CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY

 UNIT – 1 : CEMENT

 Definition:
Cement is a binder, a substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other
materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel
(aggregate) together. Cement mixed with fine aggregate produces mortar for masonry, or with sand
and gravel, produces concrete. Concrete is the most widely used material in existence and is only
behind water as the planet's most-consumed resource.

 Manufacture of Cement:
Portland cement is manufactured by crushing, milling and proportioning the following materials:

 Lime or calcium oxide, CaO: from limestone, chalk, shells, shale or calcareous rock
 Silica, SiO2: from sand, old bottles, clay or argillaceous rock
 Alumina, Al2O3: from bauxite, recycled aluminium, clay
 Iron, Fe2O3: from clay, iron ore, scrap iron and fly ash
 Gypsum, CaSO4,2H2O: found together with limestone

The materials, without the gypsum, are proportioned to produce a mixture with the desired chemical
composition and then ground and blended by one of two processes - dry process or wet process. The
materials are then fed through a kiln at 26000 F to produce grayish-black pellets known as clinker. The
alumina and iron act as fluxing agents which lower the melting point of silica from 3,000 to 2600 0 F.
After this stage, the clinker is cooled, pulverized and gypsum added to regulate setting time. It is then
ground extremely fine to produce cement.

 Chemical Composition of Cement:

The raw materials used for the manufacture of cement consist mainly of lime, silica, alumina and iron
oxide. These oxides interact with one another in the kiln at high temperature to form more complex
compounds. The relative proportions of these oxide compositions are responsible for influencing the
various properties of cement; in addition to rate of cooling and fineness of grinding. Table below shows
the approximate oxide composition limits of ordinary Portland cement.

Oxide % Content
CaO 60–67
SiO2 17–25
Al2O3 3.0–8.0
Fe2O3 0.5–6.0
MgO 0.1–4.0
Alkalies ( K2O, Na2O) 0.4–1.3
SO3 1.3–3.0
 Cement Compounds:
The identification of the major compounds of cement is largely based on Bogue’s equations and hence
it is called “Bogue’s Compounds”. The four compounds usually regarded as major compounds & other
minor compounds are listed in table:

Abbreviated %
Name of Compound Formula
Formula Weight
Tricalcium silicate 3CaO,SiO2 C3S 55
Major or
Dicalcium silicate 2CaO,SiO2 C2S 20
Bogue’s
Tricalcium aluminate 3CaO,Al2O3 C3A 10
Compounds
Tetracalcium aluminoferrite 4CaO,Al2O3,Fe2O3 C4AF 8
Sodium oxide Na2O N
Minor 2
Potassium oxide K2O K
Compounds
Gypsum CaSO4,2H2O CSH2 5

The equations suggested by Bogue for calculating the percentages of major compounds are given
below:

C3S = 4.07 (CaO) – 7.60 (SiO2) – 6.72 (Al2O3) – 1.43 (Fe2O3) – 2.85 (SO3)
C2S = 2.87 (SiO2) – 0.754 (3CaO.SiO2)
C3A = 2.65 (Al2O3) – 1.69 (Fe2O3)
C4AF= 3.04 (Fe2O3)

 Properties of Cement Compounds:

These compounds contribute to the properties of cement in different ways -

Tricalcium Aluminate, C3A:

 It liberates a lot of heat during the early stages of hydration, but has little strength contribution.
 Formed in 24 hrs of addition of water
 Check setting time of cement

Tricalcium Silicate, C3S:

 This compound hydrates and hardens rapidly.
 It is largely responsible for portland cement’s initial set and early strength gain.
 Formed within week
 Contribute about 50-60% of strength
 Content increase for the pre-fabricated concrete construction, Cold weathering construction.

Dicalcium silicate, C2S:

 C2S hydrates and hardens slowly.
 It is largely responsible for strength gain after one week.
 Last compound formed during hydration of cement
 Structure requires later stages strength proportion of this component increase e.g. hydraulic
structures, bridges.
 Ferrite, C4AF:
 This is a fluxing agent which reduces the melting temperature of the raw materials in the kiln.
 It hydrates rapidly, but does not contribute much to strength of the cement paste.
 Formed within 24 hours of addition of water
 High heat of hydration in initial periods

By mixing these compounds appropriately, manufacturers can produce different types of cement to
suit several construction environments.

 Heat of Hydration:
The heat of hydration is the heat generated when water and portland cement react. Heat of hydration
is most influenced by the proportion of C3S and C3A in the cement, but is also influenced by water-
cement ratio, fineness and curing temperature. As each one of these factors is increased, heat of
hydration increases. In large mass concrete structures such as gravity dams, hydration heat is produced
significantly faster than it can be dissipated (especially in the center of large concrete masses), which
can create high temperatures in the center of these large concrete masses that, in turn, may cause
undesirable stresses as the concrete cools to ambient temperature. Conversely, the heat of hydration
can help maintain favourable curing temperatures during winter