Effect of quick firing on the hygro-mechanical behaviour of earth bricks

Céline Perlot, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, France, Domenico Gallipoli, Agostino Bruno, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, France, Newcastle University, UK
2019 unpublished
8 This paper presents the effect of quick firing on the compressive strength and moisture adsorption capacity 9 of earth bricks manufactured according to three different methods, i.e. extrusion, standard Proctor 10 compaction and hypercompaction to 100 MPa. All bricks were fired inside an electrical furnace by rising the 11 temperature at a quick rate of about 9 °C per minute to 280, 455, 640, 825 and 1000 °C, after which the 12 furnace was turned off and left to cool to the atmosphere with the
more » ... brick inside it. Results show that quick 13 firing of hypercompacted bricks at moderate temperatures, between 455 and 640 °C, is enough to attain very 14 high levels of compressive strength, between 29 and 34 MPa, and a good moisture adsorption capacity. The 15 strength of hypercompacted bricks further increases to 53 MPa, a value similar to that of high-strength 16 concrete, after quick firing at 825 °C. Hence, the combination of hypercompaction and quick firing improves 17 material performance while enabling a significant reduction of firing temperatures and times compared to 18 current bricks production methods. 19 KEYWORDS 20 Bricks production; firing treatment; porosity; compressive strength; moisture buffering capacity. 21
doi:10.18552/2019/idscmt5179 fatcat:3jfd5o24e5be7fpzmt2lseohzy