PRODUCTION OF FIRED RED CLAY BRICK

WITH SAWDUST ADDITIVE

MOHAMAD SHAZWAN BIN MOHD NAZRI

55203212148

MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL & BIOENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR

DECEMBER 2015
PRODUCTION OF FIRED RED CLAY BRICK

I
 WITH SAWDUST ADDITIVE

MOHAMAD SHAZWAN BIN MOHD NAZRI

55203212148

Report Submitted in Fulfillment of the Requirements for

Degree in Chemical Engineering (Environment)
Malaysia Institute of Chemical & Bio Engineering Technology
University of Kuala Lumpur

DECEMBER 2015

II
 DECLARATION

I declare that this thesis entitled “A Preliminary Study of Production of Fired Red Clay
Bricks with Biomass Additive (Sawdust)” is the result of my own research except as
cited in the references. The thesis has been accepted for any degree and is not
concurrently submitted in candidature of any other degree

Signature: ……………………….

Name: Mohamad Shazwan Bin Mohd Nazri

Date: …………………………….

III
 APPROVAL PAGES

I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion, it confirms to
acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and
quality, as a thesis for degree of Bachelor in Chemical Engineering (Environment)

Signature: …………………………….
Supervisor’s Name: Dr. Robert Thomas Bachmann
Date:

Signature: …………………………….
Co-Supervisor’s Name: Dr. Ong Siew Kooi
Date

IV
 DEDICATION

A special dedication to my family members, my friends, my fellow colleagues and all

faculty members for all your love, support and believe in me.

V
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Firstly, I am grateful to God for this blessing and giving me the strength and ability to
completely finish this final year project successfully for the requirement to attain Bachelor of
Chemical Engineering Technology (Hons.) in Process. I would like to take this opportunity to
express my sincere appreciation to my supervisors, Dr Robert Bachmann, Dr Ong, Dr Nadia
Razali and Madam Afifah for their constant encouragement, guidance, advise, monitoring and
tolerance toward this project especially in writing this report. From the help and guidance, I can
finish this project and report successfully. Furthermore, I would like to express my love toward
my family member especially my parent, Mohd Nazri Bin Din and Zuraidah Binti Saad for their
constant support toward me and lastly to Nicole Ricci Kulungan for being an awesome special
friend who always there to support me.

A special thanks to Original Clay Industry (OCI) Jasin, Melaka for supporting the project
by supplying the clay as a research material source.

I also would like to thank the environment technicians of UniKL MICET, En. Hairool and
En Nazri, who helped me a lot by giving their guidance, advise and motivation during handling
the equipment of involved in this project.

Once again, thank you very much.

VI
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
PRODUCTION OF FIRED RED CLAY BRICK ..................................................................................... I
DECLARATION ....................................................................................................................................... III
APPROVAL PAGES ............................................................................................................................... IV
DEDICATION............................................................................................................................................ V
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ......................................................................................................................... VI
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................ VII
LIST OF TABLE ...................................................................................................................................... IX
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................. IX
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................. XII
ABSTRAK .............................................................................................................................................. XIV
CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................................................ 15
1.1 Problem Statement and hypothesis ..................................................................................... 17
1.1.1 Thermal Conductivity Test Hypothesis ........................................................................ 18
1.1.2 Water Absorption Test Hypothesis ............................................................................... 18
1.1.3 Compressive Strength Test Hypothesis ...................................................................... 19
1.2 Objective of Studies ............................................................................................................... 19
CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................................................ 20
2.1 Bricks ....................................................................................................................................... 20
2.2 Sawdust ................................................................................................................................... 21
2.2.1 Sawdust as Additive in Fired Red Clay Bricks Production ........................................ 23
2.3 Bricks Manufacturing Standard ............................................................................................ 24
2.4 Method for testing ................................................................................................................... 27
2.4.1 Compressive strength test............................................................................................ 27
. 2.4.2 Water absorption test .................................................................................................. 28
2.4.3 Thermal conductivity test ............................................................................................... 28
2.5 Effect of Firing Temperature in Clay Bricks Production .................................................... 29
2.6 Linear shrinkage of Clay Bricks ............................................................................................ 30
CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................................................ 32
3.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 32
3.2 Material of Fired Red Clay Brick Biomass .......................................................................... 32

VII
 3.2.1 Sawdust ........................................................................................................................... 32
3.2.2 Red clay ........................................................................................................................... 33
3.2.3 Water ................................................................................................................................ 33
3.3 List of Equipment................................................................................................................... 33
3.3.1 Equipment that used for bricks manufacturing ........................................................... 33
3.2.2 The equipment that used for testing parameters: ...................................................... 35
3.3.3 Measuring Equipment .................................................................................................... 36
3.4 Methodology........................................................................................................................... 37
3.4.1 Preparation of Bricks ...................................................................................................... 37
3.5 Process Flow........................................................................................................................... 44
3.6 Analytical Testing Parameter ................................................................................................ 45
3.6.1 Compressive strength test............................................................................................. 45
3.6.2 Thermal Conductivity Test ............................................................................................. 46
3.6.3 Water Absorption Test ................................................................................................... 48
CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................................................ 50
4.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 50
4.2 Firing of Bricks ........................................................................................................................ 50
4.2 Comprehensive Strength Test .............................................................................................. 55
4.3 Thermal conductivity Test ..................................................................................................... 56
4.4 Water Absorption Test ........................................................................................................... 58
CHAPTER 5 ............................................................................................................................................ 61
5.1 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 61
5.2 Recommendation and suggestion for future research ...................................................... 62
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................... 63
STANDARDS.......................................................................................................................................... 64
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................................ 65

VIII
 LIST OF TABLE

Page No
Table 2.1: Strength and Water absorption Standard ………………………............. 22

Table 1.2: Standard Dimension of Clay Brick…………………………………………..23

Table 2.1: Bricks Production Batch……………………………………………………. 39

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1: Fabricated steel mold ……………………………………………… 31

Figure 3.1: Mixing Of Clay and Biomass Sawdust………………………… 32
Figure 3.2: Garden Shovel used for Mixing…………………………… 32
Figure 3.3: Sheeting for pre-Bricks placement………………………………… 32
Figure 3.4: Top Balance used to weight the Clay Mixture ……………………… 33
Figure 3.5: Hydraulic Compression Used in Bricks Molding and determination of
Thermal Conductivity……………………………………………….. 33
Figure 3.6: Muffle Furnace used for Firing Process……………………………………
Figure 3.7: Moisture Detector……………………………………….. 33
Figure 3.8: Raw clay……………………………………………... 34
Figure 3.9.1: Sawdust Obtained from OC………………………………………… 34
Figure 3.9.2: Molded Bricks………………………………………… 36
Figure 3.9.3: Firing Process in Muffle Furnace ……………………………… 36
Figure 3.9.4: Compressive Strength Test………………………………………… 37
Figure 3.9.5: Computer Generated Result………… 38
Figure 3.9.6: Thermal Conductivity Probe ……………………………………… 43
Figure 3.9.7: Determination of K Values……………………………………….. 43
Figure 3.9.8: Cross Section of Process……………………………...... 44

IX
Figure 4.1: Firing Graph at 750 ˚C ………………………………………………….. 45

Figure 4.2: Cooling Graph (750 ˚C)…………………………………………………. .45

Figure 4.3: Firing Graph at 850 ˚C ………………………………………………….. 49
Figure 4.4: Cooling Graph (850 ˚C)………………………………………………….. 49
Figure 4.5: Firing Graph at 1000 ˚C …………………………………………………..50
Figure 4.6: Cooling Graph (1000 ˚C)…………………………………………………..50
Figure 4.7: The relationship between compressive strength for different ratios of
sawdust and different firing
temperature.………………………………………………….. 51
Figure 4.8: Deformation of Bricks…………………………………………………. .55
Figure 4.9: Relationship between thermal conductivity for different amount of sawdust
and firing temperature.………………………………………………….. 56
Figure 4.9.1: Relationship between water absorption for different amount of sawdust
percentage and firing
temperature.…………………………………………………..

