M1 MANUFACTURING OF PORTLAND CEMENT In the manufacturing process the

following operations are involved Mixing of raw materials,Burning,Grinding,Packing and

Distribution There are two processes knownas 'wet' and 'dry' processes depending upon
whether the mixing and grinding of raw materials is done in wet or dry conditions (Wet
Process & Dry Process) 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 Lime 60-67% Major ingredient of cement Excess quantity of
lime makes the cement unsound If it is less, it decreases the strength and allows the
cement to set quickly Silica 17-25% An important ingredient which gives strength to
cement If it is in excess silica allows the cement to set slowly Alumina3-8% This imparts
quick setting time to the cement If it is in excess quantity, it weakens the cement It also
lowers the temperature of clinkers Iron Oxide (Fe20 3)0.5-6% It helps the fusion of the
raw materials during burning stage It gives colour, strength and hardness to cement
Magnesium Oxide (MgO)0.1-4% If present in small quantities, MgO imparts hardness
and colour to cement If becomes excess quantity, weakens the cement Sulphur Trioxide
(SO3)0.4-1.3% An important ingredient which gives strength to cement If it is in excess
silica allows the cement to set slowly Alkalies 1.3-3% Small quantities are required
Alkalies and other impurities present in raw materials are carried by the flue gases
during heating If it is in excess quantity, efflorescence is caused TESTS ON CEMENT:
Fineness Test Finer cement offers a greater surface area for hydration and hence faster
the development of strength The disadvantages of fine grinding is that it is susceptible
to airset and early deterioration Fineness of cement is tested in two ways: •By sieving
(Sieve Analysis) •By determination of specific surface (Air Permeability Method) SIEVE
TEST: Weigh correctly 100 grams of cement and take it on a standard IS Sieve No. 9
(90microns) Break down the air-set lumps in the sample with fingers Continuously
sieve the sample giving circular and vertical motion for a period of 15 minutes
Mechanical sieving devices may also be used Weigh the residue left on the sieve This
weight shall not exceed 10% for ordinary cement. Sieve test is rarely used
AIR PERMEABILITY METHOD: This method of test covers the procedure for determining the
fineness of cement as represented by specific surface expressed as total surface area in
sq. cm/gm. of cement It is also expressed in m2/kg Lea and Nurse Air Permeability
Apparatus can be used for measuring the specific surface of cement The principle is
based on the relation between the flow of air through the cement bed and the surface
area of the particles comprising the cement bed The cement bed in the permeability cell
is 1 cm high and 2.5 cm in diameter Knowing the density of cement the weight required
to make a cement bed of porosity of 0.475 can be calculated.  The cement bed in the
permeability cell is 1 cm high and 2.5 cm in diameter This quantity of cement is placed in
the permeability cell in a standard manner Slowly pass on air through the cement
bed(v=constant) Adjust the rate of air flow until the flowmeter shows a difference in
level of 30-50 cm Read the difference in level (h1) of the manometer and the difference
in level (h2) of the flowmeter Repeat these observations to ensure that steady
conditions have been obtained as shown by a constant value of h1/h2 Specific surface
Sw is calculated STANDARD CONSISTENCY it is defined as that consistency which will
permit a Vicat plunger having 10 mm diameter and 50 mm length to penetrate to a depth
of 33-35 mm from the top of the mould Vicat Appartus is used to find out the
percentage of water required to produce a cement paste of standard consistency The
standard consistency of the cement paste is some time called normal consistency (CPNC)
Take about 500 g of cement and prepare a paste with a weighed quantity of water.(say
24% by weight) The paste must be prepared and filled into the mould within 3-5 minutes
& After filling shake the mould to expel air A standard plunger, 10 mm diameter, 50 mm
long is attached and brought down to touch the surface of the paste in the test block and
quickly released allowing it to sink into the paste by its own weight SETTING TIME TEST
An arbitrary division has been made for the setting time of cement as initial setting time
and final setting time Initial setting time is regarded as the time elapsed between the
moment that the water is added to the cement, to the time that the paste starts losing its
plasticity The final setting time is the time elapsed between the moment the water is
added to the cement, and the time when the paste has completely lost its plasticity and
has attained sufficient firmness to resist certain definite pressure The Vicat Apparatus is
used for setting time test Take 500 g of cement sample and mix it with 0.85 times the
water required to produce cement paste of standard consistency (0.85 P) The paste
must be prepared and filled into the mould within 3-5 minutes & After filling shake the
mould to expel air Start the stop watch the moment water is added to the cement. The
temperature of water and that of the test room, at the time of gauging shall be within
27°C ± 2°C. Initial Setting Time: Lower the needle gently and bring it in contact with the
