The mechanical strength of clay brick pieces was determined in
terms of diametral tensile strength (Fig. 6). It can be seen that the
tensile strength decreased, as waste was added. Such a behavior is
mainly related to the following factors: i) decomposition of organic
matter from the waste sample, thus generating pores in the fired
structure; and ii) presence of a high content of crystalline silica
particles in the waste sample, that tends to induce flaws in the fired
ceramic matrix. The above data suggest that additions of very high
amounts of sugarcane bagasse ash waste (above 10 wt.%) into clay
bricks should be avoided, because it impairs themechanical strength
of the pieces.