Page 1 of 27

Historical Background of Cement

The history of cementing materials is as old as the history of engineering construction. Throughout
history, cementing materials have played a vital role and were used widely in the ancient world.
Some kind of engineering materials were used by the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and Indians in their
ancient constructions.
It is believed that the early Egyptians mostly used cementing materials, obtained by burning gypsum.
An analysis of mortar from the great pyramid showed that it contained 81.5 per cent calcium
sulphate and only 9.5 per cent calcium carbonate.
The early Greeks and Romans used cementing materials obtained by burning limestones and added
sand to make mortar, with coarser stones for concrete. The remarkable hardness of mortar used in
early Roman brickworks, some of which still exist, is presenting sufficient evidence of the perfection
which the art of cementing material had attained in ancient time. The superiority of Roman mortar
has been attributed to thoroughness of mixing and long continued ramming.
The Greeks and Romans later became aware of the fact that certain volcanic ash and tuff, when
mixed with lime and sand yielded mortal possessing superior strength and better durability in fresh
or salt water.
The Romans also found that cement could be made which set under water and this was used for the
construction of harbours. The Roman builders used or added crushed volcanic ash and tuff to lime.
Such volcanic ash and tuff were found near Pozzuoli village near Mount Vesuvius in Italy. This
volcanic ash or tuff mostly siliceous in nature and thus acquired the name “Pozzuolana”. Later on,
the name Pozzuolana was applied to any other material, natural or artificial, having nearly the same
composition as that of volcanic tuff or ash found at Pozzuoli.
The Romans in the absence of natural volcanic ash used powdered tiles or pottery as pozzuolana. In
places where volcanic ash was scarce, such as Britain, crushed brick or tile was used instead. The
Romans were therefore probably the first to manipulate systematically the properties of
cementitious materials for specific applications and situations.
Similarly, in India, powdered brick named “surkhi” has been used in mortar. The Indian practice of
through mixing and long continued ramming of lime mortar with or without the addition of surkhi
yielded strong and impervious mortar which confirmed the secret superiority of Roman mortar.
It is understood that the Romans added blood, milk and lard to their mortar and concrete to achieve
better workability. Haemoglobin is a powerful air entraining agent and plasticizer, which perhaps is
yet another reason for the durability of Roman structures. Probably they did not know the durability
aspect but used them as workability agent.
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What is Cement?
Cement is a binder, a substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other
materials to bind them together.
Property of Cement
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.
Classification of cement
Cements used in construction are usually inorganic, often lime or calcium silicate based, which can
be characterized as non-hydraulic or hydraulic respectively, depending on the ability of the cement
to set in the presence of water.
Cement materials can be classified into two distinct categories: non-hydraulic cements and hydraulic
cements according to their respective setting and hardening mechanisms. Hydraulic cements setting
and hardening involve hydration reactions and therefore require water, while non-hydraulic
cements only react with a gas and can directly set under air.
Non-hydraulic cement does not set in wet conditions or under water. Rather, it sets as it dries and
reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. It is resistant to attack by chemicals after setting. e.g., slaked
lime (calcium oxide mixed with water), hardens by carbonation in contact with carbon dioxide,
which is present in the air (0.04 vol. %). First calcium oxide (lime) is produced from calcium
carbonate (limestone or chalk) by calcination at temperatures above 825 °C (1,517 °F) for about 10
hours at atmospheric pressure:
CaCO3 → CaO + CO2
The calcium oxide is then spent (slaked) mixing it with water to make slaked lime (calcium
hydroxide):
CaO + H2O → Ca(OH)2
Once the excess water is completely evaporated (this process is technically called setting), the
carbonation starts:
Ca(OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 + H2O
This reaction is slow, because the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the air is low
(~ 0.4 millibar). The carbonation reaction requires that the dry cement be exposed to air, so
the slaked lime is a non-hydraulic cement and cannot be used under water. This process is
called the lime cycle.
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Hydraulic cements (e.g., Portland cement) set and become adhesive due to a chemical reaction
between the dry ingredients and water. The chemical reaction results in mineral hydrates that are
not very water-soluble and so are quite durable in water and safe from chemical attack. This allows
setting in wet conditions or under water and further protects the hardened material from chemical
attack. The chemical process for hydraulic cement was found by ancient Romans who used volcanic
ash (pozzuolana) with added lime (calcium oxide).

History of Portland cement

The investigations of L.J. Vicat led him to prepare an artificial hydraulic lime by calcining an intimate
mixture of limestone and clay. This process may be regarded as the leading knowledge of the
manufacture of Portland cement. James Frost also patented a cement of this kind in 1811 and
established a factory in London district.
The story of the invention of Portland cement is however attributed to Joseph Aspdin, a Leeds
builder and bricklayer, even though similar procedures had been adopted by other inventors. Joseph
Aspdin took the patent of Portland cement on the 21st October 1824. The fancy name of Portland
was given owing to the resemblance of this hardened cement to the natural stone occurring at
Portland in England.
In this process Aspdin mixed and ground hard limestones and finely divided clay into the form of
slurry and calcined it in a furnace similar to a lime kiln till the CO2 was expelled. The mixture so
calcined was then ground to a fine powder perhaps, a temperature lower than the clinkering
temperature was used by Aspdin. Later in 1845, Isaac Charles Johnson burnt a mixture of clay and
chalk till the clinkering stage to make better cement and established factories in 1851.
In the early period cement was used for making mortar only. Later the use cement was extended for
making concrete. As the use of Portland cement was increased for making concrete, engineers called
for consistently higher standard material for use in major works. Association of engineers,
consumers and cement manufacturers have been established to specify standards for cement. The
German standard specification for Portland cement was drawn in 1877. The British standard
specification was first drawn up in 1904. The first ASTM specification was issued in 1904.

