Foam diatomite brick. It would be possible to build a house from it, but the cost: 60 rubles / piece

Brick remains one of the most common and popular wall materials. It is on sale in different formats and voids. But one of the main disadvantages of a brick is its thermal conductivity. Voids do not always solve the issue, impairing strength.

But what if the brick was made like aerated concrete, porous? Is it possible to make such a clay mass, dry it and burn it? A little over a year ago, a friend of mine studied this possibility, showing photographs of samples:

I do not know how the porosity of the mass was achieved, but as tests showed, its brick did not have sufficient strength.

At a construction exhibition about five years ago, I heard from a specialist of a company that produces porous large-format blocks that they add fine sawdust to the clay. The sawdust burns off during firing, forming pores. There are not many of them in volume, but this reduced the thermal conductivity to some extent.

It turns out that foam bricks have existed for a long time, and they are producing refractory porous foam diatomite brick.

This material is made from diatomite, clay, foaming agent and sawdust added. Diatomite is a mineral, 50% consisting of the shells of ancient algae, the inhabitants of the seas - diatoms. In the structure of which there is even opal, silica and metal oxides. The structure of diatomite has a microporous structure. Due to all this, the material acquires heat-resistant characteristics and does not conduct heat well.

Russia has the largest diatomite deposits. Therefore, it is not surprising that the mineral is used in the production of refractory bricks. For heat-resistant heat insulators in ovens (up to 900 g). And also, unlike fireclay bricks, it has less weight.

Industry produces four brands diatomite foam brick with the KPD brand: 350; 400, 450, 500. The number is the volumetric weight. For example, 400 kg / m3. Whereas an ordinary brick has a mass of 1800 to 2200 kg / m3. But diatomite foam bricks are not inferior in strength to ordinary ones.

Thermal conductivity coefficient - 0.1 W / (m * K). This is 0.02-0.04 better than that of aerated concrete. And it is, in fact, an ideal wall material. There is only one drawback - this is the price of diatomite foam bricks. It is: 30-45 thousand rub / m3

This is about 60 rubles. for a standard size brick. At such a cost, the material is interesting only as a masonry for thermal insulation. Maybe someday the price for it will decrease and manufacturers will start producing even large-format foam diatomite blocks. And then the material will become interesting in all its characteristics.
***

Subscribe to the channel, add it to your browser bookmarks (Ctrl + D). There is a lot of interesting information ahead.