CEMENT TECHNOLOGY

Contents
1. What is Cement
2. Hydraulic and Non-Hydraulic Cement
3. History
4. Modern Cements
5. Setting, Hardening and Curing of
Cement
6. Safety Issues
7. Cement industry in the world
8. Environmental Impact
What is Cement
 It is a material which possesses adhesive and
cohesive properties and capable of binding the
materials like bricks, stones, building blocks,
etc.
 It is chemically defined as the finely ground
mixture of calcium aluminate and silicates of
varying compositions, which hydrate when
mixed with water to form a rigid solid structure
with good compressive strength.
Hydraulic and Non-Hydraulic Cement
History

Portland Stone
ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an
international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus
technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services.
 Modern Cements

Modern cements are often Portland cement or Portland cement blends, but
industry also uses other cements.

Joseph Aspdin- Father of modern Portland

Cement Industry.
1824- He produced an improved cement by
heating a mixture of limestone and clay and
crushing the resulting product to a fine powder.
 WHAT IS PORTLAND CEMENT?
 It is the essential bonding material in concrete,
which is the most widely used non- metallic material
of construction, in our industrial age.
 Definition- “ Extremely finely ground product
obtained by calcining together at about 15000C, an
intimate and properly proportioned mixture of clay
containing and lime containing raw materials,
without the addition of anything subsequent to
calcination, except the retarder gypsum.”
 Portland cement is also known as “ Magic
Powder”.
 Portland Cement is a greenish gray colored
powder whose important constituents are:

Name Chemical Formula Abbreviation Setting Time

(Days)
Tri Calcium 3 CaOSiO2 C3S 7
Silicate
Di Calcium 2 CaOSiO2 C2S 28
Silicate
Tri Calcium 3 CaOAl2O3 C3A 1
Aluminate
Tetra Calcium 4 CaOAl2O3.Fe2O3 C4AF 1
Aluminoferrite
 DICALCIUM SILICATE
 It hardens slowly, and its effect of strength
occurs at ages beyond one week.
 This is due to its slower rate of reaction with
water.
 The heat of hydration is 420 KJ/Kg.

 However, if moist curing is continued, the later

strength after about 6 months will be greater for
cements with a higher % of C2S.
 TRICALCIUM SILICATE
 It is responsible for initial set and early
strength as it hardens rapidly.
 Heat of hydration is 880 KJ/Kg.

 Here hydral gel is responsible for the binding

action between the aggregates.
 TRICALCIUM ALUMINATE
 When cement is mixed with water, the paste becomes quite rigid within
a short time which is known as Initial set or Flash set.
 Heat of hydration is 250 KJ/Kg.
 It hydrates rapidly.

 In order to retard the flash set, gypsum CaSO4.2H2O is added during

the pulverization (grinding) of cement clinkers.

 Gypsum retards the dissolution of C3A by interacting with it, forming

insoluble complex sulpho aluminate which does not have quick
hydrating properties.
TETRACALCIUM ALUMINO FERRITE
 It reacts with water and forms both gel and
crystalline compounds.

 These gels shrink with passage of time and

leave some capillaries for the water to come in
contact with C3S and C2S to undergo further
hydration and hydrolysis reaction enabling the
development of greater strength over a length of
time.
DEVELOPMENT OF STRENGTH BY MAJOR
CONSTITUENTS IN CEMENT
 TYPES OF PORTLAND CEMENT
 Ordinary Portland Cement
 Low Heat Portland Cement
 Rapid Hardening Portland Cement
 Portland Puzzolana Cement
 Quick Setting Portland Cement
 Portland Blast Furnace Slag
Cement
 Sulphate Resisting Portland
Cement
ORDINARY PORTLAND
CEMENT
Most active binding medium.
Has adhesive and cohesive properties
Used for normal concrete construction work.
Solidifies when mixed with water.

LOW HEAT PORTLAND CEMENT

 When concrete is poured in any structure, an

appreciable rise in temperature occur and a certain
amount of heat is generated during setting and
hardening of cement.
 The heat generated in ordinary cement at the end
of 3 days may be at the order of 80 calories per
gram of cement, while in low heat cement it is 50
calories per gram.
 Used in massive construction like retaining walls ,
abutments, dams, etc.
RAPID HARDENING
PORTLAND CEMENT
 Also known as High-early strength cement.
 Similar to ordinary cement except it is ground
fine, possess more tricalcium silicate and less
dicalcium silicate

PORTLAND POZZOLANA CEMENT

 It is specially useful in marine and underwater

construction.
 Pozzolana is the name given to volcanic ashes which
is chiefly siliceous material.
 Prepared by mixing and grinding clinkers and
pozzolana together.
 Also used in sewage works and for laying concrete
under water.
 QUICK SETTING PORTLAND
CEMENT
 It is a special cement, the setting action of
which starts within 5 minutes and final setting
is over within 30 minutes, after that the
cement becomes hard.
 Therefore it should be mixed and placed
immediately.
 It is used for concrete work under water, or for
concreting in running water.

