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Waste materials may be used as raw materials for interlocking masonry products in order to contribute to sustainable development and environmental protection. Rubberized concrete Interlocking Brick (RCIB) was developed by volumetric replacement of 56% of the ordinary Portland cement with fly ash and 20% of the sand with crumb rubber (CR) to reduce the production cost of conventional concrete bricks (CCB) and restrict the depletion of natural resources and contributing to solving the environmental problems associated with the accumulation of scrap tires in landfills. The mechanical and sustainability evaluation of masonry prism made of the developed brick is the aim of this research. Consequently, compressive strength, failure mechanism, stress–strain behaviour, and energy absorption of grouted and ungrouted prisms made of RCIB were measured experimentally under axial compression load. The thermal resistance, fuel consumption, CO2 emission, and cost analysis of RCIBs were estimated. The findings reveal that grout had a significant impact on the compressive strength of rubberized concrete interlocking masonry prisms where the compressive strength of grouted and ungrouted prisms was 10.99 MPa and 5.83 MPa, respectively. Web splitting and vertical cracks were the common failure modes observed in both prisms. Moreover, the rubberized concrete interlocking masonry prisms revealed greater energy absorption as well as a gradual and ductile failure mechanism. The RCIB exhibited higher thermal resistance than CCB (increased from 0.106 to 0.171 m2 K/W) which could contribute to a 62% reduction in annual fuel consumption and CO2 emission. Further, more than 25% of the material cost could be saved.

This study determines the suitability of using shredded waste plastic and waste ceramic powder (WCP) to produce interlocking concrete blocks (ICB). The study adopted a concrete mix ratio of 1:2 containing 20 % partial replacement of sand with ceramic waste. The compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and water absorption of the interlocking concrete blocks were determined, after 7, 28, and 90 days of curing. The ICBs developed include mixes containing plastic fibres in proportions 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2% by weight of concrete, and a control mix with zero ceramic waste and plastic fibres. The microstructure and mineralogy of selected samples were observed using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and XRD (X-ray diffraction), respectively. From the result, compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of the interlocking concrete blocks increased with an increasing plastic fibre content. Also, the microscale tests revealed good compactness, and interparticle reactions in the matrix. Thus, the study recommends 2% of plastic fibre content for the production of interlocking concrete blocks.