BRICK

LECTURE 01
ARCH 261:
BUILDING AND FINISH MATERIALS

NABILA FERDOUSI
Lecturer
Department of Architecture
University of Asia Pacific
What is a brick?
Brick is a regular sized rectangular unit, used in most buildings.
Size of a brick is such that it can be easily lifted with one hand.
Generally:
Length = width X2 + mortar thickness
Thickness ≤ width
Manufacturing of bricks is completed with the following processes:

1. Preparation of clay
2. Pugging or tempering of the clay
3. Moulding of bricks
4. Drying of bricks
5. Burning of bricks
Preparation of Clay:

Preparation of clay involves digging, cleaning, Weathering

and blending of the earth. The top soil (top 20cm) contains a
lot of impurities thus is not suitable for brick making. After
removing the top unsuitable soil, the clay is dug out either by
manual labour or with the help of excavator.

The digging is suggested to be completed before the rains set

in. After digging, the clay is kept on level ground in a heap.
Height of the heap of excavated clay may vary from 60cm to
120cm.

The heap is left exposed to atmosphere for softening. This is

known as weathering of clay. Weathering can take place for a
few weeks or a full season.
Pugging or Tempering of Clay:

Pugging or tempering of clay means breaking up of prepared

clay, watering and kneading till the earth becomes
homogenous mass. Water is added to clay in required quantity
and the whole mass is kneaded either by machine or by
human labour.
Pugging is done in a machine called
Pug mill. It consist steel tub 1.2 m to
2m height. Diameter in the top end is
90-120cm and at bottom is narrower,
around 80cm or less.
Moulding of Clay:

After the tempering of clay, bricks should be moulded as soon as possible, as

otherwise pugged clay may become stiff and moulding of bricks may become
difficult. Moulding of bricks can be done by machine or by hand.

Moulds:

Moulds are rectangular boxes without any top and bottom. They may be made
out of steel or timber.
Moulds are made in size slightly greater than the standard size of the brick. This
is done because on drying and burning the bricks shrink. Increased dimension of
the brick should not be more than 10% of actual size. Although the increased size
is determined finally by conducting actual experiment.
Drying Of Bricks:

Drying of the bricks at lower temperature is done to strengthen the bricks to have
sufficient strength.
Objectives of drying:
1.To remove as much moisture as possible so to save burning time.
2.To avoid chances of cracking.
3.To increase mechanical strength of the brick so that they do not crack or
crumble while holding and carrying them in hand.

Finally bricks are to be stacked in the kiln, but they must possess the sufficient
strength to maintain their shape while the transportation and loading operations, so
drying of the bricks is important process. Drying of the bricks can be done in two
ways:

(a) Natural Drying

(b) Artificial Drying
(a) Natural Drying:
Natural drying is done by putting the bricks in the under the air
circulation, generally avoided to direct Sun-light.
(b) Artificial Drying:
In artificial burning bricks are put under a temperature of about 120 degrees
Celsius in a tunnel like structure where arrangements are there to maintain
the temperature.

These tunnel kilns can be periodic or continuous. In periodic kilns the bricks
are dried periodically but in the continuous they are put continuously at one
end and dried bricks are taken out at the other end.
Burning of Bricks:

Bricks are burned at high temperature to gain the strength, durability, density
and red color appearance.

At 650 degrees - All the water is removed.

At 1100 degrees - the fusing of sand and lime takes place and chemical
bonding takes between these materials after the temperature is cooled down
resulting in the hard and dense mass.

Bricks are not burnt above this temperature because it will result in the
melting of the bricks and will result in a distorted shape and a very hard mass
when cooled which will not be workable while brickwork.
Burning of Bricks:

Bricks can be burnt using the following methods:

(a) Clamp Burning

(b) Kiln Burning

Clamp Burning:
Disadvantages of Clamp burning:

Bricks at the bottom are over-burnt while at the top are under-burnt.

Bricks loose their shape, and reason may be their descending

downward once the fuel layer is burnt.

This method can not employed for the manufacturing of large number of
bricks and it is costly in terms of fuel because large amount of heat is
wasted.

It can not be employed in monsoon season.

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:

(a) Intermittent Kilns.

(b) Continuous Kilns.

Intermittent Kilns - are also the periodic kind of kilns, because in such
kilns only one process can take place at one time.

