INDUSTRIAL VISIT REPORT

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING EAST WEST COLLEGE

OF ENGINEERING ,YALANKA.

INDUSTRY VISITED – ANNAPOORNESHWARI clay brick manufacturing.

PURPOSE OF INDUSTRIAL VISIT

1) To interact the student with actual industry personals.

2) To make the aware of the industrial procedures required to enter in

3) To experience working environment in industry and visualize the

4) Interaction of student with a people of all important department

5) To prepare the students for the selection of career path in different

ANNAPOORNESHWARI
CLAY BRICKS MANUFACTURING

1. INTRODUCTION:

The fundamentals of brick manufacturing have not changed over time. However,
technological advancements have made contemporary brick plants substantially more
efficient and have improved the overall quality of the products. A more complete knowledge
of raw materials and their properties, better control of firing, improved kiln designs and
more advanced mechanization have all contributed to advancing the brick industry.
2. PRODUCT & ITS APPLICATION:

Brick is made of clay or shale formed, dried and fired into a durable ceramic product. There
are three ways to form the shape and size of a brick: extruded (stiff mud), molded (soft
mud) and dry-pressed. The majority of brick are made by the extrusion method. Brick
achieves its color through the minerals in the fired clay or through coatings that are applied
before or after the firing process. This provides a durable color that never fades or
diminishes. Brick shrink during the manufacturing process as vitrification occurs. Brick will
vary in size due to the manufacturing process. These variations are addressed by ASTM
standards. The method used to form a brick has a major impact on its texture. Sand-finished
surfaces are typical with molded brick. A variety of textures can be achieved with extruded
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brick. Brick manufacturers address sustainability by locating manufacturing facilities near clay
sources to reduce transportation, by recycling of process waste, by reclaiming land where
mining has occurred, and by taking measures to reduce plant emissions. Most brick are used
within 500 miles of a brick manufacturing facility.

3. MANUFACTURING PROCESS:
There are four different operations are involved in the process of manufacturing of bricks:
1. Preparation of clay
2. Molding
3. Drying
4. Burning

1. Preparation of clay for brick manufacturing:

Preparation of clay for bricks manufacturing is done in six steps: Unsoiling of clay we need
pure clay for the preparation of bricks. The top layer of soil may contains impurities, so the
clay in top layer of soil about 200mm depth is thrown away. This is called unsoiling. Digging
After the removal of top layer, the clay is dug out from the ground and spread on the plain
ground. Cleaning In this stage, the clay is cleaned of stones, vegetable matter etc. if large
quantity of particulate matter is present, and then the clay is washed and screened. The
lumps of clay are converted into powder with earth crushing rollers. Weathering the cleaned
clay is exposed to atmosphere for softening. The period of weathering may be 3 to 4 weeks
or a full rainy season. Generally, the clay is dug out just before the rainy season for larger
projects. Blending if we want to add any ingredient to the clay, it is to be added in this stage
by making the clay loose and spread the ingredient over it. Then take small portion of clay
into the hands and tuning it up and down in vertical direction. This process is called blending
of clay. Tempering In this stage, water is added to clay and pressed or mixed. The pressing
will be done by cattle or with feet of men for small scale projects, pug mill is used as grinder
for large scale projects. So, the clay obtains the plastic nature and now it is suitable for
molding.
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2. Molding of clay for brick manufacturing

In the molding process, prepared clay is mold into brick shape (generally rectangular). This
process can be done in two ways according to scale of project. Hand molding (for small
scale)
Machine molding (for large scale)
Hand molding of bricks
If manufacturing of bricks is on a small scale and manpower is also cheap then we can go
for hand molding. The molds are in rectangular shape made of wood or steel which are
opened at the top and bottom. The longer sides of molds are projected out of the box to
serve it as handles. If we take durability in consideration steel molds are better than wooden
molds. In hand molding again there are two types and they are Ground molded bricks,
Table-molded bricks
Machine molding of bricks

The bricks required are in large quantity, then machine molding is economical and also saves
more time. Here also we are having two types of machines, Plastic clay machines, and Dry
clay machines

Plastic clay machines: This machines contain an opening in rectangular shape and when we
place the tempered clay in to this machine it will come out through this opening. Now, the
rectangular strips coming out the opening are cut by wires to get required thickness of brick.
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So, these are also called wire cut bricks. Now these raw bricks are ready for the drying
process. Dry clay machines: Dry clay machines are more time saving machines. We can put
the blended clay into these machines directly without tempering. Means tempering is also
done in this machine by adding some water. When the required stiffness is obtained the clay
is placed in mold and pressed hard and well-shaped bricks are delivered. These are called
pressed bricks and these do not require drying they may directly sent to burning process.

3. Drying of raw bricks

After molding process the bricks contain some amount of moisture in it. So, drying is to be
done otherwise they may cracked while burning. The drying of raw bricks is done by natural
process. The bricks are laid in stacks. A stack consists 8 to 10 stairs. The bricks in these
stacks should be arranged in such a way that circulation of air in between the bricks is free.
The period of drying may be 3 to 10 days. It also depends upon the weather conditions. The
drying yards are also prepared on higher level than the normal ground for the prevention of
bricks from rain water. In Some situations artificial drying is adopted under special dryers or
hot gases.

4. Burning of bricks

In the process of burning, the dried bricks are burned either in clamps (small scale) or kilns
(large scale) up to certain degree temperature. In this stage, the bricks will gain hardness
and strength so it is important stage in manufacturing of bricks. The temperature required
for burning is about 1100oC. If they burnt beyond this limit they will be brittle and easy to
break. If they burnt under this limit, they will not gain full strength and there is a chance to
absorb moisture from the atmosphere. Hence burning should be done properly to meet the
requirements of good brick.
INDUSTRIAL VISIT REPORT