Construction and Building Materials 166 (2018) 898–907

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Construction and Building Materials

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Properties of mortar with waste clay bricks as fine aggregate

Juntao Dang a, Jun Zhao b,⇑, Wenyuan Hu a, Zhaohua Du c, Danying Gao a
a
College of Civil Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
b
College of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
c
Multi-functional Design and Research Academy, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China

h i g h l i g h t s

 The macroscopic and microscopic tests were carried out to study the properties of mortar with RCBA.
 The additional water content of RCBA has significantly influence on the properties of mortar.
 The RCBA with partially additional water and particle size of 0–5 mm improved the strength of mortar.
 The rough surface and pozzolanic activity of RCBA produce compact interfacial transition zone.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In order to solve the problem existing in the utilization of fine recycled aggregates from crushed bricks
Received 5 October 2017 (RCBA), the replacement of natural fine aggregate (NA) by RCBA to produce a new green recycled mortar
Received in revised form 4 December 2017 is an important technology to develop renewable resource products and realize waste resources recy-
Accepted 21 January 2018
cling. In this paper, in order to deeply understand the mechanism of RCBA, macroscopic and microscopic
tests are carried out to study the influence of RCBA with different replacement ratios, particle sizes and
additional water contents on the flowability, compressive strength and flexural strength of mortar. And
Keywords:
the physical properties, chemical composition, mineral composition and microscopic morphology of
Fine recycled aggregates from crushed
bricks
RCBA are analyzed. The results show that the porous structure of the waste clay bricks together with
Recycled mortar the secondary mechanical crushing treatment result in the decline of the physical properties of RCBA.
Physical index The fully additional water content in RCBA is beneficial to improve the flowability of mortar, but the par-
Flowability tially additional water content in RCBA has an adverse impact. In addition, the RCBA with partially addi-
Strength tional water content and particle size of 0–5 mm is beneficial to the improvement of mortar strength.
However, the RCBA with fully additional water content and particle size of 0.15–5 mm is detrimental
to the development of mortar strength. The microscopic test indicates the rough surface and pozzolanic
activity of RCBA produce relatively stable and dense interfacial transition zone between the RCBA and
cement paste.
Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The rapid growth of the national economy and the wide appli-
cation of modern concrete have led to the rapid development of
the construction industry in many countries. At the same time, it
also causes serious environmental pollution and huge consump-
tion of non-renewable resources such as natural sand and natural
gravel. The resources and energy is becoming scarcer in today’s
society, and the construction solid waste still adopts the traditional
way of stacking or burying which will take up a large amount of
⇑ Corresponding author at: College of Mechanics and Engineering Science,
Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
E-mail address: zhaoj@zzu.edu.cn (J. Zhao).
cultivated land resources. In addition, scatter, dust and soil pollu-
tion are caused in the process of removal and stacking which fur-
ther aggravated the negative impact on the environment [1,2].
With the development of new rural construction and urbanization
process in China, the total amount of construction solid waste is
increasing year by year, and the amount of construction solid
waste produced by masonry structure demolition is enormous.
But the comprehensive utilization rate of construction solid waste
is very low. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the problem of con-
struction solid waste recycling as soon as possible, and to develop
new green building materials.
In order to build an environment-friendly society, sorting,
crushing and screening of construction solid waste have been done
to get new green building materials which has gained widely

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.01.109
0950-0618/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 J. Dang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 166 (2018) 898–907
international recognition. In recent years, many scholars have car-
ried out the research of waste clay brick resource utilization,
explored the technical means of effective utilization of waste clay
bricks, and obtained a large number of experimental, theoretical
and applied research results [3–8].
After summing up the previous research results, it is found that
the research on waste clay bricks at home and abroad mainly
focuses on the research of waste clay bricks as coarse aggregate.
However, when the waste clay bricks are used as coarse aggregate
to formulate concrete, the physical and mechanical properties of
concrete will be adversely affected, especially the compressive
strength of concrete [10–12]. This is because the waste clay brick
is affected by its particle size and porous structure.
Zong [13] concluded that the coarse recycled aggregates from
crushed bricks increases the porosity of the concrete, forming a
loose microstructure, resulting in the reduction of the strength
and durability of concrete. However, the research conducted by
Dudziak and Mechtcherine [14–16] indicated that the effect of
coarse recycled aggregates from crushed bricks on concrete is neg-
ligible, and the performance of recycled concrete is similar to that
of ordinary concrete.
