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Development of Brick Making Machine {Development of an Electro-Hydraulic

Brick Making Machine}

Thesis · June 2017

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 Development of Brick Making Machine
Submitted to:
The Department of Mechanical engineering,
Faculty of technology,
Obafemi Awolowo University,
Ile-Ife.

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelors degree of

Science in Mechanical Engineering

By

OKEREKA GEORGE AMEH MEE/2011/050

ASIYANBOLA OYEDAMOLA ANDREW MEE/2011/020

OLADIRAN AYOOLUWA TEMITOPE MEE/2011/051

SUPERVISED BY

ENGR K. B. ADELOYE

MR O. A. OLADOSU

June, 2017
 Certification
This is to certify that this research proposal was carried out by OKEREKA George Ameh,

ASIYANBOLA Oyedamola Andrew, and OLADIRAN Ayooluwa Temitope. Supervised by

Engr B. K. ADEOYE and MR O. A. OLADOSU in partial fulfilment for the award of a

Bachelor Degree of Science in Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Technology,

Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

-------------------- -----------------

Mr O.A. Oladosu Engr B. K. Adeloye

--------------- -------------

Date Date

------------------

Engr A. O. Oke

-------------

Date
 Table of Contents
List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................ vii
List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................... viii
List of Plates ........................................................................................................................................... x
List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................................... xi
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................... xii
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 2
1.1 Background Information ......................................................................................................... 2
1.2 Purpose of Project ................................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Justification of Project ............................................................................................................ 4
1.4 Objectives of Project ............................................................................................................... 5
1.5 Scope of Project ...................................................................................................................... 5
LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 6
2.1 Introduction to Brick Making ................................................................................................. 6
2.1.1 General history of brick making ............................................................................................ 7
2.1.2 Current trends in brick making .............................................................................................. 8
2.1.3 Leading Industries in Brick Making .................................................................................... 10
2.1.4 Brick making in Nigeria ....................................................................................................... 12
2.1.6 Masonry in Nigeria .............................................................................................................. 13
2.2 Processes Employed in Brick Making .................................................................................. 15
2.2.1 Preparation of bricks ............................................................................................................ 15
2.2.2 Moulding of bricks ............................................................................................................... 15
2.2.3 Drying of bricks ................................................................................................................... 17
2.2.4 Firing of bricks ..................................................................................................................... 17
2.3 Types of Bricks ..................................................................................................................... 18
2.3.1 Fired bricks .......................................................................................................................... 18
2.3.2 Dry pressed bricks................................................................................................................ 21
2.3.3 Extruded bricks .................................................................................................................... 23
2.3.4 Chemically set bricks ........................................................................................................... 25
2.3.5 Compressed earth bricks ...................................................................................................... 27
2.3 Overview of Brick Making Machines ................................................................................... 29
2.3.1 Classification of brick making machines ............................................................................. 29
2.3.2 Manually operated brick making machines ......................................................................... 29
2.3.3 Semi-automated brick making machines ............................................................................. 32
 2.3.4 Fully automated brick making machines ............................................................................. 35
2.5 Semi-Automated Systems for Brick Making Machines........................................................ 37
2.6 Rationale of Ecological Bricks Compared to Cement Blocks .............................................. 38
METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................... 40
3.1 Design Consideration ............................................................................................................ 40
3.2 Design Concept ..................................................................................................................... 43
3.3 Design Calculations .............................................................................................................. 45
3.3.1 Moulding chamber design .................................................................................................... 45
3.3.2 Feeder and hopper design .................................................................................................... 49
3.3.3 Machine frame design .......................................................................................................... 54
3.3.4 Design of guide rods ............................................................................................................ 56
3.3.5 Pump design ......................................................................................................................... 57
3.4 Material Selection ................................................................................................................. 61
RESULT AND ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................. 65
4.1 Manufactured Brick Making Machine Assemblies.................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2 Analysis of prototype BMM making ....................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.3 Ansys Result Analysis ............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.4 Discussion ................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................... 95
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 97
APPENDIX I ...................................................................................................................................... 101
APPENDIX II ..................................................................................................................................... 102
APPENDIX III .................................................................................................................................... 106
LIST OF ASSEMBLIES AND SUB-ASSEMBLIES OF THE BRICK MAKING MACHINE
(BMM) ............................................................................................................................................ 106
APPENDIX IV.................................................................................................................................... 108
APPENDIX V ..................................................................................................................................... 109
 List of Tables

Table 3.1: A list of components and the materials selected

Table 4.1a: Ansys Results on longitudinal side

Table 4.1b: Ansys Results on Modified longitudinal side

Table 4.2a: Ansys Results on lateral side

Table 4.2b: Ansys Results on Modified lateral side

Table 4.3: Ansys Results on Modified lateral side

Table 4.4: Ansys Results on Ejecting Box

Table 4.5: Ansys Results on Guide Shafts (Long and Short)

 List of Figures

Figure 3.1: Design Concept for BMM

Figure 3.2a: Proposed 3D View of Moulding Chamber

Figure 3.2b:Proposed2D Isometric Projection View of Moulding Chamber

Figure 3.3a.Proposed3D View of Feeder

Figure 3.3b.Proposed2D Isometric Projection View of Feeder

Figure 3.4a. Proposed3D View of Hooper

Figure 3.4b:Proposed2D Isometric Projection View of Feeder

Figure 3.5a:Proposed3D View of Machine Frame

Figure 3.5b:Proposed2D Isometric Projection View of Machine Frame

Figure 3.6: Hydraulic Circuit for BMM

Figure 3.7: Proposed 3D CAD Design of Brick Making Machine

Figure 3.8: Proposed CAD Design of Brick Making Machine

Figure 4.1a: Stress Analysis Result on Moulding Box (Longitudinal Side)

Figure 4.1b: Stress Analysis Result on Molding Box (Modified Longitudinal side)

Figure 4.2a: Stress Analysis Result on Moulding Box (Lateral side)

Figure 4.2b: Stress Analysis Result on Molding Box (Modified Lateral side)

Figure 4.2c: Moulding Box Assembly

Figure 4.3a: Stress Analysis Result on Pressing Box

Figure 4.3c: Pressing Box Assembly

Figure 4.4a: Stress Analysis Result on Ejecting Box

Figure 4.4b: Ejecting Box Assembly

Figure 4.5a: Stress Analysis Result Long shaft

Figure 4.5b: Stress Analysis Result Short shaft

Figure 4.5c: Guide Shafts

 List of Plates

Plate 2.1: Fired Bricks

Plate 2.2: Dry Pressed Bricks

Plate 2.3: Extruded Blocks

Plate 2.4 Chemically Set Bricks

Plate 2.5 Compressed Earth Bricks

Plate 2.6: FL1 40 Manual Interlocking brick making machine (Eco-Maquinas)

Plate 2.7: QMR2-40 Manual Interlocking brick making machine

Plate 2.8 Eco Maquinas Premium

Plate 2.9 Hydraform Model M7D

Plate 2.10 Profile Engineering Brick Machining Machine

 List of Acronyms

BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

BIA – Brick Industry Association

BTK – Bull’s Trench Kilns

VSBK – Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln

SPM – Suspended Particulate Matter

SON – Standard Organisation of Nigeria

PEDI – Prototype Engineering Development institute

CTLW – Central Technological Laboratories and Workshops

CERD – Centre for Educational Resource Development

BMM – Brick Making Machine

BCC – Brick Compaction Chamber

NBRRI – Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute

CEB – Compressed Earth Bricks

MC – Moulding chamber

DCV – Directional control valves

 ABSTRACT

The need for local production in Nigeria cannot be over-stressed. In light of the recent situation;

cost of importation has increased astronomically, crippling the growth of many industries in

Nigeria. These industries are solely dependent on imported machine parts, equipment and

facilities. This proposal highlights the challenges faced by Nigeria as a whole in relation to

housing unit deficits and in the aim to enable production of affordable housing schemes which

is part of The Nigerian Transformation Agenda and Vision 20: 2020 the Nigeria Brick Industry

need facilities as such locally produced Brick Making Machines devoid of importation

expenses to produce affordable bricks to facilitate construction of adequate shelters to address

Nigeria’s housing deficits problem.

The methodology involves the design of a brick making machine taking into consideration

especially cost of making the machine and size of the bricks that will be produced. Materials

for this machine will be sourced locally within Nigeria so as to make it very affordable. The

size of the bricks will be larger compared to the common bricks so walling can be done more

efficiently. The lager bricks have larger surface area, these will save materials (cement mortar

used especially) and reduce the number of bricks needed to complete certain wall area.
 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Information

Brickmaking is an age-old process which developed out of the need for man to provide shelter

for his own. According to Ande (2006), the basic needs of man are food, shelter and clothing.

These needs are pertinent to man’s survival. Also, according to Maslow (1943), shelter is one

of the requirements for addressing our physiological needs (along with the need for food, water,

air, sleep). Maslow (1954) represented human physiological needs as the base of a triangle to

show that meeting these needs are the most important in our lives. Thus, the drive to acquire

affordable, cleaner, more eco-friendly housing has been the basic human response to provide

for one of his pertinent needs.

As explained by Bodga (2015), as far back as the 15th century houses, boundary walls and roofs

in the towns were built of mud also establish by Bodga (2015) is that utilisation of cement

blocks in housing construction had its advent around the 1930s. But the usage of cement blocks

in construction is very expensive when one factors in the cost of making the blocks, the cement

mortar used and also the cost of plastering to improve its aesthetics. With advances in emerging

technologies, continuous improvements have brought in new tools, machines and methods of

making housing more accessible to the general populace with bricks championing the way as

one of the modern ways of achieving affordable housing. The use of bricks offers faster, cost

effective environmentally friendly alternative to conventional walling materials.

According to Chuku (2014), there was an estimated deficit of between 17 and 18 million

housing units in Nigeria in 2012. Part of The Nigerian Transformation Agenda and Vision 20:

2020 is the provision of accessible and affordable housing as one of the strategic national

imperatives for guaranteeing the well-being and productivity of the citizenry. By using bricks
to build these housing units, the government can easily achieve her set agenda and vision.

Montgomery (2002) states that the most important building materials for low-cost housing are

bricks, but conventional quality concrete blocks are too expensive for low-income earners. This

prompted the need for an alternative that is reliable, strong and environmental friendly,

characteristics that bricks possess making them the ideal choice for modern building

construction.

Although the process of brick making is simple, depending on the systems employed, many

techniques involved in the brickmaking process are subject to error, possibly reducing the

quality of the bricks produced (Beamish and Will, 1988). This project focuses on designing

and developing an efficient machine that produces medium quality bricks, which are an

affordable alternative to generally used walling materials.

