What is Mortar?

The binding material prepared by adding required quantity of water to a mixture of cement or lime and fine
aggregate like sand.
MORTAR = SAND (Aggregate) + CEMENT (OR) LIME

SAND: Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles. It is defined by size,
being finer than gravel and coarser than silt.
Natural Sources of Sand: Sand is the sediment particle consists of small grains of silica(SiO2) from quartz
mineral by decomposition due to weathering. Sand is obtained naturally in following types:
i) Pit Sand: Sand found as deposits in soil and is obtained from the pit. It is excavated from the ground
from a depth of 1-2m. This sand is free from salts and consists of sharp angular grains and is a excellent
ingredient for mortar or concrete work.
ii) River Sand: Obtained from banks or beds of River. Consists of fine rounded grains due to action of
water current. Usually river sand is free from salts and in clean condition, hence it is widely used in
construction for all purposes.
iii) Sea Sand: Obtained from sea shores. Have fine rounded grains like river sand. Presence of salts attract
moisture from the atmosphere and creates dampness. Hence in most cases Sea sand is avoided for
construction purposes.
 Classification of Sand:
According to the size of the grains, Sand is classified as: i) Fine Sand, ii) Coarse Sand and iii)Gravelly Sand.

i) Fine Sand: Sand passing through sieve with clear openings of 1.6mm is known as Fine Sand. Used mainly
for plastering work.
ii) Coarse Sand: Sand passing through sieve with clear openings of 3.1mm is known as Coarse Sand. Used
mainly for masonry work.
iii) Gravelly Sand: Sand passing through a sieve with clear openings of 7.6mm is known as Gravelly Sand .
Used mainly for concrete work.

Find Sand Coarse Sand Gravelly Sand

Properties of Good Sand: l
•It should not react with chemicals.
•It should be clean and coarse. It should be free from any organic matter.
•It should contain coarse, angular, sharp and durable grains.
•It should not contain any salts which holds moisture. Usually clay of 3-4% is allowed.
•It should be well graded sand as per Bureau of Indian Standard(BIS). 480 of Sand. Where the sand should
pass through BIS No. 480 sieve and should not pass through BIS No. 15 sieve.

Tests for Sand: Various tests are conducted to identify the properties of sand.
•Sand is placed in glass of water and is vigorously stirred. If there is any clay a layer of it is formed at the top.
•To find the presence of organic matter in the sand, caustic soda is added to the sand in glass of water if the
change in color to brown indicates presence of organic matter.
•Sand is actually tasted to find the presence of salts.
•If the sand is robbed against fingers is it leaves any traces or stains.Then it indicates that, it has earthy matter.
•Color of sand indicates purity of sand. Size and sharpness is examined by observing.
•And other properties like durability, fineness and void ratio is examined by mechanical analysis.
CEMENT: Cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens and can bind other materials together. The
cements have property of setting and hardening under water, under certain chemical reaction with it and are
called ‘hydraulic cements’.

Portland cement is extremely ground material having adhesive and cohesive properties. It is the mixture of
naturally occurring argillaceous(Containing the Alumina) and calcareous (Containing the Calcium Carbonate
or lime) materials.

Chemical Composition of Portland cement

Lime, CaO - 60-65%
Silica, SiO2 - 17-25%
Alumina, Al2O3 - 03-08%
Iron oxide, Fe2O3 - 0.5-06%
Magnesia , MgO - 0.5-04%
Sulphur trioxide, SO3 - 01 -02%
Alkalis, i.e. Soda and/or Potash, Na2O+K2O - 0.5-1.3%
 Manufacture of Portland Cement
Cement is manufactured in two processes: a) Wet Process & b)Dry Process.
Stages involved in the manufacturing of Cement:
• Blasting or Quarrying and Transportation of Raw material
• Mixing of Raw Material – Wet mix or Dry mix
• Burning of the raw material in Rotary kiln
• Grinding of Clinkers in mill
• Storage and Packing

•Quarrying of Raw material: The raw materials that are used to manufacture cement(mainly limestone
and clay) are blasted from the quarry.
The major raw materials used in the manufacture of cement are
Calcium, Silicon, Iron and Aluminum.These minerals are used in
different form as per the availability of the minerals.
Table shows the raw materials for Portland cement manufacture
•Mixing of Raw material:
Cement is pulverized into mixture in two method:
a) Wet Process & b)Dry Process.
a) Dry Process
The both calcareous and argillaceous raw materials are
firstly crushed in the gyratory crushers to get 2-5cm
size pieces separately. The crushed materials are again
grinded to get fine particles into ball or tube mill.
Each finely grinded material is stored in hopper after
screening. Now these powdered minerals are mixed in
required proportion to get dry raw mix which is then
stored in silos and kept ready to be sent into rotary
kiln. Now the raw materials are mixed in specific
proportions so that the average composition of the
final product is maintained properly.