In view of the differences existing in the use of waste clay bricks
aggregate instead of natural coarse aggregate in concrete, the
amount of waste clay bricks aggregate is limited, and the utiliza-
tion of waste clay bricks aggregate is hindered.
Therefore, scholars have studied the use of waste clay brick
instead of natural fine aggregate in mortar or concrete. It is found
that the RCBA can partly substitute for natural fine aggregate to
prepare mortar, and it has little influence on the compressive
strength, shrinkage and durability of mortar. But it exerts a nega-
tive impact on the flowability of mortar [17–20]. The De Brito
[21] results showed that the RCBA is beneficial to the concrete per-
formance of capillary water absorption and chloride penetration
resistance, and is detrimental to the development of concrete
shrinkage, water absorption and carbonization resistance. How-
ever, the research on recycled mortar is not systematic and thor-
ough, and the macroscopic and microscopic research work on the
influence of various parameters of the RCBA on mortar perfor-
mance is still needed.
In this paper, the influence of the replacement ratio, particle
size and additional water content of the RCBA on the workability,
compressive strength and flexural strength of mortar have been
systematically studied. And in order to comprehensive under-
standing of the performances of recycled mortar with RCBA, the
physical properties and microcosmic properties of the RCBA have
been investigated. Based on the microscopic test results of chemi-
cal composition, mineral composition and microscopic morphol-
ogy of the RCBA, the mechanism of the RCBA on the performance
of mortar has been further analyzed.
2. Experimental
2.1. Materials
An Ordinary Portland cement was used in this experiment. The
chemical composition and physical and mechanical properties of
this cement were presented in Table 1 and 2. The natural fine
aggregate applied was natural river sand with a fineness modulus
of 2.37. As shown in Fig. 1(a), the clay bricks waste was produced
Table 1
Chemical composition of cement (wt%).
SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO K2O MgO
Cement 19.24 4.08 3.25 62.47 1.38 4.19
899
Table 2
Properties of 42.5 ordinary Portland cement.
Setting time/min Flexural Compressive
strength/MPa strength/MPa
Initial setting Final setting 3d 28d 3d 28d
158 198 6 8.7 23.6 48.9
by the demolition of masonry structure buildings which was com-
bined with clay bricks and masonry mortar. Production process of
the RCBA was as follows: Firstly, the recycled crushed bricks aggre-
gates were produced by jaw crusher and screened into two kinds of
particles sizes. The one was bigger than 5 mm of particle size as
recycled coarse aggregates and the other one was less than 5 mm
of particle size as recycled fine aggregates which was shown in
Fig. 1(b). Secondly, the recycled fine aggregates were crushed
again. The RCBA within the desired range was produced by lab disc
crusher. Finally, the RCBA were screened into two kinds of particle
sizes as 0–5 mm and 0.15–5 mm. The RCBA was shown in Fig. 1(c).
And all fine aggregates used in all mixture were in dry condition.
The physical composition of NA and RCBA were presented in Tables
3 and 4. Tap water was used as mortar mixing water and additional
water. Mixing water and additional water were added directly into
the mixer when the mortar was mixed.
2.2. Mixing proportion and specimen preparation
According to the specification for mix proportion design of mor-
tar [22], the influences of the replacement ratio, particle size and
additional water content of RCBA on the workability, compressive
strength and flexural strength of mortar have been analyzed. The
design of mix proportions of recycled mortars shown in Table 4.
The reference mortar was represented as M. The RCBA which par-
ticle sizes were 0–5 mm and 0.15–5 mm were represented as R and
S, respectively. The additional water content was determined by
the saturated surface dry (SSD) state of RCBA. The fully additional
water content was 100% saturated surface dry state of fine recycled
aggregates from crushed bricks (represented as A) and the partially
additional water content was 75% saturated surface dry state of
fine aggregate with waste clay bricks (represented as W). RA rep-
resented the RCBA which particle size was 0–5 mm and the addi-
tional water was 100% saturated surface dry state. SA
represented the RCBA which particle size was 0.15–5 mm and
the additional water was 100% saturated surface dry state. RW rep-
resented the RCBA which particle size was 0–5 mm and the addi-
tional water was 75% saturated surface dry state. Likewise, RCBA
was used as natural sand replacement at 25%, 50% and 75% by
weight, which was named as 25, 50 and 75, respectively.
