Case Studies in Construction Materials 13 (2020) e00404

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Case Studies in Construction Materials

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Structural efficiency of burnt clay bricks containing waste

crushed glass and polypropylene granules
J.O. Akinyele* , U.T. Igba, T.O. Ayorinde, P.O. Jimoh
Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history: The need for alternative building materials and the call for a cleaner environment has led to
Received 3 May 2020 the recycling of waste materials in the construction industry. This study investigated the
Received in revised form 27 June 2020 use of crushed glass and polypropylene (plastic) granules in two sets of fired clay bricks.
Accepted 30 June 2020
These wastes were added to bricks at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5% proportions, the bricks were fired to
800
C in an electric operated kiln for about four hours. The glass infused bricks were
Keywords: designated as T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5, while that of plastics were designated as P1, P2, P3, P4 and
Crushed glass
P5 respectively. The control burnt brick is without any waste. Water Absorption, Shrinkage,
Polypropylene granules
Burnt bricks
mechanical strength tests were carried out on each brick. Scanning Electron Microscopy
Mechanical test (SEM) was used to investigate the microstructural characteristics of each brick. The
Water absorption mechanical test result showed that the control has a value of 6.15 N/mm2, which is above
Shrinkage the 3.5 N/mm2 recommended for clay bricks by standards. The highest value for bricks
containing glass was from sample T5 at 11.02 N/mm2, while that of the sample containing
plastic was P1 at 4.02 N/mm2. All the bricks have a water absorption rate less than the
recommended 18 %. The SEM result revealed micro-cracks and voids that aided the
structural efficiency of each brick types. The study concluded that glass can be added to
burnt bricks at 5% replacement, while plastic waste should not exceed 3% in burnt bricks.
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC
BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

1. Introduction

Burnt brick technology has existed for many centuries, and the production of this very important building materials has
gone through different manufacturing phases. The first masonry units made from dried mud was used around 8000 BC in
Mesopotamia [1]. The advantage of fired clay bricks is enormous, they help in reducing thermal conductivity which results in
lower heat losses through the walls, moderate insulating properties which made brick house cooler in summer and warmer
in winter, they are also not combustible and poor conductors [2,3]. The compressive strength and durability of clay burnt
bricks are important properties that have made them be widely used as a construction material.
The research into the use of waste or recycled materials in the construction industries have been on the rise in the past
few years, the reason for this is because of the effort to preserve existing natural raw materials and to reduce the negative
effect of waste materials, especially the non-biodegradable ones like waste glass, plastic, nylon, sludge, industrial waste etc.
on the environment. Cusido et al. [4] mixed clay with sewage sludge and forest debris in the production of burnt bricks at a
temperature of 1000
C. The brick produced from the experiment was discovered to be light, more thermal and acoustic
insulating when compared to conventional burnt bricks. Different proportions of sludge were also used to replace clay in

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: akinyelejo@funaab.edu.ng (J.O. Akinyele).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2020.e00404
2214-5095/© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
2 J.O. Akinyele et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 13 (2020) e00404

ceramic tiles by Martinez et al. [5], mechanical properties, water absorption and suction revealed that the introduction of 5%
sludge in ceramic gave an improved property.
Boron waste was used as a fluxing agent in the production of red burnt bricks by Taner [6], the mineralogical and
mechanical test that was conducted on the brick samples confirmed the possibility of recycling boron waste as a fluxing
agent in the manufacturing of red burnt bricks. Municipal solid waste incineration fly ash slag was used on fired bricks by Kae
Long [7], the work showed a decrease in water absorption and increased in compressive strength when more waste was
added to the bricks, and the final strength showed that the mechanical properties met the requirement for a second-class
brick, according to the Chinese National Standard. High heat conductivity resistance bricks from perlite and clay were
investigated by Iker and Burak [8], some binders such as cement, gypsum, lime, and bitumen with clay were used to produce
the perlite bricks. The work demonstrated that the compressive strength was decreased, while shrinkage and thermal
conductivity were increased with the addition of perlite dose. But the work concluded that a 30 % mixture of perlite in brick
was good and the brick has a high insulation property.
Pai-Haung et al. [9], produced bricks from steel slag and clay, the work concluded that bricks fired to 1050
C, with 10 %
steel slag in it met the Chinese national standard for a third-class brick for builders. Green and core foundry sand was mix
with laterite in a proportion range of 0–50% and fired to 1050
C by Alonso-Santurde et al. [10], the result showed that the
optimum amount of foundry sand to produce bricks should be 35 % green sand and 25 % core sand.
Akinyele et al. [11] used Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) pellet in cement stabilized earth bricks, mechanical test results
showed that a 10 % cement stabilized earth bricks will perform well when 5% PET was added to bricks. Also, Akinyele et al.
[12] investigated the use of PET in burnt bricks at 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 % replacement. The results showed that bricks mixed with
PET at over 15 % dissolved during the firing process, while the compressive strength of 2.30 N/mm2 was obtained for the 5%
mixture of PET in burnt brick, this value is below the 3.5 N/mm2 recommended by the Brick Development Association [13],
although the research recommended that at less than 5% replacement, PET can be used in burnt bricks.
The use of solid waste materials in construction is not limited to bricks alone, previous research works have used waste
plastics, PET, tyre rubbers, steel slags, industrial waste in concrete, mortar, sandcrete bricks, asphalt, and many more [14–21].
This research aims to determine the structural efficiency of fired bricks, mix with glass and plastic waste, with various test
been conducted on the individual brick mixes.

