CVEN 9824 Advanced Materials Technology

Lecture 1: Cement and

Concrete Basics
By Arnaud Castel, A/Professor

Session 2 2016
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
 CVEN 9824 Advanced Materials Technology

Course Coordinator:

Arnaud Castel

Room 708 (CVEN)

a.castel@unsw.edu.au

Demonstrators:

Mohammad Khan: mohammad.khan@unsw.edu.au

Amin Noushini: a.noushini@unsw.edu.au

Mahdi Babaee: mahdi.babaee@unsw.edu.au

COURSE DETAILS OF 9824
 Units of Credit (UOC): 6
 Class Contact Hours per Week:
2 hours Lecture: Wednesday 7-9 pm
1 hour workshop: Wednesday 6-7 pm
 ASSESSMENT 9824

 Formal Exam in November 70%

 Class Marks 30%
 Class marks will be based on Quiz
 During the Lectures (1 hour)
 First Quiz: TBA
 Second Quiz: TBA
Lecture 1: Cement and Concrete constituents
 Components of Concrete
 Typical volume fractions
 Manufacture of Portland Cement
 Introduction to the Supplementary Cementitious
Materials (SCMs)
 Cements in Australian Standards (AS 3972-2010)
Few generalities about concrete:

• Ageing Material
• Porous material
Voids containing air and water
(about 8 to 15% of the volume)

• Versus time:
The strength increases
The porosity decreases
• High compression strength: Ranging between 20 MPa to 120 MPa
between 20 to 45 MPa: Ordinary Concrete
between 45 to 120 MPa: High Performance Concrete
• Low tensile strength: About compression strength /10
• Density equal to about 2.3 Tons/m3
• Can be deteriorated with time when exposed to aggressive environments
Concrete Mix Constituents
Chemical
Water
Admixtures

CEMENT
« Glue »:
Cement Paste

Sand

Rocks Aggregates
CONCRETE
Gravel
Stones
 Concrete Mix proportions

CEMENT
7 to 14% volume
Majority of concrete volume

+ Aggregates
60 to 70% volume
The Binder
(hydraulic binder) + Water
Very low proportion
14 to 22% volume

+ Chemical Admixtures
inferior to 2% volume
Concrete cross-section
Aggregates

Cement
Paste

Cement + Water

15 mm
 CEMENTITIOUS
PRODUCTS

• cement + water = paste or grout

• paste + fine aggregate (sand) = mortar or render
• mortar + coarse aggregate = concrete
Manufacture of Portland Cement
Cement Plant
 Portland Cement

Most common type of cement in general use around the world

Often referred to as OPC, from Ordinary Portland Cement

History
Portland cement was developed in England in the early part of
the nineteenth century (1824) by Joseph Aspdin.
Its name is derived from its similarity to Portland stone, from
the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England.

Portland cement first produced in South Australia in 1882

 Manufacture of Portland Clinker & Cement

A two stage production process:

1) Clinker
• Produced when limestone and
clay are burnt together

2) Portland Cement
• Produced by grinding clinker
and small amount of
gypsum (set regulator)
 Manufacture of Portland Clinker & Cement

Clinker is mainly made of Limestone (90%)

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the
minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal
forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3)
 Portland Cement manufacturing process
Global process
carrière

Quarried rocks

Burning and cooling

Cement: Powder < 100 mm

 Portland Cement manufacturing process
Quarried rocks - Limestones
carrière

Outdoor Quarry
dumper

TRANSPORT

Storage at the
Crushing
cement plant
transport

LIMESTONE CRUSHING PROCESS and TRANSPORT

 Portland Cement manufacturing process
Raw Grinding and Blending

Storage at the Grinder Limestone

cement plant
transport powder

Limestones grinding

Limestone powder
 Portland Cement manufacturing process
Blending

Raw material for Clinker

LIME (CaO) - Limestone/Chalk -C ≈ 91%

SILICA (SiO2) - Clay/Shale/Sand -S ≈ 4%
ALUMINA (Al2O3) - Clay/Shale/Bauxite -A ≈ 4%
IRON OXIDE (Fe2O3) - Clay/Shale/Ironstone -F ≈ 1%
 Portland cement
manufacturing process

