To determine water absorption of Bricks.
Water absorption test on bricks are conducted to determine durability property of bricks such as degree of burning, quality and behavior of bricks in weathering.
A brick with water absorption of less than 7% provides better resistance to damage by freezing.
IS CODE:
IS: 3495 - 1992.
APPARATUS:
1) Weighing scale
2) Curing tank
3) Oven
PROCEDURE:
a) Five Bricks needed for Water absorption.
b) Dry the specimen in a ventilated oven at a temperature of 105 to 115ºC to 24 hours.
c) Cool the specimen to room temperature and obtain its weight as W1.
d) Immerse the specimen in clean water for 24 hours.
e) Remove the specimen from the water, take the wet weight of the specimen as W2.
f) Report all results separately for each unit and as the average for the five units.
CALCULATION:
Water Absorption (%) = [ {Wet Wight - Dry weight / Dry weight } ] × 100
SPECIFICATIONS:
The bricks, when tested in accordance with the procedure laid down in IS:3495 (part 2 )-1992 after immersion in cold water for 24 hours,
water absorption shall not be more than 20% by weight up to class 12.5 and 15% by weight for higher classes.