METHODS OF PHYSICAL TESTING OF CEMENT Following Physical tests are carried out to test the cement as per IS:40311.

Specific surface . Setting time 3. Soundness 4. !ompressi"e strength #. $rying shrin%age &. $ensity Specific Surface 'pparatus used- (lain)s 'ir Permea*ility 'pparatus

+est condition-,a*oratory in which this test is carried out should ha"e a temperature of -./- degree cel. and a relati"e humidity not e0ceeding &#1.' la*oratory temperature of 0./- degree cel. !an *e maintained2 if desired *y the purchaser Procedure of +est-Insert the conical surface of the cell into the soc%et at the top of the manometer2 using if necessary a little light grease to ensure an airtight 3oint. +a%e care not to distur* the cement *ed. !lose the top of the cylinder with a suita*le plug. 4pen the stopcoc% and with gentle aspiration raise the le"el of the manometer li5uid to that of the highest etched line2 close the stopcoc% and o*ser"e that the le"el of the manometer li5uid remains constant. If it

falls2 rema%e the cell manometer 3oint and chec% the stopcoc%2 repeat the lea%age test until the impro"ed sealing produces the steady le"el of the li5uid. 4pen the stopcoc% and *y gentle aspiration ad3ust the le"el of the li5uid2 to the highest etched line. !lose the stopcoc%. 6emo"e the plug from the top of the cylinder. +he manometer li5uid will *egin to flow. Start the timer as the li5uid reaches the second etched line and stop it when the li5uid reaches the third etched line. 6ecord the time t 2 to the nearest0. s and the temperature to the nearest 1degree !. 6epeat the procedure on the same *ed and record the additional "alues of time and temperature. !alculate the "alue of specific surface *y following formulaSs 7/ + S8 ----------------/ +s 9here S8 Specific surface of un%nown sample Ss8 Specific surface of standard / %nown sample +8 +ime for un%nown sample +s8 +ime for standard sample Setting Time 'pparatus used- :icat 'pparatus

,a*oratory conditions-+he moist room shall *e maintaintained at -./- degree ! and a relati"e humidity of not less than ;01. ProcedurePreparation of +est *loc%-Prepare a neat cement paste *y gauging the cement with 0.<# times the water re5uired to gi"e a paste of standard consistency. Pota*le or distilled water shall *e used in preparing the paste. +he paste shall *e gauged in the manner and under the conditions prescri*ed in IS:4031=Part 4>. Start a stop watch at the instant when water is added to the cement. Fill the :icat mould with a cement paste gauged as a*o"e2 the mould resting on a nonporous plate. Fill the mould completely and smooth off the surface of the paste ma%ing it le"el with the top of the mould. +he cement *loc% thus prepared in the mould is the test *loc%. Immediately after moulding2 place the test *loc% in the moist closet room and allow it to remain there e0cept when determinations of time of setting are *eing made. $etermination of Initial setting +ime-Place the test *loc% confined in the mould and resting on the non-porous plate2 under the rod *earing the needle? lower the needle gently until it comes in contact with the surface of the test *loc% and 5uic%ly release2 allowing it to penetrate into the test *loc%. In the *eginning2 the needle will completely pierce the test *loc%. 6epeat this procedure until the needle2 when *rought in contact with the test *loc% and released as descri*ed a*o"e 2 fails to pierce the *loc% *eyond #.0./- 0.# mm measured from the *ottom of the mould. +he period elapsing *etween the time when water is added to the cement and the time at which the needle fails to pierce the test *loc% to a point #.0./-0.# mm measured from the *ottom of the mould shall *e the initial setting time. $etermination of Final setting +ime- 6eplace the needle of the :icat apparatus *y the needle with an annular attachment. +he cement shall *e considered as finally set when2 upon applying the needle gently to the surface of the test *loc%2 the needle ma%es an impression thereon2 while the attachment fails to do so. +he period elapsing *etween the time when water is added to the cement and the time at which the needle ma%es an impression on the surface of the test *loc% while the attachment fails to do so shall *e the final setting time . +he results of initial and final setting time shall *e reported to the nearest fi"e minutes. Soundne ,a*oratory conditions- +he temperature of the moulding room2 shall *e maintained at -./- degree !. +he relati"e humidity of the la*oratory shall *e &#./- #1. ,e-!hatelier +est'pparatus used- ,e-!hatelier moulds.

Procedure- Place the lightly oiled mould on a lightly oiled glass sheet and fill it with cement paste formed *y gauging cement with 0.-< times the water re5uired to gi"e a paste of standard consistency. +he paste shall *e gauged in the manner and ta%ing care to %eep the edges of the mould gently together while this operation is *eing performed. !o"er the mould with another piece of lightly oiled glass sheet2 place a small weight on this co"ering glass sheet and immediately su*merge the whole assem*ly in water at a temperature of -./- degree ! and %eep there for 4 hours. @easure the distance separating the indicator points to the nearest 0.#mm. Su*merge the mould again in water at the temperature prescri*ed a*o"e. (ring the water to *oiling2 with the moulds %ept su*merged in # to 30 minutes2 and %eep it *oiling for 3 hours. 6emo"e the moulds from the water2 allow it to cool and measure the distance *etween the indicator points. +he difference *etween these two measurements indicates the e0pansion of the cement. 'utocla"e +est'pparatus used- !ement autocla"e2 moulds A siBe #7 #7 #0 mm. and length comparator.