surface of the test block and quickly release Allow it to penetrate into the test block In
the beginning, the needle will completely pierce through the test block The period
elapsing between the time when water is added to the cement and the time at which the
needle penetrates the test block to a depth equal to 33-35 mm from the top is taken as
initial setting time Final Setting Time Replace the needle of the Vicat apparatus by a
circular attachment The cement shall be considered as finally set when, upon, lowering
the attachment gently cover the surface of the test block, the centre needle makes an
impression, while the circular cutting edge of the attachment fails to do so In other
words the paste has attained such hardness that the centre needle does not pierce
through the paste more than 0.5 mm IS SPECIFICATIONs Initial setting time not less than
30 minutes Final setting time should not be more than 10 hours. SPECIFIC
GRAVITY:Clean the Lechatlier flask before use (It should be free from moisture) Now,
Take weight of empty flask as W1 Take around 50 g of cement and fill in flask Fix
stopper on flask and weight flask with cement as W2 Now fill kerosene in flask up to the
neck of bottle Thoroughly mix cement and kerosene in flask taking care no air bubble
left in it. Record this weight as W3 Empty flask and clean it Now fill kerosene in it up to
neck of bottle and record the weight as W4. Sg=W2-W1/(W2-W1)-(W3-W4)x0.79
sp.gravity of kerosene is 0.79g/cc COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TEST Strength of
cement is indirectly found on cement sand mortar in specific proportions The standard
sand is used for finding the strength of cement (It shall conform to IS 650-1991) Take
555g of standard sand (Ennore sand), 185g of cement (i.e., ratio of cement to sand is 1:3)
in a nonporous enamel tray Mix them with a trowel for one minute add water of
quantity [( P/4) + 3.0 ]per cent of combined weight of cement and sand and mix the three
ingredients thoroughly until the mixture is of uniform colour The time of mixing should
not be less than 3 minutes nor more than 4 minutes Immediately after mixing, the
mortar is filled into a cube mould of size 7.06 cm The area of the face of the cube will be
equal to 50 sq cm Compact the mortar either by hand compaction in astandard specified
manner or on the vibrating equipment (12000 RPM) for 2 minutes Keep the compacted
cube in the mould at a temperature of 27°C ± 2°C and at least 90 per cent relative
humidity for 24 hours After 24 hours the cubes are removed from the mould and
immersed in clean fresh water until taken out for testing Three cubes are tested for
compressive strength at the The compressive strength shall be the average of the
strengths of the three cubes for each period respectively SOUNDNESS TEST: The
testing of soundness of cement, to ensure that the cement does not show any
appreciable subsequent expansion Unsoundness in cement is due to excess of lime,
excess of magnesia or excessive proportion of sulphates There are number of tests in
common use Autoclave Le Chatelier test LE CHATELIER TEST It consists of a small
split cylinder of spring brass or other suitable metal. It is 30 mm in diameter and 30 mm
high Cement is gauged with 0.78 times the water required for standard consistency, in a
standard manner and filled into the mould kept on a glass plate The mould is covered on
the top with another glass plate The whole assembly is immersed in water at a
temperature of 27°C– 32°C and kept there for 24 hours Measure the distance between
the indicator points Submerge the mould again in water Heat the water and bring to
boiling point in about 25-30 minutes and keep it boiling for 3 hours Remove the mould
from the water, allow it to cool and measure the distance between the indicator points
The difference between these two measurements represents the expansion of cement
If the expansion is more than 10 mm as tested above, the cement is said to be unsound
The Le Chatelier test detects unsoundness due to free lime only AUTOCLAVE TEST
Cement specimen of size 25 × 25 mm is placed in a standard autoclave and the steam
pressure inside the autoclave is raised in such a rate as to bring the gauge pressure of the
steam to 21 kg/ sq cm in 60 – 90 minutes from the time the heat is turned on.This
pressure is maintained for 3 hours The high steam pressure accelerates the hydration of
both magnesia and lime The autoclave is cooled and the length measured again Then
the obtained value is compared with standard value for each type of cement TYPES OF
AGGREGATES Aggregates can be classified as Normal weight aggregates, Light weight
aggregates and Heavy weight aggregates .Normal weight aggregates can be further
classified as natural aggregates and artificial aggregates. Natural : Sand, Gravel, Crushed
Rock such as Granite, Quartzite, Basalt , Sandstone Artificial : Broken Brick, Air-cooled
Slag, Sintered fly ash, Bloated clay Aggregates can also be classified on the basis of the
size of the aggregates as coarse aggregate and fine aggregate The size of aggregate
bigger than 4.75 mm is considered as coarse aggregate and aggregate whose size is 4.75
mm and less is considered as fine aggregate Based on shape of the aggregate are
classified as Rounded, Irregular or Partly rounded, Angular and Flaky Classification based
