ZARZAR JÚNIOR, FUAD C.1; OLIVEIRA, ROMILDE A. 2.

1) PhD Student, UFPE, Post-Graduation Program in Civil Engineering, fczj@yahoo.com

2) PhD, Professor, UFPE, Post-Graduation Program in Civil Engineering, romildealmeida@gmail.com

The manufacture of the red pottery in the state of Pernambuco (Brazil) is done in the empirical and conservative form. It lacks and technological control. The objective of this article is to contribute to the understanding of current quality of the ceramic blocks used in the civil construction sites in the state of Pernambuco. For the raw material, the results of granulometric tests, limits of liquidity and plasticity, specific mass of the grains and moisture are presented. In the case of the ceramic blocks the compressive strength tests of blocks and prism (non-structural blocks), intended to the structural and non-structural masonry use were performed. Similar analyzes were accomplished at other ceramic industry of the same status, i.e. non-structural masonry. The obtained results contribute to the understanding of certain pathologies found in the construction sites and bring data to reflect on masonry works that have recently been built with structural ceramic blocks.

Keywords: Blocks and ceramic prisms, compressive strength, granulometric test, limit of liquidity, limit of plasticity, compaction test.