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Brick TEST (compressive&absorption)

Civil engineering (Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

NO. TITLE PAGE

i ABSTRACT 2
1.0 INTRODUCTION 3
1.1 OBJECTIVES 3
1.2 LABORATORY SCOPE 4
1.3 SIGNIFICANCES OF LABORATORY TESTING 5
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEWS 6-7
3.0 METHODOLOGY 8-9
4.0 DATA ANALYSIS 10-12
5.0 DISCUSSION 13
6.0 CONCLUSIONS 14
7.0 REFERENCES 15

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ABSTRACT

Brick plays very important role in the field of civil engineering construction. Bricks
are used as an alternative of stones in construction purpose. Bricks are rectangular units of
construction material. Bricks are used in masonry construction, walls, and pavements. It is
used as a substitute of stone, where the stone is not readily available. Brick chips are often
used as coarse aggregate in the concrete mix. The brick must have to be made sure that it is in
a good condotion as it is choosed before making a building. Some test is required to perform
on the brick.

The first test that needed to apply on the brick is compressive strength test. It is
applied to determine the maximum load that the brick can resist while it experiencing a
compressive load until the deformation of the brick is changed. A compression testing
machine is used to put the load. The value of the maximum load is directly propotional to
compressive strength of the brick.

Secondly, water absoption test is applied to determine the workability of the brick.
This test is perform to check the amount of water that the brick absorb. When the weight of
the brick increases, it show that it absorp water. To perform this test, the brick is immerse in a
celan water for certain amount of time. A good brick should absorb less than 10% of water.

The discussion is made after the result of both test is obtained and recorded in tables.
The next step is followed by conclusion based on the discussion. There are a few things that
we can learn and observe from these experiments and get the ideas on how to improve in the
test to get the best result.

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

There are a few types of bricks such as common burnt clay brick, sand lime brick,
engineering brick, concrete brick and fly ash clay brick. Bricks can be of many types
depending on its quality, building process, manufacturing method, raw material, using
location, weather-resisting capability, purpose of using,shape and region.Brick is a small
rectengular block and typically made of fired or sun-dried and commonly used in any
construction such as pavements, walls and other elements of masonry construction. Silica
(Sand) and Alumina (Clay), these two are the most prominent ingredients in brick clay. When
mixed with water in proper proportions, it gains plasticity. The plastic mass can be easily
molded and dried. It should not go through cracking, shrinkage or warping.There are some
main uses of construction brick which are for construction of walls of any size, floors, arches
and cornices and brick retaining wall. There are three experiments that have to be carried out
to obtain the wanted result which are its density, water absorption and compressive strength.
The density of the brick can be obtain from its mass and dimension or volume.

1.1 OBJECTIVES

1. To indicate the weight of the brickwork.

2. To determine the workability of the brick.
3. To determine the maximum amount of strength the brick can resist.

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1.2 LABORATORY SCOPE

The first test were carried out by our group was density test. Basically density is the
degree of compactness of a substance. It is will know for its famous formula which is p=m/v
(kg/m3).Mass is divided by volume. The density of a material varies with temperature and
pressure. Density is an intensive property in that increasing the amount of a substance does
not increase it intensity, rather it increase its mass. This theory was first invented by the will
known Archimedes. He knew that the irregularly shaped wreath could be crushed into the
cube whose volume could be calculated easily and could be compared with mass.

The next test is water absorption test for brick.The strength of the brick depends on its
water absorption capacity. The water absorption of brick is ude to the presence of voids in the
bricks. If the brick has more voids, it will absorb more water and reduces the load carrying
capacity. Hence, the bricks are tested to determine their water absorption capacity before
using them in construction work. Water absorption can be calculated by the specified formula
which is :

Percent water absorption= {(wet weight- dry weight)/ dry weight} x 100.

Every brick is weighed and the water absorption is recorded in the specified table.

Compressive strength of brick is determined by testing the brick under standard

conditions using a compression testing machine. The compressive is determined by placing
brick in compression testing machine. After placing the brick in comoression testing machine,
apply load on it until brick breaks. Note down the value of failure load and find out crushing
strength value or maximum value of load that the brick can resist. The compressive strength
of every brick can be determined by using spedified formula:-

Compressive strength of bricks= Maximum load at failure/ Average area of bed face

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1.3 SIGNIFICANCES OF LABORATORY TESTING

Brick density is an important parameter. Density indicates the weight of the

brickwork. Cores, Cells, and Frogs decrease the density and in turn, decrease the material
cost.While fire clay bricks have a density of 2400 kg/m3, for common red bricks it is 1900
kg/m3 .Apart from material density, brick density can be measured directly. The mass and
volume of an oven-dried brick are measured. The bulk density can be determined by dividing
the mass by volume.