Dry Process
b) Wet Process
The raw materials are firstly crushed and made into
powdered form and stored in silos. The clay is then
washed in washing mills to remove adhering organic
matters found in clay.
The powdered limestone and water washed clay are
sent to flow in the channels and transfer to grinding
mills where they are completely mixed and the paste is
formed, i.e., known as slurry.
The grinding process can be done in ball or tube mill
or even both.Then the slurry is led into collecting
basin where composition can be adjusted.The slurry
contains around 38-40% water that is stored in
storage tanks and kept ready for the rotary kiln.

Wet Process
•Comparison of dry process and wet process of Cement Manufacture:

Criteria Dry process Wet process

Hardness of raw
Quite hard Any type of raw material
material

Fuel consumption Low High

Time of process Lesser Higher

Quality Inferior quality Superior quality

Cost of production High Low

Overall cost Costly Cheaper

Physical state Raw mix (solid) Slurry (liquid)

•Burning of the raw material in Rotary kiln: A rotator kiln is formed of steel tubes. Its diameter varies
from 250 cm to 300 cm. Its length varies from 90 m to 120 m. It is laid at a gradient of about 1:25 to 1:30.
The kiln rotates once in every minute about its longitudinal axis.
The corrected slurry or raw mix is injected at the upper end of the kiln. Hot gases or flames are forced
through the lower end of the kiln. Portion of the kiln near the upper zone is known as dry zone. Here water
of slurry is evaporated. As the slurry gradually descends, there is rise in temperature and in the next section
of kiln, carbon dioxide from the slurry is evaporated. Small lumps known as nodules are formed at this stage.
These nodules then reach the burning zone where the temperature is about 15000C to 17000C. In burning
zone, calcined product is formed. Nodules are converted into small hard stones known as clinkers. The size
of the clinkers varies from 5 mm to 10 mm and they are very hot when they come out of the burning zone.
A smaller size rotary kiln is provided or cooling the clinkers.
•Grinding of Clinkers in mill: Clinkers are obtained from the rotary kiln and are finely ground in
Clinker mills and tube mills. During grinding 3 to 4 per cent, of gypsum is added. Gypsum controls
the initial setting time of cement. If gypsum is not added, cement would set as
soon as water is added.
•Storage and Packing: The grinded cement is stored in silos, from which it is marketed either in
container load or 50kg bags of High Density Poly-Ethylene(HDPE).
Types of Portland Cement:

• There are Five Basic Types of Portland Cement :

• Regular Cement, general use, called Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC).
• Moderate sulfate Resistance, moderate heat of hydration ,C3A < 7%. Modifies
Cement
• Rapid-hardening Portland Cement, with increase amount of C3S,
• Low heat Portland Cement
• High sulfate resisting Portland Cement.

• It is possible to add some additive to Portland • Chemichal composition of Portland Cement

Cement to produce the following types. • C3S : Tricalcium Silicate
• Portland blast furnace cement • C2S : Dicalcium Silicate
• Pozzolana cement • C3A : Tricalcium Aluminate
• Air-entrained cement. • C4AF : Tetracalcium Aluminoferrite
• White Portland Cement. • Gypsum (5%)
• Colored Portland Cement.
• Hydrophobic Cement
• Blended Cement
• Quick-setting Cement
C3S :Tricalcium Silicate
• Hydrates and hardens rapidly and is largely responsible for initial set and early strength.
• Early strength of cement is higher with increased percentages of C3S.

C2S :Tricalcium Silicate

• Hydrates and hardens slowly.
• Contributes largely to strength increase at ages beyond one week.
• Responsible for long term strength.

