Fly ash bricks are one of the most frequently used brick types in the building and construction industry. They are compressed at 272 atm before being cured in a steam bath for 24 hours. They can ensure 100s of free-thaw cycles. Since fly ash contains high concentrations of calcium oxide, fly ash bricks are sometimes referred to as “self-cementing” units. A fly ash bricks making machine is used to manufacture the bricks and the manufacturing process is 20% cheaper than that of traditional clay bricks. Furthermore, less mercury pollution is associated with fly ash brick manufacturing.
Fly Ash Bricks Raw Materials
A typical brick is made from 60% fly ash, 30% and 10% Portland Cement. Water is used to combine the raw materials. The ingredients used to make the bricks can be altered slightly depending on what is available to manufacturers. Some of the main ingredients include water, fly ash, lime sludge (or quicklime), gypsum and aluminum powder.
Fly Ash Bricks Manufacturing
While the bricks were traditionally made by hand, nowadays, automatic fly ash brick making machines are used to mass production the bricks. Such machines can output over 2500 bricks per hour and they can operate with very few manual workers. You can find manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic block making machines in the marketplace and there are models to suit all budgets.
Fly Ash Brick Advantages
There are multiple advantages to fly ash bricks which is why they are such a popular building material. To begin with, they have high strength properties and are not susceptible to breakage during transportation. Secondly, they have high fire insulation properties. A third benefit is that they are more lightweight than other types of blocks, so dead load on structures is reduced. Next, thanks to their uniform size and shape, the motor required for joints when building walls is significantly reduced. The bricks also don’t have to be soaked in water for 24 hours before use. The low water penetration properties mean the water seepage is considerably reduced.
Fly Ash Brick Disadvantages
While fly ash bricks are a very popular masonry unit and they are used in construction projects around the world, they do have some disadvantages when compared to other types of building blocks. To start with they have low mechanical strength. Although that downside can be rectified by using mortar or marble waste between blocks. A second drawback is that they have limitations in size. Fly ash bricks that are made too big will suffer from more breakages. Lastly, the bricks are best suited to warm climates as they don’t absorb heat, which can be a disadvantage to buildings located in cold climates with lots of sunshine.
If you are looking to enter the brick making industry:https://aimixgroup.ph/fly-ash-brick-making-machine/, manufacturing fly ash bricks would be a great place to start. Raw materials are cheap, machinery is affordable and profit potential is huge. What’s more, the global demand for bricks is unlikely to decline anytime soon with more and more towns and cities planning to expand their infrastructure.