GEO POLYMER BRICKS

ABSTRACT

Geopolymerization is a non-fired process of chemical reaction between

silica, alumina, calcium, magnesium, iron bearing constituents of the material
under alkaline condition to form hydrous structures of rock forming silicate
minerals. Geo polymerization technology was used for utilization of industrial
solid wastes like fly ash in manufacture of high strength building brick. The fly ash
based building bricks confirm to Indian standards. The microstructure of geo
polymer products resembles a typical crystalline material with the increasing
NaOH concentration. Geopolymer bricks produced from calcined materials like fly
ash generally yield high compressive strengths after steam curing. Geopolymer are
also used for encapsulation and immobilization of hazardous or toxic wastes such
as radioactive wastes, asbestos, and heavy metals. It is an exothermic reaction
process and carried out through oligomers in the form of unit structures for a three
dimensional macromolecular network. The process of geo polymerization requires
alkaline chemical activator for initiation of reaction in the formation of mineral
polymer structures.

This project presents the mechanical and durability properties of geo

polymer brick using three different mix proportions of fine aggregate, fly ash,
sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide.
 INTRODUCTION

GEOPOLYMER

Geo polymers are new materials for fire- and heat-resistant coatings and
adhesives, medicinal applications, high-temperature ceramics, new binders for fire-
resistant fiber composites, toxic and radioactive waste encapsulation and new
cements for brick. The properties and uses of geo polymers are being explored in
many scientific and industrial disciplines: modern inorganic chemistry, physical
chemistry, colloid chemistry, mineralogy, geology, and in other types of
engineering process technologies. Geo polymers are part of polymer science,
chemistry and technology that forms one of the major areas of materials science.
Polymers are either organic material, i.e. carbon-based, or inorganic polymer, for
example silicon-based. The organic polymers comprise the classes of natural
polymers (rubber, cellulose), synthetic organic polymers (textile fibers, plastics,
films, elastomers, etc.) and natural biopolymers (biology, medicine, pharmacy).
Raw materials used in the synthesis of silicon-based polymers are mainly rock-
forming minerals of geological origin, hence the name: geo polymer. Coined the
term in 1978 and created the non profit French scientific institution Institutute
Géopolymère (Geopolymer Institute).According to T.F. geopolymers can be
classified into two major groups: pure inorganic geopolymers and organic
containing geopolymers, synthetic analogues of naturally occurring
macromolecules. In the following presentation, a geo polymer is essentially a
mineral chemical compound or mixture of compounds consisting of repeating
units, for example silico-oxide (-Si-O-Si-O-), silico-aluminate (-Si-O-Al-O-),
ferro-silico-aluminate (-Fe-O-Si-O-Al-O-) or alumino-phosphate (-Al-O-P-O-),
created through a process of geo polymerization This mineral synthesis (geo
synthesis) was first presented at an IUPAC symposium in 1976. However, very
often, scientists are taking the 1991 publication as starting reference.

GEOPOLYMER RESINS AND BINDERS

 Fire-resistant materials, thermal insulation, foams;

 Low-energy ceramic tiles, refractory items, thermal shock refractories;
 High-tech resin systems, paints, binders and grouts;
 Bio-technologies (materials for medicinal applications);
 Foundry industry (resins), tooling for the manufacture of organic fiber
composites;
 Composites for infrastructures repair and strengthening, fire-resistant and
heat-resistant high-tech carbon-fiber composites for aircraft interior and
automobile;
 Radioactive and toxic waste containment;

GEOPOLYMER CEMENTS AND BRICKS

 Low-tech building materials (clay bricks),

 Low-CO2 cements and bricks.

GEOPOLYMER BRICK
This paper reviews and summarizes the current knowledge and application
of clay as a geopolymer material in production of geopolymer brick. As we
understand, the nature of source materials gives a significant impact to the strength
of geo polymer. For example, geo polymer made from calcined source material
such as calcined kaolin, fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and
others produce a higher compressive strength compared to geopolymer made from
non-calcined source material such as kaolin. This paper is reviewing on the
suitability of clay application as a geopolymer material in geopolymer brick
production.
The chemical composition of clay-based material show high content of SiO2
and Al2O3 compound which is similar to the fly ash. Clay-based Geo polymer
showed a good potential in a brick production. Recent years have seen a great
development in a novel family of building materials—geo polymer cement around
the world. It is due to the environmental issues that pressured the industries to
provide a products and materials that are more environmental friendly. The brick
that being used nowadays is produced using a highly energy intense product that
generate CO2 as a binder which is ordinary Portland cement (OPC).There are a lot
of studies that suggest the possibility of CO2 mitigation in cement industry by
implementing the advance technology in cement production technology. This can
possibly reduce the CO2 emissions level. It is commonly accepted that geo
polymer binder is a potential material to be part of the solution due to its lower
CO2 emissions compared to OPC brick.
OBJECTIVE
 To determine the strength evaluate for geo polymer bricks.
 Cements are not used in geo polymer bricks.
 To increase the strength of building.
ADVANTAGES
 High Strength
 Geo polymer has the potential to reduce green house emissions by 80%.
 Decrease the soil erosion.
 Finishing was very nice to compare with normal brick.
 METHODOLOGY

