Characterization of Clays Used in Ceramic Paste for Brick Elaboration in Ocaña, Norte de Santander

Abstract

Due to the early cracking of walls caused by gravitational effects, particularly in houses of social strata 1 and 2, and due to the danger they would be exposed to in case of an earthquake, different analysis were performed in order to characterize the base material and designs of clay mixtures were elaborated to improve the paste and resistance of the bricks. The bricks were burned in a traditional kiln and in a muffle furnace to observe the changes in their physical and mechanical properties and determine the quality of the masonry pieces. The design of the mixture was carried out adding lime and changing the percentages of the base samples according to their chemical and mineral composition until appropriate water absorption, compression resistance and flexion percentages were reached. In addition, basic design parameters were determined