Design of Hybrid Powered Automated Compressed Stabilized Earth Block CSEB Machine

2018 3rd International Conference for Convergence in Technology (I2CT)
The Gateway Hotel, XION Complex, Wakad Road, Pune, India. Apr 06-08, 2018
Design of Hybrid Powered Automated Compressed
Stabilized Earth Block (CSEB) Machine
Ayyappan. A1
Sekhar Milan2
Sreejith Kailas T3
P. Kanakasabapathy4
AMMACHI Labs
Dept of Mechanical Engg
Dept of Electrical Engg
Dept of Electrical Engg
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Amritapuri, India
Amritapuri, India
Amritapuri, India
Amritapuri, India
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
durability, thermal conductivity,
compression ratio etc [1-7].
Abstract — The hybrid powered automated Compressed
Stabilized Earth Brick (CSEB) making machine employs solar
energy to hydraulically compress the soil mixture. This machine
overcomes the laborious effort and low productivity of manually
compressed earth bricks. This green technology mitigates the
challenge of environment pollution caused by fired brick kilns.
Since it is indigenous, it alleviates the necessity to import
expensive automatic brick making machines. Civil construction
material for rural communities in India is made affordable, and
additionally it generates employment.
cement
stabilization,
Steps of manufacturing the CSEBs are given in fig 1:
Index Terms — Bricks, Automatic Brick Maker, CSEB, Solar
Powered, Hydraulic Press, Green Technology
Fig.1. Steps in manufacturing CSEB
I. INTRODUCTION
A soil mixture comprises of sub-soil, stabilizers and
additives; whose composition is vital to the mechanical
properties inherited by CSEB. Table 1 gives the comparative
study of soil mixtures.
Earth bricks have been used as building material in the
construction of several domestic and civil structures for many
centuries. The earliest earth brick adobe, made by sun-dried
plain mud and straw, had low strength and durability. These
properties were enhanced in fired clay bricks, but the
manufacturing process requires large quantities of fossil fuels
and it causes significant environment pollution. These issues
regarding sustainable building material led to the design of the
Compressed Stabilized Earth Brick (CSEB). Considerable
research has been done to explore energy efficient, economic
and environmental friendly methods. Review paper [1] shows
that CSEB is comparable to other materials like concrete block
or fired brick based on strength, durability, thermal
conductivity and density. It has tremendous potential for low to
medium cost housing construction (especially for single-storied
buildings) in developing nations. The soil mixture can be
compressed into a CSEB either by manual or by automatic
methods based on the productivity. A suitable source of
renewable or non-renewable energy is needed to power the
automatic machine.
Table.1. Comparative study of CSEB soil mixtures
II. COMPRESSED STABILIZED EARTH BRICK (CSEB)
The process of building construction has spawned varieties
of CSEB for various applications with different sizes, shapes,
weights, and interlocking patterns.
Major advantages of the CSEB are the availability and
abundance of sub-soil for the soil mixture, its high fireresistance property, favorable climatic performance,
exceptional low energy input, quick modular construction, and
additionally it provides employment to rural population [2]. Its
significant performance properties are compressive strength,
flexural strength, density, water absorption, shrinkage,
978-1-5386-4273-3/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE
CSEB are manufactured with laterite soil which has the
specialty of stabilizing with comparatively less percentages of
cement (5%) [3].Usually, the mixture is compressed at a
1
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL). Downloaded on April 16,2022 at 22:20:19 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
autonomous power done through bus signaling method and
SoC conditions of ESS uses the control algorithm and local
controllers for regulating the frequency and bus voltage of the
microgrid [22].
compaction ratio of 1.65 or greater to get sufficient
compressive strength.
The CSEB for this
properties/specifications:
project
has
the
following
IV. EXISTING CSEB METHODOLOGY
1. The dimension of the CSEB: 220mm x 110mm x 76mm
2. The compaction/compression pressure is 5 N/mm2.
3. The internal pressure/stress of the mould is assumed to
be evenly distributed.
The existing automatic CSEB machines are powered by
conventional grid power or by fossil fuel (diesel) which create
economic or environment challenges; while the manually
operated machines are physically challenging.
The existing manual press machine is laborious and
requires 9 steps to make a brick. The steps are shown in fig.3:
The hydraulic pressing machine is vital in the production of
CSEBs, hence its design, modelling, analysis and simulation is
critical. The programmable logic control (PLC) and a sensory
system automate, operate and monitor the functionality of this
system [8]. Ideal soil mixture and economic pressure are
important for good productivity. There should be enough (a)
fine material surrounding the gross particles to prevent
abrasion and allow for air to permeate [9]. Compared to fired
bricks, earth blocks show good isotropic behaviour towards
mechanical properties [10].
Fig.3. Steps in manufacturing CSEB using manual press machine
Steps involved are:
III. SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM
1) Initially the lid of the mould is opened.
2) The soil mixture is put into the hopper and it falls into
the feeder box attached below it.
3) The feeder box is pulled above the mould box causing
the mixture to fall into it.
4) The lid of the mould box is closed by lifting the
operating lever arm.
5) The mould box is locked.
6) Operating arm is pressed down for brick compression.
7) The mould box is unlocked.
8) Mould lid is opened by lowering the operating arm.
9) The operating arm is pressed in order to lift the CSEB.
Schematic of electric power supply used for the proposed
machine using solar PV is given fig 2.
Fig.2. Steps in manufacturing CSEB
Battery store solar energy obtained from the panels as
electrical energy. The panels are active only when sunlight is
present, but the charge stored can be used during off sun
hours. Solar charge controller regulates the current flow
between the solar photovoltaic modules, battery and the
load/appliances. Output coming from the solar panel is in the
form of direct current (DC). Inverter converts DC to
alternating current (AC) for the three phase induction motor.
Characteristic study of a 3-phase 2-HP water pumping
system based on PV power determined that efficiency of a
solar powered water pump is much higher than conventional
power based water pump [12-13]. In [11], study of a single
phase standalone PV system is done, consisting of a boost
converter in the first stage and a hybridized seven level
inverter in the second stage for voltage regulation and MPPT.
While OEWIM coupled to a centrifugal water pump is
proposed with a single-stage solution for a dual MPPT
technique [14]. A time-tested, 2-level cascaded H-bridge
inverter to give three level voltage output is employed in [1516]. Operation and control of a grid interfaced PV system with
adaptive hysteresis current control scheme is proposed in [17].
A fly-back topology connected to a three phase inverter
controlled by the PWM unipolar technique is proposed to
drive the IM [18,19,21]. A PV water pumping system using a
push-pull converter and a three-phase inverter is detailed in
[20]. Study of a PV powered UPS system with a half-bridge
converter and energy management system is done in [23]. An
The existing automatic machine is expensive and mainly
available outside India. This machine requires six to make a
single brick. The steps are shown in fig.4:
Fig.4. Steps in manufacturing CSEB using automatic machine
Steps involved are:
1) Initially the soil mixture is put into the deposit box
which falls into the feeder box attached below.
2) Then the lid of the mould box is opened and the feeder
box is pulled so that the mixture falls into it.
3) The lid of the mould box is closed.
4) The hydraulic lever is activated to compression the soil
mixture.
5) The lid of the mould is opened.
6) The hydraulic lever is activated to raise the CSEB
above the mould box.
2
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL). Downloaded on April 16,2022 at 22:20:19 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Table.2. Design parameters of the hydraulic system
V. DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Manually operating the hydraulic levers in the automated
machines for every CSEB unit induces fatigue due to the
repetitive nature and the duration of the task. These challenges
are minimized by using the hybrid powered (solar and
conventional grid) automatic CSEB machine which uses green
technology to reduces the economic, environment, physical and
fatigue challenges.
Based on the composition of the soil mixture, the force
needed to compress it into a stabilized brick is determined.
This CSEB should possess the required mechanical properties
like compressive strength, density, thermal conductivity, water
absorption, shrinkage and more. An appropriate hydraulic
power-pack comprising mainly of piston-cylinder, pump, and
motor; based on the operating pressure is selected. The pump is
connected to the shaft of an AC motor. As per the fig 2, the AC
motor in the hydraulics is powered by solar energy. The MPPT
solar charge controller controls the flow of current for charging
and discharging the battery. The battery output is given to the
inverter which converts DC to AC for powering the AC motor.
Fig.5. Electro-hydraulic design
This system have three hydraulic cylinders, where the main
cylinder C1 is for compressing the soil mixture into a
CSEB. The small cylinder C2 is for pushing out the CSEB,
while the cylinder C3 is for opening and closing the mould
box. Magnetic field sensors attached to the cylinder at
appropriate locations help to find the position of the piston.
The movement and direction of the cylinders are controlled
by three solenoid actuated directional valves.
A. Mechanical and PLC Circuit Design
As per the Fluid-Power-Data book [25], the steps for
selecting the hydraulics system is shown below.