1.2 Purpose of Project

Housing construction is laden with inherent costs that come with it; cost of cement, cost of

skilled labour, cost for plastering. One of the purposes of this project is to provide adequate,

affordable housing and settlement, due to the fact that raw materials (clay mostly) are readily

available, walls do not need to be plastered or painted as brick houses have intrinsic aesthetic

appeal when utilised for various housing units.

The purpose of this project is not far-fetched, as it is to develop localised machines for making

quality bricks and also to domesticate the concept technology of brickmaking in Nigeria. This

is not a new concept as the likes of Hydrafoam, Eco Brava, Eco Maquinas technologies

produced in 1BRICS associated countries are well marketed all over the world and sold in

Nigeria at bloated cost prices for their acquisition.

1
BRICS--- is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa.
The desire of every brick manufacturer/producer is to increase production output while

decreasing the cost of operation. The generality of brick making machines found in the

Nigerian market usually cater for just the production of a single brick (usually very small) per

operation. Our machine will produce larger bricks per operation thus increasing the rate at

which walls are made. The lager bricks have larger surface area, this is advantageous as it saves

materials (cement mortar used especially) and reduces the number of bricks needed to complete

certain wall area. For this reasons, most manufactures would prefer to make BMMs that

produce bricks greater in height and cover more walling area.

1.3 Justification of Project

The Nigerian State is enjoined by Section (16)(1)(d) of the 1999 Constitution under

the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy “to provide suitable and

adequate shelter for all Citizens’’. The development of this brick making machine is a step in

the right direction to enable Nigeria as a whole to produce bricks for building adequate housing

and settlements for the growing population.

Moreover, the machine produces bricks which have desirable advantages such as thermal

comfort, fire resistance and superior moisture control. The infamous thermal comfort

conditions attributed to houses made with bricks and the cost savings in terms of construction

of shelters make bricks very functional in housing units. According to Baggs and Mortensen

(2006), 2thermal mass can be effectively employed in buildings to increase occupant comfort

and bricks are known to have a high thermal mass. Appropriate use of thermal mass throughout

your housing units can make a big difference to comfort as well as heating and cooling bills.

2
Thermal Mass--- is the ability of a material to absorb and store heat energy. A lot of heat energy is required to
change the temperature of high density materials like bricks and tiles
The scarcity of foreign exchange in the Nigerian economic market and high interest rate that is

prevalent at the moment is creating a condition where the cost of importing brick machines is

becoming greater than what the actual cost should be: (see Appendix I). Therefore, the need to

make indigenous machines that produces bricks becomes imperative.

This brick machine will produce locally made, medium grade bricks which customers (Real

Estate personnel and Builders) would purchase at a relatively fair cost price which would not

factor in the country’s unstable exchange rate and importation charges. In summary, this

machine intends to provide a cheaper alternative to various brick machines in the market, which

are quite expensive.

1.4 Objectives of Project

The objectives of this project work are as follows:

 To design a low cost, locally fabricated brick making machine relative to imported
ones
 To develop the brick machine mentioned above
 To evaluate the performance of the machine

1.5 Scope of Project

This project on the development of brick machine will not be involved with estimation of heat

energy needed to produce fired bricks as considered mix ratios of Cement is added to mixes to

provide needed strength after compaction and drying

 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction to Brick Making
Brick making is much more of an art than is usually supposed (Cyprus Chamber, 1882). It has

come to be accepted as a science only as the art grew in its execution owning to technological

advancement. Brickworks has defined man’s habitat for long. According to Kriti (2011),

“human habitats are areas where humans live, eat, sleep, work, study and habitat forms the holy

trinity of basic needs viz. ‘roti, kapda aur makaan (food, clothing and shelter). The Brick

making technology has seemingly improve as man continually strived for comfort; even in the

execution of his work schemes. Brick making technology has evolved overtime for purposeful

mass brick production to meet the demand for shelter construction for growing economies and

increasing population. A view of the population statistics over the last century would enable a

concerned mind to perceive why the technology of brick making metamorphosed from the use

of crude implement to the use of the state of the art facilities in the brick making industry to

provide bricks of good quality for housing and to provide for credible sheltering offices and

workplaces for growing economies worldwide.

Edison (2016) established that due to scarcity of wood ancient Egyptians used sun-baked mud

brick and stone, mainly limestone, but also sandstone and granite as alternative materials in

building. Man in his inquisitiveness and creativity utilised caves in the prehistoric era and in

later years he is found using readily available earth which is moulded and stacked for walling

purposes to define his shelter space. Houses need to be cost-efficient (less walling material),

simple and affordable. In the same vain, efficiency parameters like energy efficiency affect

designs chosen for buildings in different territories of varying climatic conditions. These

factors have been a major driving force for technological advancements in housing culture,

methods, and material used. These aforementioned considerations have continually push the

limits for brickmaking technology for higher rates of production of quality bricks. The man’s
domicile has effected major changes spanning from the prehistoric era, to medieval times and

now; the modern housing culture.

The focus of concerned individuals associated with construction and real estate enterprises has

been to unlearn some norms and re-acclimatise the Nigerian society to our long lost brick

housing culture towards making abodes, offices. As growing economies associated with

BRICS have keyed into this age old housing method which is more advantageous to the regular
3
Sandcrete Blocks extremely common within Nigeria environs, it seems most Nigerians are

blinded to the advantage a brick housing style could indulge the resident.

2.1.1 General history of brick making

Bricks find mention in the Bible; the tower of Babel was built with burnt bricks. Brick is a

building material used to make walls, pavements and other elements in 4masonry construction.

Bricks dated 7500BC were found in Jericho, the ancient Egyptian fortress of Buhen and the

Indus Valley cities (Matthews, 2006). Bricks were predominantly used in the Indus valley

civilisation. In fact, the civilisation was first discovered when ancient bricks being used to build

railway ballast came to the notice of a passing archaeologist (Overdorf, 2012). Srikanta (2012)

established that during the “cave era”, man lived within strong rock walls and roofs which were

natural and safe. Slowly he moved on to homes built with mud walls that were more flexible

and convenient. Later came sundried bricks and stones. Every new change has been geared

towards shapes that were better defined and handier for construction.

Down the ages, there have been various interesting historic and cultural references to bricks.

Over time, bricks have appeared, gained prominence, lost importance and then come to the

forefront again with various styles of architecture. Burnt bricks were used in ancient Indian,

3
Sandcrete Blocks--- Sandcrete blocks are walling materials made from a binder (typically Portland
cement), sand in a ratio of circa 1:8, and water.
4
Masonry--- Masonry is generally a highly durable form of construction.
Babylonian, Egyptian and Roman civilizations (More, 2014). They are still being used as filler

materials for framework structures as well as to construct load bearing structures.

Re-emergence of brick making can be attributed to BRICS. BRICS is the acronym for an

association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and

South Africa. What is peculiar to each of these nations is rising population and high demand

for affordable housing schemes to provide shelters to the citizenry.

2.1.2 Current trends in brick making

According to the Brick Industry Association (BIA), over the past few years, brick

manufacturers have added, and continued to add, new and more technological improvements

to their product lines in response to — or in many cases, anticipating of customer demand

(Mason, 2003). As a result of this, various companies, organizations and countries have come

up with their own set of technologies for brick making.

Prior to the mid-1800s, people made bricks in small batches, relying on relatively inefficient

firing methods. One of the most widely used was an open clamp, in which bricks were placed

on a fire beneath a layer of dirt and the fire died down over the course of several weeks. Such

methods gradually became obsolete after 1865, when the Hoffmann kiln was invented in

Germany (WaybackMachine, 2008). Better suited to the manufacture of large numbers of

bricks, this kiln contained a series of compartments through which stacked bricks were

transferred for pre-heating, burning, and cooling.

A Hoffmann kiln consists of a main fire passage surrounded on each side by several small

rooms. Each room contains a pallet of bricks. In the main fire passage there is a fire wagon that

holds a fire that burns continuously. Each room is fired for a specific time, until the bricks

are vitrified properly, and thereafter the fire wagon is rolled to the next room to be fired. Each

room is connected to the next room by a passageway carrying hot gases from the fire. In this
way, the hottest gases are directed into the room that is currently being fired. Then the gases

pass into the adjacent room that is scheduled to be fired next. There the gases preheat the brick.

As the gases pass through the kiln circuit, they gradually cool as they transfer heat to the brick.

This is essentially a counter-current heat exchanger, which makes for a very efficient use of

heat and fuel. This efficiency is a principal advantage of the Hoffmann kiln, and is one of the

reasons for its original development and continued use throughout history (WaybackMachine,

2008).

Brickmaking improvements have continued into the twentieth century. Improvements include

making brick shape absolutely uniform, reducing weight, and speeding up the firing process.

For example, modern bricks are seldom solid. Some bricks are pressed into shape, which leaves

a depression on their top surface. Others are extruded with holes that will later expedite the

firing process by exposing a larger amount of surface area to heat. Both techniques lessen

weight without reducing strength. However, while the production process has definitely

improved, the market for brick has not. Bricks do have the largest share of the opaque materials

market for commercial building, and it continues to be used as a siding material in the housing

industry

In recent times in large industry brickworks5, clay is taken from the quarry, and then carried by

conveyor belt or truck/lorry to the main factory, although it may be stockpiled outside before

being used. When the clay enters the preparation plant (Clay Prep) it is crushed, and mixed

with water and other additives which may include a very fine anthracite that aids firing. This

process, which is also known as pug milling, improves the consistency, firing qualities, texture,

and colour of the brick. From here, the processed clay can be extruded into a continuous strip

and cut with wires, or put into moulds or presses (also referred to as forming) to form the clay

5
Brickworks---- is a factory for manufacturing bricks.
into its final shape. After forming or cutting, the bricks must be dried, either in the open air, in

drying sheds, or in special drying kilns. When the bricks have been dried, they must then be

fired or 'burnt' in a kiln, to give them their final hardness and appearance (Bradley & Craven,

1963)

Over time, brick making has undergone numerous processes to getting it to its current state.

Various methods and techniques have been employed for brick making. Countries, industries,

private bodies, individuals have all developed modern ways of making bricks in the most cost

effective way. While there are various modern methods for making bricks, we only considered

the very current methods which top organization use for their brick making.

2.1.3 Leading Industries in Brick Making

Industrialisation and steam power brought huge changes to brickmaking. The fireclay (which

is actually solid rock) was mined, by the ‘stoop and room’ method. This involved digging a

network of underground chambers, separated by ‘stoops’ – large pillars of rock left to support

the roof. The mined rock was then ground and water was added to create a clay-like substance.

