---14

FLY ASH AS A SUBSTlTUTE FOR CLAY IN BRICK MANUFACTURE

ROBERT L. DAY and JOSEPH W. BERGMAN

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N lN4

ABSTRACT
A high -quality
brick
material
has
been
manufactured
using
1007,
subbituminous fly ash as solid material (10) .
The result is a brick with
approximately the same strength as a standard Canadian clay brick but which
exhibits a 307, reduction in dry density.
The
bLick
manufactured
from
1007,
ash,
however,
has
some
disadvantages: although freeze-thaw resitant, the brick has high porosity
and is prone to c hipping.
Also, a lack of green strength prevents normal
stacking of the bLicks on the kiln carts .
The pU 't:e ash brick cannot be
manufactured easily.
The present pape r reports upon the results of tests to produce an
industry-acceptable ash bLick.
This involved the manufacture and testing
of bricks with various proportions of ash, water and either silica sand,
crushed glass or clay. The sand, glass or clay were blended wi th 3sh in
proportions up to 407, .
Bulk densities, compl"es sive and flexural strengths, absorption and
suction properties are reported .
Results of X-ray diffraction, scannin g
electron microscopy and mercut:y porosimetry are summat:ized.
It is concluded that both class if ied and unclass i f ied ashes of the
correc t mineralogy can be used to produce satisfactory br icks. Crushed
glass shows the most promise as an ingt:edient which will help in the
manufactuce of marketable bricks;
good stcength
results
and
lower
absorption values wet:e obtained.

INTRODUCTION
Despite significant progress dut:ing the last 10 years towat:ds the increased
use of fly ash in the building industry, ash production is still outpacing
ash utilization.
The problem is especia lly acute in Alberta, Canada
because alI electric it y is produced through the burning of coaI. Alberta
accounted for abo ut 507, of the 5 million tonnes of ash produced in Canada
in 1984 (1,2); of this, less than half a million tonnes was sold to
industry.

15
Brick manufacture is one area where there is potential to use large
quantities of fly ash. The idea of using pozzolanas as a component of brick
is not new (3-9).
However, recent evidence indicates that bricks which
meet ASTM specifications can be manufactured using 100% fly ash as the
solid material (9 - 11).
A1though bricks with 100% ash have high strength and low density,
they also exhibi t some undesirable properties.
They commonly have high
absorption, are prone to chipping and, because there is no grog present,
show a high degree of shrinkage on firing.
Also, such bricks have a low
green strength; they cannot be stacked to normal leveIs on kiln carts.
It is clear that a practical fly-ash brick must conta in a significant
proportion of inert stabilizing material (grog).
The aim of the present
project was to investigate the type and quantity of grog which should be
used to produce bricks with acceptable structural and practical qualities.

EXPERIMENTATION
Bricks were manufactured using three grades of Alberta fly ash with O, 10,
20 or 40% of the ash replaced wi th ei ther quartz sand, clay or ground
glass.
These bricks were then tested for flexural and compressive
stre ngths,
absorption,
suction
and
bulk
density.
Nicrostructural
examination was also performed on selected materiaIs in the form of X-ray
diffraction analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and mercury
porosmetry.
MateriaIs
Fly Ash:
The fly ash was gathered from a single power plant in
Alberta. Chemical and physical properties of the ash are shown in Table 1.
Three grades of this ash were used, the grade depending upon the proportion
of particles greater than 45 11m in diameter (based on dry sieving) (12).
These ashes were:
(a)
"Classified" ash which contains approximately 16% particles coarser
than 1.. 5 11m;
(b) "Unclassified" ash which contains approximately 26% particles coarser
than 45 iJm;
(c)
"Reject" ash, where 52% of the particles are coarser than ,~5I1m.
Grog: Three types of grog were us ed:
(a) glass was purchased from a
local bottling depot, crus hed and screened through an 850 11m sieve;
(b)
sil ica sand was an ASTM standard quartz sand; only that portion passing 850
11m was used; Cc) Alberta clay, normally used for clay - brick manufacture.
The clay was dried for 24 hours at 50C, pulverized and passed through an
850 11m sieve.
The grog:ash proportions used for the various bricks were 0:100,
10:90, 20:80 and 40:60 by mass.
Brick Manufacturing Process
Pilot tests were performed to determine the best methods of brick prepara tion ; these tests were guided by previous tests to manufacture bricks made
ent irely of ash (11).
The dry components were first blended with 6% by
mass of "ater.
The mix was tamped into a brick mould in 5 equal layers.
The green brick was then consolidated by pressing in a universal testing

