Classification of bricks

ON FIELD PRACTICE:
Clay bricks are classified as first class, second class, third class and fourth class based on
physical and mechanical properties.
FIRST CLASS BRICKS
1. They should be smooth and rectangular, with parallel, sharp and straight edges and
square corners.
2. Thoroughly burnt and are deep red, cherry or copper colour.
3. Free from flaws, cracks and stones.
4. Uniform texture.
5. Should not have any impression or scratch.
6. When two bricks are struck against each other a strong metallic or ringing sound should
be heard.
7. Water absorption should be 12 to 15% of its dry weight when immersed in cold water
for 24 hrs.
8. The crushing strength should not be less than 10 N/mm2.

USES: Exposed brick work

Flooring
Reinforced brick work.
Pointing
SECOND CLASS BRICKS
1. Small cracks and distortions are permitted.
2. Water absorption should be 16 to 20% of its dry weight.
3. The crushing strength should not be less than 7 N/mm2.

USES: Hidden masonry works, Centering of Reinforced brick work.

Reinforced cement concrete structures.

THIRD CLASS BRICKS

1. Under burnt and are soft and light coloured.
2. Water absorption is 25% of its dry weight.
3. Produces a dull sound when struck against each other.

USES: Temporary building structures.

FOURTH CLASS BRICKS

1. Over burnt and badly distorted in shape and size.
2. Brittle in nature.

USES: Foundation and Floors in lime concentrate and road metal.

ON STRENGTH:
1. The Bureau of Indian Standards has classified bricks on basis of compressive strength.
2. Bricks having compressive strength of more than 40 N/mm2 are known as heavy duty
bricks.

Uses: Bridges, multi-storey buildings etc..

ON THE BASIS OF USE:

Common Brick
1. They are manufactured economically without special reference to appearance.
2. They have great strength and durability.
3. Used for filling, backing and in walls where appearance is of no consequence.
Facing Brick
1. They are made to have good appearance, either of colour or texture or both.
2. Durable under severe exposure.
3. Used in front of building walls.
Engineering Brick
1. Strong, impermeable, smooth, table moulded, hard and conform to defined limits of
absorption and strength.
2. They are used for load bearing structures.
On the Basis of finish:
Sand-faced Brick
1. Has textured surface
2. Manufactured by sprinkling sand on the inner surfaces of the mould.
Rustic Brick
1. Has textured finish, varying in patterns.

On the Basis of Manufacture:

Hand made
1. Bricks are hand moulded.

Machine made
1. They are wire cut bricks, pressed bricks, moulded bricks.
On the Basis of Burning:
Pale Bricks
1. Under burnt bricks obtained from outer portion of the kiln.
Body Bricks
1. Well burnt bricks obtained from central portion of the kiln.
Arch Bricks
1. Over burnt bricks obtained from inner portion of the kiln.

On the Basis of Types:

Solid
1. Small holes not exceeding 25 % the volume of the brick, frog not exceeding 20 % of
the total volume
Perforated
1. Small holes may exceed 25 % the volume of the brick.
Hollow
1. Small holes may exceed 25 % the volume of the brick.
Cellular
1.Holes closed at one end exceed 25 % the volume of the brick.
 MANUFACTURING OF BRICKS

Reference books :
Engineering materials by Rangwala
Manufacturing Process of Clay Brick

1. PREPARATION OF BRICK CLAY

Unsoiling , Digging , Cleaning, Weathering , Blending , Tempering.

2. MOULDING
Hand Moulding , Machine Moulding

3. DRYING
Natural, Artificial

4. BURNING
Burning in clamps, Burning in kilns.

If the bricks are to be manufactured on large quantities, necessary scientific test are to be
conducted to determine the suitability of the earth. Certain materials like fly ash, sandy
loam, rice husk ash, basalt stone dust are to de added to improve the quality of bricks.
PREPARATION OF CLAY: 
UNSOILING :- Top layer of 20cm depth is removed as it contains impurities.

DIGGING : - Clay dug out from ground is spread on levelled ground (just a little deeper
than the general level) in about 60cm to 120cm heaps.