According to Wyomissing (2016), one of the largest manufacturers of brick is the Glen-Gery

Corporation. Glen-Gery is the superior choice among architects, builders and homeowners who

require high quality building products that meet both innovative design challenges and

demanding construction specifications. Glen-Gery is an industry leader for its diversified

product line of more than 400 brick products, which are available in a wide-array of sizes and

textures

Below are some notable brickworks spread across the world;

 The London Brick Company

 Glen-Gery Corporation
 Bursledon Brickworks
 Brickworks limited – Australian Brick Manufacturer
  Evergreen Brickworks
 Indian Brick Machines
 Eco Maquinas

The Eco maquinas is a company based in Brazil. They specialize in the use of auto or semi-

automated systems which produce bricks through dry compression.

Modern Systems Employed by these Industries include Bull’s trench kilns (BTKs) and clamps.

These two prominent firing technologies are used for brick making in India. Bull’s trench

kilns. The BTKs is a continuous type kiln and has higher production capacities (15,000–50,000

bricks per day) (Kumar, 2009). It also has better energy efficiency compared to clamps. BTKs

account for 70% of the total brick production in the country. Coal is the main fuel used in

BTKs. The specific energy consumption in firing bricks in BTKs ranges between 1.1 and 1.6

MJ/kg of fired brick. Clamps are used for smaller production levels. A variety of fuels such as

coal, firewood, various types of agricultural residues and dung cakes are used in clamps. Large

variations are observed in the shape, size, stacking of bricks and firing techniques in clamps.

Generally, energy efficiencies of clamps are lower. The specific energy consumption of clamps

ranges between 1.5 and 3.0 MJ/kg of fired brick (Sameer, 1999).

Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) technology is an energy efficient type of set-up used for

firing clay bricks. It is particularly suited to the needs of developing countries – most of which

are small in scale and largely decentralized. The evolution and initial development of VSBK

technology took place in rural China (Clews, 2003). The first version of VSBK in China

originated from traditional updraft intermittent kilns during the 1960s. During the 1970s, this

kiln became popular in several provinces of China. By 1997, several thousand VSBKs were

reportedly operating in China.

The VSBK technology brought with it two major advantages–less fuel consumption and lower

SPM (suspended particulate matter) emissions. Moreover, the VSBK could be operated
perennially as the kiln's roof protected it from the vagaries of weather. With minimal land

usage, development of multiple-shaft production units actually enhanced the ratio of land used

to production output, and even led to a considerable improvement in the quality of bricks

(Annon, 1999).

Many brick manufacturers are also developing 'thin brick' that can solve several design issues

and also help meet strict seismic codes. Because of design and load requirements, there is an

increase in thin brick specifications. Often the building will require that 90 percent of the

exterior be done with traditional brick units and 10 percent will require thin bricks. There are

several different thin brick systems in the marketplace, but this brick category remains a very

small part of the brick industry.

2.1.4 Brick making in Nigeria

One of the leading industries here in Nigeria as regards brick making is the Clay Industry

(Nigeria) Limited. Clay Industry (Nigeria) Limited has been in existence since the 60's and

has been the name that stands for quality and experience for over forty years, manufacturing

structural clay products. Their finishing Products have helped structural engineers to achieve a

very pleasant, durable and maintenance free finish to building. The insulating property of their

products makes it an ideal construction materials for tropical countries like Nigeria. (Clay

Industry, 2007)

Brick making in Nigeria has come a long way from what it used to be, with new industries

making headway in the Nigerian market. These products are more affordable and its circulation

nationwide has gradually started to take shape. Seeing that bricks are a better and affordable

means for housing, the Nigeria market would do well to utilize this opportunity.
Other notable brick company located here in Nigeria are listed below:

 Brick House
 Brick Integrals
 Durabuild Industries
2.1.6 Masonry in Nigeria

The yearning need for locally manufactured building materials has been unequivocally

emphasized in many countries of the world. There is an imbalance between expensive

conventional building materials coupled with depletion of traditional building materials. To

address this situation, attention has been focused on low-cost alternative building materials

(Agbede and Manasseh, 2008).

Sholanke et al (2015) established that in Nigeria, 95% of walling materials in buildings are

made of sandcrete blocks. Chandrasekhar et al (2003) argued that Sandcrete is the main

building material used for the construction of walls of most post-independent buildings in

Nigeria. This is because the general brickmaking technology employed in the country produces

poor quality bricks of poor aesthetics. The technology has seemingly not developed and

modern facilities making high quality bricks produce them at exuberant prices. Factories like

the Clay Industry in Lagos producing relatively expensive bricks can’t actually solve the

problem of housing deficiency in Nigeria.

Regular brick makers have also shifted their resources towards making Sandcrete Block

because machinery and tools are readily available and the process of producing them is not as

messy as the traditional means of producing traditional bricks. The demand for Sandcrete

blocks has continually improved since the colonial masters’ shelters and the structures of

Institutions establish for education were constructed from cast structures of cement and

sandcrete blocks. One of the reasons for this is the ease with the setting of walls, it also makes

the bricklayers’ work faster.

Although Nigeria’s housing culture shifted sharply towards the use of cement blocks.but the

quality of these cement blocks has terribly decreased over the years as the several block makers

endeavour to maximise profit even at the compromise of strength of the blocks produced. Most

of this block makers are not well educated’ they don’t only push to maximise profit; they do

so while compromising on standards of expected block quality in consideration of strength.

The Federal Building Code (First edition, 2006) stipulates that the application of all materials

and components used in the construction of buildings must be such that will achieve aesthetics,

durability, functionality, character and affordability (Afolayan et al., 2008; Anosike, 2011).

Locally available building materials should be integrated for their additional advantages of

availability, identity, job creation and affordability.

The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) have performed poorly to not performing at all

in ensuring that the so called “block makers” adhere to set standards to produce sandcrete

blocks. Sholanke et al (2015) established that due to high cost of Portland cement, a good

number of block manufactures/producers use less than the recommended amount in the

concrete mix making the blocks to be substandard. As stated by Famoroti (2006), this is one of

the most important contributing factors to building collapse occurrence.

As was stated in section 1.1, the brick making process has been an age long process that has

many forms of engineering development associated to it over time. In aim to solve this poor

housing norm, start-ups like RED Brick factory located off Ede Road, Modomo, ile-ife, Osun-

State Nigeria thereby promoting the lost culture of brick shelters in Nigeria.

The poor economic state and the high price of brick machines imported from China, Brazil or

South Africa. South Africa is well known for use of the hydraform. Oyekan (2001) established

that a new technology developed in South Africa but now used in several parts of Africa known

as hydraform technology is also used in manufacturing sandcrete blocks in Nigeria. As

affordable and available as the materials for making these bricks are, even medium grade brick

machines are of extreme cost owing to low real value of our currency in the Foreign exchange

market and also the continuous “scarcity of forex” trend within Nigerian economic markets.

Institutions like 6PEDI, 7CTLW, and 8CERD are keen on actualising and fabricating machines

that could compete with the brick machines that would have been imported with the main aim

of enabling Nigerian brick makers to produce affordable walling materials for housing within

Nigeria.

2.2 Processes Employed in Brick Making

The processes employed in brick making consist of the following:

 Preparation of bricks
 Moulding of bricks
 Drying of bricks
 Firing of bricks

2.2.1 Preparation of bricks

When bricks are to be prepared, the soil is excavated from the earth and laid on a level ground.

Afterwards which it is sieved to remove impurities such as stones, pebbles, vegetation matter

and so on. The clay is exposed to weather for months and later after weathering, the quality

clay is improved by mixing additives. After the clay have been weathered, it is tempered in a

pug mill to make it more workable.

2.2.2 Moulding of bricks

Depending on the quality of products to be made, brick moulding is done in two ways:

 Hand moulding
 Machine moulding

6
PEDI--- Prototype Engineering Development Institute
7
CTLW--- Central Technological Laboratories and Workshops
8
CERD--- Centre for Educational Resource Development
Hand moulding for bricks is done by forcing the tempered clay into the mould so that it fills

all the corners of the mould. The extra clay in the mould is usually removed by sliding a wooden

stick over the top of the mould. After the completion of this process, the mould is then lifted

up and the brick is left on the ground.

Machine moulding is used when it is economical to produce large number of bricks and the

machine used for moulding is usually of two types, namely;

 Plastic clay machine

 Dry clay machine

In plastic clay machines, the clay in plastic state is forced through rectangular openings with

equal size to the length and breadth of the bricks to be produced. The extruded clay is cut into

strips of required thickness with wires. In dry clay machines, dry clay is reduced to powder,

filled dry into mould by the machine and then are subjected to high pressure to form hard and

well-shaped bricks. When moulding, a brick maker must watch out for shrinkage, because

bricks shrinks when drying, so the mould must be designed in such a way that the size is larger

than the bricks to be made.

There are two different types of moulding, namely;

 Slop moulding
 Sand moulding

Slop moulding utilizes a wet clay mixture. The mixture is put in a rectangular form without top

or bottom. One of the challenges of using slop moulding is that the brick may deform under its

own weight and the surface can be marked easily due to the fact that the mixture is wet. In sand

moulding, a drier clay mixture is used, formed into a wedge and thrown into a mould.
2.2.3 Drying of bricks

Bricks are usually dried after moulding. During moulding, bricks possess elevated moisture

which reduces the thermal resistance of the bricks. Hence, after moulding, drying of bricks

should be naturally carried out by laying the bricks in stacks of about 8 – 10 steps with open

sides, so as to ensure cross ventilation and protection from bad weather and rain. Depending

on the weather condition, the bricks are allowed to dry over a period of 7 – 14 days during

which it is expected that they will lose 5 – 7 % of their moisture content. When drying bricks,

the drying yards are prepared on higher level than the normal ground for the protection of bricks

from rain water. Drying of bricks could also be carried out artificially by the use of special

dryers or hot gases. Bricks are dried after moulding because

 It saves fuel for burning by removing maximum moisture from the bricks.
 Dried bricks can easily be handled and stacked in greater height without damage
 Damp bricks, if taken directly for burning, are likely to crack or be distorted.

2.2.4 Firing of bricks

Firing of bricks is a very important process carried out after drying of bricks, to enable bricks

gain strength and hardness. Firing of bricks is done in two distinct methods and up to certain

temperature (1100 ̊c). If the temperature for firing the bricks exceeds 1100 ̊c, the bricks will

become brittle and break easily, if the temperature falls below the required range, it could

absorb moisture from the atmosphere and would not gain full strength.

Methods of firing bricks includes:

 Clamp burning
 Kiln burning
In clamps, one batch of green bricks is heaped along with firewood, coal etc., and sealed

with clay. It is then fired slowly to intense heat which may take many days. In kiln burning, we

have permanent structures consisting of many chambers of which moulded clay is stacked into

and slowly dried and burned to high temperature and cooled.

2.3 Types of Bricks

The three basic types of bricks are chemically set bricks, fired and un-fired bricks. Each type

of brick is manufactured differently. They are explained in the following subsections.

