2018 3rd International Conference for Convergence in Technology (I2CT)

The Gateway Hotel, XION Complex, Wakad Road, Pune, India. Apr 06-08, 2018

Design of Hybrid Powered Automated Compressed

Stabilized Earth Block (CSEB) Machine
Ayyappan. A1 Sekhar Milan2 Sreejith Kailas T3 P. Kanakasabapathy4
AMMACHI Labs Dept of Mechanical Engg Dept of Electrical Engg Dept of Electrical Engg
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Amritapuri, India Amritapuri, India Amritapuri, India Amritapuri, India
ayyappan.ajan@ammachilabs.org sekharm@am.amrita.edu sreejith@am.amrita.edu sabapathy@am.amrita.edu

Abstract — The hybrid powered automated Compressed durability, thermal conductivity, cement stabilization,
Stabilized Earth Brick (CSEB) making machine employs solar compression ratio etc [1-7].
energy to hydraulically compress the soil mixture. This machine
overcomes the laborious effort and low productivity of manually Steps of manufacturing the CSEBs are given in fig 1:
compressed earth bricks. This green technology mitigates the
challenge of environment pollution caused by fired brick kilns.
Since it is indigenous, it alleviates the necessity to import
expensive automatic brick making machines. Civil construction
material for rural communities in India is made affordable, and
additionally it generates employment.

Index Terms — Bricks, Automatic Brick Maker, CSEB, Solar

Powered, Hydraulic Press, Green Technology Fig.1. Steps in manufacturing CSEB
I. INTRODUCTION A soil mixture comprises of sub-soil, stabilizers and
Earth bricks have been used as building material in the additives; whose composition is vital to the mechanical
construction of several domestic and civil structures for many properties inherited by CSEB. Table 1 gives the comparative
centuries. The earliest earth brick adobe, made by sun-dried study of soil mixtures.
plain mud and straw, had low strength and durability. These
Table.1. Comparative study of CSEB soil mixtures
properties were enhanced in fired clay bricks, but the
manufacturing process requires large quantities of fossil fuels
and it causes significant environment pollution. These issues
regarding sustainable building material led to the design of the
Compressed Stabilized Earth Brick (CSEB). Considerable
research has been done to explore energy efficient, economic
and environmental friendly methods. Review paper [1] shows
that CSEB is comparable to other materials like concrete block
or fired brick based on strength, durability, thermal
conductivity and density. It has tremendous potential for low to
medium cost housing construction (especially for single-storied
buildings) in developing nations. The soil mixture can be
compressed into a CSEB either by manual or by automatic
methods based on the productivity. A suitable source of
renewable or non-renewable energy is needed to power the
automatic machine.
II. COMPRESSED STABILIZED EARTH BRICK (CSEB)
Major advantages of the CSEB are the availability and The process of building construction has spawned varieties
abundance of sub-soil for the soil mixture, its high fire- of CSEB for various applications with different sizes, shapes,
resistance property, favorable climatic performance, weights, and interlocking patterns.
exceptional low energy input, quick modular construction, and
CSEB are manufactured with laterite soil which has the
additionally it provides employment to rural population [2]. Its
specialty of stabilizing with comparatively less percentages of
significant performance properties are compressive strength,
cement (5%) [3].Usually, the mixture is compressed at a
flexural strength, density, water absorption, shrinkage,

