BRICKS

Brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry
construction. Bricks are laid in courses and numerous patterns known as bonds, collectively known
as brickwork, and maybe laid in various kinds of mortar to hold the bricks together to make durable
structure. In order to get a good quality brick, the brick earth should contain the some constituents
such as silica, alumina, small of lime, iron oxide and magnesia.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD QUALITY BRICK

1. Colour: The colour describes the aesthetic appearance of the brick and it is one of the
requirements of good brick masonry. The brick should have deeper for cherish colour as a
measure of uniform chemical composition and thus the colour is attained by burning of
clay.
2. Size and shape: The bricks should have a uniform rectangular surface parallel to each
other and the bricks should have sharper edges.
3. Crushing strength: The main characteristics of good brick is crushing strength of the
brick. The crushing strength of bricks should not be less than 10N/mm².
4. Water Absorption: The water absorption should not exceed 20percent of its dry weight
when the brick is immersed in water for 24hours.

MANUFACTURING OF CLAY BRICKS

The process of manufacturing bricks are as follows;

1. Preparation of clay
2. Moulding
3. Drying
4. Burning

PREPARATION OF CLAY

Clay is a finely-grained natural rock or soil material that, along with other materials such as stone
and wood, has been used for construction for thousands of years. The clay for brick is prepared in
the following order:

1. UNSOILING:- The top layer of the soil of about 200mm in depth is taken out and thrown
away. The clay in top soil is full of impurities and hence it is not useful for the purpose of
preparing bricks.
2. DIGGING:- The clay is then dug out from the ground. It is spread on the levelled ground,
just a little deeper than the general level. The height of heaps of clay is about 600mm to
1200mm.
 3. CLEANING:- The clay as obtained in the process of digging should be cleaned of stones,
pebbles, vegetable matters, etc. If these particles are in excess, the clay is to be washed and
screened.
4. WEATHERING:- The clay is then exposed to atmosphere for softening and mellowing.
The period varies from few weeks to full season.
5. BLENDING:- Clay is made loose and any ingredient to be added to it is spread out at top
and turning it up and down in vertical direction.
6. TEMPERING: Clay is spread on a platform and thoroughly mixed with quantity of water
required, then the whole mass is pressed under the feet of men or cattle. For manufacturing
good bricks on a large scale, the tempering is usually done with a PUG MILL. A typical
pug mill is capable of tempering sufficient earth for a daily output of about 15,000 to 20,000
bricks.

Process of using Pug Mill

Clay with water is placed in pug mill from the top. When the vertical staff is rotated by using
electric pair, steam or diesel or turned by pair of bullocks. Clay is thoroughly mixed up by the
actions of horizontal arms and knives when clay has been sufficiently pugged, hole at the bottom
of tub, is opened cut and the pugged earth is taken out from ramp for the next operation of operation
(moulding)

FIG. 1: A TYPICAL PUG MILL

MOULDING OF BRICK

The pugged clay is sent for the next operation of moulding. Bricks can be molded either by hand
(manually) or machine.

1. Hand Moulding: The bricks are moulded manually, thus this method is adopted where
manpower is cheap and is readily available for the manufacturing process of bricks on a
 small scale. The moulds are rectangular boxes which are opened at the top and also the
bottom. They may be of wood or steel. The thickness of steel mould is 6mm and they are
used for manufacturing bricks on a large scale. The steel moulds are more durable than
wooden one and turn out bricks are of uniform size. The bricks prepared by hand moulding
are of two types: Ground moulded brick and Table moulded brick
2. Machine Moulding: The moulding may also be achieved by machines it proves to be
economical when bricks in huge quantity are to be manufactured at the same spot in a short
time. It is also helpful for moulding hard and strong clay. These machines are broadly
classified in two categories;
• Plastic clay machines: This machine containing rectangular opening equal to the
length and width of a brick. Pugged clay is placed in the machine and as it comes
out through the opening by means of an auger, it is cut into strips by the wire fixed
at the frame. The arrangement is made in such a way that the strips thickness is
equal to that of the bricks obtained. It is also called 'WIRE CUT BRICKS'.

FIG. 2: PLASTIC MOULDING MACHINE

• Dry clay machines: In these machines, strong clay is first converted into powder
form and then water is added to form a stiff plastic paste. Such paste is placed in
mould and pressed by machine to form hard and well shaped bricks.