X
 LIST OF ABBREVIATION

% percentage
°C degree Celsius
°K degree Kelvin
CO2 carbon dioxide
g gram
h hour
H2O water
m meter
Min minute
Mm millimetre
MN/mm2 mega Newton per millimetre square
N/mm2 Newton per millimetre square
RH rice husk
Tons tonnes
V volume
W watt
W weight
W/mK watt per meter Kelvin
Wt% weight percentage

XI
 ABSTRACT

Energy consumption of normal building nowadays kept on creasing due to the usage of air
conditioning. Heat during the day will easily penetrate through the walls due to high thermal
conductivity thus making the room hot during the day. However by introducing rice husk into the
clay brick, a lower thermal conductivity brick will be produce due to the pores formed during
firing of the brick. These pores will lower the thermal conductivity of the brick and also the
weight of the brick making it ideal for a future green building. This study investigated the effects
of adding sawdust as an additional raw material in the production of fired clay bricks towards
thermal conductivity of the bricks, compressive strength and the water absorption of the brick.
The sawdust was added into the raw material at (0%, 5% and 10%), mixed and pressed by a
hot press under the pressure of 0.21Mpa for 2 hours with a rectangular shaped mold (103mm
107.5mm 65mm).. The compressive strength of the bricks decreased at a rate of -0.21 N/mm2
(R2=0.9856) from 6 to 0.5 N/mm 2 with increasing sawdust concentration. While the compressive
strength will increase at a rate of 0.26 N/mm 2 (R2=0.9971) from 0.5 to 6 N/mm 2 with increasing
firing temperature which is caused by sintering process which is the shrinking and compacting
of the brick with increasing firing temperature. The maximum compressive strength achieved
was still lower than the standard required for clay bricks as stated in BS EN 772-1:2011. This is
due to the compacting of the bricks where an extruder is recommended to be used to produce a
more compact brick. On the other hand, addition of sawdust lowered the thermal conductivity of
the bricks at a rate of -0.0173 W/mK (R2=0.9951) but the thermal conductivity will increase with
firing temperature at a rate of 0.0059 W/mK (R 2=0.2587) due to sintering process with 10%
sawdust providing the lowest value of thermal conductivity of 0.25 W/mK.. This value was also
superior compared to normal common building bricks (0.6 – 0.15 W/m K) available in the
market. The porosity of the bricks can be related to the water absorption of the brick. The
increase sawdust concentration to the brick caused an increase in water absorption at a rate of
1.187% (R2=0.9771) while the increase of firing temperature will lowers the water absorption at
a rate of -0.1523% (R2=0.1864) with 10% of sawdust concentration absorbs the most water at
29.71%. From this observation, it was deduced that the porosity of the brick increased which in
turn explains the decrease in heat conductivity with increasing sawdust concentration. As for
recommendation for future research, it is recommended that the method in producing clay brick
should be improvised by using an extruder instead of a hot press as this will increase the
compactness of the clay bricks so that the strength of the brick is high enough to meet the

XII
minimum requirement of the standards. It is also recommended that a soluble salt content of the
bricks also needed to be conducted as this parameter also needed to be accounted for as to
classify the category of the brick.

XIII
 ABSTRAK

Kajian ini dikendalikan untuk mengkaji kesan penambahan hampas padi dalam bahan asas
untuk membuat bata dari tanah liat terhadap keliangan dan konduksi terma bata tersebut.
Sehubungan dengan itu, bahan asas seperti tanah liat dperolehi dari Jasin, Melaka manakala
hampas padi pula diperolehi dari Micet, Melaka. Peratusan hampas padi dalam bahan asas
bata ditambah sebanyak (0%, 5% dan 10%) daripada jumlah keseluruhan berat bata. Bahan
asas yang telah dicampur akan dikenakan tekanan sebanyak 13 tan selama 2 jam dalam acuan
segi empat (103mm 107.5mm mm). Bata yang telah dikering akan dibakar pada kadar
C min sampai suhu yang diingini tercapai iaitu ( C C and C) selama am
dan dise ukkan pada kadar C/10min selama 1 jam. Dari hasil pemerhatian, kekuatan
mampatan menunjukkan bahawa bata (0%, 5% dan 10%) mempunyai kekuatan keseluruhan
diantara 0.5 – 6 N/mm2 yang mana ianya di bawah paras standard yang ditetapkan oleh BS EN
772-1:2011. Hal ini disebabkan oleh kekurangan mampatan bata dimana extruder disyorkan
untuk mendapat bata yang lebih mampat dan kekurangan alatan dalam makmal.
Walaubagamanapun, penambahan hampas padi akan merendahkan konduksi terma bata
dengan 10% menunjukkan nilai konduksi terma yang terendah.

XIV
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Fired red clay brick is one of the oldest and one of the most popular
construction materials that has been use until today (Available & Pas 2003).
This construction building were very popular especially in Europe country.
Although, modernization rapidly developed nowadays, these construction
material were still been using in building construction

The quality of fired red clay bricks were depended on few factors which
are the (a) composition of brick raw material (b) production method (c) firing
methods (d) firing temperature.

In this study, the objective is to obtain the best fired red clay brick with low
thermal conductivity value that eventually improve the heat transfer of a
building. With that, the Biomass that use in this project studies will be the
factor that influence the thermal conductivity value because the fired biomass
in the fired red clay brick will form a pore inside the brick structure that
increase the efficiency of heat transfer (Bories et al. 2014)

Nowadays, global warming has been one of the major issues and it is very
crucial for us to obtain solution to reduce the global warming effect. Thus,
from this project studies, one of the solution is to create a close loop carbon
cycle (Bio Char Technology). Bio char is a solid material obtained from the
carbonization of biomass. Bio char may be added to soils with the intention to
improve soil functions and to reduce emissions from biomass that would
otherwise naturally degrade to greenhouse gases (Eliche-Quesada et al.
2012). Bio char also has appreciable carbon sequestration value. These
properties are measurable and verifiable in a characterization scheme, or in a
carbon emission offset protocol. (Bio- Char International. Org). By using this
idea, this project studies might be one of the solution to reduce global
warming by preserving the carbon solid inside the bricks without affecting the
environment. The carbon solid or carbon sink that preserve inside the bricks
will stay in the brick as long the bricks remain what it was.

This project was conducted by 2 different student background with the

same project title but with different type of biomass use. Mohamad Shazwan
Bin Mohd Nazri is a semester 6 environmental student will conducted a
studies on sawdust biomass and Brendon Bradley Yeo, a semester 6 process
student will conduct the studies on rice husk biomass.

The title of this project were proposed by Sir Trevor Richard, a consultant
in International Bio- Char Initiative Group ( http://www.biochar-
international.org/biochar ).

16
1.1 Problem Statement and hypothesis

Most of building in the world consume around 30% - 40% of

electricity consumption(Velasco et al. 2015) . The higher the temperature
outside of the building, the air molecule will rapidly move and produce kinetic
energy. The kinetic energy of the air molecules is passed on to molecules of
the bricks and the air molecules remain outside .Thus, electrical consumption
will be much higher because electrical appliance like air conditioning need to
work harder to remove the kinetic energy of indoor air molecule to outside of
the building. With the use of higher electricity, power plant need to burn more
fuel to generate energy, thus more greenhouse gases will produce. One of
the factor that may contribute to the increment of heat flow from outside of a
building is because of the construction material and in this case is the bricks.
Common bricks may differ in term of structural characteristic compared to
biomass engineering brick because raw material like common clay and water
used in a common brick are just the standard material where there were no
pore formed inside the bricks.

Thus, this project want to produce a type of fired red clay brick that can
reduce the global warming effect by keeping the carbon element in the bricks.
The biomass inside bricks will form a porous in the bricks and caused thermal
conductivity value to be lower hence reducing the heat transfer from inside of
the building to surrounding.

17
 Below are several hypotheses of the ANOVA analysis for each parameter test

1.1.1 Thermal Conductivity Test Hypothesis

H0: The addition of rice husk does not affect the thermal
conductivity of the brick.
H0: The firing temperature does not affect the thermal
conductivity of the brick.

