Concrete Ingredients

Cement

Water CONCRETE Aggregates

Admixtures
WHY THESE INCIDENTS
HAPPENED???
Reinforced Concrete Jetty - Durability Problem
Problem due to low concrete durability
Porous concrete leads to corrosion of steel reinforcement
Cement
Aims of this topic - understand

1) Cement and its function

2) Raw materials in cement
production
3) Chemical compositions of
Portland cement
4) Hydration (chemical reaction)
process of Portland cement
5) Types of Portland cement and
selection for particular application
in practice
 History of Portland Cement

• Search for construction materials

• 1824 – patented by Joseph Aspdin
• Materials to produce cement were
found and after manufactured
resemble the stone found on the
English Isle of Portland
• Thus, called PORTLAND CEMENT
CEMENT FACTORY
 Definition of PORTLAND CEMENT

Portland cement is a product obtained by

grinding clinker formed by burning raw-
materials (argillaceous and calcareous)
primarily consisting of lime (CaO), silicate
(SiO2), alumina (Al2O3), and iron oxide
(Fe2O3)
 Cement Characteristics

• Set and harden when mix to a paste with water

• Cohesive and Adhesive
• A material that binds concrete ingredients that
becomes hard and strong – essentially like GLUE
 Cement characteristic

• When it is mixed with water, it forms a paste,

which hardens and binds aggregates
(sand/gravel and/or crushed rock) together
to form a hard durable mass called concrete
 Raw Ingredients of Cement

• Argillaceous (20%) + Calcareous (60%)

(Clay, sandstone, shale) (Limestone, chalk)

- Silica (SiO2 - 60%) - Lime (CaO - 20%)

- Alumina (Al2O3 - 10%)
- Ferum oxide (Fe2O3)

Ferum oxide + Alumina = 10%

Others = 10%
Production process of cemnet
 Functions of ingredients in cement
Ingredient Functions
Lime Major constituent of cement
If in excess makes cement unsound
Less amount makes the strength decrease and cement sets quickly

Silica Imparts strength due to the formation of C3S and C2S

In excess provides greater strength but the same time extends
setting time
Alumina Imparts quick setting quality to the cement
Acts as flux and lowers the clinkering temperature
In excess will reduce strength of cement
Iron Oxide It provides colour, hardness and strength
Helps the fusion of raw materials during manufacturing process

Harmful Alkali oxides (K2O and Na2O), if exceeds 1%, may lead to the failure
ingredients of concrete
Magnesium oxide (MgO), if exceeds 5%, can cause cracks after
mortar or concrete hardened
 Categories of Cement

1) Hydraulic cement – turns into solid or able to set

and harden in the presence of water eg. OPC

2) Non-Hydraulic cement – requires no water to

transform into solid or harden, only require air to
harden eg. lime
 Manufacturing Process of cement

Two types of manufacturing process:

• Wet Process – softer materials (clay + chalk)

• Dry Process – harder materials (shale +

limestone)
• More efficient and require higher fuel
 Steps in manufacturing process

1) Grinding and mixing of raw materials

2) Burning in a rotary kiln

3) Cooling, grinding and sieving

4) Storing, packing and distributing

 Wet Process

1) Materials being ground (80% passing

75µm) and mixed with the correct
proportions

2) The mixture in a slurry form (30-40%

water) is fed into a rotary kiln where it is
heated/burnt to a temperature of 1500 °C
to form clinker
How Carbon Dioxide affects concrete??
Burning/Firing
 Calcination/Burning process

• 100 °C – water is driven off

• 850 °C – limestone changes to calcium oxide
and CO2 is liberated
• 1500 °C – CaO reacts with SiO2 to form
Calcium Silicate (CS)
• CaO reacts with other compounds to form
Calcium Aluminate (CA) and Calcium
Aluminoferite (CAF)
 Grinding

Why clinker need to be ground?

Gypsum added (2-3%)
 Wet Process

3) Cooling and grinding – Gypsum

[Ca(SO)4] is added (2-3%) during the
grinding process to prevent flash
setting

4) Storing – stored in silo/air tight

container
Final Products - cement
 Dry Process
• The process is relatively the same as wet
process except in dry process the raw
materials (harder materials) are mixed in
dry condition.

