A master’s thesis in the College of Science/University of Kirkuk discusses evaluating the suitability of clay from selected areas in Kirkuk Governorate for making bricks

The discussion took place in the College of Science/Department of Applied Geology, entitled “Evaluation of the Suitability of Clays from Selected Areas on the Outskirts of Kirkuk Governorate for Making Bricks,” by student Raghad Adnan Hamad, under the supervision of Assistant Professor Dr. Omid Ahmed Tokmachi. Part of the discussion was attended by the Head of the Department, Professor Dr. Soran Nihad Sadiq, and a number of distinguished guests.

The study included conducting physical, chemical and mineralogical tests to evaluate the suitability of clay from Laylan and Dibis areas in making bricks and the possibility of investing in them in construction projects. By studying the relationship between volumetric analysis examination and specific gravity, the results showed an increase in the percentage of fine grains with increasing specific gravity and the existence of a direct relationship between fine grain size and plasticity. The results of the chemical tests, which included (pH, total dissolved salts, organic matter content, and the percentage of calcium carbonate and gypsum), showed their presence in low percentages, while the percentage of calcium carbonate was high. Mineralogical study of the clay rocks using diffraction X-ray technology showed that they consist of minerals, including illite, palygorskite, chlorite, kaolinite, and montmorillonite, clayey rocks such as quartz, and non-clay minerals such as feldspar, calcite, dolomite, and gypsum, in small percentages. Chemical and mineralogical tests showed that the percentages of oxides in the two study areas agreed with the X-ray diagrams of mineral analysis. Finally, the current study concluded that the clay rocks of Laylan and Dibis areas are suitable for the manufacture of building brick blocks.

The thesis came out with a set of recommendations, including conducting industrial engineering experiments and studying the properties of bricks produced in the studied sites to verify the quality of the product. Evaluation of the studied clay rocks for other building materials, including the manufacture of Portland cement and ceramics