The effect of the addition of ground olive stones on the physical and mechanical properties of clay bricks

This study deals with the effect of ground olive stones (GOS) on the performance of fired clay bricks. Seven different clay-GOS mixes with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 wt % of GOS respectively were used for making fired brick samples. All samples were fired at 900 °C. The technological properties of the resultant material were then determined, including shrinkage, apparent density, pore size distribution, thermal conductivity, water absorption, and compressive and flexural strength. The addition of GOS to the mixture reduced the compressive strength of fired clay bricks. All clay brick pieces exhibited low firing shrinkage. It was apparent that as the percentage of GOS increased in the body, there was a noticeable increase in porosity. The water absorption coefficient decreased with increasing additions. The results indicated that thermal conductivity decreases with decrease in density and increase in porosity in fired clay bricks.