Elaboration and characterization of extruded clay bricks with light weight date palm fibers

Construction materials used in arid zones in Algeria are mainly concrete and clay bricks. These materials are not suitable for this climate as they have poor insulating properties. In order to improve thermal comfort in buildings and to save energy, materials used in construction must be good insulators while having an acceptable mechanical strength. New extruded clay bricks have been developed by incorporating date palm fibers into the clay matrix. These are considered renewable and are abundant agricultural waste generated by date palm trees each year without exploitation. Starting from the composition usually used by the local brickyard, seven compositions were tested, with clay/fiber ratios from 80 %/0 % to 68 %/12 %, by considering as a constant the sum of the masses (clay and fiber), with the percentage of dune sand maintained as equal to 20 wt.-%. From experiment tests it was observed that for a composition with 68 wt.-% clay, 20 wt.-% dune sand and 12 wt.-% fiber, the bricks prepared were light weight, had good thermal properties and met compressive strength requirements. For this composition the weight reduction exceeded 23 % for an energy saving impact of more than 44 % in a dry state.