Clay Brick Manufacturing process

Lecture 8

By: Sura Alzaidani

 Clay is the primary raw material used in brick manufacturing, as it is one of the most
abundant natural materials on Earth. It possesses specific properties, such as
plasticity, which allows it to be molded or shaped when mixed with water. Bricks are
one of the oldest known building materials dating back to 7000BC where
 The first bricks were sun dried mud bricks.
 burned bricks were found to be more resistant to harsher weather conditions, which
made them a much more reliable brick for use in permanent buildings, where mud
bricks would not have been sufficient.
 Type of brick:

 Type A Brick
This brick is considered one of the strongest bricks and has the ability to carry
weight and has a good ability to prevent energy loss and sound emission
 Brick dimension: 24 cm*7.5 cm*11.5 cm
 Type of Clay:

 Type F Brick
 is considered to be one of the most common types of bricks in the Kurdistan Region. It is
also the most widely used because of its load bearing capacity
 brick dimension: 40cm * 20cm * 20cm
Good quality brick must contain:
 ALUMINA (20-30%)
 SILICA ( 50-60%)
 LIME (5%)
 OXIDES OF IRON (5-6%)
 MAGANESIA (1%)
The Manufacturing Process:

1. Preparation of clay
2. Molding
3. Drying
4. Burning
5. Cooling
6. De-hacking
7. Packing
1- Preparing of clay:
1- Extraction of clay
Top layer of 20cm depth is removed as it contain impurities.
Heavy earth-moving equipment such as bulldozers, scrapers, and mechanical
shovels is used to extract clay and shale.
2- Crushing and Mixing
After the raw materials are transported trucks, they are stored to allow for the
blending of different types of clay. The materials are then fed separately by a
conveyor belt into primary crushers, which reduce the particle size to 3–5 mm or
less. This is followed by clay mixing to achieve the desired properties, such as color
and strength
 Cont…..
3- Grinding
The conveyor belt transports the mixed clay for secondary crushing, which is usually
carried out using a mill pan. The mill is equipped with two heavy steel wheels that crush
the clay.

4- Screening
Before the molding process, the clay is screened, and any oversized pieces are returned to
the mill for regrinding.
 2- Molding

The first step in the molding process is to produce a homogeneous plastic clay mass. This
is typically achieved by adding water to the clay in a mixing chamber . later, the plastic
clay mass is ready for molding.
There are three main brick molding methods:
A- Stiff-mass process
B- soft-mud process
C- Dry-press process
Cont….
A- Stiff-mass process
 In the stiff clay or extrusion process, water is mixed with the clay at a proportion of
10–15% to achieve plasticity. After mixing, the clay passes through a de-airing
chamber to remove any air bubbles, which enhances the workability, plasticity, and
strength of the clay. The clay is then extruded through a mold to produce a column of
clay he automatic cutter then slices the clay column to form individual bricks. The
high-pressure conditions during the extrusion process compact the clay body,
increasing its density and hardness, which in turn results in higher strength and overall
density of the bricks
B- Soft-Mud process:

Is particularly suitable for clay with a high moisture content that cannot be extruded
using the stiff clay method. Water is mixed with the clay at a proportion of 20–30%, and
the mixture is then shaped in molds. To prevent the clay from sticking, the molds are
greased with sand. Bricks can be produced using this method either mechanically or
manually.
C- Dry-press process:

This process is particularly suitable for low-plasticity clay. The clay is mixed with a small
amount of water (up to 10%) and then pressed into steel molds under a pressure ranging
from 3.4 to 10.3 MPa using hydraulic presses.
2- Molding:
 3-Drying

 Before firing, the bricks must be properly dried, reducing the moisture content to
about 8% by volume. In hot countries, there is sufficient sunlight for the drying
process, and most brick manufacturers take full advantage of this free energy source
by placing the bricks in open areas under the sun. The main disadvantage of this
method is that it takes a long time (14 to 21 days), especially during the rainy season.
 To shorten the drying cycle, brick manufacturers have introduced mechanical drying
methods. The two most common types are tunnel dryers and chamber dryers,
which operate as follows:
 Cont…

A- Tunnel dryers: The bricks are placed on flat rail cars or kiln cars after being formed.
These cars are then pushed through a long tunnel, where hot air circulates to remove
moisture. The entire drying process typically takes 40 to 50 hours.
 Cont…

B- Chamber dryers: These are large drying chambers in which the bricks are loaded
onto movable trolleys. The chambers typically have a capacity of 50,000 to 60,000
bricks, and hot air is introduced to facilitate drying. The drying time usually ranges
from 30 to 45 hours.
 Most of the moisture evaporates during the drying stage at temperatures ranging from
38°C to 204°C. In all cases, temperature and humidity must be carefully
controlled to prevent the bricks from cracking.
4-Burning(frying):

Bricks are burned for 10 to 40 hours, depending on the type of kiln and other variables.
Several types of kilns are used by manufacturers, with tunnel kilns being the most
common.
The dried clay is placed in special containers or cars for burning inside the kiln. During
the burin process, several chemical and physical changes occur in the bricks, which can
be summarized as follows:
Cont…
 At 100–400°C: Some chemically water is lost.
 At 573°C: α-quartz transforms into β-quartz, causing an expansion of up to
18%, which is recovered during cooling.
 At 600°C: The clay minerals decompose, initiating the vitrification process,
during which the brick gradually gain its structural strength.
 At 850–950°C: Carbonates, primarily calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), decompose.
This is undesirable in bricks because it produces CaO and releases CO₃gas,
which can lead to the lime explosion phenomenon:
CaCO3 CaO + CO2
 At 900–950°C: The bricks gain its final hardening, during which they achieve
their full strength and retain a stable color.
5-Cooling:

After the firing process is completed, the cooling stage begins. In tunnel kilns, the
cooling time rarely exceeds 10 hours.
 6-De-hacking

De-hacking is the process of unloading a kiln or kiln car after the brick have cooled, a job
often performed by robots
7-Storage and Packaging
thanks