on source: Aggregates from Igneous Rocks, Aggregates from Sedimentary Rocks,
Aggregates from Metamorphic Rocks GRADING OF AGGREGATES Aggregate
comprises about 55 % of the volume of mortar and about 85 % volume of mass concrete
Mortar contains aggregate of size of 4.75 mm and concrete contains aggregate upto a
maximum size of 150 mm Good grading implies that a sample of aggregates contains all
standard fractions of aggregate in required proportion such that the sample contains
minimum voids A sample of the well graded aggregate containing minimum voids will
require minimum paste to fill up the voids in the aggregates Minimum paste will mean
less quantity of cement and less quantity of water, which will further mean increased
economy, higher strength, lower-shrinkage and greater durability Sieve Analysis The
sieve analysis is conducted to determine the particle size distribution in a sample of
aggregate, which we call gradation The aggregates used for making concrete are
normally of the maximum size 80 mm, 40 mm, 20 mm, 10 mm, 4.75 mm, 2.36 mm, 600
micron, 300micron and 150 micron The aggregate fraction from 80 mm to 4.75 mm are
termed as coarse aggregate and those fraction from 4.75 mm to 150 micron are termed as
fine aggregate. The size 4.75 mm is a common fraction appearing both in coarse
aggregate and fine aggregate (C.A. and F.A.) Well graded : a soil have a good range of all
representative particle size between the largest and the smallest Uniformly graded :
poorly graded soil are either those containing a narrow range of particle size or those
with some intermediate size lacking Gap graded : soil that have some intermediate size
IMPORTANCE OF GRADATIONThe grading of aggregate is an important characteristic
because it determines the paste requirement for workable concrete. This paste
requirement is the factor controlling the cost, since cement is the most expensive
component. It is therefore desirable to minimize the amount of paste consistent with the
production of concrete that can be handled, compacted, and finished while providing the
necessary strength and durability. The required amount of cement paste is dependent
upon the amount of void space that must be filled and the total surface area that must be
covered. When the particles are of uniform size the spacing is the greatest, but when a
range of sizes is used the void spaces are filled and the paste requirement is lowered. The
more these voids are filled, the less workable the concrete becomes, therefore, a
compromise between workability and economy is necessaryBULKING OF
AGGREGATESThe free moisture content in fine aggregate results in bulking of volume
& forms a film around each particle.This film of moisture exerts surface tension which
keeps the neighboring particles away from it.Similarly, the force exerted by surface
tension keeps every particle away from each other.Therefore, no point contact is
possible between the particles.This causes bulking of the volume. The extent of surface
tension and consequently how far the adjacent particles are kept away will depend upon
the percentage of moisture content and the particle size of the fine aggregate. The
bulking increases with the increase in moisture content upto a certain limit and beyond
that the further increase in the moisture content results in the decrease in the volume
and at a moisture content representing saturation point Due to the bulking, fine
aggregate shows completely unrealistic volume It is very important to consider the
effect of bulking in the case of volume batching. The extent of bulking can be estimated
by a simple field test The extent of bulking can be estimated by a simple field test. A
sample of moist fine aggregate is filled into a measuring cylinder in the normal manner.
Note down the level, say h1. Pour water into the measuring cylinder and completely
inundate the sand and shake it.Since the volume of the saturated sand is the same as
that of the dry sand, the inundated sand completely offsets the bulking effect % of
bulking=(h1-h2/h2)x100 Water QUALITY FOR CONSTRUCTION •Water is one of the
most important element in construction and it is required for the preparation of mortar,
mixing of cement concrete and Curing work.•The quality of water used has a direct
impact on the strength of the mortar and cement concrete in construction work. •The
water used for mixing and curing must free from high quantities alkalies, acid, oil, sugar,
salt, organic materials and vegetable growth because it harmful for bricks, concrete and
iron. •Impurities in water can cause the metallic corrosion introducing unwanted salt and
clay into the concrete.•That affect the hardening process of concrete and it also reduce
the strength by 25%.* pH value of water shall be not less than 6. *Mixing or curing of
concrete with sea water is not recommended because of presence of harmful salts in sea
water. *Under unavoidable circumstances sea water my used for mixing or curing in plain
concrete ADMIXTURE is defined as a material, other than cement, water and
aggregates, that is used as an ingredient of concrete and is added to the batch
immediately before or during mixingTYPES OF ADMIXTURES: 1.mineral admixtures:
These admixtures do not have any binding property by themselves but they react with
calcium hydroxide liberated on hydration of cement and produce cementing compound.