2.3. Testing methods
The properties of RCBA were measured according to GB/T
14684-2011 [23]. The strength activity index of RCBA was mea-
sured by the ratio of the compressive strength between reference
mortar and recycled mortar which 30% cement was replaced by
RCBA according to GB/T 1596-2005 [24]. The flowability of mortar
was measured by flow table test according to GB/T 2419-2005 [25].
The compressive and flexural strength were determined according
to method of GB/T 17671-1999 [22] and conducted on the prism
mortar specimens with dimension of 40 mm  40 mm  160 mm.
The specimens were demoulded after being kept 24 h under (20
± 1) °C and relative humidity was above 90%. Then it was
SO3 immersed in water at (20 ± 1) °C until 3, 7 and 28 days, and the
compressive and flexural strength tests were conducted. The
4.81
X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning
900 J. Dang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 166 (2018) 898–907

Fig. 1. Production process of fine recycled aggregates from crushed clay bricks, (a) waste clay bricks, (b) RCBA with the particle size of no more than 5 mm, (c) RCBA with the
particle size of 0–5 mm.

Table 3
Physical properties of fine aggregates.

Sample Apparent density Loose bulk density Compact density Loose Compact Crush Saturated surface dry Fineness
(kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) porosity (%) porosity (%) index (%) absorption (%) modulus
NA 2542 1456 1604 42.7 36.9 6 1 2.37
RCBA 2459 1263 1412 48.6 42.6 39.4 8.8 2.55

Table 4
Mix proportion of recycled mortar.

Sample Replacement ratio (%) RCBA (g) NA (g) Cement (g) Mixing water (g) Additional water (g)
M 0 0 1350 450 225 0
RA25 25 337.5 1012.5 450 225 29.7
RA50 50 675 675 450 225 59.4
RA75 75 1012.5 337.5 450 225 89.1
SA25 25 337.5 1012.5 450 225 29.7
SA50 50 675 675 450 225 59.4
SA75 75 1012.5 337.5 450 225 89.1
RW25 25 337.5 1012.5 450 225 22.3
RW50 50 675 675 450 225 44.6
RW75 75 1012.5 337.5 450 225 66.8
 J. Dang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 166 (2018) 898–907
electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study the chemical com-
position, mineral composition and microstructure of RCBA, and the
mechanism of RCBA on mortar was discussed.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Properties of fine recycled aggregates from crushed bricks
The physical composition of NA and RCBA is illustrated in
Table 3. As shown in Table 3, the apparent density, the loose bulk
density and the compact density of RCBA decrease by 3.3%, 13.3%
and 12% respectively compare with NA. And, the loose porosity,
compact porosity and aggregate crushing index of RCBA increase
by 5.9%, 5.7% and 33.4% respectively. At the same time, the satu-
rated surface dry absorption rate of RCBA is increased by 7.8%. This
is determined by the porous structure of the waste clay brick and
the waste masonry mortar. On the one hand, the RCBA contained
a certain amount of porosity and lower density of masonry mortar
after crushing the waste clay bricks. On the other hand, the RCBA
was processed by secondary mechanical crushing treatment,
resulting in a large number of micro cracks in the waste clay bricks
aggregate. And the surface of the particles became irregular, rough
and had many edges and angles. Furthermore, the aggregate den-
sity is decreased and the porosity is increased. As a result, the lar-
ger pore size is formed in the aggregate, which leads to the
increase of crushing index and water absorption ratio. The micro-
cracks of recycled aggregates in the crushing process are produced
inevitably, so that the performance of recycled aggregates is dam-
aged [26].
The grading curves of different types of fine aggregates are
shown in Fig. 2. As can be seen from Fig. 2, the natural fine aggre-
gate generated only 4% particles smaller than 0.15 mm while the
RCBA obtained 22% in the same size range, which means the RCBA
produced 5 times more particles under 0.15 mm than that of NA.
Therefore, the particle size distribution of RCBA is not completely
fit within the envelope for standard curve of natural fine aggregate.
