Assessment of Ihima Clay Admixed with Granite Dust and Rice Husk in the Development of Masonry-Fired Brick

Abstract

Due to the high cost of conventional building materials, alternative and cheaper building materials are sought after for mass housing. Clay is a cheaper and highly available building material; hence, this study focused on the practicality of using Ihima clay in the production of fired masonry bricks. The clay was blended with rice husk and granite dust as additives in a proportion of 5 wt.% for rice husk and constant dosages for granite dust varying at 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt.%. The additives were introduced with the view of obtaining an insulation capacity. Firing was done at 5 ˚C/min until 850 ˚C was attained, after which samples were held for 2 hours in the furnace before being allowed to cool to room temperature. Developed samples were tested for firing shrinkage, porosity, water absorption and wear rate. The outcome showed that increasing the proportion of the granite dust from 5 to 20 wt.% resulted in a linear decline in firing shrinkage, porosity, water absorption, and wear rate.