Does the Type of Glue and Size of Fill Affect the Strength of a Brick?
ABSTRACT The purpose of this experiment was to see what effect different glues and different size fill has on the strength of a brick. I compared the strength of bricks made with all-purpose white glue and plaster of Paris using fine, medium and coarse fill sizes. The bricks were made in a plastic soap mold and measured 2″x4″x1/2″. I measured the weight each brick could bear by hanging a board underneath the brick with a coathanger looped over the brick and centered between two sawhorses. I added red bricks to the board until the brick broke in half and noted the weight on a results table. I did three tests of each glue type and fill size then computed the average weight. The results were that the all-purpose white glue bricks could bear more weight than the plaster of Paris bricks. Using all-purpose white glue, the coarse fill bricks were strongest, the medium fill were second, and the fine fill were last. Using plaster of Paris, the fine fill bricks were strongest, the coarse fill br
