CIV 6011 - Building Technology

Usage of Clay and clay

admixtures in Construction
Industry
SMR
Prof Bernard Johnston

By
Khashayar Mohammadian
Why Clay ?
Universally available material
Different geographic, climatic conditions throughout the world
Affordable and recyclable material
Relatively low thermal conductivity
Extraction, Processing & forming :

 Extractive industry relying on

natural resources
 Extraction can be in sustainable
manner
 Extracted close to the works 
Low transportation costs
Low thermal conductivity and its
availability makes it a good choice for
deserted areas
In what forms is it used ?
 Mixture of clay and straw fibers,
 traditional technique called "wattle and daub,"
is still in use in the preservation of historic
buildings
 Caliche a mixture of calcium carbonate and
clay
 Mud bricks are most common type of bricks
Clay adobes are fired ("burned") at 900-1000
°C to achieve strength
 Brick works:

Shebli (12th century) near Tehran

Usage of Clay in the Middle east:

Features such as Wind catchers made

available by using clay for cooling purposes
Wind catcher
Poor performance in seismic areas
The Bam citadel (248 BC):
Clay and Lime mixture with water resistance
Si-o-Se Pol in Esfahan (1602): (Bridge of 33 Arches)
Behnam House in Tabriz (1781)
In Europe:

Walls:

Roofs:
Plain Tiles Roman Tiles
 Brick Institute winners 2007

Best innovative use of brick/clay (Organic House Hertfordshire)

Best international project (Sports centre Amsterdam)

Assembly & Erection:
 Both in case of using Blocks of Bricks or
Clay (adobes) masonry type
 Joint together with a kind of mortar
 Slow process as Blocks placed one by one
 Labour intensive if insitu
Wastage:
 Clay is usually extracted in close proximity
to the works. The volume required can be
accurately assessed so there is little risk
of waste
 Damage during unloading and storage is a
major cause of brick and block wastage
 Blocks and bricks are also damaged
during cutting and this can produce off cut
waste
Durability:
 Well in excess of a 100 years (brick)
 Clay has a variable durability
 Brick can be re-used after a building has
been demolished
 Clay can be re-used subject to its
conditions
 Demolishing
 Easy to demolish
 Extracting roof tiles and storing them for re-
use is not difficult
 In several EU countries more than half of all
demolition waste is re-used in some form
Disposal Problems
If Contaminated with other construction waste
such as plasterboard can be limiting
Recycling/Reuse:
 valuable as a recyclable material
 brick that is damaged can be crushed
and recycled  turned into aggregate
 Can be used to make more brick or as
fill in highway sub-base / foundations …

 Brick dust can be used as a surface for

tennis courts or athletics tracks
Wine cellar made with re-used bricks
Conclusion:
 Universally available
 Good in terms of sustainability, recycling
and re-use
 Poor performance in seismic areas
 Slow construction process
 Can be aesthetically pleasing