UET Mardan CE-112L Civil Engineering Material Lab

EXPERIMENT NO.04 DETERMINATION OF THE SOUNDNESS OF

CEMENT BY LE-CHATELIER APPARATUS.

Standard code: ASTM C 189

Significance:
Soundness is the resistance to expansion. The property of cement to maintain a constant volume
is known as the soundness of the cement. Cement must not go through volumetric changes after
its setting. This characteristic of cement is recognized as the soundness of cement. Excessive
unsoundness/expansion of concrete can cause problems, such as cracking. Such expansion may
occur due to the presence of ingredients, such as free lime, magnesia, etc. in the cement.
Apparatus:
Le-chatelier apparatus complete set, cement sample, water, Empty tray, trowel, Balance

Procedure:
 Take 400g of cement and add 0.78P water by weight, where P is the %age of water for
standard consistency. Make a uniform cement paste and fill the lightly oiled mold placed
on a glass plate.
UET Mardan CE-112L Civil Engineering Material Lab

 Cover the upper side of the mold with another glass plate, and the whole assembly is then
immersed in water at 27±2ºC for 24 hours. After 24 hours the distance between the
indicators is measured (D1).
 The mold is then immersed in water again and brought the water to boiling point (100
degrees Celsius).
 After boiling for 30 minutes, the assembly is taken out and after cooling, the distance
between the indicators is again measured (D2).
 The difference (D2-D1) in the distance indicates expansion of cement.
Observations & Calculations:
Sample No 1 2 3
Distance between the indicators (D1) after 24 hours in
water at room temperature (27±2℃ )
Distance between the indicators (D2) after 30 minutes in
water at boiling temperature (100℃ )
Expansion = Difference (D2-D1)
Average expansion/unsoundness of the cement (mm)

ASTM-Standard Limit:
The unsoundness/expansion of OPC should not exceed 10mm.

Comment on Result: