Experimental Investigation of Brick-Slabs: Evaluation of the Performance and Ductility of Various Brick Materials

In this study, five one-way brick slab specimens were manufactured to investigate the behavior of brick slabs composed of various types of bricks (solid bricks, perforated bricks, and cellular concrete blocks (thermostone). The span ranges from 600 to 800 mm, while the camber ranges from 0 to 30 mm. Previously, cellular concrete blocks, solid and perforated clay bricks were employed as the building materials. These samples were tested by being subjected to flexural three-point loading. The results revealed that increasing camber by 30 mm for solid brick specimens increased ductility, and ultimate strength, by 5.5% and 77.62, respectively. Increasing the span from 600 to 800 mm for solid brick specimens decreased the ultimate strength and ductility by 37.96% and 6.83%, respectively. Cellular concrete blocks can be used in the construction of slabs due to their lightweight and acceptable structural response when compared to solid brick specimens. Due to their good structural performance and lightweight, perforated bricks can be used to build brick slabs. Brittleness and the sudden collapse of the brickwork arch characterized the failure mode in all samples.