LITERATURE COLLECTION

MATERIAL COLLECTION

MOULD PREPARATION

BRICKS PREPARATION

CURING

FIRING OF BRICKS

TESTING

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES
 LITERATURE REVIEW

T.Subramani et al (2016) the purpose of the present study is to investigate

the behaviour of Fly ash based Geopolymer eco Bricks and its Durability, the size
of the bricks were adopted was 190mmx90mmx90mm. The brick were cast with
fly ash to river sand and eco-sand (silica sand) with the Different ratios of 1:1.6,
1:1.8, 1:2 by weight. The optimum water/ binder ratio of 0.416 was selected as per
available literature. The water/binder ratio is the ratio of solution (NaOH and
water) to fly ash. Bricks will be casted in this study under ambient curing. Visual
inspection of Geopolymer mortar samples did not reveal any recognizable change
in colour and remained structurally intact though the exposed surface turned
slightly softer. Through Optical microscope, corroded surface could be seen which
increased with time of exposure. After exposure in the acid solution for 18 weeks,
the Geopolymer samples almost lost its alkalinity and showed very low weight loss
in the range from 0.54% to 0.28% of initial weight. Loss of weight was found
higher for specimen with higher percent of Na2SIO3. Results obtained in the
present study indicate that Geopolymers are highly resistant to sulfuric acid.

Preetinder Singh et al (2016) the study investigates about the production of

geopolymer bricks using fly ash, mineral material, foundry sand and alkaline
solution. Bricks widely belong to the category of construction materials since it's
principally used for the development of boundary and partition walls in buildings.
For eco-friendly building erection it's vital that the material use for such
construction should be environment friendly. Bricks are world’s most adaptable,
reliable and durable material for construction. In Geopolymer bricks main
ingredients of clay burnt or cement based brick is totally replace by the, waste of
burnt coal known fly ash, foundry sand waste from metal casting industry.
Materials rich in (Si) silica and (Al) alumina is the necessity for the geopolymer
synthesis. The activated solution for geopolymerization is Sodium hydroxide (Na
OH) mix with Sodium silicate (Na2 SiO3) solution in appropriate proportion. The
key advantages are higher compressive strength as compare to clay burnt brick,
eliminate the use of top most fertile soil and effective utilization of industry waste
and production of eco-friendly product using waste. The practical work done
casting a brick of 230×110×75mm size of geopolymer brick with replacement of
sand by foundry sand and mineral material.

Gowthami MER (2016) in this experimental investigation, fly ash

geopolymeric bricks (230x110x75mm) were produced by dry hot oven curing at
60ᵒC for 24 hours. The compressive strength of these bricks was determined at the
ages of one day. Test results have revealed that the compression strength values of
these bricks ranged between 5 and 15Mpa with low water absorption. Since cement
is hardly used, these bricks were produced at affordable cost with reduction in
emission of carbon dioxide. Hence these bricks are ecofriendly and does not
involve in global warming.

S. D. Muduli et al (2014) in the current research work effort has been made
to develop geopolymer fly ash building brick under atmospheric curing.
Geopolymer building bricks are manufactured by using fly ash and alkaline soda
based chemical activator solution in presence of sodium silicate and water by
maintaining different Na2O/(Al2O3 + SiO2) ratio. During this work 230 × 110 ×
75 mm size fly ash building bricks are manufactured under atmospheric curing.
After 25 days of atmospheric curing the results shows that the geopolymer fly ash
building bricks with Na2O/(Al2O3 + SiO2) ratio of 0.038 attain a crushing
strength of 8.5 Mpa, which is approximately equal to the strength achieved by hot
air curing at 90o C for 4 hrs.
 S.R.Sanjaiyan et al (2016) in this paper an attempt is made to manufacture
Geopolymer bricks using Fly Ash and dyeing waste sludge. Bricks of size 230 x
115x 75 mm were prepared and cured under hot air oven curing for 24 hours. The
compressive strength and water absorption test were taken out. Their results were
compared with ordinary clay brick.

C. Banupriya et al (2016) this study mainly focused on use of quarry dust

on replaced with river sand for making geopolymer bricks and paver blocks. GPCC
with 50% sand and 50% quarry dust produced excellent compressive strength,
flexural strength and split tensile strength. GPC paver block using 75% GGBS and
25% fly ash shows excellent compressive strength. Geopolymer brick using 65%
FA & 35% GGBS produced good compressive strength.