CaO 1450 ºC C3S

SiO2 C2S
Al2O3 C3A
Fe2O3 C4AF

Raw material Clinker

 Portland Cement manufacturing process
Burning Process

Pre-heating

Rotating
Kiln
Cooling

clinker
Burning process

Clinker Production

The clinker is the main constituent of the

Portland cement
 Burning process to obtain the Clinker

Pre-heating
Mass distribution

Limestone Up to
(Sable)
(Sand) 750oC
CLAY
Iron Oxydes

CRU TIME
Burning process to obtain the Clinker

Pre-heating Burning

Limestone
Mass distribution

Up to
Calcium 950oC
silicates
Clay Calcium
Aluminates

TIME

Decarbonation of Limestone CaCO3 CaO + CO2

High release of CO2 : 1 Ton of CaCO3 releases 440kg of CO2
 Burning process to obtain the Clinker

Pre-heating Burning process

Limestone
Up to
Mass distribution

1350oC

Clay

TIME

Reactions between CaO and:

Si : Calcium silicate: C2S dicalcium Silicate formation
Al : Calcium Aluminate formation
 Pre-heating Burning process Cooling

Max 1450oC
Limestone
Mass distribution

quartz
Clay

TIME
At 1450oc:
• Liquid formation with tricalcium aluminate C3A and C4AF (with iron oxyde)
• Formation of tricalcium silicate C3S resulting from the reaction between C2S
and CaO still available
 Portland Cement manufacturing process
Cooling Process

About 1300-1400oC

Duration: Few minutes

Stabilisation of the C3S

About 80oC
Cement Plants

Clinker Manufacture require a

huge quantity of energy
(to reach 1450oC)
 Chemistry of the Clinker

Compound Oxide Abbreviation

Composition
Tricalcium Silicate 3CaO.SiO2 C3S (Alite)

Dicalcium silicate 2CaO.SiO2 C2S (Belite)

Tricalcium 3CaO.Al2O3 C3A (Aluminate)

aluminate
Tetracalcium 4CaO.Al2O3.Fe2O3 C4AF (Ferrite)
Aluminoferrite
Chemical reactions
 Oxide Composition (%) of the Clinker
Oxide Content (% by weight)
Major Constituents

CaO 60-67
SiO2 17-25
Al2O3 3-8
Fe2O3 0.5- 6.0
Minor Constituents

MgO 0.1- 4.0

Alkalis (Na2O, K2O..) 0.2- 1.3
SO3 1- 3
Portland Cement obtained from the Clinker
Addition of Gypsum MANDATORY to prevent flash set
Gypsum = hydrated calcium sulfate (CaSO4, 2(H2O))
Quantity = 2% to 4%

Filter

Grinding

Portland Cement
Powder < 100 mm
Cement Despatch
 Portland Cement and Sustainabilty ?
1) Limestone sampling: Landscape deterioration, consumption of
natural resources
2) Transportation
3) Decarbonation of Limestone: High release of CO2 in the atmosphere
4) Burning process up to 1450oC: require a huge quantity of energy
releasing more CO2 in the atmosphere (fossil fuels)

Very bad carbon footprint !

Production of 1 Tonne of portland cement = 1 Tonne of
CO2 in the atmosphere
Carbon emission due to the manufacture of Portland cement in
Australia is estimated as 8 million tonnes/year
 « Green » cements: blended cements
Purpose: To Replace a part of the Clinker by SCMs in cement

Ecological advantages:
• Recycling: SCMs are by-products (Waste) from Power plants using
coal as fuel and metallurgical furnaces producing iron. By-products
that are being produced at the rate of millions of tonnes every year in
many countries
• Reduce dumping of these by-products into landfills which causes
serious environmental pollution.
• Reduce the production of Clinker.

