Investigation of Compressive Strength of Straw Reinforced Unfired Clay Bricks For Sustainable Building Construction

The mud is considered as one of the oldest construction materials in Iraq and is still used in the country regions for farmer’s houses or animal shelters. In Iraq, there are different types of mud constructions, including adobe, unfired bricks and cob. The presented study has focused on unfired clay...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dawood Abbas O., Mussa Faten I., Khazraji Hayder Al, Ulsada Hussain A. Abd, Yasser Mohammed M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sciendo 2021-06-01
Series:Civil and Environmental Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2478/cee-2021-0016
_version_ 1811226173340909568
author Dawood Abbas O.
Mussa Faten I.
Khazraji Hayder Al
Ulsada Hussain A. Abd
Yasser Mohammed M.
author_facet Dawood Abbas O.
Mussa Faten I.
Khazraji Hayder Al
Ulsada Hussain A. Abd
Yasser Mohammed M.
author_sort Dawood Abbas O.
collection DOAJ
description The mud is considered as one of the oldest construction materials in Iraq and is still used in the country regions for farmer’s houses or animal shelters. In Iraq, there are different types of mud constructions, including adobe, unfired bricks and cob. The presented study has focused on unfired clay brick where the clay is the main material. To ensure that the clay is pure and clean, it was excavated from the depth of 2 m below the natural ground level. Different types of unfired clay bricks produced by adding different materials to the clay to improve its properties and especially large deformation due to shrinkage. The added materials are classified into three concepts, the first additives are the natural fibers (straw, sawdust, and rice husk) and they are used to improve the tensile strength of brick and reduce the cracking due to shrinkage. The second additives included added the fine and coarse sand as a stabilizer to reduce the volumetric changes. The third additives are adding cement to increase the adhesive and cohesion of the mud matrix. The measurements included compressive strength of brick, mortar, and masonry and the flexural strength of bricks alone. The behaviour of unfired masonry prisms was also compared to the traditionally fired clay brick prisms. The results indicate that higher compressive strength of bricks was got for the mix that included clay, coarse sand and straw. The maximum flexural strength of bricks was got for the mix that included clay and sawdust, while for unfired masonry prism the higher compressive strength was obtained with a mix that included clay, coarse sand and straw. Finally, a proposed formula to obtain the compressive strength of unfired brick masonry from the compressive strength of brick and mortar is presented.
first_indexed 2024-04-12T09:19:48Z
format Article
id doaj.art-dd71e2670c8e49dd9ac5c642098c90ec
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2199-6512
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-12T09:19:48Z
publishDate 2021-06-01
publisher Sciendo
record_format Article
series Civil and Environmental Engineering
spelling doaj.art-dd71e2670c8e49dd9ac5c642098c90ec2022-12-22T03:38:42ZengSciendoCivil and Environmental Engineering2199-65122021-06-0117115016310.2478/cee-2021-0016Investigation of Compressive Strength of Straw Reinforced Unfired Clay Bricks For Sustainable Building ConstructionDawood Abbas O.0Mussa Faten I.1Khazraji Hayder Al2Ulsada Hussain A. Abd3Yasser Mohammed M.4Department of Civil Engineering, University of Misan, Iraq.Department of Civil Engineering, University of Misan, Iraq.Department of Civil Engineering, University of Misan, Iraq.Department of Civil Engineering, University of Misan, Iraq.Department of Civil Engineering, University of Misan, Iraq.The mud is considered as one of the oldest construction materials in Iraq and is still used in the country regions for farmer’s houses or animal shelters. In Iraq, there are different types of mud constructions, including adobe, unfired bricks and cob. The presented study has focused on unfired clay brick where the clay is the main material. To ensure that the clay is pure and clean, it was excavated from the depth of 2 m below the natural ground level. Different types of unfired clay bricks produced by adding different materials to the clay to improve its properties and especially large deformation due to shrinkage. The added materials are classified into three concepts, the first additives are the natural fibers (straw, sawdust, and rice husk) and they are used to improve the tensile strength of brick and reduce the cracking due to shrinkage. The second additives included added the fine and coarse sand as a stabilizer to reduce the volumetric changes. The third additives are adding cement to increase the adhesive and cohesion of the mud matrix. The measurements included compressive strength of brick, mortar, and masonry and the flexural strength of bricks alone. The behaviour of unfired masonry prisms was also compared to the traditionally fired clay brick prisms. The results indicate that higher compressive strength of bricks was got for the mix that included clay, coarse sand and straw. The maximum flexural strength of bricks was got for the mix that included clay and sawdust, while for unfired masonry prism the higher compressive strength was obtained with a mix that included clay, coarse sand and straw. Finally, a proposed formula to obtain the compressive strength of unfired brick masonry from the compressive strength of brick and mortar is presented.https://doi.org/10.2478/cee-2021-0016strawunfired clay bricksmasonry constructionsawdustsustainable building
spellingShingle Dawood Abbas O.
Mussa Faten I.
Khazraji Hayder Al
Ulsada Hussain A. Abd
Yasser Mohammed M.
Investigation of Compressive Strength of Straw Reinforced Unfired Clay Bricks For Sustainable Building Construction
Civil and Environmental Engineering
straw
unfired clay bricks
masonry construction
sawdust
sustainable building
title Investigation of Compressive Strength of Straw Reinforced Unfired Clay Bricks For Sustainable Building Construction
title_full Investigation of Compressive Strength of Straw Reinforced Unfired Clay Bricks For Sustainable Building Construction
title_fullStr Investigation of Compressive Strength of Straw Reinforced Unfired Clay Bricks For Sustainable Building Construction
title_full_unstemmed Investigation of Compressive Strength of Straw Reinforced Unfired Clay Bricks For Sustainable Building Construction
title_short Investigation of Compressive Strength of Straw Reinforced Unfired Clay Bricks For Sustainable Building Construction
title_sort investigation of compressive strength of straw reinforced unfired clay bricks for sustainable building construction
topic straw
unfired clay bricks
masonry construction
sawdust
sustainable building
url https://doi.org/10.2478/cee-2021-0016
work_keys_str_mv AT dawoodabbaso investigationofcompressivestrengthofstrawreinforcedunfiredclaybricksforsustainablebuildingconstruction
AT mussafateni investigationofcompressivestrengthofstrawreinforcedunfiredclaybricksforsustainablebuildingconstruction
AT khazrajihayderal investigationofcompressivestrengthofstrawreinforcedunfiredclaybricksforsustainablebuildingconstruction
AT ulsadahussainaabd investigationofcompressivestrengthofstrawreinforcedunfiredclaybricksforsustainablebuildingconstruction
AT yassermohammedm investigationofcompressivestrengthofstrawreinforcedunfiredclaybricksforsustainablebuildingconstruction