Ananya. A et al (2015) an experimental Study were carried out on

230*100*70 mm size geopolymer bricks .Red mud, fly ash and micro silica are
used as binder material .Alkaline solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate
were used in the geopolymerization process. Red Mud was used upto 50 % as
replacement for clay. Micro Silica was used for strength enhancement .The bricks
had a compressive strength of 9.456 MPa for 50% use of red mud. Water
absorption was about 2.5% and showed very good resistance against sulphate
environment. The advantages are: good compressive strength, elimination of
curing, 100% replacement of clay by fly ash and red mud.

Nishtha P et al (2016) this paper reports the manufacture of geo-polymer

based sunburnt bricks. Geo-polymer is a solution prepared using sodium hydroxide
and sodium silicate in 1: 2.5 proportions. Different molarity of sodium hydroxide
(NaOH) varying from 5M to 8M is considered for preparation of geo-polymer
solution. The materials used for the geo-polymer bricks are: natural soil, waste
brick powder, lime and geo-polymer solution. The soil used has LL=18%, PL =
14% and specific gravity is 2.74.The prepared bricks/blocks are allowed to dry in
the natural sun until they are completely dry. The dried bricks/blocks are tested for
dimensional stability, compressive strength and water absorption capacity in the
laboratory. In dry mix method for 50:50 ratio, natural soil with additives shows
high compressive strength and low water absorption whereas in wet mix method
for 65:20:15 proportion cured with water for 28 day, the compressive strength of
natural soil with additives was found to be high compared with soil dried for 3
hours and 6 hours in oven before use. The strength of these bricks lies in the range
between class-I and class-II conventional bricks. The geo-polymer bricks are
environmental friendly as no burning is required, acts as thermal insulators and
more durable. These bricks are economical when compared to conventional bricks.

Bennet Jose Mathew et al (2013) this study has been carried out on
development of geopolymer binder based bricks using fly ash, GGBS and bottom
ash. A mixture of sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide were used to prepare the
bricks which were cured at ambient temperature. The effect of percentage of binder
by weight, percentage of GGBS by weight in total aluminosilicate binder materials,
sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide ratio and alkaline liquid to aluminosilicate
solid ratio were studied using full factorial design. Percentage of binder and ratio
of alkaline liquid to alumiosilicate solid ratio had significant impact on the strength
of brick. Bricks were casted in industrial site from the best mix obtained from
factorial design experiment and mechanical properties like compressive strength
and water absorption were noted.
 Mr. S. C. Dighe et al (2016) In this paper the various industries related to
production of building material are studied, their potential impact on environment
are identified and the various alternatives like geo-polymeric concrete, pre-cast
concrete ,fly ash bricks, pavement tiles etc. are explained.
 MATERIAL COLLECTION
FLY ASH

Fly Ash is a by-product of the combustion of pulverized coal in electric

power generation plants. When the pulverized coal is ignited in the combustion
chamber, the carbon and volatile materials are burned off. However, some of the
mineral impurities of clay, shale, feldspars, etc., are fused in suspension and
carried out of the combustion chamber in the exhaust gases. As the exhaust gases
cool, the fused materials solidify into spherical glassy particles called Fly Ash. Due
to the fusion-in-suspension these Fly Ash particles are mostly minute solid spheres
and hollow ecospheres with some particles even being plerospheres, which are
spheres containing smaller spheres.

The size of the Fly Ash particles varies but tends to be similar to slightly
larger than Type I Portland cement. The Fly Ash is collected from the exhaust
gases by electrostatic precipitators or bag filters.

Chemical makeup of Fly Ash is primarily silicate glass containing silica,

alumina, iron and calcium. Color generally ranges from dark grey to yellowish tan
for Fly Ash used for brick.

ASTM C 618 Standard Specification for Coal Fly Ash and Raw or Calcined
Natural Pozzolana for Use as Mineral Admixture in Brick has two designations for
Fly Ash used in brick - Class F and Class C.

Class F Fly Ash is normally produced from burning anthracite or

bituminous coal that meets the applicable requirements. This class of Fly Ash has
pozzolanic properties and will have a minimum silica dioxide plus aluminum oxide
plus iron oxide of 70%.
 Class C Fly Ash is normally produced from sub bituminous coal that meets
the applicable requirements. This class of Fly Ash, in addition to having
pozzolanic properties, also has some cementitious properties and will have a
minimum silica dioxide plus aluminum oxide plus iron oxide content of 50%.

Most state and federal specifications allow, and even encourage, the use of
Fly Ash; especially, when specific durability requirements are needed. Fly Ash has
a long history of use in brick. Fly Ash is used in about 50% of ready mixed brick
(PCA 2000). Class C Fly Ash is used at dosages of 15 to 40% by mass of the
cementitious materials in the brick. Class F is generally used at dosages of 15 to
30%.

