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Modern Cements and How to Specify Them

Ref:BCA/S&T/Modern cements/10 March, 2005

Background

Until recently the term cement was almost synonymous in the UK with BS 12 Portland cement The publication of the harmonised European Standard for common cements in 2000 (BS EN 197-1) has introduced a wider range of structural cements for potential use in the UK This presentation examines what is meant by cement today and how to specify it

Ref:BCA/2/26 April, 2004

Terminology: Cement
In BS EN 197-1, cement is defined as: A hydraulic binder, i.e. a finely ground inorganic material which, when mixed with water, forms a paste which sets and hardens by means of hydraulic reactions and processes and which, after hardening, retains its strength and stability even under water. Factory produced EN 197 cements are given the designation CEM

Ref:BCA/3/26 April, 2004

Terminology: Additions
Pozzolanic or latent hydraulic materials, such as pulverized-fuel ash (pfa) or ground granulated blastfurnace slag (ggbs) are Type II additions
When additions are mixed with Portland cement at the concrete batching plant, they form a combination not a blended cement

In British Standards, mixer combinations are given the designation C not CEM

Ref:BCA/4/26 April, 2004

Key Cement Standards

BS EN 197-1:2000 (Inc. Amendment No.1:2004) Composition, specifications and conformity criteria for common cements BS EN 197-4:2004 Composition, specifications and conformity criteria for low early strength blastfurnace cements BS EN 196-series Methods of testing cement

Ref:BCA/5/26 April, 2004

Cements
Cements are factory produced materials primarily conforming to BS EN 197-1 or BS EN 197-4

Some cements, such as Sulfate-resisting Portland cement (SRPC) are however, still covered by residual British Standards
There is a wide range of cements ranging from simple Portland cement to Composite cements containing up to three major constituents Cements may be produced by inter-grinding or blending the constituents at the cement works Cements can be CE marked against BS EN 197 standards using BS EN 197-2 Conformity evaluation

Ref:BCA/6/26 April, 2004

Types of BS EN 197-1 Cement

Designation Description CEM I CEM II Portland cement Portland-composite cements including: -Portland-fly ash cement (CEM II/A-V, CEM II/B-V) -Portland-slag cement (CEM II/A-S, CEM II/B-S) -Portland-limestone cement (CEM II/A-L (LL), CEM II/B-L (LL) Blastfurnace cements (CEM III/A, CEM III/B) Pozzolanic cements (CEM IV/A, CEM IV/B) Composite cements

CEM III CEM IV CEM V

Ref:BCA/7/26 April, 2004

HOW ARE CEMENTS DESIGNATED

Example: CEM II/A-LL 42,5 N
CEM II: Portland composite cement A-LL: A signifies low proportion of second constituent (6-20% in this case) L or LL signifies limestone as the second main constituent (LL signifies high purity limestone) 42,5 N: Cement strength class 42,5 Normal strength development Portland-limestone cement

Ref:BCA/8/26 April, 2004

PORTLAND CEMENT
Portland cement is CEM I NOT Ordinary Portland cement, OPC or PC

BUT
CEM I

Ref:BCA/9/26 April, 2004

Cement Strength Classes (I)

There are three cement strength classes, based on the minimum 28 day mortar prism strength Note: Use of 32,5 comma rather 42,5 than decimal point 52,5 Each class can be subdivided based on early strength development L: Low early strength N: Normal strength development R: High early strength

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Example: class 42,5R

Ref:BCA/10/26 April, 2004

Cement Strength Classes (II)

Strength Class Min. 2 Day Min. 7 Day Min. 28 Day Max. 28 Day

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32,5 N
32,5 R 42,5 N 42,5 R 52,5 N 52,5 R

10 10 20 20 30

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-

32,5
32,5 42,5 42,5 52,5 52,5

52,5
52,5 62,5 62,5 -

These classes apply to all CEM cements

Ref:BCA/11/26 April, 2004

Cement Strength Classes (III)