2. Research methodology

2.1. Materials

2.1.1. Crushed waste glass

Soda-lime glass or Soda-lime silica glass was used for this research. It is the most common type of commercial glass and it
is comparatively inexpensive, it is very fragile in nature and amenable to recycling [22]. This implies that it is the most used
glass material and mostly disposed of as waste. Soda-lime glass is used in the production of window panels, bottles for
beverages and food, light bulb, jars and other commodity items. Soda-lime bottles were collected around hostels and grocery
stores around the city of Abeokuta Nigeria. The bottles varied from soft drink bottles to processed food bottles. The bottles
were thoroughly cleaned with clean tap water to remove contaminants and deleterious materials. The cleaned bottles were
then dried in the sun until the remaining water from the cleaning process evaporated. The bottles were then packed in bags
and transported to a mill at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta to be pulverized into small granules of less than
1.18 mm sieve size.

2.1.2. Crushed waste plastic

Polypropylene (PP), is a polymer that belongs to the group of polyolefin which is partially crystalline and non-polar having
properties similar to polyethylene but is slightly harder and more resistant to heat, it has an average melting point of 165
C
[23]. It is rugged and usually resistant to any chemical solvent, bases and acid [24]. The waste polypropylene were collected
from dumps, waste bins and transported to the crushing factory at Ijebu Ode, Ogun state Nigeria, where they were first fed
into the crusher which pulverized them into granules.

2.1.3. Lateritic soil

This is a laterite soil that is commonly used for the traditional clay bricks and many other block work in building
construction. The soil was collected from a natural lateritic soil hill within the vicinity of the Federal University of
Agriculture, Abeokuta. This soil was mined and transported to the Civil Engineering Department laboratory where the
experiment was carried out.

2.2. Moulding of bricks

The moulds used were made of fine surfaced woods with dimension 150 mm x 100 mm x 63 mm. These moulds were
lubricated before moulding commenced to avoid the clay sticking to the wall of the mould. The water- laterite ratio was 0.27,
the soft mud process of making bricks was used in the production of bricks for this research. Clay and water were thoroughly
 J.O. Akinyele et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 13 (2020) e00404 3

mixed to produce a homogenous soft clay mud which was later formed into moulds to produce bricks. The clay mixture was
then carefully placed in the mould layer by layer and compacted manually.
Batching of the bricks was done by weighing which is the best when compared to batching by volume. Three sets of bricks
were produced, the first set was the control, which is purely laterite and water, the second set was the mixture of laterite and
glass, while the third sets contain laterite and polypropylene granules. Bricks were produced by first weighing materials for
the control sample, this was followed by weighing of materials of varying percentages of waste glass and polypropylene
replacement. Percentage of waste glass used to replace laterite were 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5% in the bricks and these were
designated as T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 respectively, the same percentage was used for bricks containing polypropylene granules,
but these bricks were designated as P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5 respectively. A total of ninety-nine (99) bricks were used in this
research.
There was the need to expunge the water content in the already moulded bricks before taking it for firing, this was to
prevent cracks development in the bricks during the firing process. Freshly moulded bricks contain 25–30 % water will crack
if exposed to fire as a result of rapid evaporation of water from the mixture. The bricks were air-dried at room temperature
for 20 days to remove the excess water content, Fig. 1 showed the air drying of the brick samples.

