BRICK

Metals
Polymers
17 Ceramics
7 Composites
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Classification of bricks
3. Brick earth
4. Harmful ingredient in brick earth
5. Preparation of brick earth & bricks
6. Tests on bricks
7. Good qualities of brick
8. Sizes of bricks
9. Different types of bricks

Dept of Mat Eng 178

Introduction
 Brick is the basic unit of building and other
constructions.
 Bricks are blocks of tempered clay molded to suitable
shapes and sizes while it is still in plastic conditions,
dried in the sun OR burnt , if desired so as to make
them more strong, hard and durable.
 Common building brick is not only one of the oldest
but also the most extensively used material of
construction.
 Popularity of bricks as a material of construction is
because of their local and cheap availability, strength,
durability, reliability and insulating property against
heat and sound.
 Depending upon the nature of soil from which the
bricks are made, the molded finish and the quality of
burning, the bricks are classified into different
categories.
Dept of Mat Eng 179
Classification of Bricks
Bricks are broadly classified into two
categories:
 Sun dried, katcha or unbrunt brick
 Burnt or Pucca brick

 Burnt bricks can further be classified as:

 First class bricks
 Second class bricks
 Third class bricks
 Over brunt bricks

Dept of Mat Eng 180

First class bricks
 These are sound well brunt bricks of uniform
color
 All the faces are uniform and smooth
 All the edges are sharp
 Free from cracks or flaws
 A broken surface shows a uniform compact
texture
 Scratch with finger nails leaves no mark
 These may have slight presence of
efflorescence
 Used in the face work of structures not to
be plastered.
Dept of Mat Eng 181
Second class bricks
These are hard and well burnt bricks
as first class bricks
May have some what irregular in shape
or size and may have slight uneven
surface.
May have slight presence of
efflorescence.
Used in brick masonry or brick ballast
in R.C.C. works

Dept of Mat Eng 182

Third class bricks
Little under brunt
Less uniformity and smoothness as other
types.
All edges are not sharp
These are used in temporary structures,
not subject to heavy load

Dept of Mat Eng 183

Over burnt bricks
Over burnt bricks being near the fire
in the kiln get fused and loose their
shape.
These are used for constructing
inferior structure
May be used under foundations
As aggregate for plumb concrete

Dept of Mat Eng 184

Water absorption
 Brick is a porous material and absorb much
water, when in contact to it. Water absorption
of brick should not be more than given
specified limit for each class brick.

Classes of bricks Water absorption

(%)
First class brick 13-15

Second class brick 15-20

Third class brick More than 20

Dept of Mat Eng 185

Dept of Mat Eng 186
Brick earth
A good earth should be such that when
prepared with a water it can be easily
molded, dried and burnt with out
cracking or warping.
It should contain a small quantity of
finely divided lime to help in binding
the particles of brick together by
melting the particles of sand.
A little oxide of iron should also be
present which would give the brick its
red color and act in the same manner
as lime.
Dept of Mat Eng 187
Composition of brick earth
A good brick earth should preferably
confirm to the following compositions.
Clay (alumina) 20 to 30% by weight

Silt 20 to 35% by weight

Sand 35 to 50% by weight

The total content of clay and silt

should not as far as possible be less
then 50% by weight.

Dept of Mat Eng 188

Functions of constituents
 Silica and sand: it is present either free as
sand or in combination as silicate of alumina.
 Silica is infusible except at very high
temperature but in the presence of alumina
in nearly equal proportions and the oxide of
iron it fuses at lower temperature.
 Unlike silicate of alumina its presence in clay
produces hardness, resistance to heat,
durability and prevent shrinkage and
warping.
 Excess of it makes the bricks brittle.
Dept of Mat Eng 189
Functions of constituents cont…
Alumina: it is a tenacious finely-
grained mineral compound present in
brick earth.
It is plastic when wet and is capable
of being molded to any shape.
On drying it loses its plasticity and
become hard, shrinks warps and
cracks.
Burning cause the fusion of its
constituents thereby making it
homogenous, harder and stronger.
Dept of Mat Eng 190
Functions of constituents cont…
Magnesia: in the presence of iron it
gives a yellowish tint to the bricks.
It should not be present in excess.
However, the presence of small
quantity of manganese with iron will
give the brick darker or even black
color.
Total lime and magnesia in case of
alluvial soil shall not be more than 1%
and in other case it will preferably not
exceed 15%.
Dept of Mat Eng 191
Functions of constituents cont…
Oxide of iron: in the presence of
silica and alumina, it helped the fusion
of brick particles.
Also it influences the color of bricks.
It produces a tint varying from light
yellow to red depending upon the
percentage of iron present in clay.
Excess of it makes the color dark blue.
It should not be present in the form of
iron pyrite.
Dept of Mat Eng 192
Dept of Mat Eng 193
Harmful Ingredients
Lime
Iron pyrites
Pebbles of stone & gravel
Alkalies
kallar