Advantages of fly ash in brick

Fly Ash is a pozzolan. A pozzolan is a siliceous or alumino siliceous

material that, in finely divided form and in the presence of moisture, chemically
reacts with the calcium hydroxide released by the hydration of Portland Cement to
form additional calcium silicate hydrate and other cementitious compounds. The
hydration reactions are similar to the reactions occurring during the hydration of
Portland cement. Thus, brick containing Fly Ash pozzolan becomes denser,
stronger and generally more durable long term as compared to straight Portland
cement brick mixtures.

Fly Ash improves brick workability and lowers water demand. Fly Ash
particles are mostly spherical tiny glass beads. Ground materials such as Portland
cement are solid angular particles. Fly Ash particles provide a greater workability
of the powder portion of the brick mixture which results in greater workability of
the brick and a lowering of water requirement for the same brick consistency.
Pump ability is greatly enhanced.
 Fly Ash generally exhibit less bleeding and segregation than plain bricks.
This makes the use of Fly Ash particularity valuable in brick mixtures made with
aggregates deficient in fines.

Sulfate and Alkali Aggregate Resistance. Class F and a few Class C Fly
Ashes impart significant sulfate resistance and alkali aggregate reaction (ASR)
resistance to the brick mixture.

Fly Ash has a lower heat of hydration. Portland cement produces

considerable heat upon hydration. In mass brick placements the excess internal
heat may contribute to cracking. The use of Fly Ash may greatly reduce this heat
buildup and reduce external cracking.

Fly Ash generally reduces the permeability and adsorption of brick. By

reducing the permeability of chloride ion egress, corrosion of embedded steel is
greatly decreased. Also, chemical resistance is improved by the reduction of
permeability and adsorption.

Fly Ash is economical. The cost of Fly Ash is generally less than Portland
cement depending on transportation. Significant quantities may be substituted for
Portland cement in brick mixtures and yet increase the long term strength and
durability. Thus, the use of Fly Ash may impart considerable benefits to the brick
mixture over a plain brick for less cost.
 Fly Ash
FINE AGGREGATE

Generally River Sand is used in the Geo polymer brick. Natural or River
sand are weathered and worn out particles of rocks and are of various grades or
sizes depending upon the amount of wearing. Now-a-days good sand is not readily
available; it is transported from a long distance. Those resources are also
exhausting very rapidly. So it is a need of the time to find some substitute to
natural river sand.

The artificial sand produced by proper machines can be a better substitute to

river sand. When fine particles are in proper proportion, the sand will have fewer
voids. The cement quantity required will be less. Such sand will be more
economical. Demand for manufactured fine aggregates for making brick is
increasing day by day as river sand cannot meet the rising demand of construction
sector. Because of its limited supply, the cost of Natural River sand has sky
rocketed and its consistent supply cannot be guaranteed. Under this circumstances
use of manufactured sand becomes inevitable. River sand in many parts
of the country is not graded properly and has excessive silt and organic impurities
and these can be detrimental to durability of steel in brick whereas manufactured
sand has no silt or organic impurities

Fine Aggregate

SODIUM HYDROXIDE

Generally the sodium hydroxides are available in solid state by means of

pellets and flakes. The cost of the sodium hydroxide is mainly varied according
to the purity of the substance. Since our geopolymer brick is homogenous
material and its main process to activate the sodium silicate, so it is
recommended to use the lowest cost i.e. up to 94% to 96% purity. In this
investigation the sodium hydroxide f lakes were used. Whose physical and
chemical properties are given by the manufacturer is shown in Table 1.Sodium
hydroxide is industrially produced as a 50% solution by variations of the
electrolytic chloralkali process. Chlorine gas is also produced in this process.
Solid sodium hydroxide is obtained from this solution by the evaporation of water.
Solid sodium hydroxide is most commonly sold as flakes, prills, and cast blocks.

In 2004, world production was estimated at 60 million dry metric tonnes of

sodium hydroxide, and demand was estimated at 51 million tonnes. In 1998, total
world production was around 45 million tones. North America and Asia
collectively contributed around 14 million tonnes, while Europe produced around
10 million tonnes. In the United States, the major producer of sodium hydroxide is
the Dow Chemical Company, which has annual production around 3.7 million
tonnes from sites at Freeport, Texas, and Plaquemine, Louisiana. Other major US
producers include PPG, Olin, Pioneer Companies, Inc. (PIONA, which was
purchased by Olin), and Formosa. All of these companies use the chloralkali
process. Historically sodium hydroxide is produced by treating sodium carbonate
with calcium hydroxide in a metathesis reaction. (Sodium hydroxide is soluble
while calcium carbonate is not.) This process was called causticizing.