2.3. Firing of bricks

Firing is a key process in the manufacture of ceramic products, as it controls many important properties of the finished
ware. These include mechanical strength, abrasion resistance, dimensional stability, resistance to water and chemicals, and
fire resistance. The bricks were fired in a kiln for 3 h at a temperature of 800
C, the firing of the bricks intends to improve
durability through sintering, which can be seen as the bonding mechanism of laterite particles. The key to the firing process
is to monitor the temperature in the kiln so that incipient fusion is complete, and partial vitrification occurs but viscous
fusion is avoided. Kilns are normally equipped with temperature sensors to control firing temperatures in the various stages
and in this research the temperature was controlled, it was not assumed Fig. 2 showed samples of the bricks in a kiln. Near
the end, the brick was “flashed” to produce colour variations. Flashing means the temperature of the fire was reduced. The
firing and production of the burnt bricks were according to the ASTM C62-04, [25] and ASTM C67-03 [26] standards.
After the temperature has peaked and is maintained for two and a half hours, the cooling process began. Cooling is an
important stage in brick manufacturing because the rate of cooling has a direct effect on colour.

2.4. Water absorption test

Water absorption is a measure of the amount of water that can be absorbed by a brick. This test was carried out to
compare the rate at which each type of bricks can absorb water. Fired bricks from each sample were weighed and submerged
in clean water for 24 h, after which they were brought out and weigh. The bricks were then placed in a laboratory oven at 105


C for another 24 h at which the weight of the oven-dried bricks was also taken. This process continued cyclically until a
constant weight was reached. Water absorption was then calculated using the following expression.
w2  w1
Water absorption ð%Þ ¼ x 100 ð1Þ
w1
Where;
W1 = Dry weight of brick samples (kg)
W2 = Wet weight of brick samples after 24 h (kg)

Fig. 1. Drying of brick samples before firing.

4 J.O. Akinyele et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 13 (2020) e00404

Fig. 2. Firing of bricks in a kiln.

Based on the ASTM C373-88, [27] standard.

2.5. Firing shrinkage test

Firing shrinkage is the difference between the initial and final length of the brick after firing, expressed in percentage.
Linear shrinkage was determined by measuring the length of the brick sample before and after firing over the whole process
using a calliper with a precision of +0.01 mm according to ASTM C326- 09, [28] standard. The firing shrinkage was expressed
as a percentage and calculated using the expression;
Ld  Lf
Firing shrinkage ð%Þ ¼ x 100 ð2Þ
Ld
Where Ld = Length of air-dried sample (mm)
Lf = Length of the fired sample (mm)

2.6. Compressive strength test

The compressive strength test is the most reliable mechanical test used in the determination of the strength properties of
bricks and concrete materials. The universal testing machine used for this experiment was (Okhart Digital Machine, OK 600
kN, 2012 model). The bearing surface of the compressive strength testing machine was cleaned and the brick was placed on
its face. The dimension of the face was 100 mm x 150 mm. The specimen axis was aligned with the center of the lower
pressure plate of the compression testing machine. The upper-pressure plate of the machine was then lowered till a distance
was reached between the pressure plate and top surface of the brick sample. The load was applied without a shock and the
load was gradually increased until the brick was crushed, Fig. 3 showed the process of loading. At the moment when the brick
got crushed, load application was stopped and readings were taken, the compressive strength was obtained by dividing the
failure load with the surface area of the bricks under loading. This was carried out based on ASTM C67-03 [26].

2.7. Flexural strength test

This test is also referred to as the modulus of rupture of a substance, it is the determination of maximum stress at the
surface in a bent sample at the point of failure. It is a measure of the resistance of a sample to bending forces. It is also a
measure of the tensile strength of the brick sample. The flexural test is used to measure the force that will cause a sample to
bend and also to determine how well the sample can resist flexing or stiffness.
The three-point test was used in determining the flexural strength of the fired brick samples. The three-point test involves
supporting the sample at the two ends and applying an incremental load at the middle of the sample until it snaps. The brick
sample was turned to the flat side on which it was moulded and it was the centred on the supporting bearing blocks at its two
ends. The load applying point was slowly lowered until it made contact with the upper surface at exactly the centreline of the
brick which was between the two supports. The load applying point load was then further lowered until the initial load was
applied. A uniform load was applied until the brick failed. The flexural strength or modulus of rupture of the brick sample is
mathematically expressed below;
1:5PL
fb ¼ 2
ð3Þ
bd
 J.O. Akinyele et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 13 (2020) e00404 5

Fig. 3. Compressive strength test.