H1: The addition of rice husk will affect the thermal conductivity
of the brick because of the pores formed in the brick during
firing.
H1: The firing temperature will affect the thermal conductivity of
the brick because of the compacting and shrinking of the
brick at a higher firing temperature

1.1.2 Water Absorption Test Hypothesis

H0: The addition of rice husk does not affect the water
absorption of the brick.
H0: The firing temperature does not affect the water absorption
of the brick.

H1: The addition of rice husk will affect the water absorption of
the brick because of the pores formed in the brick during
firing.
H1: The firing temperature will affect the water absorption of the
brick because of the compacting and shrinking of the brick at
a higher firing temperature

18
1.1.3 Compressive Strength Test Hypothesis

H0: The addition of rice husk does not affect the brick
compressive strength.
H0: The firing temperature does not affect the brick compressive
strength.

H1: The addition of rice husk will affect the brick compressive
strength because of the pores formed in the brick during
firing.

H1: The firing temperature will affect the brick compressive

strength because of the compacting and shrinking of the
brick at a higher firing temperature.

1.2 Objective of Studies

 To produce a fired red clay brick – Bio char composite from sawdust with
different ratios (0%. 5%, 10%), temperatures (750˚C ˚C ˚C) for
hours of firing time.
 To determine the moisture content, the thermal conductivity , compressive
strength and water absorption
 To identify the best Clay Bio Char composite brick

19
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Bricks

The fundamentals of brick manufacturing have not changed over time.

However, technological advancements have made contemporary brick plants
substantially more efficient and have improved the overall quality of the products.
A more complete knowledge of raw materials and their properties, better control
of firing, improved kiln designs and more advanced mechanization have all
contributed to advancing the brick industry (Drive 2006).

Bricks made by shaping a plastic mass of clay and water, which is then
hardened by drying and firing, are among the oldest and most enduring of
mankind’s building materials. Until comparatively recent times the clay was dug
the bricks were made and the kilns set or drawn by manual labor with help from
animal power. About 100 years ago, the first effective machines for brick
production appeared, and the trend towards mechanization of clay winning,
making and handling operations has continued at an increasing pace to the
present day(Manufacture et al. 2011)
.
Few other fabricated building units have enjoyed such widespread and
continuous popularity. This enduring public acceptance is based on the unique
combination of the proper ties offered by brick to the owner and builder. This
single material can be used to enclose a structure with a decorative, load-bearing
wall, which is exceptionally durable and, if properly constructed in the first place,
requires practically no maintenance (Manufacture et al. 2011)

Nowadays, with growing of awareness in taking care of the environment,

researchers around the word have come out with ideas of green building

20
technology, which in this case they created bricks that more environmental
friendly without causing pollution. Furthermore, without this action taken they will
pose environmental problems like air pollution and leaching of hazardous and
toxic chemicals (arsenic, beryllium, boron, cadmium, chromium, chromium (VI),
cobalt, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, thallium,
and vanadium, along with dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
compounds, etc.) when dumped in landfills, quarries, rivers and oceans
according to the research by Human and Ecological Risks
Assessment of Coal Combustion Wastes (2007)

According to Rawaid et al. (2011), industrialized countries around the

world are farther ahead in undertaking the problem by using industrial waste of
agriculture was in their product. As reported, these industries usually use by
product waste such as sawdust, rice husk, sludge, marble dust, fly ash etc.
Manufacturing activities produce different amounts of substances which are not
wanted for the main purpose of such process. Industry, agriculture and also cities
where we live, pro-duce large amounts of these substances. The target for
engineer must be developing new ways to recover waste into new products by
the so called 3R system, reuse, reduce and recycling (Muñoz Velasco et al.
2014).

2.2 Sawdust

Sawdust or wood dust is a by-product of cutting, grinding, drilling, sanding,

or otherwise pulverizing wood or any other material with a saw or other tool; it is
composed of fine particles of wood. It is also the by-product of certain animals,
birds and insects which live in wood, such as the woodpecker and carpenter ant.
It can present a hazard in manufacturing industries, especially in terms of its
flammability. Sawdust is the main component of particleboard (Wikipedia, 2015)

21
 Original Wood dust is known to be a human carcinogen, based on
sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in humans. It has been
demonstrated through human epidemiologic studies that exposure to wood dust
increases the occurrence of cancer of the nose (nasal cavities and paranasal
sinuses). An association of wood dust exposure and cancers of the nose has
been observed in numerous case reports, cohort studies, and case-control
studies specifically addressing nasal cancer. Strong and consistent associations
with cancer of the nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses were observed both for
occupations associated with wood dust exposure and for directly estimated wood
dust exposure.(National Toxicology Program 2000).

Airborne sawdust and sawdust accumulations present a number of health

and safety hazards. Wood dust becomes a potential health problem when, for
example, the wood particles, from processes such as sanding, become airborne
and are inhaled. Certain woods and their dust contain toxins that can produce
severe allergic reactions. Water-borne bacteria digest organic material in
leachate, but use up much of the available oxygen. This high "biological oxygen
demand" can suffocate fish and other organisms. There is an equally detrimental
effect on beneficial bacteria, so it is not at all advisable to use sawdust within
home aquariums, as was once done by hobbyists seeking to save some expense
on activated charcoal (Wikipedia, 2015)

People can be exposed to wood dust in the workplace by breathing it in,

skin contact, or eye contact. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) has set the legal limit (permissible exposure limit) for wood dust
exposure in the workplace as 15 mg/m3 total exposure and 5mg/m3 respiratory
exposure over an 8-hour workday. The National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH) has set a recommended exposure limit (REL) of 1 mg/m3
over an 8-hour workday (Wikipedia, 2015)

22
2.2.1 Sawdust as Additive in Fired Red Clay Bricks Production

Sawdust is a waste from the primary woodworking industry. Sawmills have

yields between 50% and 55%; only about half of the volume of wood consumed
is transformed into products (Eliche-Quesada et al. 2012). Proper use of by-
products is thus very important. Sawdust is used in thermal processes, due to its
high content of organic matter, and to a lesser extent for livestock and
agriculture. Little work has attempted, however, to develop the use of this waste
in the production of building materials (Eliche-Quesada et al. 2012) . In the
experiment, conducted by Mohamad Shazwan the sawdust was used as additive
in the production of fired red clay brick.. The sawdust in the brick act as pore
forming agent. Most of the pore-forming agents can be divided into two groups:
those from renewable resources and those from mineral resources (those not
classifiable in either of these groups will not be dealt with here). Renewable
additives are affordable, abundant and have little impact on the environment.
During the firing step, they break down completely, creating pores with different
sizes and forms and giving off energy that can be used in the firing
furnace(Demir 2008). Similarly, the agents from mineral resources are interesting
as they also generate gases during firing. However, a larger quantity of material
needs to be added to obtain such an effect than with renewables, leading to a
more expensive product. They also induce negative changes in the plasticity of
the mixture by increasing the water demand to obtain the desired rheology(Demir
2008).

23
2.3 Bricks Manufacturing Standard

Bricks manufacturer in Malaysia are following Malaysia Standard MS 7.6:

1972 / British Standard BS EN 771-1:2001. These Standards shows guideline
the specification and obligation that need to be comply in Brick manufacturing.