Ca(OH)2(aq) + Na2CO3(s) → CaCO3↓ + 2 NaOH(aq)

This process was superseded by the Solvay process in the late 19th century,
which was in turn supplanted by the chloralkali process which we use today.
Sodium hydroxide is also produced by combining pure sodium metal with water.
The byproducts are hydrogen gas and heat, often resulting in a flame, making this a
common demonstration of the reactivity of alkali metals in academic
environments; however, it is not commercially viable, as the isolation of sodium
metal is typically performed by reduction or electrolysis of sodium compounds
including sodium hydroxide. Sodium hydroxide is the principal strong base used in
the chemical industry. In bulk it is most often handled as an aqueous solution,
since solutions are cheaper and easier to handle. Sodium hydroxide, a strong base,
is responsible for most of these applications. Another strong base such as
potassium hydroxide is likely to yield positive results as well.

Overall 56% of sodium hydroxide produced is used by the chemical

industry, with 25% of the same total used by the paper industry. Sodium hydroxide
is also used for the manufacture of sodium salts and detergents, for pH regulation,
and for organic synthesis. It is used in the Bayer process of aluminium production.
Sodium hydroxide is used in many scenarios where it is desirable to increase the
alkalinity of a mixture, or to neutralize acids. For example, sodium hydroxide is
used as an additive in drilling mud to increase alkalinity in bentonite mud systems,
to increase the mud viscosity, and to neutralise any acid gas (such as hydrogen
sulfide and carbon dioxide) which may be encountered in the geological formation
as drilling progresses.

SPECIFIC
PERCENTAGE
GRAVITY
20% 1.22
30% 1.33
40% 1.43
50% 1.53

Table 1: Physical Properties Sodium hydroxide

NaoH – Flakes NaoH – Pellets

SODIUM SILICATE (Na2sio3)
Soluble silicates are one of the oldest and most benign industrial chemicals.
The industrial beginnings of sodium silicate start in 1818 but references to making
sodium silicate like products can be traced back as far as the ancient Phoenicians2.
One reason for the early development of soluble silicate was the relatively simple
process for manufacturing it. Sodium (or potassium) silicates are manufactured by
fusing sand (SiO2) with sodium or potassium carbonate (Na2CO3 or K2CO3) at
1100-1200°C. The resulting glass can be dissolved with high pressure steam to
form a clear, slightly viscous liquid known as “water glass.”
Sodium silicate is a white powder that is readily soluble in water, producing
an alkaline solution. It is one of a number of related compounds like, sodium ortho
silicate, sodium pyro silicate, etc. All are glassy, colorless and dissolve in water.
Sodium silicate is stable in neutral and alkaline. In acidic solutions, the silicate ion
reacts with hydrogen ions to form silicic acid, which when heated and roasted
forms silica gel, a hard, glassy substance. Liquids and solids based on sodium
silicate and produced by PQ Corporation have a density from 1.6g/cubic cm. to
about 1.4 g/cubic cm.
CHEMICAL REACTIONS OF SILICATE
Sodium silicate is unique in that it can undergo four very distinct chemical
reactions. These reactions have been defined as:
 Hydration/Dehydration
 Gelation
 Precipitation
 Surface Charge Modification.
These reactions allow silicate to act as a:
 Film Binder
 Matrix Binder
 Chemical Binder
Silicate can adhere an agglomerated material by one or more of its chemical
reactions. Sometimes silicate-based formulations achieve their best performance by
taking advantage of more than one of these adhesion mechanisms.
HYDRATION
As water is removed from liquid silicate, the silicate progressively becomes
tackier and more viscous. The removal of a relatively small amount of water will
render the liquid silicate a glassy film. Liquid silicates with a high 3.2 ratio are best
suited for acting as a film binder. The lower alkali content of a 3.2 ratio silicate has
less affinity for water and can therefore dry quicker. Upon drying the bond is less
susceptible to moisture pick-up, but to achieve more complete water resistance,
some degree of either heat or chemical setting needs to occur.
 MATERIAL CHARACTERISTICS
BRICKS
The bricks are obtained by moulding clay in a rectangular block of uniform
size and then by drying and burning the blocks. As the bricks are of uniform size,
they can be properly arranged and further, as they are in lightweight, no lifting
appliance is required for them. The common brick is one of the oldest building
materials and it is extensively used at present as a leading material in construction.
In India, process of brick making has not changed since many centuries except
some minor refinements. There has been hardly any effort in our country to
improve the brick-making process for enhancing the quality of bricks. A brick is
generally subjected to the following tests to find out its suitability for the
construction work.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF GEOPOLYMER BRICKS