-16
TABLE 1
Chemical and Physical Properties of Unclassified Ash

57.8
23.0
3.5
0.3
9.9
1.5
2.9

Si02 (%)

Al 203 (%)
Fe203 (%)
S03 \%)
CaO (%)
MgO (%)
Na20 (%) (equiv . )
Loss on ignition(%)
Density (g/cm 3 );
- by ASTM C188 - 84
- by Air Pycnometr
Specific Surface (em /g)
- by ASTM C204-84
- by Nitrogen sorption
Retained on 45~m (%)

0.5
2.04
2 . 15
2800
16100
26.0

machine.
Load was slowly applied to obtain a stress of 12 MPa which was
held for 3 minutes.
After unloading the brick was removed from the mould
and stored in the laboratory for 3 days.
Firing occurred in a laboratory furnace.
Specimens were heated at a
rate of 30 C/min from 27 0 C to 900 0 C and maintained at 900C for 3 hours (as
descr ibed below, 900 0 C is the minimum temperature at which mineralogical
conversion of the fly ash occurs).
The bricks were cooled at a rate of
4 0 C/min and stored in the laboratory until testo
Two sizes of brick were produced. In the Series I tests solid bricks
measuring 135x75x63 mm \vere tested for compressive strength and bulk
density . For Series 11 tests the fired brick was standard size, measuring
approximately l87x89x57 mm wi th 3 cylindrical 37 mm diameter cores.
The
gross area of this brick is 17,660 nun 2 and the net area is 14,600 mm 2 (83%
of gross areal. The Series 11 bricks were tested for compressive and flexural s t rengths, density, absorption and initial rate of absorption (IRA).
Fundamental Examinations

X-ray
diffraction
analysis
was
performed
on
a
Phillips
PWl139
diffractometer with cobalt target. Specimens were scanned at a rate of 1.8
degrees/minute from 10 - 80 degrees 2-8.
Scanning electron micrographs
were obtained on oven - dried, gold-coated samples .
A Cambridge SEM-ISO
electron microscope was used for this purpose.
The porosity of selected samples was examined by mercury intrusion
porosimetry (MIP). Volume of mercury intruded from ambient to 414 MPa was
measured wi th a "Quantachrome" mercury porosimeter.
A contact angle Df
141 0 was assumed.
Engineering Tests

Except where otherwise noted, bricks were tested to determine modulus of

rupture, compressive strength, absorption and initial rate of absorption in
accordance with ASTM Standard Method C67-85 (13).

17
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Hicrostructure and Hineralogy of Fly-Ash Bricks
X-ray diffraetion analysis was performed on the briek material after firing
at various temperatures.
Figure 1 111ustrates the general change in
mineralogy that oeeurs when the material is flred at 900C and above (10).
The unfired ash contains a large proportion of glassy material (eleva ted baekground between 18-45 0 2-e).
This is eonverted to a system
eomposed of predominantly erystalllne eomponents after firing at 900C.
Alpha -quartz (Si02) and rnu llite (A 3S 2 ) are passive during the firing
proeess .
Presumably the a-quartz would have slowly eonverted to
er istobalite had the soak ing period at 900C been longe r (14) . An ana l ysis
of the ash fired at 900 C also indieates the presenee of albite [NaAlSiJOS ]
a nd anorthite [CAS 2 1. It is also like1y that gehlenite [C2AS] and produets
of glass devitrification (sueh as Ca1.82AlJ .64SiO .J60S) are also present.
Figure 2 is a mierograph of the raw ash whieh ean be eompared to
Figure 3 whieh shows the fracture surfaee of a 100% ash briek. The melting
FIGURE 1: Effect of Firing on Mineralogy of Fly Ash
o

a-QUARTZ

o MULLlTE
'"

ANORTHITE
DEVITRIFIED GLASS

lJ

PlAGIOCLASE
ALBITE

60

50

40

30

DIFFRACTION ANGLE 2-9

20

18

FIGURE 3: Micrograph of Fracture Surface of Ash-Brick

19
and fusing which has occurred shows clearly in Figure 3.
A comparison of
the figures also shows the apparent porous nature of the ash particles
which is not evident by direct examination of the unfired material (Figure

2).
A raw fly ash shows very little pore structure when examined by
mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP).
The internaI porosity of the ash
particles, clearly evident in Figure 3, is not accessible to mercury, even
at very high pressures.
On the other hand, Figure 4 shows a comparison of
mercury intrusion for a typical fly-ash brick material and a standard claybrick material.
The much larger porosity (intrusion) cf the fly-ash brick
is responsible for the reduced bulk density (see below).
Furthermore, the
large volume of mercury which intrudes in to the pore stLucture ofthe ashbrick suggests that the firing process fractures the ash particles to
expose previously inaccessible pore volume.

