Ingredients of cement

o Lime: 60-65
o Silica: 17-25
o Alumina: 3.5-9.0
o Iron oxide: 0.5-6.0
o Magnesium oxide: 0.5-4.0
o Sulphur Trioxide: 1-2
o Alkalis: 04-1.3

Lime

➢ Main constituent of cement which contributed to strength

➢ Excess of lime makes the cement unsound and causes cement to expand and disintegrate
➢ If deficient, strength of cement is reduced and cement sets quickly

Silica

➢ Contributes to strength of cement due to formation of dicalcium and tricalcium silicates

➢ Excess of silica prolongs setting time of cement

Alumina

➢ Imparts the quick setting property

➢ Excess alumina reduces strength of cement

Iron oxide

➢ Provides colour
➢ Imparts hardness and strength to cement

Magnesium oxide

➢ Imparts hardness and colour to cement

➢ Excess quantity reduces soundness of cement

Sulphur Trioxide

➢ Increases soundness of cement, if present in small quantity

➢ Excess makes the cement unsound

Alkalis

➢ Should be present in small quantities

➢ Excess of alkalis cause efflorescence and straining

REQUIREMENTS OF QUALITY CEMENT

➢ Uniform colour
➢ Free from lumps
➢ Should be smooth and uniform
➢ Insoluble residue should not be greater than 1.5% by weight
➢ Initial setting time should be about 30 minutes and final setting time should be about 10
hours
➢ Expansion of cement should not be greater than 10 mm in soundness test
TYPES OF CEMENT

1. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)

2. Rapid Hardening Portland Cement
3. Portland Pozzolana Cement
4. Hydrophobic Portland Cement
5. Low Heat Portland Cement
6. Sulphate-resisting Portland Cement
7. High Alumina Cement
8. White cement
9. Quick setting cement

PHYSIC AL PROPERTIES OF ORDINARY PORTLAND CEMENT:

Grades of OPC

Fineness:

➢ measure of size of particles of cement (specific surface of cement)

➢ Finer the grain, higher the surface area

Setting time:

➢ Initial setting time: time when the cement loses its plasticity (~ 30 min for OPC)
➢ Final setting time: time taken for the cement paste to attain sufficient firmness to withstand
certain pressure (≤ 600 min.)
Soundness: cement which has less expansive qualities when mixed with water is termed as
soundness

➢ Undesirable expansion causes disintegration and severe cracking

➢ Presence of free lime and magnesia leads to unsoundness

Unsoundness may be controlled by:

i. Limiting MgO content to less than 0.5%

ii. Fine grinding
iii. Thorough mixing
iv. Aeration of cement

Compressive strength: assessed from compression tests on cement mortar cubes.

Heat of Hydration: heat liberated on complete hydration at a particular temperature (reaction of

cement compounds with water to form a hardened mass is known as hydration)

➢ Heat of hydration for OPC should not be more than 66 and 75 cal/g for 7 and 28 days
respectively
➢ Heat of hydration increases with temperature

Specific gravity: Specific gravity of cement is around 3.15

MANUFACTURE OF OPC:

Production stages of cement:

i. Mixing of raw materials in correct proportion

ii. Burning of mixture
iii. Grinding

Methods of manufacture:

i. Wet Process
ii. Dry Process
WET PROCESS MANUFACTURE OF OPC

DRY PROCESS MANUFACTURE OF OPC

CHEMIC AL COMPOSITION OF CEMENT

Bogue’s compound

LABORATORY TESTS ON CEMENT

1. Fineness test
2. Consistency test
3. Setting time test
4. Strength test
5. Soundness test
6. Tensile strength test
7. Heat of hydration test
8. Chemical composition test

Fineness test:

• Sieve test: using 90 micron sieve

• Air permeability test: using Blaine’s air permeability apparatus

Consistency test: using Vicat apparatus

Standard or normal consistency: water content which will permit a Vicat plunger of 10 mm
dia. to penetrate depths of 33-35 mm within 3-5 min of mixing

