2.

Cementitious Materials
2.2 Cement:

2.2.1 What is cement?

Cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens and can bind other materials together. Cements used
in construction can be characterized as being either hydraulic or non-hydraulic, depending upon the
ability of the cement to be used in the presence of water. Non-hydraulic cement will not set in wet
conditions or underwater, rather it sets as it dries and reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. It can be
attacked by some aggressive chemicals after setting. Hydraulic cement is made by replacing some of the
cement in a mix with activated aluminium silicates, pozzolanas, such as fly ash. The chemical reaction
results in hydrates that are not very water-soluble and so are quite durable in water and safe from
chemical attack. This allows setting in wet condition or underwater and further protects the hardened
material from chemical attack (e.g., Portland cement).

2.2.2 What is natural cement?

Natural cement is manufactured by burning and then crushing the natural cement stones. Natural cement
stones are such stones which contain 20 to 40% of argillaceous matter i.e. clay, and remaining content
mainly calcareous matter which is either calcium carbonate alone or a mixture of calcium carbonate and
magnesium carbonate.

2.2.3 What is artificial cement?

Artificial cement is manufactured by burning approximately proportioned mixture of calcareous and
argillaceous materials at a very high temperature and then grinding the resulting burnt mixture to a fine
powder.

2.2.4 How cement is made?

Cement is a man-made powder that, when mixed with water and aggregates, produces concrete. The
cement making process can be divided into three basic steps:
raw materials are mined or quarried and ground into a raw meal ready to feed into the kiln
clinker is made in the kiln at temperatures of 1450C
clinker is ground with other minerals to produce the powder we know as cement.

2.2.5 Manufacture of Ordinary Cement

It involves the following steps
1. Mixing of raw material 3. Grinding
2. Burning 4. Storage and packaging

2.2.6 What are the 2 methods of manufacture of cement?

Mixing can be done by any one of the following two processes
1. Dry process
2. Wet process

Portland Cement Gypsum+Portland Cement Clinker (pulverizing)

Portland Cement Clinker Calcareous & Clayey Materials (burning)
Paste P.C. + Water
Mortar P.C. + Water + Sand
Concrete P.C. + Water + Sand + Gravel
2.2.7 What is the function of gypsum in the manufacture of cement?
In order to delay the setting action of cement, when mixed with water, a little percentage of gypsum is
added in the clinker before grinding them to fine powder.

2.2.8 What is known as clinker?

Artificial cement is manufactured by burning approximately proportioned mixture of calcareous and
argillaceous materials at a very high temperature and then grinding the resulting burnt mixture to a fine
powder. The burnt mixture of calcareous and argillaceous matter is known as clinker.

2.2.09 What are the harmful constituents of cement?

Alkalies which are oxides of potassium and sodium, and magnesium oxide are the harmful constituents of
cement.
2.2.10 What are the constituents of ordinary cement?
Alumina or clay, silica, lime, iron oxide, magnesia, sulphur trioxide, alkalies, calcium sulphate (gypsum).
Oxide Common Names of Ingredients Approx. Amount (%)
CaO Lime 62-67
SiO2 Silica 17-25
Al2O3 Alumina 3-8
CaSO4 Calcium sulphate (Gypsum) 3-4
Fe2O3 Iron-oxide 3-4
MgO Magnesia 1-3
S Sulphur 1-3
Na2O Soda
0.2-1.3(Alkalies)
K2O Potassa
SO3 Sulfuric Anhydride 1-3

Functions of various cement ingredients:

Lime (CaO) :This is the important ingredient of cement and its proportion is to be carefully maintained.
The lime in excess makes the cement unsound and cause the expansion and disintegration of the cement.
On the other hand if the lime is deficient it will decrease the strength of the cement and will cause it to set
quickly.
Silica (SiO2) : This is an important ingredient of the cement as it imparts strength to the cement due to
formation of di- calcium silicate and tri-calcium silicate. If silica is present in excess quantity its
setting time is prolonged however strength is increased.
Alumina (Al2O3) : This ingredient imparts quick setting property to the cement. It acts as a flux and
it lowers the clinkering temperature. However the high temperature is essential for the formation of a
suitable type of cement and hence in alumina should not be present in excess amount as it weakens
cement.
Calcium Sulphate (CaSO4) :This ingredient is in the form of gypsum and its function is to increase the
initial setting time of cement.
Iron Oxide (Fe2O3) :This imparts color, hardness and strength to the cement.
Magnesia (MgO) :This ingredient, if present in small amount, imparts hardness and color to the cement.
A high content of magnesia makes the cement unsound.
Sulphur(S) :A very small amount of sulphur is useful in making sound cement. If it is in excess, it causes
cement to become unsound.
Alkalies :The most of the alkalies present in raw materials are carried away by the flue gases during
heating and the cement contains only a small amount of alkalies. If they are in excess in cement, they
cause a number of troubles such as alkali-aggregate reaction, efflorescence and staining when used in
concrete, brickwork or masonry mortar.