This geo polymer has been used on a number of different projects in

Australia and a total volume of over 3000 m³ has been poured to date. It is not
“labcrete” Test specimens have been taken during actual production and a
summary of the average mechanical properties are given in Table. While the most
common concrete grades used are 32 and 40 MPa, cylinder strengths up to 70 MPa
have been measured. Since the geo polymer binder consists entirely of fly ash and
GGBS, there has been a common perception that geo polymer concrete would
develop its strength very slowly or require heat curing. Portland cement systems
containing high volume replacement of fly ash or GGBS and many geo polymer
binders do develop compressive strength slowly. However, this particular geo
polymer concrete develops its strength quite rapidly with design strength typically
achieved after 7 days under laboratory conditions as seen in Figure. Strength
development at early age (up to 3 days) is sensitive to ambient temperature but
adequate early strength would be expected if the concrete temperature is above
approximately 20°C.
The drying shrinkage of this geo polymer concrete is much lower than for
Portland cement based concrete with typical 56 day values of approximately 300
micro strain or less. The drying shrinkage will normally be less than that achieved
for a Portland cement based concrete even incorporating a shrinkage reducing
admixture as shown in Figure. The product also has a very low heat of hydration as
seen in Figure. The limited thermal and drying shrinkage makes it well suited for
thick and heavily restrained concrete elements and should enable a significant
reduction in the quantity of crack control reinforcement.
Absorption

A brick is taken and it is weighed dry. It is then immersed in water for a

period of 24 hours. It is weighed again and the difference in weight indicates the
amount of water absorbed by the brick. It should not, in any case, exceed 20% of
weight of dry brick.

Crushing strength

The crushing strength of a brick is found out by placing it in a compression-

testing machine. It is compressed till it breaks, as per BIS: 1077-1957, the
minimum crushing strength of brick is 3.50 N/mm2 .The brick with crushing
strength of 7-14 N/mm2 are graded as ‘A’ and those having above 14 N/mm2 is
graded as ‘AA’.

Hardness

In this test, a scratch is made on the brick surface with the help of finger
nail. If no impression is left on the surface, the brick is treated to be sufficiently
hard.
Presence of soluble salts

The soluble salts, if presents in brick will cause efflorescence on the surface
of bricks. For finding out the presence of soluble salts in brick, it is immersed in
water for 24 hours. It is then taken out and allowed to dry sunshade. The absence
of grey or white deposits on its surface indicates absence of soluble salts. If the
white deposit covers about 10% surface, the efflorescence is said to be slight and it
is considered as moderate, when the white deposit cover about 50% surface. If grey
or white deposits are found on more than 50% of surface, the efflorescence
becomes heavy and it is treated as serious, when such deposits are converted into
powdery mass.

Shape and size

In this test, a brick is closely inspected. It should be of standard size and its
shape should be truly rectangular with sharp edges. For this purpose, 20 bricks of
standard size (190mm x 90mm x 90mm) are selected at random and they are
stacked length wise, along the width and along the height.

Soundness
In this test, two bricks are taken and they are struck each other. The bricks
should not break and a clear ringing sound should be produced.

Structure

A brick is broken and its structure is examined. It should be homogeneous,

compact and free from defects such as holes, lumps etc.

PROPERTIES OF FINE AGREGGATE

Clean and dry river sand available locally will be used. Sand passing through
IS 4.75mm Sieve will be used for casting all the specimens.
 S.NO PROPERTIES VALUE
1 Specific Gravity 2.65
2 Fineness Modulus 2.25
3 Water absorption 1.5%

Property of Fine Aggregate

PROPERTIES OF FLY ASH

Fly ash is generally captured by electrostatic precipitators or other particle
filtration equipment before the flue gases reach the chimneys of coalfired power
plants and together with bottom ash removed from the bottom of the furnace. It is
known as coal ash. Depending upon the source and makeup of the coal being
burned, the components of fly ash vary considerably, but all fly ash includes
substantial amounts of silicon dioxide (SiO2) (both amorphous and crystalline) and
calcium oxide (CaO), both being endemic ingredients in many coal-bearing rock
strata. Its mineralogical composition, fine particle size and amorphous character is
generally pozzolanic and in some cases also self cementitious.
In the past, fly ash was generally released into the atmosphere, but pollution
control equipment mandated in recent decades now requires that it be captured
prior to release. In US, flyash is generally stored at coal power plants or placed in
landfills. About 43 percent is recycled, which is often used to supplement Portland
cement in brick production. Two classes of flyash are defined by ASTM C618:
Class F flyash and Class C flyash. The chief difference between these classes is the
amount of calcium, silica, alumina, and iron content in the ash. The chemical
properties of the flyash is influenced by the chemical content of the coal burned i.e.
anthracite, bituminous, and lignite (ASTM C618 – 08). In this study, flyash was
collected from Mettur thermal power plant. It is a Class C flyash. The chemical
and physical properties of flyash are described in Table.
 COMPONENTS PERCENTAGE (%) BY WEIGHT
Silica as SiO2 61.65
Iron as Fe2O3 9.56
Alumina as Al2O3 25.86
Calcium as CaO 13.78
Magnesium as MgO 2.33
Titanium as TiO2 1.09
Sodium Na2O 1.46
Potassium K2O 1.57
Sulphate as SO3 0.62
Loss on Ignition 2.38
Properties of Fly Ash

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF NAOH

Caustic soda is also known as sodium hydroxide, caustic, and lye.
Anhydrous (100%, solid) sodium hydroxide has a chemical formula of NaOH and
a molecular weight of 40.00.

