TESTS FOR BRICKS
CE306 2019
INTRODUCTION
• Quality assurance in construction is
guaranteed by good workmanship
and use of quality materials
• To ensure use of good quality bricks
it therefore is necessary to carry out
some tests on the bricks.
• Most of the tests are according to BS
codes.
TYPES OF TESTS
1. Absorption test
2. Crushing strength test
3. Hardness test
4. Shape and size
5. Colour test
6. Soundness test
7. Structure of brick
8. Presence of soluble salts (Efflorescence Test)
Water Absorption Test
• The test is conducted on brick to find out the
amount of moisture content absorbed by brick
under extreme conditions.
• In this test, sample dry bricks are taken and
weighed. After weighing these bricks are
placed in water with full immersing for a period
of 24 hours. Then weigh the wet brick and note
down its value. 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.
Water absorption.
• standard is the 5 h boiling test.
The equipment required for this test is listed below:
a) Ventilated drying oven with automatic control
capable of maintaining a constant temperature of
110 – 115C.
b) Water tank, provided with a grid to ensure free
circulation of water between masonry units and the
bottom of the tank.
c) Balance capable of weighing to an accuracy of
0.1% of the mass of the specimen.
Preparation of specimens
• a) Use 10 bricks
• b) Dry the specimen to constant
mass in the oven at a
temperature of between 110
and 115C. When cool, weigh
each specimen to an accuracy of
0.1% of its mass.
Test procedure
a) Place the 10 specimens in a single layer in a tank of
water immediately after weighing, so that the water
can circulate freely on all sides of them. Leave about
10 mm between bricks and the sides of the tank.
b) Heat the water to boiling point in approximately 1 h.
c) Boil for 5 h continuously, and then allow to cool to
room temperature by natural loss of heat for not less
than 16 h or more than 19 h.
d) Remove the specimens, wipe off the surface water
with a damp cloth and weigh. When wiping perforated
bricks, shake them to expel water that might otherwise
beleft in the perforations.
e) Complete weighing any one specimen within 2 min
after its removal from the water.
Calculation of water absorption. Calculate
the water absorbed by each specimen.
A,
• expressed as a percentage of the dry
mass, using the following expression.
A = 100 x (wet mass – dry mass) / dry mass
• Calculate the average of the water
absorption’s of the 10 specimens to the
nearest 0.1%.
• The water absorption shall in no case be greater
than the water absorption for the appropriate
class of brick given in the Table below.
Compressive Strength
• 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/[Link] it is
less than 3.50 N/mm2, then it is not
useful for construction purpose.
• Equipment:
• 1. Compression Testing machine, compatible
with the testing machine required for testing
concrete specimens
Preparation of specimen.
• Twelve bricks taken at random from sample
shall be halved and one half from each whole
brick used for determining the compressive
strength. The overall dimension of each
bedding face shall be measured to the nearest
of 1.3 mm and the area of the face having
smaller area shall be taken as the area of the
bricks for testing the compressive strength.
Test procedure
1. Immerse the brick in water for 6 days or saturate
the brick by boiling as described in water
absorption test
2. Then apply the load axially at a uniform rate of 14
N/mm2 per minute, until failure. The failure shall
be deemed to have occurred when no further
increase in the load is registered with unchanged
rate of moving head travel.
3. Calculation of compressive strength: Obtain the
strength of each specimen by dividing the
maximum load obtained during loading by the
appropriate area of the bed face. Record the
strength in N/mm2 to the nearest 0.1 N/mm2.
Calculate the average of the 12 compressive
strengths and report it to the nearest 0.1 N/mm2
Hardness Test on Bricks
• A good brick should resist
scratches against sharp things.
So, for this test a sharp tool or
finger nail is used to make scratch
on brick. If there is no scratch
impression on brick then it is
hard brick
Shape and Size Test on Bricks
• Shape and size of bricks are very important
consideration. All bricks used for construction
should be of same size. The shape of bricks should
be purely rectangular with sharp edges. Standard
brick size consists length x breadth x height as
230mm x 115mmx 70mm.
• To perform this test, select 24 bricks randomly
from brick group and stack them along its length ,
breadth and height and compare. So, if all bricks
similar size then they are qualified for
construction work
Size of voids
a) Solid bricks shall not have holes, cavities or
depressions.
b) Cellular bricks shall not have holes, but may have
frogs or cavities not exceeding 20% of the gross
volume of the brick.
c) Perforated bricks shall have holes not exceeding
25% of the gross volume of the brick. The area of
any one hole shall not exceed 10% of the gross area
of the brick.
d) Frogged bricks shall have depressions in one bed.
Frog size should not exceed 130 mm x 50 mm x 10
mm.
Variation
• Small variation in the dimension shall
be permissible to the following extent
only :
Dimensional deviations.
• The overall measurements of 24 bricks shall
not fall outside the limits given in the Table
• In addition, the size of any individual brick
shall not exceed the size given in the table
Procedure for measuring dimensions
a) Take 24 bricks. Remove any blisters, small
projections or loose particles of clay adhering
to the brick. Place the bricks in contact with
each other in a straight line upon a level
surface, using the appropriate arrangement
for each work size as shown below
b) Measure the overall dimension (Length,
width or height) to the nearest
millimeter, using an in extensible
measure long enough to measure the
whole row at one time.
Note. Alternatively, the sample may be
divided in half to form 2 rows of 12
[Link] of each row is made
separately and the results are summed
up.
Color Test of Bricks
• A good brick should possess bright
and uniform color throughout its
body
Soundness Test of Bricks
• Soundness test of bricks shows the
nature of bricks against sudden
impact. In this test, 2 bricks are
chosen randomly and struck with
one another. Then sound produced
should be clear bell ringing sound
and brick should not break. Then it is
said to be good brick.
Structure of Bricks
• To know the structure of brick, pick one
brick randomly from the group and
break it. Observe the inner portion of
brick clearly. It should be free from
lumps and homogenous
Efflorescence Test on Bricks
• A good quality brick should not contain any
soluble salts in it. If soluble salts are there,
then it will cause efflorescence on brick
surfaces.
• To know the presence of soluble salts in a
brick, place it in a water bath for 24 hours
and dry it in shade. After drying, observe
the brick surface thoroughly. If there is any
white or grey colour deposits, then it
contains soluble salts and not useful for
construction.
Drop Test
• When dropped from a height of
about one meter on a dry firm
ground (not on a concrete, plastered,
etc surface) the brick should not
show any damage.
• Bricks to be used for any quality construction
work should have smooth and good
appearance.
• They should be of uniform sizes and shapes and
should appear reddish in colour. They should be
well burnt. That is, they should neither be over-
burnt nor under-burnt. Over-cooked and under-
cooked ones won’t appear uniformly reddish.
They would show shades of blue and
sometimes even black or so. Usually, they won’t
be of uniform shape as well.
