Absorption Test on Bricks Absorption test is conducted on brick

to find out the amount of moisture

content absorbed by brick under
Objective: to find out the amount of
extreme conditions. In this test,
moisture content absorbed by brick
sample dry bricks are taken and
under extreme conditions weighed. After weighing these bricks
Procedure: are placed in water with full
1.Sample dry bricks are taken and immersing for a period of 24 hours.
weighed Then weigh the wet brick and note
2.The bricks are placed in water for down its value. The difference
24 hours. between dry and wet brick weights
3.Weight the wet brick. will give the amount of water
4.Note down its value. absorption. For a good quality brick
Water absorption: The difference the amount of water absorption
between dry and wet brick weights should not exceed 20% of weight of
dry brick.
For a good quality brick the amount of
In this test bricks are weighed in dry condition
water absorption should not exceed
and let them immersed in fresh water for 24
20% of weight of dry brick.
hours. After 24 hours of immersion those are
taken out from water and wipe out with cloth.
Then brick is weighed in wet condition. The
difference between weights is the water
absorbed by brick. The percentage of water
absorption is then calculated.

The less water absorbed by brick the greater its

quality. Good quality brick doesn't absorb
more than 20% water of its own weight.
A brick is taken and it is weighed dry. It is
then immersed in water for a period of 16
hours. It is weighed again and the
difference in weight indicates the amount
of water absorbed by the brick. It should
not in exceed 20 per cent of weight of dry
brick.
Crushing Strength or Crushing strength of bricks is
determined by placing brick in
Compressive Strength Test compression testing machine. After
on Bricks placing the brick in compression
Procedure: testing machine, apply load on it until
1.Place brick in compression testing machine. brick breaks. Note down the value of
2.Apply load until it is break. failure load and find out the crushing
3.Note down the value of failure load. strength value of brick. Minimum
4.Calculate the crushing strength value of brick crushing strength of brick is
3.50N/mm2.if it is less than 3.50
As per BIS: 1077-1957, the minimum
N/mm2, then it is not useful for
crushing or compressive strength of
construction purpose.
bricks is 3.50 N/mm2. The bricks with
This test is done to know the compressive
crushing strength of 7 to 14 N/mm2 are strength of brick. It is also called crushing
graded as A and those having above 14 strength of brick. Generally 5 specimens
N/mm2 are graded. as AA. if it is less of bricks are taken to laboratory for
than 3.50 N/mm2, then it is not useful testing and tested one by one. In this test
for construction purpose. a brick specimen is put on crushing
machine and applied pressure till it
breaks. The ultimate pressure at which
brick is crushed is taken into account. All
five brick specimens are tested one by
one and average result is taken as brick's
compressive/crushing strength.
The crushing strength of a brick is found
out by placing it in a compression testing
machine. It is pressed till it breaks. As per
BIS: 1077-1957, the minimum crushing or
compressive strength of bricks is 3.50
N/mm2. The bricks with crushing
strength of 7 to 14 N/mm2 are graded as
A and those having above 14 N/mm2 are
graded. as AA.
Hardness Test on Bricks A good brick should resist scratches
Procedure: against sharp things. So, for this test
1.Use sharp tool or finger nail to make a scratch a sharp tool or finger nail is used to
make scratch on brick. If there is no
on brick.
scratch impression on brick then it is
If that doesn't left any impression on brick said to be hard brick
then that is good quality brick. In this test a scratch is made on brick
surface with a hard thing. If that doesn't
left any impression on brick then that is
good quality brick.
In this test, a scratch is made on brick
surface with the help of a finger nail. If no
impression is left on the surface, the brick
is r sufficiently hard.
Shape ,Size and Colour Test Shape and size of bricks are very
on Bricks important consideration. All bricks
1.Select 20bricks randomly.
2.Stack them along its length,breadth and used for construction should be of
height then compare. All bricks used for same size. The shape of bricks
construction should be of same size. should be purely rectangular with
Standard brick size consists length x
breadth x height as 19cm x 9cm x sharp edges. Standard brick size
9cm consists length x breadth x height
3.Inspect the bricks to check if it has as 19cm x 9cm x 9cm. to perform
a sharp edges. The shape of bricks
should be purely rectangular with this test, select 20 bricks randomly
sharp edges. from brick group and stack them
For good quality bricks, the results should
along its length , breadth and
be within the following permissible
limitsThe bricks are qualified for height and compare. So, if all
construction work. A good brick bricks similar size then they are
should possess bright and uniform
color throughout its body. qualified for construction work.