3.2. Flowability
Fig. 3 shows the influence of the replacement ratio, particle size
and additional water content of the RCBA on the flowability of the
mortar. As shown in the figure, the replacement ratio and the addi-
tional water content of the RCBA have great influence on the flowa-
bility of recycled mortar. But the influence of different particle
sizes of the RCBA on the flowability of mortar is little. And with
Fig. 2. Grading curves of fine aggregates.
901
Fig. 3. Effect of RCBA on flow of motar.
the increase of the replacement ratio of the RCBA, a trend of
increased first and then decreased has been observed.
When the fully additional water content is 100% saturated sur-
face dry state of the RCBA, the flowability of mortar increases first
and then decreases with the increase of replacement ratio of the
RCBA. As the replacement ratio of the RCBA is 50%, the flowability
of mortar is the best. And the flowability of mortar is 28% higher
than that of the reference mortar. This is because when the mortar
is mixed, the cement with the additional water and the mixing
water are added directly into the mixer, and then the RCBA are
added to absorb the cement slurry. The absorbed cement slurry
is wrapped on the surface of the RCBA, thus reducing the water
absorption performance of the RCBA, increasing the free water con-
tent in the mortar, and improving the flowability of the mortar.
In addition, when the partially additional water content is 75%
saturated surface dry state of the RCBA, the flowability of mortar
is decreased with the increase of replacement ratio of the RCBA.
The 25% and 50% replacement ratio of the RCBA has little influence
on mortar flowability. However, the flowability of mortar with 75%
substitution ratio of the RCBA is decreased by 12% compared with
that of reference mortar. It indicates that the additional water con-
tent of the RCBA is the key factor. The flowability reduction is
caused by porous structure of the RCBA. When the replacement
ratio of the RCBA increases continuously, the partially additional
water content cannot make up for the amount of water absorbed
by RCBA directly from mixing water, thus reducing the flowability
of mortar.
3.3. Compressive strength
Fig. 4 is the influence of the replacement ratio, particle size and
additional water content of the RCBA on the compressive strength
of the mortar under different ages. As shown in Fig. 4, the compres-
sive strength of 3d RA mortar decreases with the increase of
replacement ratio of the RCBA. The compressive strength of recy-
cled mortar at 7d varies little with the replacement ratio of the
RCBA. The compressive strength recycled mortar at 28d increases
firstly and then decreases with the increase of replacement ratio
of the RCBA. The mortar compressive strength of the 50% replace-
ment ratio of the RCBA is basically the same as that of the reference
mortar. But the compressive strength of 25% and 75% replacement
ratio is decreased by 9% and 10%, respectively. It can be concluded
that the optimum replacement ratio of RCBA is beneficial to the
compressive strength of the mortar.
Fig. 4 shows that when the particle size distribution of the RCBA
is 0.15–5 mm, the compressive strength of SA mortar is decreased
gradually with the increase of replacement ratio of the RCBA.
902 J. Dang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 166 (2018) 898–907
Fig. 4. Effect of RCBA on compressive strength of mortar.
Especially, the mortar strength of the 75% replacement ratio of the
RCBA is 17% lower than that of reference mortar. It shows that the
RCBA whose micro powder has been sieved have great negative
influence on mortar strength. Because of the low strength of RCBA,
the weak volume is bigger when the particle size is bigger. This is
related to the microscopic porous structure of the RCBA.
As shown in Fig. 4, the compressive strength of RW recycled
mortar at 3d and 7d increase slowly compared with the reference
mortar, especially with the 75% replacement ratio of RCBA. This is
due to the RCBA, which has high absorption property and high
replacement ratio, can absorb water which may impede the hydra-
tion of cement at early age. It shows that the high replacement
ratio of RCBA is detrimental to the early growth of mortar strength.
With the increase of age, the compressive strength of recycled
mortar increases rapidly in later age. The compressive strength of
recycled mortar at 28d is higher than that of reference mortar. This
is because the RCBA has certain pozzolanic activity component,
and this is also related to the internal curing property of the RCBA.
With the increase of mortar curing age, the effect of internal curing
and pozzolanic reaction is more adequate. The strength of mortar
increases rapidly in later age. The compressive strength of recycled
mortar at 28d slightly decreased with the increase of replacement
ratio of the RCBA. However, the mortar strength with 25%, 50% and
75% replacement ratio of the RCBA is 16%, 15% and 12% higher than
that of reference mortar, respectively. This shows that the addi-
tional water content of the RCBA is the key factor that influencing
the strength of recycled mortar. It can be concluded that with par-
tially additional water content and no more than 75% replacement
ratio of RCBA is beneficial to the compressive strength of the
mortar.