978-1-5386-4273-3/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE 1

compaction ratio of 1.65 or greater to get sufficient
compressive strength.
The CSEB for this project has the following
properties/specifications:
1. The dimension of the CSEB: 220mm x 110mm x 76mm
2. The compaction/compression pressure is 5 N/mm2.
3. The internal pressure/stress of the mould is assumed to
be evenly distributed.
The hydraulic pressing machine is vital in the production of
CSEBs, hence its design, modelling, analysis and simulation is
critical. The programmable logic control (PLC) and a sensory
system automate, operate and monitor the functionality of this
system [8]. Ideal soil mixture and economic pressure are
important for good productivity. There should be enough (a)
fine material surrounding the gross particles to prevent
abrasion and allow for air to permeate [9]. Compared to fired
bricks, earth blocks show good isotropic behaviour towards
mechanical properties [10].
III. SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM
Schematic of electric power supply used for the proposed
machine using solar PV is given fig 2.
Fig.2. Steps in manufacturing CSEB
Battery store solar energy obtained from the panels as
electrical energy. The panels are active only when sunlight is
present, but the charge stored can be used during off sun
hours. Solar charge controller regulates the current flow
between the solar photovoltaic modules, battery and the
load/appliances. Output coming from the solar panel is in the
form of direct current (DC). Inverter converts DC to
alternating current (AC) for the three phase induction motor.
Characteristic study of a 3-phase 2-HP water pumping
system based on PV power determined that efficiency of a
solar powered water pump is much higher than conventional
power based water pump [12-13]. In [11], study of a single
phase standalone PV system is done, consisting of a boost
converter in the first stage and a hybridized seven level
inverter in the second stage for voltage regulation and MPPT.
While OEWIM coupled to a centrifugal water pump is
proposed with a single-stage solution for a dual MPPT
technique [14]. A time-tested, 2-level cascaded H-bridge
inverter to give three level voltage output is employed in [15-
16]. Operation and control of a grid interfaced PV system with
adaptive hysteresis current control scheme is proposed in [17].
A fly-back topology connected to a three phase inverter
controlled by the PWM unipolar technique is proposed to
drive the IM [18,19,21]. A PV water pumping system using a
push-pull converter and a three-phase inverter is detailed in
[20]. Study of a PV powered UPS system with a half-bridge
converter and energy management system is done in [23]. An
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autonomous power done through bus signaling method and
SoC conditions of ESS uses the control algorithm and local
controllers for regulating the frequency and bus voltage of the
microgrid [22].
IV. EXISTING CSEB METHODOLOGY
The existing automatic CSEB machines are powered by
conventional grid power or by fossil fuel (diesel) which create
economic or environment challenges; while the manually
operated machines are physically challenging.
The existing manual press machine is laborious and
requires 9 steps to make a brick. The steps are shown in fig.3:
Fig.3. Steps in manufacturing CSEB using manual press machine
Steps involved are:
1) Initially the lid of the mould is opened.
2) The soil mixture is put into the hopper and it falls into
the feeder box attached below it.
3) The feeder box is pulled above the mould box causing
the mixture to fall into it.
4) The lid of the mould box is closed by lifting the
operating lever arm.
5) The mould box is locked.
6) Operating arm is pressed down for brick compression.
7) The mould box is unlocked.
8) Mould lid is opened by lowering the operating arm.
9) The operating arm is pressed in order to lift the CSEB.
The existing automatic machine is expensive and mainly
available outside India. This machine requires six to make a
single brick. The steps are shown in fig.4:
Fig.4. Steps in manufacturing CSEB using automatic machine
Steps involved are:
1) Initially the soil mixture is put into the deposit box
which falls into the feeder box attached below.
2) Then the lid of the mould box is opened and the feeder
box is pulled so that the mixture falls into it.
3) The lid of the mould box is closed.
4) The hydraulic lever is activated to compression the soil
mixture.
5) The lid of the mould is opened.
6) The hydraulic lever is activated to raise the CSEB
above the mould box.
 V. DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY Table.2. Design parameters of the hydraulic system