Basic Properties of Caustic Soda Solution 50%

Vapor pressure 1.5 mmHg @ 68°F (0.20 kPa @ 20°C)

Boiling point Approximately 293°F (145°C)

Freezing point Approximately 58°F (14°C)

pH 14

Specific gravity 1.52 g/ml @ 68°F (20°C)*

Basic Properties of Caustic Soda

 Caustic soda, as a 50% solution, is an odorless and colorless liquid. In all
forms, caustic soda is highly corrosive and reactive. Caustic soda solution reacts
readily with metals such as aluminum, magnesium, zinc, tin, chromium, bronze,
brass, copper, and tantalum. Galvanized (zinc coated) materials should be avoided.
Contact with acids, halogenated organics, organic nitro compounds, and glycol
should be avoided. It reacts with most animal tissue, including leather, human skin,
and eyes. It also reacts readily with various reducing sugars (i.e., fructose,
galactose, maltose, dry whey solids) to produce carbon monoxide. Upon cooling,
the viscosity of the solution increases rapidly as the temperature falls below 65°F
(18°C). For additional information, see Viscosity Table for Pure (salt-free) Caustic
Soda Solution (16KB PDF).
CHEMICAL INFORMATION AND PROPERTIES
The chemical formula for Sodium Hydroxide is NaOH

 Molar mass of 39.9971 g/mol

 Melting Point: 318'C, 604'F
 Boiling Point: 1388'C, 2530'F
 Density in Natural State: 2.13 g/cm^3
 Very soluble in water, alcohol, glycerin and methynol
 Has an Acidity of 13
 Reacts with Carbon Dioxide to form Sodium Carbonate
 Also reacts with other Acids to form pure water and salts
 Type of Bond: Ionic
 Percentage composition by mass:

Sodium:57.48%
Oxygen:40.00%
Hydrogen: 2.52%
 MIX DESIGN OF GEOPOLYMER BRICK

Weight of standard brick=3.2 Kg

Size of standard brick = 19×9×9 cm

Size of Geopolymer brick = 22.5 × 11.25 × 7.5 cm (From journal)

Material used in geopolymer brick is

 Fly ash
 Sand
 Chemicals (Sodium Hydroxide and Sodium Silicate)

Trial and error basis;

1. Mix – 1: 1.6

Amount of material required is;

22.5 = 1350

19 = x

Fly ash

22.5 = 1350

19 = x

22.5/1350 =19/x

22.5 x = (19x1350)

X = 1140/m3
 Fly ash required is 1140 grams

Sand

22.5 = 2160

19 = x2

X2 = 1824

Sand required is 1824 grams

Chemicals

22.5 = 560

19 = x3

X3 = 473

Chemicals required is 473 grams

Per brick calculation,

Fly ash = 1140x0.19x0.09x0.09

= 1.75kg

Sand = 1824x0.19x0.09x0.09

=2.807kg

Chemicals =473x0.19x0.09x0.09

= 0.73kg

Total = 5.28
Standard brick =3.2kg

Materials Fly ash Sand Chemicals

Quantity 1140 1824 473

2. Mix – 1: 1.8

Amount of material required is;

22.5 = 1350

19 = ?

Fly ash required is 1140 grams

22.5 = 2430

19 = ?

Sand required is 2052 grams

22.5 = 560

19 = ?

Chemicals required is 473 grams

Materials Fly ash Sand Chemicals

Quantity 1140 2052 473

3. Mix – 1: 2

Amount of material required is;

22.5 = 1350

19 = ?

Fly ash required is 1140 grams

22.5 = 2700

19 = ?

Sand required is 2280 grams

22.5 = 560

19 = ?

Chemicals required is 473 grams

Materials Fly ash Sand Chemicals

Quantity 1140 2280 473

 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
MANUFACTURING OF BRICKS

There was no clear past details about the project. And there is no hard
procedure for casting the bricks. So the procedure that is given below was followed
by our own. And the equipments which were used in this project are for our
convenience only.

MOULD PREPARATION

After collecting all the materials, a mould was prepared. This mould was
non-water absorbing in the size of 230mm length, 110mm wide and 80mm deep.
The shorter sides of the mould are slightly projecting to serve as handle. And joints
were made without any hole or gap to avoid leakage.

MIXING

After all the ingredients were ready, the mixing was done. In this project,
mixing was done manually. The mixing process of fibrous concrete bricks and
adobe bricks are different, and that processes are given below. The exact mix
proportion was not known. So, trial proportions were used in this project.