Setting time test: using Vicat apparatus

Strength test: compressive strength of cement tested on cement mortar (cement + sand +
water)
Soundness test: using Le-Chatelier’s apparatus

AGGREGATES
Classification
On the basis of geological origin:
o Natural aggregate: broken pieces from rocks
o Artificial aggregate: broken bricks and blast furnace slag
On the basis of size:
o Coarse aggregate: aggregate retained on 4.75 mm sieve
o Fine aggregate: aggregate passing through 4.75 mm
o All-in-aggregate: mixture of fine and coarse aggregates
On the basis of shape:

Rounded Irregular Angular Flaky and elongated

CHARACTERISTICS OF AGGREGATES:
1. Strength
2. Stiffness
3. Bond Strength
4. Shape and Texture
5. Specific Gravity
6. Bulk Density
7. Void ratio
8. Porosity
9. Moisture content
10. Soundness
1. Strength: compressive strength, crushing strength, impact strength, abrasion strength
2. Bond Strength: rougher the surface texture, better the bond
3. Shape and Texture: rounded aggregates are more workable but yield low strength
concrete, angular is best, flaky require more cement paste, produce max voids and not
desirable
4. Specific gravity: 2.6 to 2.7
5. Bulk density: higher bulk density indicates fewer voids in packing in coarse aggregate
6. Void ratio: = 1-(Bulk density/Specific gravity)
7. Porosity: entrapped air bubbles in rock during their formation leads to formation of
pores
8. Moisture content: surface moisture expressed as percentage of weight of saturated
surface dry aggregate
9. Soundness: ability of aggregate to resist changes in volume as result of changes in
physical conditions

ALKALI AGGREGATE REACTION

Reactive constituents in aggregate:
o Opals, cherts, chalcedony, volcanic glass, zeolite, tridmite
Types of rocks with reactive constituents:
o Traps, andesites, rhyolites, siliceous limestone, certain types of sandstones
Factors affecting alkali aggregate reaction:
o Reactive type of aggregates
o High alkali content in cement
o Availability of moisture
o Temperature condition
Control of alkali-aggregate reaction:
o By selecting non-reactive aggregate
o By using low alkali content cement
o By controlling moisture
o By pozzolana
o By air entraining agents

FINE AGGREGATE
Sand: granular form of silica
o Natural sand
o Crushed stone sand
o Crushed gravel sand
Depending upon size of sand, it is classified as
o Coarse sand (F.M. 2.9-3.2)
o Medium sand (F.M. 2.6-2.9)
o Fine sand (F.M. 2.2-2.6)
GRADING OF FINE AGGREGATE

TESTING OF COARSE AGGREGATE

o Specific gravity and Water absorption test
o Bulk density and voids
o Crushing value
o Fineness test
o Aggregate Impact value
o Aggregate Abrasion value

WATER
o For hydration of cement
o Also acts as a lubricant between coarse and fine aggregates and makes the concrete
workable
QUALITY OF WATER
o Any natural water with no pronounced taste or odour is acceptable
o Impurities in water may affect setting time, strength, durability

Inorganic salts:
o Zn, Mn, Cu, Pb salts: Reduce concrete strength
o Zinc chloride: Retards setting of concrete
o Calcium chloride: accelerates setting and hardening of cement
o Chlorides of Na and K: rapid setting and reduce concrete strength
o Bicarbonates: may accelerate or retard setting of cement

Acids and Alkalis: Water with pH between 6-8 should only be used
SOURCES OF WATER
Ground water: natural ground water
Sea water: may be used if suitable fresh water is unavailable
o Reduce strength of concrete by 10-20%
o Slightly increase setting time
o May lead to corrosion of reinforcement
o Chlorides may cause efflorescence
o Not recommended for prestressed concrete
Industrial waste water:
o May be tested before use
o Water containing sewage that contains large organic maters may be diluted to
reduce concentration (low organic content (< 20 ppm) does not significantly affect
concrete strength)
Water for washing aggregates:
o If contains impurities, gets coated on aggregate surface and reduces bond between
aggregates and cement,
o hence affecting strength
Curing water:
o Water fit for concreting is suitable for curing
o Water containing impurities and leading to staining is not desirable (Iron > 0.08 ppm
not recommended)
Water Cement Ratio:

