Brick

Construction materials I
Chapter Three: - Clay and clay product

FIRED CLAY PRODUCTS
Bricks
Definition
Burned clay products are building materials that are made from suitable types of clay
by molding, drying and burning.
Examples:
 Building bricks
 Clay roof tiles
ADVANTAGES OF FIRED CLAY PRODUCTS
Fired clay products:
 Can have high compressive strengths
 Provide excellent fire-resistance
 Weather resistant and can remain without any surface protection
 Have no wastage
DISADVANTAGES FIRED CLAY PRODUCTS
 Relatively high fuel consumption of the firing process
 A possible defect of burnt bricks…"efflorescence"
 Efflorescence is a crystalline deposit of water-soluble salts that can form on the

surface of some brickwork
Prepared by mekdelawit a. Page 1

Effect of efflorescence
 Good quality fired clay products tend to be expensive
 Capital investments for fuel efficient kilns are often too high
BRICKS
 Building bricks are structural units of rectangular shape and convenient size that are
made from suitable type of clays by winning, preparing, molding, drying and burning.
Suitability of bricks
At present, bricks are the most favored construction material worldwide due to the
following reasons:
 Availability-clays are available almost universally
 Construction methods-very experienced skill bricklayers are available in all

villages, & towns
 Size, shape and handling-Bricks are made in ready-to-use sizes and shapes
RAW MATERIALS
 Bricks are manufactured from clays.
 By moistening and mixing with water, clays become plastic, easy to mould and are
capable to retain their shape on drying.

Clay soils are of two types:
 Residual clay: - found in the place of origin which most commonly formed by
surface weathering, which gives rise to clay.
 Transported clay:- also known as sedimentary clay, removed from the place of
origin by an agent of erosion and deposited in a new and possibly distant position.
FUNCTIONS OF THE CONSTITUENT OF CLAY
Clays generally consist of the following chemical elements:
 Alumina- (Al2O3)
 Silica – (SiO2) 0
 Lime - (CaO)
 Iron oxide - (Fe2O3)
 Magnesia – (MgO)
Alumina- (Al2O3)
 Makes the part of clay about (20% to 30%)
 Responsible for plasticity of the mud so that it can be molded
 Excess alumina content→ brick will shrink on drying→ cracking and warping.
 Small alumina content→ the brick will not be molded easily and nicely.
Silica – (SiO2)
 A good brick material should contain about 50% to 60% of silica.
 The presence of this constituent prevents cracking, shrinking and warping of raw
bricks.
 The durability of bricks depends on the proper proportion of silica in brick material.
 A large percentage of uncombined silica is undesirable because it leads to

brittleness of the product

Lime - (CaO)
 A small quantity of lime not exceeding 5 percent is desirable in good brick material.
 It should be present in a very finely powdered state because even small particles of
the size of a pin-head cause flaking of the bricks.
 The lime prevents shrinkage of raw bricks.
 Acts as a binder to the clay and silica particles leading to greater strength.
 Excess lime case the brick to melt and lose the shape.
Iron oxide - (Fe2O3)
 A small quantity of oxide of iron to the extent of about 5 to 6 percent is desirable in

good brick material.
 It imparts red color to the bricks.
 Excess iron oxide → the brick becomes too soft during burning → dark in
appearance.
 If it is small in quantity than required it affects the color of the brick, instead of
being brick red, they may be yellowish.
Magnesia – (MgO)
 Gives the brick darker or even black color
 Minimizes warping of bricks in burning
 Magnesia is present in small quantity (1%)
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS
The process of manufacture of bricks is carried out in a number of stages.
1. Selection of suitable type of brick earth
2. Preparations and tempering of mud
3. Shaping and molding of brick units

