Characterization and Evaluation of Some Technological Properties of a Clay Soil Sample Collected at Loudima (Congo-Brazzaville)

This work aims to characterize clay soil taken from Loudima, one of the localities in the department of Bouenza in Congo Brazzaville. X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, MEB, X-ray chemical analysis and mechanical tests were performed. The results obtained show that the Loud soil sample is a mixture of Kaolinite (41.33%), quartz (16.03%) and iron oxide (2.93%). By chemical analysis, we noted that the SiO2/Al2O3 ratio = 2.16, which indicates that this soil contains a significant content of quartz. The MEB showed the presence of scattered clay leaves in the form of sticks and some aggregates. The technological tests carried out with this soil have a linear shrinkage of 3.1% at 1150˚C., an absorption rate of 6.1% at 1150˚C., a compression strength of 25.5 MPa at 1150˚C., and a flexural strength of 4.7 MPa at 1150˚ C. This gives the Loud sample the possibility to be used as a raw material for the manufacture of terracotta bricks.Subject AreasFundamentals of Material Science