Portland Cements

INTRODUCTION
Cement is broadly described as material having adhesive
and cohesive property with capacity to bond the material
like stone, bricks, building blocks etc.

Cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens

independently, and can bind other materials together.

Cements are inorganic material that shows the cementing

properties of setting and hardening when mixed with water.

Cement is prepared from calcareous (Ca) material and

argillaceous (Al + Si) material.
 calcareous (Ca) raw materil

Portland Cement production (Summary) Limestone is a sedimentary rock

composed primarily of calcium carbonate
(CaCO3) in the form of the mineral calcite.
argillaceous (Al + Si) rae material
Clay minerals are composed essentially of
silica, alumina or magnesia or both, and
water, but iron substitutes for aluminum
and magnesium in varying degrees, and
appreciable quantities of potassium,
sodium, and calcium are frequently present
as well.

Some clay minerals may be expressed

using ideal chemical formulas as the
following: 2SiO2Al2O32H2O (kaolinite),
4SiO2Al2O3H2O (pyrophyllite),
4SiO23MgOH2O (talc), and
3SiO2Al2O35FeO4H2O (chamosite). The
SiO2 ratio in a formula is the key factor
determining clay mineral types.
Portland Cement production (Summary)
Composition of Portland cement
 Hydration of Cement (reaction) with water:

When water is added to cement, each of the compounds

undergoes hydration and contributes to the final concrete product.

Calcium silicates contribute to strength

Tricalcium silicate is responsible for most of the early strength
(first 7 days).

Dicalcium silicate, which reacts more slowly, contributes only

to the strength at later times.
The rates of hydration during the first few days ranked from fastest
to slowest are:
 TRICALCIUM SILICATE HYDRATION:
Upon the addition of water, tricalcium silicate rapidly reacts to release calcium ions,
hydroxide ions, and a large amount of heat.

The pH quickly rises to over 12 because of the release of alkaline hydroxide (OH-) ions.
DICALCIUM SILICATE HYDRATION:

Dicalcium silicate reacts with water in a similar manner compared to tricalcium silicate, but
much more slowly. The heat released is less than that by the hydration of tricalcium silicate
because the dicalcium silicate is much less reactive.
Cement Uses:
for structural construction like:
buildings,
roads,
bridges,
dam etc.

The most important use

the production of mortar and concrete the bonding of

natural or artificial aggregates to form a strong building
material that is durable in the face of normal environmental
effects. Mortar is a workable paste used to bind
building blocks such as stones, bricks,
and concrete masonry units together, fill
and seal the irregular gaps between them,
and sometimes add decorative colors or
patterns in masonry walls.
What is the difference between cement and concrete?

Cement: the material used to bind the aggregate materials of

concrete.

Concrete: a combination of a cement and aggregate.

aggregate
History

In the last couple of decades of eighteenth century,

modern hydraulic cements began to be developed due
to fulfill following requirement
For finishing brick buildings in wet climates
Development of strong concretes
Hydraulic mortars for masonry construction of harbor works, etc., in
contact with sea water
James Parker developed cement from clay minerals and calcium carbonate
and patented as Roman cement in 1796. It was made into a mortar with sand,
set in 515 minutes. The success of "Roman Cement" led other manufacturers
to develop competing products by burning artificial mixtures of clay and
chalk.
Vicat produce artificial cement by burning of chalk and clay into
an intimate mixture in 1817.

Also, James Frost produced "British cement" in a similar manner

around the same time, and patented in 1822.

At the same time Portland cement, was patented by Joseph

Aspdin in 1824.
Based on the application, appearance and
constituent of cement
1. Acid resistance cement
2. Blast furnace cement
3. Coloured cement
4. White cement
5. Rapid hardening cement
6. High alumina cement
7. Puzzolana cement
8. Hydrophobic cement
9. Expanding cement
10. Low heat cement
11. Quick setting cement
12. Sulfate resisting cement
Types of Portland Cement
The cement is manufactured using
two main processes; wet and dry

The wet process, though the original

one, is being displaced by the dry
process, because of the saving in
heat
 RAW MATERIAL
* Calcareous materials: They are the stones which supply lime,
e.g. lime stone, cement rock, chalk, marine shells

* Argillaceous materials: These are the raw materials which

supply silica, alumina and iron oxide, e.g. clay, shale, ashes
and cement rock.

* Cement rock was initially used without any further addition. The
modern demands required some additives

* The waste material from other industries that contain bauxite,

iron and/or calcium carbonate, can also be used

* Gypsum is added to regulate the setting time of cement (4-5%)

CEMENT COMPOSITION
 Wet process
Dry process
Cost of grinding High Low

Length of kiln Short Long

Fuel consumption Low High

Composition control Difficult to control Easy to control

The main reactions that take place inside the kiln are:

CaCO3 CaO CO2

The formed lime (CaO) reacts with aluminum oxide to

form calcium aluminates and with silicon oxide to
give calcium silicates.
 Constituents of Cement and its
properties
Type and Conc. Of constituents give the cement its
properties
The most important property is the setting and hardening
which are mainly due to the interaction of constituents with
water via hydration and hydrolysis
These two reactions are exothermic evolving heat of
hydration/hydrolysis
The heat evolved is contributed to the following compounds
in order:
C3 A C3 S C4 AF C2 S
Low heat of setting cement is used in the construction of all
large dams to avoid cracking due to heat stresses
 OTHER CEMENTS
1) Pozzolans: made by grinding pozzolan with
hydrated lime. The early strength of this
cement is lower than that of portland cement,
but within one year the strengths are equal. It
is resistant to corrosion action of saline
solutions

2) High alumina cement: fusing lime stone and

bauxite. It has very high rate of development of
strength and superior resistance to sea water
and sulfate containing water
3) Silicate cements: withstand all concentrations of
inorganic acids except HF. Prepared by mixing finely
divided silica with sodium silicat
4) Sulfur cement: resistant to non oxidized acids and
salts. It should not be used in the presence of
alkalis, oils, greases and solvents
5) Polymer concrete: consists of aggregates plus
resins. Each resin imparts specific property to
concrete such as rapid curing, corrosion resistance
or high compressive strength
6) Magnesium oxichloride cement:

3MgO MgCl2 11H 2O 3MgO.MgCl2 .11H 2O

The product is hard and strong but is attacked by
water which leaches out MgCl2. Its main
application is as flooring cement