Mechanical behavior of rubberized interlocking bricks for masonry structural applications

The conventional technique of masonry bricks production has caused severe environmental pollution due to the massive emissions of greenhouse gases which lead to several climate changes such as haze, fog, air pollution, acid rain and global warming. On the other hand, the main ingredient of concrete masonry blocks is cement which consider as environmentally un-friendly. Consequently, the main objective of this paper is to study the development of eco-friendly rubberized interlocking bricks for masonry applications by incorporating crumb rubber and fly ash as a replacement of raw materials. Partially replacement of cement by 56% of fly ash and partially replacement of sand by 10% of crumb rubber were used in this study. Compressive and flexural strength test were carried out. It is found that the compressive strength of the innovative hollow and solid brick is 18.03 MPa and 24.29 MPa, respectively while the tensile strength of rubberized interlocking hollow brick is 2.23 MPa. As a result, the developed rubberized interlocking brick is considered as load-bearing masonry unit and can be used as structural elements.