Recycled Brick as Thick Aggregate in Concrete Processing

Burgos Moreira Homero Alexander, Haro Gómez Xavier Alejandro

Lay University Eloy Alfaro of Manabí

ABSTRACT. -

Currently there is a great competitiveness in the field of civil construction, which forces
the entities belonging to this industry to optimize their building processes on a large scale
and try to make possible a greater productivity in the use of their resources. So we have
that these construction companies do not waste or abandon material when some building
is demolished; since, with the advance of technology and knowledge, it has been possible
to reach a possibility of solving the problem of waste of construction material. One of the
resolutions is the use of the crushed brick as a coarse aggregate in the manufacture of
concrete; where the coarse natural aggregate (gravel) is replaced by shredding brick,
trying to get the shredded material to have the same granulometry of the substituted
material, all under a very important relationship in the concrete production: water /
cement. Gravel being the material with the highest percentage in concrete production; we
can work its replacement in different proportions without passing that standard already
given. The use of recycled material emphasizes the issue of environmental conservation,
since it leads to a saving of materials that, in nature, take thousands of years to regenerate,
since most of these materials are made with nonrenewable resources.

KEYWORDS. –

Brick; dosage; aggregate; permeability; conservation.

INTRODUCTION
The protection of the environment is a basic factor, which is directly connected with the
survival of the human race. Parameters such as environmental awareness, protection of
natural resources, sustainable development play an important role in the modern
requirements for construction works. Building materials are very important in our lives,
because we spend 90% of our time in buildings or infrastructure (roads, highways,
bridges, etc.) [1].
The preparation of concrete consumes many natural aggregates, and the use of concrete
with recycled aggregates is a technique that solves the problems associated with the use
of natural aggregates. Large quantities of waste generated from clay bricks, construction
sites and demolitions are delivered mainly to the land or to recovery sites for disposal.
With limited surface space and recovery areas, it is important to evaluate the possible
reuse of clay bricks [2]. Due to the reserve of natural resources, the prevention of
environmental pollution, and the consideration of cost saving construction project, the
aggregate of recycled brick has been widely reused for the manufacture of different
building materials [3].

The investigation was carried out using bricks of crushed clay in concrete. It is known
that, in the use of crushed brick in concrete, one of the properties of the resultant to a
certain extent depends on the type of brick from which the aggregates are derived. Due
to the potential problems of using crushed clay bricks in concrete, many international
agencies restrict the amount of crushed brick that can be used in the concrete, which
makes it difficult to recycle this masonry waste [4].

This waste has an important potential to be recycled in comparison with other types of
inert waste, because brick residues allow obtaining a fragmented material that is used as
a recycled aggregate widely handled in the construction industry. The use of this waste is
an important aspect worldwide since this represents an economic benefit, due to the
incorporation of waste materials into the construction process and in turn helps to preserve
natural resources [4].

DESARROLLO
Large quantities of crushed concrete (CC) and brick are produced annually in the United
Kingdom and in other parts of the world. Due to the increase in the cost of landfills, the
scarcity of natural resources, together with the increase in the requirement of aggregates
for construction [5].

The Netherlands [6]: due to the lack of availability of coarse aggregates, several pilot
projects have already been carried out where 20% of the coarse aggregate has been
replaced by a mixture of concrete and crushed brick. This recycled aggregate was used in
the construction of a viaduct near the city of Helmond. In the works of the Schijndel port
gate, around 300 m3 of concrete was used with recycled aggregate from a mixture of

Email address:
xavierharo18@hotmail.com (X. Haro)
LAY UNIVERSITY
homeroburgosm@hotmail.com (H. Burgos) ELOY ALFARO OF MANABÍ
concrete and brick. Since 1994, the Dutch government allows the use of this type of
aggregate recycled in structural concrete, with a maximum replacement of 20% of the
coarse aggregate. However, between 1997 and 1998, 272 single-family houses were built
using 100% recycled aggregate. It was used for the construction of bulk concrete load-
bearing walls and concrete elements for façades and floors.

Germany [7]: the use of recycled aggregate dates back to 1950 and has been used mainly
for housing construction. In 1996 and 1997, a military zone was dismantled on the
outskirts of Itzehoe that produced some 50,000 tons of ceramic debris, which were used
for the construction of the same area again.

United States [6]: Of the approximately 2.7 million tons of recycled aggregate per year,
10 to 15% is currently used for paving, 20 to 30% for road construction and other
maintenance work and around 60 to 70 % are used for the production of structural
concrete.