Cement Industry Bangladesh Perspective: The development of cement industry in Bangladesh dates
back to the early-fifties. Till 1990 about 95% of the country's demand for cement had been met
through import. Some enthusiastic entrepreneurs ventured into setting up cement plants during
1997 to 2000, which opened a new era in this sector. Sep 7, 2017
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Currently in Bangladesh there are 32 cement manufacturing companies of which 7 are currently
listed and 4 are multinationals. 30 Mn MT of cement per annum is being produced with local
companies holding 80% of the market share due to their competitive advantage in price and quality.
Mar 20, 2019
Raw materials for manufacture of Portland cement
There are two kinds of raw materials for the manufacture of Portland cement.
1. Calcareous Materials: They supply lime. The following kinds of calcareous materials are used:
(i) Lime stone (containing 65 to 80%, CaCO3)
(ii) Marl
(iii) Chalk &
(iv) Alkali waste which contains ppc (precipitated calcium carbonate). It is obtained as by
product from the manufacture of caustic soda.
Condition of being a raw material of PC: calcareous materials should be such that they contain less
than 3.3 % of MgO and 3-4 % of SiO2, Al2O3 & Fe2O3 combined.
2. Argillaceous materials: They supply mainly silica, iron oxide and alumina. The followings are
the argillaceous materials:
(i) Clay
(ii) Shale
(iii) Slate
(iv) Blast Furnace Slag

Condition of being argillaceous materials: All these materials have 2.5 to 4 times more of silica than
alumina

Manufacture of Portland cement:

Outline of Manufacture: Cement factories are established where the raw materials are available in
plenty in order to reduce transportation cost. The process of manufacture of cement consists of
grinding of raw materials, mixing them intimately in certain proportions depending upon their purity
and composition and burning them in a kiln at a temperature of about 1300 - 1500°C (1400 -
1600°C), at which temperature, the material sinters and partially fuses to form nodular shaped
clinker. The clinker is cooled and ground to a fine powder with addition of about 2 to 3 % gypsum.
The product formed by using this procedure is Portland cement.
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Cement manufacturing processes: The selection of process in the manufacture of cement depends
upon whether the mixing and grinding of raw materials is done in wet or dry conditions. Based on
this fact, the processes involved in the manufacture of Portland cement are:
(i) Wet process (where the raw materials especially the calcareous materials are ground in
the presence of 30 – 40 % water) and
(ii) Dry process (where the raw materials are ground in the absence of water)
With a little change in the above process we have the semi-dry process also, where the raw
materials are ground dry and then mixed with about 10 – 14 % of water

Comparison between wet process and dry process: For many years the wet process remained
popular because of the possibility of more accurate control in the mixing of raw materials. The
techniques of intimate mixing of raw materials were available then. Later, the dry process gained
momentum with the modern development of the technique of dry mixing of powdered materials
using compressed air. The dry process requires much less fuel as the materials are already in a dry
state, whereas in wet process, the slurry contains about 35 – 50 % water. To dry the slurry we thus
require much more fuel. In India, most of the cement factories use the wet process. Recently a few
factories have been commissioned to employ the dry process.
Brief outline of the dry process: Dry process is used for the manufacture of cement when raw
material is either cement rock or blast furnace slag. Raw materials are separately crushed to 2-inch
or smaller pieces and then dried and stored separately. Crushing is done in gyratory crushers and
drying is done by means of rotary driers. The raw materials then mixed in proper ratio by automatic
weighing machines. The mixture is finely ground and burnt. Dry process is quite similar to wet
process with the only difference that no water is added to the raw material in grinding and thus no
slurry is made.

Wet process
Wet process is quite common and is universally employed for the manufacture of Portland cement.
The process can be described by the following successive steps:
1. Crushing and grinding of calcareous materials
2. Storage of ground materials
3. Correction vats
4. Kiln feed basins
5. Rotary kiln
6. Cooling of clinker
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7. Grinding of clinker
8. Sieving
9. Packing

These steps are being illustrated in detail:

Crushing and grinding of calcareous materials: The raw materials collected from the quarry are
normally larger in size (10 kg to 50 kg), which are then processed to fine powder in two steps; one is
crushing and the other step is grinding.
Crushing: The collected raw materials (limestone) are first crushed to smaller fragments by means of
a gyratory crusher and then stored.
Grinding: The grinding of the crushed materials is carried out in two stages; first by ball mill and then
by tube mill. Materials from ball mill to tube mill are conveyed by means of a screw driver. Before
grinding, the material is mixed with 30- 40 % water by weight.
Ball mill grinding: The ball mill consists of a cast Tube mill grinding: From ball mill the materials
iron drum containing chilled iron or steel balls of go to the tube mill. In construction, the tube mill
different sizes. The balls are retained by a is same as that of the ball mill but has a different
perforated metal plate and rotated by an electric shape. It is conical at the discharge end as shown
rotor. The crushed materials are then fed to the in fig.
ball mill and rotated by along with the balls. As a In principle, tube mill is the same as ball mill but
result of rotation, an impact and shear is it is continually operative. On one side the
produced on the raw materials by rolling, sliding material is fed and from the other side it comes
and tumbling of the balls. The ground particles of out. The size of grinding depends upon the speed
desired size falls on the sieve held below the of feeding. The slower the speed of feeding, the
metal plate and goes to the tube mill. The coarse longer the material receives impacts of the
particles are retained by the sieve and returned pebbles and finer is the discharged product.
to the interior of the drum through an opening After grinding 95 to 98 % of the material passes
as shown in Fig. through a 100-mesh sieve. The finer the particles
the better is the cement produced as the
reacting particles when finer have got more
surface contact.
Fig. Ball Mill Fig. Tube mill