Water absorption test on bricks are conducted to determine durability property of

bricks such as degree of burning, quality and behavior of bricks in weathering. The water
absorption by bricks increase with increase in pores. So, the bricks, which have water
absorption less than 3 percents can be called as vitrified.

It is necessary to know the Compressive strength of brick before using them in any
construction work. When bricks are used in any structure, say buildings, the bottom most
layer of the brick will be subjected to highest compressive stress. So it is important to know
that any particular brick will be able to withstand that load or not.

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2.0 LITERATURE REVIEWS

Various types of tests on bricks are conducted to check the qualities of bricks for
construction purposes. Tests on bricks are conducted at construction site as well as in
laboratory. Bricks are oldest and important construction materials because of their durability,
reliability, strength and low cost. To produce good quality of structure, good quality materials
are required. To decide the quality of the materials some tests are to be conducted on bricks.
The tests which are required to find the suitability of bricks for construction purposes are the
density, absorption test and compressive strength test. Bricks are classified into first class,
second class and third class. First class bricks are red deep in colour and the texture is smooth
and the surface is smooth and rectangular. First class bricks should be free from cracks and
stone. While second class bricks also red deep in colour and surface is smooth but there will
be small cracks and the crushing strength should be not less than 7 N/mm2. Next, third class
brick are under burnt. They are soft and bright in colour that produce dull sound when it
strikes each other.

As there are many units of mass and volume covering many different magnitudes
there are a large number of units for mass density in use. In industry, other large or smaller
units of mass and volume are often does not increase its density. In this case, the density that
we have to calculate is the density of every tested brick. The bricks were first weighed and its
volume is calculated. It is a simple calculation to get the density as the data can be easily
acquired. The result of each density is recorded in table.

The weight of a quantity of water absorbed to weight of brick expressed as a

percentage is the water absorption capacity of a brick. The strength of brick depends upon its
water absorption capacity. If the brick has more voids it has more chance to absorb more
water reducing the load carrying capacity. The difference between dry and wet brick weights
will give the amount of water absorption. For a good quality brick the amount of water
absorption should not exceed 20% of weight of dry brick.

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Crushing strength of bricks is determined by placing brick in compression testing

machine. After placing the brick in compression testing machine, apply load on it until brick
breaks. Note down the value of failure load and find out the crushing strength value of brick.
Minimum crushing strength of brick is 3.50N/mm2.if it is less than 3.50 N/mm2, then it is not
useful for construction purpose.

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3.1 METHODOLOGY

Task dividing Data Collection

Briefing Procedure Discussion

3.2 Water Absorption for Brick

3.2.1 Equipment

 Scale weight

 Curing tank

 Stop watch

3.2.2 Material

 Clean water

 Bricks

3.2.3 Procedure

1. Two bricks are taken and weighed it by using scale weight

2. Clean water is made sure in the curing tank

3. The bricks is put in the curing tank for 30 minutes. The time is recorded using
stopwatch.

4. The brick is taken out after 30 minutes and weighed by using scale weight.

5. The weight is recorded and water absorption is calculated.

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3.3 Compressive strength of Bricks

3.3.1 Equipment

 Scale weight

 Compressions testing machine

 Ruler

3.3.2 Material
 Bricks

3.3.3 Procedure
1. The brick is taken to be measured the length by using ruler and weighed by
using scale weight.
2. The brick is placed into testing machine.
3. The brick is placed correctly on the machine plate. The specimen is carefully
aligned with the spherically seated plate.
4. The load is applied to the brick axially.
5. The load is slowly applied at the rate of 150kg/cm2 per minute until the brick
breaked.
6. The maximum load at which the specimen breaks is taken as a compressive
load.
7. Data is recorded.

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4.0 DATA ANALYSIS

4.1 Density of bricks

RESULT

Test/ Brick A B
Volume of brick, m3 0.099x0.068x0.211= 0.097x0.07x0.212=
1.4205x10-3 1.4395x10-3

Mass of brick, kg 2.74 2.58

Density, kg/m3 2.74/1.4205x10-3= 2.58/1.4395x10-3=

1928.90 1792.29

Average density 1860.60

ANALYSIS OF DATA
The result shown that there are significant differences between brick A and brick B. The mass
of brick A is more than brick B. The mass will affect the density.

