One of the most critical and important performance based evaluation of any cement type is its strength

development characteristic.

Cement strength is controlled and optimized on the basis of type of cement produced , National /
International Product Standards requirement , application / customer demand & market
competitiveness.

It is probably the one component which is given highest priority during the cement manufacturing
(Plant), also given highest publicity in the advertisements (Marketing) and also given the highest
importance from the end user (Customer / consumer).

It may be noted that Flexural strength of cement is less than the compressive strength of cement; in
routine it is within 12---20 % of the compressive strength of cement.

Strength development of cement is dependent primarily upon the following factors;

a)     Chemical Composition of Clinker / Cement

b)    Raw Milling & Pyroprocessing conditions

c)     Cement Milling Conditions

d)    Dilution of active reactive component i.e. Clinker

e)     Prehydration of reactive component i.e. Clinker / Cement

a)    Chemical Composition of the Clinker / Cement:

In chemical composition; following parameters are most important w.r.t strength development

Lime Saturation Factor (LSF) / Tri Calcium Silicate (C3S)

Increasing the clinker LSF upto a certain threshold level improves cement strength development by
increasing the C3S component. However, increasing over and above that threshold value; instead of
strength development strength loss is encountered since the lime will remain as free lime and another
problem of cement expansion can be faced.

As per one study the increase in strength for Type I Cement by raising clinker LSF from 96 to 98 is only 1-
2 MPa.(1) Whereas as per another literature source; the strength increase /decrease of cement by + 1
Clinker LSF is + 5 % at 1 Day and + 1.5 % at 28 days.(2)

Strength development upto 28 Days is primarily impacted by C3S; whereas at 06 Months; strength was
independent of C3S /C2S ratio.(2)

Silica Modulus (SM)

Increasing clinker SM also improves the compressive strength; however, strength gain is normally not
much exceptional .
Tri Calcium Aluminate (C3A)

C3A also improves the strength potential however not at the later stages; but it is primarily the 01-day
strength which is increased.

SO3

Increasing Gypsum / SO3 upto a certain optimum level; increases the cement strength development.
However, increasing SO3 beyond that level will decrease the compressive strength and also will cause
cement expansion problem i.e. delayed ettrignite expansion.

As per one study the impact of 0.5 % SO3 increase is 0.9 MPa (01 Day), 1.0 MPa (03 Day), 1.2 MPa (07
Day), & 1.0 MPa (28 Day). (C109 Mortar Cube Strength test).(2)

During pyroprocessing ; sulfate in stoichiometric excess of alkalis will be present as CaSO4 ; this ties lime
in CaSO4 , reducing the effective LSF and the potential C3S in clinker ; hence decrease in compressive
strength. (6)

Alkalis

Alkalis (Na2O / K20) in cement increase the cement strength potential at early age however 28 days’
strength is dropped by more or less same amount.

As per one study the decrease of soluble alkali in clinker only by 0.15 % (Na2O eq); 28 days’ strength was
improved by 2 MPa; however early strength will drop by same amount.(1)

Whereas as per another study; high alkali level in cements (over 0.8 % Na2O eq) when present as alkali
sulphates increase the early strength by > 10 %; whereas 28 days’ strength is reduced by 10—15 %. (3)

As per another literature source increase of 0.1 % Na2O eq increase the 01 days’ strength by 1.2 MPa
(01 Day), 0.8 MPa (03 Day), 0.4 MPa (07 Day) & -0.8 MPa (28 Days). (C109 Mortar Cube Strength test).(2)

High K20 in clinker act as an inhibitor to C3S formation by stabilizing the C2S .

In nutshell the impact of alkalis on initial strength is +ive whereas on 28 days’ strength is –ive.

Loss on Ignition:

LOI normally indicate the non-reactive component added during cement manufacturing; and also
indicate the prehydration of clinker / cement used. In first case the strength is normally not affected
since parameters are fine tuned to the level of additives added whereas in later cases strength is
negatively affected since prehydration of clinker / cement not only results in strength loss but also
results in delayed setting.

