Categorisation Of Clay Deposits In The Federal Capital Territory Of Abuja

Clay deposits in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja were investigated with a view to categorizing them in order to determine their suitability as insulating refractory material. Thesamples were collected from three different locations in the territory, namely Sheda, Abaji and Karimu, and labeled A, B, and C. In order toproject a better representation of the territory, the samples were mined from ten cites each. The mined clay samples from the ten cites were mixed properly and a representative specimen for test from that location was produced using the cone and quartering system as recommended by the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM). Atomic Absorption Spectrometer(AAS) was used to determine the chemical composition, while other established processes were used to determine other insulating properties likeparticle size distribution, specific gravity, bulk density, solid density, water absorption, apparent porosity, permeability to air, refractoriness, thermal shock resistance, modulus of rupture, linear shrinkage and thermal conductivity. The chemical analysis showed that all the samples had high percentages of silica and alumina, thereby classifying them as Alumino-silicates.