Properties of unfired building bricks prepared from fly ash and residual rice husk ash

Abstract

This work investigates the possibility of using fly ash (FA) and Vietnam residual rice husk ash (RHA) in producing unfired building bricks with applying densified mixture design algorithm (DMDA) method. In this research, little amount of cement was added into the mixtures as binder substitution. Unground rice husk ash (URHA), an agricultural by-product, was used as partial fine aggregate replacement (10% and 30%) in the mixtures. The solid bricks of 220×105×60 mm in size were prepared in this study. The hardened properties of the bricks were investigated including compressive strength, flexural strength and water absorption according to corresponding Vietnamese standards. Forming pressure of 35 MPa was applied to form the solid bricks in the mold. The test results show that all brick specimens obtained good mechanical properties, which were well conformed to Vietnamese standard. Compressive strength and flexural strength of the bricks were respectively in range of 13.81–22.06 MPa and 2.25–3.47 MPa. It was definitely proved many potential applications of FA and RHA in the production of unfired building bricks.