DRYING OF BRICKS

The damp bricks, if burnt, are likely to be cracked and distorted. Its objective is to remove the
moisture and to control the shrinkage of bricks and it also facilitates the saving of fuel and time
during burning. In developing countries, bricks are normally dried in naturally open-air driers.
Special drying yards should be prepared in such a way that accumulation of rainwater is prevented.
The bricks are then stacked on a raised ground and arranged in such a way that sufficient air space
is left between them for circulation of air. There should be a gap of about 1 m between the adjacent
layers of the stacks so as to allow free movement for the workers. The period of drying depends
upon the prevailing weather conditions.
 FIG. 3: DRYING OF BRICKS

BURNING OF BRICKS

This is a very important operation in the manufacture of bricks. Bricks are burned at high
temperature to gain the strength, durability, density and red color appearance. All the water is
removed at the temperature of 650 degrees but they are burnt at an temperature of about 1100
degrees because the fusing of sand and lime takes place at this temperature and chemical bonding
takes between these materials after the temperature is cooled down resulting in the hard and dense
mass. Bricks can be burnt using the following methods:

(a) Clamp Burning: Clamp is a temporary structure generally constructed over the ground with a
height of about 4m to 6 m. It is employed when the demand of the bricks is lower scale and when
it is not a monsoon season.

A typical clamp is generally trapezoidal in shape whose shorter edge along the parallel side is
below the ground and wider end raised at an angle of 150 from ground level. A brick wall with
mud is constructed on the short end and a layer of 70cm to 80cm thick fuel (grass, cow dung,
ground nuts, wood or coal) laid on the floor. Another layer of about 4 to 5 rows of bricks is laid
and then again a fuel layer is laid over it. The thickness of the fuel layer goes on with the height
of the clamp.

After the alternate layers of the bricks and fuel, the top surface is covered with mud so as to
preserve the heat. Once fire is ignited, it is kept under fire by itself for one or two months and same
time period is needed for the cooling of the bricks.

FIG. 4: CLAMP BURNING

Disadvantages of Clamp burning:

1. Bricks at the bottom are over-burnt while at the top are under-burnt.
2. Bricks loose their shape, and reason may be their descending downward once the fuel layer
is burnt.
3. This method cannot be employed for the manufacturing of large number of bricks and it is
costly in terms of fuel because large amount of heat is wasted.
4. It cannot be employed in monsoon season.
(b) Kiln Burning: Kiln is a large oven used for the burning of bricks. Generally coal and other
locally available materials like wood, cow dung etc. can be used as fuel. They are of two types:

• Intermittent Kilns.
• Continuous Kilns.

CLASSIFICATION OF BRICKS

1. UN-BURNT OR SUN DRIED BRICKS

These bricks are dried with the help of heat received from sun after the process of moulding. These
bricks can only be used in the constructions of temporary and cheap structures. Such bricks should
not be used at places exposed to heavy rains.

2. BURNT BRICKS

Bricks used in construction works, are burnt bricks. They are classified as; first class, second class,
third class and fourth class bricks.

a. First Class Bricks: These bricks are table moulded and of standard shape and they are
burnt in kilns. The surface and edges of the bricks are sharp, square, smooth and straight.
They comply with all the qualities of good bricks. These bricks are used for superior work
of permanent nature.
b. Second Class Bricks: These bricks are ground moulded and they are burnt in kilns. The
surface of these bricks is a little bit rough and shape is also slightly irregular. These bricks
may have slight cracks and their edges may not be sharp and uniform. They are commonly
used at places where brick work is to be provided with a coat of plaster.
c. Third Class Bricks: These bricks are ground moulded and they are burnt in clamps. These
bricks are not hard and they have rough surfaces with irregular and distorted edges. These
bricks give dull sound when struck together. They are used for unimportant and temporary
structures and at places where rainfall is not heavy.
d. Fourth Class Bricks: These are over burnt bricks with irregular shape and dark colour.
These bricks are used as aggregate for concrete in foundations, floors, roads etc., because
of the fact that the over burnt bricks have a compact structure and hence they are sometimes
found to be stronger than even the first class bricks.

3. BURNT CLAY BRICKS

Common burnt clay bricks are formed by pressing in moulds. Then these bricks are dried and fired
in a kiln. Common burnt clay bricks are used in general work with no special attractive
appearances. When these bricks are used in walls, they require plastering or rendering.

