Construction and Building Materials 16 2002.

101 112

Behaviour of low-temperature red laterite bricks under uniaxial compressive loading

Laurent MbumbiaU , Albert Mertens de Wilmars
Uni ersite catholique de Lou ain (UCL), Unite de Genie Ci il et En ironnemental, Place du Le ant 1, Bat. VINCI, 1348 Lou ain-la-Neu e, Belgium Received 20 December 2000; received in revised form 31 July 2001; accepted 25 October 2001

Abstract It has been shown previously that the properties of some laterite building bricks abundant in tropical areas can be improved by stabilization through heat at low temperatures. Further investigations based on a series of laboratory tests were carried out on these brick specimens subjected to uniaxial compressive loading at room temperature. The characteristics of the stress strain relationship are presented for predicting brick performance. When subjected to deformation, they behaved nonlinear plastic elastic plastic. They were found to exhibit linear elasticity in a domain where strain varied between 2 and 5% according to the type. These values of strain were found to be higher than the maximum elastic strain 0.5%. observed for many ceramics. 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Stress strain relationship; Nonlinear plastic elastic plastic behaviour; Low ring temperature; Laterite bricks; Cameroon

1. Introduction The behaviour of brick masonry as a structural material under specic loading conditions has been the subject of some investigations w1 4x. The case of bricks as a component material of masonry held only little attention w5x. Among the bricks, the most well-known group is red clay brick, one of the oldest and most used manufactured building materials. Another class of bricks, made of lateritic soil and its relative bauxite., has been the subject of new investigations this last decade w6 10x. Laterite is the traditional building raw material available in most parts of tropical areas. The difference between laterite and clay lies mainly in the particle size. Laterite is used as soil containing gravel, sand, silt and clay sizes in various proportions. To be
U

Corresponding author. Tel.: q32-10-472-116; fax: q32-10-472179. E-mail address: mbumbia@gce.ucl.ac.be L. Mbumbia..

used as raw material for brick making, laterite needs to be ground in small particles of cohesive material. It could be used intact if the clay fraction is predominant, so as to ensure cohesive property. In a previous study on the performance characteristics of lateritic soil bricks red at relatively low temperature, it has been reported that these products presented compressive strength higher than the minimum indicated by many standards and building codes 2 MPa. for building bricks w11x. Furthermore, it has been reported that the durability of the bricks, measured by compressive strength and resistance to erosion, is guaranteed for those red beyond 550 C. As one of the most important characteristics of a material is its response to stress w12x, it was essential to understand the behaviour of these types of bricks when subjected to uniaxial compressive loading. Such a test simulates best the loading the bricks will undergo in service. The study aims to determine the fundamental mechanical properties stress strain characteristics . and

0950-0618r02r$ - see front matter 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 9 5 0 - 0 6 1 8 0 1 . 0 0 0 3 5 - 6

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L. Mbumbia, A.M. de Wilmars r Construction and Building Materials 16 (2002) 101 112

to obtain a better understanding of the behaviour of laterite bricks, red at various specied conditions. Mechanical properties describe the way that a material responds to forces, loads, and impacts. Laterite bricks red at low temperature, in the range 550 750 C present acceptable compressive strength, low density and are also resistant to erosion. These properties make the bricks of study attractive structural materials that can be used more effectively and economically in the design and construction of buildings. The lack of data on the response of low temperature red laterite bricks to load makes it difcult to predict the behaviour of the masonry and hence allows for a safe structural design. In this paper, emphasis is placed on nding the stiffness modulus of elasticity . and the yield stress obtained by plotting the stress strain diagram. We select these two mechanical properties not as being most important but partly because they are familiar and partly because they are the properties which are generally considered rst in making a structural or mechanical component. The resistance of a material to a permanent deformation is measured by means of the stress necessary to produce a certain strain. According to the fact that stress versus strain curves obtained were not linear, the modulus of elasticity is studied herein in terms of linear, secant and tangent elastic modulus. The rigidity of a material, which does not follow the Hookes law, is obviously not constant, but varies with the stress. Sometimes, average rigidity is the best measurement of this quantity under a given constraint. It is called the secant modulus, and represents the average slope of the curve or slope of its secant. cord. If one wishes to have rigidity associated with a small increase with load, one can nd instantaneous rigidity by the slope of the tangent to the curve at the point in question. This slope is called the tangent modulus. In Section 5.2, only the linear elastic modulus should be used as Youngs modulus of elasticity. The main properties used in the theoretical background are presented in Section 2. In Section 3, experimental details are described. Test results are presented in Section 4, and the discussion is presented in Section 5.