2.3.1 Fired bricks

This type of brick is burned in a kiln to make it long lasting. Modern fired clay bricks are

formed in one of three processes –

 Soft mud process

 Dry press process
 Extruded process

Depending on the country, either the extruded or soft mud method is the most common, since

they are the most economical. (Punmia et al, 2003). The soft mud method is the most popular

because it is the cheapest. The process starts with raw clay and mixed with 25-30% sand in order to

help shrinkage. The clay is first ground and then mixed with water to create the best consistency. The

clay is then pressed into steel moulds with a hydraulic press. The shaped clay is burned at 900-1000°C

to make it strong

In other, less harsh situations, such as in an electric or natural gas fired kiln, more porous bricks,

commonly known as "kiln bricks" are a better choice. They are weaker, but they are much

lighter, easier to form, and insulate far better than dense bricks. In any case, firebricks should

not spall, and their strength should hold up well during rapid temperature changes. Fired bricks
are burned in a kiln which makes them durable. Plate 2.1 is a photograph of a fired brick used

for wall construction.

Plate 2.1: Fired Brick (Source: Modern Refractory Practice)
2.3.2 Dry pressed bricks

Dry pressed bricks are also known as “Solid Bricks” and are the traditional style of brick. They

have a distinctive signature and can be seen on many buildings, both old and new. Dry pressed

bricks are made by pressing clay into individual moulds at very high compression, and have a

grainy yet smooth, velvety appearance. Their extremely square shape is an important

component of their aesthetic appeal, as is their beautiful mix of colour. In ancient times, bricks

were made using mud and straw that were pressed into moulds and dried for weeks in the sun. Now

with technology for mass production, dry pressed bricks can be made within days. The method by

which dry press bricks are made is similar to how soft mud bricks are made, but starts with a much

thicker clay mix, so it forms more accurate, sharper-edged bricks. Plate 2.2 shows a photograph of

moulded dry pressed bricks while drying.

Plate 2.2: Dry Pressed Bricks (Source: The Penguin Dictionary of

Architecture, 4th ed)

2.3.3 Extruded bricks

Extruded bricks, also known as wirecut bricks, are made using a more modern method of brick

manufacturing. For this type of brick, the clay is mixed with 10-15% water or 20–25% water.

Relatively low moisture clay is extruded through a die to form a column. This column of clay

is then cut with wires, thus the term wirecut, to split the clay into individual bricks. Extruded

bricks, or wirecut bricks, tend to be more uniform in size and shape than softmud or handmade bricks.

It is also possible to apply a wide range of different textures to extruded bricks during the

manufacturing process such as sanded textures, roller textures, drag wired textures, rustication and

even glazes. One distinctive characteristic of an extruded brick, or wirecut brick, is that they tend to

have perforations or core holes running through the bed of the bricks. These perforations come in

many different patterns and are there to lighten the brick and aid the drying and firing process. Plate

2.3 is a photograph of an extruded brick showing core holes.

Plate 2.3: Extruded Blocks (Source: Basic Civil Engineering)
2.3.4 Chemically set bricks

Bricks that are not fired but have their curing process accelerated by the application of heat and

pressure are known as chemically set bricks. The most common type of chemically set bricks

are Calcium-silicate bricks. These bricks are also called sandlime or flintlime bricks, depending

on their ingredients. Rather than being made with clay they are made by using lime to bind the

silicate material. The raw materials for calcium-silicate bricks include lime mixed in a

proportion of about 1 to 10 with sand, quartz, crushed flint, or crushed siliceous rock together

with mineral colourants. The materials are mixed and left until the lime is completely hydrated.

The mixture is then pressed into moulds and cured in an autoclave for three to fourteen hours

to speed up the chemical hardening process (McArthur et al, 2004). Plate 2.4 shows several

chemically set bricks of various colour grades.

Plate 2.4 Chemically Set Bricks (Source: Elements of Civil Engineering)
2.3.5 Compressed earth bricks

Compressed earth bricks, which are also known as ecological bricks a building material made

primarily from damp soil compressed at high pressure to form bricks. Compressed earth bricks

use a mechanical press to form ecological bricks out of a well-defined mix of fairly dry

inorganic subsoil, non-expansive clay (laterite) and other aggregates. If the bricks are stabilized

with a chemical binder such as Portland cement they are called compressed stabilized earth

brick or stabilized earth brick. Compressed earth bricks are assembled onto walls using

standard masonry and bricklaying techniques. The mortar may be a simple slurry made of the

same soil/clay mix without additives, spread or brushed very thinly between the blocks for

bonding, or cement mortar may also be used for high strength. Plate 2.5 shows a photograph

of a compressed earth block.

Plate 2.5 Compressed Earth Bricks (Source: Building Materials)
2.3 Overview of Brick Making Machines

Brick making machines are machine used for producing bricks of various types. They come in

different shapes and sizes, and also have different modes of operations.

2.3.1 Classification of brick making machines

Brick making machines can be classified into the following categories:

a. Manually Operated brick making machine

b. Semi-Automated brick making machine
c. Fully Automated brick making machine

2.3.2 Manually operated brick making machines

These are brick machines that are manually operated. They do not use any form of hydraulic

system to achieve the brick formation. These types of machines are advantageous, in the sense

that, they require no electricity to operate. All operations are done by hand, the maintenance

cost is significantly low and little or no skill is required to operate the machine. Also, manually

operated brick machines are cheaper to procure as compared to the other categories of brick

making machines. Some setbacks to the use of this type of machine are the facts that, the

production rate is slower than more automated systems, the operator become fatigued quickly

from the continuous operation as the system requires a lot of physical manpower and due to

the lack of a control system, and the bricks produced are not completely uniform. Various

examples of these types of machines include;

 QM2-40 Manual brick making machine

 FL1 40 Manual Interlocking brick making machine (Eco-Maquinas)
 QMR2-40 Manual Interlocking brick making machine

Plate 2.6 and 2.7 shows the FL1 40 Manual Interlocking brick making machine and QMR2-40

Manual Interlocking brick making machine respectively.

Plate 2.6: FL1 40 Manual Interlocking brick making machine (Eco-

Maquinas)

(Source: American general)

Plate 2.7: QMR2-40 Manual Interlocking brick making machine (Source:

American general)
2.3.3 Semi-automated brick making machines

These types of brick machines make use of hydraulic systems to compress the brick. It is

categorised as a semi-automated system because it still requires a human operator to perform

operations on the system. But unlike the manually operated brick making machines, these

systems do not require the operator to exert as much human effort in the brick making process.

They produce more bricks than the manual type, and the sizes of bricks produced are relatively

uniform. These systems provide better efficiency. The demerits of a semi-automated system

are; the cost of purchasing a single unit is quite expensive. Cost of purchasing such a machine

is of the range $15000 - $21000. Also, it cost more to maintain such a machine, it requires a

skilled labour to operate. Nonetheless, the overall efficiency of the semi-automated brick

making machine still makes it better preferred to the manually operated type. Plates 2.8 and

2.9 show the two examples of semi-automated brick machines.

Plate 2.8 Eco Maquinas Premium (Source: American general)
Plate 2.9 Hydraform Model M7D (Source: American general)
2.3.4 Fully automated brick making machines

These are the type of brick making machines in which were all operations carried out on the

machine are completely automated. These type of machines do not require any form of human

input to operate. They are simply feed with appropriate specifications and left alone to carry

out their task of producing bricks. Fully automated brick making machines are ideal for large

industrial use, were a large number of bricks are scheduled to be produced in a large amount.

These machines are more efficient than the other categories of brick making machines. They

produce large quantity of bricks within short periods of operation as compared to other types

of brick making machines, they produce uniformly shaped bricks, and they are more efficient

and save time during production hours. Though fully automated brick making machines are

very effective, they are very expensive to purchase and maintain. Highly skilled labour is

required to run routine checks on the system as it operates and to monitor its daily or weekly

operations. Plate 2.11 shows a photograph fully automated brick making machine.
Plate 2.10 Profile Engineering Brick Machining Machine (Source:

American general)
2.5 Semi-Automated Systems for Brick Making Machines

What largely distinguishes the semi-automated brick making machines from fully automated

brick making machines is the extent of the material handling concepts employed. According to

Vincent (1996), material handling adds expense, but not value, it should be reduced as much

as possible with respect to time, distance, frequency and overall cost. Material handling relates

to feeding of raw clay mix, conveyor moving and handling as well as robot manipulation in

stacking of produced bricks. All these classes of material handling are reduced to the barest

minimum as in the case of semi-automatic brick making machines. The Semi-Automated Brick

machines requires more operating personnel for the loading, carrying, excavating of raw

materials also stacking of produced bricks are done manually.

The sole function of the semi-automated brick machine is to compress the raw clay mix using

compress force imposed mostly by hydraulic powered units. This is done manually in its

counterparts (manual brick making machine). Among the common semi-automated brick

machines are the Hydraform, the Eco Brava and Eco Premium. Both the Eco Brava and Eco

Premium are machines produced by Eco Maquinas. These machine are solely for producing
9
ecological bricks (also referred to as compressed earth bricks). Most other brick making

machines falling into the category of semi-automated machines are spin-offs of the Eco

Maquinas machine designs and the Hydraform.

Hydraulic machines utilise fluid power to do work. During operation, high pressure hydraulic

fluid is transmitted throughout the machine to various hydraulic motors and hydraulic

cylinders. Control valves are used to control the flow of fluid directly or automatically so as to

distribute it through necessary hoses and tubes. As fluid gets pressurised within its distributary

channels and hoses, it impacts forces on the movable components of the machine so as to do

9
Ecological Bricks- is produced using only soil, cement and moisture.
useful work. The popularity of hydraulic machinery is due to the very large amount of power

that can be transferred through small tubes and flexible hoses, and the high power density and

wide array of actuators that can make use of this power (Wolansky and Akers 1988, Akers et

al. 2006).

The major components of the semi-automated system for brick making include the following:

 Moulding Chamber
 Hydraulic Pump
 Prime Mover
 Oil Reservoir
 Control Valves
 Hydraulic Ram

2.6 Rationale of Ecological Bricks Compared to Cement Blocks

According to Baggs and Mortensen (2006.), thermal mass can be effectively employed in

buildings to increase occupant comfort and bricks are known to have a high thermal mass.

Appropriate use of thermal mass throughout housing units can make a big difference to comfort

as well as heating and cooling bills. As explained in earlier, thermal comfort conditions

attributed to houses made with bricks, make bricks very functional for building housing units.