Other advantage:
• Can improve concrete properties.
Supplementary cementitious (SCMs) materials in
Blended Cements

Fly Ash
• Industrial by-product from black coal fired power stations.
Collected via electrostatic precipitators or bag house.
• Pozzolanic reaction with cement & water
Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS)
• Formed at high temperature in iron blast furnace
• Quenched with water spray forming granulated slag
• Ground to fine particles with semi-hydraulic reaction with water
Amorphous Silica
• Silica Fume: industrial by-product from silicon or ferrosilicon
production
• Very fine material with highly pozzolanic reaction with cement and
water
Fly Ash

 By-product of coal burnt power stations

 Spherical particles
 Similar to cement size particles
 Typically 20-40% of cement is replaced by fly ash
Fly Ash

Spherical particles similar to cement size particles

Particles in a typical fly ash vary from 1 to 100 mm in
diameter, with more than 75% under 45 mm
Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag

 By-product of iron production in Blast furnace

 Cooled and ground to cement size particles
 up to 60% of cement can be replaced

Fine Particles similar

to cement particles
size as well
Silica fume
by-product of the induction arc furnace in the
silicon metal and ferrosilicon industries.

Compared to normal Portland cement, silica fume

samples show particle size distributions that are
two orders of magnitude finer.

 mean particle size is about 0.1 mm

 about 5-10% of Portland cement can be replaced
Silica fume particles

Spherical particles
Australian Standard AS 3972-2010:
General purpose and blended cements
7 standard Cements in Australia

General Purpose Cement Special Purpose Cement

• Type GP General Purpose
Cement
• Type GB Blended Cement
• Type GL General Purpose
Limestone Cement
• Type HE High Early
Strength Cement
• Type LH Low Heat
Cement
• Type SR Sulfate Resisting
Cement
• Type SL Shrinkage Limited
Cement
 Mineral Additions

AS 3972 permits manufacturers to add up to

7.5 % of mineral additions to reduce the
clinker content in cement

Those mineral permitted alone or in

combinations are:
– Limestone
– Fly ash
– Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag
 Minor Additional Constituents
AS3972- 2010 permits manufacturers to add
up to 5 % of “Minor Additional
Constituents”

Includes:
• Selected inorganic natural mineral materials
• Organic mineral materials derived from the clinker
manufacturing process.
Example: cement kiln dust
General Purpose (GP) Cement

Type GP Cement
• Clinker
• Mineral additions (<7.5%)
• Minor Additional Constituents
(<5%)
• Gypsum
AS3972-2010: Additions to Clinker at the cement plant

Addition of Gypsum MANDATORY to prevent flash set

Mineral additions (<7.5%)

Minor Additional Constituents (<5%)

Filter

Grinding

Gypsum = hydrated calcium sulfate (CaSO4, 2(H2O)

Type GP Cement
General Limestone & General Blended cements are obtained
from GP cement by adding SCMs or Limestone:

Type GB Cement
Type GL Cement • Type GP Cement
Type GP Cement • Fly ash and/or Slag (>7.5%)
+ Limestone (8-20%) • Amorphous Silica (<10%)

GL : Similar purpose to Type GP cement

Higher reduction in “carbon footprint”
of cement manufacture.
Offers scope for reduction in “carbon
footprint” of cement manufacture.
Can improve concrete properties such
as durability or strength:
Higher long term strength (post 28-days)
Chloride and sulphate resistance…
Strength Development of Type GP & Type GB

Precautions for GB:

Lower early strength (1-day & 3-days)
 Major Cement Types & Composition (% by Mass) AS 3972
Mineral additions & minor Supplementary
additional constituents cementitious
(7.5 combined maximum (GP) & materials (SCM)
20% combined maximum (GL)