In practice, the modulus help to choose the size or dimensions of the material. For example, with a high modulus the dimensions of a section could be reduced through a certain point below which it becomes impractical because of the dangers of elastic instability w13x. Also, a high modulus could limit the ability of the material to accommodate shock loading, and for most engineering applications a material needs to be compliant but not too much to avoid large elastic strain under service stresses . rather than stiff and strong. The experimental study conducted herein aims at contributing to establish empirical expressions available to estimate the modulus of elasticity of laterite bricks. The modulus of laterite brick, along with the modulus of mortars, will be used to estimate the modulus of elasticity of masonry or structural elements made of the two components brick and mortar.. Beyond this, it is the understanding of stress strain behaviour of a ceramic body made with laterite that is in question here. 2.2. Denition of properties The apparent limit of elasticity, the secant modulus and the tangent modulus of elasticity are non-linear properties commonly used to analyse elastic plastic behaviour of materials. They are determined experimentally from the stress strain diagram. 2.2.1. Linear modulus of elasticity The linear modulus of elasticity Elin is referred to the constant of Hookes law. In this paper, it is calculated according to the relation: Elin s
Ay C C

Ay

MPa .

1.

where A , A , C , C are dened at the nomenclature and specied on Fig. 1.

2. Theoretical background 2.1. Modulus of elasticity or stiffness of bricks The modulus of elasticity indicates the stiffness or resistance to movement of a material. This property is conventionally measured using standardized tests based on small specimens subjected to uniaxial compressive loading.

Fig. 1. Schematic representation of stress strain diagram of low-temperature red laterite brick.

L. Mbumbia, A.M. de Wilmars r Construction and Building Materials 16 (2002) 101 112

103

2.2.2. Secant modulus of elasticity The secant modulus of elasticity Esec is dened as the stiffness from the origin of the s f . curve at a certain point of that curve w14x. Its value depends on the position of the point, which is generally specied by the indication of the stress at that point. It is used when plastic strains are also involved and is calculated as follows: Esec s w r x s
I

Table 1 Summary of some physical and geotechnical properties of samples of lateritic soils from the Yaounde area Parameters Locationrsite Etoug Ebe IParticle size %. Gravel Sand Silt Clay Consistency limits Liquid limit LL. % Plastic limit PL. % Plasticity index PI. % Activity Cite Verte

MPa . s f ..

2.

2 28 31 39

34 29 15 22

where I is any point of the curve

2.2.3. Tangent modulus of elasticity A tangent elastic modulus Etan is dened as an increment of stress divided by an increment strain for an elastic substance w15x. At any stress or strain level, the tangent modulus of elasticity represents the slope of the stress strain diagram at that point, or instantaneous stiffness. It is calculated as follows: Etan s w d rd x s
I

58 38 20 0.51

61 39 22 1

MPa .

3.

where I is any point of the curve s f .. When plotting the curve Etan versus strain, we obtained the derivative curve of stress strain curve. Experimentally, the great importance of derivative curve is that it represents for each value of the variable the value of the variation of the function according to the variation of the variable around the point considered. The position of maximum and minimum is determined thus with a higher degree of accuracy. A maximum or a minimum of the derivative curve indicates a point of inection of the primitive curve. 2.2.4. Stress The term stress may be variously interpreted to mean the yield stress or the maximum stress. The yield stress is designated herein by A MPa. and will be considered at the outset where we recorded a plateau in stress. The maximum stress is designated in this paper by B MPa.. It occurs when the slope of the curve is horizontal at the maximum strength with conventional nominal area. According to Herubin w16x, for the designing purpose, it should be better for a material not to be stressed close to the failure stress. Therefore, A should be preferred to B which is given herein as an indication..

