FKA – UTM

JSB
BRICKS

BRICKS, BUILDING BLOCKS AND

MORTARS
Lecturer:
Prof. Dr. Mohammad Ismail
Faculty of Civil Engineering, UTM-Skudai,
Johor Darul Ta’zim,
MALAYSIA

1 Department of Structures and Materials, Faculty of Civil Engineering

UTM
December 6, 2013
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BRICKS, BUILDING BLOCKS
JSB
AND MORTARS

1. Materials in Construction, G.D.Taylor, 2nd.

Edition, Longman, 1996
2. Civil engineering Materials, N. Jackson and
R.K. Dhir 5th. Edition, Macmillan, 1996
3. Civil engineering Materials, S.Somayaji, 2nd.
Edition, Prentice Hall, 2001

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JSB LEARNING OUTCOME
• At the end of a lecture:

General knowledge on Brick and Blockwork

Manufacture of Bricks

Type and Classification

Properties and Testing

Application

Mortar/render

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JSB

Firaun said: “O Chief! No god do I know for you but

myself: therefore, O Haman! Light me a (kiln to bake
bricks) out of clay, and build me a lofty palace, that I
may mount up to the god of Moses: but as far as I am
concerned, I think (Moses) is a liar!”
(Al-Qasas 28: 38)

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JSB INTRODUCTION

MASONRY
• Masonry formed by combining individual masonry units,
such as stone and brick, with a binding materials: mortar
• Mainly used to build

walls-vertical structural elements, thin in their proportion to
their length and height-that serve to enclose or

divide a space and to support loads from other elements

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JSB

One6 of the oldest construction materials

Department of Structures and Materials, Faculty of Civil Engineering
UTM
Pyramids,
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One of the oldest construction materials
JSB Great Wall of China,

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JSB

One8 of the oldest construction materials

Department of Structures and Materials, Faculty of Civil Engineering
UTM
Taj Mahal of India
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JSB

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JSB

10 Department of Structures and Materials, Faculty of Civil Engineering

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JSB
• Today, masonry is used in various types of application
ranging from high-rise to water retaining structures
• Based on location:

Exterior type

Interior type
• Based on Structural requirement

Load Bearing

Non-load Bearing
• Based on Method of Construction

Solid or Hollow wall

Framed wall

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A masonry unit is a brick, tile stone, glass block, or
JSB concrete block

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UTM
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A masonry unit is a brick, tile stone, glass block, or
JSB concrete block

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JSB

15 Department of Structures and Materials, Faculty of Civil Engineering

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JSB MASONRY UNITS

Masonry
unit

Solid Hollow

Concrete Structural Concrete

Stone Glass Block Clay brick
brick clay tile Block

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JSB CLAY BRICK

• Clay brick is a small solid block, usually

rectangular, of burned clay, block of concrete
and sand-lime
• Most widely used size at present is the single
standard metric brick 215x102.5x65 mm
• Made by pressing a prepared clay sample into a
mould, extracting the formed unit immediately
then heat it to sinter the clay

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JSB Basic Types of brick

Common bricks

Ordinary bricks, designed not to provide good finished
appearance or high strength

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JSB Basic Types of brick

Facing bricks

Design to give attractive appearance, free from
imperfections

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JSB Basic Types of brick

Engineering bricks

Designed primarily for strength and durability. High
density and well fired

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JSB

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Indentations and Perforations in
JSB
bricks
• Indentations (frogs) and perforations may be
provided for

Assist in forming a strong bond between the brick and
the remainder of the structure

Reduce the effective thickness of the brick and hence
reduce firing time

Reduce material cost without serious in-situ strength
loss

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JSB

Perforated bricks generally contains less than

25% of voids
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MANUFACTURE OF CLAY
JSB
BRICKS
CLAY PREPARATION
• Clay is prepared by crushing and grinding and
mixing until it is of a uniform consistency
• Water may be added to increase plasticity
(tempering) and
• in some cases chemicals may be added for specific
purposes

Barium carbonate which react with soluble salts
producing insoluble product
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MOULDING
• Moulding technique is design to suit the moisture content
of the clay

Semi-dry process
• This process utilises a moisture content in the region of
10%.
• The material is pressed into the mould in up to four
stages. The faces of the brick may, after pressing, be
textured or sand faced
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Stiff plastic process

• This utilises clays which are tempered to a
moisture content of about 15%
• A stiff plastic consistency is obtained, the clay
being extruded and then compacted into a mould
under high pressure