Spain [8]: construction of the Olympic city of Barcelona; the constructions located in this
area were demolished reaching a debris amount of 1.5 million tons, for this purpose
selective demolition procedures were used, performing in situ a first elimination of
impurities. These materials were used to build the streets and roads of the city and
breakwater structures along the coastline.

Japan [9]: Although Japan has been investigating the reuse of demolition aggregates for
the manufacture of concrete for more than a quarter of a century, this recycling has not
been possible in its entirety, due to the fact that this material does not fully comply with
the JIS standard A-5308, which establishes the specifications of ready-mix concrete.
However, at present, this material is being used 96% as a subbase in road construction.
As the rate of demolition is increasing day by day, it is essential to effectively reuse
demolition waste in order to conserve non-renewable natural resources. The recycling of
concrete demolition waste as coarse aggregate for new concrete would facilitate its use
on a large scale [10]. Due to the reserve of natural resources, the prevention of
environmental pollution, and the consideration of cost saving construction project, the
aggregate of recycled concrete has been widely reused for the manufacture of different
building materials [11].

Email address:
xavierharo18@hotmail.com (X. Haro)
LAY UNIVERSITY
homeroburgosm@hotmail.com (H. Burgos) ELOY ALFARO OF MANABÍ
Granulometry of the aggregates for the manufacture of concrete. –
Taking into account that the granulometry composition of the aggregates involved in the
manufacture of concrete is an important factor for the manageability of the mixtures and
increase in the resistance of compression and bending, as long as these are within or near
the limits allowed. Picture 1, 2 and 3 show the results of a granulometry analysis for
natural coarse aggregates (gravel), coarse aggregates recycled (crushed brick) and fine
aggregate (sand) respectively [4].

Picture 1. Granulometry of natural coarse aggregate (Rojas, 2012).

Picture 2. Grinding granulometry of recycled brick (Rojas, 2012).

Picture 3. Granulometry of natural fine aggregate (Rojas, 2012).

Permeability and the use of harmful substances. –

Most existing research compares the mechanical properties of recycled concrete with
conventional concrete. However, there are few studies on the permeability of RAC. The
useful life of concrete structures depends on the durability of concrete materials. On the

Email address:
xavierharo18@hotmail.com (X. Haro)
LAY UNIVERSITY
homeroburgosm@hotmail.com (H. Burgos) ELOY ALFARO OF MANABÍ
other hand, permeability is the most important factor that affects the durability of
concrete. The economic impact of concrete durability has motivated two decades of
extensive research.

The mechanism that controls permeability depends on the floridura or chemical species
of interest. For example, in particular, air permeability affects the action of carbonation,
while the permeability of chloride ions affects the corrosion of steel. Many durability test
methods consider the penetration of deleterious sub-positions in concrete as a step that
controls the speed in the degradation process. Highly permeable concrete facilitates the
penetration of water and harmful substances, resulting in the deterioration of any of the
steel reinforcements embedded in the cement concrete [12]. The transport of gases,
liquids and ions through concrete is important because their interactions with concrete
components or pore water can directly or indirectly alter the integrity of the concrete and
deteriorate the structure, as mentioned above there is experimental evidence that
illustrates a correlation between the relevant transport properties and, or the penetration
of different substances or aggressive deterioration mechanisms.

Brick as a building material. –

The bricks are small ceramic pieces in the form of parallelepiped, formed by clayey earth,
molded, compressed and subjected to cooking. They can be used in all kinds of
constructions because of their regular and easy handling.

The predominant base material for making the brick is clay. This is a cheap and naturally
occurring ingredient in great abundance, often used as it is extracted from the mine or
field without any increase in the grade of quality. Clay minerals give this material the
characteristic, that when water is added, they become very plastic, property that is called
hydro plasticity; and allow the clay to melt in a wide range of temperatures; thus, a dense
and strong ceramic product can be obtained during cooking without complete fusion so
that the desired shape is preserved [11]. This range of melting temperatures obviously
depends on the composition of the clay.

Mechanical properties of brick. –

According to the durability we have: the resistance to freezing, which is the property that
allows the brick to withstand low temperatures, without affecting its mechanical and
durability characteristics; the resistance to fire, which is the capacity of bricks to
withstand high temperatures, without deteriorating their mechanical properties; the

Email address:
xavierharo18@hotmail.com (X. Haro)
LAY UNIVERSITY
homeroburgosm@hotmail.com (H. Burgos) ELOY ALFARO OF MANABÍ
thermal insulation that due to the low thermal conductivity of the brick, the transmission
of heat to other elements or spaces is minimized; the absorption that is the capacity of the
brick to retain elements in liquid state in its structure.