In this test randomly collected 20 bricks

are staked along lengthwise, widthwise
and heightwise and then those are
measured to know the variation of sizes
as per standard. Bricks are closely
viewed to check if its edges are sharp and
straight and uniform in shape. A good
quality brick should have bright and
uniform color throughout.
In this test, a brick is closely inspected. It
should be of standard size and its shape
should be truly rectangular with sharp
edges. For this purpose, 20 bricks of
standard size (190 mm x 90 mm x 90
mm) are selected at random and they are
stacked lengthwise, along the width and
along the height.
For good quality bricks, the results should
be within the following permissible limits

A good brick should possess bright

and uniform color throughout its
body.
Soundness Test of Bricks Soundness test of bricks shows the
It shows the nature of bricks against nature of bricks against sudden
impact. In this test, 2 bricks are
sudden impact.
chosen randomly and struck with one
Procedure:
another. Then sound produced should
1.2 bricks are chosen randomly. be clear bell ringing sound and brick
2.Struck the bricks with each other should not break. Then it is said to be
The bricks should not break and a clear good brick.
ringing sound should be produced.Then it In this test two bricks are held by both
is said to be good brick. hands and struck with one another. If the
bricks give clear metallic ringing sound
and don't break then those are good
quality bricks.
In this test, the two bricks are taken and
they are struck with each other. The
bricks should not break and a clear
ringing sound should be produced.

Structure of Bricks To know the structure of brick, pick

Procedure: one brick randomly from the group
1.Pick one brick randomly. and break it. Observe the inner
portion of brick clearly. It should be
2.Break the brick.
free from lumps and homogeneous
3.Examine the structure of the brick.
In this test a brick is broken or a broken
It should be free from lumps and brick is collected and closely observed. If
homogeneous. If there are any flows, there are any flows, cracks or holes
cracks or holes present on that broken present on that broken face then that isn't
face then that isn't good quality brick. good quality brick.
A brick is broken and its structure is
examined. It should be homogeneous,
compact and free from any defects such as
holes, lumps, etc.
Efflorescence Test on Bricks A good quality brick should not
A good quality brick should not contain any soluble salts in it. If
soluble salts are there, then it will
contain any soluble salts in it. If
cause efflorescence on brick surfaces.
soluble salts are there, then it will
The presence of alkalies in bricks is
cause efflorescence on brick surfaces.
harmful and they form a gray or white
Procedure: layer on brick surface by absorbing
1.Immerse a brick in a fresh water for moisture. To find out the presence of
24 hours. alkalis in bricks this test is performed. In
2.Take the brick out from the water. this test a brick is immersed in fresh water
3.Allowed the brick to dry in shade. for 24 hours and then it's taken out from
If the white deposits cover about 10 per water and allowed to dry in shade.
cent surface, the efflorescence is said to be
slight and it is considered as moderate, If the whitish layer is not visible on
when the white deposits cover about 50 surface it proofs that absence of alkalis in
per cent of surface. If grey or white brick. If the whitish layer visible about
deposits are found on more than 50 per 10% of brick surface then the presence of
cent of surface, the efflorescence becomes alkalis is in acceptable range. If that is
heavy and it is treated as serious, when about 50% of surface then it is moderate.
such deposits are converted into powdery If the alkalis's presence is over 50% then
mass. the brick is severely affected by alkalies
The soluble salts, if present in cause
efflorescence on the surface of bricks. For
finding out the presence of soluble salts in
a brick, it is immersed in water for 24
hours. It is then taken out and allowed to
dry in shade. The absence of grey or white
deposits on indicates absence of soluble
salts.
If the white deposits cover about 10 per
cent surface, the efflorescence is said to be
slight and it is considered as moderate,
when the white deposits cover about 50
per cent of surface. If grey or white
deposits are found on more than 50 per
cent of surface, the efflorescence becomes
heavy and it is treated as serious, when
such deposits are converted into powdery
mass.