BCT 613: ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

TOPIC : CEMENT

Building Materials
Great architecture are derived from fundamental building materials...
LEARNING OUTCOME
Upon completion of this lecture, the student will be able to:

• Explain the definition of cement

• Classify the types of cement

• Clarify the manufacturing process of Portland cement

• Identify the properties of cement

• Describe the tests involved in determine the properties of cement

LECTURE CONTENT
1. Definition
2. Function of cement
3. Types of cement
4. Portland cement
5. Manufacturing process of Portland cement
6. Types of Portland cement
7. Cement properties and tests
8. Storage of cement
DEFINITION
• “Cement is a crystalline compound of calcium silicates and other calcium
compounds having hydraulic properties” (Macfadyen, 2006).
• Material with adhesive and cohesive properties
• Any material that binds or unites - essentially like glue
 DEFINITION
History
• Lime and clay have been used as
cementing material on constructions
through many centuries.

• Romans are commonly given the credit for

the development of hydraulic cement, the
most significant incorporation of the
Roman’s was the use of pozzolan-lime
cement by mixing volcanic ash from the Mt.
Vesuvius with lime.

• Best know surviving example is the

Pantheon in Rome

• In 1824 Joseph Aspdin from England

invented the Portland cement
FUNCTION OF CEMENT
• to bind the sand and coarse aggregate together
• to fill voids in between sand and coarse aggregate particle
• to form a compact mass
TYPES OF CEMENT
2 types of cement normally used in building industry are as follows:

i. Hydraulic Cement
ii. Nonhydraulic Cement
HYDRAULIC CEMENT
• Hydraulic Cement sets and hardens by action of water. Such as Portland
Cement

• In other words it means that hydraulic cement are:

• “ Any cements that turns into a solid product in the presence of water (as well
as air) resulting in a material that does not disintegrate in water.”

• Most common Hydraulic Cement is Portland Cement

NON HYDRAULIC CEMENT
• Any cement that does not require water to transform it into a solid product.
• 2 common Non-hydraulic Cement are
 Lime - derived from limestone / chalk
 Gypsum
PORTLAND CEMENT
Chemical composition of Portland Cement:

i. Tricalcium Silicate (50%)

ii. Dicalcium Silicate (25%)
iii. Tricalcium Aluminate (10%)
iv. Tetracalcium Aluminoferrite (10%)
v. Gypsum (5%)
PORTLAND CEMENT
FUNCTION :TRICALCIUM SILICATE

• Hardens rapidly and largely responsible for initial set & early strength
• The increase in percentage of this compound will cause the early strength
of Portland Cement to be higher.
• A bigger percentage of this compound will produces higher heat of
hydration and accounts for faster gain in strength.
PORTLAND CEMENT
FUNCTION :DICALCIUM SILICATE

• Hardens slowly
• Its effect on strength development at ages beyond one week .
• Responsible for long term strength.
PORTLAND CEMENT
FUNCTION :TRICALCIUM ALUMINATE

• Contributes to strength development in the first few days because it is the first
compound to hydrate .
• It turns out higher heat of hydration and contributes to faster gain in strength.
• But it results in poor sulfate resistance and increases the volumetric shrinkage
upon drying.
• Cements with low Tricalcium Aluminate contents usually generate less heat,
develop higher strengths and show greater resistance to sulfate attacks.
• It is reactive with soils and water containing moderate to high sulfate
concentrations so it’s least desirable.
PORTLAND CEMENT
FUNCTION : TETRACALCIUM ALUMINOFERRITE

• Assists in the manufacture of Portland Cement by allowing lower clinkering

temperature.
• Also act as a filler
• Contributes very little strength of concrete even though it hydrates very rapidly.
• Also responsible for grey colour of Ordinary Portland Cement
MANUFACTURE OF PORTLAND CEMENT

• The 3 primary constituents of the raw materials used in the manufacture of

Portland Cement are:

a) Lime
b) Silica
c) Alumina

• Lime is derived from limestone or chalk

• Silica & Alumina from clay, shale or bauxite
MANUFACTURE OF PORTLAND CEMENT
Manufacturing process of Portland Cement are:

1. Crushing and Proportioning – Crushing to obtain smaller size of raw materials

2. Raw milling & Blending – The raw materials are very finely ground in order to
produce the raw mix. Method can be in dry or wet process.