Table 2.1: Standard Dimension of Clay Brick

(Dimensions & Tolerances)

Specified Dimensions Overall Measurement of 24 Bricks

Height: 65 + 1.875 mm 1560 + 45 mm

Width: 102.5 + 1.875 mm 2460 + 45 mm

Length: 215 + 3 mm 5160 + 75

Some bricks are made with different work sizes. For example brick heights
of 119 mm and 162 mm to match 1.5 and 2 standard size brick heights, including
mortar joint, respectively. 50 mm and 90 mm high bricks, 90 mm wide bricks and
290 mm long bricks are made for different structural and aesthetic effect. Larger
bricks are often used for more economical laying and as a design feature either
on their own or combined with smaller bricks

24
 Table 2.2: Strength and Water absorption Standard

Strength And Water Absorption Compliance To Standards (BS EN 771-1:2001)

Ave. Compressive Ave. Water

Designation Class Strength, Absorption, %
MN/m2 (min) (max)

A 69.0 4.5
Engineering Brick
B 48.5 7.0

15 103.5

10 69.0

7 48.5

5 34.5 No Specific
Load bearing Brick
4 27.5 Requirements

3 20.5

2 14.0

1 7.0

Brick for Damp-proof

DPC As required 4.5
Courses

Engineering bricks are a type of brick used where strength, low water
porosity or acid (flue gas) resistance are needed. Engineering bricks can be used
for damp-proof courses. Clay engineering bricks are defined in British Standard
BS 6100 "Glossary of building and civil engineering terms" as "brick sized fired
clay units having a dense and strong semi vitreous body, conforming to defined
limits for water absorption and compressive strength." (Wikipedia, 2016)

25
 Stronger and less porous engineering bricks (UK Class A) are usually blue
due to the higher firing temperature whilst class B bricks are usually red.

Load bearing masonry construction was the most widely used form of
construction for large buildings from the 1700s to the mid-1900s. It is very rarely
used today for large buildings, but smaller residential-scale structures are being
built. It essentially consists of thick, heavy masonry walls of brick or stone that
support the entire structure, including the horizontal floor slabs, which could be
made of reinforced concrete, wood, or steel members.

In contrast, most construction today is not load-bearing masonry but frame

structures of light but strong materials that support floor slabs and have very thin
and light internal and external walls. The key idea with this construction is that
every wall acts as a load carrying element. In a load bearing structure, you
cannot punch holes in a wall to connect two rooms - you would damage the
structure if you did so. The immense weight of the walls actually helps to hold the
building together and stabilize it against external forces such as wind and
earthquake (Velasco et al. 2014).

Brick for damp-proof courses defined by the American Society for Testing
and Materials (ASTM) as a material that resists the passage of water with no
hydro-static pressure and waterproof as a treatment that resists the passage of
water under pressure. Generally damp proofing keeps moisture out of a building
where vapor barriers keep interior moisture from getting into walls. Moisture
resistance is not necessarily absolute: it is usually defined by a specific test
method, limits, and engineering tolerances.

Damp proofing is accomplished several ways including:

 A damp-proof course (DPC) is a barrier through the structure by capillary
action such as through a phenomenon known as rising damp. Rising

26
 damp is the effect of water rising from the ground into your property. The
damp proof course may be horizontal or vertical. A DPC layer is usually
laid below all masonry walls, regardless if the wall is a load bearing wall or
a partition wall.
 A damp-proof membrane (DPM) is a membrane material applied to
prevent moisture transmission. A common example is polyethylene
sheeting laid under a concrete slab to prevent the concrete from gaining
moisture through capillary action.[4] A DPM may be used for the DPC.
 Integral damp proofing in concrete involves adding materials to the
concrete mix to make the concrete itself impermeable.
 Surface coating with thin water proof materials for resistance to non-
pressurized moisture such as rain water or a coating of cement sprayed
on such as shotcrete which can resist water under pressure.
 Cavity wall construction, such as rain screen construction, is where the
interior walls are separated from the exterior walls by a cavity.
 Pressure grouting cracks and joints in masonry materials.

2.4 Method for testing

There are several tests used to investigate the optimum amount of rice
husk and the firing temperature of the clay bricks production. All of these test are
conducted in accordance to the British standards/ European Norm (EN 771-1),
the tests conducted are compressive strength test (BS EN 772-1), water
absorption test (BS EN 772-7) and thermal conductivity test (BS EN
12664:2001).

2.4.1 Compressive strength test

Compressive strength is a very important parameter which the results will

determine the engineering quality in construction material applications

27
(Mahllaway, 2008). The introduction of rice husk into the mixture will produce
pores in the brick structure and will assist in the energy efficient material in
modern green building. Rice husk could be an alternative for production of
environmental friendly substitution materials (Tonnayopas et al. 2008).
Compressive strength is related to the porosity of the bricks (Velasco et al.
2014). Therefore, a higher amount of rice husk in the bricks will produce a lower
strength as compare to a lower amount of rice husk in the bricks (Görhan et al.
2013).

. 2.4.2 Water absorption test

Porous block unit will absorb water because of the pores. The amount of
water absorb by the bricks will indicate the pore volume that indicate the
interstitial arrangement of the particles of the constituent materials at a
microscopic level (Oyekan et al. 2007). Penetration of water through the brick will
damage the brick in a long term and this must be taken into consideration for
using the brick as an exterior building material. Since the pores in the brick is
related to the amount of rice husk, thus the higher the amount of pores, the
higher the water absorb by the brick (Muñoz et al. 2014). The water absorption
test is important as this test will determine the right amount of rice husk into the
mixture of clay brick making that will create just the right number of pores to
avoid high volume of water penetrate through the brick.

2.4.3 Thermal conductivity test

In order for the inside part of the building to be cool for a longer period, the
thermal conductivity of the building material must be low as thermal conductivity
is define as the rate of heat passes through the material. So when the
temperature outside of the building is higher compare to the inside of the
building, a low thermal conductivity building material will allow the heat to passes
28
through it slowly as compare to a higher thermal conductivity building material. A
brick with a greater amount of pores will have a better thermal insulating ability
thus having a lower thermal conductivity compare to a normal brick with less or
none pores in it (Oyekan et.al 2007). The usage of rice husk as an alternative to
have a lower thermal conductivity for building material can be useful for a green
building in term of energy saved which can be related to the usage of air
conditioning in normal buildings.

2.5 Effect of Firing Temperature in Clay Bricks Production

Brick are fired between 10 and 40 hours, depending upon kiln type and
other variables. There are several types of kilns used by manufacturers. The
most common type is a tunnel kiln, followed by periodic kilns. Fuel may be
natural gas, coal, sawdust, from landfills or a combination of these fuels. In this
project, the bricks been fired for 2 hour depended on the rate of firing and cooling
for 1 hour. This is because from the evaluation on the industrial brick
manufacturing, Original Clay Industry located in Jasin Melaka. The firing process
was done in a kiln where the bricks loaded on a kiln car, for every process of
firing, there will be 15 loaded car and the whole process including firing and
cooling took 2 days. Furthermore, the loaded car were pushed slowly into the
kiln, and for every certain distance, the firing temperature increased

Firing may be divided into five general stages: 1) final drying (evaporating
free water), 2) dehydration,3) oxidation, 4) vintrification, and 5) flashing or
reduction firing. All except flashing are associated with rising temperatures in the
kiln. Although the actual temperatures will differ with clay or shale, final drying
takes place at temperatures up to about 204 ºC, dehydration from about 149 ºC
to 982 ºC, oxidation from 538 ºC to 982 ºC and vitrification from 871 ºC to 1316
ºC)(Drive 2006).

Clay, unlike metal, softens slowly and melts or vitrifies gradually when
subjected to rising temperatures. Vitrification allows clay to become a hard, solid

29
mass with relatively low absorption. Melting takes place in three stages: 1)
incipient fusion, when the clay particles become sufficiently soft to stick together
in a mass when cooled; 2) vitrification, when extensive fluxing occurs and the
mass becomes tight, solid and nonabsorbent; and 3) viscous fusion, when the
clay mass breaks down and becomes molten, leading to a deformed shape. The
key to the firing process is to control the temperature in the kiln so that incipient
fusion and partial vitrification occur but viscous fusion is avoided. The rate of
temperature change must be carefully controlled and is dependent on the raw
materials, as well as the size and coring of the brick being produced. Kilns are
normally equipped with temperature sensors to control firing temperatures in the
various stages. Near the end the brick may be “flashed” to produce color

2.6 Linear shrinkage of Clay Bricks

The linear shrinkage is expressed as the difference between the initial and
the final length after drying. (Karaman, Ersahin, & Günal, 2006), studied
influence of the Firing temperature and firing time on the mechanical and
physical properties of clay bricks they found that the firing shrinkage firing
process varying in firing temperature and firing time has important effects on
quality of bricks. Firing shrinkage increases with higher temperature. They
demonstrated that firing temperature is a key factor affecting shrinkage in the
firing process. High shrinkage causes destruction of bricks both in firing and
drying stage of production. Shrinkage in bricks occurs chemically and
mechanically bound water is lost because there is a highly significant relationship
between firing temperature and shrinkage.