CLEANING : -Stones, pebbles, vegetable matter, etc. are removed and lumps of clay are
converted into powder form.

WEATHERING :- Clay is exposed to atmosphere from few weeks to full season for
softening and mellowing. (Preferably dug before monsoon)

BLENDING :- Clay is made loose and any ingredient to be added to it is spread out at top
and blended by turning it up and down in vertical direction.

TEMPERING :- Clay is brought to a proper degree of hardness, then water is added to clay
and whole mass is kneaded or pressed under the feet of men or cattle. For large scale,
tempering is usually done in pug mill as shown in the figure.
PROCESS OF TEMPERING : 
Consist of a conical iron tub of height 1.2 to 1.8m. The diameter of the tub from bottom to
top may be 0.75 to 0.8m and 1.2 to 1.3m.The tub is sunk 0.6m below ground level.
Process of tempering 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 out and the pugged earth is taken
out from ramp for the next operation of moulding .
MOULDING: 

Moulding Clay, which is prepared from pug mill, is sent for the next operation of
moulding . Following are the two ways of moulding . Hand Moulding Machine Moulding .

HAND MOULDING: 
Hand moulding Moulds are rectangular boxes of wood or steel, which are open at top
and bottom. Steel moulds are more durable and used for manufacturing bricks on large
scale as shown in figure.

Bricks prepared by hand moulding are of two types.

a) Ground moulded bricks b) Table moulded bricks
a) Ground moulded bricks: ground is first made level and fine sand is sprinkled over it.
Mould is dipped in water and placed over the ground to fill the clay. Extra clay is
removed by wooden or metal strike after the mould is filled forced mould is then
lifted up and raw brick is left on the ground. Mould is then dipped in water every
time lower faces of ground moulded bricks are rough and it is not possible to place
frog on such bricks.

Ground moulded bricks of better quality and with frogs on their surface are made by
using a pair of pallet boards and a wooden block
b) Table- moulded bricks:

Process of moulding these bricks is just similar to ground bricks on a table of size
about 2m x 1m.

The bricks are moulded on stock boards nailed on the moulding table.

Stock boards have projection for forming the frog.

A thin mould called pallet is placed over the mould.

The mould containing the brick is then lifted off the stock board and made to rest
on the pallet. The mould is then removed and the brick is sent for drying.
Machine moulding: 

Machine moulding This method proves to be economical when bricks in huge

quantity are to be manufactured at the same spot. It is also helpful for moulding
hard and string clay. These machines are broadly classified in two categories
(a) Plastic clay machines (b) Dry clay machines

a) Plastic clay machines: This machine containing rectangular opening of size

equal to length and width of a brick. Pugged clay is placed in the machine
and as it comes out through the opening, it is cut into strips by wires fixed in
frames, so there bricks are called wire cut bricks.

b) 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. They carry distinct frogs and exhibit uniform texture.
Burning: 
•This is very important operation in the manufacturing of bricks to impart hardness,
strength and make them dense and durable.
•Heating clay upto 640 degree C produces physical changes. If such clay is cooled back,
it absorbs moisture from air and gets hydrated back to its original state. Such poorly
burnt clay is unstable.
•However, if clay is heated up to 700-1000 deg C chemical changes take place by which
alumina and silica in clay fuse together resulting in a compound which is strong and
stable.
•Burning of bricks is done either in clamps or in kilns.
•Clamps are temporary structures and they are adopted to manufacture bricks on small
scale.
•Kilns are permanent structures and they are adopted to manufacture bricks on a large
scale.
Burning in Clamp :
•The bricks and fuel are placed in alternate layers.
•Each brick tier consist of 4-5 layers of bricks.
•Space is left between the bricks for free circulation of hot gases.
•The top and sides of the clamp are plastered with mud.
•Then a coat of cowdung is given, which prevents the escape of heat.
•The production of bricks is 2-3 lacs andf it takes 6 months to
complete the process.
•About 60% of first class bricks can be produced through this
method.
Kilns: 
A kiln is a large oven, which is used to burn bricks underground.
1) Intermittent kilns – discontinuous burning of bricks
2) Continuous kilns - continuous burning of bricks