Where P is the applied external force, L is the brick span, b is the width of brick and d is the brick depth. This equation will
also give the bending stresses in the brick samples. Eq. (4) was used to calculate the shear stresses of the burnt brick samples.
The test was carried out based on ASTM C67-03 [26]
Fay
t xx ¼ ð4Þ
Ib
Where F is the shear force, a is the area under consideration, y is the distance from the surface to the neutral axis, I is the
moment of inertial and b is the breadth of bricks.

2.8. SEM analysis

The Scanning Electron microscopy test was carried out to determine the microstructural characteristics of the burnt
bricks. The machine used in this research was VEGA 3 TESCAN, at the faculty of Technology, University of Ibadan. This process
involved the cutting of a small-sized portion of the bricks (5 mm x 10 mm), the small samples were pretreated with zinc
coating and introduced the cut samples into the stem stub of the machine, images were extracted and more than seven
iterations were performed on each brick samples.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Water absorption test results

When excess water infiltrates brick, it makes the clay swell and hence makes the brick less durable. Water absorption is an
important measure of the durability of the brick. The internal structure of the brick must be dense enough to allow very little
or no amount of water to pass through it. Through the process of the firing of bricks, the crystal structure of the brick will be
altered and clay particles tend to be more packed, hence increasing the density of the fired brick.
From Fig. 4 it can be observed that bricks with zero percent glass and plastic in them had the highest water absorption rate
of 16.15 % while bricks with 5% glass in them had the lowest rate of water absorption at 10 %. While that of plastic has 14.29 %.
The reduction in water absorption of the brick samples indicates that the increase in the liquid phase of the material at such a
high firing temperature caused a decrease in the pore volume of the particles in the brick.
Generally, it was observed that water absorption decreased as the percentage of waste glass in the brick samples
increased. The waste glass particles fused with the clay bodies and this contributed to the increase in density of the clay brick.
The waste plastic samples experience reduction in absorption rate as more plastic were added to the bricks also, but the rate
is generally higher when compared to the samples that contain glass. The implication of this is that during firing, most of the
plastic dissolved at a very high temperature creating voids within the brick structures, the void left behind after cooling must
have been filled up with water during the absorption test. The remaining void space was occupied by both the glass and
plastic waste in each sample; hence the general reduction in absorption rate when compared to the control sample.

3.2. Firing shrinkage

Firing shrinkage is dependent on the amount of water lost within clay particles. During firing at high temperatures, clay
particles fused which results in greater proximity and increasing firing shrinkage. A reduction in firing shrinkage of bricks
has a positive result as large shrinkage can create problems such as cracks. In Fig. 5 it was observed that shrinkage increased
6 J.O. Akinyele et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 13 (2020) e00404

Fig. 4. Water absorption test result.

Fig. 5. Firing Shrinkage.

as the percentage of waste glass and plastic in waste bricks increases. The brick without waste has a shrinkage of 0.67 %, while
bricks T5 and P5 has the highest shrinkage values of 2.04 and 2.13 % respectively.
The implication of this is that during firing, the waste materials within the bricks reacted to firing by melting and thus
creating more void within the clay materials as water also evaporate, hence creating more chance for the fussing together of
clay particles, and this action eventually has an effect on the overall size of the individual bricks after firing. Bricks must have
a firing linear shrinkage lower than 8% to retain good performance [29]. Results indicated that all the bricks have linear
shrinkage less than 8%, which is a good performance. Shrinkage depended on the amount of waste added. The firing
shrinkage obtained for all samples were within the safe limits as indicated in ASTM C326 [28].

3.3. Compressive strength result

Compressive strength is the most relevant measurement in ascertaining the quality of construction material. The
compressive strength is the basis at which all other properties of structural materials are valued. The higher the compressive
strength of a material, the more durable the material is for construction use. The results in Fig. 6 indicated that the
compressive strength of the fired bricks was enhanced by the addition of waste glass, while plastic waste reduced the
strength. As the percentage of waste glass present in the bricks increased, the compressive strength increased too, which
indicates that the compressive strength is dependent on the amount of waste material present in the brick. The addition of
 J.O. Akinyele et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 13 (2020) e00404 7

Fig. 6. Compressive strength test result.

