There are six main soil types:

 Clay.
 Feels lumpy and sticky when very wet
 Rock-hard when dry
 Clay drains poorly
 Few air spaces
 Warms slowly in spring
 Heavy to cultivate
 If drainage is improved, plants grow well as it holds more nutrients
than many other soils

 Sandy.
 Free-draining soil
 Gritty to the touch
 Warms up quickly in spring
 Easy to cultivate
 Dries out rapidly
 May lack nutrients, which are easily washed through the soil in wet
weather (often called a "hungry" soil.)
 Silty.
 Smooth and soapy to the touch
 Well-drained soil
 Retains moisture
 Richer in nutrients (more fertile) than sandy soil
 Easier to cultivate than clay
 Heavier than sand
 Soil structure is weak and easily compacted
 A very good soil if well managed
 Peaty.
 Contains a much higher proportion of organic matter (peat) because
the soil’s acidic nature inhibits decomposition
 But this means there are few nutrients
 Dark in color
 Warms up quickly in spring
 Highly water retentive and may require drainage if the water table is
near the surface
 Fantastic for plant growth if fertilizer is added
 Chalky.
 Alkaline, with a pH of 7.5 or more
 Usually stony
 Free draining
  Often overlays chalk or limestone bedrock
 This means some minerals, such as manganese (Mg) and iron (Fe),
become unavailable to plants, causing poor growth and yellowing of
leaves
 This can be remedied by adding fertilizers
 Loamy
 The perfect soil
 Good structure
 Drains well
 Retains moisture
 Full of nutrients
 Easy to cultivate
 Warms up quickly in spring and doesn’t dry out in summer
 Consider yourself very lucky if you have this soil
 Construction Materials and
Testing
Types of Cement, their Composition and Uses
 Rapid Hardening Cement
 Quick setting cement
 Low Heat Cement
 Sulphates resisting cement
 Blast Furnace Slag Cement
 High Alumina Cement
 White Cement
 Coloured cement
 Pozzolanic Cement
 Air Entraining Cement
 Hydrographic cement

Types of CEMENT COMPOSITION PURPOSE

 Rapid Hardening Increase lime content Attains high strength in

Cement early days it is used in
concrete where form work
are removed at an early
stage.
 Quick setting Small percentage of Used in works is to be
cement aluminium sulphate as an completed in very short
accelerator and reducing period and concreting in
percentage of Gypsum static and running water
with fine grinding
 Low Heat Cement Manufactured by reducing It is used in massive
tricalcium aluminate concrete construction like
gravity dams
 Sulphates It is prepared by It is used in construction
resisting cement maintaining the exposed to severe
percentage of tricalcium sulphate action by water
aluminate below 6% and soil in places like
which increases power canals linings, culverts,
against sulphates retaining walls, siphons
etc.
 Blast Furnace Slag It is obtained by grinding It can used for works
the clinkers with about economic considerations is
 Cement 60% slag and resembles
more or less in properties
of Portland cement
 High Alumina It is obtained by melting
Cement mixture of bauxite and
lime and grinding with the
clinker it is rapid
hardening cement with
initial and final setting
time of about 3.5 and 5
hours respectively
 White Cement It is prepared from raw
materials free from Iron
oxide.
 Coloured cement
It is produced by mixing
mineral pigments with
ordinary cement.
 Pozzolanic It is prepared by grinding
Cement pozzolanic clinker with
Portland cement
 Air Entraining It is produced by adding
Cement indigenous air entraining
agents such as resins,
glues, sodium salts of
Sulphates etc during the
grinding of clinker.
 Hydrographic It is prepared by mixing
cement water repelling chemicals
predominant
It is used in works where
concrete is subjected to
high temperatures, frost,
and acidic action
It is more costly and is
used for architectural
purposes such as precast
curtain wall and facing
panels, terrazzo surface
etc.
They are widely used for
decorative works in floors
It is used in marine
structures, sewage works,
sewage works and for
laying concrete under
water such as bridges,
piers, dams etc.,
This type of cement is
specially suited to improve
the workability with
smaller water cement
ratio and to improve frost
resistance of concrete.
This cement has high
workability and strength