Manufacturing of bricks from soil and crushed limestone by compression

Abstract EN

The environmental impact due to cement and burnt clay industries are increasing continuously, also cement concrete blocks and burnt clay bricks are increasingly becoming costly due to excessive cost of fuel required to manufacture the cement or burning the clay, while the soil suitable for construction is available everywhere in the world.

The paper presents the results of an experimental investigation undertaken at Mosul Technical Institute to assess the potential for unfired compressed earth bricks using locally soil as construction material stabilized with crushed limestone obtained from the waste of masonry factories.

The wet soil molded into bricks by manual press known globally as CINVA-RAM, exert high pressure.

The press was manufactured locally for the research purposes conducted in the institute.

Different percentages of crushed limestone by weight (passing sieve No.8) were added namely (4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 %) to the soil obtained from 20 km west of Mosul to reduce its expansiveness if any, and in a trial to improve its characteristics [1].

The results showed increase in compressive strength at 4 % and sharp decrease with higher percentages.