Influence of silica fume on the properties of fired then water cured lime: Rich clay bricks

The effect of different amounts of silica fume on the hydration characteristics and physico-mechanical properties of calcareous clay bricks made by firing then water curing was studied up to 3 months. The results indicate that the compressive strength increases to a certain limit then decreases with silica fume content. Also, the strength increases with curing time. The results of bulk density and of the reverse trend of hydration volume changes are in a good agreement with that of compressive strength. Moreover, silica fume proves to be an active pozzolanic material, and gives a good improvement for the fired then water cured calcareous clay building bricks.