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MOHAMMED ABBAS
13031AA079
1ST SEMESTER (B.ARCH)
COMPUTER
APPLICATIONS
LABORATORY
2013-2014
REPORT ON CEMENT

INDEX
S.NO.
page no.

CONTENT

HISTORICAL NOTE
3

INTRODUCTION
4

CHARACTERISTICS OF CEMENT
4

PROPERTIES OF CEMENT
5

COMPOSITION OF ORDINARY CEMENT

6

SETTING ACTION OF CEMENT

8

MANUFACTURE OF PORTLAND
CEMENT

PACKING OF CEMENT
10

STORAGE OF CEMENT
11

10

USES OF CEMENT

11
11

VARIETIES OF CEMENT

12

GRADES OF CEMENT

12
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Historical note
The use of cementing materials is very old. The ancient Egyptians used calcined impure
gypsum. The Greeks and the Romans used calcined limestone and later learned to add to
lime and water, sand and crushed stone or brick and broken tiles. This was the first
concrete in history. Lime mortar does not harden under water, and for construction under
water the Romans ground together lime and a volcanic ash or finely ground burnt clay
tiles. The active silica and alumina in the ash and the tiles combined with the lime to
produce what became known as pozzolanic cement from the name of the village of
Pozzuoli, near Vesuvius, where the volcanic ash was first found. The name pozzolanic
cement is used to this day to describe cements obtained simply by the grinding of
natural materials at normal temperature. Some of the Roman structures in which
masonry was bonded by mortar, such as the Coliseum in Rome and the Pont du Gard
near Nmes, and concrete structures such as the Pantheon in Rome, have survived to this
day, with the cementitious material still hard and firm. In the ruins at Pompeii, the
mortar is often less weathered than the rather soft stone.
The Middle Ages brought a general decline in the quality and use of cement, and it was
only in the eighteenth century that an advance in the knowledge of cements occurred.
John Smeaton, commissioned in 1756 to rebuild the Eddystone Lighthouse, off the
Cornish coast, found that the best mortar was produced when pozzolana was mixed with
limestone containing a considerable proportion of clayey matter. By recognizing the role
of the clay, hitherto considered undesirable, Smeaton was the first to understand the

chemical properties of hydraulic lime, that is a material obtained by burning a mixture of

lime and clay.
There followed a development of other hydraulic cements, such as the Roman cement
obtained by James Parker by calcining nodules of argillaceous limestone, culminating in
the patent for Portland cement taken out by Joseph Aspdin, a Leeds bricklayer,
stonemason, and builder, in 1824. This cement was prepared by heating a mixture of
finely-divided clay and hard limestone in a furnace until CO2 had been driven off; this
temperature was much lower than that necessary for clinkering. The prototype of modern
cement was made in 1845 by Isaac Johnson, who burnt a mixture of clay and chalk until
clinkering, so that the reactions necessary for the formation of strongly cementitious
compounds took place.
The name Portland cement, given originally due to the resemblance of the colour and
quality of the hardened cement to Portland stone a limestone quarried in Dorset has
remained throughout the world to this day to describe a cement obtained by intimately
mixing together calcareous and argillaceous, or other silica-, alumina-, and iron oxidebearing materials, burning them at a clinkering temperature, and grinding the resulting
clinker. The definition of Portland cement in various standards is on these lines,
recognizing that gypsum is added after burning; nowadays, other materials may also be
added or blended

Introduction:

Cement has been categories as the first fundamental constructive material. In the
modern society, cement is one of the most reliable and important constructive material.
Since it has been used widely so it is necessary to have the brief knowledge about it .

What is cement?
Cement refers to material which acts as a binding substance. In construction
and civil engineering cement is used to bind structural members for construction of
buildings,
pavements, bridges, tunnels, roads and highways etc
CHARACTERISTICS OF CEMENT

The color of cement should be uniformly grey with greenish shade . It gives an
indication of excess of lime or clay and the degree of burning.
it should feel smooth when touched or rubbed in between fingers
It should be free from any hard lumps
if hand is inserted in the cement bag or heap it should feel cool
it should not contain excess silica ,lime, alumina, or alkalies
excess amount of clay and silt in cement gives an earthy cement.

Physical Properties
Portland cements are commonly characterized by their physical properties for
quality control purposes. Their physical properties can be used to classify and
compare Portland cements. The challenge in physical property characterization is
to develop physical tests that can satisfactorily characterize key parameters.
The physical properties of cement
Setting Time
Soundness
Fineness
Strength
Consistency
Setting Time
Initial setting time is the time that elapsed from the instance of adding water untill the
pastes ceases to behave as fluid or plastic.