Storage of ground materials: The ground raw materials containing 30-40 % water are stored in
separate basins or tanks equipped with agitators to prevent setting.
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Correction Vats: From raw material tanks, the materials are sent in fixed proportion to correction
vats. When the vat is full, a sample is drawn and analysed. If the slurry is not of the required
composition (Table 1), it is corrected by adding more of the deficient raw material.
Kiln Feed Basins: From correction vats, the material in the form of slurry goes to the kiln feed basins.
These basins are also equipped with agitators. Now the material is ready for feeding into the rotary
kiln.
Rotary Kiln: Rotary kiln is a steel cylinder lined with refractory bricks. The kiln is set at an angle from
the horizontal line. Generally the inclination is 0.5-0.75 inch in one foot. The kiln has several tyres,
which run on rollers. The kiln generally rotates at a speed of 0.5 to one revolution per minute. The
diameter of the kiln is 6 ft to 12 ft and length varies from 60 ft to 350 ft and sometimes it may go to
600 ft. The upper end of the kiln ends in a circular opening into a concrete chamber. The concrete
chamber is lined with refractory bricks and is connected with the kiln feed basins.
At the lower end of the kiln, there is a small chamber or hood made of fire clay bricks. This hood has
two openings, one for the fuel burning operation and the other for the observation of the whole
operation and recording the temperature etc. Through the hole, sometimes bar etc., is also inserted
to break the blocks formed by the clinker. The lower part of the hood is kept open for the clinker to
fall down.
Heating of the kiln: Heating of the kiln is done by burning pulverised coal which is injected through
special burners. Temperature maintained is 1400°C to 1500°C. Coal is pulverised by first crushing in
jaw crusher and then grinding in ball mills. Size of coal is such that 90 % pass through 100-mesh
sieve.
Reactions in the rotary kiln: In order to visualise the reactions that take place inside the rotary kiln, it
can be fragmented in to the following three parts:
1. Drying Zone: The first 1/4th length of the kiln from the upper side is the burning zone. In this
zone the temperature is up to 500°C.
At this temperature, (i) the water added during grinding of calcareous materials is driven out of the
slurry, (ii) The hydrated water from the clay mater is also driven out.
2. Calcining Zone: The second zone is the calcining zone. There the organic matter burns away
and limestone or calcium carbonate decomposes into calcium oxide at 1 atmosphere and
894°C, which escapes by the following reaction: CaCO3 (s) → CaO (s) + CO2 (g)
The above reaction is endothermic. This temperature is reduced to 500 °C - 600 °C if the reaction
takes place in contact with quartz or the decomposition products of clay minerals, which react with
the calcium oxide as it forms.
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In a wet-process or preheater system without a pre-calciner, most of the calcination takes place in
the rotary kiln within a moving mass of feed. This situation is not ideal for calcination because heat
transfer has to take place through a large mass of material and CO2 has to escape outwards as heat
moves inwards.
A pre-calciner calcines the raw material much more efficiently than a wet-process kiln. Raw meal is
dispersed in the hot gas and calcination takes place in seconds, rather than the half an hour or so
inside a kiln at the same temperature. After calcination, the material has to travel ¾th of the length
of the kiln.

Formation of early and intermediate compounds: During calcination, the lime produced starts to
react with other components of the raw feed. The initial silicate product is belite (2CaO.SiO2, or
dicalcium silicate). Some calcium aluminate and ferite phases (C4AF, or tetracalcium aluminoferrite)
also start to form. A number of phases are formed in the clinker feed before the burning zone is
reached. These intermediate phases dissociate in the burning zone and are not therefore found in
clinker but assist in forming the final clinker minerals.
3. Burning zone: After decarbonation/decomposition/ calcination, the material goes to the
hottest zone, called burning zone. The temperature in this zone is about 1300°C t0 1500°C
(more accurately 1450°C). The reactions are very quick in this zone. The clinker stays for
about 10-20 minutes in this zone, but a lot happens:

 The proportion of clinker liquid increases and nodules form.

 Intermediate phases dissociate to form liquid and belite.
 Belite reacts with free lime to form alite.
 Some volatile phases evaporate.

Clinker liquid and nodule formation: Above about 1300 °C the proportion of liquid starts to increase
- by 1450 °C, perhaps 20-30% of the mix is liquid. The liquid forms from melting ferrite and
aluminate phases and some belite. The liquid content is more than the sum of the aluminate and
ferrite phases in the cooled clinker because of the dissolved lime and silica.
The additional liquid causes coalescence of clinker particles, leading to the formation of nodules.

Dissociation of intermediate phases: The intermediate phases dissociate to form mainly belite
(2CaO.SiO2) and liquid.
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Alite (3CaO.SiO2) formation: Alite forms by the transition of some of the belite to alite and also
directly from free lime and silica to alite. This occurs rapidly once the clinker temperature is above
about 1400 °C.

Evaporation of volatiles: Volatile phases in the cement kiln are principally alkali sulfates, with a
much smaller proportion of alkali chlorides. As the part-burned feed approaches the burning zone,
these volatile phases are in liquid form and a proportion volatilizes, the remainder passing out of the
kiln in the clinker as inclusions within the pores. The volatilized material passes back down the kiln,
where it condenses on the relatively cool incoming feed. It again becomes part of the sulfate melt
phase, promoting reactions, and is once again carried within the clinker towards the burning zone.
This recirculating load of alkali and sulfate can occasionally become excessively high. Large quantities
of condensing volatiles can then cause blockages in the kiln or in the preheater as the condensed
liquid sticks feed particles together, forming accretions.
All these reactions in the rotary kiln can be short listed as given below:
(i) Up to 100°C and above, there is evaporation of free water. The reaction is endothermic.
(ii) At 500°C and above, there is evolution of combined water from clay. The reaction is
endothermic.
(iii) At 900°C and above, there is evolution of CO2 from CaCO3. The reaction is also
endothermic.
(iv) Between 900°C to 1200°C, there takes place the main reaction between the lime and
clay. The reaction is exothermic.
(v) Between 1250°C to 1280°C, there is commencement of liquid formation. The reaction is
endothermic.
(vi) At 1280°C and above, there is further formation of liquid and cement compounds
(clinker). The reaction may be endothermic.

Cooling of the clinker: The clinker formed into the rotary kiln, falls into the coolers through a
conveyor. In the coolers, the atmospheric air for burner passes over the hot clinker and itself getting
heated. The common types of coolers are rotary coolers. The rotary cooler consists of a shell fitted
with baffle plates which lift the clinker and drop it through a draft of air.
The quality of cement produced depends greatly on the rate of cooling. The following are the effects
of rate of cooling on the properties of cement:-
(a) If the rate of cooling is very slow: If the rate of cooling is so slow that no glass is formed,
there will occur a phenomenon known as dusting. Dusting means conversion of dicalcium
silicate to powder form and not crystalline. This caused by the conversion of beta form into
Page 10 of 27

gamma form of dicalcium silicate. But the gamma form is not desired as it has no binding
property and it hydrates very slowly.
(b) Rate of cooling quite high: When the rate of cooling is high then all the melted alumina and
iron solidifies into glass and there is no formation of any crystalline compounds of alumina
and iron. This non-formation of any crystalline compounds is advantageous as the crystalline
compound 3CaO.Al2O3 has some unfavourable properties and the crystalline compound
4CaO.Al2O3.Fe2O3 has no hydraulic properties.
(c) If the rate of cooling is such (medium) that the melted liquid in the clinker crystallises there
is formed a large quantity of 3CaO.SiO2, which gives high strength to cement.
(d) If the rate of cooling is so high that the melted liquid in the clinker turns into glass and if
there is magnesia also in the clinker that will also be converted into glass and will not
crystallise out periclase (MgO). This will give beneficial effect to the properties of cement as
the crystalline periclase MgO hydrates very slowly when it is exposed to water and this
causes large expansion of the cement after some years. When magnesia is in the form of
glass, it does not expand to a high degree when exposed to water. So by cooling rapidly the
clinker contains magnesia, and there will not be excessive expansion of cement after years.
Therefore, it is necessary and important that cooling of the clinker should be controlled to produce a
definite degree of crystallization of the melted clinker.