Intermittent kilns: These are intermittent in operation, which means that they are
loaded, fired, cooled and unloaded and thern the next loading is done.
a) Intermittent up-draught kilns
b) Intermittent down-draught kilns
a) INTERMITTENT UP-DRAUGHT KILNS
- Rectangular structures with thick outside walls.
- Wide doors are provided at each end for loading and unloading of kilns
- The flues are channels or passages which are provided to carry flames
or hot gases through the body of kiln.
- A temporary roof may be installed for protection to raw bricks from
Rain while being placed in position.
- This roof is to be removed when the kiln is fired.

Disadvantages :
- The quality of burnt bricks is not uniform
- Bricks near bottom are overburnt &
near top are underburnt.
- Wastage of fuel heat as kiln is to
be cooled everytime after burning
b) INTERMITTENT DOWN-DRAUGHT KILNS
- Rectangular OR circular structures with thick outside walls.
- Permanent walls and closed tight roof.
- The floor of the kiln is connected to a common chimney stack through flues.
- Similar to up draught kiln working.
- But it is arranged that hot gases are carried through vertical flues upto
the roof lvl and then released.

- These hot gases move downward by the chimney draught and in doing so
they burn the bricks.

Advantages :
- bricks are evenly burnt
- Performance better than up draught kiln.
- There is close control of heat . Hence useful for burning clay tiles, terracotta.
Continuous kilns: These kilns are continuous in operations. This means that
loading,firing, cooling and unloading are carried out simultaneously in these
kilns.
There are three types of continuous kilns.
a) Bull’s trench kiln
b) Hoffman’s kiln
c) Tunnel kiln
 
Bulls Trench Kiln
The kiln can be made circular or elliptical in shape. It is constructed on dry land, by digging a trench, 6 -
9 m wide, 2 - 2.5 m deep, and 100 - 150 m long. Gaps are left in the outer wall for easy assess to the
trench during setting and drawing of bricks.

The green bricks to be fired are set in rows, two to three bricks wide, with holes in between that allow
feeding of coal and a sufficient flow of air through the setting.
On top of the bricks, two layers of bricks, covered with ash or brick dust, seal the setting. The brick
workers create a firing zone by dropping fuel (coal, wood, oil, debris, and so on) through access holes in
the roof above the trench. The trench contains 200 - 300,000 bricks at a time. Small circular Bull's
trench kilns use only one chimney, whereas the larger elliptical kilns need two chimneys. Chimneys are
6 to 10 m high.

The advantage of the BTK design is a much greater energy efficiency compared with clamp. Sheet metal
or boards are used to route the airflow through the brick lattice so that fresh air flows first through the
recently burned bricks, heating the air, then through the active burning zone. The air continues through
the green brick zone (pre-heating and drying the bricks), and finally out the chimney, where the rising
gases create suction which pulls air through the system. The reuse of heated air yields savings in fuel
cost.

As with the rail process above, the BTK process is continuous. A half dozen labourers working around
the clock can fire approximately 15,000–25,000 bricks a day. Unlike the rail process, in the BTK process
the bricks do not move. Instead, the locations at which the bricks are loaded, fired, and unloaded
gradually rotate through the trench.
Bulls Trench Kiln
The Hoffmann Kiln

The Hoffmann kilns were in the form of a great

circular ring chamber, with massive walls and a
large chimney at the centre, to which
underground radial flues converged from the
inside walls of each of the twelve chambers.
The chambers were barrel arched (like a
railway tunnel), and in the roof arches there
were several small feed holes through which
fine coal could be fed into spaces made among
the bricks to be fired. Around the outer wall or
the kiln were the twelve openings for loading
and unloading the individual firing chambers.
These chambers were separated from each
other by very large metal dampers, that could
be raised and lowered as the fire moved
around the kiln from chamber to chamber. It is
a continuous process.