Yaounde town 3 52 N, 11 32 E. in Cameroon. The disturbed samples were obtained at a depth between 50 and 200 cm from a virgin site of each area. Particle size analysis and the consistency limit tests were carried out according to BS 1377:1975 to determine the physical and geotechnical properties of samples. The results are reported in Table 1. Chemical and mineralogical analysis were also performed respectively by X-ray uorescence spectrography and X-ray diffraction. Their results are presented in Table 2. 3.2. Brick preparation The specimens of brick were manufactured by an industrial mechanized process in the laboratories of the
Table 2 Results of chemical and mineralogical analysis of samples of lateritic soils from the Yaounde area Parameters Locationrsite Etoug Ebe Chemical analysis (%) Loss on ignition L.O.I. Silica SiO2 . Alumina Al2 O3 . Iron oxide Fe2 O3 . Titane oxide TiO2 . Manganese oxide MnO. Magnesium oxide MgO. Calcium oxide CaO. Potassium oxide K2 O. Sodium oxide Na2 O. Phosphorous oxide P2 O5 . Total Mineral analysis qualitative. Cite Verte

11.41 44.3 30.4 11.5 1.37 0.0301 0.321 0.0285 0.346 0.0142 0.0142 99.8025 Quartz Kaolinite Goethite Hematite

14.75 45.4 25.3 12.8 0.869 0.107 0.15 0.0294 0.297 0.117 99.8194 Quartz Kaolinite Goethite Hematite Illite

3. Experimental 3.1. Raw materials The laterite raw materials were collected from two different areas, namely Etoug Ebe and Cite Verte of

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L. Mbumbia, A.M. de Wilmars r Construction and Building Materials 16 (2002) 101 112 Table 3 Proportions by mass of the particle sizes of crushed samples Sample wt. %. Particle size Sand Etoug Ebe Cite Verte 20 15 Silt 20 45 Clay fraction - 2 60 40 m.

Belgian Ceramic Research Centre BCRC. at Mons. Samples of laterite of each site were dried in electric drying oven at 105 110 C for 48 h, then crushed in a grinder to reduce the particle size. The proportions by mass of the various sizes of particles present in the crushed samples are reported in Table 3. After processing, the specimens average size was found to be 60 mm= 33 mm= 27 mm. After curing during 21 days, they were then red at specic temperatures in an electrical furnace in the Civil Engineering Laboratory at the UCL. Two dwell times 4 h and 8 h., i.e. the bearing ring time, were chosen for the specimens of Etoug Ebe, and one dwell time 4 h. was retained for the specimens of Cite Verte. For all the cycles of ring, a rising rate of 2 Crmin and a lowering rate of 1 Crmin were maintained. After ring and cooling, seven series of bricks related to the temperature of curing or ring, i.e. 27, 110, 350, 550, 750, 850 and 975 C of each of the three types, namely EE4 Etoug Ebe, 4 h., EE8 Etoug Ebe, 8 h. and CV4 Cite Verte, 4 h. were retained for test purposes. The test took on only one specimen randomly chosen of each ring temperature. It aimed to give an idea on the aspect of the shape function of the stress strain diagram. More tests based on ve or six specimens of each series are indicated to establish real stress strain relationship, which is out of the scope of the present paper. The average nal product size was found to be 53 mm= 30 mm = 25 mm. The physical properties of the Etoug Ebe bricks have been presented w11x. 3.3. Uniaxial compressi e loading A view of a typical specimen in a testing machine is

shown in Fig. 2. The uniaxial compressive loading was done according to the ASTM C 126:E 4 and E 6 standard methods 14 days after ring and cooling. Few modications were brought. They took on the surface of specimen where the load was applied. Steel plates of 30 mm= 30 mm= 10 mm and 100 mm= 30 mm= 10 mm were used on the upper and the lower the surfaces of specimen, respectively. A capping layer made of thin sheet of cardboard of 30 mm= 30 mm= 2 mm was also placed between the specimen and the steel plates, so as to have a uniform and standard compressed surface of specimen. The steel plate of 100 mm= 30 mm= 10 mm was pasted on the platens of the test machine. The speed of loading by displacement of the platens was 0.4 mmrmin and the tests took place on a universal testing machine. The specimens were tested at wise i.e. the load was applied in the direction of depth of the brick. under steadily increasing axial compressive loads up to failure. At the outset, a 0.001-mm micrometer dial gauge type Mitutoyo, with its point in contact with the platens of the test machine, was used to measure the vertical displacement. Vertical force, vertical displacement and time were recorded systematically on a computer connected to the test machine. The data obtained permitted the computation of stresses and strains by

Fig. 2. View of a typical compressive specimen in a testing machine.