4. Drying of molded bricks
5. Firing or burning of units
6. Cooling of the units
1. Selection of suitable type of brick earth
A clay soil for brick making should be such that when prepared with water, it can be
molded, dried and burnt without cracking or changing its shape or warping.
The criteria for choosing a suitable location are the quality of clay, availability of level
ground and closeness of a road for transports.
The earth should be free from alkalis, organic matter and free lime.
2. Preparation and tempering of mud
A two stage process:
 Clay Wining: The operations of selecting the earth, clearing and digging it,
spreading it for weathering.
 Tempering: the process of converting the prepared brick earth into a

homogeneous mix of desired plasticity by mixing it thoroughly with proper
quantities of water.
3. Shaping and Molding of bricks
 Molding is the process of making properly shaped brick units from thoroughly
tampered clay.
4. Drying of bricks
After molding, the green bricks have to be dried.
Reasons for drying:
 If green bricks are directly taken to burning then, they are likely to be cracked and
distorted
 To make them sufficiently strong for handling and stacking

 To minimize the risk of rapture
 To save fuel during burning stage
Drying of bricks is achieved either by:.
 Natural drying: is done in the open under the sun, but a protective covering (eg
leaves, grass or plastic sheeting) is advisable to avoid rapid drying out.
 Artificial drying: (as in large mechanized plants) is done in special drying

chambers, which make use of heat recovered from the kilns or cooling zones.
5. Firing
Firing of the dried bricks is essential to develop in them the desired building
properties such as:
 Sufficient strength
 Hardness
 Durability and
 Resistance to decay and disintegration
THE FIRING PROCESS
 When clay bricks are heated to a high temperature, a chemical reaction occurs in
the clay which makes the brick permanently hard, durable and resistant to weather
and water.

Methods of burning
 At present, there are two main methods of burning of bricks in developing countries:
 Clamp burning: are basically a pile of green bricks interspersed with combustible
material (eg crushed coal,). Some holes are left at the base of the clamp, where the
fire is lit. The holes are closed and the fire allowed burning out, which can take a
few days or several weeks.
 Kiln burning: There are two types of firing kilns for bricks:
 intermittent kiln: - Their fuel efficiency is very low,
 continuous kilns: - These are very fuel efficient

Effects of improper burning
1. over or under sized bricks
2. Brittle bricks
3. Low strength bricks
4. Cracked or broken bricks
TYPES AND CLASSIFICATION OF BRICKS
Bricks can be classified according to their usage as:
 Common bricks and
 Facing Bricks
1. Common Bricks
Common bricks are those that are used where they will not normally be exposed to
view and where there is no claim as to their appearance.
They are suitable for general use in construction, given that they possess adequate
strength and durability for the location.
They may vary in color and texture within a single brick. Most are red, the color
coming from iron content in the clay.
2. Facing Bricks
Facing bricks have a suitable appearance for use where they will be exposed to view so
that they give an attractive and pleasant effect.
There sides are more accurately finished and smoothed.
Solid and hollow clay bricks
Bricks can be classified according to their shape and nature as:
 Solid clay bricks and

 Hollow clay bricks
Solid Clay Bricks
According to the Ethiopian Standard, solid bricks are of the following three types.
1. Brick without holes or depression (type TS)
2. Brick with holes up to 20 mm (type TH)
3. Brick with depression not exceeding 10mm (type TD).
Hollow Clay Bricks
According to the Ethiopian Standard, hollow and beam tiles bricks are of the
following three types.
1. With two faces keyed for plastering or rendering (type kk)
2. With two faces smooth and suitable for use with out plastering or rendering on
either side. (type ss) and
3. With one face smooth and another face keyed for plastering (type sk)

Firebricks or Refractory bricks
These bricks are capable of withstanding very high temperatures without melting or
becoming soft.
 Firebricks are manufactured in exactly the same manner as the ordinary bricks
burnt in kilns at temperatures ranging from 13500c to 19000c.
 They usually have a low thermal conductivity
 They are weaker, but they are much lighter,.
 Fire bricks have an aluminum oxide content that can be as high as 50–80% (with
correspondingly less silica).
 Firebricks are the white or yellowish white color and are used for lining the
interiors of fireplaces, ovens, kilns, chimneys and furnaces
Properties of Bricks
The essential properties of bricks may be conventionally discussed under four headings:
 Physical properties,
 Chemical characteristics,
 Thermal characteristics and
 Durability.
1.Physical properties

