Cairo University Faculty of Engineering C.H.

Engineering Materials

Report 1 Testing on Cement

Presented to DR. Sanaa Al Dusuki Amr Alaa Eldin Mohammed 1084171

Introduction: The heart of concrete lies in the cement... Several tests should be performed to determine the characteristics of cement, so that one may predict the general performance it will have in the concrete. In the most general sense of the word, cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus (caementicium) to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed rock with burnt lime as binder. Cement Testing The thorough testing of cement, as it is done for the largest public works, should properly be done in a professional testing laboratory. Several textbooks of several hundred pages have recently been written on this subject. The ultimate analysis and testing of cement, both chemically and physically, is beyond the province of the ordinary engineer. But the ordinary engineer does have frequent occasion to obtain cement in small quantities when testing in professional laboratories is inconvenient or unduly expensive. Depending on the source of the cement, the specific gravity may vary, but typically it will be close to this figure. Knowing the specific gravity of cement is critical when developing a mix design for concrete, because if one does not know the specific gravities of the raw materials, it is not possible to figure the proportions needed to give you the appropriate yield for a cubic yard of concrete. Methods of testing A- Specific Gravity: The specific gravity of cement is lowered by under-burning, adulteration, and hydration, but the adulteration must be in considerable quantities to affect the results. Since the differences in specific gravity are usually very small, great care must be exercised in making the tests. 1. Objective: When properly made, the tests afford a quick check for under-burning or adulteration. 2. Specimen: Cement and liquid (ex. Kerosene) Since the cement itself is usually a powder, it is hard to measure a standard value for its specific gravity. And since cement is usually not used by itself, knowing its specific gravity is not particularly useful. 3. Apparatus: Specific gravity bottle 100 ml capacity & balance capable of weighing accurately up to 0.1 gm.

4. Procedure: Weigh a clean and dry S.G Bottle with its stopper (W1). Place a sample of cement up to half of flask (about 50 gm.) and weight with its stopper (W2). Add polar liquid to cement in flask till it is about half full. Mix thoroughly with glass rod to remove entrapped air. Dry the outside and weigh (W3). Entrapped air may be removed by vacuum pump, if available. Empty the flask, clean it, and refills it with liquid flush with graduated mark wipe dry the outside and weigh (w4). 5. Calculations: From the last procedure steps S.G. = (W2-W1) / [(W2-W1)-(W3-W4) x 0.79] W1 = weight of empty flask W2 = flask + cement W3 = flask + cement + liquid W4 = flask + liquid 0.79 = S.G. of liquid (kerosene) Specific gravity = w. sand/ v. sand 6. Limits of acceptance: The specific gravity of Portland cement is generally around 3.15 while Portland blast furnace slag and Portland pozzolan cements are around 2.9. B- Fineness: Fineness, or particle size of cement affects hydration rate and the rate of strength gain. The smaller the particle size, the greater the surface area-to-volume ratio, and thus, the more area available for water-cement interaction per unit volume. The effects of greater fineness on strength are generally seen during the first seven days. 1. Objective: The principle of this is that we determine the proportion of cement whose grain size is larger then specified mesh size. It is generally accepted that the coarser materials in cement are practically inert, and it is only the extremely fine powder that possesses adhesive cementing qualities. The more finely cement is pulverized, all other conditions being the same, the more sand it will carry and produce a mortar of a given strength. The degree of pulverization which the cement receives at the place of manufacture is ascertained by measuring the residue retained on certain sieves. Those known as No. 100 and No. 200 sieves are recommended for this purpose.

2. Specimen: Portland cement. 3. Apparatus: The apparatus used are Sieve, Balance capable of weighing 10g to the nearest 10mg, A nylon or pure bristle brush, bristle, for cleaning the sieve. The sieve should be dry & circular (0.075 mm or 0.045 mm). 4. Procedure:

i) Weigh approximately 10g of cement to the nearest 0.01g and place it on the sieve. ii) Agitate the sieve by swirling, planetary and linear movements, until no more fine material passes through it. iii) Weigh the residue and express its mass as a percentage R1,of the quantity first placed on the sieve to the nearest 0.1 percent. iv) Gently brush all the fine material off the base of the sieve. v) Repeat the whole procedure using a fresh 10g sample to obtain R2. Then calculate R as the mean of R1 and R2 as a percentage, expressed to the nearest 0.1 percent. When the results differ by more than 1 percent absolute, carry out a third sieving and calculate the mean of the three values. 5. Calculations/Results: Fineness, or particle size of portland cement affects hydration rate and thus the rate of strength gain. The smaller the particle size, the greater the surface area-to-volume ratio, and thus, the more area available for water-cement interaction per unit volume. The effects of greater fineness on strength are generally seen during the first seven days (PCA, 1988). 6. Limits of acceptance: The range is from 300 to 500 m2 per kg. C- Soundness: It is very important that the cement after setting shall not undergo any appreciable change of volume. Certain cements have been found to undergo a large expansion after setting causing disruption of the set and hardened mass. This will cause serious difficulties for the durability of structures when such cement is used. 1. Objective: The testing of soundness of cement, to ensure that the cement does not show any appreciable subsequent expansion is of prime importance. 2. Specimen: Cement paste.