Chemical composition of clinker/Bogue calculation

As mentioned earlier, the oxides present in the raw materials when subjected to high clinkering
temperature combine with each other to form numerous complex compounds. The identification of
major compounds is largely based on R. H. Bogue’s work and hence named as “Bogue’s
compounds”. The four compounds usually regarded as major compounds are listed in the table 1,
below:
Name of compound Formula Abbr. Alternative Relative % in OPC
formula name
Tricalcium silicate 3CaO.SiO2 C3S Alite 54.1
Dicalcium silicate 2CaO.SiO2 C2S Belite 16.6
Tricalcium aluminate 3 CaO.Al2O3 C3A Celite 10.8
Tetracalcium aluminoferrite 4 CaO. Al2O3.Fe2O3 C4AF Felite 9.10
Calcium sulphate dihydrate (Gypsum) CaSO4.2H2O CSH2 6.00
Total 96.6
The total percentage does not equal 100 because of the presence of impurities in the cement.
Page 11 of 27

The Bogue calculation is used to calculate the approximate proportions of the four main minerals in
Portland cement clinker. The standard Bogue calculation refers to cement clinker, rather than
cement, but it can be adjusted for use with cement. Although the result is only approximate, the
calculation is an extremely useful and widely-used calculation in cement industry. It is important to
remember that these assumed compositions are only approximations to the actual compositions of
the minerals. Clinker is made by combining lime and silica and also lime with alumina and iron. If
some of the lime remains uncombined, we need to subtract this from the total lime content before
we do the calculation in order to get the best estimate of the proportions of the four main clinker
minerals present. For this reason, a clinker analysis normally gives a figure for uncombined free lime.

(NB: If it is desired only to calculate the potential mineral proportions in a clinker, the correction for
uncombined free lime can be ignored; the calculation will then give the clinker mineral proportions
assuming that all the lime has combined).

The calculation is simple in principle:

Firstly, according to the assumed mineral compositions, ferrite phase is the only mineral to contain
iron. The iron content of the clinker therefore fixes the ferrite content.
Secondly, the aluminate content is fixed by the total alumina content of the clinker, minus the
alumina in the ferrite phase. This can now be calculated, since the amount of ferrite phase has been
calculated.
Thirdly, it is assumed that all the silica is present as belite and the next calculation determines how
much lime is needed to form belite from the total silica content of the clinker. There will be a surplus
of lime.
Fourthly, the lime surplus is allocated to the belite, converting some of it to alite.
In practice, the above process of allocating the oxides can be reduced to the following equations, in
which the oxides represent the weight percentages of the oxides in the clinker:
BOGUE CALCULATION (When A/F ≥ 0.64
C3S = 4.0710(CaO) - 7.6024(SiO2) - 1.4297(Fe2O3) - 6.7187(Al2O3) – 2.852(CSH2)
C2S = 8.6024(SiO2) + 1.0785(Fe2O3) + 5.0683(Al2O3) - 3.0710(CaO)
C3A = 2.6504(Al2O3) - 1.6920(Fe2O3)
C4AF = 3.0432(Fe2O3)
The oxide shown in parenthesis represents the percentage of the same in the raw materials.
For example, let us consider the composition of raw materials for OPC shown in table 2:

Clinker analysis (Table 2)

Page 12 of 27

SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO K2O Na2O SO3 LOI IR Total
21.5 5.2 2.8 66.6 1.0 0.6 0.2 1.0 1.5 0.5 98.9
Free lime = 1.0% CaO

Worked example of a Bogue calculation:

Using the above analysis, the calculation is as follows:

Combined CaO = (66.6% - 1.0% free lime) = 65.6%

This is the figure we use for CaO in the calculation.

From the analysis, we have:

CaO=65.6%; SiO2=21.5%; Al2O3=5.2% and Fe2O3=2.8%

The Bogue calculation is therefore:

C3S = 4.0710(CaO) - 7.6024(SiO2) - 1.4297(Fe2O3) - 6.7187(Al2O3)

= (4.0710 x 65.6)-(7.6024 x 21.5)-(1.4297 x 2.8)-(6.718 x 5.2) = 64.7 %
C2S = 8.6024(SiO2) + 1.0785(Fe2O3) + 5.0683(Al2O3) - 3.0710(CaO)
= (8.6024 x 21.5)+(1.0785 x 2.8)+(5.0683 x 5.2)-(3.0710 x 65.6) = 12.9 %
C3A = 2.6504(Al2O3) - 1.6920(Fe2O3) = (2.6504 x 5.2)-(1.6920 x 2.8) = 9.0 %
C4AF = 3.0432(Fe2O3) = 3.0432× 2.8 = 8.5 %

In addition the four major compounds, there are many minor compounds formed in the kiln. The
influence of these minor compounds on the properties of cement or hydrated compounds is not
significant. However, two minor compounds namely K2O and Na2O referred to as alkalies are of
some importance. This will be discussed in hydration part.

Mixing of additives: Additives are those materials added during grinding of clinker to improve the
quality of cement. The following additives are used to improve the quality of cement:
(a) Retarder
(b) Dispersing agent
(c) Air-entrainment agent
(d) Water proofing agent
These are outlined briefly
Page 13 of 27

Retarder: Addition of retarder is necessary to prevent a quick stiffening/flash setting of cement

paste. Normally gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O) or plaster of Paris (CaSO4.1/2 H2O) is added as retarder. The
quantity added is 2.3 % to 3 % (w/w) by weight of clinker.

Dispersing Agent: Small quantities of dispersing agents such as sodium salts of polymers of
condensed naphthalene or sulphonic acid are added to the cement clinker. These dispersing agents
prevent the formation of lumps or cakes in the cement. The power cost of grinding is also reduced
by 30-50 %.
Air entrainment agent: air entrainment into cement improves the durability of concrete structures
especially when repeatedly attacked by cycles of freezing and thawing. For entrainment of air,
certain materials such as Vinsol resin or Darex may be added. These agents have the property of
infusing air into the cement paste.
Mechanism: air entrained concrete contains billions of microscopic air cells per cubic foot. These air
pockets relief internal pressure on the concrete by providing tiny chambers for water to expand into
when freezes. The amount of air entrained usually between 4 and 7 percent of the volume of
concrete.

