Physical and Mechanical Characterization of Concrete with Crushed Clay Brick with Mortar Attached for Irrigation Channels

Abstract

The continuous population growth that has been taking place worlwide generates greater needs of people, the construction sector in response to this must act in harmony with the environment to build infrastructures and buildings; the latter being those that, due to the end of their life cycle or the interruption of their time of use and serviceability, require demolition. The materials obtained from this demolition are varied, highlighting the clay bricks that are presented in significant quantities, generating a problema that needs to be managed in a different way, due to their own characteristics inherent to their composition; an alternative solution is to recycle them to obtain recycled clay brick aggregates and use them in the elaboration of a recycled concrete of fc= 175N/mm2 that has good physical and mechanical performance. The present research contemplates the use of the recycled coarse aggregate of crushed brick with mortar attached 25mm Ø as a 75% replacement of the natural coarse aggregate, evaluating the density, voids, water absorption and compressive and flexural strengths to the 7, 14 and 28 days; the results indicate that density, voids, water absorption and the compressive and flexural strengths present a good physical and mechanical behavior, making it suitable to be used in the lining of irrigation channels.