The interior of houses built with bricks have better thermal stability compared to houses built

with cement blocks, as it feels warmer to occupants during cold weather and also cooler during

warm weather conditions. Brick housing also has attributed cost savings in terms of

construction of shelters, as long as they are Ecological Bricks which are not fired. The firing

processes imposes added cost which makes fired brick very expensive. Sholanke et al (2015)

and Famoroti (2006) inferred that the trends and effects of high cost of Portland cement has led

to increase in price of cement block and also production of substandard cement blocks. This

leads to building collapse if used for housing construction in the long run. Ecological bricks

are quite affordable as they have about 10% cement added to form the mix (laterite, cement
and water), hence very little cement is used to stabilise the compressed earth brick. Bricks walls

have intrinsic aesthetics and there is no need for wall plastering but the need for wall plastering

is unavoidable with house walls built with cement blocks. This reality reduces the overall cost

of walling in brick housing. Hence, bricks are better alternative to cement block as regards

walling especially in non-riverine areas.

Moreover, there is relatively no shortage of raw material needed for producing bricks. Yves

(1997) established that laterites cover about one-third of the earth’s continental land area as

they also form the sub-soils of the equatorial forests, the savannahs, the humid tropical regions,

and the sahelian steppes. Nigeria has her land area with a major part in the savannah region

and a minor part in the tropical rain forest where availability of laterite is evident even during

digging of shallow trenches for house foundations. And the mode of production of theses

ecological bricks poses an added advantage as it can be readily used in housing construction

since it is compressed into required brick size and made unlike the process involved in cement

blocks production. Cement blocks producers usually use a vibratory machine for production of

blocks to save material. The cement block matrix is loosely packed compared to the densely

compacted brick. So, the cement block only attained strength after drying unlike the

compressed ecological brick which have intrinsic stability even immediately after production.
 METHODOLOGY
For this project, the brick making machine was designed as a semi-automatic type. This implies

that the compression of brick is done by the action of a hydraulic ram with an operator manning

the controls. Mogaji (2011) established that the quality of bricks is determined by the reliability

and the efficiency of the brick machine which will determine how strong the structure of the

machine will be.

3.1 Design Consideration

For this design the following design factors were taken into consideration. They are;

 cost
 production efficiency
 size of the bricks produced
 rigidity of the system
 strength of materials
 ease of handling
 safety

The detailed explanation on the various design considerations are as follows:

a. Cost

One of the main objectives for this project was to build an affordable brick making machine

(BMM). As such, the total cost of development was a key factor we had to consider. As at the

time of this writing, the average cost of purchasing a semi-automated BMM ranges between

$17,000 - $21,000. This cost excludes shipping and import charge duties imposed on such a

good. And considering today’s increase in dollar price, it will becomes difficult to afford such

machines here in this country. Hence the need for this project. Our machine is estimated to cost

a total of N352, 450 to manufacture. We arrived at this cost by designing our system to make

use of the amount of components needed to produce a standard design yet not compromising

on the minimum requirements needed for maximum efficiency.

Table 3.1 located in section 3.4 presents comprehensive data on the components used for the

design of the BMM, their respective cost and detailed reasons stating clearly why such

components were preferred as opposed to others.

b. Production Efficiency

Despite its affordability, our system still boasts of being efficient in production. Production

efficiency is a crucial design factor considered in the design of any functional machine. This is

due to the fact that better production efficiency leads to;

i. customer satisfaction
ii. increase in production output
iii. increase in overall revenue

For our BMM we implemented certain designs to better increase its overall production

efficiency. One of such is increasing the height of the brick compaction chamber (BCC) to

accommodate more laterite. This is advantageous to production rate in the sense that the bricks

produced will be able to cover more walling area during its application. Suppose the average

semi-automated BMM produces bricks of height 75mm, our own system is designed to

produce bricks of average height 150mm which is double the size of the brick produced by

semi-automated BMMs found in the market. This and many more design features are the

factors that make our design an innovation in the field of BMMs.

c. Rigidity of the System

The overall rigidity of the system is a design factor we took very seriously when designing our

BMM. A mechanically rigid system is always the end desire of any good machine designer,

and ours is not different. Effective stress calculation was carried out on the support system, a

factor of safety of more than 40% was imposed on the supports to ensure that our system

remains as rigid as possible.

A lot of other design factors were thoroughly put to check which directly or indirectly affect

the rigidity of the system. The thickness of the support material at various levels of stress

applications were carefully considered, trusses were added to areas that appear to bear more

load. Also, care was taken to increase the machines resistance to external forces.

d. Strength of materials

Material strength is also a key design factor to consider during the design of a machine. This

has numerous benefits as it prevents:

i. failure due to fatigue

ii. failure due to buckling
iii. failure due to creep

Our BMM was designed to make use of mild steel which is tough and also not brittle. For better

details on the materials used, see section 3.4 which focuses solely on the materials used for the

design

e. Ease of Handling

Although Simpler and affordable machines have been developed by some fabrication firms as

explained in section 2.1.6, but they require high level skilled operator and diligence to produce

good quality bricks. We also considered the ease of operation of the machine. Our goal is to

ensure that any operator of this machine with a base skill set should be able to easily operate

the machine with ease while creating quality bricks.

f. Safety

This consideration nonetheless is very important, as such ergonomics of use and operation of

the machine were considered as to reduce hazardous feel during usage. The use of two degrees

of freedom poses these advantages as the machine is feed with clay mix with just a push of the
level so also the compression and ejection operation, thereby reducing human interaction

during operation.

3.2 Design Concept

The underlining conceptual design for our semi-automated machine bothers downward

orientation of the Hydraulic Press (see figure 3.1) based on the design considerations. The

compression of the clay mix in the mould is a result of the compressive effect which the

hydraulic ram has on the clay mix during operation.

Downward orientation of the Hydraulic Press: This particular system has some advantages and

disadvantages which were considered during selection. Here, the downward movement of the

ram compresses the clay mix and the retraction of the ram with an attached mechanism lifts or

ejects the brick out of the BCC (mould).

This particular design concept is advantageous as gravity aids the movement during

compression as the hydraulic ram does work on the clay mix in the mould. Therefore, the

resultant brick produced are quite strong as the earth’s gravitational force aids the compressive

action of the ram. The disadvantages of this concept bothers on its complexity and the use of

metallic material to design and fabricate needed mechanisms to implement the ejection of the

brick from the mould as the hydraulic ram retracts after compression.

As view from the figure 3.1 below, the design operates on two degrees of freedom. The first

degree of freedom along the X- axis allows for the to and fro movement of the feeding box to

fill clay mix into the moulding box. The second degree of freedom along the Y-axis allows for

the up and down movement of the pressing box and the ejecting box. Notice the keys showing

that the hopper, moulding box, ram cylinder are in a fixed frame while the feeding box, ram

plunger and pressing box, ejecting box are in the movable frame of the machine structure.
Figure 3.1 Design Concept for BMM
3.3 Design Calculations

Design calculations were carried out on the following key components of the machine, they

are:

 the moulding chamber

 the pump
 the hopper and the feeder
 the support frame of the machine
 the guide rods

According to Ajao et al (2012), bricks are the best and produced commercially with a target

strength of 9MPa brick strength based on the standard of the Nigerian Building and Road

Research Institute (NBRRI). For compressed earth bricks (CEB), the technical specification is

the standard of the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) which

recommends 3𝑀𝑃𝑎 and 6𝑀𝑃𝑎 as the minimum wet and dry compressive strength

respectively; For our design calculation, the maximum Allowable stress = 10𝑀𝑃𝑎

See appendix II for more details on the calculations.

3.3.1 Moulding chamber design

The moulding chamber (MC) was designed in such a way as to accommodate the changing of

the mould plates which give the bricks different shapes, that is, the MC can produce bricks

with grooves and bricks without grooves depending on the manufacture choice.

Determining Yield Stress (MPa)

Knowing that:

𝑌𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡(𝑀𝑃𝑎)

𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 =
𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑦

Maximum Allowable Stress acting on mould walls = 10𝑀𝑃𝑎

Taking the factor safety = 5

Yield Stress Point = Maximum Allowable Stress x Factor of safety = 50𝑀𝑃𝑎

Knowing that the yield strength for Structural steel = 250𝑀𝑃𝑎

Determining Mould Deflections and allowable thickness

To determine the mould deflections, the following design parameters were considered;

 Distributed load intensity (ω) (N/mm)

 Length of applied loading (L) (mm)

 Moment of Inertia (I)(𝑘𝑔/𝑚2 )

 Young Modulus of Elasticity

Maximum deflection is determined by:

𝑤𝑙 4
𝑦𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
384𝐸𝐼

From the results of the calculation above, the allowable mould thickness = 18mm

Mould Dimensions

The mould size was determined based on the size of the brick to be produced and the amount

of clay mix needed to produce such a brick.

Factors considered;

 Brick Dimensions (L x W x H) = 300mm x 150mm x 150mm

 Thickness of the Stamping Plate = 20mm

 Thickness of the side grooves = 10mm

 Added Tolerance = 20mm

Thus, the mould dimension

Width = width of brick = 150mm

Length = length of brick + thickness of side grooves = 300 + (2 x 10) = 320mm

Height = height of brick + 60% of height of brick + added tolerance + thickness of two stamping

plate

= 150 + 90 + 20 + 40 = 300mm

Therefore, dimension of mould (L x W x H) = 320mm x 150mm x 300mm

 Figure 3.2a: 3D View of Moulding Chamber

Figure 3.2b: 2D Isometric Projection View of Moulding Chamber

3.3.2 Feeder and hopper design

Feeder Design: the following were determined for the Feeder:

 Volume of the Feeder

The feeder is designed to accommodate the entire volume of mix needed to produce a brick at

each compression. Since the feeder function is to take mix from the hopper and deposit to the

mould, a thickness of 3mm mild steel will be used.

Volume of mould (L x W x H) = 320mm x 150mm x 300mm,

Since Volume of the feeder must be at least equal the Volume of mould,

Factors considered include:

 Thickness of the mould = 10mm

 length of the mould = 320

 The side stamping plates which are of 10mm thickness on both sides of the

mould

Thus, the Feeder dimensions are:

Width of the feeder = width of the rectangular base of the hopper = 190mm

Length of the feeder = 320mm + 10mm + 10mm

= 340mm

Height of the feeder = height of brick + 60% of height of brick + added tolerance

=150 + 90 + 20mm

= 260mm
Therefore, dimension of feeder (L x W x H) = 340mm x 190mm x 260mm

 Weight of feeder with clay mix: this will be determined using the weight density

relation below;

𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒙 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒓 (𝑲𝒈)

Weight Density of the mix (N/m3) =
𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒙 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒓 (𝒎 ^𝟑)
 Figure 3.3a. 3D View of Feeder.

Figure 3.3b. 2D Isometric Projection View of Feeder.

Hopper Design: The Hooper will be designed to accommodate the volume of mix required to

make at least 80 bricks at a run. The hopper will have a shape of a truncated right angle Pyramid

as the large container supplying the feeder needed volume of mix for each brick production

operation.

