Physical properties of lightweight fired clay made from diatomite Earth mixed with foam

Abstract

This article report was study of the physical properties of lightweight fired clay made from diatomaceous Earth mixed with foamed in the amount of 5 – 20 % w/w of dry soil. The lightweight fired clay has been burnt at 800 °C for 12 hours. The compressive strength, water absorption, dry unit-weight and microstructure were tested. The results founded that the dry unit-weight of lightweight fired clay was between 510 - 1100 kg/m³ which decreased with increasing foam content. The compressive strength of lightweight fired clay decreases with the decreased of unit-weight level. The compressive strength were between of 20 - 50 kg/cm². Which the compressive strength are similar to that of ordinary construction fired clay bricks. The water absorption increased with the decrease of the unit-weight level. The water absorption were between of 29 – 47 %, which are higher than the ordinary construction fired clay bricks. However, the main objective of this research is to use diatomite Earth as a material for the production of lightweight fired clay bricks, but strong and to enhance the quality of the fired clay bricks to be more competitive in the market.