Effect of Recycled Crushed Brick Waste as Fine Aggregate Replacement on Mechanical Properties of Green Concrete

Both the sand mining industry and the construction trade have a negative impact on the environment. Excessive sand mining activity and disposal of brick waste from construction industry is harmful to the environment. To reduce these effects, crushed brick waste has been a potential substitute for sand in concrete production. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of crushed brick wastes as fine aggregates on workability, compressive strength, flexural strength and water absorption of concrete. Concrete mixtures were prepared by substitution of sand content at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25%. All specimens were subjected to water curing. Four types of testing were conducted, namely the slump test, compressive strength test, flexural strength and water absorption test. The results indicated that use of crushed brick waste in concrete affects the workability, compressive strength and flexural strength. Water absorption of concrete increased when a higher percentage of crushed brick waste was used as sand replacement. On overall, up to 10% replacement of crushed brick can be integrated in concrete production. Conclusively, channelling the brick waste for the use as sand replacement in concrete promotes river sand saving and contributes towards a cleaner environment.