Physicochemical characterization of the material used in the manufacture of brick in an artisanal way

The manufacture of Brick in an artisanal way is a traditional activity carried out by the knowledge and experience transmitted from person to person, due to this there are no work instructions, nor data on the chemical composition of the raw material used, nor control of the process of manufacturing. The objective of this study was to physicochemically characterize the raw material for the manufacture of Brick. The elemental chemical composition found was the following. C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Fe. Elements to which the mechanical properties of the Brick are attributed. The compressive strength of the Brick without heat treatment was 12 to 15 kg/cm2 , after heat treatment it was 24 to 45 kg/cm2 . Regarding morphology, particles from 4 to 301 µm were observed in the raw material. And in the Brick from 18 to 257 µm. It is concluded that the homogenization of the raw material, as well as the temperature control in the thermal treatment of the Brick allowed to obtain greater resistance to compression, since the Peruvian Standard ITINTEC 331.017. And Standard NMX-C-404-1997 establishes 60N/cm2 . and 24kg/cm2 minimum respectively.