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Frost Resistance of heavy clay products used outside is very important in the United Kingdom, especially in the far north of Scotland and slightly less so in the south west of England due to climate variations.

BS6677 does not include a frost resistance test for clay pavers so most laboratories tend to adopt a slightly modified form of the clay brick frost resistance test developed by the British Ceramic Research Association. The results are given as Damaged or Not Damaged over a particular number of freeze thaw cycles, usually 10, 50 or 80 and 100.

Clay Tiles were originally tested as described in BS402, where a test panel (model roof) is constructed and the units are soaked for a period of 7 days, consisting of 21 units. The tiles examined individually ad put through a hundred cycles of freezing and thawing before reassessment of any damage.

Clay bricks are classified into one of the following categories as defined in BS3921: 1985: -

·         Frost resistant (F). Bricks durable in all building situations including those where they are in a saturated condition and subjected to repeated freezing and thawing.

·         Moderately frost resistant (M), bricks durable except when in a saturated condition and subjected to repeated freezing and thawing.

·         Not frost resistant (O), bricks liable to damage by freezing and thawing if not protected as recommended in BS5628: Part 3 during construction and afterwards.

We hold UKAS accreditation to carry out frost resistant tests on clay bricks and pavers.

 

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Last modified: October 05, 2000