Manually operating the hydraulic levers in the automated

machines for every CSEB unit induces fatigue due to the
repetitive nature and the duration of the task. These challenges
are minimized by using the hybrid powered (solar and
conventional grid) automatic CSEB machine which uses green
technology to reduces the economic, environment, physical and
fatigue challenges.
Based on the composition of the soil mixture, the force
needed to compress it into a stabilized brick is determined.
This CSEB should possess the required mechanical properties
like compressive strength, density, thermal conductivity, water
absorption, shrinkage and more. An appropriate hydraulic
power-pack comprising mainly of piston-cylinder, pump, and
motor; based on the operating pressure is selected. The pump is Fig.5. Electro-hydraulic design
connected to the shaft of an AC motor. As per the fig 2, the AC This system have three hydraulic cylinders, where the main
motor in the hydraulics is powered by solar energy. The MPPT cylinder C1 is for compressing the soil mixture into a
solar charge controller controls the flow of current for charging CSEB. The small cylinder C2 is for pushing out the CSEB,
and discharging the battery. The battery output is given to the while the cylinder C3 is for opening and closing the mould
inverter which converts DC to AC for powering the AC motor. box. Magnetic field sensors attached to the cylinder at
A. Mechanical and PLC Circuit Design appropriate locations help to find the position of the piston.
The movement and direction of the cylinders are controlled
As per the Fluid-Power-Data book [25], the steps for by three solenoid actuated directional valves.
selecting the hydraulics system is shown below.
B. Working Algorithm of Mechanical System
The steps involved in the design flow are:
x Start the operation by pressing start button
x The design force starts with the compaction force
which is applied on the mixture in order to make the x When the start button is pressed, LED 1 turns ON
brick. x When start is pressed cylinder 3 piston is pushed
x Appropriate pressure is selected. back and sensor C3-S2 gets activated
x Then cylinder 1 piston is pushed back and sensor C1-
x For a particular force and pressure a specific piston
S2 gets activated
diameter is selected.
x Then cylinder 1 piston is pushed forward till the
x Appropriate GPM(gallons per) is selected to for the
sensor C1-S1 gets activated
particular piston diameter
x Cylinder 1 piston stops once C1-S1 is active.
x HP (horse power) required to drive the pump is
x The mould box is opened by pushing cylinder 2
selected.
piston back and sensor C2-S1 gets active
x Torque of the motor is selected.
x Once the mixture is put inside the mould box the load
cell detects the weight
Table-2 gives the design parameters of hydraulics system.
x Cylinder-3-piston is moved forward and sensor
C2.S2 turns ON indicating closed position of mould.
The electro-hydraulics design controlled by the Programmable
x Cylinder 1 piston moves forward and compresses the
Logic Controller (PLC) with the aid of sensors and actuators; is
mixture for a few seconds (required pressure is set in
illustrated in fig 5.
pressure gauge)
x Cylinder 1 piston is pushed back till C1.S2 is active
x Once C1.S2 is active, cylinder 3 piston is pushed
forward to push the brick out
x Once the brick is pushed out C3.S1 gets active
x Once C3.S1 is active the cylinder 3 piston is pushed
back and C3.S2 becomes active
x Cylinder 1 piston is pushed forward till sensor C1.S1
gets active, and the cycle continues
x For emergency, push stop button
x Then cylinder C3 piston is pushed back, then cylinder
C1 is pushed back and then cylinder C2 is pushed back

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C. Photo Voltaic System Design x If the output of the solar panel is not enough to meet
As per the book solar photo voltaic (PV) [24], the standard the load requirement, then the current from the battery
way of selecting the PV system is shown below. Steps involved flows out to meet the load requirement.
in designing the electric system are:- x The output of the battery is given to the input of the
boost converter which steps up the voltage from 24V
Step-1:- Load estimation
input to 50V output.
Motor rating-3-phase, 1.5Hp, 1.12kW
x The 50V output from the boost converter is given to
Daily Watt-hour = 1120W*6hours = 6720Wh
an inverter which converts the voltage to 50 V AC.
Inverter rating:-
Power handling capacity of inverter = 1120VA x The 50V AC is given to input of the transformer
Inverter efficiency = 0.95 which steps up the voltage to 415V to meet the load
Input energy to the inverter = 6720Wh/0.95 = 7074Wh requirement (motor).
System voltage = 50V, Battery voltage = 24V x In order to charge the battery there is a buck converter
Step-2:-Sizing the battery which steps down the voltage from 36V to 24V.
Battery rating -12V, 100Ah, DOD-75% x At night, the solar panel will not work, so 3 phase AC
Required charge capacity = 7074Wh/50V = 142Ah supply can be turned on for usage of the machine.
Batteries required = 142/ (0.75*100) = 2
VI. SIMULATIONS AND RESULTS
Since system voltage is 24V, and 142Ah, total batteries
required is 4, 2 in series and 2 in parallel PV System Simulink Design
Step3:- Sizing the PV modules
PV panel rating-250 W, 36V, 8.6A
Efficiency of PV = 0.85
Efficiency of charge controller = 0.9
Energy supplied by PV=7226/ (0.85*0.9) = 9247Wh
Ampere hour = 9247Wh/24V = 386Ah
Total current delivered by PV panel = 386Ah/6 = 65A
Panels required to be placed parallel is = 65/8.6= 8
For better current sinking, ten panels are kept in parallel
D. Working algorithm of PV system Fig.7. Simulink design of PV system
PV circuit consists of different sections:-
PV panel array design
The panel used in circuit is of the rating 36V, 8.6A, 250Wp.