Fig. Air entrained concrete Typical clinker nodules Hot clinker

Water proofing agents: Certain water proofing agents are also added to cement. e.g., tuffcrete.
Tuffcrete is an acrylic copolymer emulsion based additive for cement based coatings, mortars and
screed to enhance its water proofing and mechanical properties such as adhesion, flexural, tensile,
compressive and impact strength.
Difference between concrete and screed: concrete and screed are essentially formed of the same
basic ingredients ̶ cement, aggregate and water, but what makes them different is the sizes of
aggregates, the cement grade, mix consistency and of course their intended application.
In concrete the ratio: cement: sand: coarse aggregate: 1:2:3, where as in screed the ratio is cement:
sand: 1:3-5
Page 14 of 27

Grinding of clinker: The final product, which is clinker, consists of granular masses having sizes from
1/3 to ¾ inch (3-20 mm as diameter). It is pulverised and then it is further ground in tube mills.
During grinding additives are mixed. The ground fine powder is packed by automatic machines into
packages and preserved in silo for sale.

Fineness of cement: The Portland cement so formed by grinding of clinker is so fine that 98 - 99 %
passes through a 200-mesh sieve and 90 % through a 325-mesh sieve.

Table 1: Approximate oxide composition limits of ordinary Portland cement (OPC)

Sl. No Oxide % content (by weight of (RM)
Name Formula Shetty Uppal
1 Lime CaO 60-67 60-66
2 Silica SiO2 17-25 17-25
3 Alumina Al2O3 3.0-8.0 3.0-8.0
4 Ferric oxide Fe2O3 0.5-6.0 2.0-6.0 (0.5 for white cement)
5 Magnesia MgO 0.1-4.0 0.1-5.5
6 Alkalies K2O, Na2O 0.4-1.3 0.5-1.5
7 Sulfuric anhydrides SO3 1.0-3.0 1.0-3.0

Clinker characteristics
However, Indian standard specification 269-1976 specifies the following chemical requirements:
Chemical parameters based on the oxide composition are very useful in describing clinker
characteristics. The following parameters are widely used (chemical formulae represent weight
percentages):
Chemical Definition Typical value Explanation
parameter
Lime Ratio of percentage of lime to Not greater than Values above 1.0
Saturation
percentage of silica, alumina and iron 1.02 and not less indicate that free
Factor
(LSF) oxide; when calculated by the formula- than 0.66 lime is likely to be
present in the clinker.
Typical LSF values This is because, in
in modern clinkers principle, at LSF=1.0
are 0.92-0.98, or all the free lime
92%-98%. should have
combined with belite
to form alite. If the
LSF is higher than 1.0,
Page 15 of 27

the surplus free lime

has nothing with
which to combine
and will remain as
free lime.
Silica The Silica Ratio (also known as the Silica SR is typically A high silica ratio
Ratio (SR) Modulus) is defined as:
between 2.0 and means that more
3.0. calcium silicates are
present in the clinker
and less aluminate
and ferrite.
Alumina The alumina ratio is defined as: In ordinary This determines the
Ratio (AR)
Portland cement potential relative
clinker, the AR is proportions of
usually between 1 aluminate and ferrite
and 4. phases in the clinker.
An increase in clinker
AR means there will
be proportionally
more aluminate and
less ferrite in the
clinker
3 Weight of insoluble residue Not more than 2 %
4 Weight of magnesia Not more than 6 %
5 Total sulfur content, calculated as Not more than 2.75
sulfuric anhydride (SO3) %
6 Total loss of ignition Not more than 5 %

Hydration of cement
By the process of hydration (reaction with water), Portland cement mixed with sand, gravel and
water produces the synthetic rock we call concrete. Concrete is as essentially a part of the modern
world as is electricity or computers. Other pages on this web site describe how PC is made and what
is in it. Here, we will discuss what happens when it is mixed with water.
Page 16 of 27

Clinker is anhydrous (without water) having come from a hot kiln. Cement powder is also anhydrous
if we ignore the small amount of water in any gypsum added at the clinker grinding stage.

The reaction with water is termed "hydration". Basically in chemistry, hydration is a process of
reaction of water with other compounds to form adduct without breaking O-H bond in water. This
involves many different reactions, often occurring at the same time. As the reactions proceed, the
products of the hydration process gradually bond together the individual sand and gravel particles,
and other components of the concrete, to form a solid mass.

The hydration process: reactions

In the anhydrous state, four main types of minerals are normally present: alite (C3S), belite (C2S),
aluminate (C3A) and a ferrite phase (C4AF). However, small amounts of clinker sulfate (sulfates of
sodium, potassium and calcium) and also gypsum are also present, which was added when the
clinker was ground up to produce the familiar grey powder.

When water is added, the reactions which occur are mostly exothermic, that is, the reactions
generate heat. We can get an indication of the rate at which the minerals are reacting by monitoring
the rate at which heat is evolved using a technique called conduction calorimetry. An illustrative
example of the heat evolution curve produced is shown below.
As seen in the graph, three principal reactions
occur:
Almost immediately on adding water some of
the clinker sulphates and gypsum dissolve
producing an alkaline, sulfate-rich, solution.
Soon after mixing, the (C3A) phase (the most
reactive of the four main clinker minerals)
reacts with the water to form an aluminate-
rich gel (Stage I on the heat evolution curve above).
The gel reacts with sulfate in solution to form small rod-like crystals of ettringite. (C3A) reaction with
water is strongly exothermic but does not last long, typically only a few minutes, and is followed by a
period of a few hours of relatively low heat evolution. This is called the dormant, or induction period
(Stage II). The first part of the dormant period, up to perhaps half-way through, corresponds to when
Page 17 of 27

concrete can be placed. As the dormant period progresses, the paste becomes too stiff to be
workable.
At the end of the dormant period, the alite and belite in the cement start to react, with the
formation of calcium silicate hydrate (C3S2H3) and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2). This corresponds to
the main period of hydration (Stage III), during which time concrete strengths increase. The
individual grains react from the surface inwards, and the anhydrous particles become smaller. (C3A)
hydration also continues, as fresh crystals become accessible to water.
The period of maximum heat evolution occurs typically between about 10 and 20 hours after mixing
and then gradually tails off. In a mix containing PC only, most of the strength gain has occurred
within about a month. Where PC has been partly-replaced by other materials, such as fly ash
(admixture), strength growth may occur more slowly and continue for several months or even a
year.
Ferrite reaction also starts quickly as water is added, but then slows down, probably because a layer
of iron hydroxide gel forms, coating the ferrite and acting as a barrier, preventing further reaction.

