Manufacturing process of bricks

Kruti Desai
Mayur Prajapati
 COMPONENTS OF BRICK

• In order to get a good quality brick, the brick earth should contain the
following constituents.
• Silica
• Alumina
• Lime
• Iron oxide
• Magnesia
 COMPONENTS OF BRICK
• Silica
• Brick earth should contain about 50 to 60% of silica.
• It is responsible for preventing cracking, shrinking and warping of raw bricks.
• It also affects the durability of bricks.
• If present in excess, then it destroys the cohesion between particles and the brick becomes brittle.
• Alumina
• Good brick earth should contain about 20% to 30% of alumina.
• It is responsible for plasticity characteristic of earth, which is important in molding operation.
• If present in excess, then the raw brick shrink and warp during drying.
• Lime
• The percentage of lime should be in the range of 5% to 10% in a good brick earth.
• It prevents shrinkage of bricks on drying.
• It causes silica in clay to melt on burning and thus helps to bind it.
• Excess of lime causes the brick to melt and brick looses its shape.
 COMPONENTS OF BRICK

• Iron oxide
• A good brick earth should contain about 5% to 7% of iron oxide.
• It gives red colour to the bricks.
• It improves impermeability and durability and gives strength and hardness.
• If present in excess, then the colour of brick becomes dark blue or blackish.
• If the quantity of iron oxide is comparatively less, the brick becomes yellowish in color.
• Magnesia
• Good brick earth should contain less a small quantity of magnesia about 1%)
• Magnesium in brick earth adds yellow tint to the brick.
• It is responsible for reducing shrinkage
• Excess of magnesia leads to the decay of bricks.
Different operations are involved in the process
of manufacturing of bricks:

• Preparation of clay
• Molding
• Drying
• Burning
1. Preparation of clay for brick manufacturing:

• Removal of Top Soil

• Digging and Spreading
• Cleaning
• Weathering: The soil is then exposed to the atmosphere for softening
for a few weeks, which imparts plasticity and strength to the soil.
• Blending: Additionally, sandy or calcareous clays may be added in
suitable proportions along with coal, ash, etc. and the whole mass is
mixed uniformly with water.
• Tempering: The soil is kneaded under the feet of men or cattle to make it
stiff and homogeneous.
 2. Moulding of clay for brick manufacturing

• HAND MOULDING ( FOR SMALL SCALE)-

• Ground moulded bricks: The process of moulding bricks on
the ground manually by labour is called ground moulding. On
an average, a moulder can mould about 750 bricks per day.
• When the bricks have dried sufficiently, they are moved to the drying
shed and placed in an orderly manner.
• Table-moulded bricks: This moulding is done on a table of size
2m X 1m X 0.7m instead of on the ground. This table moulding
process is almost similar to ground moulding expect for some
minor changes.
 2. Moulding of clay for brick manufacturing
cont…
• MACHINE MOULDING ( FOR LARGE SCALE): These types of bricks
are heavier and stronger than the hand moulded ones and possess a
sharp regular shape, a smoother surface and sharp edges.
• Plastic Method: Pugged earth is placed in the machine. A beam of the
moulded earth comes out of it and is cut into strips by wires fixed in
the frames. These bricks are also called wire-cut bricks.
• Dry Method: The machine first converts hard earth into a powder
form and a small quantity of water is added to the powder to make it
a stiff plastic paste. This paste is placed in the mould and pressed by
the machine to form hard and correct-shaped bricks. These bricks are
known as pressed bricks, which do not require any drying and can be
sent directly to the burning section.
 3. Drying of raw bricks

• Natural Drying: It comprises placing moulded bricks in

rows on their edges, slightly above the ground called a
hack. These bricks are air and sun-dried that is strong
enough to use for the construction of small structures.
• Artificial Drying: When bricks are needed to dry on a
large scale, then this artificial drying is preferred. They
are dried in special dryers which receive heat from
specially made furnaces for artificial drying.
 4. Burning of bricks

• Bricks are burnt in kilns to impart hardness, strength and to increase the density of the
brick. Heating brick to about 640°C produces only physical changes. If a brick is heated
up to 700-1,000°C, it undergoes chemical changes. During this reaction, the materials
present in brick alumina and silica fuse together to make the brick strong and stable to
prevent from cracking and crumbling. The types of Kilns used for burning purposes are:
• Clamp or Open Kiln
• Intermittent Kiln
• Continuous Kilns
 Clamp Burning