C3A :Tricalcium Aluminate

• Liberates a large amount of heat during the first few days of hydration and hardening.
• Also contributes slightly to early strength development.
• Gypsum added to the cement slows down the hydration rate of C3A.
• Cement with low percentage of C3A are especially resistance to soils and waters containing sulfates.

C4AF :Tetracalcium Aluminoferrite

• Assist in the manufacture of Portland Cement by allowing lower clinkering temperature.
• Also act as a filler
• Contributes very little strength of concrete even though it hydrates very rapidly.
• Also responsible for grey color of Ordinary Portland Cement.
 Type Classification Characteristics Applications

Ordinary General purpose Fairly high C3S content General construction (most buildings,
Portland Cement for good early strength bridges, pavements, precast units etc)
development
Moderate sulfate Moderate sulfate Low C3A content Structures exposed to soil or water
resistance resistance (Modified containing sulfate ions
Cement)
Rapid hardening High early strength Ground more finely, Rapid construction, cold weather
Portland Cement (Rapid-hardening) may have slightly more concreting
C3S
Low heat Low heat of hydration Low content of C3S Massive structure such as dams. Now
Portland Cement (slow reacting) (<5%) and C3A rare.
High – sulfate High sulfate resistance Very low C3A content Structures exposed to high levels of
resisting Portland (<5%) sulfate ions
Cement
White Cement White color No C4AF, low MgO Decorative (otherwise has properties
similar to OPC)
OPC – Ordinary Portland Cement : PPC – Portland Pozzolana Cement :
• Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in 3grades : • Most common type available in market.
Grade 33- designated as C-33 • It is made by blending 10-25% reactive
Grade 43- designated as C-43 pozzolana like flyash or calcined clay with OPC.
Grade 53- designated as C-53 • Addition of pozzolana makes cement sensitive
to curing and it require longer curing than OPC.
• PPC is also available in three grades.
SRPC – Sulphate Resistance Portland Cement :
• SRPC is a special purpose cement used where sulfates are present in concentration that would damage
Normal Portland Cement concrete or mortar.
• Sulfate resistance is achieved by adjustment to chemical composition to limit level of C3A in SRP

Properties :
• Applied at place where there is exposure to sulphate such as used in concrete below ground
• Higher content of Tetracalcium Aluminoferrite & reducing the Tricalcium aluminate to aluminium
• Has darker color then OPC
• SRPC is made by fusing together a precisely controlled blend of very finely ground limestone, shale and
iron oxide at high temperatures to form cement clinker.
• A small quantity of gypsum is added to this clinker before griding to produce the final fine powder
• SRPC is manufactured in a modern dry process works.
Advantages :
• Long term strength development – A Significant characteristic of SRPC is the ability to continue
significant strength development beyond the normal 28 day period.

• High strength concrete - SRPC is high performance concrete. As well as to reduce the amount of
heat development during hydration at higher cement contents.

• Heat of hydration – SRPC have a much lower heat of hydration than others so ideal for mass
concrete work. The lower heat of hydration results in smaller temperature gradients within mass
concrete structure, thereby minimizing thermal cracking.

• Pure water and acid attack – SRPC is recommended in applications where concrete is exposed to
pure water and acidic conditions. i.e. water pipes and reservoirs, soft drink factories and sewage works.

• Sulphate attack – SRPC provides higher resistance to sulphate attack for applications specially
requiring sulphate resistance.Applications include sewage works and costal environments.

• Alkali aggregate reactivity - SRPC has been shown to reduce the risk of alkali aggregate reaction in
concretes containing reactive aggregates.
• BFSC – Portland blast furnace slag cement :
• This slag form 25-60% of the cement.
• Every top of cast iron produce 0.3 tons of furnace slag which can be used in cement industry.
• Even though it is equal with OPC it behaves more like PPC and has lower heat of hydration
• and better sulphate resistance.
• At present BFSC produced in India is only Grade-33.
• Cements with 45-70% slag content.
• BFSC with more than 50% slag has good sulphates resistance

• Hydrophobic Cement
• In places of high rainfall and humidity normal cement tends to set when stored, due to
moisture present in the atmosphere.
• By grinding the cement clinker with water repellent film forming around cement particle
during manufacture itself.This prevent setting of cement during storage.
• During mixing with aggregates this film is broken and cement behave as ordinary cement.