Hydration products
The products of the reaction between cement and water are termed "hydration products." In
concrete (or mortar or other cementitious materials) there are typically four main types:

Calcium silicate hydrate: this is the main reaction product and is the main source of concrete
strength. It is often abbreviated, using cement chemists' notation, to "C-S-H," the dashes indicating
that no strict ratio of SiO2 to CaO is inferred. The Si/Ca ratio is somewhat variable but typically
approximately 0.45-0.50 in hydrated Portland cement but up to perhaps about 0.6 if slag or fly ash
or microsilica is present, depending on the proportions.

Calcium hydroxide: (or Portlandite)- Ca(OH)2, often abbreviated to 'CH.' CH is formed mainly from
alite hydration. Alite has a Ca:Si ratio of 3:1 and C-S-H has a Ca/Si ratio of approximately 2:1, so
excess lime is available to produce CH.

AFm and AFt phases: these are two groups of minerals that occur in cement, and elsewhere. One of
the most common AFm phases in hydrated cement is monosulfate and by far the most common AFt
phase is ettringite. The general definitions of these phases are somewhat technical, but for example,
ettringite is an AFt phase because it contains three (t-tri) molecules of anhydrite when written as
Page 18 of 27

C3A.3CaSO4.32H2O and monosulfate is an AFm phase because it contains one (m-mono) molecule of
anhydrite when written as C3A.CaSO4.12H2O.

The most common AFt and AFm phases in hydrated cement are:

Ettringite: ettringite is present as rod-like crystals in the early stages of reaction or sometimes as
massive growths filling pores or cracks in mature concrete or mortar. The chemical formula for
ettringite is [Ca3Al(OH)6.12H2O]2.2H2O] or, mixing notations, C3A.3CaSO4.32H2O.

Monosulfate: monosulfate tends to occur in the later stages of hydration, a day or two after mixing.
The chemical formula for monosulfate is C3A.CaSO4.12H2O. Note that both ettringite and
monosulfate are compounds of C3A, CaSO4 (anhydrite) and water, in different proportions.

Monocarbonate: the presence of fine limestone, whether interground with the cement or present as
fine limestone aggregate, is likely to produce monocarbonate (C3A.CaCO3.11H2O) as some of the
limestone reacts with the cement pore fluid.

Other AFm phases that may be present are hemicarbonate, hydroxy-AFm and Friedel's salt.

Some important points to note about AFm and AFt phases are that:
• They contain a lot of water, especially AFt - principally ettringite in the context of cement.
• AFm contains a higher ratio of aluminium/calcium compared with AFt.
• The aluminium can be partly-replaced by iron in both AFm and AFt phases.
• The sulfate ion in monosulfate AFm phase can be replaced by other anions; a one-for-one
substitution if the anion is doubly-charged (eg: carbonate, CO32-) or one-for-two if the substituent
anion is singly-charged (eg: hydroxyl, OH- or chloride, Cl-).
• The sulfate in ettringite can be replaced by carbonate or, probably, partly replaced by two
hydroxyl ions, although in practice neither of these is often observed.
In a concrete made from cement containing only clinker and gypsum, ettringite forms early after the
cement and water are mixed, but it is gradually replaced by monosulfate. This is because the ratio of
available alumina to sulfate increases with continued cement hydration; on first contact with water,
most of the sulfate is readily available to dissolve, but much of the C3A is contained inside cement
grains with no initial access to water. Continued hydration gradually releases alumina and the
proportion of ettringite decreases as that of monosulfate increases.
Page 19 of 27

If there is eventually more alumina than sulfate available, all the sulfate will be as monosulfate, with
the additional alumina present as hydroxyl-substituted AFm phase (hydroxy-AFm). If there is a small
excess of sulfate, the cement paste will contain a mixture of monosulfate and ettringite. With
increasing available sulfate, there will be more ettringite and less monosulfate, and at even higher
levels of sulfate there will be ettringite and gypsum.

If fine limestone is present, carbonate ions become available as some of the limestone reacts. The
carbonate displaces sulfate or hydroxyl in AFm; the proportion of monosulfate or hydroxy-AFm
therefore decreases as the proportion of monocarbonate increases. The displaced sulfate typically
combines with remaining monosulfate to form ettringite, but if any hydroxy-AFm is present, the
sulfate will displace the hydroxyl ions to form more monosulfate. The key here is the balance
between available alumina on the one hand, and carbonate and sulfate on the other.

Hydrogarnet: hydrogarnet forms mainly as the result of ferrite or C3A hydration. Hydrogarnets have
a range of compositions, of which C3AH6 is the most common phase forming from normal cement
hydration and then only in small amounts. A wider range of hydrogarnet compositions can be found
in autoclaved cement products.

Effect of oxide composition limit on the quality of ordinary Portlant cement

To manufacture a cement of stipulated compound composition, it becomes absolutely necessary to
closely control the oxide composition of the raw materials. The followings are the effect of variation
of oxide composition of cement in the raw material:
 An increase in lime content beyond a certain value makes it difficult to combine with other
compounds and free lime will exist in the clinker which causes unsoundness in cement.
 An increase in silica content at the expense of the content of alumina and ferric oxide will
make the cement difficult to fuse and form clinker.
 Cements with a high total alumina and high ferric oxide content is favourable to the
production of high early strengths in cement.
This is perhaps due to the influence of these oxides for the complete combining of the entire quality
of lime present to form C3S.