The steps involved in the design flow are:
x
x
x
x
x
x
B. Working Algorithm of Mechanical System
x
x
x
Start the operation by pressing start button
When the start button is pressed, LED 1 turns ON
When start is pressed cylinder 3 piston is pushed
back and sensor C3-S2 gets activated
x Then cylinder 1 piston is pushed back and sensor C1S2 gets activated
x Then cylinder 1 piston is pushed forward till the
sensor C1-S1 gets activated
x Cylinder 1 piston stops once C1-S1 is active.
x The mould box is opened by pushing cylinder 2
piston back and sensor C2-S1 gets active
x Once the mixture is put inside the mould box the load
cell detects the weight
x Cylinder-3-piston is moved forward and sensor
C2.S2 turns ON indicating closed position of mould.
x Cylinder 1 piston moves forward and compresses the
mixture for a few seconds (required pressure is set in
pressure gauge)
x Cylinder 1 piston is pushed back till C1.S2 is active
x Once C1.S2 is active, cylinder 3 piston is pushed
forward to push the brick out
x Once the brick is pushed out C3.S1 gets active
x Once C3.S1 is active the cylinder 3 piston is pushed
back and C3.S2 becomes active
x Cylinder 1 piston is pushed forward till sensor C1.S1
gets active, and the cycle continues
x
For emergency, push stop button
x Then cylinder C3 piston is pushed back, then cylinder
C1 is pushed back and then cylinder C2 is pushed back
The design force starts with the compaction force
which is applied on the mixture in order to make the
brick.
Appropriate pressure is selected.
For a particular force and pressure a specific piston
diameter is selected.
Appropriate GPM(gallons per) is selected to for the
particular piston diameter
HP (horse power) required to drive the pump is
selected.
Torque of the motor is selected.
Table-2 gives the design parameters of hydraulics system.
The electro-hydraulics design controlled by the Programmable
Logic Controller (PLC) with the aid of sensors and actuators; is
illustrated in fig 5.
3
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL). Downloaded on April 16,2022 at 22:20:19 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
C. Photo Voltaic System Design
x
As per the book solar photo voltaic (PV) [24], the standard
way of selecting the PV system is shown below. Steps involved
in designing the electric system are:-
x
Step-1:- Load estimation
Motor rating-3-phase, 1.5Hp, 1.12kW
Daily Watt-hour = 1120W*6hours = 6720Wh
Inverter rating:Power handling capacity of inverter = 1120VA
Inverter efficiency = 0.95
Input energy to the inverter = 6720Wh/0.95 = 7074Wh
System voltage = 50V, Battery voltage = 24V
Step-2:-Sizing the battery
Battery rating -12V, 100Ah, DOD-75%
Required charge capacity = 7074Wh/50V = 142Ah
Batteries required = 142/ (0.75*100) = 2
Since system voltage is 24V, and 142Ah, total batteries
required is 4, 2 in series and 2 in parallel
Step3:- Sizing the PV modules
PV panel rating-250 W, 36V, 8.6A
Efficiency of PV = 0.85
Efficiency of charge controller = 0.9
Energy supplied by PV=7226/ (0.85*0.9) = 9247Wh
Ampere hour = 9247Wh/24V = 386Ah
Total current delivered by PV panel = 386Ah/6 = 65A
Panels required to be placed parallel is = 65/8.6= 8
For better current sinking, ten panels are kept in parallel
x
x
x
x
If the output of the solar panel is not enough to meet
the load requirement, then the current from the battery
flows out to meet the load requirement.
The output of the battery is given to the input of the
boost converter which steps up the voltage from 24V
input to 50V output.
The 50V output from the boost converter is given to
an inverter which converts the voltage to 50 V AC.
The 50V AC is given to input of the transformer
which steps up the voltage to 415V to meet the load
requirement (motor).
In order to charge the battery there is a buck converter
which steps down the voltage from 36V to 24V.
At night, the solar panel will not work, so 3 phase AC
supply can be turned on for usage of the machine.
VI. SIMULATIONS AND RESULTS
PV System Simulink Design
D. Working algorithm of PV system
Fig.7. Simulink design of PV system
PV circuit consists of different sections:PV panel array design
The panel used in circuit is of the rating 36V, 8.6A, 250Wp.
Fig.6. Algorithm of PV system
As shown in fig 6, steps involved in the working of PV system
is given below
x Initially assuming that, the battery is completely
charged
x Depending on the load requirement, the current from
the panel flows as per the intensity of irradiance.
x Initially assuming that, the output of the solar panel is
enough to meet the load requirement.
x The output of the panel is given to the input of the
boost converter which steps up the voltage from 36V
input to 50V output.
x The 50V output from the boost converter is given to
an inverter which converts the voltage to 50V AC.
x The 50V AC is given to input of the transformer
which steps up the voltage to 415V to meet the load
requirement (motor).
