1.

Introduction

Cement is a binder, a substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other
materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and
gravel (aggregate) together. Cement mixed with fine aggregate produces mortar for masonry, or
with sand and gravel, produces concrete. Concrete is the most widely used material in existence
and is only behind water as the planet's most-consumed resource (Francesca, 2010).

Cements used in construction are usually inorganic, often lime or calcium silicate based, which
can be characterized as non-hydraulic or hydraulic respectively. The lime based non-hydraulic
cement does not set in wet conditions or under water, rather, it sets as it dries and reacts with
carbon dioxide in the air. On the other hand, the silicate based hydraulic cement (e.g. Portland
cement) set and become adhesive due to a chemical reaction between the dry ingredients and
water (Blezard, 2004).

John Smeaton made an important contribution to the development of cements when he was
planning the construction of the third Eddystone Lighthouse (1755–9) in the English Channel.
He used a hydraulic mortar that would set and develop some strength in twelve hours’ period
between successive high tides. Later in 1824, Joseph Aspdin patented a similar material, which
he called Portland cement, because the render made from it was in colour similar to the
prestigious Portland stone. The following years, investigations of L.J. Vicat led him to prepare an
artificial hydraulic lime by calcining an intimate mixture of limestone and clay. After two
decades, in 1845 Isaac Charles Johnson burnt a mixture of clay and chalk till the clinkering stage
to make better cement and established factories in 1851.
The German standard specification for Portland cement was drawn in 1877. Next to Germany,
the first British standard and ASTM specifications for cement was drawn up in 1904.
Ethiopia’s first cement factory, Dire Dawa Cement and Lime Factory, was established by the
Italian occupying forces in 1938. Currently, there are about nineteen cement plants with total
actual installed production capacity of 15MT per year and capacity utilization rate of over 60%.
According to CSA, 2016; MOI, 2017 reports, out of the 11.9MT cement produced and consumed
in the reported year in Ethiopia, 70% of the market is supplied by the top six brands which are
Dangote, Derba, Mugher, Habesha, Messebo and National Cements. The remaining market share
covered by medium and small scale brands like Abyssinia, Capital, Pioneer, Jema, East cement,
Holeta cement, Zengeshan, Jiangsu, Huang Shuan, Inchini and Red fox cements.
TYPES OF CEMENT

Globally, there are over fourteen different types of cements that are used for construction
purposes, and they differ by their composition and are manufactured for different uses. These are
ordinary portland cement (OPC), portland pozzolanic cement (PPC), portland limestone cement
(PLC), rapid hardening cement (RHC), quick-setting cement (QSC), low heat cement (LHC),
sulphate-resisting cement (SRC), low heat high sulphate resisting cement (LHHC), blast furnace
slag cement (BFSC), high-alumina cement (HAC), white cement (WC), coloured cement (CC),
air-entraining cement (AEC), and hydrophobic cement (HPC).

When we come to Ethiopia, the major types of cements manufactured & consumed are OPC and
PPC. Though insignificant, the demand of the other types of cement in the construction sector of
the country is mostly satisfied via import. Recently, local companies like Mugher and Messebo
started to produce RHC, PLC and LHHC based on customer order.

MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Cement is made by heating limestone (calcium carbonate) with small quantities of other
materials (such as clay) to 1450 °C in a kiln, in a process known as calcination, whereby a
molecule of carbon dioxide is liberated from the calcium carbonate to form calcium oxide, or
quicklime, which is then blended with the other materials that have been included in the mix.
The resulting hard substance, called 'clinker', is then ground with a small amount of gypsum into
a powder to make 'Ordinary Portland Cement', the most commonly used type of cement (often
referred to as OPC). Cement manufacturing process is briefly described here under in four steps.
Step 1 – Quarrying: Limestone and a 'cement rock' such as clay or shale are quarried and
brought to the cement works. These rocks contain lime (CaCO3), silica (SiO2), alumina
(Al2O3) and ferrous oxide (Fe2O3) - the raw materials of cement manufacture.
Step 2 - Raw material preparation: To form a consistent product, it is essential that the same
mixture of minerals is used every time. For this reason, the exact composition of the limestone
and clay is determined at this point, and other ingredients added if necessary. The rock is also
ground into fine particles to increase the efficiency of the reaction. The raw materials are
crushed and mixed either by dry or wet processes to obtain the raw mix.
The dry process:
The quarried clay and limestone are crushed separately until nothing bigger than a tennis ball
remains. Samples of both rocks are then sent off to the laboratory for mineral analysis. If
necessary, minerals are then added to either the clay or the limestone to ensure that the correct
amounts of aluminum, iron etc. are present. The clay and limestone are then fed together into a
mill where the rock is ground until more than 85% of the material is less than 90µm in diameter.
The wet process:
The clay is mixed to a paste in a wash-mill - a tank in which the clay is pulverized in the
presence of water. Crushed lime is then added and the whole mixture is further ground (broken
down). Any material which is too coarse is extracted and reground. The slurry is then tested to
ensure that it contains the correct balance of minerals, and any extra ingredients blended in as
necessary.
Step 3 – Clinkering: The raw materials are then dried, heated and fed into a rotating kiln. Here
the raw materials react at very high temperatures to form a granular mixture of compounds called
clinker. The compounds constituting clinker are; 3CaO • SiO2 (tri calcium silicate), 2CaO • SiO2
(di calcium silicate), 3CaO • Al2O3 (tri calcium aluminate) and 4CaO • Al2O3 • Fe2O3 (tetra
calcium alumino-ferrate).
kiln: The kiln shell is steel, 60m long and inclined at an angle of 1 in 30. The shell is supported
on 3 roller trunnions and weighs in at over 1100 T. The kiln is heated by injecting pulverized
coal dust into the discharge end where it spontaneously ignites due to the very high temperatures.
Coal is injected with air into the kiln at a rate of 9 - 12 T/hr.
Step 4 - Cement milling: The 'clinker' that has now been produced will behave just like cement,
but it is in particles up to 3 cm in diameter. So it is ground with gypsum (3-6%) to adjust setting
time producing the final cement powder to be packed and marketed.
The raw materials used for the manufacture of cement consist mainly of lime, silica, alumina and
iron oxide. These oxides interact with one another in the kiln at high temperature to form more
complex compounds. The relative proportions of these oxide compositions are responsible for
influencing the various properties of cement; in addition to rate of cooling and fineness of
grinding.
Table 1: Compounds constituting the finally produced cement powder.
Mineral Chemical formula Abbreviation Percentage (Wt)

Tricalcium silicate (alite) Ca3SiO5 C3S 52.1%

Dicalcium silicate (belite) Ca2SiO4 C2S 24.5%

Tricalcium aluminate Ca3Al2O4 C3A 10.1%

Tetracalcium aluminoferrite Ca4AlnFe2-nO7 C4AF 9.4%

Magnesia MgO M 0.4%

Soda Na2O N 0.1%

Potassa K2O K 0.1%

Sulfuric anhydride SO3 S 2.1%

Table 1 shows compounds constituting 98.8% of OPC. The remaining 1.2% are insoluble
residues and loss on ignition.

HYDRATION OF PORTLAND CEMENT

As water comes into contact with cement particles, hydration reactions immediately starts at the
surface of the particles. Although simple hydrates such as C-H are formed, process of hydration
is a complex one and results in reorganization of the constituents of original compounds to form
new hydrated compounds.
At any stage of hydration, the hardened cement paste (hcp) consists of:
 Hydrates of various compounds referred to collectively as GEL.
 Crystals of calcium hydroxide (CH).
 Some minor compound hydrates.
 Non-hydrated cement
 The residual of water filled spaces – pores.
As the hydration proceeds the deposits of hydrated products on the original cement grains makes
the diffusion of water to non-hydrated nucleus more & more difficult. Thus, the rate of hydration
decreases with time & as a result hydration may take several years.
At the beginning of mixing, the paste has a structure which consists of cement particles with
water-filled space between them. As hydration proceeds, the gels are formed & they occupy
some of this space.
 1cc of cement → 2.1cc of gel
Gel Pores: 28% of the total gel volume have diameter of 0.015-0.020 μm. (very small-loss or
gain of water is difficult)
Capillary Pores: 12.5 μm diameter, with varying sizes, shapes & randomly distributed in the
paste.
The initial volume of capillary pores depends on the w/c ratio of the paste and it decreases as
hydration takes place. Water in capillary pores is mobile, cannot be lost by evaporation or water
can get into the pores. They are mainly responsible for permeability.
C2S & C3S: 70-80% of cement is composed of these two compounds & most of the strength
giving properties of cement is controlled by these compounds. Upon hydration both calcium-
silicates result in the same products. 2C3S+6H → C3S2H3+ 3CH2C2S+4H → C3S2H3 + CH
Calcium-Silicate-Hydrate (C-S-H gel) is similar to a mineral called “TOBERMORITE”. As a
result, it is named as “TOBERMORITE GEL”
Upon hydration of C3S & C2S, CH also forms which becomes an integral part of hydration
products. CH does not contribute very much to the strength of Portland cement.
C3S having a faster rate of reaction accompanied by greater heat generation develops early
strength of the paste. On the other hand, C 2S hydrates & hardens slowly so results in less heat
generation & develops most of the ultimate strength.
Higher C3S→higher early strength-higher heat generation (roads, cold environments)
Higher C2S→lower early strength-lower heat generation (dams)