4. SAND LIME BRICKS

Sand lime bricks are made by mixing sand, fly ash and lime followed by a chemical process during
wet mixing. The mix is then moulded under pressure forming the brick. These bricks can offer
advantages over clay bricks such as their colour appearance is grey instead of the regular reddish
colour. Their shape is uniform and presents a smoother finish that doesn’t require plastering. These
bricks offer excellent strength as a load-bearing member.

5. ENGINEERING BRICKS

Engineering bricks are bricks manufactured at extremely high temperatures, forming a dense and
strong brick, allowing the brick to limit strength and water absorption. Engineering bricks offer
excellent load bearing capacity damp-proof characteristics and chemical resisting properties.

6. CONCRETE BRICKS

Concrete bricks are made from solid concrete. Concrete bricks are usually placed in facades,
fences, and provide an excellent aesthetic presence. These bricks can be manufactured to provide
different colours during its production.

7. FLY ASH CLAY BRICKS

Fly ash clay bricks are manufactured with clay and fly ash. These bricks contains high
concentration of calcium oxide which is used in cement production, thus it is also called as self-
cementing brick.

QUALITIES OF GOOD BRICK:

1. Bricks should be table moulded, well burnt in kilns, copper coloured, free from cracks and
with sharp and square edges.
2. Bricks should be uniform shape and should be of standard size.
3. Bricks should give clear ringing sound when struck each other.
4. Bricks when broken should show a bright homogeneous and compact structure free from
voids.
5. Bricks should not absorb water more than 20 percent by weight for first class bricks and
22 percent by weight for second class bricks, when soaked in cold water for a period of 24
hours.
6. Bricks should be low thermal conductivity and they should be sound proof. Bricks should
not break when dropped flat on hard ground from a height of about one meter.
7. Bricks, when soaked in water for 24hours, should not show deposits of white salts when
allowed to dry in shade.

TEST ON BRICKS
To check the strength of bricks, the following 7 tests are conducted. Some tests are performed in
laboratory and some are performed on job site.

1. Compressive strength test

2. Water Absorption test
3. Efflorescence test
4. Hardness test
5. Size, Shape and Colour test
6. Soundness test
7. Structure test

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TEST

The purpose of this test is to determine the compressive strength of brick. It is also known as
crushing strength of brick. Normally, 5 samples of bricks are sent to laboratory for testing one by
one. Under this test, a brick sample is provided on crushing machine and the pressure is enforced
unless it ruptures. The ultimate pressure by which the brick is ruptured is noted. The samples of
all five bricks are examined one by one and average result is considered as the compressive or
crushing strength of brick.

WATER ABSORPTION TEST

The weight of the bricks is taken in dry condition and submerge them in fresh water for 24 hours.
Once 24 hours is completed, the bricks are pulled out from water and wipe out with cloth. After
that, the weight of the brick is taken in wet condition. The variation among weights is the water
engrossed by brick. The percentage of water absorption is then measured. If brick absorbs less
water, the quality will be superior. Standard quality brick should not absorb more than 20% water
of its own weight.

EFFLORESCENCE TEST

The presence of alkalis in bricks is harmful and they form a grey or white layer on brick surface
by absorbing moisture. To find out the presence of alkalis in bricks this test is performed. In this
test a brick is immersed in fresh water for 24 hours and then it’s taken out from water and allowed
to dry in shade. If the whitish layer is not visible on surface it proofs that absence of alkalis in
brick. If the whitish layer visible about 10% of brick surface then the presence of alkalis is in
acceptable range. If that is about 50% of surface then it is moderate. If the alkalis’ presence is over
50% then the brick is severely affected by alkalis.

HARDENED TEST

Under this test, a scratch is created on the surface of brick through a solid object. If that doesn’t
make any mark on brick, then the quality of brick is superior.

SIZE, SHAPE AND COLOUR TEST

In this test, 20 bricks are randomly selected and staked as per length, width and height and then
those are measured to know the variation of sizes as per standard. Bricks are closely viewed to
check if its edges are sharp and straight and uniform in shape. A good quality brick should have
bright and uniform colour throughout.

SOUNDNESS TEST

Under this test, two bricks are taken by both hands and stricken with each other. If, clear metallic
sound is produced and the bricks are not broken, then the quality of the bricks is superior.

STRUCTURE TEST

In this test a brick is broken or a broken brick is selected and closely observed. If there's any
existence of cracks or holes on that broken face, then the quality of the brick is not up to the
standard.