Initial rate of absorption is defined as the number of grams of water absorbed in one minute over 30 square
inches of brick bed area 14-18. Provided a brick is too dry, it will absorb too much water out of the applied mortar and
hence, weakening the bond. Brick is expected not to consist of soluble salt hence its crystallization covers more than
50% of bricks surface and might reduce its preservation.
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2.4. Compressive strength

Properties of brick with treatment is called mechanical properties. Compressive strength is one of them as stated
on ASTM C67-14, 2014 where the minimum requirement is 10,40 Mpa. Based on previous research 1-7, it suggested
that using hygroscopic material will accelerate the time and increase the compressive strength.

3. Methodology

This research was conduted by performing simulation in laboratory as how it is performed in the work shed. In
work shed, activities included mixing, molding, drying, burning and arrangement. On the other hand, in laboratory
did include sieve analysis, atterberg limit, IRA and compressive strength test of modified bricks.

Figure 3. Modified bricks after molding

Clay, fly ash and sago husk were used as raw materials. Then, sago husk is dried by direct sunlight. Following
that process, the sago husk were then cut in small pieces with 1,2 cm in length by using knife or cutters. In mixing
process, some compositions of clay and sago husk were examined i.e. 1.3%; 1.7%; 2%; 2.3%; 2.6%; 2.9%; 3.1%;
and 3.3%. Clay was mixed with 7% fly ash 19-21, fine sago husk and certain amount of water until they could be
shaped and unattachable. Subsequently, the 24 bricks for each compostion were molded in certain size of
rectangular mold (20 x 11 x 4 cm3). After that, the bricks were dried naturally in direct sunlight and wind. The
difference between in the work shed and in the laboratory were in the drying process of molded brick where fan and
oven were used to carry out this process. Moreover, burning process was subtituted by stove, zinc plate and
alluminium foil which is expected to gain uniform heat transfer. The burning temperature was measured and
maintained at approximately 550oC on bricks, with approximately 600oC of fire temperature.

4. Results and discussion

4.1. Physical and mechanical properties

In general, the test results from the modified fly ash brick with sago husk showed better results than the
conventional bricks. However, additional of sago husk reduces the strength of the brick. The use of fly ash and sago
husk generates reduction in drying and burning time. Burning process of conventional brick that lasts for 4-5 days
can be reduced to maximum of two hours. Consequently, firewood, that is conventionally utilized in local home
industry, can also be minimized. As a hygroscopic plants, sago husk is good for inner burning for brick mixture and
hence sago husk facilitates heat to be spread across the surface of the brick. Fly ash contributes in its properties
which is similar with cement. Hydration process in the bricks can accelerate the drying process 19-21.
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Figure 4. Bulk Density of modified fly ash brick

In accordance with sieve analysis and atterberg limit test, the soilis classified as silty clay with sand. Density
measurement resulted values between 1.81 up to 2.01 g / cm3. All composition, except conventional fly ash brick
model, met the required density in ASTM to be used i.e. from 1.60 to 2.00 g / cm3 13-18. High and low density of a
brick is influenced by both the composition of the raw materials of clay, fly ash and sago husk, mixing process, and
the length of the drying and burning process.
Modified fly ash - bricks color is darkest brown generated by the mix of raw materials, the composition of the
mixture, and the burning process. In terms of dimensions and size, all composition met the specified requirement
where 19.3 cm in length, 10.3 cm in width, and 3.3 cm in thickness. The length was uniformly reduced between
3.5% in length, 6.4% in width, and 17.5% reduction in thickness. Variations in size and dimension can be influenced
by the process of molding, drying and burning process in which the modified bricks will experience shrinkage on
drying and burning process so that its dimensions will be reduced.
From texture and shape evaluation of the bricks, it can be determined the quality of a good brick. From the results
obtained observations made textures and shapes of bricks with a mixture of sago husk that is rough surface covered
by sand, creating its sound when knocked (buzzing), and having regular shape so that it can be concluded that the
bricks with a mixture of sago husk have criteria in terms of both texture and shape. So the texture of the brick is
influenced by raw material processing i.e. clay, fly ash and sago husk.

Figure 5. IRA of modified fly ash brick

The initital rate of absorption, as can be seen on figure 5, hit the lowest value (0.014 gr/mm2/minute) for
composition 3,1% sago husk, and reached the highest value (0.028 gr/mm2/minute) at 1,6% and 2% composition of
sago husk. In average, the IRA value still met the requirement from the ASTM C67-14.
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Figure 6. Compressive strength of modified fly ash brick

Mechanincal properties of bricks is form the compressive strength of the maximum load that can be resisted by a
unit surface area of bricks. From the data obtained, it can be concluded that the fly ash bricks with additional sago
husk filler will decrease the compressive strength rather than fly ash – bricks without sago husk. Nevertheless, the
highest composition of sago husk still yields good result i.e. 16 Mpa, since ASTM C 67-14 requires 10.4 Mpa as
minimum compressive strength, Clay is one of the material for making the brick.

4.2. Environmental impact and demand analysis

As sago is the one of mainly local food, all of the waste from sago processing is definitely could be used for
additional admixture for the brick. Utilization of sago husk might reduce the density, yet the compressive strength
still meet the requirement. Based on population growth in South East Sulawesi 22-25, it can be projected that in the
next 20 years, there might be at least additional 784 houses for living each year, regardless the policy of city plan of
the government. Bricks will still be the basic material for housing construction. Hence, production of brick with
waste as filler is still reliable for constructing sustainability for the environment.

5 Conclusion

Local waste i.e. sago husk, with hygroscopic properties, might be used as filler for structural bricks. Modified
structural bricks with fly ash has shown better performance. Moreover, it might be utilized as structural member of
building. Addition of filler such as sago husk might reduce the strength, which still meet the requirement. On the
other hand, it has another advantage with its density. Furthermore, sustainability issue is still in consideration in
light of the waste management by using all of the sago husk waste in the brick production.

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