Dept of Mat Eng 194

Harmful Ingredients cont..
Lime: if present in excess, it melts the
brick particles as a result of which
brick looses its shape.
Lime should also be not present in brick
earth in the form of lime stone or
kankar modules.
On the burning of bricks, these get
converted to quick-lime which expands
on absorption of moisture and causes
the cracking and disintegration of
bricks.
Dept of Mat Eng 195
Harmful Ingredients cont..
Iron pyrites: iron pyrites get oxidized
in the brick, crystallize and split the
brick to pieces. These should be
carefully removed from brick earth.
Pebbles of stone & Gravel: their
presence make it difficult to mix the
brick-earth thoroughly as a result of
which the bricks are not homogenous.
It gives weak and porous bricks. Also
such bricks can not readily cut or
worked.
Dept of Mat Eng 196
Harmful Ingredients cont..
 Kallar: it is the sulphate of soda mixed with
a little carbonate of soda and common salt.
 Its presence in brick-earth prevents bricks
from being properly burnt. After the brick
have been burnt, these salts recrystallize
and appear as irregular and unsightly white
patches on the surface of bricks.
 They cause the plaster and the surface of
bricks to peel off layer by layer and to
ultimately crumble away.
 Presence of kallar in soil could be easily
detected by the presence of efflorescence
on the sides of fresh excavation, if the soil
is moist.
Dept of Mat Eng 197
Dept of Mat Eng 198
Preparation of brick earth
 Following are the various operations involved
in preparing brick earth.
 Digging: soil free from gravel, coarse sand,
lime and kankar particles, vegetation should
be dig at certain depth.
 Weathering: to improve plasticity and
strength, heap of broken lump soil, mixed
with water should be weathered for few
weeks.
 Blending: thoroughly mixing with sandy clay
and water.
 Tempering :for homogenous and plastic soil,
it should be kneaded. Pug mills may be used
for superior quality.
Dept of Mat Eng 199
Brick Mould
Mould are rectangular boxes, made of
timber or steel, without any top and
bottom.
Longer sides are kept in projecting on
both ends to act as handles for lifting
the mould.
Moulds are made in size slightly
greater (about 10%) than the
standard size of the brick. It is
because on drying and burning bricks
shrink.
Dept of Mat Eng 200
Hand Moulding
The bricks moulded by hands may be of
two types:
Ground moulded bricks
Table moulded bricks

Dept of Mat Eng 201

Frogs and Impressions
Identification marks left on bricks
during process of molding to indicate
the name of manufacturer are known
as frogs.
It also provide key for mortar, which
gives a grip between the successive
bricks.

Dept of Mat Eng 202

Brick Burning
After bricks have dried in sun these
are burnt in kilns to make them
harder, stronger, denser, less
absorbent and consequently more
durable. These are burnt in
Clamp or Pazawah
Kiln (intermittent, continuous)
Bull’s trench kiln
Hoffman’s kiln

Dept of Mat Eng 203

Dept of Mat Eng 204
Test for Bricks
 AASHTO T 32-03, ASTM C 67-02a
 Following test are recommended:
 Sampling of bricks
 Determination of weight, size
 Water absorption and saturation coefficient
 Compressive strength
 Modulus of rupture
 Effect of freeze and thaw
 Efflorescence
 Initial rate of absorption
Dept of Mat Eng 205
Sampling of bricks
Brick should be full size
Representative of whole lot in color,
texture and size.
Free of dirt, mud, mortar or other
foreign materials
Each specimen should be marked
 at least 10 samples for 1,000,000 lot

Dept of Mat Eng 206

Absorption
The test specimen shall consists of
half brick, oven dried for 24 hours.
Five specimen shall be tested.
Submerge the dry cooled specimen,
without preliminary partial
immersion, in clean water at 15.5 to
300C for specified time.
Remove the specimen, wipe off the
surface water with a damp cloth and
weigh the specimen.

Dept of Mat Eng 207

Absorption cont.

 Calculate the absorption of each specimen

as follows:

 Absorption (%)= 100* (Ws-Wd)/Wd

 Where
 Wd = dry weight of the specimen, and
 Ws = saturated weight of the specimen
after each specimen, rounded to the
nearest 0.1%.