3. Burning and cooling – The raw material is heated to exceeding 1,450 °C (2,700
degrees F) in huge cylindrical steel rotary kilns lined to produce clinker. The
cement clinkers are cooled to about 150ºF (51ºC) and stored in clinker silos.

4. Cement milling – The clinker and gypsum are very finely ground giving a ‘pure
cement’

5. Storage & Packing – The cement is stored in silos before being dispatched
either in bulk or in bags to its final destination
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Raw Materials Necessary for Portland Cement Manufacture

1. Calcium 2. Silica 3. Alumina 4. Iron

Limestone Clay Clay Clay
Marl Marl Shale Iron ore
Calcite Sand Fly ash Mill scale
Aluminum ore
Aragonite Shale Shale
refuse
Bauxite
Shale Fly ash Blast furnace dust
Sea Shells Rice hull ash

Cement kiln dust Slag

MANUFACTURING PROCESS
1. Stone is first reduced to 125 mm (5 in.) size, then to 20 mm (3/4 in.), and stored.
2. Raw materials are ground to powder and blended.

or
2. Raw materials are ground, mixed with water to form slurry, and blended.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
There are 2 main process that can be used in manufacturing of
Portland Cement that are:
i) wet process
ii) dry process
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
1. WET PROCESS
• Raw materials are homogenized by crushing, grinding and blending so
that approximately 80% of the raw material pass a No.200 sieve.
• The mix will be turned into form of slurry by adding 30 - 40% of water.
• It is then heated to about 2750ºF (1510ºC) in horizontal revolving kilns
(76-153m length and 3.6-4.8min diameter).
• Natural gas, petroleum or coal are used for burning.
• High fuel requirement may make it uneconomical compared to dry
process.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS

2. DRY PROCESS
• Raw materials are homogenized by crushing, grinding and blending so that
approximately 80% of the raw material pass a No.200 sieve.
• Mixture is fed into kiln & burned in a dry state
• This process provides considerable savings in fuel consumption and water
usage but the process is dustier compared to wet process that is more
efficient than grinding.
 MANUFACTURING PROCESS
3. Burning changes raw mix chemically into cement clinker.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Kiln
MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Source: Mindess, Young, and Darwin, 2004

MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Condition & reaction in rotary kiln

• In the kiln, water from the raw material is driven off and limestone is
decomposed into lime and Carbon Dioxide.
limestone lime + Carbon Dioxide
• In the burning zone, portion of the kiln, silica and alumina from the clay
undergo a solid state chemical reaction with lime to produce calcium
aluminate.
silica & alumina + lime calcium aluminate
• The rotation and shape of kiln allow the blend to flow down the kiln, submitting
it to gradually increasing temperature.
• As the material moves through hotter regions in the kiln, calcium silicates are
formed
• These products, that are black or greenish black in color are in the form of
small pellets, called cement clinkers.
• Cement clinkers are hard, irregular and ball shaped particles about 18mm in
diameter.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Clinker Gypsum
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
4. Clinker is ground with gypsum into portland cement, storage and packing.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Grinding

• Clinker is ground with gypsum

(calcium sulfate) to produce portland
cement then the cement is stored in
storage bins or cement silos or
bagged.

• Fine grinding is necessary for high

early strength
• 85-95% -325 mesh (45 microns)
• ~ 7 trillion particles per pound

• Gypsum absorbs water and prevents

setting of C3A during shipment
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
SETTING AND HARDENING
When water is added to cement a reaction takes place to form a paste.

Setting time is refer to time of changes of the cement paste from a liquid to a
rigid stage.

Setting time of cement usually depends on various factors, such as the type of
cement, fineness of cement, chemicals, sand, availability of ambient
temperature during casting, presence of certain type of salts, the percentage of
water etc.

Table below show the setting time for different PC

SETTING AND HARDENING
The stages of setting include: -

1. Initial setting
• Indicates the beginning of forming of gel or beginning of solidification. In
another word initial set can be defined as the time when the cement paste
starts losing its plasticity.

• The minimum initial setting time is 30 minutes for ordinary Portland cement
and 60 minutes for low heat cement.