Various major processes which takes place in the kilns are:

Loading, unloading, Cooling, and Burning of bricks.
Continuous Kilns - these kilns are called continuous because all the processes of
loading, unloading, cooling, Heating, pre-heating take place simultaneously.
They are used when the bricks are demanded in larger scale and in short time.
Bricks burning is completed in one day, so it is a fast method of burning.
Continuous Kilns :
Are majorly two types:

a) bull’s trench kiln

b) Hoffman’s kiln
Bull's Trench Kiln:

Bull's trench kiln consist of a

rectangular, circular or oval plan shape.
They are constructed below the ground
level by excavating a trench of the
required width for the given capacity of
brick manufacturing.

This Trench is divided generally in 12

chambers so that 2 numbers of cycles
of brick burning can take place at the
same time for the larger production of
the bricks. Or it may happen that one
cycle is carried out at one time in all the
12 chambers by using a single process
in the 2-3 chambers at the same time.
Bull's Trench Kiln:
The structure is under-ground so the
heat is conserved to a large extent so
it is more efficient. Once fire is started
it constantly travels from one chamber
to the other chamber, while other
operations like loading, unloading,
cooling, burning and preheating taking
place simultaneously.

Such kilns are generally constructed

to have a manufacturing capacity of
about 20,000 bricks per day. The
drawback of this kiln is that there is
not a permanent roof, so it is not easy
to manufacture the bricks in the
monsoon seasons.
Hoffman's Kiln:

The main difference between the Bull's trench

kiln and the Hoffman kilns are:
Hoffman's kiln is an over the ground structure
while Bull's Trench Kiln is an underground
structure.
Hoffman's kiln have a permanent roof while
Bull's trench Kiln do not have so it former can
be used in 12 months a year to manufacture
bricks but later is stopped in the monsoon
season.

Hoffman's kiln is generally circular in plan,

and is constructed over the ground. The
whole structure is divided into the 12
chambers and all the processes takes place
simultaneously like in Bull's trench Kiln.
INGREDIENTS OF A GOOD BRICK EARTH:

1. ALUMINA (CLAY): 20-30%. Main element of any type of

clay. Provides plasticity.
2. SILICA: 50-60%. Prevents cracking, shrinking &
warping. Excess amount causes brittleness.
3. LIME: Very small portion. Acts as a flux, and fuses silica.
Excess amount causes the brick to melt & lose shape.
Should be in powdered form, not lump.
4. OXIDE OF IRON: 5-6%. Makes the colour of brick.
Colour becomes darker with the increase in amount.
Less amount makes bricks to be yellow in colour.
5. MAGNESIA: Small proportion. Decreases shrinkage and
makes brick yellow in colour. Larger amounts causes
decay.
INGREDIENTS OF A GOOD BRICK EARTH:

ALUMINA (CLAY): Alumina is the main constituent of every kind of clay. A good
brick earth should contain 20-30% of alumina. It provide plasticity to the earth, so
that it can be moulded. Excess amount of clay and insufficient sand can result in
shrinkage, warping and cracking in the drying process.SILICA: 50-60%. Prevents
cracking, shrinking & warping. Excess amount causes brittleness.

SILICA: It is present in the earth either in free or combined form. The amount of
silica in good brick earth should be 50-60%. Presence of silica prevents cracking,
shrinkage and warping. Excess amount destroys cohesion between particles
makes the brick brittle and weak. Durability of brick depends on proportion of
silica.

LIME: Very small portion is desirable. Should be present in powder form and not as
lumps. Acts as a flux, and fuses silica. Excess amount of lime causes the brick to
melt & lose shape. Lumps of lime converts to quick lime which creates slakes and
expands with moisture. Thus causes the brick to crack.
INGREDIENTS OF A GOOD BRICK EARTH:

OXIDE OF IRON: Required in a small quantity, only 5-6%. Allows silica to fuse in
comparatively low temperature like lime. The color of the brick largely depend
on the proportion of iron oxides. Low amount of iron oxide makes the brick
yellow in color. Colour becomes darker with the increase in amount. Iron also
increases the durability and impermeability of the bricks.
MAGNESIA: a small proportion of it, decreases the shrinkage and gives yellow
tint to the bricks. But larger amount of magnesia cause bricks to decay.
HARMFUL INGREDIENTS IN BRICK EARTH:

1. LIME –melts brick.

2. PEBBLES OF STONE & GRAVEL – causes weakness.
3. IRON PYRITES – causes discolouration.
4. ALKALIES – main reason for effloresces.
5. ORGANIC MATTERS – increases porosity, thus weaker
bricks.
6. PRSENCE OF REH or KALLAR – causes pealing of
plaster & affects strength of structure.
Test for bricks
Certain tests need to be conducted before
any brick lot is accepted or rejected. These
tests are:

1. Absorption test
2. Crushing strength test
3. Hardness Test
4. Shape and size test
5. Soundness test
6. Test for presence of soluble salts.
Test for bricks

Absorption test: In this test a brick is weighed in its dry state. The brick is then kept
immersed in water for 24hrs and reweighed. The increase in weight of the brick after
immersion in water, indicates the amount of water absorbed by the brick. The
absorption is expressed in percentage. The percentage of absorption should not
exceed 20% of dry weight and 15% by weight for higher classes.

Crushing strength test: in this test, well burnt bricks are selected. The frog of the
brick is filled with 1:1 cement mortar. After the mortar has gained sufficient strength,
the brick is soaked in water and put in compression testing machine. The minimum
crushing strength should not be less than 35 kg/cm2. Brick of higher class show a
crushing strength ranging from 70-140 kg/cm2 .

Hardness Test: Hardness of the bricks can be estimated with the help of the scratch
of a finger nail. If no scratch is left on the brick, it is considered to have achieved
sufficient hardness.
Shape and size test: All faces of the brick should be truly rectangular and
conform to standard sizes.

Soundness test: Soundness of the bricks is estimated by striking two bricks

against each other or by a light hammer. They should emit ringing sound.
Soundness of the brick is also tested by the fall of the brick. A good sound brick
should not break, when made to fall flat on hard ground from a height of about
1m.

Test for presence of soluble salts. Soluble salts, if present in brick, can cause
efflorescence. A brick is kept immersed in water for 24hours. It is then taken out
and allowed to dry. Soluble salts, if present in the brick, will get deposited as grey
/ white coating on the surface of the brick, when dried.
Broad classification of brick:

Bricks are classified into following five categories -

1. First class brick

2. Second class brick
3. Third class brick
4. Over burnt or Jhama bricks
5. Under burnt bricks.
First class brick:

should carry the following properties –

1. Size of the brick should uniform.

2. The earth from which the brick was made must be suitably
proportioned.
3. It should be well burnt.
4. Its colour should be uniform yellow or red.
5. Its surface should be regular & sides parallel. Edges should be
sharp and at right angles to each other.
6. It should be firm, compact and uniform in texture.
7. Its fractured surfaces should not show fissures, and bubbles.
8. Its surface should be so hard that finger nails could not make any
mark/ impression.
9. It should not absorb more than 20% of its own dry weight after
immersion of in cold water.
10. Metallic ringing sound should emit when two bricks are
struck against each other.
11. Its crushing strength should not be more than 105 kg/cm2
12. No sign of efflorescence should be visible when bricks are
dried after soaking.
13. The brick should not break when dropped from a height of
1m.

First class bricks are used in work that are permanent in nature.
They are also used at exposed brick work.
Second class brick:

should carry the following properties –

1. Like first class bricks, they should also be well burnt.

2. They can even be slightly over burnt.
3. Ringing sound should emit when two bricks are struck
together.
4. They should not absorb water more than 22% of its own dry
weight after soaking in water for 24hrs.
5. Minimum crushing strength should be 70 kg/cm2 , (1000psi)
6. The shape size and colour of the brick should be generally
regular and uniform. Slight distortions are allowed.
7. The texture should be uniform.
They should not show any sign of efflorescence.
Third class brick:

should carry the following properties –

1. These bricks are generally under burnt.

2. They are soft & light coloured.
3. They emit a dull sound when struck against each other.
4. Size and shape of these bricks are not regular.
5. They should not absorb water more than 25% of its own dry
weight after soaking in water for 24hrs.
6. They may suffer from intensive efflorescence.
7. Texture of brick is not uniform and may show pebbles & cracks.

These bricks are not generally used for important & permanent
works. Used for temporary works.
Over burnt or jhama brick:

1. They are over burnt & vitrified bricks.

2. They become so distorted that they cannot be used in
construction works.
3. They are used for making aggregate.
Under burnt brick:

1. They are just half burnt and have yellow colour.

2. These bricks do not have any strength.
3. Usually they are sent to be burnt again to make proper bricks.
4. They can also be ground to make surki.
Thank you