Dept of Mat Eng 208

Compressive strength test
 All specimen should be dry and cool
 Cap the test specimen with:
 Gypsum capping
 Sulfur-filler capping
 Age the cap at least 24 hours for gypsum
and 2 hours for sulfur
 Place the brick in depth wise
 Apply the load upto one half of the expected
maximum load at any convenient rate, after
which, adjust the controls of the machine so
that remaining load is applied at a uniform
rate in less than 1 nor more than 2 min.
Dept of Mat Eng 209
Compressive strength test
Calculate the compressive strength of
each specimen as follows:

 compressive strength, C= W/A

Where
C = Compressive strength (psi)
W = Maximum load (lb)
A = Average of gross area (in2)

Dept of Mat Eng 210

Efflorescence
 The sample shall consists of ten full size bricks.
 Remove by brushing any adhering dirt that might
be mistaken for efflorescence.
 Dry the specimens and cool them.
 Set one specimen from each of the five pairs, on
end, partially immersed in distilled water to a
depth of app. 1” for seven days in dry room.
 Store the second specimen from each of the five
pairs in the drying room without contact with
water.
 After drying, examine and compare each pair of
specimen from a distance of 10 ft and decide
“effloresced” or “not effloresced” in comparison
with each pair.

Dept of Mat Eng 211

Dept of Mat Eng 212
Qualities of Good Bricks
1. Good quality brick should have rectangular plane surface
with parallel sides and sharp, straight, right angled edges.
2. Uniform in size: variation should not be more than 1/8” for
first class & 1/16” for superior class.
3. Uniformity in color: usually red color
4. Texture should be compact and fine.
5. Free of lumps of lime and bubbles, when broken.
6. Metallic sound is an indicator of hardened brick. Dull
sound indicates soft brick.
7. Stronger bricks has less water absorption.
8. Crushing strength of first & second class brick may be
1500 & 1000 psi respectively. It may be as high as
2350psi.
9. Brick masonry can take safe tensile strength up to 1 ton
per sq. ft. dor 1:6 c/s mortar.
10. Resistant to fire (due to presence of silica)
Dept of Mat Eng 213
Dept of Mat Eng 214
Sizes of Bricks
Principal for sizes are
Length = 2x width+ mortar joint
Length = 3x Height+ mortar joint
Easy to handle, can be gripped in one
hand
Weight should not be more than 4 kg.

Dept of Mat Eng 215

Sizes of Bricks
Sizes may be measured as
Actual size (without any attachment)
Nominal size (with mortar thickness)
Sizes is always written in following
order:
 Length x Width x Height

Typical size of brick is:

 9” x 4-1/2” x 3”

Dept of Mat Eng 216

Dept of Mat Eng 217
Different types of bricks
 Based on its uses, bricks have
different types:
1. Paving bricks or Tuff Tiles
2. Jamb Bricks
3. Side wedge bricks
4. Cornice bricks
5. Plinth bricks
6. Hollow bricks
7. Corbels
8. Coping bricks
Dept of Mat Eng 218
Paving Bricks
 Paving bricks or tuff tiles are
commonly used for approaches to
entrance.
 May have different sizes depending
upon shape:
 High compressive strength and
resistance to abrasion.
 Made by fine aggregate concrete
 Some are made of higher iron
percentage and higher burning
temperature.
 High compressive strength and
resistance to abrasion.
 Made by fine aggregate concrete.
 Some are made of higher iron
percentage and higher burning
temperature.

Dept of Mat Eng 219

 PAVING BRICKS

Dept of Mat Eng 220

 PAVING BRICKS

Dept of Mat Eng 221

Jamb Bricks
These bricks are chamfered and
rounded to the desired shape at one
corner.

Dept of Mat Eng 222

Different types of bricks
 Culvert or side wedge
bricks are taper in
thickness and used for
arches.
 Cornice bricks are used for
cornice (projecting
horizontal members that
crown an architectural
composite)

 Corbels are used for

corbelling the projections.
Dept of Mat Eng 223
Different types of bricks
Plinth bricks are used on plinth

Dept of Mat Eng 224

Different types of bricks
Copping bricks with
different shapes
and sizes depending
upon there
functions are used
for coping. e.g.
chamfered, half
round or saddle
back etc.

Dept of Mat Eng 225

Hollow bricks
 They are also known as cavity
or cellular bricks.
 These are not solid but hollow
inside.
 Volume of solid material
should not be less than one
half of its gross over all
volume.
 No web should be less than
1.5cm thick.
 They are only one third of the
weight of the same size of
ordinary bricks.
Dept of Mat Eng 226
Hollow bricks
These can be laid almost four times
as fast as the ordinary bricks.
These provides the advantages of
hollow walls e.g. insulation against
heat and sound.
These are sufficiently strong for all
purposes except for concentrated
loads. These are ideally suited for
the construction of non-load bearing
(partition) walls.

Dept of Mat Eng 227

Dept of Mat Eng 228