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Effects of Firing Time and Temperature on Physical Properties of Fired Clay Bricks

Received: 18 August 2016     Accepted: 23 September 2016     Published: 5 January 2017
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Abstract

Brick is one of the most widely used conventional construction materials throughout the world. The production cost of clay brick is significantly affected by the cost of energy required for firing. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of different firing temperatures on the compressive strength (CS), water absorption (WA) and saturation coefficients (SC) of fired clay bricks produced around Jimma Town and evaluate the effect of firing processes in brick manufacturing on the properties, color and appearance of the clay brick. During the production process, the effects of different heating rates on physical and mechanical properties of firing standard bricks were analyzed. In this study, different heating rates were used: slow heating rate and fast heating rate. Changes in the physical and mechanical properties of the fired clay brick were assessed with the increase in the firing temperature firing time. The results show that the CS increased with the increase in the firing temperature. On the contrary, WA and SC of the fired clay bricks decreased with the increase in the firing temperature. Increment in the duration of firing slightly increases the CS and lowers both the WA and WA of the clay brick. In the study area, traditional brick producers did not have firing temperature control device or mechanism in the fired clay brick production. The kiln operator decided the firing temperature and duration. The absence of the device frequently results in the over or under firing of bricks greatly affecting the engineering properties of this widely used contraction material. Therefore, the traditional clay brick producers should install the temperature control device on their kiln or at least needs to be trained how to approximately determine the optimum temperature.

Published in American Journal of Civil Engineering (Volume 5, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajce.20170501.14
Page(s) 21-26
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Burnt Clay Brick, CS, Firing Temperature, Saturation Coefficient, Water Absorption

References
[1] Abebe Dinku, A. Z. (2004). Assessments of locally produced brick’s quality for construction purposes, EACE Bulletin Volume. 6. No.1.
[2] Abebe Dinku (2002). Construction materials laboratory manual. AAU Printing Press.
[3] ASTM C67-90. (1996). Standard test method for the properties of fired clay bricks “Annual Book of American Society for Testing and Materials’’.
[4] Altayework Tadesse (2013). Effects of firing temperature on physical properties of burnt clay bricks produced around Addis Ababa. Unpublished M.Sc Thesis. Addis Ababa University.
[5] Brick making enterprises in Hai Duong, H. Y. (2004). Vertical shaft continuous kiln (VSCK) in brick making industry, Vietnam's thermology science and technique institute.
[6] Brick Products Production Share Company. (2013). Verbal communication with Finance and Administration Head of Brick Products. Addis Ababa.
[7] British Standard Institution. (1985). British Standard Specification for clay bricks (BS 3921).
[8] Ethiopian Standards Agency (ESA). (2011). Solid clay bricks, ES 86:2001, Ethiopian Standard, Second edition 2001-06-27.
[9] Hung Yen, D. N. (2004.). Vertical shaft continuous kiln (VSCK) in brick making industry, Brick making enterprises. Vietnam's Thermology Science and Technique Institute.
[10] Karaman. (2006). Firing temperature and time influence on clay bricks properties. Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research, 154-155.
[11] Mbumbia I, D. W. (2000). Performance characteristics of lateritic soil bricks fired at low temperatures. Case study of Cameroon, Const Build Mat, 121-131.
[12] The ASTM Committee on Standards. (1999). Annual book of ASTM standards, Volume 04.05, “Standard specification for building bricks (Solid masonry units made from clay or shale)”. ASTM C 62-97a.
[13] The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. (2004). Central Statistical Authority. Welfare monitoring survey, analytical report.
[14] Syed Ashraful Alam, (2006). Use of biomass fuels in the brick-making industries of Sudan: Implications for deforestation and greenhouse gas emission, Thesis submitted for M. Sc. Degree in Forest Ecology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
[15] Solid clay bricks, ES 86:2001 (2001), Ethiopian Standard, Second edition 2001-06-27.
[16] Ethiopian Standards Agency (ESA), 2011.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Eshetu Tsega, Alemu Mosisa, Fekadu Fufa. (2017). Effects of Firing Time and Temperature on Physical Properties of Fired Clay Bricks. American Journal of Civil Engineering, 5(1), 21-26. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20170501.14