Whereas final setting time

referred to the time required for the cement paste to reach certain state of hardness to
sustain some load.
The initial setting time for ordinary cement is about 30 minutes and final setting time is
about 10 hours.
Soundness
Soundness refers to the ability of a hardened cement paste to retain its volume after
setting. Lack of soundness is observed in the cement samples containing excessive
amounts of hard burnt free lime or magnesia. Le Chatelier apparatus is used to determine
soundness of cement.

Le Chatelier apparatus
Fineness
Fineness, or particle size of portland cement affects rate of hydration, which is
responsible for the rate of strength gain. The smaller the particle size, the greater the
surface area-to-volume ratio, which means more area available for water-cement
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reaction per unit volume. Approximately 95% of cement particles are smaller than 45
micron with the average particle size about 15 micron. Fineness is measured in terms of
surface area per unit mass. Fineness can be tested by Wagner turbidimeter test.
Compressive Strength
Compressive strength of cement is tested by 50 mm mortar cubes made by using
standard sand and cured in a prescribed way. the cubes are tested under a compression
testing machine. The strength of cement varies with time, therefore in general it is
reported as 3 day, 7 day or 28 day strength.

ConsistencyFor the determination of the initial and final setting times and for the Le Chatelier
soundness test, neat cement paste of a standard consistency has to be used. It is,
therefore, necessary to determine for any given cement the water content of the paste
which will produce the desired consistency.
The consistency is measured by the Vicat apparatus.

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES The ratio of percentage of alumina to iron oxide should not be less than 0.66
The ratio of percentage of alumina , iron oxide and silica known as Lime
Saturation Factor should not be less than 0.66 and not more than 1.02
Total loss on ignition should not be more than 4%
Total sulphur content should not be more than 2.75%
Weight of insoluble residue should not be more than 1.50%
Weight of magnesia should not exceed 5%
COMPOSITION OF ORDINARY CEMENTIngredient
Lime
Silica
Alumina
Calcium sulphate
Iron oxide
Magnesia
Sulphur
Alkalies

Percent
(CaO)............................62
(SiO2)............................22
(Al2O3)..........................5
(CaSO4).........................4
(Fe2O3)..........................3
(MgO)............................2
(S)..................................1
.......................................1
Total............................100

Range
62-67
17-25
3-8
3-4
3-4
1-3
1-3
0.2-1

Functions of each ingredient of cement, are briefly given as follows.

1. Aluminia or clay: Aluminia is responsible for setting action of cement. Larger the
amount of aluminia present in cement, quicker it will start setting. Excess quantity of
aluminia weakens the cement. Aluminia forms complex aluminates with silica and
calcium and imparts the setting property to the cement.
2. Silica (SiO2): It also goes in to chemicalcombination with calcium and forms hard
silicates which are responsible for imparting strength to the cement.
3. Lime (CaO): It is the most important ingredient of cement and its bulk in cement is
above 60% of the total contents. Its proportion should be carefully decided. IF lime is
added unnecessarily in excess quantity, some part of it, left in forms of free lime which
causes expansion and disintegration of cement at the time of setting and hardening.
Lesser than the required quantity will cause decrease in the strength of the cement,
asthen sufficient calcium silicates will not be formed, which are mainly responsible for
the
strength characteristics of the cement.

4. Iron Oxide: This ingredient mainly imparts color to the cement. Besides this, it also
goes
into chemical combination and helps increase strength and hardness of the cement.
5. Magnesium Oxide(MgO): It also imparts strength and hardness to the cement, but
only
when present in small amount.
6. Sulphur Trioxide: Small percentage of sulphur renders cement sound. Excess amount
of it may make it, unsound.
7. Alkalies: Alkalies, present in the raw materials used for the manufacture of cement
are
mostly driven out by the flue gases during burning. Still it may be present in the cement,
but only in very small amount. Excess of alkalies, cause efflorescence in the cement and
thus act as impurity.
8. Calcium Sulphate(CaSO4) or Gypsum: This ingredient is used to retard or prolong
the initial setting action of the cement.
SETTING ACTION OF CEMENTWhen water is added to cement, the ingredients of cement react chemically with water
and forms various complicated compounds .The formation of these compound is not
simultaneous. But setting action of cement continues for a long time . The mixing for
cement and water results in a sticky cement paste and it goes on gradually thickening till
it achieves rock like state.
It is found that ordinary cement achieves about 70%og its final strength in 28 days and
about 90% in 1 year or so.
The following important compounds formed during the setting action of cementCOMPOUND
Tri-calcium aluminate (3CaO, Al2O3)
Tetra-calcium alumino-ferrite(4CaO, Al2O3,
Fe2O3)
Tri-calcium silicate (3CaO,SiO2)