2. Final setting
• Completion of setting. Stiffening cement paste increase as the volume gel
increase to reach the cement paste to become into a hardened mass.

• The maximum final setting time for all type of cement is 10 hours
SETTING AND HARDENING
Hardening

• This refer to the gains of the strength of the cement paste

• During the setting time the cement gained very little strength
• Hardening is due largely to the formation of calcium silicate hydrate as the
cement hydrates.
TYPES OF PORTLAND CEMENT
Different types of Portland cement are manufactured to meet the requirements for
specific purposes. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) C150
specifies the following types of Portland cement.

Classification Characteristics Applications

Type I General purpose Fairly high C3S content for good General construction (most
early strength development buildings, bridges, pavements,
precast units, etc)
Type II Moderate sulfate resistance Low C3A content (<8%) Structures exposed to soil or
water containing sulfate ions

Type III High early strength Ground more finely, may have Rapid construction, cold weather
slightly more C3S concreting

Type IV Low heat of hydration (slow Low content of C3S (<50%) and Massive structures such as
reacting) C3A dams. Now rare.

Type V High sulfate resistance Very low C3A content (<5%) Structures exposed to high
levels of sulfate ions
White White color No C4AF, low MgO Decorative (otherwise has
properties similar to Type I)
TYPES OF PORTLAND CEMENT
TYPES OF PORTLAND CEMENT
Type I Cement – General Purposes/OPC

• It is a general-purpose cement used in concrete for making pavements,

floors, reinforced concrete buildings, bridges, tanks, pipes, etc.

• It is for all uses where the special properties of other cement types are not
required, such as sulfate attack from soil and water, or to an objectionable
temperature rise.
TYPES OF PORTLAND CEMENT
Type II Cement – Moderate Sulfate Resistance

• It is used where precaution against moderate sulfate attack is important, as

in drainage structures, which may be subjected to a moderate sulfate
concentration from ground waters.

• It has moderate sulfate resistance because it contains no more than 8%

tricalcium aluminate (C3A).

• It usually generates less heat of hydration at a slower rate than Type I

cement and therefore can be used in mass structures such as large piers,
heavy abutments, and retaining walls.

• Due to less heat generation it can be preferred in hot weather.

TYPES OF PORTLAND CEMENT
Type III Cement – High Early Strength PC

• It is chemically and physically similar to Type I cement, except that its particles
have been ground finer and contains more tri-calcium silicate (C3S).

• It provides high early strengths at an early period, usually a week or less.

• It is used when forms need to be removed as soon as possible or when the

structure must be put into service quickly.

• It is preferred in cold weather for reduction in the curing period.

TYPES OF PORTLAND CEMENT
Type IV Cement – Low Heat

• It is used where the rate and amount of heat generated from hydration must be
minimized.

• It develops strength at a slower rate than other cement types.

• It is most suitably used in massive concrete structures, such as large gravity

dams, where the temperature rise resulting from heat generated during
hardening and must be minimized to control the concrete cracking.
TYPES OF PORTLAND CEMENT
Type V Cement – High Sulfate Resistance

• It is used only in concrete exposed to severe sulfate action – principally

where soils or ground waters have a high sulfate content or sea water.
• Its high sulfate resistance is due to its low C3A content of about 4%.
• Have higher content of C4AF
• Darker in colour compared with Type I
• It is not resistant to acids and other highly corrosive substances.
TYPES OF PORTLAND CEMENT
White Portland Cement

• It has composition same as Type I or Type III cement, except that it has a
white color instead of gray color.

• It is made of selected raw materials containing negligible amounts of iron and

magnesium oxides-the substances that give cement its gray colors.

• It is used primarily for architectural purposes.