Strength Class Min. 2 Day Min. 7 Day Min. 28 Day Max. 28 Day

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32,5 L
42,5 L 52,5 L

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12
16 -

32,5
42,5 52,5

52,5
62,5 -

These low early strength classes apply only to BS EN 197- 4 CEM III cements

Ref:BCA/12/26 April, 2004

Low Heat Cements

BS EN 197-1: 2000 (inc. Amendment 1:2004) now covers some low heat cements
Low Heat is defined as a characteristic heat of hydration not exceeding 270 J/g (measured at 7 days (EN 196-8) or 41 hrs (EN 196-9)) Low heat cements carry an LH suffix ie:

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Example: CEM III/B 32,5N - LH

Ref:BCA/13/26 April, 2004

Other Specified Cement Properties (Class 42,5N)

Property Initial set Soundness Loss on ignition Insoluble residue Sulfate Chloride Pozzolanicity Composition Heat of hydration Cement to be tested All All All CEM I, CEM III All All CEM IV All Low heat common cements Limiting Value Min 60 mins Max 10 mm Max 5.0 % Max 5.0 % Max 3.5 % Max 0.10 % Meets requirements Meets requirements Max 270 J/g

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Ref:BCA/14/26 April, 2004

Common CEM II Cements

Designation Name Second Main Constituent Blastfurnace slag ditto Silica fume % of Sec. Main Constituent 6-20 21-35 6-10 % Clinker 80-94 65-79 90-94

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CEM II/A-S CEM II/B-S CEM II/A-D

Portland-slag cement ditto Portlandsilica fume cement Portland-fly ash cement ditto Portlandlimestone cement ditto

CEM II/A-V CEM II/B-V CEM II/A-L(LL)

Fly ash ditto Limestone

6-20 21-35 6-20

80-94 65-79 80-94

CEM II/B-L(LL)

ditto

21-35

65-79

Ref:BCA/15/26 April, 2004

Common CEM II Cements

Designation Name Second Main Constituent Blastfurnace slag ditto Silica fume % of Sec. Main Constituent 6-20 21-35 6-10 % Clinker 80-94 65-79 90-94

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CEM II/A-S CEM II/B-S CEM II/A-D

Portland-slag cement ditto Portlandsilica fume cement Portland-fly ash cement ditto Portlandlimestone cement ditto

Available in UK
Fly ash ditto Limestone 6-20 21-35 6-20 80-94 65-79 80-94

CEM II/A-V CEM II/B-V CEM II/A-L(LL)

CEM II/B-L(LL)

ditto

21-35

65-79

Ref:BCA/16/26 April, 2004

CEM III Cements

Designation Name Second Main Constituent Blastfurnace slag ditto ditto % of Sec. Main Constituent 36-65 66-80 81-95 % Clinker 35-64 20-34 5-19

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CEM III/A CEM III/B CEM III/C

Blastfurnace cement ditto ditto

Ref:BCA/17/26 April, 2004

CEM IV Cements
Designation Name Second Main Constituent % of Sec. Main Constituent % Clinker

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CEM IV/A

Pozzolanic cement
ditto

Fly ash, natural pozzolan or silica fume

ditto

11-35

65-89

CEM IV/B

36-55

45-64

Ref:BCA/18/26 April, 2004

CEM V Cements
Designation Name Additional Main Constituents Two ditto % of Additional Constituents . % Clinker

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CEM V/A CEM V/B

Composite cement ditto

40-64 20-38

Example

Composite cement with:18-30% ggbs (S) and 18-30% siliceous fly ash (V) plus clinker; would be designated as:
CEM V/A (S-V) 32,5N

Ref:BCA/19/26 April, 2004

Minor Additional Constituent (I)