As per one literature source the impact of + 1 % LOI is -0.8 MPa (01 Day), -1.0 MPa (03 days), -1.2 MPa
(07 Days) & -1.0 MPa (28 Days). (C109 Mortar Cube Strength test).(2)

Free Lime (fCaO)

Lime which remains uncombined during pyroprocessing is termed as free lime; hence is not available for
strength development; and also leads to cement expansion problems.

As per one literature source the impact of + 1 free lime is – 2 % strength at 28 days. (2) Whereas as per
another literature source the impact of + 0.3 % free lime is -1.2 MPa (01 Day), -0.5 MPa (03 days), -0.4
MPa (07 Days) & -0.6 MPa (28 Days) (C109 Mortar Cube Strength test).(2)

MgO

MgO has a indirect way of affecting the strength of cement by modifying the structure of C3S ; from the
reactive rhombohedral form to less reactive monoclinic crystal form ; hence resulting in strength
decrease. (6)

b)   Raw Milling & Pyroprocessing conditions:

Raw Milling (Raw Meal Quality):

The basic requirement is to avoid coarse raw meal particles in order to enhance easy combinability
without any requirement for hard burning.

Alite formation in clusters around grains of free lime is attributable to coarse calcite grain similarly Belite
formation in clusters produced as a result of coarse silica particles in the raw mix will make clinker
difficult to grind as compared to clinker having well distributed individual crystals; hence loss of
strength.

Another requirement is to avoid high variations in the raw meal in order to ensure smooth and
consistent heat profile in the kiln; hence resulting in a clinker with good quality & mineralogy.

Pyroprocessing Conditions:
Thermal profile of long kilns produces less reactive clinker having large Alite and Belite size, while
shorter and faster preheater / precalciner kilns produces reactive clinker having small crystal size. Under
burning produces poor quality clinker with very small clinker size, which are less reactive as well as have
high Grindability.

A long flame gives slow heat up and slow cooling of the kiln charge before it falls from the kiln. This will
tend to produce large Alite and Belite crystals resulting in coarse grained clinker matrix with poor
reactivity and poor Grindability.

Alite Size -------- Rapid heating in the burning zone (Heat Rise of Kiln Charge / Feed) within the temp
range of 1200 °C---1450°C (Where C2S is combining with CaO to form C3S) is desirable and produces C3S
crystal size in between 15—20um whereas slow heating produces alite of size 40—60 um or more. (2)

Belite size (BS)--- Reflects retention time in the burning zone above 1400°C. Maximum retention is
preferred and is indicated by average crystal length of 25-40μm while short retention yields 5-10 μm.(4)

Clinker with less porosity due to hard burning will cause large crystals of Alite / Belite, and often
contributes to generation of dust and/or large clinker balls giving poor Grindability & poor strength
characteristics.

Clinker produced under reducing conditions also lead to poor Grindability & reactivity; one indication of
such clinker is the presence of brown cores. Kiln reducing conditions also leads to decomposition of C3S
into C2S & Free Lime also leading to Grindability & strength development problems.

Clinker that is produced by rapidly heating kiln feed to reaction temperature and then quickly cooling
the clinker results in many small reactive crystals. These smaller crystals make clinker easier to grind and
produce cement that displays excellent strength gains

Rapid quenching of clinker also leads to reactive clinker crystals whereas slow cooling also leads to
dusting of clinker by converting β-C2S (Belite) into γ-C2S (Belite) leading to dust / powder
formation. Furthermore, very slow cooling below 1250 °C may convert C3S to C2S & Free Lime leading to
Grindability issues. Rapid cooling of clinker leads to very good strength development.