Reactions of alite and belite with water and the effect of relative percentage of C3S and C2S in
cement on their usage
Page 20 of 27

During the course of reaction of C3S and C2S with water, calcium silicate hydrate and calcium
hydroxide are formed. It is considered doubtful that the product of hydration of both C3S and C2S
results in the formation of the same hydrated compound. But later on it was seen that ultimately the
hydrates of C3S and C2S will turn into the same. The followings are the approximate equations
showing the reactions of C3S and C2S with water.
2 (3 CaO.SiO2) + 6 H2O 3 CaO.2SiO2.3H2O + 3 Ca(OH)2

or it can be abbreviated as 2 C3S + 6H C3S2H3 + 3 Ca(OH)2

The corresponding weights involved during hydration are

100 g + 24 g 75 g + 49 g

Similarly,

Effects
It can be observed in the above reactions that C3S produces a comparatively lesser quantity of
calcium silicate hydrates and more quantity of calcium hydroxide as compared to the hydration of
C2S. However, calcium hydroxide is not desirable product in the concrete mass; it is partially soluble
in water and gets leached out making the concrete porous, particularly in hydraulic structures.
Under such conditions it is useful to use cement with higher percentage of C2S content.
On the other hand, C3S readily reacts with water and produces more heat of hydration. Moreover, it
is responsible for early strength of concrete. Therefore, cement with more C3S content is better for
cold weather concreting. Additionally, the quality and density of calcium silicate hydrate formed out
of C3S is slightly inferior to that formed by C2S. In contrast, C2S hydrates rather slowly. It is
responsible for the later strength of concrete. It produces less heat of hydration. The calcium silicate
hydrate formed is rather dense and its specific surface is higher. In general the quality of the product
of hydration of C2S is better than that produced in the hydration of C3S. Fig. shows the development
of strength of pure compounds.

Hydration reactions of C3A and C4AF with water

Page 21 of 27

The hydration of aluminates has been the subject of numerous investigations, but there is still some
uncertainty about some of the reported products. The followings are the reactions of tricalcium
aluminate with water:

Some other reactions may also occur

Hydrated tricalcium aluminate combines with gypsum present in cement to form calcium sulpho
aluminate

Tricalcium aluminate also reacts with calcium hydroxide (produced during hydration of C3S and C2S)
and forms hydrated tetra calcium aluminate

Hydration of tetra calcium alumino ferrite (C4AF)

Among the hydrated products of calcium aluminate, the cubic compound C3AH6 is probably the only
stable compound which remains stable up to about 225°C. The reaction of pure C3A with water is
very fast and this may lead to flash set. To prevent the flash set, gypsum is added at the time of
grinding the cement clinker. The hydrated aluminates do not contribute anything to the strength of
paste. On the other hand, their presence is harmful to the durability of concrete particularly where
the concrete is likely to be attacked by sulphates. As it hydrates very fast, it may contribute a little to
the early strength. On the other hand, C4AF is believed to form a system of the form Ca-Fe2O3-H2O. A
hydrated calcium ferrite of the form C3FH6 is comparatively more stable. This hydrated product also
does not contribute anything to the strength. The hydrates of C4AF show a comparatively higher
resistance to sulphate attack than hydrates of calcium aluminate.

Nature of the hydrated products of cement

Many theories have been put forward to explain what actually is formed in the hydration of cement
compounds with water. It has been said that a product consisting (CaO.SiO2.H2O) and Ca(OH)2 is
formed in the hydration of calcium silicates. Ca(OH)2 is unimportant and unwanted product, and the
really significant product is (CaO.SiO2.H2O) For the sake of simplicity, this product of hydration is
Page 22 of 27

called tobermorite gel because of its structural similarity to naturally occurring mineral tobermorite.
Very commonly the product of hydration is referred to as C-S-H gel.
It may not be exactly correct to call the product of hydration as gel. Le-Chatelier identified the
products as crystalline in nature and put forward his crystalline theory. He explained that the
precipitates resemble to crystals interlocked with each other. Later on, Michaelis put forward is
colloidal theory wherein he considered the precipitates as colloidal mass, gelatinous in nature. It is
agreed that an element of truth exists in both these theories. It is accepted now that the product of
hydration is more like gels, consisting of poorly formed thin, fibrous crystals are infinitely small. A
variety of transition forms are also believed to exist and the whole is seen as a bundle of fibres, a
fluffy mass with a refractive index of 1.5 to 1.55, increasing with age.
Since the gels consist of crystals, it is porous in nature. It is estimated that the porosity of gel is to
the extent of 28%. The gel pores are filled with water. The pores are so small that the specific
surface of cement gel is of the order of 2 million sq. cm. per gram of cement. The porosity of gel can
be found out by capillary condensation method or by the mercury porosity method.

Effect of fineness on hydration of cement

Fineness of cement also influences the rate of development of heat but not the total heat. The total
quantity of heat generated in the complete hydration will depend upon the relative quantities of the
major compounds present in cement. The hydration process is not an instantaneous one. The
reaction is faster in early period and continues indefinitely at a decreasing rate. Complete hydration
cannot be obtained under a period of one year or more unless the cement is very finely ground and
reground with excess of water to expose fresh surfaces at intervals. Otherwise, the product obtained
shows unattacked cores of tricalcium silicate surrounded by a layer of hydrated silicate, which being
relatively impervious to water and renders further attack slow. It has been observed that after 28
days of curing, cement grains have been found to have hydrated to a depth of only 4μ. It has also
been observed that complete hydration under normal condition is possible only for cement particles
smaller than 50 μ. A grain of cement may contain many crystals of C3S or others. The largest crystals
of C3S or C2S are about 40 μ. An average size would be 15-20 μ. It is probable that the C2S crystals
present in the surface of a cement grain may get hydrated and a more reactive compound like C3S
lying in the interior of a cement grain may not get hydrated.

Water requirement for hydration of cement

It has been brought out earlier that C3S requires 24 % of water by weight of cement and C2S requires
21 %. It has also been estimated that on an average 23 % of water by weight of cement is required
Page 23 of 27

for chemical reaction with Portland cement compounds. This 23 % of water chemically combines
with cement than therefore it called bound water. Since the hydrates of C3S and C2S constitute gels,
consisting of poorly formed thin, fibrous crystals, a certain quantity of water is imbibed within the
gel pores. This water is known as gel-water. It can be said that bound water and gel-water are
complimentary to each other. If the quantity of water is inadequate to fill up the gel-pores, the
formation of gel itself will stop and if the formation of gel stops there is no question of gel pores
being present. It has been further estimated that about 15 % water by weight of cement is required
to fill up the gel-pores. Therefore a total of 38 % of water by weight of cement is required for the
complete chemical reactions and to occupy the space within the gel-pores. It water equal to 38 % by
weight of cement is only used it can be noticed that the resultant paste will undergo full hydration
and no extra will be available for the formation of undesirable capillary cavities. On the other hand,
if more than 38 % of water is used, then the excess water will cause undesirable capillary cavities. So
the greater the water above the minimum required (38 %), the more will be undesirable capillary
cavities. In all this it is assumed that hydration is taking place in a sealed container, where moisture
to and from the paste does not take place. It can be seen that the capillary cavities become larger
with increased water/cement ratio. With lower w/c ratio the cement particles are closer together.
With the progress of hydration, when the volume of anhydrous cement increases, the product of
hydration also increases. The increase in volume of gel due to complete hydration could fill up the
space earlier occupied by water up to w/c ratio of 0.6 or so. If the w/c ratio is more than 0.7, the
increase in volume of the hydrated product would never be sufficient to fill up the voids created by
water. Such concrete would ever remain as porous mass. This is to say that gel occupies more and
more space, that once occupied by mixing water. It has been estimated that the volume of gel would
be about twice the volume of unhydrated cement. The diagrammatic representation of progress of
hydration is shown in fig. given below:
Page 24 of 27

