Water Absorption Test

For the test, five bricks are taken at random from the lot. They are dried in an oven at 110–115°C till they attain constant weight. Generally it takes 48 hours. Bricks are then cooled at room temperature, which generally takes 4–6 hours and are then weighed. Let the weight of a dry brick be W₁.

Bricks are then kept in clean water at 27 ± 2°C for 24 hours. They are taken out, wiped dry with a damp cloth, and the wet weight W₂ is noted.

The average percentage of water absorbed as a percentage of dry weight is reported. This value should not be more than the standard value of a particular class of brick.