Effects of Recycled Brick Powder on Thermal, Mechanical Properties, and Pore Structure of Alkali-Activated Foam Concrete
Xinzhan Li1, Haixin Sun2, Li Li1,3,*, Zongjin Li3, Guangming Xie4, Guangzhao Li4
1 College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, China
2 Sichuan Water Development Investigation Design & Research Co., Ltd., Chengdu, China
3 Faculty of Innovation Engineering, Macau University of Science and Technology, Avenida Wai Long, Taipa, Macao SAR, China
4 Kailuan Energy Chemical Co., Ltd., Tangshan, China
* Corresponding Author: Li Li. Email: 
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Infrastructure Resilience Enhancement Empowered by Intelligent Perception and Advanced Algorithms)
Structural Durability & Health Monitoring https://doi.org/10.32604/sdhm.2026.081014
Received 21 February 2026; Accepted 30 April 2026; Published online 20 May 2026
Abstract
To utilize waste clay bricks and reduce carbon emissions, recycled brick powder (RBP) was prepared from waste brick-concrete structures and used to produce alkali-activated slag-recycled brick powder foam concrete (ASRFC). This paper evaluated the impact of RBP replacement rates and water-binder ratio on the physical and mechanical properties of foam concrete, including its thermal conductivity, strength, and pore structure. The results demonstrated that the addition of 10% RBP resulted in decreases in the apparent density and thermal conductivity of ASRFC, while flexural strength and the flexural-compressive strength ratio exhibited significant increases. These phenomena can all be attributed to a reduction in the fractal dimension of the pores and a more uniform pore size distribution. However, when the RBP replacement rate exceeded 20%, the enhancement of pore structure was diminished, the strength of ASRFC was reduced, while the water absorption rate and thermal conductivity exhibited a significant increase. As the water-to-binder ratio (W/B) increases, the compressive strength of ASRFC displays a slight improvement, while the flexural strength and flexural-to-compressive strength ratio exhibit a significant decrease. The parameters of pore fractal dimension, pore size distribution, and thermal conductivity demonstrate a tendency to initially decrease and subsequently increase, with the optimal W/B determined to be 0.45. A significant correlation has been identified between the pore fractal dimension and thermal conductivity/strength of alkali-activated foam concrete.
Keywords
Alkali-activated materials; recycled brick powder; foam concrete; physical and mechanical properties; pore structure
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