C3A: is characteristically fast reacting with water & may lead to a rapid stiffening of the paste
with a large amount of the heat generation (Flash-Set)-(Quick-Set). In order to prevent this rapid
reaction gypsum is added to the clinker. Gypsum, C 3A & water react to form relatively insoluble
Calcium Sulfo-Aluminates.
 C3A+CŚH2+10H→C4AŚH12 (calcium- aluminomonosulfohydrate)
 C3A+3CŚH2+26H→C6AŚ3H32 (calcium-aluminotrisulfohydrate “ettringite”)
When there is enough gypsum “ettringite” forms with great expansion. If there is no enough
gypsum flash-set will occur. If there is more than enough gypsum, ettringite formation increases
which will cause cracking. Therefore, gypsum content shall be regulated optimally so that to
avoid formation of either ettringite or flash-setting.
Also Calcium-Sulfo Aluminates are less resistant to sulfate attack & does not contribute much
for strength. The cement to be used in making concretes that are going to be exposed to soils or
waters that contain sulfates should not contain more than 5% C3A.
C4AF: The hydration of ferrite phase is not well understood. Ferrite phase has lesser role in
development of strength. The hydration products are similar to C 3A. Alumina & iron oxide occur
interchangeably in the hydration products.
 C4AŚH12 or C4FŚH12
 C6AŚ3H32 or C6FŚ3H32
HEAT OF HYDRATION
Hydration process of cement is accompanied by heat generation (exothermic). As concrete is a
fair insulator, the generated heat in mass concrete may result in expansion & cracking. This
could be overcome by using suitable cement type. High heat of hydration could also be
advantages for cold weather concreting.
The heat of hydration of OPC is on the order of 85-100 cal/gr. About 50% of this heat is
liberated within 1-3 days & 75% within 7 days. By limiting C 3S & C3A content heat of hydration
can be reduced.
FINENESS OF CEMENT
As hydration takes place at the surface of the cement particles, it is the surface area of cement
particles which provide the material available for hydration. The rate of hydration is controlled
by fineness of cement. For a rapid rate of hydration, a higher fineness is necessary.
However, higher fineness requires higher grinding which means higher production cost. Finer
cements deteriorate faster upon exposure to atmosphere. They are also very sensitive to alkali-
aggregate reaction. In addition to these, finer cements require more gypsum and water for proper
hydration.
Fineness of cement is determined by air permeability methods. For example, in the Blaine air
permeability method a known volume of air is passed through cement. The time is recorded and
the specific surface is calculated by a formula.
Fineness is expressed in terms of specific surface of the cement (cm2/gr). For OPC specific
surface is 2600-3000 cm2/gr.
SETTING OF CEMENT
Setting refers to a change from liquid state to solid state. Although, during setting cement paste
acquires some strength, setting is different from hardening.
The water content has a marked effect on the time of setting. In acceptance tests for cement, the
water content is regulated by bringing the paste to a standard condition of wetness. This is called
“normal consistency”. Normal consistency of O.P.C. Ranges from 20-30% by weight of cement.
Vicat apparatus is used to determine normal consistency. Normal consistency is that condition
for which the penetration of a standard weighed plunger into the paste is 10mm in 30sec. By trial
& error determine the w/c ratio.
In practice, the terms initial set & final set are used to describe arbitrary chosen time of setting.
Initial set indicates the beginning of a noticeable stiffening & final set may be regarded as the
start of hardening (or complete loss of plasticity). Standards specify initial setting time between
45-60mins and final setting time between 375-480mins.
Factors Affecting Setting Time are:
 Temperature & Humidity
 Amount of Water
 Chemical Composition of Cement
 Fineness of Cement (finer cement, faster setting)
Flash-Set: is the immediate stiffening of cement paste in a few minutes after mixing with water.
It is accompanied by large amount of heat generation upon reaction of C3A with water. Gypsum
is placed in cement to prevent flash-set. The rigidity cannot be overcome & plasticity may not be
regained without addition of water. Amount of gypsum must be such that it will be used up to
almost hardening. Because expansion caused by ettringite can be distributed to the paste before
hardening. More gypsum will cause undesirable expansion after hardening.
False-Set: is a rapid development of rigidity of cement paste without generation of much heat.
This rigidity can be overcome & plasticity can be regained by further mixing without addition of
water (Vibration). In this way cement paste restores its plasticity & sets in a normal manner
without any loss of strength.
Probable Causes of False-Set:
 When gypsum is ground by too hot of a clinker, gypsum may be dehydrated into
hemihydrate (CaSO4.1/2H2O) or anhydrate (CaSO4). These materials when react with
water gypsum is formed, which results in stiffening of the paste.
 Alkali oxides in cement may carbonate during storage. Upon mixing such a cement with
water, these alkali carbonates will react with Ca(OH 2) (CH or Calcium Hydroxide)
liberated by hydrolysis of C3S resulting in CaCO3. CaCO 3 precipitates in the mix &
results in false-set.