As shown in Fig. 4, the compressive strength of RA recycled
mortar is higher than that of the compressive strength of SA recy-
cled mortar. Especially with the 50% replacement ratio of the RCBA,
the compressive strength of RA recycled mortar increases by 19%
compared to SA recycled mortar. It shows that the particle size of
the RCBA has great influence on the compressive strength of mor-
tar. This is because the waste clay brick powder below 0.15 mm
can play the role of micro filling, which can make the mortar reach
the better dense state and improve the compressive strength of
mortar.
As shown in Fig. 4, the RW recycled mortar (the partially addi-
tional water content of 75% saturated surface dry state) has higher
compressive strength than the RA recycled mortar (the additional
water content of 100% saturated surface dry state), especially on
28d age. With the increase of age, the compressive strength of
RW recycled mortar at 28d is 22% higher than that of RA recycled
mortar, which shows that the additional water content of the RCBA
has great influence on the compressive strength of mortar. This is
because the mortar strength is controlled by the effective water
cement ratio. The additional water content of the RCBA is reduced,
so that the RCBA absorb the free water in the mortar. This leads to
the decrease of the effective water cement ratio of the mortar,
changes the hydration process of the mortar, and improves the
compressive strength of the mortar.
In summary, the additional water content and particle size of
the RCBA have significant influence on the strength of mortar.
The replacement ratio of the RCBA has little influence on the
strength of mortar. The RCBA with the partially additional water
content and 0–5 mm particle size distribution is optimal to the
strength of recycled mortar.
3.4. Flexural strength
Fig. 5 is the influence of the replacement ratio, particle size and
additional water content of the RCBA on the flexural strength of the
mortar under different ages. As can be seen from Fig. 5, compared
with the flexural strength of the reference mortar (M), the RCBA is
detrimental to the early flexural strength of the mortar growth.
With the increase of age, the later flexural strength of recycled
mortar increases rapidly, and the difference between the flexural
strength of recycled mortar and reference mortar gradually
decreases or even exceeds. This is because of the pozzolanic effect
and internal curing effect of the RCBA, which promotes the growth
of mortar strength.
As shown in Fig. 5, the flexural strength of RA recycled mortar
slightly decreases with the increase of replacement ratio of the
RCBA at early age. The flexural strength of recycled mortar at
28d increases firstly and then decreases with the increase of
replacement ratio of the RCBA. The mortar strength of the less than
50% replacement ratio of the RCBA is basically the same as that of
the reference mortar. But the flexural strength of RA mortar with
the 75% replacement ratio of the RCBA is decreased by 6% com-
pared to the reference mortar. This is because the additional water
content is increased with the increase of replacement ratio of
RCBA, so that the efficient water cement ratio which is an impor-
tant factor to the strength of mortar is increased.
Fig. 5 shows that when the particle size distribution of the RCBA
is 0.15–5 mm, the flexural strength of SA mortar decreases gradu-
ally with the increase of replacement ratio of the RCBA. The mortar
strength of the 75% replacement ratio of the RCBA is 10% lower
than that of the reference mortar. It shows that the RCBA whose
micro powder has been sieved have great negative influence on
mortar strength. This is because the larger particle size of the RCBA
Fig. 5. Effect of RCBA on flexural strength of mortar.
 J. Dang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 166 (2018) 898–907
is the lower the strength is. And the dense skeleton system is hard
to form. This is consistent with the compressive strength of recy-
cled mortar.
As shown in Fig. 5, the flexural strength of RW recycled mortar
decreases with the increase of replacement ratio of the RCBA at
early age. Especially, the mortar strength of the 75% replacement
ratio of the RCBA is 21% lower than that of the reference mortar.
But with increase of age, the flexural strength of RW recycled mor-
tar at 28d is increased the most by 10% and then slightly decreases
with the increase of replacement ratio of the RCBA. It shows that
the early strength grows slower than the latter strength, which is
related to the internal curing performance of the RCBA itself. This
is because that the RCBA as internal curing agent provides water
to satisfy pozzolanic reactions between the RCBA (which is com-
posed of silica and alumina content) and cement hydrated prod-
ucts. The flexural strength of recycled mortar at 28d slightly
decreases with the increase of replacement ratio of the RCBA. How-
ever, the mortar strength of 75% replacement ratio of the RCBA is
still 7% higher than that of reference mortar. It also shows that
the additional water content of the RCBA is the key factor that
influencing the strength of recycled mortar.