• Small amount of water is added to form 12

mm in diameter ‘balls’

• The ‘balls’ are burnt in a rotary kiln and the

chemical reactions are the same as wet
process
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITIONS OF PORTLAND CEMENT

How they affects:

• Strength of cement/mortar/concrete
• Rate of cement hydration process
• Amount of heat of hydration released
• Durability of cement/ mortar/
concrete throughout its design
service life
 IMPORTANT POINTS TO
UNDERSTAND AND REMEMBER
 REQUIREMENTS FOR CONCRETE

DENSE
DURABILITY
Cement + H2O ---- CSH gel + Ca(OH)2
STRENGTH
SiO2 + Ca(OH)2 ------ CSH gel
 Chemical Compositions of Portland Cement
Abb. Compound Oxide Percent Reaction
(%) with water

C3S Tricalcium 3CaO.SiO2 45-60 Medium

silicate

C2S Dicalcium 2CaO.SiO2 15-30 Slow

silicate

C3A Tricalcium 3CaO.Al2O3 6-12 Fast

Aluminate

C4AF Tetracalcium 4CaO.Al2O3.Fe2O3 6-8 Medium

Aluminoferrite
Others 8
 Other Minor Compounds

• Magnesium oxide
• Titanium oxide
• Manganese oxide
• Sodium oxide
• Potassium oxide
• Minor – refers to quantity not important

Sodium oxide (Na2O) and Potassium oxide

(K2O)

May cause problem – Alkali Silica Reaction

 HYDRATION PROCESS OF PORTLAND CEMENT

• Is the chemical reaction between the

compounds of cement and water that
yields products that achieve the binding
property after hardening

• Two stages:
setting and hardening

Setting - cement starts to stiffen

Set – reaches a state in which its form cannot be
changed without rupture
 Hydration Process of Portland Cement

Cement + H2O → C-S-H gel + Ca(OH)2

C3S, C2S, C3A, C4AF (50-60% Vol of solid)

• For complete hydration, it is estimated that 1 g of cement

requires 0.32 g of water (w/c=0.32)
 Factors Affecting Rate of Hydration

• Chemical • Amount C3S, C2S, C3A,

compositions C4AF

• Fineness – measuring Finer

the surface area per

unit mass (m2/kg) Coarser
 Hydration of Cement

• It is an exothermic process where heat is liberated

(heat of hydration)
• Internal Thermal Stress

Mass concrete

Cracks Heat
100 ºC 30 ºC

Difference 70 ºC
0 ⁰C to 100 ⁰C
 Hydration of Cement

• The silicates, C3S and C2S (75%), are the most

important compounds, which are responsible
for the strength of the hydrated cement paste

• C3S provides the early strength and liberated

higher heat of hydration (twice compared to
C2S)
Hydration of cement
C-S-H gel and Ca(OH)2
 Cont.

• C2S reacts slowly, provide later strength,

highly chemical resistance (sulphate,
chloride)

• C3A is undesirable, contribute little or

nothing to the strength of cement except
at early ages, and when hardened cement
paste is prone to be attacked by sulphates,
forming sulphoaluminate that may cause
disruption in concrete
Hydration of C3A
 Cont.

• C4AF does not affect significantly the

behavior of cement hydration.

• However, it reacts with gypsum to form

calcium sulphoferrite and its presence
may accelerate the hydration of silicates
Hydration Process – time cement gaining strength
Any Questions??????
 Types of Portland Cement
1) Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) – Type I
2) Rapid Hardening Portland Cement (RHPC) –
Type III
3) Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement (SRPC) –
Type V
4) Modified Portland Cement (MPC) – Type II
5) Low Heat Portland Cement (LHPC) – Type IV
6) Portland-Blastfurnace Cement (PBC) – Type IS
7) Portland-Pozzolan Cement (PPC) – Type IP
8) Coloured cement
9) Others
 Nomenclature of Cements

• Described in terms of cement type, strength

class and rate of early strength development
• PC52.5R
• PC – Portland cement (type of cement)
• 52.5 – Standard strength at 28 days 52.5 MPa
• R- Rapid (rate of early strength development)
 ENV 197-1
• CEM II/A-S42.5N
• CEM II – type of cement
• A - proportion of cement clinker
• S - second main constituent (SF, slag, PFA)
• 42.5 – Standard strength at 28 days of 42.5 MPa
(52.5, 32.5)
• N – rate of early strength development (R - rapid,
N - Normal, L - Low)
 Effect of chemical compositions of cement

• Cement differing in chemical

compositions may exhibit different
properties when hydrated i.e.

