SIDDAGANGA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

TUMAKURU – 572103, KARNATAKA, INDIA

2022-2023

TECHNICAL SEMINAR PRESENTATION

ON
“BREATHE BRICKS”

PRESENTED BY: PREETHAM B S

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

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 CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
3. COMPONENTS
4. MANUFACTURING PROCESS
5. HOW BREATHE BRICK WALL WORKS?
6. APPLICATION
7. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
8. CONCLUSION
9. REFERENCE

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 INTRODUCTION

• Breathe Brick is a masonry system which is designed and constructed to

constitute and be a part of ventilation system of buildings.
• It filters polluted outdoor air so that it becomes healthy enough to bring
directly into occupied spaces.
• Breathe Brick does not need any energy for its operation because it works
with pressure and temperature differentials.
• The Breathe Brick was developed by Carmen Trudell, an assistant
professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's school of architecture.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW
TITLE STUDY ON BREATHE BRICKS

AUTHOR Mr. B. Manibalu1, Ms. C. Sakthipriya, Mr. R.K. Manikandan

PUBLISHER International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)

DESCRIPTION  A brick is major component for building work. Generally, Bricks are manufactured by
grinding or crushing the clay in mills and mixing it with water to make it plastic state.
 This investigation presents a parametric experimental study, by utilization of lime and plastic
coupler in brick manufacturing with the replacement of clay and sand to reduce the entry of
pollutants to the wall and give a cooling temperature.
 Lime is the substitute of clay and the plastic coupler of size 3/4 inches with cover and spring
and 10% of glycol and 10% of calcium nitrate to make the perfect breathe brick.
 The test on brick is carried out according to IS 3495-1992.
 The water absorption capacity of these brick is lower than the normal brick.
 These bricks are likely to add energy efficiency and help to create a economic value to the
manufacturer.
 A mathematical model is developed to predict the compressive strength of the breathe brick.

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TITLE Ventilation, indoor particle filtration, and energy consumption of an apartment in northern
China
AUTHOR Tengfei (Tim) Zhanga, Zhou Sub , Jihong Wangb , Shugang Wangb

PUBLISHER Elsevier

DESCRIPTION  Ventilation is commonly thought to be helpful for improving indoor air quality.
 This investigation incorporated a particulate-filtration model into the EnergyPlus software.
 The validated software was then used to evaluate ventilation together with indoor particle
filtration in a typical Chinese residential apartment. The ventilation modes included natural,
mechanical, and hybrid ventilation.
 For the mechanical systems, demand-controlled outdoor air rates and clean air delivery rates
(CADRs) that ensure acceptable indoor air quality were also solved.
 A combination of natural ventilation and portable demand-controlled particulate filtration has
the lowest operating cost, but the ventilation rate may occasionally be insufficient.
 Mechanical ventilation in demand-controlled operation and its hybrid with natural ventilation
can further reduce energy consumption

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TITLE Incorporation of sand-based breathing bricks with foamed concrete and humidity control
materials
AUTHOR Xuezheng Wang , Wenyuan Gao, Shuang Yan, Meihong Niu , Guishan Liu, Hongshun Hao

PUBLISHER Elsevier

DESCRIPTION  Foamed concrete with five densities were prepared without sintering, then compounded with
the humidity controlling slurry to prepare the sand-based breathing bricks (SBB).
 The accurate porous parameters of foamed concrete were characterized and quantified by
Image-pro Plus 6.0 and MATLAB 2015a.
 The effect of these porous parameters on the properties of the SBB were investigated.
 The optimal physical, mechanical and humidity controlling properties of SBB were achieved
with FCa9 of foamed Concrete.
 The suitable dry density was 910 kg/m3 with higher compressive strength of 5.25 MPa,
thermal conductivity was 0.08 W(mK), the max moisture absorption was 272.51 g/m2 and max
moisture desorption was 143.09 g/m2 , which can be used as a wall material for partitioning
space to improve indoor air quality