Therefore, the Dimension of the rectangular base section of the hopper;

Width = 190mm

Length = 340mm

Also, the Dimension of the rectangular top section of the hopper

Width = 190mm

Length = 340mm

Height of the truncated Pyramid Hooper= 575mm

 Weight of hopper with clay mix: this will be determined using the weight density

relation below;

𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒙 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓 (𝑲𝒈)

Weight Density of the mix (N/m3) =
𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒙 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓 (𝒎 ^𝟑)
 Figure 3.4a. 3D View of Hooper

Figure 3.4b: 2D Isometric Projection View of Feeder.

3.3.3 Machine frame design

The frame supports weight of a range of components, resultant forces at junctions and joints

will be estimated and the stresses developed in the frame links will be determine using

principles of static and dynamic mechanics of forces. A factor of safety of 3 will be used to

evaluate the allowable working stress limits and the dimensions of sections of the links that

will withstand the stresses due to imposed forces of the components. The list of parts the frame

must support are as below:

 volume and weight of filled hopper (filled with clay mix),

 volume and weight of feed,
 weight of big and small ram,
 weight of top moving arm,
 weight of lower moving arm,
 weight of bars (shafts),
 pick up arms (weight),
 face plate,
 cylinder rolls,
 collector tray / collector trough,
 miscellaneous weight (supplementary weight will be added to take considerations for
it).
 Figure 3.5a: 3D View of Machine Frame.

Figure 3.5b: 2D Isometric Projection View of Machine Frame.

3.3.4 Design of guide rods

Forces and resulting stresses imposed on the guide rods due to hydraulic ram operation during

compression of the mix will be considered. Also a factor of safety of 5 was used in the

determination of the dimension of the diameter of rod to allow for better performance of the

Guide rods during the loading conditions. Shaft is subjected to axial loads, in addition to small

magnitude of combined torsion and bending loads, therefore the equation below will be

considered in the design.

For Solid Shaft;

𝟒𝑭
Allowable Stress due Axial Load (σa) =
𝝅𝒅𝟐

Where, d --- the diameter of the guide rods,

F --- the axial force imposed on the shaft during compression by the hydraulic

ram.

10
Using bolted joints as tension joint such that the stud end of the shaft and clamped

components of the joint are designed to transfer an applied tension load through the joint by

the design. The joint is so designed so the clamp load is never overcome by external tension

forces due to the reaction from the double acting cylinders.

To derive the bolted joint characteristics when the line of action of load on the shaft is parallel

to axis of bolt (Stud); that is, thread characteristic especially nominal diameter, core diameter

the thread.

10
Bolted joints---- Bolted joints are one of the most common elements in construction and machine design.
They consist of fasteners that capture and join other parts, and are secured with the mating of screw threads.
There are two main types of bolted joint designs which are tension joints and shear joints.
The 11tensile strength on each joint can be determined using the equation below:

𝜋
c x σt
2
Tensile Strength on each stud (Wt) = 𝑥 𝑑
4

Where, σt---- Tensile Stress

𝑑 c---- core or root diameter of the thread on the shaft

3.3.5 Pump design

Knowing the compressive pressure required to form the block, we narrowed our pump

selection to three different classes. Table 1.0 provides the specification of the three various

types of pump.

Our pump design considers three major parameters;

 Pump Displacement

 Pump Power

 Drive Power

Determination of Pump Displacement

The pump displacement can be calculated using the following equation:

(𝑸𝒎 × 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎)
𝑽𝒑 =
𝒏𝒑 × 𝜼𝒗𝒐𝒍.𝒑

Where:

𝑉𝑃 = 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑐𝑚3 /𝑟𝑒𝑣)

𝑄𝑚 = 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 (𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠/𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒)

11
Tensile Strength---- tensile strength is the maximum tension-applied load the fastener can support prior to
fracture
 𝑛𝑃 = 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 (𝑟𝑝𝑚)

𝜂𝑣𝑜𝑙.𝑝 = 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 (𝑐𝑚3 /𝑟𝑒𝑣)

Determination of Pump Power

The power rating of the pump is given by the following equation:

𝒑 × (𝑽𝒑 × 𝒏𝑷 )
𝑷𝒐𝒖𝒕 =
𝟔𝟎𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎

Where:

𝑝 = 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 (𝑏𝑎𝑟)

𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 (𝑘𝑊)

𝑉𝑃 = 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑐𝑚3 /𝑟𝑒𝑣)

𝑛𝑃 = 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 (𝑟𝑝𝑚)

Determination of Drive Power

The drive power of the pump is calculated by using the equation below;

𝒑 × (𝑽𝑷 × 𝒏𝑷 )
𝑷𝒊𝒏 =
𝟔𝟎𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 × 𝜼𝒕.𝒑

Where:

𝑉𝑃 = 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑐𝑚3 /𝑟𝑒𝑣)

𝑛𝑃 = 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 (𝑟𝑝𝑚)

𝑃𝑖𝑛 = 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 (𝑘𝑊)

p = 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 (𝑏𝑎𝑟)
Hydraulic Circuit

The hydraulic circuit (see figure 3.6) is composed several component to drive two different

double acting hydraulic cylinders. One moving the Feeder box in the X-axis of the BMM while

the other moves the Pressing box in the Y-axis.

The components in this hydraulic circuit are:

 2 double acting cylinder

 Directional control value (tandem centred valves)

 Relief valve

 Pump

 Electric motor

 Pressure gauge

 Filters

 Tank or Reservoir

The use of tandem centred valves directional control valves (DCV) allows the use of one single

pump (fixed displacement) with series configuration supply to the dual DCVs. The circuit is

able to raise the cylinder rods, without causing any build-up of the relief value which causes

loss of power and heating up of the fluid if close centre DCV were utilised.
Figure 3.6: Hydraulic Circuit for BMM
3.4 Material Selection

The factors considered during the material selection are;

 Mechanical properties
 Cost
 Machinability
 Mechanical performance
 Availability of material
 Chemical performance
The most important factors considered are mechanical properties (Ashby et al, 2004). Here,

importance has also been given to the local conditions i.e. availability of material and financial

capacity of the entrepreneur.

Table 3.1 shows the components of machine and the materials selected.
Table 3.1: A list of components and the materials selected

S/N COMPONENTS MATERIAL SELECTED MATERIAL PROPERTIES

1 Moulding Chamber Mild Steel Ductile, High yield stress

2 Hopper Galvanized Steel Plate High yield strength

3 Feeder Galvanized Steel Plate High yield strength

4 Guide Rods Nickel-Chromium Steel High strength, high tensile strength

5 Frame Mild Steel Ductile, High yield stress

6 Face Plate Cast Steel Hardness, Brittle

7 Rammer Bar Mild Steel Ductile, High yield stress

8 Hydraulic Cylinder bar Mild Steel Ductile, High yield stress

9 Bushings Synthetic Rubber Good Absorber of shock waves

10 Pick up link Mild Steel Ductile, High yield stress

11 Waste Collector Tray Galvanized Steel Plate High yield strength

12 Hydraulic Cylinder Supports Mild Steel Ductile, High yield stress

13 Hydraulic Ram Mild Steel Ductile, High yield stress

14 Springs Leaf Spring Ductile, High yield stress

15 Ejector Mild Steel Ductile, High yield stress

16 Oil Tank Galvanized Steel Plate High yield strength

17 Electric Motor
Figure 3.7: 3D CAD Design of Brick Making Machine
Figure 3.8: CAD Design of Brick Making Machine
 RESULT AND ANALYSIS

4.1 Manufactured Brick Making Machine Assemblies

To allow for effective organisation during the manufacturing process of the machine, the Brick

Making Machine (BMM) CAD models were revaluated and a comprehensive list of

Assemblies and Subassemblies was generated to preventing disorganisation. See Appendix III

for the list of Assemblies and Subassemblies for the BMM. See appendix V for the

manufacturing processes. For flexibility in manufacturing the various assemblies of this

machine, we used several workshops found within and outside of the campus environment.

Depending on the level precision, we also chose certain workshops that seemed to have more

engineering tools. We used these workshops to carry out intricate manufacturing process on

our prototype. Below are respective Ansys Static Structural analysis to check proper if our

chosen dimension conform as seen no failure is expected during operation.

4.1.1 Analysis of Moulding Box Assembly

The moulding box assembly consists of two sides, the longitudinal sides and the lateral sides.

These sides form the rectangular box which makes up the whole mould assembly. Both sides

are made of structural steel, which has a yield strength of 250MPa and an ultimate tensile

strength of 460Mpa. The maximum, imposed by the hydraulic cylinder, within the moulding

box is 2.1MPa, thus the force acting on the walls on the members varies based on the surface

area in contact with the compressed brick.

 Analysis of the Longitudinal sides

Surface Area of longitudinal side = L x B = 350mm x 300mm = 105000𝑚𝑚2 = 0.105𝑚2

Force acting on surface area = P (MN/𝑚2 ) x A (𝑚2 ) = 2.1x106 x 0.105𝑚2

= 220500N
 (a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 4.1a: Stress Analysis Result on Moulding Box (Longitudinal Side)

 Maximum Value Minimum Value

Equivalent Stress( von-Mises) 330.83 9.98

(MPa)

Total Displacement (mm) 1.97 0

Maximum Principal Stress 300.78 -12.842

(MPa)

Maximum Principal Strain 0.0028861 8.12x10−5

(MPa)

Table 4.1a: Ansys Results on longitudinal side

 Based on the Ansys simulations shown in Table 4.1, we see that we have an equivalent

stress (von-Mises stress) of 330.83MPa and a total deflection of 1.97mm.

From the results gotten, it’s clear that the von-Mises stress is greater than the yield

strength of the material at certain stress points. Noting this, we modified our design to

address this issue. Our modifications and simulation results are shown in the sections

below.

 Modifications on longitudinal sides

To solve the problem of the equivalent stress been greater than the yield stress, we added

reinforcements to the longitudinal sides then carried out an Ansys stress analysis

simulation to check if the part would fail when subject to the allowable stress of 2.1MPa.

Table 4.2 shows the results generated from the Ansys simulation software.

From our Ansys simulations results shown in Table 4.2b, it was observed that the

maximum equivalent stress (von-Mises stress) obtained was 330.83MPa and the total

deflection gives 1.97mm.

The results obtained shows that the von-Mises stress obtained is greater than the yield

strength of the material at certain stress points. With this data, we known that the part can

fail at those regions of high stress build up. To address this issue, we made modifications

to the initial design to ensure that the part performs as expected without failure during

operation.
 (a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 4.1b: Stress Analysis Result on Moulding Box (Modified Longitudinal side)
 Maximum Value Minimum Value

Equivalent Stress( von-Mises) 176.76 6.0689

(MPa)

Total Displacement (mm) 0.77884 0

Maximum Principal Stress 198.05 -64.618

(MPa)

Maximum Principal Strain 0.0008142 -2.747x10−6

(MPa)

Table 4.1b: Ansys Results on Modified longitudinal side

 Analysis of the Lateral sides

Surface Area of longitudinal side = L x B = 300mm x 150mm

= 45000𝑚𝑚2 = 0.045𝑚2

Force acting on surface area = P (MN/𝑚2 ) x A (𝑚2 ) = 2.1x106 x 0.045𝑚2

= 94500N

Once the force acting on the surface area of the lateral side was determine, we imported the

CAD model to Ansys for stress analysis to be carried out. Figure 4.3 and Table 4.3 show the

results of the Ansys simulation.

