trols the setting time.

This ensures that the concrete does not set too quickly before it
can be placed or too slowly so as to hold up construction. Two stages in the setting
process are defined in

BS12:1978: Specification for Ordinary and Rapid Hardening Portland Cement

These are an initial setting time which must be a minimum of 45 min and a final set
which must take place in 10 h.
Cement must be sound, i.e. it must not contain excessive quantities of certain
substances such as lime, magnesia, calcium sulphate etc. that may expand on
hydrating or react with other substances in the aggregate and cause the concrete to
disintegrate. Tests are specified in BS12 for soundness and strength of cement mortar
cubes.
Many other types of cement are available some of which are

1. rapid hardening Portland cement—the clinker is more finely ground than for
ordinary Portland cement
2. low heat Portland cement—this has a low rate of heat development during
hydration of the cement
3. sulphate-resisting Portland cement

2.2.2 Aggregates
The bulk of concrete is aggregate in the form of sand and gravel which is bound
together by cement. Aggregate is classed into the following two sizes:

1. coarse aggregate—gravel or crushed rock 5 mm or larger in size

2. fine aggregate—sand less than 5 mm in size

Natural aggregates are classified according to the rock type, e.g. basalt, granite, flint.
Aggregates should be chemically inert, clean, hard and durable. Organic impurities
can affect the hydration of cement and the bond between the cement and the aggregate.
Some aggregates containing silica may react with alkali in the cement causing the
concrete to disintegrate. This is the alkali-silica reaction. The presence of chlorides in
aggregates, e.g. salt in marine sands, will cause corrosion of the steel reinforcement.
Excessive amounts of sulphate will also cause concrete to disintegrate.
To obtain a dense strong concrete with minimum use of cement, the cement paste
should fill the voids in the fine aggregate while the fine aggregate and cement paste
fills the voids in the coarse aggregate. Coarse and fine aggregates are graded by sieve
analysis in which the percentage by weight passing a set of standard sieve sizes is
determined. Grading limits for each size of coarse and fine aggregate are set out in