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105

Fig. 3. Stress strain diagrams of different types of bricks.

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L. Mbumbia, A.M. de Wilmars r Construction and Building Materials 16 (2002) 101 112

dividing the vertical force by the initial cross-sectional area 900 mm2 . and the vertical displacement by the initial height respectively. The computed data permitted to plot the stress strain curves.

erite bricks are shown in Fig. 3. Three regions can be identied on the diagrams: The rst region is represented by the branch OC Fig. 1.. It corresponded probably to the effect of capping layer made of thin sheets of cardboard partly and non-elastic response of material the other part. At test beginning, the capping layer deformed under the effect of compression until the moment when the contact of test machinercardboardrspecimen became real and effective. From this moment, the effective recording of load and displacement of material started and a plastic strain began at very low stresses. The second region is represented by the linear zone CA. Here, the bricks exhibited a stiffer and more linear response Fig. 3. up to a yield stress. In other words the bricks of all series and all types behaved as Hookean materials in that region. The width of the elastic domain is measured by the quantity A C . as listed in Tables 4 6 or, in extension by the quantity A K .. Within this domain, the strain represents approximately 50% in average of the strain at the yield stress. The third region is represented by the branch AB. In that region the bricks exhibited a non-linear compressive stress response up to a maximum stress B at which point large deformations occurred without signicant increase in the stress. The transition from elastic to plastic behaviour of the bricks took place. Bricks of series 27, 110 C for all types and 350 C for the type EE4. exhibited the existence of a plateau in the stress strain diagram, at which the strain increased rapidly while the stress remained substantially constant. Talking about the slope of the elastic domain, it was observed that bricks of series 27, 110 and 350 C had lower slopes than bricks of series 550, 750, 850 and 975 C. It meant that the rst group of bricks 27, 110 and

4. Results 4.1. Characteristics of samples of lateritic soils and crushed materials As shown in Table 1, the lateritic soils from the Yaounde area are plastic in nature 20 - PI - 25.. The samples contain particles of all sizes from gravel down to clay and could be described as gravelly sandy silty clay. The activity of the sample of Etoug Ebe 0.51. shows that this laterite raw material is an inactive clay activity - 0.75. in which kaolinite activity value approximates 0.4., as revealed by the mineralogical analysis Table 2., is the dominant clay mineral, while the sample of Cite Verte, with an activity of 1, is a normal clay dominated both by kaolinite and illite activity s 0.9. w17x. Quartz, goethite and hematite are other minerals present in the samples. As indicated in Table 2, the chemical analysis shows that the raw materials consist mainly of silica SiO 2 ., alumina Al 2 O 3 . and iron oxide Fe 2 O 3 .. They contain only a small quantity of calcium oxide - 0.03%. and alkalies. Table 3 gives the proportions by mass of the particle sizes of crushed materials used to prepare specimens. According to the values obtained, the Etoug Ebe crushed material can be considered as a clay of siliceous nature, while the Cite Verte crushed material can be considered as a silty clay of siliceous nature. 4.2. Stress strain characteristics The stress strain diagrams of different types of latTable 4 Specic mechanical properties of series of bricks of type EE4 Series of brick
B A C B A C K B A A A C K

27 C 2.97 2.80 0.50 0.032 0.025 0.008 0.004 0.007 0.017 0.021 135

110 C 3.57 3.10 0.90 0.037 0.030 0.010 0.002 0.007 0.020 0.028 110

350 C 3.87 3.48 1.00 0.036 0.025 0.017 0.014 0.011 0.008 0.011 310

550 C 9.63 8.20 2.00 0.047 0.032 0.017 0.012 0.015 0.015 0.020 413

750 C 10.38 10.08 3.00 0.054 0.040 0.023 0.016 0.014 0.017 0.024 416

850 C 11.27 11.40 3.00 0.052 0.040 0.020 0.013 0.012 0.020 0.027 420

975 C 15.34 13.20 3.00 0.050 0.044 0.022 0.015 0.006 0.022 0.029 463

MPa. MPa. MPa.