 (a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 4.2a: Stress Analysis Result on Moulding Box (Lateral side)

 Maximum Value Minimum Value

Equivalent Stress( von-Mises) 306.6 0.36496

(MPa)

Total Displacement (mm) 1.1477 0

Maximum Principal Stress 442.79 -182.27

(MPa)

Maximum Principal Strain 0.0016686 7.882x10−7

(MPa)

Table 4.2a: Ansys Results on lateral side

 Modifications on lateral sides

By adding an extra 6mm structural steel plate within the mould box, also taking into

account the 10mm insets that we use to chamfer the edges of the brick produced, both

structures make up a reinforcement of 16mm in thickness. This helps to reduce the stress

generated at various stress points within the part.

We import the modified CAD geometry into Ansys simulation software to perform a

structural stress analysis to determine how the model would behave when reinforcements

have been added.

Table 4.2 and Figure 4.2a show the results generated from the Ansys simulation software.

From Table 4.2, after modifications were carried out on the model, the effective stress

became 73.23MPa and the total deformation was 0.025mm. These values are well within

the allowable stress ensuring that that part would not fail during operation.
 (a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 4.2b: Stress Analysis Result on Moulding Box (Modified Lateral side)
 Maximum Value Minimum Value

Equivalent Stress( von-Mises) 72.233 0.6424

(MPa)

Total Displacement (mm) 0.025122 0

Maximum Principal Stress 53.501 -29.116

(MPa)

Maximum Principal Strain 0.0002224 1.39x10−6

(MPa)

Table 4.2b: Ansys Results on Modified lateral side

Figure 4.2c: Moulding Box Assembly
 4.1.2 Analysis of Pressing Box Assembly

The pressing box assembly consist of the following units of the hydraulic Cylinder, pressing

box, stamping plate pick up arms and the height gauge shafts. The pressing box, which serves

as the main frame, takes a larger percentage of the load imposed on the entire unit by the

hydraulic cylinder thus, a lot of parameters were taken into consideration when designing this

particular unit. The allowable pressured delivered by the hydraulic cylinder is 18MPa, this

pressure imposes a force on the pressing box. The pressing box is made of structural steel,

which has an ultimate tensile strength of 460MPa and a yield strength of 250MPa. To

determine the pressing box structural rigidity, we performed a series of Ansys Structural

Analysis on the part to check conditions in which it might fail and design against such.

i. Analysis of Pressing box

Knowing that the pressing box is made of structural steel, and that an allowable stress of

5.87MPa is delivered at the top of the pressing box by the hydraulic cylinder. Our test

was to apply this load to our current design based on our design calculation done in

chapters 3, then check if the equivalent stress (von-Mises stress) is greater than the yield

strength of the structure, should this happen, then we know that the unit would fail when

under loading.

Surface Area of top section of the pressing box = 11800𝑚𝑚2 = 0.0118𝑚2

Force acting on surface area = P (MN/𝑚2 ) x A (𝑚2 ) = 5.87x106 x 0.0118𝑚2

= 211860N

After determining the force acting at the top surface area of the pressing box, we imported

our model into the Ansys simulation software to determine if the model would fail under

loading. Table 4.3 and Figure 4.3a show the results of the Ansys simulations.
(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 4.3a: Stress Analysis Result on Pressing Box

 Maximum Minimum Probe 1 Probe 2

Value Value

Equivalent Stress( von- 566.59 8.4771x10−14 76.964 210.45

Mises) (MPa)

Total Displacement 1.1407 0 0.15281 0.12266

(mm)

Maximum Principal 532.76 -128.45 112.72 160.92

Stress (MPa)

Maximum Principal 0.0023495 -2.699x10−16 5.131x10−4 7.076x10−4

Strain (MPa)

Table 4.3: Ansys Results on Modified lateral side

From Table 4.3a, we determined that the maximum equivalent stress induced on the pressing

box was 566.59MPa and the total deformation is 1.1407mm. Analysing the Ansys simulation

results, we realized that the maximum equivalent stress generated was as a result of point

stresses which act at areas far closer to drilled holes. Though this stresses are high they aren’t

sufficient enough to cause a total system failure. This we confirmed by probing the critical

areas were the force produced by the hydraulic cylinder acts, from the results shown in Table

4.3a, the equivalent stress generated at these probed regions, which are critical areas, is way

below the yield strength of the material. Probe 1 gives 76.946MPa and probe 2 gives

210.45MPa, these values are well below the yield strength of the material, hence the pressing

box assembly cannot fail under the permissible loading conditions. Also, the total deflections

for these probed critical areas also falls within a safe zone, which further confirms the rigidity

of the assembly

Figure 4.3c shows a picture of the constructed pressing box assembly.

Figure 4.3c: Pressing Box Assembly
 4.1.3 Analysis of Ejecting Box Assembly

The ejecting box assembly consist of the following units of the ejecting box, reinforcement

plates and the stamping plate. The ejecting box, which is the main frame takes a larger part

of the load imposed on the entire unit by the hydraulic cylinder thus. The allowable stress

imposed at the top of the ejecting box is 2.1MPa, this pressure produces a force on the

ejecting box during the compression of the brick. The ejecting box is made of structural steel,

which has an ultimate tensile strength of 460MPa and a yield strength of 250MPa. To

determine the ejecting box structural rigidity, we performed a series of Ansys Structural

Analysis on the part to check conditions in which it might fail and design against such.

ii. Analysis of Ejecting box

We know that the ejecting box is made of structural steel, and that an allowable stress of

2.1MPa is delivered at the top of the ejecting box by the hydraulic cylinder. To test the

model, we applied this load to our current design model, then check if the equivalent

stress (von-Mises stress) is greater than the yield strength of the structure, should this

happen, then we know that the unit would fail when under loading. But if the equivalent

stress is less than the yield strength, we know that our design is safe and would not fail

under the allowable conditions.

Surface Area of top section of the e box = 0.04144𝑚2

Force acting on surface area = P (MN/𝑚2 ) x A (𝑚2 ) = 2.1x106 x 0.04144𝑚2

= 87024N

Upon determining the force acting at the top surface area of the ejecting box, we imported

our model into the Ansys simulation software to test if our model would fail under

loading. Table 4.4 and Figure 4.4a show the results of the Ansys simulations.
(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 4.4a: Stress Analysis Result on Ejecting Box

 Maximum Minimum Probe 1 Probe 2

Value Value

Equivalent Stress( von- 595.59 3.288x10−14 25.825 21.664

Mises) (MPa)

Total Displacement 0.69453 0 0.587 0.5817

(mm)

Maximum Principal 516.21 -425.29 9.2182 0.15224

Stress (MPa)

Maximum Principal 0.0019979 -1.155x10−16 0.00151 0.00043286

Strain (MPa)

Table 4.4: Ansys Results on Ejecting Box

Data from Table 4.3 shows that the maximum equivalent stress induce on the ejecting box is

566.59MPa and the total deformation is 1.1407mm. When are analysed the Ansys stress

analysis results, we realized that the maximum equivalent stress generated was as a result of

point stresses which acts near areas closer to the cut holes. The equivalent stresses at these

sections are noticeably high, but they aren’t sufficient enough to cause a total system failure.

This we confirmed by probing critical areas were the force produced as a result of the brick

compression the most, from the results obtained in Table 4.3, we noticed that the equivalent

stress generated at these probed regions, which are critical areas, are way below the yield

strength of the material. Probe 1 reads 76.946MPa and probe 2 gives 210.45MPa, these

values are well below the yield strength of the material, hence the ejecting box assembly

cannot fail under the permissible loading conditions. To further confirm this, the total

deflections for these probed critical areas also falls within the tolerable zone, which indicates

that the design is safe.

Figure 4.4c shows a picture of the constructed ejecting box assembly.

Figure 4.4b: Ejecting Box Assembly
4.1.4 Analysis of Guide Shafts (Columns)

The guide shaft assembly, also called the column assembly, consist of two units;

i. The Long Shaft (Long Column)

ii. The Short Shaft (Short Column)

The guide shafts are made of stainless steel which has an ultimate tensile strength of 505MPa

and yield strength of 215MPa. The long shaft is serves as a guide and a linear constrain to the

pressing box assemble also, the short shaft serves as a guide and a linear constrain to the

ejecting box. Together they constitute the guide shaft assembly. For calculations on the shaft

design, see appendix II. Tensile forces act on the guide shafts due to reactions imposed on the

cross members which act as a result of the force generated by the hydraulic cylinder. A

tensile force of 34.65 KN acts through the long shaft all through to the short shafts, which are

position just below the long shafts. As a result of these tensile forces, the shafts would want

to undergo necking at their centrelines which could cause them to fail under loading

conditions. From our design calculations, we determined that the minimum allowable

diameter for which the shafts would not neck is 32mm, hence, choosing a suitable factor of

safety and checking through standard shaft design catalogue we determined that the shaft

diameter be 50mm to prevent necking from occurring on either shafts.

To further confirm that the shafts would not fail when imposed by the generated tensile

forces, we carried out an Ansys Stress Analysis Simulation on both shafts. Table 4.5 and

Figure 4.5a show the results gotten from our Ansys simulation.
(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 4.5a: Stress Analysis Result Long shaft

(a) ( b)

(c) (d)

Figure 4.5b: Stress Analysis Result Short shaft

 Maximum Value Minimum Value Maximum Value Maximum Value

(Long Shaft) (Long Shaft) (Short Shaft) (Short Shaft)

Equivalent Stress( 103.21 7.3051 108.39 7.2035

von-Mises) (MPa)

Total Displacement 0.09956 0.0006297 0.070388 0.00007219

(mm)

Maximum Principal 114.13 -3.445 133.65 -7.341

Stress (MPa)

Maximum Principal 0.0005074 1.203x10−5 0.0005358 7.252x10−6

Strain (MPa)

Table 4.5: Ansys Results on Guide Shafts (Long and Short)

Analysis of guide shafts box

From our generated Ansys results shown in Table 4.5a, the equivalent stress is 103MPa

and the total displacement is 0.09956mm. This value is less than the yield strength of the

material which is 215MPa for stainless steel. Based on this analysis, we were able to

confirm that the shafts would not fail under the allowable loading conditions.Figure 4.5c

shows a picture of the guide shafts (columns).

