Design Mixture of Masonry Bricks for Pathways Using Polypropylene Plastic Fiber and Aloe Vera Juice as Additives

Researchers used an alternative additive in masonry brick production and found a solution that could be added to surpass the quality of conventional bricks while not costing more. This study aimed to investigate the design mixture of masonry bricks by incorporating polypropylene plastic fiber and introducing aloe vera juice as an additive to create a better and accessible brick. The study was conducted in Brgy. ibabang Dupay, DZLT Compound, Lucena City, Quezon, providing an opportunity to evaluate the prototype's performance in an actual environment. The researchers provided 48 samples of bricks with different curing periods: 7,14, and 28 days and for the mixture, the aloe vera juice was then divided into four percentage: 0%, 5%, 6% and 7%. The amount of polypropylene plastic fiber for all the samples of brick to be added to the mixture with a different percentage of aloe vera juice was 2%. In addition, the standard brick will also server as a reference for the researchers to compare the designed bricks in terms of compressive strength, moisture content, and water absorption. The data were Isabang, Lucena City. The study found that the mixture of 6% AVJ and 2% PPF as an additive achieved the highest compressive strength and lowest water absorption compared to the other mixture. The compressive strength was 24 MPa ( 3480 Psi), and the water absorption was 4.33% sample 1 and 4.73%sample 2 after 28 days . This was supported by ASTM C-902 and ASTM C-67 standards specifications.