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The wire-cut process

• The clay is tempered to about 20% and must be
processed to form a homogeneous material
• This is extruded to a size which allows for drying
and firing shrinkage and units are cut to the correct
thickness by wires

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Soft mud process

• This process utilises a clay, in a very soft condition, the
moisture content being as high as 30%
• Breeze or town ash may be added to provide combustible
material to assist firing or improved appearance
• The clay is pressed into moulds which are sanded to
prevent sticking. The green bricks are very soft
• Hand-made bricks are produced by a similar process
which produce great aesthetic appeal
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DRYING
• Must be carried out prior to firing
• Drying enables such bricks to be stacked higher in
the kiln without lower bricks becoming distorted
• Also enables the firing temperature to be increased
more rapidly
• Drying is carried out in chambers and takes
several days
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FIRING
• Firing is to cause localised melting (sintering) of the clay which
increases strength and decreases the soluble salt content without
loss of shape of the clay unit
• The main constituents of the clay – silica and alumina – do not melt
• The main stages of firing are:

100oC – evaporation of free water

400oC – burning of carbonaceous matter

900-1000oC – sintering of clay
• Engineering bricks normally fired at higher temperature

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JSB

CLAMPS
• Bricks are stacked in large special formations on a
layer of breeze, though the bricks also contain
some fuel
• The breeze base is ignited and the fire spread
slowly through the stack, which contracts as the
bricks shrink on firing
• The process may take up to one month
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CONTINUOUS KILNS

• Widely used, Comprise a closed circuit of about 14

chambers arranged in two parallel rows with curved ends
• Fire is directed to each chamber in turn
• Drying is carried out prior to the main firing process and
is achieved by warm air obtained from fired bricks during
cooling
• The kilns are describe as continuous, since the fire is not
extinguished

It is simply diverted from one kiln to the next

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TUNNEL KILNS
• Recently introduced and can reduce firing time to ±1 day
• Units are specially stacked onto large trolleys
incorporating a heat-resistant loading platform
• The trolleys then pushed end-to-end into a straight tunnel
with a waist that fits the loading platform closely
• The bricks pass successively through drying, firing and
cooling zones

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JSB

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Types of
BRICKS
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JSB CALCIUM SILICATE BRICKS
• BS 187
• This bricks are made by blending together finely ground
sand or flint and lime, ratio 10:1
• The semi-dry mixture is compacted into moulds and then
autoclaved, using high pressure steam for several hours
• Surface reaction occurs between the sand and lime,
producing calcium silicate hydrates which ‘glue’ the sand
particles into a solid mass
• Compressive strength 7-50 N/mm2
• Good overall durability in clean atmosphere
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JSB CONCRETE BRICKS

• BS 6073
• Recently introduced, comprising well compacted,
low workability concrete mixes

appropriate aggregate size, products of high strength
and durability
• Color and texture can be similar with clay bricks
• Free from efflorescence, tending to shrink slightly
in dry situations
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JSB BUILDING BLOCKS
• Rates of production
during construction
substantially greater
with blocks than with
brick-size units

100mm thick block
of size 440 x 215 mm
is equivalent to
approximately six
standard bricks

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JSB

A great variety of sizes and types

is available
to suit purposes ranging from
structural use to light weight
partitions
High quality surface finishes are
obtainable

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JSB CLAY BUILDING BLOCKS

• Generally hollow units, since the voids result in

Reduced firing times

Reduced weight

Increased handle ability

Increased thermal insulation

• Made from well sintered clay – dense, brittle and

difficult to cut
• Not intended as finished facing materials
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JSB CONCRETE BLOCKS
• BS 6073,
• Also cover concrete bricks, can be solid hollow or cellular
• Solid blocks – largely void less but may have grooves or
holes to reduce weight or facilitate handling
• Hollow blocks – these voids passing right through.
Strength can be increased by filling the cavities with
concrete, especially if reinforcement is included
• Cellular blocks – a special type of hollow block, the
cavities are closed at one end. Solid edge would be laid
upwards

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JSB

• Thickness > 75mm: average strength of 10 blocks

not less than 2.8 N/mm2. no individual block less
than 80% of this value
• Thickness ≤ 75mm. Average transverse strength of
5 blocks > 0.65 N/mm2
• Drying shrinkage should be

< 0.06% (except autoclaved blocks)

< 0.09% for autoclaved aerated blocks

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JSB

45 Department of Structures and Materials, Faculty of Civil Engineering

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