Bhavsar et al., (2014), said that Shrinkage limit is an important parameter

in which soils tend to shrink when they lose moisture. In India, when black cotton
soils imbibe water during monsoon, they expand and on evaporation thereof in
summer, they shrink. Because of this alternate swelling and shrinkage, structures
founded on them are severally damaged. The test results indicate that the
progressive decrease in liquid limit, decrease in plastic limit and increase in

30
shrinkage limit with curing time. And they concluded that Black cotton soils have
high swelling and shrinkage characteristics and extremely low CBR value and
shear strength. Hence, there is need for improvement of these properties.
Agbede & Joel, (2011), shown that addition of carbide waste to Makurdi shale
greatly improved its engineering properties and the plasticity index and linear
shrinkage attained their minimum values of 10 % and 7 % respectively at 4 %
carbide waste. From which suggested that 4 % carbide waste can be
recommended to stabilize Makurdi shale. The utilization of carbide waste to
improve Makurdi shale has the advantage of preventing the pollution of air and
ground water

31
 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

The bricks manufacturing were conducted at Unikl Micet. The testing was
conducted in Laboratory 15 (Environmental Lab) and Laboratory 23 (Polymer
Lab) in Unikl Micet Melaka. The project compromise the production of fired red
clay bricks with biomass , sawdust including 3 testing which are water absorption
test, conductivity test and strength test. The other process before the testing
parameters are being conducted is pre-drying where to ensure all the bricks are
completely dried before can proceed to testing.

3.2 Material of Fired Red Clay Brick Biomass

The bricks were made of clay sand, water and sawdust as the biomass

3.2.1 Sawdust

 In this study, the sawdust was obtained of Original Clay Industry

Located in Melaka. It is used as burning fuel for the industry to
fire their bricks in the process
 The sawdust was sieved with 0.30 – 1.50 mm of sieve in order
to mix well with the clay
 This starting material was used for further experiment

32
3.2.2 Red clay

 In the study, the clay sand were obtained from Original Clay
Industry located in Melaka. This Material is the main material to
produce fired red clay brick that is a mixture of common clay
sand, hill clay and red clay.

3.2.3 Water

 Tap water

3.3 List of Equipment

3.3.1 Equipment that used for bricks manufacturing

 Molding Bricks

Figure 3.1: Fabricated Steel mold

33
 Mixing container

Figure 3.2: Mixing Of Clay and Biomass Sawdust

 Shovels

Figure 3.3: Garden Shovel used for Mixing

 Plastic Sheeting

Figure 3.3: Sheeting for pre-Bricks placement

34
 3.2.2 The equipment that used for testing parameters:

 Drying oven

Figure 3.4: Laboratory Grade Drying Oven

 Top balance

Figure 3.5: Top Balance used to weight the Clay Mixture

 Hydraulic Compression Molding/ Hot Press (Carver 4128-215)

Figure 3.6: Hydraulic Compression Used in Bricks Molding and determination of

Thermal Conductivity

35
  Muffle Furnace (Carbolite)

Figure 3.7: Muffle Furnace used for Firing Process

 Moisture Detector

Figure 3.8: Moisture Detector

 Siever ((Retsch)

3.3.3 Measuring Equipment

 Measuring Ruler
 Temperature Sensor
 Electronic Balance (Mettler Toledo SB16000)

36
3.4 Methodology

Firstly, the sawdust and clay was prepared by hand mixing in a

weight of 6 kilogram for each batch, approximately, for each 6 kg of mixing
able to produce 4 bricks. Solid masonry bricks having a size of
(100mm×50mmx25mm) were cast by using steel fabricated bricks. The
moisture contain added into the mixture was 30% to increase the plasticity
of the clay mixture. The replacement level of sawdust were fixed as 0% of
additive (controls bricks – without any addition of sawdust), 5% and 10 %
of sawdust additive. For every level of sawdust, it were fired with 3
different temperature which were ˚C ˚C and ˚C respectively
as shown in table 3. In the production, hand mixing is engaged and
material turn over a number of times until an even color and uniformly
achieved. On average, 4 samples of bricks tested with every parameter

3.4.1 Preparation of Bricks

3.4.1.1 Crushing of Clay

The clay was crush in order to obtain the smallest available

size for sieving and mixing process

37
 Figure 3.9: Raw Clay

3.4.1.2 Crushing Of Sawdust

The sawdust was crushed in order to obtain the desire

particles size for sieving and mixing process. Compressive
strength, water absorption and density measurements show that
small additions (≤ %) of sawdust lead to improved compressive
strength and a decrease in the amount of water absorbed. sawdust
additions above this limit reduced the compressive strength and
density of the bricks and increased the amount of water absorption

Figure 3.9.1: Sawdust Obtained from OCI

38
3.4.1.3 Mixing Of Raw Material

6 kg of sieved clay is placed in 10L bucket and 0%, 5% and

10% of sawdust in term of brick weight respectively added into the
10L bucket. The water approximately 18% - 30% of the weight of
the bricks were added into the bucket (Drive 2006). The mixture
was mixed by hand

3.4.1.4 Molding of Mixture

The mixture of clay and the sawdust is placed into a molder

which is in rectangular shaped, of (100mm×50mmx25mm)
(Concrete 1995) and pressed under pressure force of ton for 2
hour (Available & Pas 2003)

Figure 3.9.2: Molded Bricks

3.4.1.5 Drying of Molded Mixtures

The molded pre- bricks will be then dried in oven at 70◦C for
4 days until the moisture

39
3.4.1.6 Firing Process

The dried Pre- bricks fired in the furnace for the firing
process which fired at a temperature of 750◦C, 850◦C, 1000◦C,
respectively for 2 hour

Figure 3.9.3: Firing Process In Muffle Furnace

40
 Table 3.1: Bricks Production Batch

Batch 1  6 kilogram of red clay

 30% of water contained
 0% of sawdust
 Firing temperature of 750
Degree
 Firing at ˚C min for 2 hour
 Cooling at ˚C min for 1
hour
Batch 2  6 kilogram of red clay
 30% of water contained
 0% of sawdust
 Firing temperature of 850
Degree
 Firing at ˚C min for 2 hour
 Cooling at 3 ˚C min for 1
hour
Batch 3  6 kilogram of red clay
 30% of water contained
 0% of sawdust
 Firing temperature of 1000
Degree
 Firing at ˚C/ 10 min for 2 hour
 Cooling at ˚C min for 1
hour
Batch 4  6 kilogram of red clay
 30% of water contained
 5% of sawdust
 Firing temperature of 750
Degree

41
  Firing at ˚C min for 2 hour
 Cooling at ˚C min for 1
hour
Batch 5  6 kilogram of red clay
 30% of water contained
 5% of sawdust
 Firing temperature of 850
Degree
 Firing at ˚C min for 2 hour
 Cooling at 3 ˚C min for 1
hour
Batch 6  6 kilogram of red clay
 30% of water contained
 5% of sawdust
 Firing temperature of 1000
Degree
 Firing at ˚C min for 2 hour

Batch 7  6 kilogram of red clay
 30% of water contained
 10% of sawdust
 Firing temperature of 750
Degree
 Firing at ˚C min for 2 hour
 Cooling at ˚C min for 1
hour
Batch 8  6 kilogram of red clay
 30% of water contained
 % of sawdust Firing at ˚C
10 m for 2 hour

42
  Cooling at ˚C min for 1
hour
 Firing temperature of 850
Degree
Batch 9  6 kilogram of red clay
 30% of water contained
 10% of sawdust
 Firing temperature of
1000Degree
 Firing at ˚C min for 2 hour
 Cooling at ˚C min for 1
hour