– Strength, durability, rate of strength gain,

heat of hydration
 Ordinary Portland Cement (Type I)

• By far the most common (60%) cement used in

general concrete construction when there is no
exposure to sulphates in the soil or groundwater
• Minimum fineness of 225 m2/kg
• Rate of hardening is moderate
• Standards: BS 12:1991, MS 522,ENV 197-1:1992
 • Cement loses
its binding
properties
• Similar as
sulphate
attack but at
different
temperature
below 0 °C
Thaumasite below 0 °C
 Rapid Hardening Portland Cement (RHPC –
Type III)

• Rapid strength gain due to higher C3S content (70%)

• Minimum fineness of 325 m2/kg

• Used when?:
formwork is to be removed early for reuse or where sufficient
strength for further construction is required quickly

• Should not be used in mass concrete construction or in

large structural sections because of its higher rate of heat
development that can cause cracking
 RHPC (cont.)

• For construction at low temperatures,

the use of RHPC may provide a
satisfactory safeguard against early
frost damage

• The setting time and chemical

compositions of RHPC and OPC is
relatively the same
 Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement (SRPC – Type V)

• This cement has low C3A (3.5%) content so as to avoid

sulphate attack from outside the concrete
• Minimum fineness of 250 m2/kg
• Active salts are magnesium and sodium sulphates –
increase in volume, cause concrete to disintegrate and
crack
• Sulphate attack is greatly accelerated if accompanied
by wetting and drying (splash zone)
• The heat develop by SRPC is not much higher than the
low-heat cement, which is an advantage
Sulphate attack on concrete
 Blended Cement
• Blended cement is a combination between
Ordinary Portland Cement (60%) and
Pozzolanic materials (40%) (contains reactive
SiO2)

• Blended Cement = OPC + Slag

= OPC + Fly Ash
= OPC + Silica Fume
= OPC + RHA
 Portland-Blastfurnace Cement

• Made by inter-grinding or blending Portland cement

clinker with granulated blast-furnace slag
• Known as slag cement
• Slag contains lime, silica and alumina, but not in the same
proportions as in Portland cement
• Minimum fineness of 275 m2/kg
• Early strength are generally lower than OPC but later
strength are similar or even higher.

(Why? How?....Explanation???)
 Portland-Blastfurnace Cement

• Typical uses are in mass concrete because of low

heat of hydration and in seawater construction
due to better sulphate resistance ( lower C3A
content) than with the OPC
• The amount of slag replacement between 25 to
70% of the mass of the mixture
 Portland-Pozzolan Cement

• Made by inter-grinding or blending pozzolans with

Portland cement
• A pozzolan is a siliceous or siliceous and aluminous
material which itself possesses little or no
cementitious value BUT in finely divided form and
in the presence of moisture, chemically react with
Ca(OH)2 liberated during the hydration of Portland
cement to form compounds possessing
cementitious properties
 Cont.

• Portland-Pozzolan cement gain strength slowly and

therefore require curing over a comparatively a
long period of time, but the long-term strength is
higher than OPC

• Amount replacement between 25 to 40%

• More durable than OPC

 Hydration Process of Blended Cement

• Cement + H2O C-S-H + Ca(OH)2

(gel)

• SiO2 + Ca(OH)2 C-S-H

(gel)
Concrete with silica fume Normal plain concrete

DENSE CONCRETE
 Discussions
• What are the main materials used for the
manufacture of cement?
• What is the purpose of adding gypsum to cement?
• Why cement clinker needs to be ground?
• What are the chemical composition of Portland
cement?
• Hydration process of Portland cement
• Hydration process of Blended cement
• Different types of OPC and applications.
 Thank You

All sources of photos and information used are acknowledged