Engineering Properties of Fly-Ash Bricks

Use of Silica Sand as Grog: The use of silica sand as grog in 10, 20
and 40% proportions produced llllacceptable bricks .
These showed a
substantial amount of map-cracking on their surfaces and subsequent low
flexural and compressive strengths.
The c racking is probably due t o incompatible expansions \,hich occur
between the fly - ash matrix and the qua r tz sand. a-quartz has a high thermal
e xpansion coefficient ar.d displays a transition at 573 0 C which also has a
large expansion ass o ciated with it (14).
The r esul ts from the sand/ ash br icks are not included in fULther
analysis as they a re clearly not s uitable for enginee ring application.
Bulk Density:
Table 2 shows the mix-notation and the bulk densities
obtained for the various brick materiaIs.
The pure ash bricks are
approximately 70% as dense as a t ypical Canadian clay brick (2300 kg/m 3 ).
The more practical GL20 and GL40 bri c ks also demonstrate substantially l e ss
density than the clay brick.

F!~~~:

MIP Results of Clay and Fly-Ash Bricks

120
CJ

1 1.0

E
:J 10.0
-

> 9.0
U
QJ

8 .0

Cl

V1

;;-',:

7 .0
6.0

O
W
O 5.0

=>

O:: 4.0

I-

Z 3.0
_I

s:

CLAY BRICK

2.0

O'l 1.0

0 .0
10

100

1000

F'ORE RADIUS ()