As shown in Fig. 5, the flexural strength of RA recycled mortar is
higher than that of the flexural strength of SA recycled mortar.
Especially with the 50% replacement ratio of the RCBA, the flexural
strength of RA increases by 9% compared to SA. It shows that the
particle size of the RCBA has great influence on the flexural
strength of mortar, and the waste clay brick powder plays an
important role in the filling of mortar.
As shown in Fig. 5, the RW recycled mortar (the partially addi-
tional water content of 75% saturated surface dry state) has higher
flexural strength than the RA recycled mortar (the fully additional
water content of 100% saturated surface dry state). With the
increase of age, the flexural strength of RW recycled mortar at
28d is 10% higher than that of RA recycled mortar, which shows
that the additional water content of the RCBA has great influence
on the flexural strength of mortar. This is because of the porous
structure of the RCBA absorbs the internal moisture of mortar,
reduces the matrix effective water cement ratio, changes the mor-
tar hydration process, and improves the mortar flexural strength.
In summary, the additional water content and particle size of
the RCBA have significant influence on the strength of mortar.
The replacement ratio of the RCBA has little influence on the
strength of mortar. The RCBA with the partially additional water
content and 0–5 mm particle size distribution is optimal to the
strength of recycled mortar. This is consistent with the conclusions
of the study on the compressive strength of recycled mortar.
3.5. Investigation of the microstructure
3.5.1. X-ray fluorecence (XRF)
Table 5 is the chemical composition of the RCBA. As can be seen
from Table 5, the dominant chemical composition of the RCBA and
RCBA powder is SiO2, followed by Al2O3, CaO and Fe2O3. These four
compositions account for 94.81% and 91.46% of the total chemical
composition of the RCBA and RCBA powder respectively. SiO2 and
Al2O3 account for 82.12% and 73.06% of the total chemical compo-
sitions of the RCBA and RCBA powder respectively. The results
show that the RCBA have a certain amount of pozzolanic active
Table 5
The chemical composition of RCBA (%).
Sample SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO K2O MgO
RCBA 67.18 14.94 6.26 6.43 2.73 – 1.19
RCBA powder 59.07 13.99 5.90 12.50 2.72 2.14
903
component. Wild [27] indicated that clay minerals achieved best
pozzolanic activity after they were sintered at the temperature of
1000 °C. In this paper, the sintering temperature of clay brick is
between 900 and 1000 °C, so that the clay brick with heat treat-
ment can better activate the pozzolanic activity of clay brick.
Therefore, with the increase of curing age of recycled mortar, the
pozzolanic reaction of the RCBA is more adequate, thus strengthen-
ing the strength of interfacial transition zone, and improving the
strength of recycled mortar. Moreover, several researchers found
that the waste calcined clay brick can be used as a supplementary
cementitious material for its pozzolanic property [6,28,29].
3.5.2. X-ray diffraction(XRD)
Fig. 6 is the mineral composition of the RCBA identified by XRD
scan. Based on the diffraction peaks shown on the spectrum, the
main mineral compositions in waste clay bricks are quartz (SiO2),
calcite (CaCO3), albite (Na2O
Al2O3
6SiO2) and anorthite (CaO
Al2-
O3
2SiO2). The majority of the mineral composition of the RCBA
is composed of SiO2 and Al2O3 with pozzolanic active components.
This is consistent with the results of the XRF test. In addition, the
RCBA contains CaCO3 mineral composition, which can react with
C3A in cement to produce calcium aluminate (C3A
CaCO3
11H2O).
The hydration products of the interface were increased, thus hin-
dering the formation and growth of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2)
and hydrated calcium sulphoaluminate (3CaO
Al2O3
3CaSO4
32H2-
O). The interfacial transition zone between the RCBA and the
cement paste is compact, and the bonding property of the interface
between aggregate and the cement paste is enhanced. The com-
pactness of interfacial transition zone is higher, and the mechanical
performance of mortar is effectively improved.
