BRICKS
Bricks are categorized according to its applications:
• Load bearing wall
• Non-Load bearing wall
• Insulation wall
• Covering wall
Types of Bricks
Bricks
Sand Lime Clay Mortar
Normal Engineering Face
Type of Bricks
Sand Lime Bricks
• These are made by mixing lime and sand in
ratio 1:8.
• Bricks are kept in autoclave for 8 hours for
curing.
• This will produce high compressive strength
bricks.
Mortar Bricks
• Made by mixing cement, sand and water.
• Steel or wooden moulds are used for forming.
• They have good appearance and has rough
surface.
Clay Bricks
–Classified in 3 groups : normal brick, face brick, and engineering
brick.
Normal brick
– These are ordinary bricks which are not designed to provide good
finished appearance or high strength.
- In general, they are the cheapest bricks.
Face brick
- These are designed to give attractive appearance, hence they are free
from imperfection such as cracks.
- It’s produced in variety of colors. No need to apply with plaster.
Engineering Bricks
– These are designed based on engineering characteristics.
-It’s designed primarily for strength and durability.
-They have high density and well burnt.
Physical properties of brick
-Size (dimension)
-Density
Mechanical properties of brick
-Compressive and flexure strength
-Thermal properties
-Durability
-Frost resistance
-Efflorescence
Dept of Mat Eng
Dept of Mat Eng
Sizes
The standard-size brick manufactured in the US is of
size, 2.25 X 3.75 X 8 inches.
Other brick types include the English (3 X 4.5 X 9 inches)
Density
-depends mostly on the type of clay used and the
method of brick molding (soft-mud, Stiff-mud,
hard-pressed etc.).
-standard bricks can have density varies from
1600 kg/cubic meter to 1900 kg/cubic meter.
Mechanical Properties
Water Absorption of Brick
-Average water absorption of bricks after 24 hours of
immersion in cold water should not be more than 20% of its
own dry weight.
Raw Materials for Brick
-Sufficient samples must be tested to check if the soil is
suitable for composition of bricks and available abundantly in
neighborhood.
Mechanical composition of the soil may preferably confirm
the following requirements.
*Clay 20 to 35 % *Silt 20 to 35% *Sand 35 to 45 %
Thermal Properties
-The heat and sound conductivity of bricks vary greatly
with their density and porosity.
-Very dense and heavy bricks conduct heat and sound at
a greater rate. Therefore, poor thermal and acoustic
(sound) insulation qualities.
-For this reason, bricks should be so designed that they
are light and strong and give adequate insulation.
Durability
-Durability of brick can be understood as the maximum
time for which they remain unaltered and strong when
used in construction.
Compressive Strength
- depends on the composition of the clay and degree of
burning.
- It may vary from 35 kg/cm2 to more than 200 kg/cm2
Flexure Strength
- shall not be less than 10 kg/[Link] grade bricks often
possess flexural strength over 20 kg/cm2.
Frost Resistance
- bricks are quite porous materials (apparent porosity = 20-
25%).
-Therefore, essential that bricks in these areas should be
properly protected from rain to minimize absorption.
Efflorescence
-Brick surface gets covered with white or gray colored patches
of salts. These salts are present in the original brick clay.
-When rain water penetrates into the bricks, the salts get
easily dissolved.
Types of Brick Bonds
English Bond
Flemish Bond
Stretcher Bond
Basic Brickwork 17
Terminology
Head
Joint
Bed
Joint
Course - horizontal layer of brick
Basic Brickwork 18
Terminology
Header
Rowlock
Stretcher
Soldier
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Dept of Mat Eng
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Dept of Mat Eng
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Dept of Mat Eng
Manufacturing Processes
RAW MATERIAL PREPARATION
MAKING PROCESS
SETTING & DRYING
FIRING
PACKAGING
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS FROM CLAY
Constituents:
-Brick clays are produced by blending together various clays
(surface clays, shales, and fire clays) to produce the desired
chemical composition and physical properties
-Clays can be divided into calcareous clays (containing 15%
Calcium Carbonate, which gives yellow color when burnt) or
noncalcareous clays (containing silicate of alumina, feldspar, and
iron oxide)
-Iron oxide gives buff, red or salmon color, when burnt
Moulding of Brick: The raw material is dug from pits,
crushed, ground, and screened to reduce it to a fine
consistency . Then it is tempered with water to produce a
plastic clay for forming bricks.
