Cement Technology 1.

1 Cement Performance

Cement Manufacturing Technology

Module 1. Fundamental Requirements of Cement in Application
1.1 Cement Performance

Cement is a hydraulic material which binds the sand and aggregates used in mortars and
concrete in building applications.

Hydraulic materials undergo chemical reactions when mixed with

water.

When cement is mixed with water to form a paste, these chemical

reactions cause the paste to first stiffen and then set into a solid
mass.

This stiffening and setting is caused by the growth of hydroxide

crystals, which are the product of the reactions between the cement
minerals and water.

These hydraulic reactions continue for many hours, days, weeks and
months beyond the initial setting of the cement, increasing the
strength of the mortar or concrete made from the cement.

Cement is only one component in the mortars and concrete used in

building applications. (Albeit the most important one).

Cement is never used in isolation, but is always used as the binder

with sand, aggregates and water.

The properties of the sand, aggregate and water are

important contributors to the performance of mortar or
concrete made with the cement.

However, as the cement is the binder and therefore the

most important component, the properties of the cement are
the most important in determining mortar or concrete
performance.

This fact that cement is an intermediate product, forming

only one component of final mortar or concrete products,
places fundamental requirements on the manufacture of
cement.

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Cement Technology 1.1 Cement Performance

A cement manufacturing company does not have control over the use of their cements
in the production and placing of mortars and concretes. Indeed, a cement
manufacturing company usually does not know in which applications their cement
will be used, or the combination of other components that will be used in the mortar
or concrete. This means that the cement produced must be a commodity product with
consistent properties which are suited to its use in many mortar and concrete
applications.

The cement produced must be a commodity product with consistent properties suited to
its use in many building applications.

This explains the efforts which cement manufacturing companies devote to

homogenisation and control throughout the cement manufacturing process.

For the concrete producing customers of a cement company the

consistency of cement properties, and lack of variability in these
properties, is the most important quality characteristic.

A concrete producer is responsible for demonstrating that the

mixes they use will produce hardened concretes which conform
with the requirements of the architect or concrete specifier. To
do this they must apply quality assurance procedures to each
component of their concrete mixes. Their field sampling and
subsequent concrete testing must demonstrate this conformance.

Increases in the variation of their field sampling and testing

mean that they must introduce additional testing to re-establish
conformance. This increases their costs and quickly leads to
complaints regarding the quality (variability) of the cement used
in the concrete mix.

Additional field sampling and testing are not the only source of increased costs.
Concrete mix design requires that a safety margin of +2 standard deviations in
strength performance above specification must be used to determine the cement
content of the concrete. Higher variability means higher standard deviation in
concrete strength and therefore higher cement content and cost.

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 Cement Technology 1.1 Cement Performance

After variability the next most important quality parameter is the compressive strength of
the concrete produced with the cement.

The cement hydraulic reactions continue for many hours, days, weeks and months
beyond the initial setting of the cement, increasing the strength of the mortar or
concrete made from the cement.

Compression

We must emphasise that concrete and

mortar are capable of developing
significant strength in compression...

Concrete pile
…and that concrete and mortar have very
poor flexural strength. Hence the need to Flexure
use reinforcement in applications where
loads vary and flexural strains are
imparted to the concrete.

After the initial

setting period of a
few hours …
Compressive
Strength … the
compressive
strength increases
rapidly.

As time proceeds
the rate of strength
growth reduces,
but does not end.
1 3 7 28
Days

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Cement Technology 1.1 Cement Performance

Different concrete applications demand different strength growth characteristics from the
cement:

Flooring screeds require high early strength to allow finishing within the
working day.

Precast concrete manufacture also requires high early

strength to allow early demoulding and the reduce
warehouse space required for curing.

28-day strength remains the most important specification

for general concrete applications. This means that a cement
company encounters pressure from their concrete
customers for high early and late strength characteristics so
that the cement is suitable for all applications.

Workability is just as important as the strength, because the two characteristics are
effectively linked.

The wet concrete must be sufficiently fluid to

be placed in a mould and around
reinforcement.

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Cement Technology 1.1 Cement Performance

Workability is measured in the field by the

slump test. The slump cone is filled with the
concrete, and then lifted.

The slump of the cone of concrete is measured to

assess the workability.

Workability is determined by the characteristics of the cement and the water content
of the concrete. Poor workability can be corrected by more water addition, but
strength falls. Hence the effective link between workability and strength.

Where concrete must be pumped

the workability becomes a
particularly important
consideration.

Setting time of the cement and the wet concrete is also important.

In cold climates rapid set will be required to allow finishing during

the working day. In hot climates slower setting will be required to
allow the concrete to be placed. Control of the setting time is
therefore the most important consideration.

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Cement Technology 1.1 Cement Performance

Durability is a critical consideration in applications where the environment could attack

and destroy the concrete;

- In foundations where sulphates and acid

ground waters could attack the concrete.

- In structures
exposed to sea
water attack

In massive concrete structures low heat generation during hydration is important to

prevent cracking of the concrete;

Dams

Consistency of colour can be an important

consideration in concrete buildings and
structures.

In special applications special properties

may be required.

Oil well cementing.

Refractory structures.

Abrasion resistant surfaces.

This then is what is required of the cement product:

High early and late (28-day) strength.

Good workability characteristics.
Controlled setting, matched to local climatic conditions.
Reliable durability in the long term.
Consistent colour.

These are not a pick & mix wish list, the concrete customers will want all these. And
most importantly, minimal variation in these characteristics.

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 Cement Technology 1.1 Cement Performance

In the remaining modules of this course we will learn not only how to manufacture
cement, but also how to control and influence these characteristics. We will see the type
and composition of raw materials which must be found and exploited, how those raw
materials must be processed up to and through the cement kiln to produce cement clinker,
and finally converted in the cement in the finish milling.

Cement process diagrams from ABB advertisments.

The concrete producer wants a commodity cement and will then add supplementary
cementitious materials and admixtures to control the concrete properties for particular
applications.

The cement producer would like to take greater control over the applications of their
cements and tailor them to particular applications. In this way they can take greater
control over the “added-value” of their product, and command higher prices and generate
higher profits. This simmering conflict in the concrete supply chain continues to demand
greater sophistication in cement manufacture. This demand for greater sophistication in
cement manufacture is a primary reason to follow this training course.

Concrete pictures from Concrete Solutions.

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Cement Technology 1.1 Cement Performance

Exercise
I now suggest that we conduct an exercise to explore the strength characteristics, strength
growth and variability of the cement being produced by the course participants.

As a first step please send me an e-mail to training@whitehopleman.com, telling me the

typical 1, 2, 3, 7 and 28-day strength of the cement you produce, and the units in which
the strength is measured. If you do not measure all these strengths just send me those you
do.

For those participants who are not cement manufacturers please try to send the typical
strengths from one of your cement manufacturing customers.

Rest assured that no strength data from any cement manufacturer will be revealed – we
guarantee confidentiality of the information provided in these training course exercises.

When I receive the e-mails I will send back an Excel spreadsheet which will allow us to
explore strength growth and variability.

Thank you

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