COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF LOCALLY AVAILABLE BRICKS & SAND IN EASTERN REGION OF CHITTAGONG

Abstract

Bricks & sand are used in various types of construction work such as partition wall, reservoir, road & building. Problems frequently occur due to the use of low-quality bricks & sands. Bricks & sand that do not fulfil the quality standards make structures weak & faulty. Different field and laboratory tests are needed for quality control of these engineering materials. This study covers the experimental investigation sand and brick samples collected from ten different local areas of Chittagong district. These materials were tested through field and laboratory tests to assess their engineering properties in order to compare with standard limiting values. Unit weight, Fineness modulus, Salinity, Water Absorption Capacity, Specific gravity and Chloride tests were conducted for sand. Whereas Field Test, Size & Shape, Salinity, Chloride, Unit Weight, Water Absorption and Crushing Strength tests were performed for Bricks in the laboratory of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology. The properties of brick and sand samples are observed to vary for different sources. However, the test data may provide necessary information to ensure quality of construction works in this region.