Types of cement
We have seen in the earlier discussion that cements exhibit different properties and characteristics
depending upon their chemical compositions. By changing the fineness of grinding or the oxide
composition, cement can be made to exhibit different properties. In the past continuous efforts
were made to produce different kinds of cement, suitable for use in different situations by changing
oxide composition and fineness of grinding. With extensive use of cement, for widely varying
conditions the types of cement that could be made only by varying the relative proportions of the
oxide compositions were not found to be sufficient. Recourses (using something or someone as a
way of obtaining help, especially in a difficult or dangerous situation) have been taken to add one or
two more new materials known as additives to the clinker at the time of grinding, or to the use of
entirely different basic raw materials in the manufacture of cement.
The use of additives, changing chemical composition, and use of different raw materials have
resulted in the availability of many types of cements to cater (to provide) to the need of the
construction industries for specific purposes. These cements are classified as Portland cements and
Non-portland cements. The distinction mainly based on the methods of manufacture. The Portland
and non-portland cements generally used are listed below:
(a) Ordinary Portland cement
(b) Rapid hardening cement
(c) Extra rapid hardening cement
(d) Sulphate resisting cement
(e) Blast furnace cement
(f) Quick setting cement
(g) Super-sulphate cement
(h) Low heat cement
(i) Pozzuolana cement
(j) Air-entraining cement
(k) Coloured cement
(l) Hodrophobic cement
(m) Masonry cement
(n) Expansive cement
(o) Oil-well cement
(p) Redi-set cement
(q) High alumina cement
(r) High strength cement
Page 25 of 27

(s) Acid resisting cement

ASTM classification of cement
Before we discuss the above cements, for general information it is necessary to see how Portland
cements are classified under the ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials) standards. As per
ASTM, cement is designated as Type I, Type II, Type III, Type IV, Type V and another minor types like
IS Type and IP etc.
Type I (Ordinary Portland Cement)
For use in general concrete construction where the special properties specified for Types II, III, IV & V
are not required.
Type II (Moderate Heat of Hardening Cement)
For use in general concrete construction exposed to moderate sulphate action or where moderate
heat of hydration is required.
Type III (Rapid Hardening Cement)
For use when high early strength is required
Type IV (Low Heat Cement)
For use when low heat of hydration is required
Type V (Sulphate Resisting Cement)
For use when high sulphate resistance is required

The types of cement manufacture by ACC on regular basis or against specific order and the relevant
Indian Standard Specification Number is given below:
Sl. No. Types of cement Relevant IS Number Remarks
a Ordinary Portland Cement : IS 269-1976
b Portland Pozzuolana Cement : IS 1489-1976
c Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement : IS 455-1976
d High Alumina Cement : IS 6452-1972 Calundum of ACC
e Low Heat Portland Cement : IS 269-1976 Against Orders
f Rapid Hardening Cement : IS 8041 E-1976 Against Orders
g Super-sulphate Cement : IS 6909-1973 Against Orders
h White Portland Cement : IS 9042 E-1976 Silvicrete of ACC
i Hydro-phobic Portland Cement : IS 8043 E-1976
j High Strength Ordinary Portland : IS 8112-1976
Cement
Page 26 of 27

k Oil Well Cement : IS 8229 E-1976 Against Orders

l Masonry Cement : IS 3466-1967
m Sulphate Resisting Cement : -
n Expansive Cement : - Made to reasonably
large orders for specific
jobs
o Redi-set Cement : -
p Superfine Cement : -

Extra Rapid Hardening cement

Extra Rapid Hardening Cement is obtained by intergrinding calcium chloride with Rapid Hardening
Cement. The normal addition of calcium chloride should not exceed 2% by weight of Rapid
Hardening Cement. It is necessary that the concrete made by using Extra Rapid Hardening Cement
should be transported, placed and compacted and finished within about 20 minutes. It is also
necessary that this cement should not be stored more than a month.
Property of Extra Rapid Hardening Cement
Extra Rapid Hardening Cement accelerates the setting and hardening process. A large quantity of
heat is liberated in a very short time after placing. The acceleration of setting, hardening and
evolution of this large quantity of heat in the early period of time makes the cement vary suitable for
concreting in cold weather. The strength of Extra Rapid Hardening Cement is about 25 % higher than
that of Rapid Hardening Cement at one or two days and 10-20% higher at 7 days. The gain of
strength will disappear with age and at 90 days the strength of Extra Rapid Hardening Cement or the
OPC may be the same.
Disadvantage of Extra Rapid Hardening Cement
There is some evidence that there is a small amount of initial corrosion of reinforcement when Extra
Rapid Hardening Cement is used, but in general, this effect does not appear to be progressive and as
such there is no harm in using Extra Rapid Hardening Cement in reinforcement concrete work.
However, its use in prestress concrete construction is prohibited.

Sulphate Resisting Cement

OPC is susceptible to the attack of sulphates, in particular to the action of magnesium sulphate.
Sulphates react both the free calcium hydroxide in the set cement and with hydrate of calcium
aluminate to form calcium sulphoaluminate. Solid sulphates do not attack the cement compounds.
Sulphates in solution permeate into the hardened concrete and attack calcium hydroxide, hydrated
Page 27 of 27

calcium aluminate and even hydrated silicates. The product formed by reactions within the
framework of hydrated cement paste will result in expansion and disruption. This phenomenon is
known as sulphate attack. Sulphate attack is greatly accelerated if accompanied by alternate wetting
and drying which normally takes place in marine structures in the zone of tidal variations.