 Shape- rectangular
 Size – 60 mmx120mmx250mm
 Color – red
 Density- density varies from 1600 kg/cubic meter to 1900 kg/cubic meter. A single
bricks (65x120x250) will weigh between 3.2kg to 3.5kg depending upon its density.
2. Mechanical properties
Compressive strength is the most important property of bricks especially because they
are to be used in load bearing walls.
The compressive strength of a brick depends on the composition of the clay and
degree of burning.
3.Thermal properties
The heat and sound conductivity of bricks varies greatly with their density and
porosity.
Very dense and heavy bricks conduct heat and sound at a great rate. They have
therefore poor thermal and acoustic (sound) insulation qualities.
For this reason, bricks should be so designed that they are light and strong and give
adequate insulation.
4. Durability
By durability of bricks is understood the length of time for which they remain
unaltered and strong when used in construction.
The durability of bricks depends on a number of factors such as:
 Absorption value: is the quantity of water absorbed by the (brick) sample.
 This is expressed in percentage terms

 It is recommended that for first class bricks, they shall not be greater than 20
percent and for ordinary building bricks, not greater than 25 percent.
 The absorption characteristic of bricks effects their quality in many ways:
 Frost resistance: Water on freezing expands by about 10% in volume.
 When bricks are used in cold climates, their decay due to this phenomenon of
“frost action” may be a common process.
 This is especially so because bricks are quite porous materials (apparent

porosity = 20-25%).
 It is, essential that bricks in these areas should be properly protected from rain
to minimize absorption.
 Efflorescence. It is a common disfiguring and deteriorating process of bricks.
 Brick surface gets covered with white or gray colored patches of salts. These
salts are present in the original brick clay.
 When rain water penetrates into the bricks, the salts get easily dissolved. After
the rains, evaporation starts. The salts move out along with the water and form
thin encrustations on the surface of the bricks.
Tests for Clay Bricks
Two types of tests are used to determine the quality of building bricks.
A. Field test
B. Laboratory test
A) Field tests:
Appearance test: to check mostly the shape and color of the bricks.
 A good quality brick should be uniform in shape and should have truly
rectangular shape with sharp edges.
 A good brick should possess bright and uniform color throughout its body

Hummer test: when stroked with hummer, a properly burnt dry brick free from
cracks emits a highly metallic ring.
Hardness test: The hardness of a brick sample can be checked by scratching its
surface or broken section with a knife or fingernail. A well-burnt brick will be
scratched with difficulty.
Rough test: for the strength of the brick is to let it fall freely from a height of about
one meter on to a hard floor. It should not break.
Soundness Test: Soundness test of bricks shows the nature of bricks against sudden
impact.
 In this test, 2 bricks are chosen randomly and struck with one another. Then
sound produced should be clear bell ringing sound and brick should not break.
Then it is said to be good brick.
B) Laboratory tests
1. Compressive strength test
Compressive strength of bricks is determined by placing brick in compression testing

machine. After placing the brick in compression testing machine, apply load on it until
brick breaks. Note down the value of failure load and find out the crushing strength
value of brick.
Minimum crushing strength of brick is 3.50N/mm2. if it is less than 3.50 N/mm2, then
it is not useful for construction purpose.
Compressive test

2. Water absorption test
Absorption test is conducted on brick to find out the amount of moisture content
absorbed by brick under extreme conditions. In this test, sample dry bricks are taken
and weighed. After weighing these bricks are placed in water with full immersing for a
period of 24 hours.
Then weigh the wet brick and note down its value. The difference between dry and wet
brick weights will give the amount of water absorption.
For a good quality brick the amount of water absorption should not exceed 20% of
weight of dry brick.
Absorption test
3. Efflorescence test
A good quality brick should not contain any soluble salts in it. If soluble salts are there,
then it will cause efflorescence on brick surfaces.
To know the presence of soluble salts in a brick, placed it in a water bath for 24 hours
and dry it in shade. After drying, observe the brick surface thoroughly. If there is any
white or grey color deposits, then it contains soluble salts and not useful for
construction.
4. Saturation coefficient test
It's an indicator of brick's resistance to freezing and thawing. Cold water absorption and
boiling water absorption are measured.

