Published Paper Details:

Bricks are mostly used in construction throughout the world. Traditional bricks are made up of clay which is treated in high temperature kiln firing. The removal of top layer of the soil and clay from the resources cause soil erosion. 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. Consequently, the main objective of this paper is to study the development of eco-friendly interlocking bricks for masonry applications by incorporating silica fume. Interlocking bricks are the enhanced form of conventional clay bricks. Each brick is constructively designed to lock itself to the other bricks around without the use of mortar. The self-locking is achieved using shear-key and lock mechanism. Based on the design, the shape of shear-key will vary and a complimentary lock is provided on the opposite side of brick. Load transfer is achieved by shear transfer and gravity. Silica fume is a by product of producing silicon metal or ferrosilicon alloys. One of the most beneficial uses for silica fume is in concrete. Because of its chemical and physical properties, it is a very reactive pozzolan. Partial replacement of cement with silica fume in interlocking brick by 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30% were used in this study. Compressive and Water absorption test, Block density was conducted to find out the characteristic changes.