Figure 4.5c: Guide Shafts
4.2 Analysis of prototype BMM making

Based on the work done so far, we were able to complete the following assemblies using locally

sourced materials. The assemblies completed include;

 The Moulding box assembly / Moulding chamber assembly

 Pressing box assembly
 Ejecting box assembly
 Guide Shafts machining
 Gauge Shaft manufacturing
 Unidirectional Transition Cylinders
Work is still currently on going on the project as more assemblies are to be added to make the

brick machine complete.

4.3 Ansys Result Analysis

Based on the constructed assemblies, we proceed to further test our built designs by conducting

computation stress analysis on these manufactured parts, to determine if they would conform

to our earlier done calculations and to ascertain that they would fail due to some as built

modifications that were introduced into the design. Results of the Ansys stress simulation

analysis can be found in Appendix IV, there a table presents the stress simulations results of

the critical members of the machine, starting from the moulding box assembly which is the

most critical of all the other subassemblies.

4.4 Discussion

From our analysis, using the Ansys simulations software, we were able to confirm that the

assemblies would not fail when loaded to their maximum values. This gives us the

confidence that the parts manufactured conform to standards and are unlikely to fail due to

the permissible maximum loading been imposed on the system as a result of our design

parameters put in place.

 CONCLUSION
The project Development of Brick Making Machine is still an ongoing effect as only the

moulding box has been produced to specifications which the Moulding Box assemblies having

the highest need for precision. Two other assemblies are now in phase for completion which

are the pressing box assembly and the ejecting box assembly.

During manufacture of the needed subassemblies, some of the initial assemblies had to be re-

modified so to utilise available H-beams which conformed to dimension specification, then

metal reinforcements were added so the thin sections have the needed metal thickness to

prevent failure during loading.

Reflecting from the ANSYS Stress analysis of the Moulding box initially with 10 mm

thickness which failed during loading. But with the reinforcement of 16 mm on the lateral side

plate and 20 mm on the longitudinal side plates there was no case of failure during loading.

For the ANSYS stress analysis for the ejecting box and pressing box several stress

concentration region were noticed before reinforcements. But after reinforcement they reduced.

Therefore the ejecting box and pressing box assemblies still require further work.

There were quite broad objectives at the commencement of this project which include

designing of the machine and performance evaluation of the machine. As of the time of this

report, fabrication is still going so as to fulfil the objectives of the project.

Further work will be required for performance evaluation of the machine after fabrication is

completed to check the following:

 The conformation of bricks produced with respect Compressed Earth Block Standard
ARS 680: 1996 (it provides minimum deviations of 0.5 mm along the dimension of the
brick produced).
 The conformation of produced bricks’ compressive strength to NBRRI technical
specification (it provides for minimum of 6 MPa dry strength of quality bricks).
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 APPENDIX I
Table A

Buying Central Selling

Date Currency (NGN) (NGN) (NGN)
9/28/2006 US DOLLAR 148.51 149.01 149.51
POUNDS
STERLING 235.8487 236.6428 237.4368
EURO 217.5523 218.2848 219.0172
SWISS FRANC 143.8354 144.3197 144.8039
YEN 1.6584 1.664 1.6696

Table B

Buying Central Selling

Date Currency (NGN) (NGN) (NGN)
9/28/2016 US DOLLAR 304.5 305 305.5
POUNDS
STERLING 396.7026 397.354 398.0054
EURO 341.649 342.21 342.771
SWISS FRANC 313.5942 314.1092 314.6241
YEN 3.0244 3.0294 3.0344

Source On-line Central Bank of Nigeria

https://www.cbn.gov.ng/rates/ExchangeArchives.asp
 APPENDIX II

With modifications in designs the capacity changes so also several resulting dimension of the
new machine design.

Capacity for our BMM Mould ---- 1piece/mould for 300*150*150mm per brick

Hydraulic Pressure for our BMM hydraulic system ---- 18MPa

CALCULATIONS

F = P1A1 = P2A2

Where, F --- line force acting downward due to plunger press action

P1 --- BMM system hydraulic pressure

P2 --- pressure at the surface of stamping plate for pressing box

A1 --- bore area of double acting cylinder plunger (the larger one)

A2 --- Projected Area of the stamping plate

Therefore,

P1 = 18 MPa
𝜋𝑑2
A1 = = 3.85 x 10-3 m2
4

𝜋𝐷 2
A2 = L x B – 2x = 32.84 X 10-3 m2
4

Where, d --- bore diameter of the plunger = 70 mm

D --- diameter of the hollow form cylinder = 88 mm

L --- length of brick = 300 mm

B --- breath of brick = 150 mm

P2 = 𝑃1 𝐴𝐴21 = 2.1 MPa

Which is very close to the 3 MPa NBRRI technical specification for wet compressive strength
for CEBs.

To attain the 3 MPa, the double acting cylinder plunger bore size of about 84 mm will be used
retaining the system hydraulic pressure at 18 MPa still.

Force Reaction at Bolted Supports of the Shaft

The diagram above shows the fixed end (Bolted joint) of the upper cross assembly, and the
fixed ends are found at the Shaft stud ends.

Therefore,

F = P1A1 = P2A2 = W

W= 69.3 KN
𝑊
So, Ra = =34.65 KN
2

𝑊
Rb = = 34.65 KN
2
Diameter of Guide shaft

Using Stainless Steel (AISI Type 304)

Yield Strength = 215 MPa

Ultimate Tensile Strength (σt) = 505 MPa

𝑌𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡(𝑀𝑃𝑎)

𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 =
𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑦

Using a Factor of safety of 5 (the minimum is 3 for repeated load, unidirectional and medium
shock)

Allowable Stress due Axial Load (σa) =

𝟒𝑭
𝝅𝒅𝟐

σa = 215𝟓𝐌𝐏𝐚 = 43 MPa = 𝝅𝒅𝟒𝑭𝟐

Here, F = Ra = Rb = 34.65 KN

From calculation d (diameter of shaft) = 0.032 m

= 32 mm

Derivation of Bolted Joints

When load is parallel to the axis of bolt (as stud on shaft in the BMM)
𝜋
Tensile load on each bolt (Wt) = 4 𝑥 𝑑𝑐 2 x σa

𝑈𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡(𝑀𝑃𝑎)

𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 =
𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑦

Using a Factor of safety of 8 (the minimum is 6 for repeated load, unidirectional and medium
shock).

Minimum diameter of thread for the shaft stud is 25 mm using the equation of tensile load on
each stud on the shaft.
Hydraulic Pump Selection

From, The Hydraulic Warehouse Catalogue for High Pressure Gear pumps

http://www.thehydraulicwarehouse.com.au/

Chosen

System Hydraulic pressure = 18 MPa = 180 bar, chosen 190bar as provided continuous by
the selected gear pump.

Determination of Drive Power

𝒑 × (𝑽𝑷 × 𝒏𝑷 )
𝑷𝒊𝒏 =
𝟔𝟎𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 × 𝜼𝒕.𝒑

Where:

𝑉𝑃 = 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑐𝑚3 /𝑟𝑒𝑣)

𝑛𝑃 = 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 (𝑟𝑝𝑚)

𝑃𝑖𝑛 = 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 (𝑘𝑊)

p = 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 (𝑏𝑎𝑟)

𝟏𝟗𝟎 ×(𝟓.𝟖 × 𝟑𝟎𝟎𝟎)

𝑷𝒊𝒏 = = 6.48 KW
𝟔𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 ×𝟎.𝟖𝟓

Using 10hp electric motor, where 10hp = 7.5KW.

 APPENDIX III
LIST OF ASSEMBLIES AND SUB-ASSEMBLIES OF THE BRICK MAKING MACHINE
(BMM)
The following are the key component assemblies’ functional parts in the BMM:

1. WOMB ASSEMBLY
a. External Pressure Box
b. Internal Ejecting Box
c. Plunger Pressing Box
d. Lower Stamping Plate
e. Upper Stamping Plate

2. PRESS ASSEMBLY
a. Hydraulic Ram Plunger
b. Pressing Box
c. Stamping Plates
d. Pick Up Arms
e. Height Gauge Shafts

3. CROSS MEMBERS ASSEMBLY

a. Stationary Cross Members
i. Plunger’s/Uppermost cross member
ii. Womb carrier middle cross member
iii. Base/Foundation cross member
b. Mobile Cross Member
i. Pressing box cross member
ii. Ejecting box cross member/Box ejector
c. Cross Member Constraints Shafts
i. Upper Constraint/Longer shafts
ii. Lower/Shorter Constraints Shafts

3a (ii). Womb carrier middle cross member Sub-Assembly

i. Womb carrier cross member
ii. Womb
iii. Sand plate (frame)

3a (iii).Base/Foundation cross member Sub-Assembly

i. Spacer/hollowing Cylinder
ii. Rubber/Damper blocks
iii. Compressing Springs
iv. Extension Springs
4. WOMB FEED ASSEMBLY
a. Hopper Sub-Assembly
i. Material holding container
ii. Hopper attachment link
iii. Hopper feeder interface
b. Feeder Trough Sub-Assembly
i. Feeder trough
ii. Upper feeder tracks
iii. Lower feeder tracks
iv. Feeder womb interface
v. Feeder plunger
vi. Feeder plunger reinforcement attachments
vii. Dislocator arms

5. HYDRAULIC SYSTEM
a. Prime Mover
b. Hydraulic Pump
c. Hydraulic Ram
i. Big hydraulic ram
ii. Small hydraulic ram
d. Control Valves
e. Hydraulic Hose
f. Oil Reservoir system
i. Oil tank
ii. Cooler system

6. FRAME ASSEMBLY
a. Base
b. Hooper Stands
c. Base stands

7. ELECTRICAL ASSEMBLY
a. Stamping Plate Heaters
b. Limiting Switches
c. Emergency Switch
 APPENDIX IV

Stress Analysis on Various Assemblies of the brick machine

Assembly Sub Assembly Effective Stress Maximum Maximum Total

(Mpa) Principal Stress Principal Strain Deformation
(Mpa)
(mm)

Longitudinal 330.83 300.78 0.0028861 1.9703

Section
Moulding Box
Lateral Section 306.6 442.79 0.00166686 1.1477

Pressing Box 539.11 545.17 0.0024484 0.59205

Ejecting Box 511.81 654.96 0.0026332 0.71591

Guide Shaft Long Shaft 103.21 114.13 0.00050746 0.09956

Short Shaft 108.34 113.65 0.00053588 0.070388

 APPENDIX V

Figure 1a: Cut Plates for Moulding Box

Figure 1b: Flame Cutting of Cylinder Holes on Ejecting box assembly
Figure 1c: Section cutting of the ejecting box assembly
Figure 1d: Disc grinding of the moulding box
Figure 1e: Turning of the sleeve cylinders
 Figure 1f: Finished products of the sleeve cylinders

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