Elin MPa.

L. Mbumbia, A.M. de Wilmars r Construction and Building Materials 16 (2002) 101 112 Table 5 Specic mechanical properties of series of bricks of type EE8 Series of brick
B A C B A C K B A A A C K

107

27 C 2.97 2.80 0.50 0.032 0.025 0.008 0.004 0.007 0.017 0.021 135

110 C 3.57 3.10 0.90 0.037 0.030 0.010 0.002 0.007 0.020 0.028 110

350 C 3.79 2.98 1.00 0.043 0.036 0.024 0.019 0.007 0.012 0.017 165

550 C 9.49 7.20 2.00 0.046 0.037 0.023 0.018 0.009 0.014 0.019 371

750 C 10.36 9.00 3.00 0.064 0.039 0.022 0.013 0.025 0.017 0.026 353

850 C 12.28 11.00 3.00 0.063 0.044 0.020 0.014 0.019 0.024 0.030 333

975 C 14.63 14.00 4.00 0.040 0.034 0.049 0.013 0.006 0.015 0.021 667

MPa. MPa. MPa.

Elin MPa.

350 C. deformed more quickly than they resisted the load. 4.3. Modulus of elasticity The computed values of linear modulus of elasticity Elin . are presented in Tables 4 6. The modulus, within a type, varied from one series of brick to another. For the type EE4 and EE8, when passing the series 27 C to the series 110 C, the modulus value decreased. Beyond the series 110 C, the value of Elin increased signicantly up to the series 550 C from which one could observe a relative stability up to the type 850 C and a relative increase at the series 975 C. For the type CV4, Elin increased from the series 27 C up to the series 850 C from which the relative decrease observed at series 975 C cast some doubt and needs more tests before it can be conrmed. Fig. 4 shows the variation of secant modulus of elasticity Esec . of bricks of type EE4 with strain. To plot the curves of variation, the Eq. 2. was used with the consideration of the curve origin at the point of . diagram where the stress took the value 0.50 MPa. This assumption was made to deduct the effect of cardboard capping layer. The secant modulus increased
Table 6 Specic mechanical properties of series of bricks of type CV4 Series of brick
B A C B A C K B A A A C K

with the strain and attained its maximum value at the yield point. Beyond this point, its value decreased with strain whatever the series of brick. As said earlier, two groups of bricks were distinguishable on Fig. 4: the rst group concerned the series 27, 110 and 350 C with their yield point secant modulus at approximately 150 185 MPa at 1.3% of strain, and the second group concerned the series 550, 750, 850 and 975 C with their yield point secant modulus between 280 and 345 MPa at approximately 3% of strain. Compared with the values of Elin , it can be seen that the values of Esec at the yield point were the lowest beyond the series 110 C. With more the slope is weak, with more material approaches a purely elastic material. Fig. 5 illustrates the variation of some tangent modulus of elasticity Etan . with strain in the case of type EE4 bricks. The great importance of the diagram is the attached stress strain curves. In other words, this gure shows the variation of the stress and its derivative with strain. As the stress and the strain increased, the tangent modulus varied, passing through local and global minimumrmaximum. Those particular points can be seen on the curves by the summits oriented in the sense of concavity minimum. or convexity maximum.. Few sharply dened summits can be observed on the

27 C 3.22 2.90 0.51 0.050 0.040 0.010 0.008 0.010 0.030 0.032 80

110 C 4.28 3.98 1.00 0.055 0.046 0.022 0.020 0.009 0.024 0.026 124

350 C 5.39 4.27 1.00 0.054 0.037 0.016 0.009 0.017 0.021 0.028 156

550 C 7.97 7.48 2.00 0.061 0.057 0.028 0.015 0.004 0.029 0.042 189

750 C 8.31 8.24 2.00 0.062 0.056 0.025 0.015 0.006 0.031 0.041 201

850 C 8.89 8.25 4.00 0.062 0.051 0.034 0.023 0.011 0.017 0.028 250

975 C 9.61 7.24 2.00 0.067 0.045 0.023 0.016 0.022 0.022 0.029 238

MPa. MPa. MPa.

