There are different materials with different composition and properties which are used to construct a wall. The functions or duties of the wall, which are either load-bearing or non-loading bearing, determine its construction materials types such as various types of bricks, blocks, partition boards etc.
The load-bearing wall is a part of the structural system of the building whereas the non-load bearing wall is used only for dividing spaces of the building. Table 1 presents various common wall materials and their composition, properties, and applications.
Table 1 Types of Wall Materials and their Compositions, Properties, and Applications
| Wall Materials | Composition | Properties | Applications |
| Fired Bricks (including clay bricks, fly ash bricks, shale bricks, and coal gangue bricks) | Made by sintering the clay materials | Compressive strength: 10-30MPa; apparent density: 1500-1800kg/m3; thermal conductivity: 0.78W/(m*K); and frost resistance: 15 times | Walls, bases, columns, brick arches, etc.. |
| Fired Porous Bricks | Made by sintering the clay materials | Compressive strength: 7.5-30MPa; apparent density: 1100-1300kg/m3; and frost resistance: 15 times | Insulating load-bearing walls |
| Fired Hollow Bricks and Blocks | Made by sintering the clay materials | Compressive strength: 2.0-5.0 MPa; apparent density: 800-1100kg/m3; and frost resistance: 15 times | Non-load bearing walls, and insulating walls |
| Lime-sand Bricks | Made by autoclaving ground fine silicate sand, lime and water | Compressive strength: 10-25MPa; apparent density: 1800-1900kg/m3; thermal conductivity: 0.6W/(m-K); the appearance is structured and white grey; they also can be made into colourful bricks; the bricks cannot resist flowing water for a long time and also acid corrosion | The application is almost the same with fired common bricks, but they cannot be used in the parts experiencing flowing water and heat above 2000C for a long time |
| Autoclaved Fly Ash Bricks | Fly ash, lime, aggregates (slag, and mineral slag) and gypsum | Compressive strength: 7.5-20MPa; apparent density: 1500kg/m3; the dry shrinkage of qualified products: </=0.85mm/m | The same with lime-sand bricks |
| Aerated Concrete Blocks | The porous concrete made by gas-forming and autoclaving ground silicate materials. lime, aluminum powder and water | The compressive strength of 500(kg/m3) grade: 2.2-3.0MPa; thermal conductivity: 0.1 0-0.16W/(m.K); frost resistance: 15 times; the compressive strength of 700 grade: 4.2-5.0MPa | Walls of buildings and Insulation |
| Aerated Concrete Boards (exterior wallboards, or partitions) | Ditto, and with steel bars | The compressive strength of 500(kg/m3) grade: 2.2-3.0MPa; thermal conductivity: 0.1 0-0.16W/(m.K); frost resistance: 15 times; the compressive strength of 700 grade: 4.2-5.0MPa | Outer walls and partition walls |
| Foam Concrete Blocks | The porous concrete made by gas-forming and autoclaving cement, foam agent and water | The common ones are 400 grade and 500 grades; the compressive strength of 500 grade is 2-3.0 MPa; and the thermal conductivity is 0.12 W/(m*K) | The same with aerated concrete |
| Common small sized concrete hollow blocks | Made by stirring and forming cement, sand, stone and water; There are single-row pores, double row pores and triple-row pores | Compressive strength: 3.5 to 15 MPa; Hole-rate: 35% - 50%; Apparent density: 1300 – 1700 kg/m3; Thermal conductivity: 0.26 W/(m*K) | The inner walls and load-bearing walls of low-rise and middle-rise buildings |
| Small-sized lightweight aggregate concrete hollow blocks | Made by stirring and forming cement, sand (light-weight sand or common sand) lightweight aggregates and water; there are single-row pores and multi-row pores. | Compressive strength: 2.5 – 10 MPa; Apparent density: 500 – 1400 kg/m3 | The insulating walls (<3.5 MPa) or non-load-bearing walls; load-bearing walls (>= 3.5 MPa) |
| Lightweight concrete wall boards | Cement, sand, lightweight, water and steel bars | Apparent density: 1000 – 1500 kg/m3; Compressive strength: 10-20 MPa; thermal conductivity: 0.35 – 0.5 W/(m*K)  | The wallboards with strength less than 15 MPa can be used in non-load-bearing walls; and those with strength more than 15 MPa can be used in load bearing walls |
| Lightweight sandwich boards | The polystyrene boards with steel mesh plastered by cement mortar on two sides, or composite colorful thin steel plates, aluminum alloy boards and colorful galvanized steel boards | Weight: 10 – 110 kg/m3; Heat resistance: 0.6 – 1.1 (m2*K)/W Soundproof index: 40dB | Self-supporting outer walls, partitions, insulating walls (such as ceilings, and roof boards). |
| Concrete sandwich boards | Composed by reinforced concrete of 20-30 thick as the surface layers, rock wool felt, glass fiber felt, foam concrete and other insulating materials as the middle layer. | Load bearing board: 500 – 542 kg/m3; Thermal conductivity: 1.01 W/(m2*K) (thickness of 250mm); Non-load-bearing: 260 kg/m3; Thermal conductivity: 0.593 W/(m2*K) (thickness of 180mm) | Load bearing outer walls or non-load bearing outer walls |
| Paper Gypsum boards, fiber gypsum boards, hollow gypsum boards and decorative boards | Building gypsum, paper boards, glass fiber and water | Apparent density: 600 -1000 kg/m3; bending load:400-850N; Thermal conductivity: 0.2-0.25 W/(m*K); Soundproof index: 30 – 50 dB; Lightweight, insulating, soundproof, easy to be processed and used, and poor water resistance | Inner partition walls, or the boards inside composite walls, the relative humidity of the environment > 75% and the temperature > 600C, and noise reduction |
| Glass fiber reinforced cement boards (GRC Boards) | Low-alkali cement, anti-alkali glass fiber, lightweight aggregate and water | Apparent density: 1880 kg/m3; Bending strength: > 25kJ/m2; Thermal conductivity: <=0.2 W/(m*K); Soundproof indexes: > 30 – 45 dB; Fireproof limit: 1.3 – 3h; easy to be used | Inner partition walls, the protective boards on the exterior walls or combined with other core materials |
| Natural stone | Undressed pieces of stone | Susceptible to thermal shock, porous, and may stain | Random rubble walls |
| Solid concrete blocks | Manufactured from cement, sand, and aggregate. | high structural capacity, resist fire, easy to be used etc. | Load bearing walls |
| Dressed stone | Stone that is cut into cuboids with smooth faces | Crushing strength should be greater than 100 N/mm^3, resist fire | Ashlar masonry walls |
| Glass Block | Manufactured from silica sand, soda ash and limestone. Raw materials are mixed with additives and heated in large tanks up to 1260C. | heat transmission ratio: 2.97 [W/m^2Â x K], Soundproof: -42dB, Light transmittance: colorless glass blocks 80% and colored glass blocks 60%. Â | Insulation, cladding, glazing, and even as a structural component. |