According to the resistance: the resistance to compression, in the units of masonry cooked
generally varies between 60 and 300 kg / cm2, being the bricks manufactured industrially
those that reach higher resistances.

A greater than ten percent fine value indicates a better resistance to crushing. The results
indicated that the natural aggregate was the strongest, followed by the addition of recycled
concrete and the crushed clay brick. In fact, shredded clay bricks were much weaker than
making natural and recycled concrete. In addition, it is worth noting that the strengths of
the natural aggregate in dry and soaked conditions were identical, while the strengths of
added recycled concrete and crushed clay brick after soaking decreased from 146 to 109
KN and 49 to 35 KN, respectively [13].

Dosing of crushed brick as aggregate in the concrete processing. –

When brick is characterized as aggregate, it tends to produce five concrete mixtures, a
standard mixture without brick and four mixtures with replacement of 20, 30, and 40 to
50% of the natural aggregate by crushed brick, trying to keep the same granulometry of
the gravel. This crushed brick can be worked in two different conditions of humidity: dry
to air and saturated with a dry surface; in order to observe the effect of concrete moisture
on the water / cement ratio and to observe the properties when: the concrete is fresh
(workability, unit weight and air content) and the concrete is hardened (compressive
strength) [4].

CONCLUSIONS.
The use of recycled brick as an aggregate in the manufacture of concrete offers a
promising solution for the problem of brick residues from defective manufacture, new
construction or demolition in the construction industry. In addition, the different entities
that make up this industry, would opt for this method, since it would save a considerable
economic value, just by taking most of the rubble from the demolished buildings to its
foundry or recycling for the creation of a new material; but not always the material is in
good condition, so therefore it is given to the optimal selection of the same.

Email address:
xavierharo18@hotmail.com (X. Haro)
LAY UNIVERSITY
homeroburgosm@hotmail.com (H. Burgos) ELOY ALFARO OF MANABÍ
We know that the protection of the environment has become a fundamental issue in our
times, for it is about maintaining the non-renewable resources worldwide, a way of
dealing is the one that presents this work; since, if we replace the gravel with the crushed
brick in the elaboration of concrete, we save this resource in nature, and as we know, the
gravel is a resource that for its creation in the environment will pass thousands of years.

REFERENCES.
[1] Oikonomou, N. D. (2005). Recycled concrete aggregates. Elsevier.

[2] Rosas-Moreto, H. (2018). Uso de Ladrillo de Arcilla con Exceso de Cocción como Agregado
Grueso en Concretos Hidráulicos. Universidad de Piura, Departamento de Ingeniería Civil, Perú.

[3] Poon, C. S., & Chan, D. (2005). Adoquines fabricados con árido reciclado de hormigón y
ladrillos de arcilla triturada. Elsevier.

[4] Rojas, M. Á. (2012). Uso de triturado de ladrillo reciclado como agregado grueso en la
elaboración de concreto. INGENIUM.

[5] Khatib, J. (2004). Properties of concrete incorporating fine recycled aggregate. Elsevier.

[6] European Thematic Network. (2000). Use of recycled materials as aggregates in the
construction industry. Issue 3&4.

[7] Robinson, G., Menzie, D., & Hyun, H. (2004). Recycling of construction debris as aggregate in
the Mid-Atlantic Region. Elsevier(42), 276.

[8] Morel, A., Gallias, J., Bauchard, M., Mana, F., & Rousseau, E. (1994). Practical guidelines for
the use of recycled aggregates in concrete in France and Spain. (1), 75.

[9] Akash, R., Kumar, N., & Sudhir, M. (2007). Use of aggregates from recycled construction and
demolition waste in concrete. Elsevier(50), 72-73.

[10] Padmini, A., Ramamurthy, K., & Mathews, M. (2009). Influence of parent concrete on the
properties of recycled aggregate concrete. Elsevier.

[11] Yong-Lin, H., Tyan, Y.-Y., Chang, T.-P., & Ching-Yun, C. (2003). Una evaluación de mezcla
óptima para el hormigón hecho con áridos de hormigón reciclados. ELSEVIER.

[12] Zong, L., Fei, Z., & Shiping, Z. (2014). La permeabilidad de hormigón con agregados de
reciclado que contiene florida, cenizas y residuos de ladrillos de arcilla. ELSEVIER.

[13]Poon, C. S., & Chan, D. (2005). Feasible use of recycled concrete aggregates and crushed clay
brick as unbound road sub-base. Elsevier.

Email address:
xavierharo18@hotmail.com (X. Haro)
LAY UNIVERSITY
homeroburgosm@hotmail.com (H. Burgos) ELOY ALFARO OF MANABÍ