3. Apparatus: Le Chatelier. It consists of a small split cylinder forming a mould on either side of the split cylinder, two parallel indicating arms with pointed ends are attached. Supplied complete with two glass plates and lead weight The Le Chatelier test detects unsoundness due to free lime only. This method of testing does not indicate the presence and after effect of the excess of magnesia. 4. Procedure:

i) Place the mould on a glass sheet and fill it with the cement paste formed by gauging cement with 0.78 times the water required to give a paste of standard consistency. ii) Cover the mould with another piece of glass sheet, place a small weight on this covering glass sheet and immediately submerge the whole assembly in water at a temperature of 27 2oC and keep it there for 24hrs. iii) Measure the distance separating the indicator points to the nearest 0.5mm (say d1 ). iv) Submerge the mould again in water at the temperature prescribed above. Bring the water to boiling point in 25 to 30 minutes and keep it boiling for 3hrs. v) Remove the mould from the water, allow it to cool and measure the distance between the indicator points (say d2 ). vi) (d2 d1 ) represents the expansion of cement. 5. Calculations/Results: When referring to portland cement, "soundness" refers to the ability of a hardened cement paste to retain its volume after setting without delayed destructive expansion (PCA, 1988). This destructive expansion is caused by excessive amounts of free lime (CaO) or magnesia (MgO). Most portland cement specifications limit magnesia content and expansion. The typical expansion test places a small sample of cement paste into an autoclave (a high pressure steam vessel). The autoclave is slowly brought to 2.03 MPa (295 psi) then kept at that pressure for 3 hours. The autoclave is then slowly brought back to room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The change in specimen length due to its time in the autoclave is measured and reported as a percentage. ASTM C 150, Standard Specification for Portland Cement specifies a maximum autoclave expansion of 0.80 percent for all portland cement types. 6. Limits of acceptance:
Maximum autoclave expansion of 0.80% for all Portland cement types.

D- Setting time:

1. Objective: The object of this test is to determine the time which elapsed from the moment water is added until the paste ceases to be fluid and plastic (called the "initial set"), and also the time required for it to acquire a certain degree of hardness (called the "final" or "hard set"). The former of these is the more important, since, with the commencement of setting, the process of crystallization or hardening is said to begin. As a disturbance of this process may produce a loss of strength, it is desirable to complete the operation of mixing and moulding or incorporating the mortar into the work before the cement begins to set. It is usual to measure arbitrarily the beginning and end of the setting by the penetration of weighted wires of given diameters. 2. Specimen: Cement Paste 3. Apparatus:

The Vicat Appartus. 4. Procedure: The following procedure is adopted. Take 500 gm. of cement sample and guage it with 0.85 times the water required to produce cement paste of standard consistency (0.85 P). The paste shall be guaged and filled into the Vicat mould in specified manner within 3-5 minutes. 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 within27C 2C.

Initial Setting Time Test: needly may penetrate only to a depth of 33-35 mm from the top. The period elapsingLower the needle (C) 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. But after some time when the paste starts losing its plasticity, the 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 Test: Replace the needle (C) of the Vicat appartus by a circular attachment (F) shown in the figure. 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.

5. Calculations/Result:
Initial set. Occurs when the paste begins to stiffen considerably. Final set. Occurs when the cement has hardened to the point at which it can sustain some load.

6. Limits of acceptance:
Test Method Set Type Initial Vicat Final Time Specification minutes 3-5 hours

E- Strength: Strength of concrete depends upon amount of cement content, quality and grading of aggregates, water of concrete ratio, compaction and curing Strength of concrete increase very fast in the initial stage. In the 7 days the strength gained is as much as 60 to 65 present of 25 days strength it is customary to assume the 28 days strength as the full strength of concrete however concrete gains strength beyond 28 days also. 1. Objective: This test is used to determine quality control, acceptance of concrete, or for estimating the concrete strength in the structure and constructing operation.

2. Specimen: The test is conducted with paste of cement and sand in the ratio of 1:3 + water (cement mortar) 3. Apparatus: Compression Testing Machine

Electrically-cum-hand operated. The machine embodies a Hydraulic system. 4. Procedure: Tensile Strength

Although still specified by ASTM, the direct tension test does not provide any useful insight into the concrete-making properties of cements. It persists as a specified test because in the early years of cement manufacture, it used to be the most common test since it was difficult to find machines that could compress a cement sample to failure. Flexural Strength

Flexural strength (actually a measure of tensile strength in bending) is carried out on a 40 x 40 x 160 mm (1.57-inch x 1.57-inch x 6.30-inch) cement mortar beam. The beam is then loaded at its center point until failure. 5. Result:
Portland Cement Type Curing Time I 1 day 12.4 (1800) 19.3 (2800) IA 10.0 (1450) 15.5 (2250) II 10.3 (1500) 17.2 (2500) IIA 8.3 (1200) 13.8 (2000) III 12.4 (1800) 24.1 (3500) IIIA 10.0 (1450) 19.3 (2800) -IV V 8.3 (1200) 15.2 (2200) 20.7 (3000)

3 days

6.9 (1000) 17.2 (2500)

7 days

28 days

Note: Type II and IIA requirements can be lowered if either an optional heat of hydration or chemical limit on the sum of C 3S and C3A is specified

Sources: http://training.ce.washington.edu/pgi/Modules/03_materials/03-4_body.htm http://www.engineeringcivil.com

http://durocrete.com/Mix%20Design%20Manual.pdf

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18479451/30/d-Soundness-Test