the waste glass contributed to the vitrification process and the closing of internal pores by glass materials. But the plastic
waste cannot be said to contribute to vetrification positively.
Burnt bricks can be generally classified into four categories and this classification depends on the compressive strength
and water absorption properties [30]. Bricks with compressive strength of about 14 N/mm2 and water absorption rate not
more than 20 % when immersed in water for 24 h, are called the first class bricks. They are very good for external walls and
flooring purposes. The second class types are those with compressive strength not less than 7 N/mm2, and water absorption
rate not more than 22 %, this type is good for both exterior and interior works where plastering is not required, but are not
good for flooring. The next brick which is the third category has compressive strength that ranges between 3.5–7 N/mm2
with water absorption rate not more than 26 %, this type of burnt brick is used for ordinary construction. The fourth class
bricks have a strength of about 15 N/mm2 with very low porosity, that is water has a very slim chance of entering it during the
absorption test, this type of bricks are not good for building purpose but are used mostly for road construction. The results
from Fig. 6 showed that burnt bricks mix with 2–5 % glass can be categories into the second class types, while the bricks with
0–1 % glass are the third class types of bricks. For the plastic mixed bricks, the 1–3 % plastic in burnt bricks can be classified
into the third class group. While any plastic mix more than 3% fell out of all the standard classes. None of the bricks falls into
the fourth categories with compressive strength more than 15 N/mm2. The above results imply that glass can be used in
burnt bricks at 5% replacement, also plastic waste is a good material in burnt brick provided that the percentage present in
the brick does not exceed 3%. The 2% plastic in burnt brick is above the 3.5 N/mm2 recommended by the brick development
association and this result is a confirmation of the work of Akinyele et al. [12] that plastic or PET can be mixed with burnt
brick at less than 5% proportion.

3.4. Flexural strength test

The flexural strength sometimes referred to as the modulus of rupture, which also represents the bending stress in the
brick are shown in Fig. 7. The result indicated that as the amount of waste glass in bricks samples increased, the modulus of
rupture also increases, but the samples with plastic showed inconsistent in modulus of rupture, although there was a general
increase in flexural strength in all the samples when compared to the control. Flexural strength of 7.19 N/mm2 was the
highest flexural strength achieved with 5% of waste class added to the brick sample. Brick samples containing 4% waste glass
came close in terms of flexural strength with a value of 7.17 N/mm2. The lowest value was obtained from the control sample
at 5.54 N/mm2. The modulus of rupture occurs as a result of internal reactive forces that are resisting an applied external
force, the internal mechanical state of a body is described by the stresses and strains at all points in it. Within the elastic limit
of the body, the internal reactive forces are numerically equal to the external forces. At the point of failure, the internal forces
generated are referred to as the modulus of rupture or maximum bending stress. Whenever the internal reactive forces are
exceeded, the bricks will develop cracks and it will eventually fail.
During the loading of the structure, the maximum bending and shear stresses were generated at the points very close to
the surface of the bricks, the maximum bending stress was at a point directly opposite the applied load, and the shear
stresses were at the support points of the bricks. The compressive stress is generated at the top surface where the external
load was directly being applied while the tensile stresses were generated at the bottom parts of the brick materials. Table 1
showed the maximum shear stresses developed in each block as a result of the external load. Burnt brick sample T5 gave the
maximum shear stress of 3.02 N/mm2 while the lowest shear stress was in the control sample P0 and T0 at 2.33 N/mm2. The
8 J.O. Akinyele et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 13 (2020) e00404

Fig. 7. Flexural strength test result.

Table 1
Structural Efficiency of Burnt bricks.

Samples Density (kg/m3) Compressive Strength (N/mm2) Shear Stress (N/mm2) Structural Efficiency (x 103 m)
P0 & T 0 1376 6.15 2.33 4.47
P1 1376 4.02 2.99 2.92
P2 1376 3.57 2.98 2.59
P3 1354 3.16 2.99 2.33
P4 1322 2.82 2.99 2.13
P5 1322 2.61 2.97 1.97
T1 1376 6.67 2.54 4.84
T2 1376 7.78 3.00 5.65
T3 1376 8.97 3.01 6.52
T4 1376 10.16 3.01 7.40
T5 1376 11.02 3.02 8.01

positive effect of the glass and plastic wastes in the brick showed that they both strengthened the bricks by increasing the
internal resistance to the externally applied load because all the values obtained for both bending and shear stresses are
higher than that of the control samples.