Fig.8. Output of Solar Panel
Since the required amount of current is 65A, ten solar panel of
the above rating need to be placed in parallel to meet the
requirement. Output of the panel shown in graph is 36volt (V)
and 72 ampere (A).
Boost converter design
Boost converters are DC-to-DC power converters that steps up
supply from the input (voltage) to the load (output).
D - duty cylcle, VIN (min) - input voltage, VOUT - output
voltage, Lmin - Inductance, R - load resistance, f - switching
frequency, C – capacitance, ΔVo - output voltage ripple.
4
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL). Downloaded on April 16,2022 at 22:20:19 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
There are two boost converters used here:
First boost converter steps up the 36V coming from the solar
panel to 50V, which is the system voltage.
Supply voltage – 36V, Output voltage – 50V, Frequency –
100kHz, Output current – 70A, Inductor – 10uH, Capacitor –
2000uF
Battery circuit
Battery specifications are: 12V, 100Ah, 75% DOD. Nominal
voltage is 26V. Soc (State of charge) of value shows 1, which
indicates that the nominal voltage is maintained.
Fig.12. Output of battery
Inverter, transformer and motor circuit
The input of the 3 phase inverter is 50V DC which is
converted into 50V AC and is stepped up using a step
transformer to 415V, which is actually the required voltage for
the 3 phase induction motor.
Fig.9. Output of DC-DC boost converter (36V to 50V)
Second boost converter steps up the 24V coming from the
battery to 50V, which is the system voltage.
Supply voltage – 24V, Output voltage – 50V, Frequency –
100kHz, Output current – 70A, Inductor – 20uH, Capacitor –
1000uF.
Fig.13. Output of inverter
Transformer
50 V AC is stepped up to 415V AC.
Fig.10. Output of DC-DC boost converter (24V to 50V)
Buck converter design
Buck converters are DC-to-DC power converters which step
down voltage from the supply (input) to the load (output).
The duty ratio is determined by
D - duty cycle, Vs - input voltage, Vo - output voltage, Lmin Inductance, R - load resistance, f - switching frequency, C –
capacitance, ΔVo - output voltage ripple.
Fig.14. Output of transformer
Motor
As the supply voltage is given to motor, the motor tries to
achieve the rated speed, of 1500rpm.
Fig.11. Output of DC-DC buck converter (36V to 24V)
Fig.15. Output of motor
5
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL). Downloaded on April 16,2022 at 22:20:19 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
VII. CONCLUSIONS
[12] Daud, Abdel-Karim, and Marwan M. Mahmoud. "Solar powered IMdriven water pump operating on a desert well, simulation and field
tests." Renewable Energy 30.5 (2005): 701-714.
[13] Korpale, V. S., D. H. Kokate, and S. P. Deshmukh. "Performance
Assessment of Solar Agricultural Water Pumping System." Energy
Procedia 90 (2016): 518-524.
[14] Jain, Sachin, Chinthamalla Ramulu, Sanjeevikumar Padmanaban, Joseph
Olorunfemi Ojo, and Ahmet H. Ertas. "Dual MPPT algorithm for dual
PV source fed open-end winding induction motor drive for pumping
application." Engineering Science and Technology, an International
Journal19, no. 4 (2016): 1771-1780.
[15] Ramulu, Chinthamalla, Padmanaban Sanjeevikumar, Ramsha
Karampuri, Sachin Jain, Ahmet H. Ertas, and Viliam Fedak. "A solar PV
water pumping solution using a three-level cascaded inverter connected
induction motor drive." Engineering Science and Technology, an
International Journal 19, no. 4 (2016): 1731-1741.
[16] Davies, J. L., and M. Malengret. "Application of IM for solar water
pumping." AFRICON’92 Proceedings, 3rd AFRICON Conference.
IEEE, 1992.
[17] Prasad, Vishnu, P. R. Jayasree, and V. Sruthy. "Active Power Sharing
and Reactive Power Compensation in a Grid-tied Photovoltaic System."
(2016): 1-7.
[18] Santiago-Gonzalez, J. A., J. Cruz-Colon, R. Otero-De-Leon, V. LopezSantiago, and E. I. Ortiz-Rivera. "Three phase induction motor drive
using flyback converter and PWM inverter fed from a single
photovoltaic panel." In Power and Energy Society General Meeting,
2011 IEEE, pp. 1-6. IEEE, 2011.
[19] Yousuf, Nafisa Binte, Khosru M. Salim, Rafid Haider, Md Rajin Alam,
and Fatima Binte Zia. "Development of a three phase induction motor
controller for solar powered water pump." In Developments in
Renewable Energy Technology (ICDRET), 2012 2nd International
Conference on the, pp. 1-5. IEEE, 2012.