CASTING OF BRICKS
After mixing, it should be placed in the mould within 30 minutes. So, two
moulds were used at the time to make the process very fast. The bricks were
moulded manually by hand and on the table. The following are the steps involved
in molding,

 The mould was over a table

 The lump of mix was taken and it was placed in the mould.
 The extra or surplus mix was removed either by wooden strike
or the metal strike or frame with wire. The casted geopolymer
bricks dried for 14 days.
 PROJECT PHOTOS

ADDING CHEMICALS IN A MORTAR

At The Stage of Chemicals Addition (NAOH&Na2SIO3)

Brick Mould
At the Stage of Placing

Geopolymer Bricks
 TEST PROCEDURE

After casting the bricks, they were analyzed for using as a brick. Various
tests were carried out to check the properties of the bricks. And the results of the
test were analyzed with the existing and standard results. The following tests were
carried out to check the strength of the brick.
10.1 WATER ABSORBTION TEST
Dry the specimen in ventilated oven at a temperature of 105C to 115C till
it attains substantially constant mass. Cool the specimen to room temperature and
obtain its weight (M1) specimen too warm to touch shall not be used for this
purpose. Immerse completely dried specimen in clean water at a temperature of
27+2C for 24 hours. Remove the specimen and swipe out any traces of water with
damp cloth and weigh the specimen after it has been removed from water
10.2 COMPRESSION TEST
The test was carried out by a Compression Testing Machine. This test was
carried out on 14th day from the date of casting geo polymer brick. While testing
the geo polymer brick great care must be taken, because geo polymer brick never
failed catastrophically, it just compressed like squeezing rubber. So load was
applied up to half compression. When geo polymer brick failed at the higher load,
the structure was not fully collapsed. Only the outer faces cracked and peeled out.
The geo polymer brick are having elastic behavior and less brittleness.

The following steps were followed for compression testing.

 First the irregularities in the surface were removed.

 The brick was placed centrally on the bottom plate of the universal testing
machine.
 Then the upper plate of the universal testing machine was lowered down up
to the brick was hold tightly without any movement.
 Then the load was applied axially at a uniform rate
 This load was applied till the half of the brick.
 Three bricks from same proportion were tested every time.
 And the compressive strength was calculated by this formula.
Compression strength= (load/surface area)

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
 TEST RESULT

WATER ABSORPTION TEST

WEIGHT (gm)
BRICK WATER
SPECIFICATION ABSORPTION (%)
DRY WET

STD. BRICK 3.13 3.50 10.57

GEOPOLYMER
4.502 5.356 18.96
BRICK
GEOPOLYMER
4.582 5.411 18.09
BRICK
GEOPOLYMER
4.444 5.345 22.30
BRICK

WATER ABSORPTION (%)

25 22.3
18.96
WATER CONTENT

20 18.09

15
10.57
10

0
STD. BRICK GEOPOLYMER GEOPOLYMER GEOPOLYMER
BRICK - 1 BRICK - 2 BRICK - 3
SPECIMEN DETAILS

WATER ABSORPTION GRAPH RESULT

2. COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TEST

COMPRESSIVE
BRICK
ULTIMATE LOAD STRENGTH IN
SPECIFICATION
N/mm2

STD. BRICK 152 8.88

GEOPOLYMER
290 11.50
BRICK - 1
GEOPOLYMER
295 11.65
BRICK - 2

GEOPOLYMER
298 11.77
BRICK - 2

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH IN N/mm2

14
11.5 11.65 11.77
12
8.88
10
STRENGTH

8
6
4
2
0
STD. BRICK GEOPOLYMER GEOPOLYMER GEOPOLYMER
BRICK - 1 BRICK - 2 BRICK - 3
SPECIMEN DETAILS

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH GRAPH RESULT

3. SHAPE TEST

BRICK
SIZE OF THE MOULD SIZE OF THE BRICK
SPECIFICATION

STD. BRICK 19×9×9 cm 18.9×8.9×9 cm

GEOPOLYMER
22.5 × 11.25 × 7.5 cm 22.3 × 11 × 7.45 cm
BRICK - 1
GEOPOLYMER
22.5 × 11.25 × 7.5 cm 22.5 × 11.25 × 7.5 cm
BRICK - 2

GEOPOLYMER
22.5 × 11.25 × 7.5 cm 22.4 × 11.25 × 7.5 cm
BRICK - 2

4. COLOUR TEST

BRICK
SIZE OF THE MOULD
SPECIFICATION

STD. BRICK RED IN COLOUR

GEOPOLYMER BRICK LIGHT RED IN COLOUR

 CONCLUSION

Geopolymer bricks are suitable for non-load bearing walls only. Since, these
bricks are relatively light weight and more flexible compared to normal brick,
these bricks are potentially ideal material for earthquake prone areas. Geopolymer
brick does not expand or contract, so sheets of glass or glass block can be
embedded in and trimmed with geopolymer. The geopolymer bricks are good
sound absorbent; hence geopolymer is used in these bricks. So, these bricks can be
used in auditoriums. The strength of the brick higher than the normal brick. This
has tremendously increased the compressive strength of the block.
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