Abstract:
Handmade compacted clay bricks are an important integral building material especially for the low cost durable
and affordable housing segment. Characterisation of physical, mechanical and deformation behavior of
handmade clay bricks is essential to ensure material integrity and durability. In this paper, physical and
mechanical properties are determined and the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) method is used to assess
deformation behavior of bricks under uniaxial compressive loading. The bricks exhibit brittle failure with high
strain localized along the cracks. The initiation and development of cracks on loading redistribute compressive
strain within the brick with some regions experiencing minimum strain at failure. The relatively large
displacements between cracks account for relatively large failure strain for the brittle bricks. A good concurrence
is established between the strain assessment based on uniaxial compressive test and on image correlation using
the PIV method. The average vector magnitude derived from PIV measurements, correlate well with the
engineering strain and can thus be used for strain estimation in handmade clay bricks.