43
3.5 Process Flow

6 Kilogram of red clay +

30% water + 0%, 5%, 10%
of sawdust

Fabricated in a steel Mold

(200mm x 100mm x

50mm)

Form the brick by pressing the

molded in the hydraulic press to get
the physical shape that wanted for 2
hour

Drying in the oven at 65 ˚C for 4 days

Parameter Testing

44
3.6 Analytical Testing Parameter

3.6.1 Compressive strength test

The brick is placed in a universal testing machine

(Compression Testing Equipment Manually Hand Operated, model
AT-108) and is clamped to determine the compressive strength (BS
EN 772-1:2011). The gross area of the loaded surface was
calculated in square millimeters by multiplying the length by the
width of each specimen determined in accordance with EN 772-16.
Where units are to be tested with the compressive force other than
normal to the bed face, then the gross area shall be calculated
similarly but using the width and height or length and height as
appropriate

Figure 3.9.4: Compressive

Strength Test

Figure 3.9.5: Computer Generated

Result

45
3.6.2 Thermal Conductivity Test

Thermal conductivity test is the most important thermos-physical

Parameters for characterization of the thermal transport properties of
produced fired red clay brick with the biomass additive. For each batches,
should be used the thermal conductivity to obtain the best brick. In this
project, it is required to produce a bricks with low thermal conductivity.
Hydraulic Compressing molding was used to conduct the thermal
conductivity test. The selected temperature at 100°C on upper and bottom
plate,The difference between temperature on the plate surface and the
temperature on the cold side of the bricks were taken at 5 minutes
interval. The temperature is then averaged out for the cold and hot side
and the thermal conductivity value can be obtained. Then the bricks
sample inserted inside the machines in between upper and lower platen.
The thermocouple as the temperature sensor are embedded between two
bricks sample (sandwich), which make up the actual test assembly

Figure 3.9.6: Thermal Conductivity Probe

46
 Figure3.9.7: Determination of K Values

Both of the guarded hot plate apparatus and the heat flow meter
apparatus are intended to establish within homogeneous specimens with a flat
parallel faces, in the form of slabs, a unidirectional constant and uniform density
of heat flow rate. The part of the apparatus where this takes place with
acceptable accuracy at its centres. The apparatus is therefore divided in a central
metering section in which measurement are taken and a surrounding guard
section.

Figure 3.9.8: Cross Section of Process

47
After the heating current is switched on is a measure of the thermal conductivity
of the material being tested thermal conductivity of bricks sample can be
calculated through an equation

Where:
= the average power supplied to the metering section of the heating unit.
D= the specimen thickness
A= the metering area of the specimen
T1= the temperature of the hot side
T2= the temperature of the cold side

3.6.3 Water Absorption Test

Moisture Absorption test in accordance to BS-EN 771-2001 was

conducted for each sample of batch bricks. After the bricks fired in the
furnace at different temperature. The bricks were submerged in a tank of
water for 24 h + 0.5h. Before submerging, the sample is weighted to
determine the initial weight. After submerging in the tank, a dried cloth was

48
used to remove any access water on the surface of bricks sample. The
sample is weighted after the test and percentage of moisture absorption
calculated by using this formula

Figure 9: Moisture Absorption Formula

Where

W = Percentage of moisture absorption

M1 = Initial Weight

M2= Weight after submersion

49
 CHAPTER 4

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Introduction

This chapter shows the ANOVA analysis and the results obtain from the
testing parameters of the bricks for all batches including and % of sawdust
and also different firing temperature of bricks C C and C. The first
result which is shown in section 4.2 is the thermal conductivity test. The second
result which is in 4.3 is the water absorption test and lastly the last result which is
in 4.4 is the compressive strength test results. All of the tests are done in
accordance to the British standards and European Norm EN BS.

4.2 Firing of Bricks

. For every batch of sample, the bricks were fired with 3 different
temperature which are ˚C ˚C and ˚C respectively. The firing process
took 2 hour and cooling for 1 hour. The determination of firing time is based on
observation of firing process in Original Clay Industries located in Jasin Melaka.
Since the industrial processes took 2 days to complete the firing process for 15
loaded car, for each car the process took approximately 3 hours including firing
and cooling processes. Thus, we assumed the total time for firing and cooling of
the brick in the laboratory furnace take 3 hours. The rate of firing is different
based on the temperature as shown in Table 3.

50
Figure 4.1: Firing Graph at 750 ˚C

Figure 4.2: Cooling Graph (750 ˚C)

51
 Firing Graph at 850 ̊C
900
800 y = 6.5456x + 53.725
Temperature(˚C )

700 R² = 0.9973
600
500 y = 6.8x + 30
400 R² = 1
300
200
100
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time (Minutes)

Desired Temperature Actual Temperature

Linear (Desired Temperature) Linear (Actual Temperature)

Figure 4.3: Firing Graph at 850 ˚C

Cooling Graph
800
700
600
Temperature ̊C

500
400 y = -10.82x + 828.2
R² = 0.9925
300
200
y = -13.6x + 846
100
R² = 1
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time (Minutes)

Desired Temperature Actual Temperature

Linear (Desired Temperature) Linear (Actual Temperature)

Figure 4.4: Cooling Graph (850 ˚C)

52
 Firing At 1000 ̊C
1200

1000 y = 7.6093x + 72.286

Firing Temperature
R² = 0.9981
800
y = 8x + 30
600 R² = 1
400

200

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time ( Minute)

Desired Temperature Actual Temperature

Linear (Desired Temperature) Linear (Actual Temperature)

Figure 4.5: Firing Graph at 1000 ˚C

Cooling Graph
900
800
700
Temperature, ̊C

600
500
400
300 y = -10.529x + 925
R² = 0.9339
200
y = -16x + 999
100
R² = 1
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time , Minutes

Desired Temperature Actual Temperature

Linear (Desired Temperature) Linear (Actual Temperature)

Figure 4.6: Cooling Graph (1000 ˚C)

53
 Based on figure 4.1, 4.3 and 4.5, at first 4 ˚C of firing temperature the
actual temperature was not as the desired temperature, even so, by applying
graph equation and R2 value, it shown the trend line of figure 4.1, 4.3 and 4.5
give a value of R2 which 0.9971, 0.9973 and 0.9981 respectively. Since the
value of R2 is more than 0.95, the correlation considered as in linear form. As for
cooling phase, the R2 values for figure 4.2, 4.4 and 4.6 are 0.9772, 0.9925 and
0.9339 respectively, from this values, it shown the correlation of R 2 of figure 4.2,
4.4 are in linear since the value of R2 is more than 0.95 while the correlation of R2
for figure 4.6 in not linear since the value of R2 is less than 0.95. Based on
observation during the firing process, it found that the higher the firing
temperature, the longer the cooling process since the cooling process was
conducted in the muffle furnace itself. The reason why the bricks cooled in the
muffle furnace was because a rapid cooling will cause the bricks to become
brittle. Furthermore, based on guidance and discussion with technician and
project supervisor, the possible reason for actual temperature not following the
desired temperature and first 4 ˚C was possibly because of thermocouple in
the furnace was not sensitive enough. By explanation, when we set up the
temperature to ˚C the furnace will start to heat up but since the furnace
thermocouple have a problem the actual temperature spike to more than ˚C
thus, in order for the furnace to reach the desired temperature, it required
extended time.

The temperature of firing have different effect toward the formation of

bricks molecule. In order for the bricks to form completely, 5 general stages must
be obtained which is 1) final drying (evaporating free water), 2) dehydration,3)
oxidation, 4) vintrification, and 5) flashing or reduction firing, refer to literature
review. From the project, the most suitable firing temperature is 1000 ˚C because
at ˚C, stage 1 until 4 of firing stages has achieved. Thus, the most suitable
firing temperature obtained from this pro ect was ˚C.

54
4.2 Comprehensive Strength Test

Compressive strength test is crucial as this will determine the strength of

the bricks whether it meets the engineering quality in construction material
(Mahllaway et al. 2008). From this test, the result, the values of comprehensive
strength will allocate the quality of bricks into certain classes of brick as mention
in table 1. This can be illustrated in Figure 11 where the relationship between
compressive strength and amount of rice husk can be observed.