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TITLE Breathing Walls Concept for Energy Efficient Comfortable Housing Using Natural Local
Material
AUTHOR Sadiq Ali, Philip Griffiths, Neil Hewitt

PUBLISHER International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology

DESCRIPTION  ‘Breathing walls’ concept is an innovative construction procedure that can help improve
thermal comfort in houses utilizing local material.
 The author designed this concept based on teaching civil engineering procedures,
observations and understanding of construction practices in building industry through
research and practice.
 One such accommodation was developed in 1992-93, another in 2000 and more in 2005.
 The practices were progressively improved and proved that a temperature drop of 10-15°C
can be achieved by breathing walls concept without cost exceeding 5-10% for the overall
project.
 Breathing walls concept can help develop comfortable ecofriendly low cost housing in the
developing as well as in developed countries.

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TITLE BREATHE BRICK

AUTHOR Fathima Shirin, Anjana Jayakumar

PUBLISHER International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)

DESCRIPTION  Breathe brick is a masonry system that filters the polluted outdoor air to improve the indoor air quality.
This system does not use any filtration technique for separating suspended particles.
 The air itself creates the filtration effect. The brick is modified to have a faceted shape to direct the
airflow into the brick.
 The pressure and temperature differentials are considered for directing the particle-laden air to the
brick.
 Cyclonic separator, which is the cheapest and efficient type of separator is adopted as the major
component of breathe brick.
 The efficiency of cyclonic separator depends on particle size and velocity. It shows 70-80% efficiency
in solid separation, if the fluid contain large amount of solid particles the separation efficiency exceeds
99%.

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TITLE STUDY ON BREATHE BRICKS

AUTHOR Mr. B. Manibalu, Ms. C. Sakthipriya, Mr. R.K. Manikandan

PUBLISHER International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)

DESCRIPTION  A brick is major component for building work.

 Generally, Bricks are manufactured by grinding or crushing the clay in mills and mixing it
with water to make it plastic state.
 Lime is the substitute of clay and the plastic coupler of size 3/4 inches with cover and spring
and 10% of glycol and 10% of calcium nitrate to make the perfect breathe brick.
 The mechanical properties of bricks are investigated and compressive strength, bulk density
and water absorption and efflorescence of the breathe bricks are determined.
 The test on brick is carried out according to IS 3495-1992. The key characteristics of these
bricks are environmental savior and these brick has unique activity of breathing.
 The compressive strength of these brick is found to be same as the normal brick. The water
absorption capacity of these brick is lower than the normal brick.
 There is nil efflorescence produce on these brick. These bricks are likely to add energy
efficiency and help to create a economic value to the manufacturer.
 A mathematical model is developed to predict the compressive strength of the breathe brick.
This investigation introduces the new strand of research and development of the construction
materials.

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 COMPONENTS OF BREATHE BRICK
1. CONCRETE BRICK:
Breathe brick unit is a structural masonry component within which a cyclone
filter is embedded. The concrete bricks feature a faceted surface which helps to
direct airflow into system, and a separate cavity for inserting steel structure. The
brick is designed in such a way that it can replace some exterior.

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2. RECYCLED PLASTIC COUPLER:

• It helps to align the stacking modules two vertical shafts

• One to accommodate structure reinforcement and one to send the distilled
particulates into collection hopper.

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 MANUFACTURING PROCESS

• Breathe bricks are manufactured similar to that of hollow concrete masonry

blocks. Breathe Bricks are designed to the same dimensions as typical masonry
units.

• Raw materials required are cement, aggregate and water.

• Proportioning: Proper proportioning of raw materials as per Indian standard
specification has to be done (1:6 cement: aggregate).
 

