Clay heated @ < 640 deg C --Æ only Physical change
@ 700 -1100 deg C ---Æ chemical change, alumina & silica fuse together
BRICK and Masonry
- Nilanjan Mitra
nilanjan@civil.iitkgp.ernet.in
Advantage of brick construction:
• Initial cost as well as cost of maintenance
• Thermal mass
• Sustainability and recyclable
resulting in compound which is strong & stable Æ Brick
@ > 1300 deg C --Æ above materials get vitrified (bricks lose shape)
Brick size = 20 X 10 X 10 cm. – Nominal, Actual = 19 x 9 x 9 cm.
Frog in a brick.
Types of bricks (based on manufacturing process) : Wire-cut & Pressed brick
Brick classification Æ
General physical requirements Æ Class I, II, III (color, burnt, shape,
water absorption 24 hrs in cold water by weight [20, 22, 25]), Efflorescence.
I.S. Classification based on strength Æ 10, 7.5, 5, 3.5.
Test for bricks Æ compressive strength, water absorption [sat. coeff., IRA],
Efflorescence,
The world's highest brick tower of St. Martins
Church in Landshut,Germany completed in 1500
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A closer view of the structure shows
the brick used.

Detailed brick classification

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Common Brick: suitable for general building work as a minor load bearing structure, no
special finish to the brick with regards to texture and color.
Facing Brick: attractive appearance – color red, orange, yellow, grey and white
Engineering bricks : Suitable for engineering purpose, divided into two divisions:
Internal: Suitable for internal use, may require rendering or plastering
Ordinary: durable than internal but not as special, donot require rendering
or plastering and can be used for external cladding
Special: Durable in extreme weather conditions

Calcium Silicate bricks:

made from a lean mixture of slaked lime and fine silicious sand,
molded under mechanical pressure and hardened under steam pressure
class Compressive
strength(MN/m^2)
Solid: The bricks in which the holes passing through it
do not exceed 25% of its volume or frogs 1 7.0
(depression in the bed face of a brick) do not 2A 14.0
exceed 20% of its volume 2B 14.0
3A 20.5
3B 20.5
4 27.5
5 34.5
7 48.5
Hollow & Cellular

Perforated

Special

Process of brick making:

This kiln in Uganda

relies on a massive
fire but there is
some insulation on
top. The walls are
coated with mud to
reduce convection.
This kiln contains
about 3,000 bricks.

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This kiln in El Salvador, while using a
massive amount of wood, would
probably not be successful without
the grass insulation.
In addition to adding fuel to the fire,
the grass turns to fine ash and retains
the heat. About 300 bricks came from
this burn.

This coal fired kiln in India relies on its About fifteen families are involved in
volume to retain heat. making and firing the bricks in this kiln.
The larger the kiln, the less heat is lost in
relation to the volume since the surface
area increases only on the square of
the size while the volume increases on
the cube of its size.
This kiln is firing only 150,000 bricks
but they like to fire up to 1,000,000
bricks at once.

These kilns near

Torreon, Mexico fire
about 25,000 bricks
at once.
Since all of the trees
and biomass have
already been cut
down, they now rely
on garbage and
Air goes under, and coal is placed in Even so, errors and melt downs occur trash for fuel.
strategically located layers (where the and most brick makers expect to lose
bricks are on edge). a certain
Tradition and years of experience proportion of their efforts. These
undoubtedly contribute to this bricks are melted together due to
success. excessive heat near the
center of the kiln

This kiln in Honduras is representative of

many kilns in the world. It might have four
semi-permanent walls, no roof, wood is
placed underneath.
The inside wall of the kiln has become
self fired.
Bricks are stacked in certain patterns to
allow heat circulation.

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 The Bull's trench kiln

• It was invented in 19th

century by a British engineer,
W. Bull.

• Its greatest advantage is its

low cost of construction and
comparatively low energy
consumption.
• The kiln can be made circular or elliptical in shape.
• It is widely used in Pakistan,
• It is constructed on dry land, by digging a trench, 6 - 9 m wide, 2 -
India, Bangladesh and 2.5 m deep, and 100 - 150 m long.
Myanmar

• Chimneys, 6 - 10 m high, made of sheet

• The firing in a Bull's trench kiln
metal, are placed on top of the brick setting.
is continuous, day and night
• They are moved around as the firing
.
progresses.
• Green bricks are loaded and
• There are two main drawbacks with
finished bricks are drawn all the
moveable chimneys;
time.
-The metal sheets are eaten up by
corrosion within 1.5 - 2 months, and
• The fuel saving is achieved by
-during the time it takes to move the
reusing part of the energy that is
chimneys, the temperature drops.
otherwise lost in periodic kilns.
-The loss of temperature increases, fuel
consumption by about 5 - 10%.
• Daily output is 15 - 25,000
bricks.
• Bull's trench kiln with a fixed central
chimney is now widely used

Advantages of the Bull's trench kiln

• More fuel efficiency compared to periodic kilns.

• Low initial investment.
• High capacity.

Disadvantages of the Bull's trench kiln

• The kiln is fired continuously and has to be loaded with a constant number
of bricks every day.

• This demands a good organization of the brick production, and the

production cannot easily be adjusted to fluctuations in the brick market. Overview of a modern brick factory
• The firing crew needs long time experience.
• Its moveable chimneys have a short working life.

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 Properties of bricks

Test for bricks Æ compressive strength, water absorption, Efflorescence,

A robot handles bricks in a modern plant

Different Type of cut bricks

Different terminologies in brick laying

ADOBE Bricks

The citadel of Arg-é Bam: The world's

largest adobe structure, dating to at least 500 BC.

Mixing mud and

straw in brick frames

Different types of masonry bonds