10000

1000r ,0

20
TABLE 2
Bulk Densities of Ash Bricks

DESCRIPTION

100%
100%
100%
90%
80%
60%
90%
80%

ASH (CLASSIFIED)
ASH (UNCLASSIFIED)
ASH (REJECT)
ASH
10% GLASS
ASH
20% GLASS
ASH
40% GLASS
ASH
10% CLAY
ASH
20% CLAY

NOTATION

BULK DENSITY
kg/m 3

CASH
UASH
RASH
GL10
GL20
GL40
CL10
CL20

1550
1540
1540
1580
1600
1810
1620
1700

Compressive Strength:
Two series of compressive strength resu1ts
were obtained.
In Series I solid bricks were capped and tested in
accordance with ASTM Method C67.
In Series 11 standard-size cored bricks
were tested without caps.
Figure 5 shows the strengths obtained for both
test series.
The 1ack of caps in Series 11 resu1ted in a reduced strength
because of stress concentrations which occur at the p1aten-brick interface
during testing.
Figure 5 a1so indicates the compressive strengths required for the
three grades of brick defined by ASTM Specification C62-85A (13) -- Severe
Weathering (SW) [app1icable for most of CanadaJ, Moderate Weathering (MW)
and Negligible Weathering (NW).
AlI of the fly-ash bricks except the one
with Reject Ash (RASH) satisfied the SW strength requirment.
Clearly,
reject ash should not be used if acceptable strengths are to be obtained.

~~~I~~~~~~~~~FIGURE 5: Compressive Strengths of Fly Ash Bricks

I
:r

4a

35

45

i~

SERlES 1
CAPPED

SERlES 2
NOT CAPPED

I-

loJ 3G

'" 25

~
~

'"

2G
15

I"
U e5

.. '}\ 1 ..

CASH

'}\ I t.'}\1 t.:;"1 t.:;"1

Cll0

Cl2EI

Cll0

Cl2G

'",

CASH

'",I '",I '",I '",I '",I

lJASH

TYPE DF BRICK

RASH

Cl2G

Cl40

Cl2EI

21
High strengths
were
achieved
by
using
either
classified
or
unclassified ash with or without glass at 10% replacement.
Normal masonry
construction, however, does not require excessively strong bricks and it is
clear from the present results that the use of glass up to 40% replacement
and clay up to 20% rep1acement can also produce bricks which satisfy the
severe-weathering standard.
It should be noted in passing that some
difficulties were encountered in demoulding those bricks manufactured with
clay grog.
Flexural Strength:
The Modu1us of Rupture for selected ash bricks
followed the same trends exhibited by the compressive strength resu1ts.
The brick made from reject ash showed the lowest modulus (10 kPa), while
the classified-ash brick gave a modu1us of 23 kPa .
The GL20 and GL40
bricks had moduli of 18 and 19 kPa respectiveIy.
Absorption:
Results of absorption tests on six types of ash bricks
are presented in Figures 6 and 7. ASTM specif1cations for SW and HW bricks
are shown on the figures for comparison.
One principal objection to the manufacture of bricks made entirely
from ash ls the high absorptions and saturation coefficients which are
obtained (lO).
The use of grog does not appear to 11ave a substantial
effect on the saturation coefficient (Fig.
7), but it does reduce
absorption values (Fig . 6).
In particular, glass used at 20 and 40%
replacement leveIs reduces absorption to the extent that the GL20 and GL40
bricks satisfy t he SW requirement of ASTM C62.
Although freeze-thaw testing was not part of the present examination,
1t should be noted that briek materia l identical to the CASH brick has been
tested under two ve~y severe freeze-thaw regimes (10).
The CASH material
showed 1nsignificant weight change and no degradation in strength during
fifty f~eeze-thaw cycles between -13 and +22 0 C.
Also, no Jegradation was
seen during a more severe series of 50 eycles between -27C and +23 0 C.
Although the absorption of fly-ash bricks is high there is a substantial amount of pore space within the material which is not easily filled
with water;
this is reflected in those specimens which failed the
absorption test but which passed the saturation-coefficient test for SWgrade brick.
As shown in Figure 4, there is a significant amount of very
small pores in the fly-ash brick.
According to the MIP results,
approximately 2.5% of the bulk volwne consists of pores w1th radii between
1000 and 40 Angstroms.
Note also that the 1ntrusion curve between 100 and
40 Angstroms ls COllcave upwards,
indicating that there may be a
significant number Df s maller pores with radii less than 40 Angstroms.
Ihe presence of smaller pores may explain the freeze-thaw durabil1ty
of ash-bricks despite their high absorption .
Surface tension prevents
these pores from filling at atmospheric pressure; this pore-system may act
in much the same I',ay that an air--entrained pore system acts to prevent
freeze-thaw cracking of concrete.
Initial Rate of Absorption:
Table 3 lists the Initial Rate Df
Absorption (IRA) values obtained o n seIected bricks.
IRAs are very 111gh
for alI but the GL40 and CL20 bricks.
An lmportant practical objection to
ash - bricks is the necessity for pre-soaking before lhe brick is laid .
It
appears that this objection 1s st111 valid since no brick showed an IRA
less than 30 g/30 in 2 (the value abo ve w11ich bricks slwuld be wetted prior
to laying).

--22

r!GURE~:

Absorption of Fly-Ash Bricks

40

38

36

Z 34

O 32
~ 30 ~RSTM SP[CS.
Q.

28

Q:

26

MUI

24

o:l
a;:

22
20
18

~ 16

Z 14

IW

12

U 10

Q:
WJ

8
6

Q.

2
O

K>%X<;j
I

K?XX<;J
~

kX><>%:1
I

K:<<:J
1

K:;-X;j
I

Kx.'<XO
1

CASH

UASH

RASH

GL20

GL40

CL28

TYPE OF OfUCK

FIGURE 7: Saturation Coefficlent of Fly-Ash Bricks

~ 0.9

Z
~

I ..~+ RSTM SPECS.

