title: Use of wastes derived from earthquakes for the production of concrete masonry partition wall blocks.
abstract: Utilization of construction and demolition (C&D) wastes as recycled aggregates in the production of concrete and concrete products have attracted much attention in recent years. However, the presence of large quantities of crushed clay brick in some the C&D waste streams (e.g. waste derived collapsed masonry buildings after an earthquake) renders the recycled aggregates unsuitable for high grade use. One possibility is to make use of the low grade recycled aggregates for concrete block production. In this paper, we report the results of a comprehensive study to assess the feasibility of using crushed clay brick as coarse and fine aggregates in concrete masonry block production. The effects of the content of crushed coarse and fine clay brick aggregates (CBA) on the mechanical properties of non-structural concrete block were quantified. From the experimental test results, it was observed that incorporating the crushed clay brick aggregates had a significant influence on the properties of blocks. The hardened density and drying shrinkage of the block specimens decreased with an increase in CBA content. The use of CBA increased the water absorption of block specimens. The results suggested that the amount of crushed clay brick to be used in concrete masonry blocks should be controlled at less than 25% (coarse aggregate) and within 50-75% for fine aggregates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Zhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Tung-Chai
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.forename: Shi-Cong
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Kou
authors.forename: Qingyuan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chi-Sun
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Poon
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D002681:China; D000077215:Clay; D003252:Construction Materials; D055866:Earthquakes; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D059027:Recycling / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D000077215:Clay