Di-calcium silicate (2CaO,SiO2)

TIME OF FORMING
This compound is formed within about 24
hrs after addition of water to the cement
This compound is also formed within about
24 hrs after addition of water to the cement
This compound is formed within a week or
so after addition of water to the cement
and it is mainly responsible for imparting
strength to the cement in early period of
setting
This compound is formed very slowly and
hence it is responsible for giving
progressive strength to the cement.
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MANUFACTURE OF PORTLAND CEMENT

From the definition of Portland cement given above, it can be seen that it is made
primarly from a calcareous material, such as limestone or chalk, and from alumina and
silica found as clay or shale. Marl, a mixture of calcareous and argillaceous materials, is
also used. Raw materials for the manufacture of Portland cement are found in nearly all
countries and cement plants operate all over the world.
The process of manufacture of cement consists essentially of grinding the raw materials,
mixing them intimately in certain proportions and burning in a large rotary kiln at a
temperature of up to about 1450 C when the material sinters and partially fuses into
balls known as clinker. The clinker is cooled and ground to a fine powder, with some
gypsum added, and the resulting product is the commercial Portland cement so widely
used throughout the world.
Some details of the manufacture of cement will now be given, and these can be best
followed with reference to the diagrammatic representation of the process shown in Fig

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GRINDING
In order to achieve the desired setting qualities in the finished product, a quantity (2-8%,
but typically 5%) of calcium sulfate (usually gypsum or anhydrite) is added to the
clinker
and the mixture is finely ground to form the finished cement powder. This is achieved in
a cement mill. The grinding process is controlled to obtain a powder with a broad
particle
size range, in which typically 15% by mass consists of particles below 5 m diameter,
and 5% of particles above 45 m. The measure of fineness usually used is the "specific
surface", which is the total particle surface area of a unit mass of cement.

PACKING OF CEMENT
Cement are generally packed in jute bags conventionally and this is also used in packing
of cement in Nepal because of its low cost. But jute has many draw backs listed below
Jute bags when emptied contains some cement which is wasted and because of
this wastage full quantity does not reach the concrete mixture.
The handling of jute bags proves harmful to the health of labourer as they inhale a
considerable amount of cement during loading and unloading.
The quality of cement is affected due to entry of moisture from the atmosphere.

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How should cement be stored?

1. Cement bags should not be stored in an enclosed area where the walls, roof and floor
is
not completely weatherproof.
2. Cement bags must not be stored in wet surroundings and humid conditions.
3. Stack cement bags on wooden planks or concrete floor and do not stack the against the
wall.
4. Cement bags should be piled close together.
5. It is better to arrange the cement bags in a header and stretcher fashion.
6. Cement bags that were stored first must be used first.
USES OF CEMENTAt present, the cement is widely used in the construction of various engineering
structures. It has proved to be one of the leading engineering material of modern times .
Following are various possible uses of cement: Cement mortar for masonry work, plaster, pointing, etc
concrete for laying floors, roofs, and constructing lintels, beams, weather sheds,
stairs, pillars, etc.
construction of important engineering structures such as buildings, culverts,
dams, tunnels, storage reservoirs. light houses, docks, etc.
construction of water tanks, wells, tennis courts, septic tanks, lamp posts, roads,
telephone cabins, etc
making joints for drains ,pipes, etc
manufacture of pre cast pipes, piles, garden seats artistically designed urns,
flower pots etc, dustbins ,fencing posts, etc
Preparation of foundations ,watertight floors, footpaths ,etc.

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PLASTERING WORKS.
VARITIES OF CEMENTThe following are the important varieties of cement1. Acid-resistant cement
2. Blast furnace cement
3. Coloured cement
4. Expanding cement
5. High alumina cement
6. Hydrophobic cement
7. Low heat cement
8. Pozzolana cement
9. Quick setting cement
10. Rapid hardening cement
11. Extra rapid hardening cement
12. Sulphate resisting cement
13. White cement
DIFFERENT GRADES OF CEMENTNo.
Grade of cement
1 33 grade ordinary portland cement(IS: 269-1998)
2

43 grade ordinary portland cement(IS: 8112-2000)

53 grade ordinary portland cement(IS: 12269-1999)

Details
Minimum 28 days compressive
strength is 33N/mmsq
Minimum 28 days compressive
strength is 43N/mmsq
Minimum 28 days compressive
strength is 53N/mmsq

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CONCLUSIONDifferent types of cement are used for different applications. Desirable to construct
foundations, sewage and water works in sulphate resistant cements, RCC in 43 or 53
OPC, plastering and masonry work in PPC. It will optimize the cost and improve the
quality of construction.

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