PORTLAND BLAST FURNACE

SLAG CEMENT
 The waste product in iron manufacture (Pig Iron) in blast furnace can be
economically utilized to manufacture cement by treating the molten slag.
 As soon as the molten slag comes out from the furnace, cold water shower is
sprinkled upon it.
 Due to this treatment slag is converted into crystalline particles known as
granulated slag.
 This granulated slag has hydraulic property.
 Portland cement clinker, dry granular slag and small % of gypsum are mixed
while grinding the cement clinker
 Used for mass concrete works.
 It is not affected by sea water and thus used for marine structures.
SULPHATE RESISTING
PORTLAND CEMENT
Contains below 5 % Tricalcium Silicate.
The chemical combination of tricalcium aluminate
and tetra calcium alumino-ferrite renders the
resistance to ordinary cement from sulphate
attack.
It is used for structures which are likely to be
damaged by severe alkaline conditions, such as
canal linings, culverts, siphons, etc.
 COMPOSITION
CaO 70 %
SiO2 20 %
Al2O3 3-8 %
Fe2O3 2-4 %
MgO 1-5 %
SO3 1-3 %
Na2O+K2O 03- 15 %
CaSO4.2H2O 2%
 Setting, Hardening and Curing of Cement

 Cement starts to set when mixed with water, which

causes a series of hydration chemical reactions.
 The constituents slowly hydrate and the mineral hydrates
solidify and harden.
 The interlocking of the hydrates gives cement its strength.
 Contrary to popular belief, hydraulic cement does not set
by drying out — proper curing requires maintaining the
appropriate moisture content necessary for the hydration
reactions during the setting and the hardening processes.
 If hydraulic cements dry out during the curing phase, the
resulting product can be insufficiently hydrated and
significantly weakened.
 A minimum temperature of 5 °C is recommended, and no
more than 30 °C.
 The concrete at young age must be protected against
water evaporation due to direct insolation, elevated
temperature, low relative humidity and wind
 Safety Issues

 Bags of cement routinely have health and safety warnings printed on them
because not only is cement highly alkaline, but the setting process
is exothermic.
 As a result, wet cement is strongly caustic (pH = 13.5) and can easily cause
severe skin burns if not promptly washed off with water.
 Similarly, dry cement powder in contact with mucous membranes can cause
severe eye or respiratory irritation.
 Some trace elements, such as chromium, from impurities naturally present in
the raw materials used to produce cement may cause allergic dermatitis.
 Reducing agents such as ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) are often added to cement to
convert the carcinogenic hexavalent chromate (CrO42−) into trivalent chromium
(Cr3+), a less toxic chemical species.
 Cement users need also to wear appropriate gloves and protective clothing.
Cement industry in the world

 In 2010, the world production of hydraulic cement was 3,300 million tonnes (3.2×109 long tons; 3.6×109 short
tons).
 The top three producers were China with 1,800, India with 220, and USA with 63.5 million tonnes for a total
of over half the world total by the world's three most populated states.
 Environmental Impact

 Cement manufacture causes environmental impacts at all stages of the

process.
 These include emissions of airborne pollution in the form of dust,
gases, noise and vibration when operating machinery and during
blasting in quarries, and damage to countryside from quarrying.
 Equipment to reduce dust emissions during quarrying and manufacture
of cement is widely used, and equipment to trap and separate exhaust
gases are coming into increased use.
 Environmental protection also includes the re-integration of quarries
into the countryside after they have been closed down by returning
them to nature or re-cultivating them.
 CO2 emissions-Carbon concentration in cement spans from ≈5% in
cement structures to ≈8% in the case of roads in cement. Cement
manufacturing releases CO2 in the atmosphere both directly
when calcium carbonate is heated, producing lime and carbon dioxide,
 Heavy metal emissions in the air-
e.g. thallium, cadmium and mercury
 Heavy metals present in the clinker-Nickel, zinc and lead are
commonly found in cement