Elin MPa.

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Fig. 4. Secant modulus of elasticity versus strain curves of bricks of type EE4.

curves a., b. and c. of Fig. 5. The summits indicated the points of inection of the primitive curves s f ..

5. Discussion 5.1. Beha iour of low-temperature red laterite bricks For the different brick types examined in this study, the cardboard capping layer used in uniaxial compressive test appear to give an increased initial strain relative to the setting up of specimens on testing machine. It can be assumed that one part of the non-linear behaviour observed in the rst region branch. of Fig. 3 is attributed to cardboard effect and another part to the initial cracks or porosity present in specimens. This last assumption is be conrmed by a previous research conducted by Watstein w5x. He stated that during the test of brick specimens, there were audible indications of cracking conrmed by the extensibility of clay products of the order of 200 300 = 10y6 . He made the assumption that microscopic cracks develop in the brick, and postulated that the initial cracks were closely spaced microscopic ssures based on the fact that the stress strain curves were smooth and showed no sharp breaks. For the case of 110 and 750 C bricks type EE4. where the stress strain curves shown sharply dened discontinuities, it can be assumed that the initial cracks were of appreciable width and few in number. A similar phenomenon non-linear behaviour. observed in compressive test on low-temperature red laterite bricks is be put in evidence furthermore by Paterson w18x who indicated that when subjecting a cylindrical test tube of rock at the rupture under triax-

ial compression, one observes in a rst period an elastic or an inelastic closing of pores of the material. This closing that translates itself by the inverse curvature of the stress strain diagram tends to disappear when one applies a conning pressure to the test tube. As water absorption is an indication of porosity of bricks, it has been shown in a former paper w11x that, for the types EE4 and EE8 bricks, the average water absorption decreased when passing from the series 350 C 28 29%. to the series 550 C 27%.. It increased slowly from the series 550 C to the series 750 C 28%.. From this last series, water absorption decreased up to the series 975 C 26%.. For the bricks of type CV4, new investigations show that the average water absorption increased when passing the series 350 C 22%. to the series 750 C 24%. through the series 550 C 23%.. From the series 750 C, it value decreased up to the series 975 C 23%.. As one could observe, the difference in average water absorption is insignicant within the same type of bricks whatever the series. In return, the difference is appreciable between the bricks of Etoug Ebe EE4 and EE8. and those of Cite Verte CV4. of approximately 5%, probably due to their nature clay for EE4 and EE8, silty clay for CV4.. For all bricks types examined, it can be postulated that the non-linear behaviour observed was due essentially to pores, ssures and microscopic cracks present in bricks. In fact, within the linear zone, the modulus of elasticity is known to be constant according to the theory on strength of material. If so, the secant modulus versus strain curves of Fig. 4 and the tangent modulus versus strain curves illustrated in Fig. 5 should have been represented by an horizontal line on the

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109

Fig. 5. Some curves of variation of the tangent modulus of elasticity with strain, in relation with the stress strain curves. Series of bricks of type EE4: a. 27 C; b. 550 C; c. 975 C.

diagram. But the variation of secant and tangent modulus observed tends to conrm the presence of signicant porosity. In that way, it could be postulated that the strain K Tables 4 6. corresponds to strain favoured by porosity. The variation of slopes observed on the stress strain diagram for the two groups of bricks 27, 110 and 350 C. and 550, 750, 850 and 975 C. explained the degree of ring. The bricks of the rst group are less red hence less compact than those of the second group. That is why the rst group of bricks deformed more quickly than they resisted the load. In the rst approximation, the stress strain relation-

ship for each laterite brick type could be mathematically characterized in the form of an S shape function. More data from further tests on more specimens are required to predict the exact mathematical model. 5.2. Design application: strength-to-density and modulusto-density ratios Density, strength and modulus of elasticity are main variables important for the selection of bricks in the sense that they could permit to attain minimum weight or minimum deformation for the component brick in a structure. As an illustration, let us explore two key