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    ACS Style

    Eshetu Tsega; Alemu Mosisa; Fekadu Fufa. Effects of Firing Time and Temperature on Physical Properties of Fired Clay Bricks. Am. J. Civ. Eng. 2017, 5(1), 21-26. doi: 10.11648/j.ajce.20170501.14

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    AMA Style

    Eshetu Tsega, Alemu Mosisa, Fekadu Fufa. Effects of Firing Time and Temperature on Physical Properties of Fired Clay Bricks. Am J Civ Eng. 2017;5(1):21-26. doi: 10.11648/j.ajce.20170501.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajce.20170501.14,
      author = {Eshetu Tsega and Alemu Mosisa and Fekadu Fufa},
      title = {Effects of Firing Time and Temperature on Physical Properties of Fired Clay Bricks},
      journal = {American Journal of Civil Engineering},
      volume = {5},
      number = {1},
      pages = {21-26},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajce.20170501.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20170501.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajce.20170501.14},
      abstract = {Brick is one of the most widely used conventional construction materials throughout the world. The production cost of clay brick is significantly affected by the cost of energy required for firing. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of different firing temperatures on the compressive strength (CS), water absorption (WA) and saturation coefficients (SC) of fired clay bricks produced around Jimma Town and evaluate the effect of firing processes in brick manufacturing on the properties, color and appearance of the clay brick. During the production process, the effects of different heating rates on physical and mechanical properties of firing standard bricks were analyzed. In this study, different heating rates were used: slow heating rate and fast heating rate. Changes in the physical and mechanical properties of the fired clay brick were assessed with the increase in the firing temperature firing time. The results show that the CS increased with the increase in the firing temperature. On the contrary, WA and SC of the fired clay bricks decreased with the increase in the firing temperature. Increment in the duration of firing slightly increases the CS and lowers both the WA and WA of the clay brick. In the study area, traditional brick producers did not have firing temperature control device or mechanism in the fired clay brick production. The kiln operator decided the firing temperature and duration. The absence of the device frequently results in the over or under firing of bricks greatly affecting the engineering properties of this widely used contraction material. Therefore, the traditional clay brick producers should install the temperature control device on their kiln or at least needs to be trained how to approximately determine the optimum temperature.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Effects of Firing Time and Temperature on Physical Properties of Fired Clay Bricks
    AU  - Eshetu Tsega
    AU  - Alemu Mosisa
    AU  - Fekadu Fufa
    Y1  - 2017/01/05
    PY  - 2017
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20170501.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajce.20170501.14
    T2  - American Journal of Civil Engineering
    JF  - American Journal of Civil Engineering
    JO  - American Journal of Civil Engineering
    SP  - 21
    EP  - 26
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8737
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20170501.14
    AB  - Brick is one of the most widely used conventional construction materials throughout the world. The production cost of clay brick is significantly affected by the cost of energy required for firing. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of different firing temperatures on the compressive strength (CS), water absorption (WA) and saturation coefficients (SC) of fired clay bricks produced around Jimma Town and evaluate the effect of firing processes in brick manufacturing on the properties, color and appearance of the clay brick. During the production process, the effects of different heating rates on physical and mechanical properties of firing standard bricks were analyzed. In this study, different heating rates were used: slow heating rate and fast heating rate. Changes in the physical and mechanical properties of the fired clay brick were assessed with the increase in the firing temperature firing time. The results show that the CS increased with the increase in the firing temperature. On the contrary, WA and SC of the fired clay bricks decreased with the increase in the firing temperature. Increment in the duration of firing slightly increases the CS and lowers both the WA and WA of the clay brick. In the study area, traditional brick producers did not have firing temperature control device or mechanism in the fired clay brick production. The kiln operator decided the firing temperature and duration. The absence of the device frequently results in the over or under firing of bricks greatly affecting the engineering properties of this widely used contraction material. Therefore, the traditional clay brick producers should install the temperature control device on their kiln or at least needs to be trained how to approximately determine the optimum temperature.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Construction Technology and Management Department, College of Engineering, Ambo University, Oromia, Ethiopia

  • Civil and Environmental Engineering School, Jimma Institute of Technology, Jimma University, Oromia, Ethiopia

  • Civil and Environmental Engineering School, Jimma Institute of Technology, Jimma University, Oromia, Ethiopia

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