Comprehensive strength
7

6
Compressive strength (N/mm^2)

4
700°C
750˚C
3
850°C
2 1000°C

0
0% 5% 10%

Percentage of Sawdust (%)

Figure 4.7: The relationship between compressive strength for different

ratios of sawdust and different firing temperature.

55
 As mention in section 1.1, there are several null and research hypotheses that
can be proven from the ANOVA analysis.

Both of the null hypothesis is rejected due to the F value is larger than the F-
critical value as shown in Appendix F. Therefore the null hypotheses are rejected thus
accepting the research hypotheses. This shows that the addition of sawdust and the
firing temperature will affect the compressive strength of the brick. By comparing the
result data in Appendix I to the results obtained from (Görhan et al. 2013), the values
are differs by 10 to 12 W/mm2. The difference in results is very large considering that
compressive strength is a key element in brick making process to ensure the brick is
able to hold the load applied on it. The large difference in compressive strength is
mainly due to the method in the brick making process where an extruder was used
instead of a hot press by the referred researcher mention before. This will affect the
compression of the brick and thus resulting a lower compressive strength if the brick is
compress by using a hot press instead of an extruder.

Figure 4.7 shows that the strength of the bricks relates to the amount of rice husk
in the bricks in which the rate decreases at -0.24W/mm2 (R2=0.9734) with increasing
amount of sawdust concentration. Form the figure, the highest compressive strength
can be found on the brick that has % of sawdust firing at C and the lowest
strength obtain is the % sawdust bricks fired at C. The results show that the less
amount of rice husk will produce a higher compressive strength. A clay brick with bio-
mass will produce a light weight and lower thermal conductivity but will produce less
strength as compare to other clay bricks (Demir et al. 2008).The statement proves that
the bricks produced in this research obeys the theory.

54
 As for the firing temperature, the bricks with higher firing temperature will
produce a higher value in compression strength because higher firing temperatures will
an increase in total linear shrinkage of the brick (Bideci et al. 2008). So when firing a
brick in a much higher temperature, the brick will shrink more compare to a brick fired at
a lower temperature. This will then cause the brick to be more l compact thus causing
the compressive strength to increase.

Cracks

Figure 4.8: Deformation of Bricks

Based on Figure 4.7, the highest compressive strength value that we obtained
from the test is 6 N/mm^2. Based on evaluation, the strength value that we obtained
were not following the standard as stated in table 2.2. Our aim in this analysis of
comprehensive strength was to get comprehensive strength up to 12 N/mm^2, where
this is a base strength of clay bricks from Original Clay Industry Jasin Melaka. From the
analysis, we found out that the brick prepared were not compact enough to withstand
the load. This is maybe because of the molding process that team engaged were not
following the industrial method. The industry used extruder machine to mold the brick

55
and form it into desired shape while the project used hydraulic compressor with the clay
in a fabricated steel molder. The extruder deliver a high pressure up to 313 kPa of
pressure to form the pre brick and the pressure applied in every point on the clay where
the force compacted the clay into desired shape. While hydraulic compressor that used
in the brick production only deliver 137 kPa of force and applied only at upper part and
bottom part of the bricks

4.3 Thermal conductivity Test

Thermal conductivity performance is an important criterion for building materials,

as the thermal conductivity influences the usage of the material in engineering
applications. The thermal conductivity of a bricks is the rate at which a brick conducts
heat. The thermal conductivity of bricks and other masonry materials depends on the
density and therefore porosity of the material according to Jose et al. (2009). The
thermal conductivity test of the sawdust bricks was determined using the Hydraulic
Compression Molding (Hot Press). The effect of Biomass additive in the brick
production is presented in figure 13.

0.7
Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

0.6

0.5

0.4
700°C
750˚C
0.3 850°C
0.2 1000°C

0.1

0
0% 5% 10%
Percentage of Sawdust

Figure 4.9: Relationship between thermal conductivity for different amount of sawdust
and firing temperature.

56
 As mention in section 1.1, there are several null and research hypotheses that
can be proven from the ANOVA analysis. Both of the null hypothesis is rejected due to
the F value is larger than the F-critical value as shown in Appendix G. Therefore the null
hypothesis is rejected and the research hypothesis is then accepted. This shows that
the addition of sawdust and the firing temperature will affect the thermal conductivity of
the brick. By comparing the result data in Appendix G to the results obtained from
(Görhan et al. 2013), the values are varies from a range of 0.1. The difference in
results is not that large thus the results in this experiment are acceptable. An addition of
sawdust in the brick mixture will produce a lower thermal conductivity and the increase
of firing temperature will produce a higher thermal conductivity for all samples due to
vintrification process (Loryuenyong et al. 2009). One of the objectives for the objectives
for this research is to produce a brick with low thermal conductivity thus a brick with
lower thermal conductivity is highly favourable.

. According to the Figure 4.9, the thermal conductivity decrease at a rate of -

0.0163 W/mK (R2=0.9851)the highest thermal conductivity which is 0.56 was

obtained form % biomass brick that fired at ˚C and the lowest value of thermal
conductivity obtained from 10% biomass bricks additive which is 0.35 . According to

(Phonphuak 2013), the increase of biomass additive in the fired red clay bricks
production will significantly reduce the value of thermal conductivity because of the
amount of pore inside the bricks is high. Furthermore, as we can see at ˚C of firing
temperature the thermal conductivity is slightly higher than bricks that fired at ˚C
this is because of the ventrification process causes the bricks molecule to shrink thus it
reduce area of pores inside the bricks (Loryuenyong et al. 2009)

Thermal conductivity performance is an important criterion for building materials,

as the thermal conductivity influences the usage of the material in engineering
applications. The thermal conductivity of a bricks is the rate at which a brick conducts
heat. The thermal conductivity of bricks and other masonry materials depends on the
density and therefore porosity of the material according to Jose et al. (2009). Thermal

57
conductivity also can be defined what is the level of insulation properties of the element.
Based on result, the theory of increasing of Biomass additive in the clay reduced the
value of thermal conductivity has proved the theoretical statement from journal studies.
Therefore, the bricks produced from the project will have a good heat insulator and
greatly used in warm climate country where it will keep the building cool.(Phonphuak
2013)

4.4 Water Absorption Test

Water absorption test of the bricks is one factor that needed to be considered for
it to be a building material. The porosity is related to the water absorption of the bricks.
A brick that has more apparent porosity will have a higher value of water absorption
compare to a brick that has less apparent porosity. As shown in Figure, the water
absorption of the bricks increases as the amount of rice husks increases. According to
(Görhan & Şimşek 3), the formation of pore inside the bricks is directly proportional
to firing temperature. The water absorption of the specimens is also key factors
considering their application as construction bricks. Increasing the number of open
pores in implies an increase in water absorption and decrease in bulk density

58
 Water Absorption Test
35

30

25
water absorptiion (%)

20 700°C
750˚C

15 850°C

10 1000°C

0
0% 5% 10%
Percentage of Sawdust (%)

Figure 4.9.1: Relationship between water absorption for different amount of sawdust
percentage and firing temperature.

Similar to the section 4.2, both of the null hypotheses are rejected since that the
F value is larger to the F-critical value shown in the Appendix L for ANOVA analysis.
Thus the research analyses are then accepted since the sawdust concentration and the
firing temperature affect the water absorption of the brick. By comparing the result data
in Appendix H to the results obtained from (Görhan et al. 2013), the values are varies
from a range of 2.0. The difference in results can be considered large but not large
enough to completely reject the results obtained from this research. The difference in
results is mainly due to the compression of the bricks. When a brick is not compress
enough, this will leave some gap and therefore adding more pores to the initial pores
from the burning of rice husk in the brick (Ozturk et al. 2002). The firing temperature will
also affect the water absorption of the brick with sintering process comes into
consideration (Loryuenyong et al. 2009).

