Pozzolanic potentials and hydration behavior of ground waste claybrick obtained from clamp-firing technology

In this study, waste clay bricks were collected, ground and used to replace Portland cementbetween 10 and 40 wt.%. The optimum cement replacement was obtained using compressivestrength whereas the degree of hydration and heat evolution characteristics investigated usingthe thermogravimetric analyzer and the isothermal calorimeter respectively. The compressivestrength results indicated that the optimum Portland cement replacement with Ground WasteClay Bricks (GWCB) was at 30 wt.%. This was due to the high degree of pozzolanic reaction in theGWCB-Portland cement system. The heat of hydration of the GWCB-cement system was alsolower than the control system. The use of GWCB is recommended as a suitable pozzolan and theiruse as a pozzolanic material could be a way to redirect waste generated in clamp-fired brickfactories in West Africa.