CEMENT PROPERTIES & TESTS
1. Fineness
• 95% of cement particles are smaller than 45 micrometer with the average particle
around 15 micrometer.
• Fineness of cement affects heat released and the rate of hydration.
• More is the fineness of cement more will be the rate of hydration.
• Thus the fineness accelerates strength development principally during the first
seven days.
• Fineness tests indirectly measures the surface area of the cement particles per
unit mass :
 Wagner turbidi meter test: (ASTM C 115)
 Blaine air-permeability test (ASTM C 204)
 Sieving using No. 325 (45 μ m) sieve (ASTM C 430)
CEMENT PROPERTIES & TESTS
CEMENT PROPERTIES & TESTS
2. Soundness
• Soundness is the ability of a hardened paste to retain its volume after setting.
• A cement is said to be unsound (i.e. having lack of soundness) if it is subjected
to delayed destructive expansion.
• Unsoundness of cement is due to presence of excessive amount of hard-burned
free lime or magnesia
• Unsoundness of a cement is determined by
the following tests:
 Le-Chatelier accelerated test (BS 4550: Part 3)
 Autoclave-expansion test (ASTM C 151)
CEMENT PROPERTIES & TESTS
3. Consistency
• Consistency refers to the relative mobility of a freshly mixed cement paste or
mortar or its ability to flow.
• Normal or Standard consistency of cement is determined using the Vicat’s
Apparatus.
• It is defined as that percentage of water added to form the paste which allows a
penetration of 10 ± 1 mm of the Vicat plunger.

Consistency
Test for
mortar using
the flow table
CEMENT PROPERTIES & TESTS
4. Setting Time
• This is the term used to describe the stiffening of the cement paste.
• Setting time is to determine if a cement sets according to the time limits
specified in ASTM C 150.
• Setting time is determined using either the Vicat apparatus (ASTM C 191) or a
Gillmore needle (ASTM C 266).
• “Initial setting time” is the time from the instant at
which water is added to the cement until the
paste ceases to be fluid and plastic which
corresponds to the time at which the Vicat’s
initial set needle penetrate to a point 5 mm
from the bottom of a special mould.
CEMENT PROPERTIES & TESTS
4. Setting Time
• ASTM C 150 prescribes a minimum initial setting time of 60minutes for Portland
cements.
• “Final setting time” the time required for the paste to acquire certain degree of
hardness. This corresponds to the time at which the Viact’s final set needle
makes an impression on the paste surface but the cutting edge fails to do so.
• ASTM C 150 prescribes a maximum final setting time of 10 hours for Portland
cements.
• Gypsum in the cement regulates setting time. Setting time is also affected by
cement fineness, w/c ratio, and admixtures.
CEMENT PROPERTIES & TESTS
CEMENT PROPERTIES & TESTS
6. Compressive Strength
• Compressive strength of cement is the most important property.
• It is determined by ducting compression tests on standard 50 mm mortar cubes
in accordance with ASTM C 109.
• In general, cement strength (based on mortar-cube tests) can not be used to
predict concrete compressive strength with great degree of accuracy because of
many variables in aggregate characteristics, concrete mixtures, construction
procedures, and environmental conditions in the field.
.
CEMENT PROPERTIES & TESTS
7. Heat of Hydration
• It is the quantity of heat (in joules) per gram of un hydrated cement evolved
upon complete hydration at a given temperature.
• The heat of hydration can be determined by ASTM C186 or by a conduction
calorimeter.
• The temperature at which hydration occurs greatly affects the rate of heat
development.
• Fineness of cement also affects the rate of heat development but not the total
amount of heat liberated.

Heat of
Hydration
Test
CEMENT PROPERTIES & TESTS
8. Loss on Ignition (LOI)
• The test for loss on ignition is performed in accordance with ASTM C 114.
• A high weight loss on ignition of a cement sample (between 900 to 1000ºC) is an
indication of pre-hydration and carbonation, which may be caused by:
 Improper and prolonged storage
 Adulteration during transport and transfer
• Loss on ignition values range between 0 to 3%
CEMENT PROPERTIES & TESTS
9. Density and Specific Gravity (ASTM C 188)

• Density is the mass of a unit volume of the solids or particles, excluding air
between particles. The particle density of Portland cement ranges from 3.10
to 3.25 Mg/m3, averaging3.15Mg/ m3.
• It is used in concrete mixture proportioning calculations.
• For mixture proportioning, it may be more useful to express the density as
relative density (specific gravity).
• On an average the specific gravity of cement is 3.15.
 STORAGE OF CEMENT
• Cement is moisture-sensitive material; if kept dry it will retain its quality
indefinitely.
• When exposed to moisture, cement will set more slowly and will have less
strength compared to cement that kept dray.
• At the time of use cement should be free flowing and free of lumps.
THE END……
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