• Blended Cement
• For economy a mixture of portland cement, blast furnace slag and flyash is allowed to be used
in some countries.This is know as blended cement.
• White Cement
• White cement is very much used for making of mosaic tiles, colored cements, etc.
• White cement is made from chalk or limestone or shell lime free from impurities and white clay like
china clay(kioline clay) free from oxides of iron, manganese, etc.
• Grinding is done in special mill to avoid iron oxide.
• White cement is the base for all colored cements

• RHPC – Rapid Hardening Portland Cement:

• RHPC develops strength more rapidly than OPC.The initial strength is higher but they
equalized at 2-3 months.
• Setting time for RHPC is similar for that of OPC.
• Rate of heat evolution is higher than OPC due to its higher fineness.
• Chemical composition and soundness requirement are similar to OPC.

• Properties :
• Similar chemical composition as OPC but different proportion cause to increase rate of early
hardening.
• High early strength is achieved by increasing the CS & CA content.
• Advantages :
• More finely grounded than OPC.
• Allows form work to be struck earlier
• Providing savings either the quantity of formwork required in time.
• Produced heat earlier than OPC, so it can be used in cold weather.
• Qualities :
• RHPC is produced using carefully selection raw materials.
• Strict quality control through out each stage of the manufacturing process ensure that a consistence
final product is achieved.
• Strength :
• RHPC achieves higher earlier strength than OPC because it is more finely ground.
• In particular, optimum strength of concrete using RHPC will depend, like OPC, on carefully attention
to the W/C ratio, consistent with ensuring satisfactory placing and compactions.
Special Types of Rapid Hardening Portland Cement

A) Ultra High Early Strength Cement

• The rapid strength development of this type of cement is achieved by grinding the cement to a
very high fineness.
• The gypsum content has to be higher
• Because of its high fineness, it has low bulk density. High fineness leads to rapid hydration and
therefore to a high rate of heat generation at early ages and to a rapid strength development.
• It is used in structure where early prestressing or putting in service is of importance.
• This type of cement contains no integral admixtures.

B) Extra Rapid Hardening Portland Cement

• This type prepared by grinding CaCl2 with rapid hardening portland cement.
• By using CaCl2,the rate of setting and hardening increase.
• The rate of heat evolution increase in comparison with RPPC, so it is more convenient to be use at
cold weather.
• Because CaCl2 is a material that takes the moisture from atmosphere, care should be taken to store
this cement at dry place and for a storage period not more than one month so as it dose not
deteriorate.
• Physical tests of cement :
• Fineness
• Consistency
• Soundness
• Setting Time
• Compressive Strength
• Heat o Hydration

• Fineness of Cement : Fineness of cement is a measure of size of particle of cement. It is expressed as

specific surface of cement (in sq.cm/gm). Size of particle
Is measure of
Fineness of cement
Is expressed as
Specific surface of cement

• The first requirement is that 90% of cement should pass IS 90 microns.

• 95% of cement particles are smaller than 45 micrometer, with the average particle around 15
micrometer.
• Fineness of cement affects heat released and the rate of hydration.
•Tests for fineness
• The principle is based on relation between the rate of flow of air through a cement bed and
Surface area of particles comprising the cement bed of given porosity
• It should be at least 225 m2/kg.

•Tests for soundness

• Sound is the ability of a hardened paste to retain its volume after setting.
• The cement is said to be sound when the percentage of free lime and magnesia is with in
Specified limits.
• The soundness test is an indication of lime causes by inadequate burning of cement or excess of
magnesia or sulphates:
• Le chatelier’s test
• Autoclave test

•Test for setting time

• The setting time is also determined by vicat’s needle on cement paste of normal consistency.
• For this test, we use 1mm square needle, this time to penetrate 33-35 mm is taken initial setting Time.
• For final setting time we use special needle (5mm dia) and time at which this needle will not
penetrate more then 0.5mm is taken as final set.
• Compressive Strength

• The compressive strength of cement is determine for cube of 50 cm2 in area made of cement
mortar with one part cement and three part of standard sand by weight and water corresponding to
25% normal consistency plus three percent of combined weight of cement and sand

• Storage of cement

• Cement is moisture –sensitive material; if kept dry it will retain its quality indefinitely.
• When exposed to moisture, cement will set more slowly and will have less strength
compared to cement that kept dry.
• At the time of use cement should be free flowing and free of lumps.