Harmful Constituents of Cement:

The presence of the following two oxides adversely affects the quality of cement:
1) Alkali Oxides K2O and Na2O 2) Magnesium oxide MgO.
 If the amount of alkali oxides exceeds 1 per cent, it leads to the failure of concrete made from that
cement. Similarly, if the content of magnesium oxide exceeds 5 per cent, it causes cracks after mortar
or concrete hardens. It is due to the fact that magnesium oxide, burned at a temperature of about 1500
degree Celsius, slakes very slowly, when mixed with water.

2.2.11 Site for Cement Factory:

The location of cement factory should be decided carefully. Following are the guiding factors which are
to be paid attention to while making selection for site of a proposed cement factory:
1. Climatic conditions: The site for cement factory should be selected in such a way that its climatic
conditions are favourable for the manufacturing process of cement.
2. Labour: The site should be such that it is possible to procure the required labour easily and
economically.
3. Market: The site for cement factory should be, as far as possible, near to the market of sale. This
will decrease the cost of transport and minimize the chances of spoiling the cement during
transport.
4. Power: The availability of power and fuel at economic rates should also be considered.
5. Raw materials: These should be available easily and continuously around the area of site under
consideration.
6. Transport facilities: The site for a cement factory should be such that transport facilities are
available for raw materials and finished products.
7. Miscellaneous: It is necessary to have parks, gardens, recreation centres, etc. near the site for a
cement factory. Such arrangements would be helpful for giving relaxation to the officers and
workers of the factory.

2.2.12 What are the types of cement?

Ordinary portland cement sulphate resistant cement pozzolanic cement

rapid hardening cement air entraining cement super sulphate cement
low heat cement white and coloured cement expansive cement
blast furnace slag cement High alumina cement water proofing cement
quick setting cement water repellant cement

2.2.13 Physical properties of cement

Following are the important properties of a good cement which primarily depend upon its chemical
composition, thoroughness of burning and fineness of grinding.
It gives strength to the masonry. It offers good resistance to the moisture.
It is an excellent binding material. It possesses a good plasticity.
It is easily workable. It stiffens or hardens early.

2.2.14 Field Tests for Cement

Basically two types of tests are under taken for assessing the quality of cement. These are either field test
or lab tests. The current section describes Field tests in details.
The Following are the Field Tests for Cement that are carried out in order to ascertain the quality of
Cement,
(1) Colour: The colour of cement should be uniform. It should be typical cement colour i.e., grey colour
with a light greenish shade. This is not always a reliable test. But it gives an indication of excess lime or
clay and the degree of burning.
(2) Physical properties: The cement should feel smooth when touched or rubbed in between fingers. If it
is felt rough, it indicates adulteration with sand. If hand is inserted in a bag or heap of cement, it should
feel cool and not warm. If a small quantity of cement is thrown in a bucket of water, it should sink and
should not float on the surface. A thin paste of cement with water should feel sticky between the fingers.
If the cement contains too much of pounded clay and it as an adulterant, the paste will give an earthy
smell.
(3) Presence of lumps: The cement should be free from any hard lumps. Such lumps are formed by the
absorption of moisture from the atmosphere. Any bag of cement containing such lumps should be
rejected. This Field tests for cement are carried out to check lumps.
(4) Strength: This Field tests for cement is to check strength of cement and can be roughly ascertained in
the following ways:
(i) The briquettes with a lean or weak mortar are made. The size of briquette may be about 75mm
x 25 mm x 12 mm. The proportion of cement and sand may be 1:6. The briquettes are immersed in water
for a period of 3 days. If cement is of sound quality, such briquettes will not be broken easily and it will
be difficult to convert them into powder form.
(ii) A block of cement 25 mm x 25 mm and 200 mm long is prepared and it is immersed for 7 days in
water. It is then placed on supports 150 mm apart and it is loaded with a weight of 340 N. The block
should not show signs of failure.
(iii) A thick paste of cement with water is made on a piece of thick glass and it is kept under water for 24
hours. It should set and not crack.
(5) Date of packing: Date of manufacture should be seen on the bag. It is important because the strength
of cement reduces with age.

2.2.15 Uses of Cement:

Cement mortar for Masonry work, plaster and pointing etc.
Concrete for laying floors, roofs and constructing lintels, beams, weather-shed, stairs, pillars etc.
Construction of important engineering structures such as bridges, culverts, dams, tunnels, light
houses, docks, etc.
Construction of water tanks, wells, tennis courts, septic tanks, lamp posts, telephone cabins, etc.
Making joints for drains, pipes, etc.
Manufacturing of precast pipes, piles, garden seats, artistically designed urns, flower posts, etc.
 Preparation of foundations, water tight floors, footpaths, etc.

2.2.16 What are the IS specifications of Cement?

Ordinary portland Portland pozzolana
cement (OPC) in 3 cement (PPC) (a mixture Others
grades of OPC and Pozzolanas)
Grade 33--- IS 269 IS 1489 (Part-I)- Fly ash Sulphate resisting cementIS 12330-
based. 1988
Grade 43 IS 8112 IS 1489 (Part II) Calcined Portland slag cementIS 455-1989
Clay based. (PSC)
Grade 53 IS 12269 Low -heat cementIS 12600-1989
Rapid -hardening cementIS 8041-
1990

Clinker