Fig.6. Algorithm of PV system

As shown in fig 6, steps involved in the working of PV system

is given below
x Initially assuming that, the battery is completely
charged
x Depending on the load requirement, the current from
the panel flows as per the intensity of irradiance.
x Initially assuming that, the output of the solar panel is
enough to meet the load requirement.
x The output of the panel is given to the input of the
boost converter which steps up the voltage from 36V
input to 50V output.
x The 50V output from the boost converter is given to
an inverter which converts the voltage to 50V AC.
x The 50V AC is given to input of the transformer
which steps up the voltage to 415V to meet the load
requirement (motor).
Fig.8. Output of Solar Panel
Since the required amount of current is 65A, ten solar panel of
the above rating need to be placed in parallel to meet the
requirement. Output of the panel shown in graph is 36volt (V)
and 72 ampere (A).
Boost converter design
Boost converters are DC-to-DC power converters that steps up
supply from the input (voltage) to the load (output).
D - duty cylcle, VIN (min) - input voltage, VOUT - output
voltage, Lmin - Inductance, R - load resistance, f - switching
frequency, C – capacitance, ΔVo - output voltage ripple.

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There are two boost converters used here:
First boost converter steps up the 36V coming from the solar
panel to 50V, which is the system voltage.
Supply voltage – 36V, Output voltage – 50V, Frequency –
100kHz, Output current – 70A, Inductor – 10uH, Capacitor –
2000uF
Battery circuit
Battery specifications are: 12V, 100Ah, 75% DOD. Nominal
voltage is 26V. Soc (State of charge) of value shows 1, which
indicates that the nominal voltage is maintained.

Fig.12. Output of battery

Inverter, transformer and motor circuit
The input of the 3 phase inverter is 50V DC which is
converted into 50V AC and is stepped up using a step
Fig.9. Output of DC-DC boost converter (36V to 50V)
transformer to 415V, which is actually the required voltage for
Second boost converter steps up the 24V coming from the the 3 phase induction motor.
battery to 50V, which is the system voltage.
Supply voltage – 24V, Output voltage – 50V, Frequency –
100kHz, Output current – 70A, Inductor – 20uH, Capacitor –
1000uF.

Fig.13. Output of inverter

Transformer
Fig.10. Output of DC-DC boost converter (24V to 50V) 50 V AC is stepped up to 415V AC.
Buck converter design
Buck converters are DC-to-DC power converters which step
down voltage from the supply (input) to the load (output).
The duty ratio is determined by

D - duty cycle, Vs - input voltage, Vo - output voltage, Lmin -

Inductance, R - load resistance, f - switching frequency, C – Fig.14. Output of transformer
capacitance, ΔVo - output voltage ripple. Motor
As the supply voltage is given to motor, the motor tries to
achieve the rated speed, of 1500rpm.

Fig.11. Output of DC-DC buck converter (36V to 24V)

Fig.15. Output of motor

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 VII. CONCLUSIONS
Simulation outputs of the solar panel, DC-DC
converters, battery, inverter, transformer and motor indicate
that the design of the hybrid powered automated CSEB
machine is feasible. In future, prototype fabrication
equipped with PLC, sensors and actuators to automate the
manufacturing process will be undertaken. The mechanical
properties of the CSEBs thus produced will conform to the
required standards for civil construction material.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the support received from the
departments of Mechanical Engg., Electrical Engg., and
Ammachi Labs of Amrita University, Amritapuri, India.
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