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4.2 Compressive strength

Brick Sample A B
Mass of brick ,kg 2.74 2.58
Area of brick, m2 0.211x0.099= 0.212x0.097=
0.0208 0.0206
Volume of brick 1.4205x10-3 1.4395x10-3
Density , kg/m3 1928.90 1792.29
Maximum value of 624.8 348.4
load, kN
Value of compressive 624.8/0.0208= 348.4/0.0206=
strength, kN/m2 30038.46 16912.62
Average compressive 23475.54
strength, kN/m2

ANALYSIS OF DATA
Theoretically, the brick is supposed to resist more load if it is denser, so the result obtained
showed that the experiment is success. The value of maximum load resisted by the brick is
directly proportional to compressive strength of the brick.

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4.3 Water Absorption

Brick Sample A B
Volume, m3 1.3304x10-3 1.3631x10-3
Density, kg/m3 1849.07 1966.16
Dried mass, kg 2.46 2.68
Mass after 2.70 2.96
immersed, kg
Percentage of water 2.70−2.46 2.96−2.68
×100=¿ ×100=¿
2.46 2.68
absorption, %
9.76 10.45
Average percentage 10.11
of water absorption,
%

ANALYSIS OF DATA
mass of wet brick−mass of dried brick
Percentage of water absorption, % = ×100 %
mass of dried brick

Mass of brick increased compare to its original mass after being immersed. The formula
above is used. According to theory, the absorption of water thought to be less than 10%. In
experiment, we to obtained reading of 10.11%. As a result, our experiment did not match the
theory. According to the theory, the mass of dried brick supposed to be inversely proportional
to density of brick. The percentage of water absorption for the brick should be lower when
the mass of brick is bigger. The higher dense of brick indicates that the brick structure is more
compact and amount of water should be lesser absorbed. The workability of the bricks is
failed.

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5.0 DISCUSSION

Vernier calliper should be used in order to obtain accurate reading of height, width
and length of bricks. Zero error of vernier calliper to be eliminated before it is used for
measurement. Vernier calliper should be perpendicular to the object which to be tested so that
correct and accurate reading could be obtained.
Different brick will have a different number of density. The density of a brick is
depends on its mass and volume. The higher the mass, the higher the density. Otherwise, the
higher the volume of the brick, the lower its density. The mass of brick is directly
proportional to the density of brick while the volume of brick is inversely proportional to the
density of brick.
Brick which is tested for compressive strength was succeed. The surface of the brick
is even, thus even distribution of compressive force caused it to crack on average load. The
value of maximum load resisted by the brick is directly proportional to compressive strength
of the brick. When the compressive machine is activated, student should stand a distance
from the machine to avoid injury from flying debris. Lastly after testing, the surface of plate
in the compressive strength machine tought to be cleaned and cleared of all debris so that it
will not affect future testing.
After being immersed in the water for 30 minutes, the brick should be taken out of the
water and ensure the surface is dry before weighing it. The water in the curing tank are not be
sured that it was cleaned and effected by the others substances in the water. Both bricks are
also not wiped before being weight so the inaccurate reading of water absorption is obtained.
A good brick should have sharp edges and angle. Brick A may absorb water less than 10% but
brick B does not. High rate of water absorption may cause swelling of stabilized clay fraction
and resulting in losing strength with time. The bricks did not show good workability.

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6.0 CONCLUSION

Bricks were tested with water absorption test and compressive strength. From
compressive strength of brick test, we succeed to prove the theory of which is the value of
maximum load resisted by the brick is directly proportional to compressive strength of the
brick. The water absorption test of brick shown that absorption of water of Brick A was less
than 10% but brick B is more than 10%. This does not follow the theory which mass of dried
brick is inversely proportional to density of brick. This situation may happen because of some
mistake during the test occur. The handling of the bricks should be more careful to prevent
any error. The water in the curing tank should me more cleaned.

This shown that it is important to perform few test first before use the bricks for any
construction works.This is to ensure the strength and durability of the construction so that is
safe and any accidents can be avoided. Always remember to take precaution before perform
any experiment.

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7.0 REFERENCES

1. Sadanandam,(2016)Type of test on brick for building construction work. Retrieved

from https://theconstructor.org/building/types-of-tests-on-bricks/12701/

2. Monamy,(2019) Types of brick-Detail classification of brick. Retrieved from

https://civiltoday.com/civil-engineering-materials/brick/191-types-of-bricks

3. Conservation Wiki (2018,21 October). Brick sizes. Retrieved from

https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Brick_sizes

4. Amar(2019, 20 April).Brick test. Retrieved from

https://www.scribd.com/document/406909581/Baru-Brick-Test-Final-Lab-Report

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