3.5.3. Microstructure morphology
Figs. 7 and 8 reflect the microscopic morphology of NA and
RCBA at different degrees of magnification respectively. The micro-
scopic morphology and microstructure of NA and RCBA were
scanned and analyzed by SEM. As can be seen from Fig. 7, the
microstructure of the NA is dense. The surface texture and shape
of particle are smooth and spherical. However, it is found from
Fig. 8 that the microscopic morphology of the RCBA is not dense
and there are more porous structures. Moreover, the RCBA particle
contains rough surface, irregular edges and sharp angles. This is
because the RCBA is processed by secondary mechanical crushing,
resulting in a large number of micro cracks and porous structure of
the RCBA which are formed by the external force. This explains the
SO3
2.53
Fig. 6. The mineral composition of RCBA.
904 J. Dang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 166 (2018) 898–907
Fig. 7. The SEM images of natural fine aggregate, (a) 100, (b) 500, (c) 2000.
decrease of physical properties of the RCBA such as density, crush-
ing index and water absorption. In addition, because the surface
texture of the RCBA is irregular and the edges and angles are more,
the friction between the RCBA particles is increased which leads to
the decrease of the flowability of the mortar.
3.5.4. Interfacial transition zone (ITZ)
Fig. 9 depicts the micrograph of the interface transition zone
(ITZ) between fine aggregate and paste. It can be seen that the
ITZ between natural fine aggregate and cement paste has obvious
initial cracks. Moreover, the cracks have little change with the
increase of the ages. But the RW50 sample shows that the interface
transition zone between RCBA and cement paste has no obvious
cracks and it is more and more compact with the increase of ages.
This is due to the RCBA have the properties of pozzolanic activity,
internal curing and rougher surface. On the one hand, the active
components of SiO2 and Al2O3 in RCBA can promote the hydration
reaction to generate more stable hydration products (such as cal-
cium silicate hydrates) which can produce a more compact inner
structure. On the other hand, the rougher surface of RCBA can
increase adhesion of cement paste to recycled crushed bricks
aggregate and cement paste can penetrate into the inner structure
of RCBA [30]. The cohesive force between RCBA and cement paste
is enhanced and connected to a compact as a whole, so that the
strength of the interfacial transition zone between cement paste
and RCBA is improved. Hence, a dense and stable interfacial transi-
tion zone is formed. In addition, the strong bond and more compact
ITZ between RCBA and cement paste can offset the porosity of
RCBA with the increase of ages. This can explain why both the
compressive strength and flexural strength of the RW50 are higher
than that of reference mortar, especially at 28 days.
3.6. Mechanism analysis of recycled mortar
The influence of the RCBA on the flowability and mechanical
performance of mortar is mainly affected by the replacement ratio,
particle size and additional water content of the RCBA. The RCBA
has the disadvantageous influence as well as the beneficial influ-
ence on the mortar.
In relation to the disadvantageous influence of the RCBA on
mortar performance, on the one hand, it is affected by the internal
structure of clay bricks, which have many micro pores and
 J. Dang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 166 (2018) 898–907
Fig. 8. The SEM images of RCBA, (a) 100, (b) 500, (c) 2000.
resulting in lower strength of fine recycled aggregate from crushed
bricks. On the other hand, the RCBA is processed by secondary
mechanical crushing and affected by mechanical forces, forming
irregular surface and angular shape. Moreover, there are a large
number of micro cracks on the RCBA surface. As a result, the phys-
ical properties of fine recycled aggregates from crushed bricks are
obviously lower than those of natural fine aggregate, which leads
to the decrease of mortar strength and flowability.
However, the fine recycled aggregates from crushed bricks also
have the beneficial influence on the performance of mortar, which
is generated by the interaction of the RCBA replacement ratio, the
particle size and the additional water content. The advantages are
presented as follows:
After secondary mechanical crushing, the RCBA of 0–0.15 mm
particle size content is as high as 22%, but micro powder particles
with the size less than 0.075 mm account for 85% of 0–0.15 mm
particle size. The micro powder particles can play a role of micro
filling in the mortar, and form the state of dense packing, as well
as improve the compactness of mortar. In addition, the optimum
replacement ratio of the RCBA is beneficial to improve the strength
of mortar.