Clay or Shale Being Crushed
and Transported to Storage Area
Brick Enter Tunnel Kiln for Firing
The Making Process
•Clay is grinded with 15% of water.
•Then it is pushed through the mould base
on the shape.
•After that, clay will be cut to get a standard size of
brick using wire. Slide extruded
•Sometimes, bricks will produced using big moulds bricks
Reel cutter for
slicing brick
Extruder
Extruding
Molded bricks
Clay in mold boxes
Dumping mold box
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS FROM CLAY (Cont’d)
Methods of forming :
Soft Mud Process: A relatively moist clay (containing 20% to
30% of water) is pressed into molds, either by hand or machine -
The mold may be dipped in water (water-struck bricks) or dusted
with fine sand (sand-struck bricks) before filling it with clay –
Dry press bricks are formed with clays that shrink excessively
during drying - Is mixed with minimum amount of water(10%)
Stiff mud Process: Most widely used process nowadays -
contains 12 % to 15% of water - passed through vacuum to
remove any pocket of air, and then extruded through a
rectangular die to form bricks
The rectangular column of moist clay extruded through the die is
cut by automatic wire cutters to form individual bricks - After
molding and cutting, the bricks are dried for one or two days in
low-temperature kilns - Then they are ready for firing or burning
Setting and Drying
indentation or perforation to
the bricks is done when it is normal
wet and in forms.
Wet unit bricks will be dried indentation perforation
with controlled temperature,
to make sure the bricks are
completely dried.
Hand setting on kiln car Separating sliced Setting on kiln car
Setting and Drying
Setting and Drying
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS FROM CLAY (Cont’d)
Firing of Bricks: Bricks are burnt either in a periodic kiln or a continuous
tunnel kiln
- In a periodic kiln bricks are loaded in after initial drying, fired, cooled,
and unloaded; and the process is repeated after a certain period (say a month)
- In a continuous tunnel kiln the bricks are loaded onto special railcars
that pass continuously through various processes to emerge at the other end
fully burned
Stages of burning: Water-smoking and dehydration (drives off the
remaining water from clay at 40 o to 150o C) - Oxidation and
Vitrification: Temperature of furnace rises to 1000 o to 1300o C - Clay
transformed to a ceramic material - Flashing: Fire is regulated to create a
reducing atmosphere in the kiln that develops a color variation in the bricks -
Cooling: Bricks are cooled under controlled conditions to achieve the
desired color and to avoid any thermal cracking - The entire process of firing
takes from 40 to 150 hours
Color of a brick: Depends on the chemical composition of clay,
temperature, and chemistry of fire - Iron in clay turns to red in oxidizing fire
and to purple in reducing fire - Calcium oxides gives creamy/white color - For
bright colors, all faces of bricks can be glazed like pottery during normal firing
or during subsequent firing
Firing
Inside tunnel kiln Brick inside kiln Firing brick
Packaging
•After exiting the kiln, the brick is allowed to cool prior to handling.
•Proper sorting and packaging of the brick after burning is extremely
important.
•Broken, twisted and otherwise mechanically defective brick are
discarded at this stage.
•Brick color and range is carefully monitored to assure a quality
product.
Packaging
Brick awaiting packaging Manual Rechecking
Packaged cube of brick Inventory Packaging
Advantages of bricks :
* Brick will not burn, buckle or melt.
* Brick will not rot and allow Termites to invade.
* Brick will not rust and corrode.
* Brick will not dent.
* Brick will not fade from the Sun's UV Rays.
* Brick will not be damaged by high winds, rain or hail.
* Brick will not require constant maintenance.
* Brick will not devalue.
* Brick will not limit your personal expression.
* Brick will not limit your design options.