SOUNDNESS OF CEMENT
Soundness is defined as the volume stability of cement paste. The cement paste should not
undergo large changes in volume after it has set. Free CaO & MgO may result in unsound
cement. Upon hydration C & M will form CH & MH with volume increase thus cracking.
Since unsoundness is not apparent until several months or years, it is necessary to provide an
accelerated method for its determination.
 Lechatelier Method: Only free CaO can be determined.
 Autoclave Method: Both free CaO & MgO can be determined.
STRENGTH OF CEMENT
Strength tests are not carried out on neat cement pastes, because it is very difficult to form these
pastes due to cohesive property of cement.
Strength tests are carried out on cement mortar prepared by standard gradation (1-part cement+3-
parts sand+1/2-part water). The three types of cement strength tests are direct tensile, flexural
and compression strength tests.
PORTLAND POZZOLANA CEMENT (PPC)
This type of Portland Cement is manufactured by the inter grading of Ordinary Portland Cement
clinker mixing with 15 to 35 % of pozzolanic material and gypsum.
A pozzolanic material is a siliceous or aluminous material which do not possess any cementing
properties. When this material is in the presence of water in a fine powdered form, it readily
reacts with calcium hydroxide liberated during the hydration process at ordinary temperature.
The reaction of the pozzolanic material with calcium hydroxide forms a compound which
possess cementing property.
Pozzolanic materials used in the manufacturing of PPC are calcined clay or fly ash. Fly ash, as it
is known, is found to be a waste material produced in thermal power station which uses
powdered coal as a fuel. The fly ash is collected in electrostatic precipitator.
Use of Fly Ash: Hydration of Calcium silicate, produce huge quantity of calcium hydroxide
which is almost a useless material considering its strength or long durability. If such useless mass
is converted into a useful cementing product, it improves the quality of concrete. The use of fly
ash plays such a very dominating role.
Properties of PPC:
 The PPC produces lower rate of heat on hydration.
 It offers superior resistance to the attack by forceful waters.
 The most important quality of the PPC is that it reduces the leaching of calcium
hydroxide when used in hydraulic structures.
 PPC is found to be useful in marine as well as hydraulic constructions, including mass
concrete constructions.
 The strength of PPC is expected to be similar to that of OPC but only when at the later
ages, provided the concrete is cured under moist condition for a sufficient period of time.
 If PPC is manufactured by using the right quality and type of pozzolanic material, it can
be inferior to OPC in any way except for the rate of development of strength up to 7 days.
Advantages of Portland Pozzolanic Cement:
PPC is useful and can be replaced at all places, wherever, OPC is used. In fact, technically PPC
is found to be more advantages than OPC when made by using optimum percentage and right
quality of fly ash or pozzolanic material.

