Investigation of Wastes Plastic and Glass to Enhance Physical - Mechanical Properties of Fired Clay Brick

Abstract Around the world, large amounts of plastic and glass waste have been collected. This work is given as a way to reduce this material. This paper aims to investigate how fired clay bricks' physical and mechanical properties are affected by plastic/glass (P/G) powder. It is used as a replacement for clay, varying the plastic/glass content 00/20, 05/15, 10/10, 15/05, and 20/00 weight %. The ratio of soil to water remains constant 0.3. The maximum temperature is presented after three fire phases. The temperatures are 300 °C for the first, 600 °C for the second, and 900 °C for the third. Results for the physical properties showed an increase in the water absorption of clay brick specimens as the plastic content increased; in addition, efflorescence was increased with plastic powder. However, the density and firing shrinkage decrease with plastic quantity. Also, the experimental results showed a decrease in water absorption and efflorescence when the glass powder was increased. While the density is higher when glass powder is 20 %. According to the findings on mechanical properties, clay brick samples with higher plastic powder content 20 % displayed a decrease in compressive strength and flexural bending strength, i. e. the mechanical properties (compressive and flexural strengths) are increased with the increased