The saturation coefficient is almost always less than 1.0, and the lower the value the less
absorptive the brick.
Summary of properties and quality of bricks.
1. It should have a rectangular shape, regular surface and red colored appearance.
2. It should be properly burnt. This can be ascertained by holding two bricks freely, one in
each hand, and striking them. A sharp metallic sound indicates good burning whereas a
dull thud would indicate incomplete burning.
3. A good building brick should not absorb water more than 20 percent of its dry weight.
Absorption should not exceed 25 percent in any case.
4. A good building brick should possess requisite compressive strength. A rough test for
the strength of the brick is to let it fall freely from a height of about one meter on to a hard
floor. It should not break.
5. Brick should be hard enough so that it is not scratched by a finger nail.
7. A good brick has a uniform color and structure through its body. This can be checked by
taking a brick from the lot and breaking it into two parts. The broken surface in both the
halves should have same appearance and structure.
Reading assignment
 What is brick bond?
 What are the different types of brick bonds?

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Construction materials I

Chapter Three: - Clay and clay product

 Clay roof tiles

ADVANTAGES OF FIRED CLAY PRODUCTS

Fired clay products:

 Can have high compressive strengths

 Provide excellent fire-resistance

 Weather resistant and can remain without any surface protection

DISADVANTAGES FIRED CLAY PRODUCTS

 Relatively high fuel consumption of the firing process

 A possible defect of burnt bricks…"efflorescence"

 Efflorescence is a crystalline deposit of water-soluble salts that can form on the

Prepared by mekdelawit a. Page 1

 Good quality fired clay products tend to be expensive

 Availability-clays are available almost universally

 Construction methods-very experienced skill bricklayers are available in all

 Bricks are manufactured from clays.

Prepared by mekdelawit a. Page 2

FUNCTIONS OF THE CONSTITUENT OF CLAY

Clays generally consist of the following chemical elements:

 Iron oxide - (Fe2O3)

 Makes the part of clay about (20% to 30%)

 Responsible for plasticity of the mud so that it can be molded

 A good brick material should contain about 50% to 60% of silica.

 A large percentage of uncombined silica is undesirable because it leads to

Prepared by mekdelawit a. Page 3

 The lime prevents shrinkage of raw bricks.

Iron oxide - (Fe2O3)

 A small quantity of oxide of iron to the extent of about 5 to 6 percent is desirable in

 It imparts red color to the bricks.

 Gives the brick darker or even black color

 Minimizes warping of bricks in burning

 Magnesia is present in small quantity (1%)

The process of manufacture of bricks is carried out in a number of stages.

1. Selection of suitable type of brick earth

2. Preparations and tempering of mud

3. Shaping and molding of brick units

5. Firing or burning of units

6. Cooling of the units

1. Selection of suitable type of brick earth

2. Preparation and tempering of mud

A two stage process:

 Tempering: the process of converting the prepared brick earth into a

3. Shaping and Molding of bricks

After molding, the green bricks have to be dried.

Reasons for drying:

 To make them sufficiently strong for handling and stacking

Prepared by mekdelawit a. Page 5

 To save fuel during burning stage

Drying of bricks is achieved either by:.

 Artificial drying: (as in large mechanized plants) is done in special drying

 Resistance to decay and disintegration

THE FIRING PROCESS

Prepared by mekdelawit a. Page 6

 intermittent kiln: - Their fuel efficiency is very low,

 continuous kilns: - These are very fuel efficient

Prepared by mekdelawit a. Page 7

1. over or under sized bricks

3. Low strength bricks

4. Cracked or broken bricks