59
 As for the firing temperature, it can be said that the sawdust burns during the
vintrification process and will form pores in the structure by CO2 emission. With liquid
phase decreases with the reducing amount of clay, the formed pores cannot be filled
completely. Thus causing the amount of water penetrating through the brick will
increase (Ozturk et al. 2002). The increase of firing temperature will reduce the water
absorption of the bricks (Loryuenyong et al. 2009). A brick with less water absorption
value will have much higher compression strength. But the according to the result
obtained, the percentage of water absorption is highest at 1000 ˚C this is not complying
to the theoretical statement from studied journal. This happen due to the crack that
formed on the brick has cause the water to penetrated deeper into the bricks

˚C

60
 CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Conclusion

In this project research, clay brick with different ratios of sawdust varying from
% % to % together with different firing temperature varying ˚C ˚C and
˚C were investigated. The testing results proved that clay and sawdust combination
in brick manufacturing shows promises in creating a lightweight, low thermal
conductivity and high strength bricks but with proper method needed to be improve in
the manufacturing of the brick for example by using extruder instead or hot press. The
thermal conductivity of the bricks will vary upon the addition of sawdust. As shown from
the result, more biomass additive will produce a lower thermal conductivity to the brick.
For the water absorption test, the results shows that with increasing of sawdust additive
into the bricks, the value of water absorb is higher compare to lower amount of rice husk
in the brick. Lastly is the strength test. With higher number of sawdust in the bricks, this
will create a higher number of pores thus making the brick brittle compare to bricks with
less amount of sawdust. As for firing temperature, the most suitable firing temperature
will be ˚C where the bricks can achieve full vitrifacation reaction and the clay can
be shrink to maximum (Bideci et al. 2008)

61
5.2 Recommendation and suggestion for future research

To further enhance and augment better understanding on the production of fired

red clay brick with sawdust additive, further investigation or research on different aspect
are suggested. Below are some of listed suggestion:

 Use Scanning Electron Microscopic Analysis (SEM) to analyze the distribution of

particles.
 Apply coating agent on the bricks,(Sodium Silicate) to increase the physical
strength of the clay bricks
 Production of Clay Brick can be link to industrial so that the bricks production will
be much complying to the standard procedure (The molding of the bricks by
using an extruder in order to obtain a much more compact and well shape bricks)
 Execute soluble salt content of the bricks as this also relates to the water
absorption and strength of the bricks
 Chemical treatment can be used to increase the particle bonding of the clay brick
(Sodium Bicarbonate)

62
 REFERENCES

Available, P. & Pas, S., 2003. BS EN 771-1 and PAS 70 – Guide to the Standards The
purpose of this document is to give Specifiers a précis of the current manufacturing
Standard BS EN 771-  : Specification for clay masonry units and the Publicly
Available Specification PAS  : guide .

Azeez, O. et al., 2011. Evaluation of the Compressive Strength of Hybrid Clay Bricks.
Journal of Minerals & Materials Characterization & Engineering, 10(7), pp.609–615.

Bories, C. et al., 2014. Development of eco-friendly porous fired clay bricks using pore-
forming agents: A review. Journal of Environmental Management, 143, pp.186–
196. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.05.006.

Concrete, N.T.O.F., 1995. Malaysian Standard. , pp.1–8.

Demir, I., 2008. Effect of organic residues addition on the technological properties of
clay bricks. Waste management (New York, N.Y.), 28(3), pp.622–7. Available at:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956053X07001250 [Accessed
November 29, 2015].

Drive, C.P., 2006. Manufacturing of Brick. Technical Notes on Brick Construction,

(December), pp.1–7.

Eliche-Quesada, D. et al., 2012. Recycling of sawdust, spent earth from oil filtration,
compost and marble residues for brick manufacturing. Construction and Building
Materials, 34, pp.275–284. Available at:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.02.079.

Görhan G. & Şimşek O. 3. Porous clay bricks manufactured with rice husks.
Construction and Building Materials, 40, pp.390–396.

Manufacture, C.B. et al., 2011. CIDB Clay Brick Manufacture Technical Guide.

Muñoz Velasco, P. et al., 2014. Fired clay bricks manufactured by adding wastes as
sustainable construction material - A review. Construction and Building Materials,
63, pp.97–107.

National Toxicology Program, 2000. Report on Carcinogens Background Document for

Steroidal Estrogens. , pp.1–197.

Phonphuak, N., 2013. Effects of Additive on the Physical and Thermal Conductivity of
Fired Clay Brick. Journal of Chemical Science and Technology, 2, pp.95–99.

63
Velasco, P.M. et al., 2015. Development of sustainable fired clay bricks by adding
kindling from vine shoot: Study of thermal and mechanical properties. Applied Clay
Science, pp.1–9. Available at:
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0169131715000332.

STANDARDS

 BS EN 771-1:2011: Specification of masonry units; Part 1: Clay masonry units.

 BS EN 772-1:2011: Methods of test for masonry units; Part 1: Determination of

compressive strength.

 BS EN 772-21:2011: Methods of test for masonry units; Part 21: Determination of

water absorption of clay and calcium silicate masonry units by cold water
absorption.

 BS EN 1745:2012: Masonry and Masonry products; Methods for determining

thermal properties

 BS EN 12664:2001: Thermal performance of building materials and products;

Determination of thermal resistance by means of guarded hot plate and heat flow
meter methods: Dry and moist products of medium and low thermal resistance

64
 APPENDICES

For % of Sawdust firing at C,

Appendix A: Example of calculation for thermal

conductivity test

For % of Sawdust firing at C,

Appendix B: Example of calculation for water absorption test

65
 Compressive strrength test (W/mm^2)
Firing Temperature ( ̊C)
Sawdust (%) 700 850 1000
1.5 3 5.8
0 1.6 3.1 6
1.4 3 6
1 2.7 3
5 1.3 2.5 3.1
1.3 2.6 2.7
0.5 1.9 2
10 0.4 1.4 2.1
0.6 1.5 1.9

Appendix C: Table results for compressive strength test

Thermal Conductivity (W/mK)

Firing Temperature ( ̊C)
Sawdust (%) 750 850 1000
0 0.48 0.43 0.56
0 0.52 0.41 0.53
0 0.46 0.45 0.59
5 0.39 0.36 0.43
5 0.38 0.35 0.41
5 0.36 0.37 0.44
10 0.32 0.25 0.38
10 0.33 0.22 0.39
10 0.31 0.28 0.37

Appendix D: Table results for Thermal Conductivity Test

66
 Water Absorption (%)
Firing Temperature ( ̊C)
Sawdust (%) 700 850 1000
0 13.32 19.24 26.73
0 14.3 18.22 25.75
0 14.33 17.26 26.69
5 22.11 25.76 23.59
5 22.09 25.75 22.43
5 22.12 25.77 23.49
10 26.73 29.71 27.98
10 26.71 29.69 27.96
10 26.75 29.73 27.97

Appendix E: Table results for Water Absorption Test

ANOVA
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Sample 20.24519 2 10.12259 463.2373 3.32E-16 3.554557
Columns 29.16519 2 14.58259 667.339 1.31E-17 3.554557
Interaction 9.459259 4 2.364815 108.2203 2.48E-12 2.927744
Within 0.393333 18 0.021852

Total 59.26296 26

Appendix F: Two-way Anova analysis with replicate for Compressive Strength test.

ANOVA
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Sample 0.140355556 2 0.070178 161.9487 3.11E-12 3.554557
Columns 0.053622222 2 0.026811 61.87179 8.59E-09 3.554557
Interaction 0.004488889 4 0.001122 2.589744 0.071688 2.927744
Within 0.0078 18 0.000433

Total 0.206266667 26

Appendix G: Two-way Anova analysis with replicate for Thermal Conductivity Test

67
ANOVA
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Sample 332.8844 2 166.4422 736.9531 5.42E-18 3.554557
Columns 116.5229 2 58.26143 257.9631 5.62E-14 3.554557
Interaction 156.5754 4 39.14386 173.3165 4.16E-14 2.927744
Within 4.065333 18 0.225852

Total 610.0481 26

Appendix H: Two-way Anova analysis with replicate for Water Absorption Test

68