[20] Ramya, K., and S. Rama Reddy. "Design and Simulation of a
Photovoltaic IM coupled water pumping system." Computing,
Electronics and Electrical Technologies (ICCEET), 2012 International
Conference on. IEEE, 2012.
[21] Abouda, S., F. Nollet, A. Chaari, N. Essounbouli, and Y. Koubaa.
"Direct torque control of induction motor pumping system fed by a
photovoltaic generator." In Control, Decision and Information
Technologies (CoDIT), 2013 International Conference on, pp. 404-408.
IEEE, 2013.
[22] Chandran, Lekshmi R., and Arun Rajendran. "Power flow control in low
voltage AC microgrid using photovoltaic system and battery energy
storage." Power Electronics, Intelligent Control and Energy Systems
(ICPEICES), IEEE International Conference on. IEEE, 2016.
[23] Kanakasabapathy, P., Vinod Kumar Gopal, V. Abhijith, Athul Mohan,
and E. Hema Sridhar Reddy. "Energy management and control of solar
aided UPS." In Advancements in Power and Energy (TAP Energy),
2015 International Conference on, pp. 363-368.IEEE, 2015.
[24] Solanki, Chetan Singh. Solar photovoltaics: fundamentals, technologies
and applications. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., 2015.
[25] Fluid Power Data Book by Womack educational publications.
Simulation outputs of the solar panel, DC-DC
converters, battery, inverter, transformer and motor indicate
that the design of the hybrid powered automated CSEB
machine is feasible. In future, prototype fabrication
equipped with PLC, sensors and actuators to automate the
manufacturing process will be undertaken. The mechanical
properties of the CSEBs thus produced will conform to the
required standards for civil construction material.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the support received from the
departments of Mechanical Engg., Electrical Engg., and
Ammachi Labs of Amrita University, Amritapuri, India.
REFERENCES
[1]
Riza, Fetra Venny, Ismail Abdul Rahman, and Ahmad Mujahid Ahmad
Zaidi. "A brief review of compressed stabilized earth brick (CSEB)."
Science and Social Research (CSSR), 2010 International Conference on.
IEEE, 2010.
[2] Deboucha, Sadek, and Roslan Hashim. "A review on bricks and
stabilized compressed earth blocks." Scientific Research and Essays 6.3
(2011): 499-506.
[3] Jayasinghe C. and R. S. Mallawaarachchi. "Flexural strength of
compressed stabilized earth masonry materials." Materials Design 30.9
(2009): 3859-3868.
[4] Guettala, A., A. Abibsi, and H. Houari. "Durability study of stabilized
earth concrete under both laboratory and climatic conditions exposure."
Construction and Building Materials 20.3 (2006): 119-127.
[5] Zhang, Lei, Arild Gustavsen, Bjørn Petter Jelle, Liu Yang, Tao Gao, and
Yu Wang. "Thermal conductivity of cement stabilized earth
blocks." Construction and Building Materials 151 (2017): 504-511.
[6] Vinai, R., A. Lawane, J. R. Minane, and A. Amadou. "Coal combustion
residues valorisation: Research and development on compressed brick
production." Construction and Building Materials 40 (2013): 1088-1096.
[7] Machine, Moulding. "Design, Construction and Testing Of a
Multipurpose Brick/Block."
[8] Mohamed, Meftah Mahmoud, and Jason Gu. "PLC controller for
hydraulic pressing machine." Control and Decision Conference (CCDC),
2015 27th Chinese. IEEE, 2015.
[9] Wu, Shifeng, Weike Zhou, Jianqiang Ke, and Hongxia Yan. "Design
and application of hydraulic pressure system for new fly ash brick."
In Aircraft Utility Systems (AUS), IEEE International Conference on,
pp. 895-899. IEEE, 2016.
[10] Miccoli, Lorenzo, Angelo Garofano, Patrick Fontana, and Urs Müller.
"Experimental testing and finite element modelling of earth block
masonry." Engineering Structures 104 (2015): 80-94.
[11] Kanakasabapathy, P. "Multistring seven-level inverter for standalone
photovoltaic systems." Advancements in Power and Energy (TAP
Energy), 2015 International Conference on. IEEE, 2015.
6
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL). Downloaded on April 16,2022 at 22:20:19 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.