In short if we analyze the Raw Milling / Pyroprocessing conditions we can summarize the desired
operating requirements as; Fine Raw Meal (Not coarse Particles specially if they are in the form of Pure
Calcite & Pure Quartz), Short and Rapid Heat Rise under oxidizing conditions (Not reducing conditions);
No Hard Burning, Not direct impingement of flame on load; rapid quenching of clinker.

c)    Cement Milling Conditions:

The most critical parameters to be controlled during cement milling stage in order to optimize the
cement strength are as under.
Fineness and Particle Size Distribution:

Literature has revealed that particles below 3 um contribute to 01 days’ compressive strength however
at high water demand; while 3---25 um govern 28 days’ compressive strength. Particles greater than 25
um have a negligible contribution to strength.(2)

Another literature source indicated that particles within 3----32 um contribute to strength development.
(1)

It may be noted that relation of high Blaine with high strength relates well with pure clinker /gypsum
systems while with large additions of additives like limestone; the relationship is not that linear since
Limestone / Gypsum is much soft to grind in comparison with clinker; hence in PSD their particles will lie
in fine fraction and the clinker particles will lie in coarse fraction hence will not contribute to hydration
reactions and hence no strength development ; until and unless grinded to a much finer level .

It may be considered that fine cement gives high mortar strength but not necessarily high concrete
strength; since in order to produce the same workability more water will be required and more water
means loss of concrete strength. Hence concrete strength at fixed workability and not at fixed water
cement ratio is ultimately critical.

Cement Milling Temperature:

One another factor affecting the cement strength is the milling temperature; ideal milling temp should
be within 90---115 °C range in order to have sufficient dehydration (60 %---Gypsum Dehydration;) to give
readily available sulphate ions which will be not only good with regard to setting time regulation but also
will optimize the compressive strength; but the dehydration should be less enough to avoid false set.

At 90---115 Gypsum undergoes dehydration first to hemihydrate and then to soluble anhydrite; both
have higher dissolution rate than di-hydrate gypsum hence better set regulator and also promote good
development of strength.

If too much gypsum is dehydrated; it results into Rehydration of Gypsum on adding water and results in
False set or Plaster Set; however, it can be broken by constant mixing and initial workability can be
restored.

However, in case of too little sulfate ions or very high Clinker reactivity due to number of reasons; there
is irreversible loss of workability with excessive heat release which cannot be restored and hence
termed as Flash Set.

d)    Dilution of active reactive component i.e. Clinker

Addition of any additives like Limestone, Fly Ash will decrease the compressive strength until and unless
the clinker parameters like LSF, SM & AM / C3S/ C2S / C3A / C4AF & Cement grinding SO3 are not
adjusted accordingly.

In cement milling stage with addition of additives fineness has to be increased / residue to be decreased
in order to compensate the strength loss.

e)     Prehydration of reactive component i.e. Clinker / Cement

In case of Prehydration of clinker / cement not only strength is negatively affected; setting time is also
delayed.  Increase of 0.1 % LOI due to prehydration result in cement strength decrease of 1.0 MPa (01
Days) & 1.7 MPa (28 Days).(1)

Cement should be ideally below 60 °C when conveyed to cement silos. Storage of cement above 80 °C
leads to dehydration and release of water reacts with cement and leads to lumps /build ups in silos and
also to loss of strength and delayed setting time.

Even under ideal storage conditions cement loses its strength value; hence cement should be consumed
on FIFO basis.

As per one literature source the average reduction of strength in a 1: 2: 4 Concrete mix as a function of
storage period is as under (5)

Fresh Cement                                    Strength                    100 %

Cement After 3 Months                     Reduced by                20 %

Cement After 6 Months                     Reduced by                30 %

Cement after 12 Months                    Reduced by                40 %

Cement after 24 Months                    Reduced by                50 %

Main thing to be avoided is moisture / humidity; as that is most dangerous for cement quality &
strength development.

Conclusion:

Above parameters if given due consideration and priority during cement manufacturing process will
result in a cement having good strength properties; hence better acceptance in the market and better
sales , customer retention and satisfaction.