3.5. Structural efficiency

Structural efficiency is the value of the load supported by material to its weight. The structural efficiency of the fired clay
brick used in this research is the ratio of the compressive strength to its dry density. Density is dependent on the rate of
compaction during the process of moulding, while compressive strength depends on the internal stresses generated by
particles that made up the brick and how well they were able to resist the external load acting on it. The bricks failed when
the external load acting upon the bricks becomes higher than the internal compressive stresses offered by the bricks.
From Table 1 the control sample with P0 and T0 has structural efficiency of 4.47  103 m, this value served as the
benchmark for this experiment. Comparing this value with other bricks showed that all the samples containing plastic waste
in it performed below the control sample, the highest in this category was P1, with an efficiency of 2.92  103 m, this was the
sample mixed with 1% plastic and it is about 65 % less than the control, the more plastic wastes added to the bricks, the less
efficient values obtained. Samples T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 all have better efficiency more than the control sample, these are bricks
mixed with waste glass material, from the forgoing; the waste glass in bricks increased the efficiency of burnt bricks when
used as a structural material for construction purposes. The more the glass waste added, the more efficient the bricks
become.

3.6. SEM analysis results

The microstructural properties of the burnt bricks were investigated using a scanning electron microscope, the purpose of
this test is to see how the materials contained in the bricks were arranged, the size of voids and micro-cracks that are present
within the bricks structures. Fig. 8(a) showed the microstructure of the controlled sample, the average size of the micro-
 J.O. Akinyele et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 13 (2020) e00404 9

Fig. 8. SEM Images: (a) Control sample, (b) P1, (c) P5, (d) T1, and (e) T5.

cracks observed was between 10.43 and 17.59 mm. These cracks were developed during the firing of the bricks, and some of
these cracks were occupied by water before the firing process commences. During firing, the high temperatures breakdown
the original lattice structure of the clay minerals, which allows new crystal compounds to be formed, water were evaporated
leaving behind microvoids and cracks observed in the figure.
10 J.O. Akinyele et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 13 (2020) e00404

The micrograph of samples P1 and P5 in Fig. 8(b and c) respectively revealed void of the area ranging from 23689.39 to
95756.68 mm2 for P1 while sample P5 has void area range of 3068.59 to 3083.06 mm2, with additional micro-crack width of
63.73 mm. These are large pores and cracks left behind by the melted plastic material in the burnt brick, this large voids
might have contributed to the very low performance of all the samples containing waste plastic. These are potential weak
points during the mechanical test carried out on the brick samples.
The microstructures of samples T1 and T5 are showed in Fig. 8(d and e), respectively, it can be observed that the size of the
micro-cracks in sample T1 was between 8.96–13.70 mm, while that of T5 was between 5.89–8.17 mm. These crack sizes are
very small when compared to that of the control and plastic mixed samples, these small cracks must have contributed to the
structural efficiency of the brick sample, especially T5 which has the smallest cracks when compared to all the other samples
and the highest structural efficiency of 8.01  103, which is about 180 % greater than the control sample of 4.47  103. The
arrow in Fig. 8(E), showed the glass particles within the brick material. Apart from the bonds that held the brick materials
together, the effect of micro-cracks and voids to the structural characteristics of burnt bricks cannot be underestimated.

4. Conclusion

This work has looked into the use of waste glass and polypropylene (plastic waste) in burnt bricks, from the results of the
tests, carried out. All the sample has a water absorption rate of less than 20 %, and this is a good performance. The burnt brick
containing waste glass performed much better than the control and the brick containing plastic waste during the
compressive strength test. The control has a compressive strength value of 6.15 N/mm2 which is higher than the 3.5 N/mm2
recommended by the brick development association [13]. But this value is less than that of glass infused burnt brick which
ranges from 6.67 to 11.02 N/mm2. The plastic infused burnt brick did not perform very well, the range of its strength was
between 1.76–2.92 N/mm2, but the 1% plastic infused burnt brick gave the highest value in this category, which is very close
to the standard but less than the control. The structural efficiency of the waste glass infused burnt brick is higher than the
control and the plastic infused burnt brick. The SEM analysis revealed the cracks and void created in each type of brick
samples. The sizes of cracks and voids formed in each brick types contributed to the structural performance of each brick. It
can be concluded that glass waste can be added to clay at 5% replacement in burnt bricks. This work is recommending that
future research can investigate the addition of glass waste in to burnt bricks at percentage higher than 5%, in other to
determine the limitations of the amount of glass waste in bricks.

Declaration of Competing Interest

There is no conflict of interest on this manuscript.

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