Admixtures:
Material added to concrete mix immediately before or after mixing, to modify property of
concrete
Classification of admixtures
o Air entraining admixtures: increases workability of concrete, reduce damage to
freeze-thaw, produces lightweight non-structural concrete
o Water reducing admixtures/Plasticizers: reduces water requirement in concrete
while maintaining the same workability, thus resulting in higher strength concrete
Addition of plasticizer 0.1 - 0.4% by weight of cement
• increases water requirement by 5 – 15% for the same workability
• at same w/c ratio, increase in workability by 30 – 150 mm slump
o High range water reducing admixture/Superplasticizer: reduces water demand in
concrete mix, used for placing concrete in difficult circumstances
• can reduce water demand up to 30% without compromising the
workability
o Damp Proofing and Water Proofing Admixture:
• Pore filling materials: silicate of soda, aluminium and zinc sulphate, chalk,
fullers earth, talc
• Water repellent: soda, potash soaps, calcium soaps, resin, vegetable oil, fats,
coal tar residues
o Accelerating admixtures: accelerates hydration and curing of concrete
o Retarding admixtures: retards hydration and thus allow more working time with wet
concrete.
o Workability agents: increases plasticity of wet concrete and placement of concrete is
made easier.
o Shrinkage reducing admixtures: controls shrinkage and cracking in concrete
o Corrosion inhibitors: used for protection of reinforcing steel against corrosion in
corrosion prone environment
o Freeze protection admixtures: allow concrete to set and cure satisfactorily at low
temperature (as low as 7C̊)
o Extended set control admixtures: used to delay setting of concrete for a certain
period of time (even upto days)
POZZOLANA
Pozzolonic materials are siliceous and aluminous materials, which in themselves possess
little or no cementitious value, but will, in finely divided form and in the presence of
moisture chemically react with calcium hydroxide liberated on hydration, at ordinary
temperature, to form compounds, possessing cementitious properties.
Pozzolona + Calcium hydroxide + Water = C-S-H (Gel) {Cementitious compound}
Natural Pozzolonas:

• Clay and Shales

• Opalinc Cherts
• Diatomaceous earth
• Volcanic tuffs and pumicites
Artificial Pozzolonas
• Fly ash
• Blast furnace slag
• Silica fume
• Rice husk ash
• Metakaoline
• Surkhi
Fly ash:
• finely divided residue resulting from powdered coal, transported by flue
gases, collected by electrostatic precipitator (75 million tons per year
produced in India)
• Used as partial replacement of cement
• Environment friendly
Effect of Fly Ash on Fresh Concrete:
Use of right quality fly ash
• reduces water demand
• Reduces bleeding and drying shrinkage
• Heat of hydration can be reduced
• Improved long term strength
• Reduces permeability of concrete
• Reduction in alkali aggregate reaction
Artificial Admixture:
Silica Fume:
• product resulting from reduction of high purity quartz with coal in an
electric arc
• furnace in manufacture of silicon alloy
• Enabled production of high strength concrete (up to 120 MPa)
Effect of Silica Fume:
On fresh concrete
• Water demand increases
• Reduces bleeding and segregation
• Vulnerable to plastic shrinkage cracking
On hardened concrete
• Develops high strength
• Improvement in durability