•Commonly used pozzolanic materials are fly ash, silica fumes, ground granulated blast
furnace slag (GGBFS), surkhi, ricehusk and Metakaolin FLY ASH: Fly ash is a fine gray
powder consisting mostly of spherical, glassy particles that are produced as a byproduct
in coal-fired power stations. Fly ash has pozzolanic properties, meaning that it reacts with
lime to form cementitious compounds. It is commonly known as a supplementary
cementitious material •GROUND GRANULATED BLAST FURNACE SLAG : is obtained
by quenching molten iron slag from a blast furnace in water or steam, to produce
a glassy, granular product that is then dried and ground into a fine powder. It is highly
cementitious and high in calcium silicate hydrates which is a strength enhancing
compound which improves the strength, durability and appearance of the concrete.
CHEMICAL ADMIXTURES: When these admixtures are added to concrete mix, they
spread throughout the body of concrete and chemically react to impart special
properties. •These chemical are generally available in the liquid form in bottles •Only
small quantities of chemical admixtures are to be added to the water used for making
concrete. Plasticizers: The organic substances or combinations of organic and inorganic
substances, which allow a reduction in water content for the given workability, or give a
higher workability at the same water content, are termed as plasticizing admixtures. •A
good plasticizer fluidizes the mortar or concrete in a different manner than that of the air-
entraining agents Superplasticizers > Use of superplasticizers permit the reduction of
water to the extent upto 30 per cent without reducing workability in contrast to the
possible reduction up to 15 per cent in case of plasticizers. *The use of superplasticizer is
practiced for production of flowing. self levelling, self compacting and for the production
of high strength and high performance concrete. Accelerators are used to reduce the
initial setting > They speed up the process of initial stage of hardening of concrete hence
they are also called as accelerators. *These accelerators also improves the strength of
concrete in it early stage by increasing the rate of hydration. Retarders > Retarding
admixtures slow down the rate of hydration of cement in its initial stage and increase the
initial setting time of concrete. >These are also called as retarders and used especially in
high temperature zones where concrete will set quickly *The quick setting in some
situations may lead to discontinuities in structure, poor bond between the surfaces,
creates unnecessary voids in concrete etc. VENEER: •The wood veneer is the finest
appearance of wood. • The primary process in the manufacture of wood based products
is veneering which produces thin sheets of wood known as veneers. • The thickness of
veneers vary from 0.4 mm to 0.6 mm. • Wood veneers of superior quality wood enhanced
the appearance and strength of wood. • It also increases resistance to shrinkage and
warpage. • Teak, sissco, rose wood yield good veneers. • The good quality woods are cut
into log of 1.5 m to 2.5 m length and steamed. They are cut into thin sheets by rotary
cutting machines or by slicing manually. These slices are glued together. • It is mainly
used for interior decorationUSES VENEER:•They are mainly used for Interior decoration.
• These are used in the manufacture of plywoods and other laminated boards. • They are
used where premium finishes are required and where touch and feel are critical to the
user like in executive offices, conference rooms, reception desks and home offices. •
Wood veneer is also used to decorate furniture for residential projects, hotel projects,
offices. • Processed to create a variety of products such as flexible veneer sheets, wood
veneer boards, wood veneer wallpaper, etc. • They are used to make customized luxury
products such as wine boxes PLYWOOD • Plywood – made by gluing thin layer of wood or
veneers. • Wood panel glued under pressure from an odd number of piles of veneers is
known as plywood. • The directions of veneers in successive layer are kept at right
anglesto each other, so that good strength is obtained in all directions. • The number of
veneers used is always odd. • To get good appearance and to maintain economy, one
face of the plywood is with very good quality veneer while the bulk of it is of ordinary
quality wood FIBRE BOARD•Made out of wood fibres. • Manufacture-wooden chips are
placed in boiling water till fibres separate. These fibres are blended with resin and
steamed under pressure. These wood fibres are allowed to flow out and then spread in
the form of sheets. Machine pressed under controlled heat and pressure.PARTICLE
BOARD• Manufactured from chips of wood, rice husk or bagasse obtained after gluing
material like formaldehyde. • The adhesive coated material is spread in three layers along
with a resin mix. • The middle layers consist coarser material while outer layer consists of
finer material with higher resin content. • The mat is then pressed in the presence of
heat, using hydraulic process.. These boards are provided with veneers
MULTIWOOD•Multi-wood refers to a white sheet that is supposed to be made of a “U”
Pvc polyester resin. It is a completely recyclable wood that is great to look and
environmentfriendly as well. •great substitute for wood that can be used even in
moistureprone areas