905
(1) The RCBA can play the pozzolanic activity in the cement
mortar. This is because the potentially active glassy SiO2
and Al2O3 mineral composition formed through cooling after
high-temperature calcination. At the meantime, the strength
activity index is about 62% when water cement ratio is 0.5
and replacement ratio is 30%, which shows that RCBA pow-
der has certain pozzolanic activity. Therefore, the active
components of SiO2 and Al2O3 can promote the hydration
reaction with the cement hydration product to generate
more stable hydration products, fill in the micro pore or
interfacial transition zone, enhance the microstructure of
cement paste, as well as improving the strength of mortar.
At the same time, the specific surface area of the RCBA
increases after crushing, which promotes the development
of pozzolanic activity. And this is beneficial to the improve-
ment of the mortar strength.
(2) The strength of mortar is controlled by the effective water
cement ratio, while the additional water content of the RCBA
changes the effective water cement ratio of mortar. When
the additional water and mixing water are directly added
to the mixer, the effective water cement ratio is temporarily
906 J. Dang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 166 (2018) 898–907
Fig. 9. The SEM images of RW50 interface transition zone between fine aggregate and paste, (a) 7d, (b) 28d.
increased. But with the addition of the RCBA, it will absorb
water in cement matrix, and reduce the effective water
cement ratio of mortar. At the same time, due to the absorp-
tion of cement slurry, the RCBA surface is covered by cement
mortar with low water cement ratio, which makes up for the
influence of micro cracks to a certain extent, as well as
enhancing the interfacial transition zone between the waste
clay bricks aggregate and the cement paste.
(3) The RCBA has higher water absorption, and it will absorb
moisture in the cement slurry at the early stage. With the
continuous progress of cement hydration, the water
absorbed by the RCBA itself is gradually released to the sur-
rounding cement paste when the relative humidity of mor-
tar decreases and the humidity difference appears. This
further promotes the hydration reaction of cement. And
the RCBA can play an important role in the increase of the
later mortar strength.
4. Conclusion
In this paper, the influence of the replacement ratio, particle
size and additional water content of the RCBA on the workability,
compressive strength and flexural strength of mortar have been
studied. With the X-ray fluorecence (XRF) test, X-ray diffraction
(XRD) test and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) test results,
the chemical composition, mineral composition and microscopic
morphology of the RCBA have been analyzed. And the mechanism
of the RCBA on the performance of mortar has been further stud-
ied. The main conclusions are as follows:
(1) Due to the porous structure of waste clay brick and the sec-
ondary mechanical crushing processing, the apparent den-
sity, the loose bulk density and the compact density of the
RCBA are reduced. And the loose porosity, the compact
porosity, the aggregate crushing index and the saturated
surface dry absorption rate of the RCBA are increased.
(2) The replacement ratio and the additional water content of
the RCBA have great influence on the flowability of recycled
mortar. But the influence of different particle size of the
RCBA on the flowability of mortar is little. Due to the fully
additional water content of the RCBA, the flowability of mor-
tar is increased. However, the flowability of mortar is
decreased while the replacement ratio is increased when
the RCBA is with partially additional water.
(3) The additional water content and particle size of the RCBA
have significant influence on the strength of mortar. The
replacement ratio of the RCBA has little influence on the
strength of mortar. Due to the pozzolanic of RCBA, the ben-
eficial effect of the RCBA on strength increases gradually
with the increase of age. As the waste clay brick powder
can play a micro filling role, the strength of 0–5 mm particle
size distribution of recycled mortar is optimal. In addition,
the strength of mortar with the partially additional water
content of RCBA is increased compared to the mortar with
the fully additional water content of RCBA. Hence, the RCBA
with the partially additional water content and 0–5 mm par-
ticle size distribution is optimal to the strength of recycled
mortar.
(4) The microscopic test results show that the RCBA has the poz-
zolanic activity of SiO2 and Al2O3 components. And the main
mineral compositions in waste clay bricks are quartz, calcite,
albite and anorthite. In addition, the microstructure of the
RCBA has more irregular edges, rough surface and sharp
angles. Hence, the properties of RCBA can produce relatively
stable and dense interfacial transition zone between the
RCBA and cement paste, as well as improving the mechani-
cal performance of recycled mortar.
Acknowledgement
Research reported here was supported by Program for Innova-
tive Research Team of Education Ministry of China (IRT_16R67)
and Program for Innovative Research Team (in Science and Tech-
nology) in University of Henan Province (15IRTSTHN026).
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