Mineral Additions
Cement Portland Type Fly ash Limestone Minor Fly ash Amorph
Type Cement GP or slag additional and/or ous
constituent slag silica

Type GP 92.5 – 100 0-7.5 0-5

Type GL 80-92 8-20 0-5

Type GB <92.5 >7.5 0-10

AS3972-2010: SPECIAL CEMENTS

Low Heat – Type LH

Sulfate Resisting – Type SR

Shrinkage Limited – Type SL

High Early Strength – Type HE

Strength Development of Type HE & Type GP
 TEMPERATURE RISE WITH AGE
Based on Mortar Testing

30
GP
Temperature Rise oC

25 GB AS 3972 Limit Type LH Cement

20
LH
15

10

0
0 6 12 18 24 36 48 66 84 102 120

Age (hours)
Type GP Type GB Type LH
 SULFATE EXPANSION
Effect of Cement Type

2000
1800
Sulfate Expansion (microstrain)

1600
1400
1200
1000 AS 3972 Limits
800
600
Type SR Cement
400
200
0
4w ks 8w ks 12w ks 16w ks 20w ks 24w ks
Age at Test
 SHRINKAGE LIMITED
Effect of Cement Type
 Difference in Cement composition
TYPE C3S C2S C3A C4AF
GP 50-60 15 12 8
HE 55-65 12 12 7
LH 25-30 40 6 12
SR 50-60 25 4 12
(Approximate Mass %)

C3S leads to QUICKER hydration at early age and HIGHER HEAT

C3A leads to higher HEAT and are not recommended in
sulphatic environment
Type GP - General Purpose Portland Cement
Type HE - High Early Strength Cement
Type LH – Low Heat Cement
Type SR – Sulphate Resisting Cement
 AS 3972 Requirements
Specified Properties
• Setting Time (min/max)
• Soundness
• Chloride content (max)
• SO3 Content (max)
• Compressive Strength (min)
• Peak Temp (LH) (max)
• Expansion (SR) (max)
• Shrinkage (SL) (max)
Reportable
Properties
• Loss on ignition
• Fineness
• Nature of materials
• Major oxide composition
• Time of peak Temp Rise
(LH)
• Equivalent alkalis
AS 3972 Requirements
 AUSTRALIAN STANDARDS
• AS 3972 General purpose and blended cements
• AS/NZC 2350 Methods of testing Portland and blended cements
• AS/NZS 2350.1 Method of sampling Portland and blended cements
• AS 2350.2 Chemical composition of Portland cement
• AS 2350.3 Normal consistency of Portland and blended cements
• AS/NZS 2350.4 Setting time of Portland and blended cements
• AS/NZS 2350.5 Determination of soundness of Portland and blended cements
• AS 2350.7 Determination of temperature rise during hydration of Portland and blended cements
• AS/NZS 2350.8 Fineness index of Portland cement by air permeability
• AS 2350.9 Determination of residue on a 45 micron sieve
• AS 2350.10 Calcium oxide content of blended cement
• AS/NZS 2350.11 Compressive strength
• AS 2350.12 Preparation of a standard mortar and moulding of specimens
• AS 2350.13 Determination of drying shrinkage of Portland and blended cement mortars
• AS 2350.14 Length change of Portland and blended cement mortars subjected to a sulphate solution
• AS 2350.15 Water-soluble chromate content of Portland cement
• AS 3582 Supplementary cementitious materials
• AS 3582.1 Fly ash for use in concrete
• AS 3582.2 Ground granulated iron blast furnace slag for used in concrete
• AS/NZS 3582.3 Amorphous silica for use in concrete
• AS 1379 Manufacture of concrete
• AS 1316 Masonry cement
 REFERENCES
• CCAA/Standards Australia
Guide to Concrete Construction
• CCAA Technical Note 59
Cements – Properties and Characteristics