MAPÚA UNIVERSITY

School of Civil, Environmental, and

Geological Engineering

Experiment Number 4: Soundness Test

of Portland Cement

Submitted by:

Javier, Rome Lauren A.

Student No:

CE152P-2/A72

Submitted to:

Engr. Nald Ruzzle Esmeralda

CE152P-2 Course Instructor

Date of Submission:

December 19, 2022

 Experiment Number 4: Soundness Test of Portland Cement
Javier, Rome Lauren A.

(School of Civil, Environmental, and Geological Engineering, Mapúa University,

Philippines)

Results and Analysis

In this experiment, the volume of water that was used was determined by referring
to data from prior experiments. The researchers have agreed upon (as per the results)
the value of 155 mL of water per 500 g of portland cement. As seen in the table above,
one of the samples cracked after being exposed to the steam bath. This means that the
cement paste is of sound quality and has been mixed well. None experienced any form
of distortion, disintegration, however, this could be because of the fact that the cement
has had more time to cure and hydrate. The steaming happened two days after the setting
of the concrete as the day after the experiment was a holiday.

Table 1.

Type of Cement Portland Cement

Weight of Cement (g) 500 g

Volume of Water at 155 mL

Normal Consistency
(mL)

Time of Making the 12:50 pm

Cement (H:M)

Trial Number 1 2

Cracking Present None

Disintegration None None

Distortion None None

 Conclusion (if suitable
for concrete use) Not Suitable Suitable

Discussion

The cement must not have a discernible volume change after setting. Some
cement kinds have been seen to significantly expand after setting, which upsets the mass
after it has hardened and settled. The duration of construction will be greatly impacted by
the use of such cement. During the soundness test, a sample of hardened cement paste
is steam-expanded for a predefined period of time (about 40 minutes to an hour
designated for the experiment) in order to detect any tendency to expand rapidly.
Concrete is typically cured using steam to get a high early strength. The ability to endure
volume growth is soundness.

The soundness of cement is a property of hardened cement paste that experiences

a large change in volume after setting without experiencing protracted harmful expansion.
This destructive expansion is brought on by an abundance of free lime or magnesium. To
determine whether Portland cement is suitable for use in concrete, the team performs a
steam curing test for the material in this experiment. The team starts by mixing the
measured 500 g of portland cement and 155 mL of water thoroughly for three to five
minutes until a homogenous cement paste is produced. Next, we construct a flattop pad
with the following measurements: base diameter: 3 inches, top diameter: 2 inches, and
thickness: 0.50 inches using our cement paste.

Significance of the experiment

Since it allows the class another chance to deal with cement and concrete, the
experiment is useful for the field. It is also beneficial because it will enable the use of
concrete in its best state for upcoming tests for the course. As a result, the experiment
gives the investigators the knowledge and abilities they'll need to carry out subsequent
class experiments. The inquiry may serve as another another steppingstone for the
students as they pursue their aspirations of becoming engineers.

A water bath is a piece of lab equipment that regulates temperature and works as
a heat source for different types of heaters. For incubating samples in a lab, a circulating
water bath is used to keep water at a consistent temperature. The purpose of the
experiment is to test the soundness of Portland cement and look for any potential warning
signs. After the cement paste pat had been steam-cured, dried, and examined for
indications of instability like distortion, cracking, or disintegration, this concept was put
into practice. The experiment was successfully performed by the group without any
indications of portland cement instability.

Understanding the process and the different concepts behind this experiment is a
must as it will become very important for our field as a civil engineer to master and
familiarize ourselves about the soundness of the quality cements we will be using in the
future projects that we will handle.

Conclusion

The experiment was utilized to determine the soundness test of Portland cement,
as it is one of the qualities needed to attain the standard setting time of cement in the field
of construction. In each of the two tests conducted, the group used 500 grams of cement
and added various amounts of water to it based on the given guideline, which is 155 mL,
and mixed it for three to five minutes. Indeed, this experiment has provided data and
information with regard to whether the cement is suitable or not for concrete use. The
concrete mix was dried and hardened for about 24 to 48 hours, with an additional
steaming time of five hours. With this, the experiment with regards to the Portland Cement
and its setting time conforms to the requirement of cement's initial setting time.
 According to the experiment that was conducted, the cement should have the
ability to resist volume of expansion so that it can be used in making concrete that is
widely used in heavy construction. However, regardless of using the same amount of
water and cement, the two trials still yielded different results, in which the first trial showed
only cracking while the second experiment showed no signs of unsoundness at all. For
Trial 1, since there is a sign of cracking, the student researchers have concluded that it
has undergone a change in volume which means that it is unsuitable for concrete use.
The cracks present and developed on the cement paste are mostly due to the unburnt
lime since it increases the volume of the cement. With the use of the Le Chatelier
Apparatus test, this experiment determines the presence of unburnt lime. Align with this,
lime and magnesia react with water, and thus increases in volume occur in the cement,
which is also a very reason for cracking in the cement. On the other sample, which is Trial
2, the students come up with other interpretations as it shows no signs of distress. In
contrast to the first trial, the hardened cement from Trial 2 shows that burning at the kiln
is sufficient, the right amount of mixing the raw materials before hardening, and most
importantly, it shows no excess lime in cement. As a result, it is a great example of cement
that can be used in construction because, upon hardening, no change in volume was
observed. In this regard, the group researchers concluded the causes of cement's
unsoundness: excess lime, excess magnesia, inadequate burning, and excess calcium
sulphate.

Overall, the student researchers concluded that the causes of the unsoundness of
cement, such as having excess lime, excess magnesia, inadequate burning, and excess
calcium sulphate have a significant impact and factor in determining the soundness of
cement. In this regard, the students suggested that in order to avoid the distress in
cement, the addition of gypsum must be done. Considering that gypsum is known for its
ability to slow down the fast setting of cement, this means that it plays an important role
in increasing the workability of the cement. Also, establishing the physical traits at this
early stage of cement will be helpful since it will be the deciding element in how the
cement pat will be compressible. However, it is still important to rigorously restrict the
amount of gypsum that will be added to the clinker since the excess gypsum can still
result in unsoundness. When manufacturing and using cement, it is important to be
careful, knowing that there are a lot of factors that can influence the cement's quality.
Therefore, this experiment proves that cement's soundness test is significant in producing
strong structures due to the fact that it helps to maintain cement's quality, preventing
structures and even people from experiencing damage to construction projects.

Applications

There are different ways or scenarios where we can apply the concept of the
experiment, and below are some of the examples of the use of soundness of cements:

• Knowing the soundness of the cement will give us an idea on how much water
volume we need to keep and prevent cracking in our structures, which if not
monitored may cause destruction of the facility and injuries amongst the people.

• The soundness of cement also gives us the knowledge to monitor aggregates and
determine its resistance to disintegration by weathering and, in particular, freeze-
thaw cycles. If not given enough attention and details, the aggregates may be
distorted or disintegrated, causing the building or the project collapse.

• The soundness is the long-term durability properties of concrete depend on the

aggregates' resistance to physical changes brought on by the environment.
Thermal changes at temperatures above freezing, cycles of wetting and drying,
and freezing and thawing can all result in excessive volume changes. By
anticipating the different weather that may occur in the vicinity, Engineers will be
able to adapt and use countermeasures in preventing any damage caused by
natural phenomenon.