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• Mixing: The objective of mixing of aggregate, water, cement is to ensure that
cement-water paste completely covers the surface of the aggregates. All the raw
.

materials including water are collected in a concrete mixer, which is rotated for
about 1 ½ minutes. The prepared mix is discharged from the mixer and consumed
within 30 minutes.
• Compacting: The purpose of compacting is to fill all air pockets with concrete as a
whole, without movement of free water through the concrete. Semi-automatic
vibrating table type machines are widely used for making cement concrete bricks.
• Moulding: The paste is kept in mould or formwork and is compacted well to
remove air voids and to obtain a desired shape.

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• Curing: The bricks removed from the mould are protected until they are
.

sufficiently Hardened to permit handling without damage. This may take about
24 hours in a shelter away from sun and winds. The bricks thus hardened are
cured in a curing yard to permit complete miniaturization for at least 21 days.
• Drying: Generally a period of 7 to 15 days of drying will bring the blocks to the
desired degree of dryness to complete their initial shrinkage.
• Recycle plastic coupler is installed on the top.

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 .

• Wind Tunnel Test: the bricks are kept inside a wind tunnels (large tubes) with
air moving inside to check whether brick filters dust and airborne pollutants are
not.

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HOW BREATHE BRICKS OPERATES?
• The system is composed of two key parts: concrete bricks, and a recycled plastic
coupler, which both helps to align bricks and creates a route from the outside into
the brick's hollow center. The concrete bricks themselves feature a faceted surface
which helps to direct airflow into the system, and a separate cavity for inserting
steel structure.
• The cyclone filter is cast directly into the concrete form. The filtered air that passes
into the cavity of the double-Wythe wall system could then supply an HVAC system
or an adjacent interior space directly.

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 APPLICATIONS
• Breathe Brick is optimal for one or two-story structures in areas with poor air
quality.
• It is specifically designed for regions with elevated outdoor particulate matter.
• It can be used to construct exterior walls, such as a plenum or courtyard, sound
walls along freeways, and school playground enclosures.
• In Cairo, an annual temperature inversion brings a fog of dust and burning biomass
called the Black cloud.
• Inspired by the vacuum cleaners that spin air through a vortex to separate particles,
the team “came up with the idea of putting a cyclone inside of the exterior wall”.
• Breathe Brick was developed, it is a porous concrete masonry unit that stacks to
form an air-filtration and structural facade system.

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 ADVANTAGES

• Environmentally friendly
• Energy efficient since it operates without electricity and makes a part of the
ventilation system.
• Passively filter outdoor air prior to introduction to an indoor environment.
• Breathe brick system can operate as active; integrated into existing HVAC system,
or passive as independent system.

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 DISADVANTAGES

• Breathe brick passive filtration system is that the exterior wall takes as much as double the
original space.
• Breathe bricks can be used in load bearing structures up to one or two storey height.

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 CONCLUSION

• The Breathe Brick is capable of capturing particles at a variety of pressures, and

therefore has demonstrated viability as a filtration component.
• However, the applications for this building system would be in locations where
currently no air filtration is used, and therefore, the removal of large particles
without an input of fossil-fuel energy will improve the living conditions for
people in these homes.
• As it is Cheap, Environmentally friendly, Energy efficient since it operates
without electricity and makes a part of the ventilation system, it is one of the
best sustainable building techniques developed in recent times.

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 REFERENCES
• Study on breathe bricks: Mr. B. Manibalu1, Ms. C. Sakthipriya, Mr. R.K.
Manikandan
• Ventilation, indoor particle filtration, and energy consumption of an apartment in
northern China: Tengfei (Tim) Zhanga, Zhou Sub , Jihong Wangb , Shugang
Wangb
• Incorporation of sand-based breathing bricks with foamed concrete and humidity
control materials: Xuezheng Wang , Wenyuan Gao, Shuang Yan, Meihong Niu ,
Guishan Liu, Hongshun Hao
• Breathing Walls Concept for Energy Efficient Comfortable Housing Using
Natural Local Material: Sadiq Ali, Philip Griffiths, Neil Hewitt
• Breathe brick: Fathima Shirin, Anjana Jayakumar

 
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THANK YOU

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