Some Properties of Concrete Containing Waste Brick As Partial Replacement Of Coarse Aggregate And Addition Of Nano Brick Powder

The accumulation of construction and demolition waste is one of the major problems in modern construction. Hence, this research investigates the use of waste brick in concrete. Seven different concrete mixes were investigated in this study: a control concrete mix, three mixes with volumetric replacement (10, 20, and 30)% of natural aggregate with brick aggregate, and two mixes with the addition of nano brick powder at a percentage level of 5– 10% by weight of cementitious materials. And the last one was mixed with 10% nano brick and 10% coarse brick aggregate. The experimental results for the additive of nano brick powder showed an enhancement in mechanical properties (compressive, flexural, and tensile strength) compared to the control mix for all ages, while the mixes with 10% coarse brick replacement also showed a slight improvement in the mechanical properties up to 5.33%, 2.79%, and 2.38% for compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strength, respectively, at 28 days. The nano particles modified the mechanical properties of the CBA concrete when mixed with 10% nano brick and 10% coarse brick aggregate, up to 11.54%, 8.56%, and 3.3% for compressive, flexural, and tensile strength, respectively, at 150 days.

Effectiveness of Indigenous Rhizobacteria Formulations in Increasing the Growth and Yield of Shallots (Allium ascalonicum L.)

The use of beneficial microbes in increasing plant growth and yield is a very appropriate choice to reduce synthetic chemicals that can cause negative impacts on the environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of post-save formulations of Wakatobi indigenous rhizobacteria in increasing the growth and yield of shallots. The study was conducted in Jati Bali Village, Konawe Selatan District, using a Randomized Block Design, consisting of 10 rhizobacterial formulation treatments, a combination of three types of biological agents, namely Pseudomonas sp. LP03, Pseudomonas sp. TWB02 and Pseudomonas sp. TWB11, and three types of formulation materials: ground brick powder, ground burned rice husk powder, and bentonite; one control using NaCl 0.85%. The experiment was repeated three times so that there were 360 treatment units. The results showed that of the three types of rhizobacteria tested, only Pseudomonas sp. TWB02 and Pseudomonas sp. LP03 can display better performance in increasing the growth and yield of shallots. These rhizobacteria are more compatible using the ground burned rice-husk powder formulation. Increased shallot yield (tuber fresh weight) in seed treatment using Pseudomonas sp. TWB02 and Pseudomonas sp. LP03 in the formulation of ground burned rice-husk powder reached 121% and 117% compared to controls. Further research needs to be done on a broader scale and different environmental conditions to see the stability of these biological agents' effects on the growth and yield of shallots.

Effect of Waste Clay Brick Powder on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Cement Paste

Background: Investigations on the use of waste clay brick powder in concrete have been extensively conducted, but the analysis of waste clay brick powder effects on cement paste is limited. Materials and Methods: This paper discusses the effects of waste clay brick powder on cement paste. Fragmented clay bricks were grounded in the laboratory using a ball mill and incorporated into cementitious mixes as partial replacement of Ordinary Portland Cement. Workability, consistency, setting time, density and compressive strength properties of paste mixes were investigated to better understand the impact of waste clay brick powder on the cementitious paste. Four cement replacement levels of 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10% were evaluated in comparison with the control paste. The chemical and mineral compositions were evaluated using X-Ray Fluorescence and X-Ray Diffractometer, respectively. The morphology of cement and waste clay brick powder was examined using a scanning electron microscope. Results: The investigation of workability exhibited a reduction of slump attributed to the significant addition of waste clay brick powder into the cementitious mixes, and it was concluded that waste clay brick powder did not significantly influence the density of the mixes. In comparison with the control paste, increased values of consistency and setting time of cement paste containing waste clay brick powder confirmed the information available in the literature. Conclusion: Although waste clay brick powder decreased the compressive strength of cement paste, 5% partial cement replacement with waste clay brick powder was established as an optimum percentage for specimens containing waste clay brick powder following curing periods of 7 and 28 days. Findings of chemical composition, mineral composition and scanning electron microscopy of waste clay brick powder demonstrated that when finely ground, fragmented clay bricks can be used in concrete as a pozzolanic material.

Influence of Recycled Concrete Powder (RCP) and Recycled Brick Powder (RBP) on the Physical/Mechanical Properties and Durability of Raw Soil

The influence of recycled concrete powder (RCP) and recycled brick powder (RBP) on the dry density, optimal water content, and compressive strength of raw soil materials was investigated in this study. Moreover, the following resistance of freeze–thaw cycles was also considered. Additionally, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were selected to detect its mineral composition and observe the microstructure, further revealing the mechanism of performance change. The mass ratios of recycled concrete powder and recycled brick powder were 2% ~ 14%. Results showed that the dry density decreased and the optimal water content increased with the increasing dosage of recycled concrete powder and recycled brick powder. When the dosage of RCP or RBP was lower than 14%, raw soil with RCP showed higher optimal water content and lower dry density. However, when the dosage was higher than 14%, the result was the opposite. The addition of recycled concrete powder and recycled brick powder was able to decrease the compressive strength of raw soil, except for 10% of recycled brick powder. Raw soil with recycled brick powder presented higher compressive strength than that of raw soil with recycled concrete powder. RBP could improve the freeze–thaw cycles’ resistance of specimens; however, RCP led to decreasing the resistance of freeze–thaw cycles. These research findings can provide reference to the recycling of construction waste.

Properties and Strength Prediction Modeling of Green Mortar with Brick Powder Subjected to a Short-Term Thermal Shock at Elevated Temperatures

The cement industry is responsible for 8% of global CO2 production. Therefore, a clear trend has been observed recently to replace to some extent the main binder of cement composites with environmentally friendly or recycled materials with a lower carbon footprint. This paper presents the effect of brick powder (BP) on the physico-chemical and mechanical properties of cement mortars. The effect of a short-term thermal shock on morphology and strength properties of green mortars was investigated. BP addition caused increase in porosity and decrease in compressive and flexural strength of mortars. The best results were obtained for samples with 5% wt. BP addition. Above this addition the strength decreased. The mechanical performance of the samples subjected to thermal loading increased compared to the reference samples, which is the result of a process called as the “internal autoclaving”. The BP addition positively affects the linear shrinkage, leading to its reduction. The lowest linear shrinkage value was achieved by the mortar with the highest BP addition. An intelligent modeling approach for the prediction of strength characteristics, depending on the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) is also presented. To solve the model problem, a supervised machine-learning algorithm in the form of an SVM (support vector machines) regression approach was implemented in this paper. The results indicate that BP can be used as a cement replacement in cement mortars in limited amounts. The amount of the additive should be moderate and tuned to the features that mortars should have.