• This is a temporary structure with some advantages like low initial

cost, low fuel cost and a few skilled labourers are sufficient to
complete the process. The disadvantage is only a small quantity of
bricks is manufactured at a time and in that only 60% are good quality
bricks.
• Each brick tier consists of 4–5 layers of bricks. Some space is left
between bricks for the free circulation of hot gasses. After 30 percent
loading of the clamp, the fuel in the lowest layer is fired and the
remaining loading of bricks and fuel is carried out hurriedly.
• The top and sides of the clamp are plastered with mud. Then a coat of
cow dung is given, which prevents the escape of heat.
• The production of bricks is 2–3 lacs and the process is completed in six
months. This process yields about 60 percent of first-class bricks.
 Clamp Burning
Advantages of Clamp Burning
• Bricks produced are tough and hard due to gradual burning and cooling
processes.
• It is Cheap and economical
• No skilled labour or supervision is required for the construction of clamps.
• There is lot of saving in fuel.
Disadvantage of Clamp Burning
• • Bricks produced are of irregular shape due to the settlement of bricks on
turning of fuel to ashes.
• • It is a slow process and flame regulation is not possible
• • Quality of bricks is not uniform. Bricks at bottom, are found over burnt,
while at top and sides are found to be under burnt.
 Kiln Burning

• The kiln used for burning bricks may be underground, e.g. Bull’s trench kiln or over
ground, e.g. Hoffman’s kiln. These may be rectangular, circular, or oval in shape.
• When the process of burning bricks is continuous, the kiln is known as a continuous kiln,
e.g. Bull’s trench and Hoffman’s kilns.
• On the other hand, if the process of burning bricks is discontinuous, the kiln is known as
an intermittent kiln.
Type of Kiln Burning
• Intermittent Kiln
• Continuous Kiln
 Bull’s trench kiln

• It is the most widely used kiln in India and gives continuous supply of bricks. It is made in a trench
excavat­ed below ground surface.
• The trench generally oval or circular in plan and about 2 metres deep. In various zones of the kiln
trench all the different operations goes on simultaneously.
• Sequence operation of bull’s trench kiln
• Zone 1- Burnt bricks being cooled.
• Zone 2- Bricks being burnt.
• Zone 3- Loaded sundried bricks are being
heated by hot air from zone 2.
• Zone 4- Fresh sundried bricks being loaded.
• Zone 5- Cooled bricks being unloaded.
 Bull’s trench kiln
• Dried bricks are stacked in a way to leave spaces around each brick.
• Vertical flue holes, to feed fuel to the fire burning at the bottom, are
provided at about one meter intervals.
• The kiln is loaded in a section of about 3.5 metre long with a clear
space of 15 cm between the section over which two draught
chimneys are provided.
• After a section has been loaded, it is covered over with earth and ash
to prevent the loss of heat. Even the flue holes are closed after the
fuel has been fed to the fire.
• Hot air from burning zone passes through the next zone where the
bricks to be burnt are heated. In heating the freshly loaded bricks the
hot air gets cold when it escapes through the chimneys.
• When the heated bricks are fired then chimneys are shifted to the
next zone. The chimneys go on being shifted as the burning opera­tion
progresses. Each section takes one day to burn.
 Bull’s trench kiln

• Advantages of Bull’s Trench kiln.

• (i) It gives a continuous supply of bricks.
• (ii) It gives a high percentage of first class bricks.
• (iii) It saves cost of fuel as the hot gases from the burning zone
heat the bricks to be burnt next, before escaping through the
chimneys.
• (iv) Drying space is saved as even raw bricks can be loaded in it
which are dried before being burnt by hot air coming From
burning Zone.
• Disadvantages of Bull’s Trench kiln.
• (i) It needs constant skilled supervision.
• (ii) Its initial cost is high.
 Hoffman’s kiln

• It is a continuous kiln and has a permanent roof as a result of which it can

function even during rains. It is circular in plan and is built above ground.
It has a fixed chimney at the centre around which the kiln is divided into
12 chambers in a ring. Each chamber has a door communicating with the
outside and a flue leading to the chimney. The door could be closed with
dry brick wall having sand packing. The flue could be closed or opened as
desired by operating a metal plate known as damper.
 Hoffman’s kiln

• Air enters the kiln through doors 1 and 2 and cools burnt bricks of chamber 1to 4
• This hot air then passes through chambers 7 to 10 heating the bricks to be burnt.
• The iron shutter at the end of chamber 10 is closed and the flue number 10 is
open through which the hot air, which has now cooled down while heating the
bricks in chamber 7 to 10, escapes through the chimney.
• Bricks in chamber number 11 are being loaded whereas those in chamber
number 12 are being unloaded.
• When chamber number I l has been loaded then the iron shutter is shifted to the
end of chamber number 11 and also flue number 11 is opened after closing flue
number 10.
• The whole cycle of operations, has thus moved one step forward and this
process continues.
 Hoffman’s kiln

• Advantages of Hoffman’s Kiln.

• (i) Working of the kiln is not interrupted by even rains.
• (ii) Fuel consumption is low as hot gases are utilized to dry and heat raw
bricks.
• (iii) Percentage of first class bricks obtained from the kiln is fairly high.
• (iv) Space and time are saved in drying as raw bricks are directly loaded into
the kiln.
• Disadvantages of Hoffman’s Kiln.
• (i) Initial cost is very high.
• (ii) Highly skilled labour is required to operate it.