U
w.

W.
W

0.8

0.7

O
U

0.6

9.4

Z 0.5

0.3

~ 0.2

a;:
'" 0.1
O

CASH

UASH

RASH

GL28

TYPE OF BRICK

GL40

CL20

23
TABLE 3
Initial Rate of Absorption of Fly-Ash Brieks

NOTATION

CASH
UASH
RASH
GL20
GL40
CL20

INITIAL RATE OF ABSORPTION

IN 1 MINUTE (g/30 ln 2 )
112
105
166
180
36
97

The GL20 brck sholVed the hghest IRA value uf

investigated; it also gave a high saturation coefficient.
this anomalous behaviour is not yet kDolVn.

alI the bricks

The reasons for

SUMMARY ANO CONCLUSIONS

Westet:n-Canadian fly ash can be used to produce a fly - ash bdck which
satisfies ASTM requirements for Severe Weathering.
It is important,
h owe ver, that a substantial quantity of grog is used to help reduce the
high absorption values.
Of the three types of grog examined -- silica sa nd, clay and ground
glass -- the glass dppeared most promising .
Silica sand gave unacceptable
cracking and bricks manufactured with clay grog were difficult to demould.
The use of ground glass at replacement le'Jels up to 40% gave acceptable
compressive strengths and ee s ulted in 8 significant 10wering of absorptioD.
The use of classified fly ash peoduced a brick with only marginally
better properties than a brick made from unclassified ash.
Bec8use of
this, the extra expense of 8sh classification is probably DOt justified if
the ash is to be used to manufaeture bricks .
The combination of fly ash
a nd ground glass to peoduce br lck uses two inexpensi ve waste materiaIs.
Under some circumstances (e s pecially where a good source of clay i s not
readily available) the manufacture of fly-ash bricks may be an important
economic coneern.
Despite the use of substantial proportions of grog the initial rate
of absorption of fly-ash bricks is high.
Such bricks require pre-wetting
prior to laying.
This may substantially reduce their acceptability;
further research and development is needed to obtain an econom ic solution
to this problem.
Other research such as an exam ination of pre and post-firing
shrinkage, chipping and green strength must be performed on various types
of brick before ODe can be certain that bricks manufactured from WesternCanadian fly ash are both economically and scientifically feasible.

24
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research reported here was financed

Engineering Research Council of Canada.
acknowledged.

by the Natural Sciences and

This support is gratefully

REFERENCES

1.

Saskatchewan Power Corporation, 1979, "Study of potential uses of ash

[rom fossil-fired generating stations", SPC Research and Development
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2.

Gifford, P.M., Langan, B.W., Day, R.L., Joshi, R.C. and Ward, M.A.,
"Freeze-Thaw Durability and Strength Development of Fly Ash Concrete
in Curb and Gutter Construction -- A Field and Laboratory Study",
Proc. Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, Annual Conference, May,
1985, pp 345-360

3.

Snel, A., "Fly Ash Production and Utilization in the Netherlands",

Workshop Froceedings: Research and Development Needs for Use of Fly
Ash in Cement and Concrete", Electric Power Research Institute,
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4.

Mohan, D., Intnl. Journ. for Housing Sci. and Its Application, Vol 3,
1979, pp 431-436

5.

Slonaker,
J.F.,
"An Overview of
the West Virginia University
Department of Energy Fly Ash Brick Frocess", Conf. on Ash Technology
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6.

Slonaker, J.F., "Production uf Forty Percent Core Area Briek Using

Selected Flyashes", I+th Intnl. Ash Utilization Symposium, i'lorgantown
Research Centre, i'lorgantown, March 1976

7.

S ieffert, P. L., "Test F iring of Flyash on a Short Time Cycle", Froc.

2nd Ash Utilization Symposium, Information Circular 8488, Bureau of
Mines, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1970

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Reidelbach, J.A., Jr., "An Industrial Eva1uation of Fly Ash Bricks",

Proc. 2nd Ash Utilization Symposium, Information Circular 8488,
Bureau of Mines, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1970

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Manz, O.E., "Utilization of By-Products from Western CoaI Combustion

in the Manufacture of Mineral Wool and Other Ceramic MateriaIs", Cem.
Concr. Res., V 14, 1984, pp 513-520

10.

Day, R.L., Joshi, R.C., Slota, R.J. and Langan, B.W., "Engineering
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MateriaIs Research Society Symposia Proceedings, Vol 65, G.J.
McCarthy et aI eds., 1986, pp 47-58

11.

Slota, R.J., Day, R.L., Joshi, R.C. and Langan, B.W., "Production af
Bricks Using Western Canadian Fly Ashes: Preliminary Investigations",
Research Report No. CE 85-15, Dept. of Civil Engg., Univ. of Calgary,
May, 1985.

25
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Day, R.L., Langan, B.W., Josh, R.C. and Ward, M.A., "Increasng the
Use Df Fly Ash n Constructon: Frst Frogress Report by the Calgary
Fly Ash Research Group", Unversty of Calgary, Dept. Df Civil
Engneerng , Research Report No. CE84 -3, June 1984

13.

Annual Book of ASTM Standards,

Materals, Volume 04.05, 1986

14.

Chesters, J.H., "Refractores:

Steel Insttute, London, 1973.

American

Socety

for

Testng

Froducton and Propertes",

and

Iron and