Procedure-+he #00 g cement is gauged with sufficient water to gi"e a paste of standard consistency and filled into the mould. +hese moulds are %ept in moist closet room for 4 hours until tested. 't 4 ./- C hr after moulding2 the specimens shall *e remo"ed from the moist atmosphere2 measured for length and placed in the autocla"e. +he autocla"e temperature is raised at such a rate as it will *ring the gauge pressure of the steam to .1 @ Pa in 1 to 1 D h from the time the heat is turned on +his pressure is maintained for 3 h. 't the end of 3h period the heat supply is shut off and the autocla"e cooled at a rate such that the pressure will *e less than 0.1 @ Pa at the end of the hour. Specimens shall *e surface dried and their lengths are measured again. 6esults of autocla"e soundness are reported in percentage. Compre i!e Strengt" ,a*oratory conditions- +emperature- -./- degree !. Eumidity-&#./-#1 'pparatus re5uired-:i*ration machine2 po%ing rod2 cu*e moulds2 gauging trowels2 *alance and standard sand. Procedure- +he material for each cu*e shall *e mi0ed separately and the 5uantity of cement2 standard sand and water shall *e as follows: !ement 00g Standard sand &00g 9ater FP/4.3G percent of com*ined mass of cement and sand.

Place on a nonporous plate2 a mi0ture of cement and standard sand. @i0 it dry with a trowel for one minute and then with water until the mi0ture is of uniform colour. +he time of mi0ing shall in any e"ent *e not less than 3 minutes and should *e time ta%en to o*tain a uniform colour e0ceed 4 minutes.

Place the assem*ly mould on the ta*le of the "i*ration machine and hold it firmly in position *y means of a suita*le clamp. 'ttach a hopper of suita*le siBe and sha%e securely at the top of the mould to facilitate filling and this hopper shall not *e remo"ed until the completion of the "i*ration period. Immediately after mi0ing the mortar2 place the mortar in the cu*e mould and prod with the rod. +he mortar shall *e prodded 0 times in a*out <s to ensure elimination of entrained air and honey com*ing. Place the remaining 5uantity of mortar in the hopper of the cu*e mould and prod again as specified for the first layer and then compact the mortar *y "i*ration. +he period of "i*ration shall *e min. at the specified speed of 1 000./-400 "i*ration per min. at the end of "i*ration2 remo"e the mould together with the *ase plate from the machine and finish the top surface of the cu*e in the mould *y smoothing the surface with the *lade of a trowel. Heep the field moulds in moist closet or moist room for 4./-1 hr after completion of "i*ration. 't the end of that period2 remo"e them from the moulds and immediately su*merge in clean fresh water and %eep there until ta%en out 3ust prior to *rea%ing. ,oad applied for *rea%ing shall *e steady and uniform2 starting from Bero at a rate of 3# I/mm /min.

Dr#ing S"rin$age ,a*oratory condition-+emperature- -./- degree ! Eumidity-&#./-#1. 'pparatus used-(alance2weights2 +rowel2,ength comparator2Flow ta*le and accessories2 mould and control ca*inet. Procedure- +he materials for the standard test mortar shall *e cement and standard sand in the proportion of 1:3 *y mass *lended intimately. +he amount of water for gauging shall *e e5ual to that re5uired to gi"e a flow *etween 100 and 11#1 with # drops in 1# seconds. 'fter filling the moulds2 place them immediately in a moist room for 4./- h. +hen remo"e the specimens from the moulds and immediately immerse in water at -./degree ! and allow them to remain there for si0 days. 6emo"e the specimens from the water and measure its length using a length comparator. Protect specimens against loss of moisture prior to reading for initial length. +he temperature of the test specimens at the time of initial measurement shall *e -./degree !. Store the specimens in a control ca*inet maintained at -./- degree ! and #0./- #1 relati"e Eumidity. @easure the length of the specimens again < days after the initial measurement. Place the specimens in the comparator with the same end uppermost with respect to the position of the specimens as when the initial measurement was made. 9hen ma%ing the measurements2 the specimens2 the comparator2 and the reference *ar shall *e at a temperature of - ./- degree !. 'fter the specimens are measured at the age of - and 3# days2 calculate the a"erage difference in length of three specimens to the nearest 0.01 1 of the effecti"e gauge length and report this difference as the drying shrin%age. Den it# +emperature- -./- degree !. 'pparatus used- ,e-!hatelier flas%2 'nalytical *alance2 Standard weights and water *ath. Procedure-+he flas% shall *e filled %erosene to a point on the stem *etween the Bero and the 1 ml mar%. ' weighed 5uantity of cement = a*out &4 g > shall then *e introduced in small amounts . !are shall *e ta%en to a"oid splashing and to see that the cement does not adhere to the inside of the flas% a*o"e the li5uid. 'fter all the cement has *een introduced2 the stopper shall *e placed in the flas% and the flas% rolled in an inclined position2 or gently whirled in a horiBontal circle2 so as to free the cement from air until no further air *u**les rise to the surface of the li5uid. ' final reading shall *e ta%en after the flas% has *een immersed in water *ath. +he difference *etween the first and the final readings represents the "olume of li5uid displaced *y the mass of cement used in the test. +he density shall *e calculated as follows to the second place of decimal: @ass of cement in g $ensity8 -----------------------------$isplaced "olume in !m3 6ef: IS:4031