Artificial Admixtures:
Rice husk ash:
• Obtained by burning rice husk in a controlled manner without causing
environmental pollution
• Exhibits high pozzolanic characteristics and contributes to high strength
and high impermeability of concrete
• Consist of 90% SiO2, 5% C, 2% K2O
Surkhi:
• Made by powdering bricks or burnt clay balls
• Used in waterproofing in conjunction with lime
• Used with cement to extend pozzolanic action
Production of Concrete:
Stages of manufacture of concrete
• Batching
• Mixing
• Transporting
• Placing
• Compacting
• Curing
• Finishing
Batching:
i. Cement is always measured by weight (in terms of weight of a bag)
ii. Water is measured either in kg or litres (determined by the water-cement ratio)
iii. Aggregate is measured either by volume or weight
Methods of Batching
• Volume Batching:
o Measurement by volume
o Difficulty in measuring granular material
o May be adopted for unimportant or small job
• Weigh batching
o Measurement by weight
o More accurate
o Automatic batching plants/equipment are adopted nowadays
Mixing:
Thorough mixing is essential for uniform, homogenous concrete
Hand mixing
• For small unimportant concrete works
• Takes extra effort to get uniform and homogenous concrete
Machine mixing
• For reinforced concrete, medium and largescale work.
• Efficient and economical
Mixing time
• Till thorough mixing is done for an optimum time
• 25 to 30 revolutions for concrete mixers with a speed of 15 to 20 revolutions per minute
• Mixing time varies between one half to two-half minutes depending on capacity of mixer
Transporting:
Methods for transportation of concrete:
a) Mortar pan
b) Wheel barrow, hand cart
c) Crane, bucket and Rope way
d)Truck mixer and Dumpers
e) Belt conveyors
f) Chute
g) Skip and Hoist
h) Transit Mixer
Concrete pumps and pipeline: one of the main methods for transporting and placing
concrete
• Mix should be proportioned such that it is able to find all constituent materials
together under pressure from pump
• Mix should be able to deform while flowing through bends
• Slump of pumpable concrete in the range of 75 mm to collapse slump
• Diameter of pipeline is at least 3 -4 times the maximum size of aggregate.

Placing of Concrete:
Concrete in foundation:
• All loose earth must be removed
• Root of trees passing through must be cut, charred or tarred effectively
• Surface of earth if dry must be made damp
• If foundation is too wet, water and slush must be removed completely
• If seepage into foundation trench is there, measures to divert flow of water must be
taken
Road slabs, airfield slabs and ground floor slabs:
• Surface must be free from loose earth, pool of water and other organic matters like
grass, roots, leaves etc.
• Earth must be properly compacted and made sufficiently damped to avoid
absorption of water.
• Concrete should be laid in alternative bays, with provisions for contraction joints and
dummy joints.
High rise building, pier or abutment, mass concrete dam:
• Concrete is placed in layers, thickness of each layer depending upon mode of
compaction (~ 15 to 30 cm or 35 to 45 cm in mass concrete)
• Layers placed in succession and quickly to avoid cold joints
Beams and Columns in formwork:
• Reinforcement must be correctly tied and placed with appropriate cover
• Joints between planks or plywood must be effectively plugged so that matrix will not
escape
• Placing in congested reinforcement must be done carefully
Other methods of placing concrete

• Tremie method of concreting

• Slip Form Technique
Compaction of Concrete:
- Adopted for expelling entrapped air from concrete
- Insufficient compaction increases permeability of concrete resulting in easy entry
for aggressive chemicals
- Adequate workability mix is necessary to achieve full compaction and maximum
density.
Methods of compaction:
- Hand compaction: Rodding, Ramming, Tamping
- Compaction by vibration
- Compaction by Pressure and jolting
- Compaction by spinning
Curing of Concrete:
- Water evaporated from exposed concrete and thus there is insufficient water for
hydration to continue
- Extra water must be added to replenish loss of water due to evaporation and
absorption
- Process of keeping concrete moist and warm enough for hydration to continue is
termed as curing
What happens when moisture from concrete is lost?
- Insufficient water for hydration
- Leads to poorly hydrated cement with inferior gel structure
- Weak bond and strength
- Evaporation of water from top surface leads to plastic shrinkage cracks
- Surface drying results in movement of moisture from interior to the surface, causing
high internal stress and internal micro cracks
Methods of Curing
- Water curing
- Membrane curing
- Application of heat
- Miscellaneous