BS EN 197-1 allows for the inclusion of up to 5% by mass of a minor additional constituent (or mac) in all types of cement A mac is defined as: specially selected inorganic natural mineral materials, inorganic Example: A fly ash mac should not be mineral materials derived from the clinker usedprocess in a Portlandfly ash cement production or [specified cement] (CEM II/B-V) constituents unless they are [already] included as main constituents in the cement Materials typically used as a mac include:
Finely ground limestone Fly Ash Cement kiln dust (CKD)

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Ref:BCA/20/26 April, 2004

Minor Additional Constituent (II)

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Cement containing a mac has to meet the same performance criteria as the same cement type and class without a mac
Setting time Strength Soundness/Chemical requirements

In specification terms a CEM cement with a mac is considered to be identical to the same CEM cement without a mac

A CEM I Portland cement with 5% mac is still a Portland cement and will perform in the same way as a similar cement without a mac !

Ref:BCA/21/26 April, 2004

Other Cements
Sulfate-resisting Portland cement: still covered by residual British Standard BS 4027

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Low early strength blastfurnace cements: covered by British Standard BS 146:2002 (to be withdrawn Jan 2006)
High-alumina cement: still covered by residual British Standard BS 915

These standards will eventually be replaced by new European Standards, but progress on a standard for sulfate-resisting cement is slow

Ref:BCA/22/26 April, 2004

BS EN 206-1 and BS 8500

BS 5328: Concrete has been superseded and withdrawn EN 206-1 is the European Standard for concrete (UK version is BS EN 206-1)

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BS 8500 is the complementary British Standard to BS EN 206-1 and describes how to apply the principles of the European Standard in the UK
Note: BSI have also published Standards for fresh concrete (BIM 2002), which combines BS EN 206-1 and BS 8500 and adds a commentary

Ref:BCA/23/26 April, 2004

Concrete Specification to BS 8500

BS 8500 gives guidance on the choice of appropriate cement types for different exposure classes For a given combination of exposure class and cover depth, BS 8500 places limitations on:
Permitted cement types Minimum concrete strength class Maximum water/cement ratio Minimum cement content

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These limiting values may be different for different types of CEM cement This reflects the different relative (durability) performance of different cement types

Ref:BCA/24/26 April, 2004

Permitted Cements
BS 8500 permits the general use of all BS-EN 197-1 and BS EN 197-4 cements in concrete However, the use of Composite cement (CEM V) is restricted to situations where it is specified or when its use is accepted by the specifier Cements conforming to certain residual British Standards are also permitted:
BS 4027 Sulfate-resisting Portland cement BS146:2002 Blastfurnace cements BS 6610 Pozzolanic cements

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Ref:BCA/25/26 April, 2004

Minimum Cement Content

When specifying concrete to BS EN 206-1/BS 8500, the specified minimum cement content applies to the cement, be it CEM I, CEM II, CEM III, CEM IV or CEM V

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For a non CEM I cement, this does NOT mean the amount of the Portland cement clinker in the cement

The limiting values in BS 8500 take account of the composition of the cement. There is no technical justification for additional increases in cement content for non CEM I cements

Ref:BCA/26/26 April, 2004

Water/Cement Ratio

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The specified maximum water/cement ratio is the ratio of free water to CEM cement This is a major factor influencing concrete strength This does NOT mean the ratio of free water to the amount of Portland cement clinker in the CEM cement

The limiting values in BS 8500 take account of the composition of the cement. There is no technical justification for additional reductions in water/cement ratio for non CEM I cements

Ref:BCA/27/26 April, 2004

Footnote
Analysis of hardened concrete
If there is a dispute about whether the cement that was specified was actually used, then:
a combination of chemical analysis and microscopy (optical and/or analytical) should be able to determine the identity of the major constituents but determining the proportions is much more difficult

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If there is a dispute about the cement content of the concrete then:

routine chemical analysis determines soluble silica, lime and insoluble content

relationships between these vary between cement type and any addition used
the simplest, most accurate, case is where only a CEM I cement has been used in other cases, the determination of cement content, and addition content, is subject to more assumptions and therefore less accuracy

Ref:BCA/28/26 April, 2004