Strength and Workability Assessment of Concrete Produced by Partial Replacement of Cement with Waste Clay Bricks

The use of waste clay bricks—which are abundant in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria – as supplementary cementitious material, would enable the construction industry utilize thousands of tons of brick blocks that would have ended up as waste or landfill materials. This paper establishes the pozzolanic properties of these waste clay bricks in terms of strength and workability. Waste clay brick powders are introduced as partial replacement for cement in this research. All tests were done in accordance with relevant British Standards. It was observed that waste clay brick, as an admixture, increases the workability and consistency of fresh concrete. Also, an 11 percent increase in compressive strength was observed with a 10 percent partial replacement of cement with waste clay brick powders. An equation is developed to capture the marginal increase in compressive strength of concrete produced with waste clay bricks, even after 28 days, for a 10% partial replacement of cement.