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considerations in design presented by Flinn w12x: how much load a component brick. will carry and how much it will deform. Design based on stiffness begins with establishing the relationship between deformation, load, and geometric factors, while the relationship between yield strength, load, and geometric factors is related to design based on strength. For a brick in axial compression, the formulas below taken from the standard texts on mechanics and strength of materials could be applied: s and
ys

Let us now consider the relationship between the modulus of elasticity E and the density . Combining Eq. 4. with Eq. 6. yields ms Ph2

E/

8.

Ph ELb

4.

P Lb

5.

where is the observed contraction, P is applied load, y is yield strength, E is the modulus of elasticity, L is the length, b is the width and h is the height. Let us consider the relationship between yield strength, y , and density for a brick in axial compression. The mass m s Lbh Combining Eq. 5. with Eq. 6. yields m s Ph 6.

/
y

7.

The weight is proportional to the density divided by the modulus of elasticity. Finding an optimal stiffness or having the lightest weight component equals to maximize the ratio Er . Figs. 6 and 7 show the general tendencies of variation, respectively, of yield strength-to-density ratio and linear modulus-to-density ratio with the temperature of ring. It may be observed from these gures that, the ratios yr and Er increased when passing from the series 110 C to the series 975 C for the three types EE4, EE8 and CV4. Furthermore, the difference in ratios is insignicant when passing from the series 550 C to the series 975 C. In other words, higher is the temperature of ring the brick, higher are its yield strength-to-density and linear modulus-to-density ratios and lower is its weight. The recommendation made in a previous paper w11x for the attractiveness to builders of the series 550 C according to its durability is being reinforced here by this study according to the light-weight of the bricks of that series. With this series, it may be possible to economize energy saving of fuel and the conservation of resources. when manufacturing products, reduce weight of products while keeping an optimal strength and an optimal stiffness.

Therefore, the mass or the weight. is a function of to y . When we must have the lightest the ratio of weight component brick., we select the material with the highest ratio yr .

6. Conclusions On the basis of the study presented in this paper, the following conclusions can be drawn.

Fig. 6. Yield strength-to-density ratio diagrams of the three types of bricks.

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111

Fig. 7. Linear modulus-to-density ratio diagrams of the three types of bricks.

1. The stress strain relationship was curvilinear up to the yield point for all series of bricks of the three types. Beyond the yield point, the bricks exhibited a non-linear elasticity. In other words, the laterite building bricks red at low temperatures exhibit a non-linear plastic elastic plastic behaviour as indicated by the results of the uniaxial and uniform compressive loading. Those bricks are non-elastic materials minor plastic strain begins at low stresses . during a short period of loading corresponding to the time their initial cracks, pores, sharp notches and microscopic ssures closed under a certain applied load. Beyond this period, they exhibit elastic behaviour as the common ceramics up to the yield stress. From this point large deformations occurred without signicant increase in the stress corresponding to the transition from elastic to plastic behaviour. 2. The mechanical properties studied herein stress and stiffness . are very sensitive to the microstructure of the bricks. The stress and stiffness of low-temperature red laterite bricks vary with their structure porosity, degree of ring.. 3. The capping layer made of cardboard seemed to play a small role on the rst period of loading during compressive testing. But its effect did not modify the signication given to the non-linear response of specimen in the rst branch of stress strain diagram. The use of cardboard presents noticeable advantages easier manipulations, especially weaker dispersion of the results, less costly. 4. The elastic strain at the yield point varied from 2 to 5% according to the brick type and was found to be higher than the maximum elastic strain 0.5%. observed for brittle materials. This range of values 2 5%. which seem high must be taken with care. The response of the component brick may be modied when assembled with the component mortar in masonry. It means that, the appreciation of the complete behaviour of a

structure where those low-temperature red laterite building bricks are a component calls for further investigations on specimen of that structure.

Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the Director of the BCRC, Dr F. Cambier and its personnel for the preparation of specimens. They also wish to acknowledge the personnel of the Civil Engineering Laboratory at the UCL for their assistance with experiments. This study has been held by the Belgian administration in charge of cooperation DGCI..

Appendix A. Nomenclature

E: modulus of elasticity MPa. Elin : linear modulus of elasticity MPa. Esec : secant modulus of elasticity MPa. Etan : tangent modulus of elasticity MPa. . A , y : stressrstrength at the yield point MPa strain at the yield point mmrmm. A: maximum stressrstrength MPa. B: strain at the maximum stress mmrmm. B: stressrstrength at the outset of the linear zone C: MPa. strain at the outset of the linear zone C: mmrmm. strain at the point of intersection of the K: straight-line portion of the stress strain curve with the strain axis mmrmm. : contraction of test brick unit mm. : density grcm3 . m: massrweight of brick kg. P: applied vertical load on the brick N.

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L. Mbumbia, A.M. de Wilmars r Construction and Building Materials 16 (2002) 101 112

L: b: h:

length of brick mm. width of brick mm. height of brick mm.

w7x

Subscripts: EE4: related to Etoug Ebe bricks red during 4 h EE8: related to Etoug Ebe bricks red during 8 h CV4: related to Cite Verte bricks red during 4 h A: yield point on the stress strain curve B: failure point C: outset of the linear branch O: origin point of the stress strain curve

w8x

w9x

w10x w11x

References
w1x Alshebani MM, Sinha SN. Stress strain characteristics of brick masonry under uniaxial cyclic loading. J. Struct. Eng. 1999;1256.:600 604. w2x Naraine K, Sinha SN. Behaviour of brick masonry under cyclic compressive loading. J. Struct. Eng. 1989a;1156.:1432 1445. w3x Naraine K, Sinha SN. Loading and unloading stress strain curves for brick masonry. J. Struct. Eng. 1989a;11510.: 7631 7644. w4x Sinha BP, Pedreschi RF, De Vekey RC. Investigation of the ultimate load behaviour of pre-stressed brickwork beams built with perforated bricks. Construct Build. Mater. 1992; 62.:117 123. w5x Watstein D. Relation of unrestrained compressive strength of brick to strength of masonry. J. Mater. 1971;62.:304 309. w6x Marras SI, Ihtiaris IA, Hatzitrifon NK, Sikalidis K, Aifantis EC.

w12x w13x w14x w15x w16x w17x w18x

A preliminary study of stress-assisted uid penetration in ceramic bricks. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 2000;20:489 495. Vicenzo SM, Campostrini R, Maurina S, Carturan G, Monagheddu M, Budroni G, Cocco G. Bauxite red mud in the ceramic industry. Part 1: thermal behaviour. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 2000;20:235 244. Vicenzo SM, Maurina S, Conci A, Salviati A, Carturan G, Cocco G. Bauxite red mud in the ceramic industry. Part 2: production of clay-based ceramics. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 2000;20:245 252. Wagh AS, Douse VE. Silicate bonding of laterites an ancient process for construction components. Ceram. Civilization 1993;6:75 87. Wagh AS, Douse VE. Silicate bonded ceramics of red mud. J. Mater. Res. 1991;6:5. Mbumbia L, Mertens de Wilmars A, Tirlocq J. Performance characteristics of lateritic soil bricks red at low temperatures: a case study of Cameroon. Construct Build. Mater. 2000;143.:121 131. Flinn RA, Trojan PK. Engineering Materials and Their Applications. Boston, MA: Houghton Miff. Co, 1990. Biggs WD. Strength of Materials. London: Taylor & Francis, 1968. Richards CW. La Science des Materiaux de lIngenieur. Paris: Dunod, 1965 translated by G Lehr.. Jastrzebski ZD. Nature and Properties of Engineering Materials. New York: Wiley, 1959. Herubin CA, Marotta TW. Basic Construction Materials. Methods and Testing. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1987. Head KH. London: Plymouth, 1984. Paterson MS. Experimental Rock Deformation. The Brittle Field. Berlin: Springler Verlag, 1978.