A perspective study on fly ash–lime–gypsum bricks and hollow blocks for low cost housing development

Housing is a great problem in today's world. The most basic building material for construction of houses is the usual burnt clay brick. A significant quantity of fuel is utilized in making these bricks. Also, continuous removal of topsoil, in producing conventional bricks, creates environmental problems. A feasibility study was undertaken on the production of fly ash–lime–gypsum (FaL-G) bricks and hollow blocks to solve the problems of housing shortage and at the same time to build houses economically by utilizing industrial wastes. The compressive strength, water absorption, density and durability of these bricks and hollow blocks are investigated. It is observed that these bricks and hollow blocks have sufficient strength for their use in low cost housing development. Tests were also conducted to study the influence of type of curing on the increase in strength and hardening of the bricks and blocks with time. It was observed that the hot water curing leads to a greater degree of hardening and higher strength, earlier compared to ordinary water curing.