Following are the advantages of PPC:

 PPC is reported to be more economical as it replaces part of the clinker used in OPC,
which is usually costly, by cheaper pozzolanic material.
 PPC has more permeability quality due to the finer pozzolanic material.
 It gives long durability under marine and hydraulic constructions because of the fact that
the soluble calcium hydroxide released during hydration is converted to insoluble
cementing product.
 PPC produces a very low heat of hydration compared to OPC due to lower content of
silicates.
 Being finer than OPC, PPC has improved distribution of pore size and reduces micro
cracks at transition zone.
  As fly ash is finer and of lower density than clinker, PPC gives more volume of mortar
than OPC. The PPC is considered for its bulk volume rather than the OPC in the 50kg
bags.
 The long term strength of PPC through couple of months is higher than that of OPC if
enough moisture is available for continued pozzolanic action.
 The possession of increased permeability of PPC increases the resistance to corrosion.
The above stated advantages are due to mainly slow conversion of calcium hydroxide into
cementing product in the hydrated cement paste.
Disadvantages of PPC:
 The rate of development of strength is found to be initially slower than that of OPC.
 Reduction in alkalinity results in reduction of the resistance to corrosion of steel.
 The setting time of PPC is much longer.

STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS
Composition, specifications and conformity criteria for common cements (EN 1992-1-
1:2011 uses EN 197-1)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 6 August 2011
This document (EN 197-1:2011) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 51
“Cement and building limes”, the secretariat of which is held by NBN.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of
an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by March 2012, and conflicting national
standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by June 2013.
The Ethiopian building code standard EBCS EN 1992-1-1:2014 published before the above
deadline endorses EN 197-1 as a reference standard regarding composition, specification and
conformity criteria for common cements manufactured in Ethiopia.
It is recognized that different cements have different properties and performance. Those
performance tests now available (i.e. setting time, strength, soundness and heat of hydration),
have been included in this standard. In addition, work is being carried out by CEN/TC 51 to
identify any additional tests which are needed to specify further performance characteristics of
cement. Until further performance tests are available it is necessary that the choice of cement,
especially the type and/or strength class in relation to the requirements for durability depending
on exposure class and type of construction in which it is incorporated, follows the appropriate
standards and/or regulations for concrete or mortar valid in the place of use.
This European Standard defines and gives the specifications of 27 distinct common cements, 7
sulfate resisting common cements as well as 3 distinct low early strength blast furnace cements
and 2 sulfate resisting low early strength blast furnace cements and their constituents. The
definition of each cement includes the proportions in which the constituents are to be combined
to produce these distinct products in a range of nine strength classes. The definition also includes
requirements which the constituents have to meet. It also includes mechanical, physical, and
chemical requirements. Furthermore, this standard states the conformity criteria and the related
rules. Necessary durability requirements are also given.
Standard strength
The standard strength of a cement is the compressive strength determined in accordance with EN
196-1 at 28 days and shall conform to the requirements in table 2 below.
Three classes of standard strength are included: class 32.5, class 42.5 and class 52.5
Early strength
The early strength of a cement is the compressive strength determined in accordance with EN
196-1 at either 2 days or 7 days and shall conform to the requirements in table 2.
Three classes of early strength are included for each class of standard strength, a class with
ordinary early strength, indicated by N, a class with high early strength, indicated by R and a
class with low early strength, indicated by L.
Table 2: Mechanical and Physical requirements given as a characteristic value

Table taken from (EN 1992-1-1:2011 uses EN 197-1) standard specification.

Specifications and conformity criteria for Concrete (EBCS EN 1992-1-1:2014, Section 3.1)
The compressive strength of concrete is denoted by concrete strength classes which relate to the
characteristic 5% cylinder strength fck or the cube strength fck,cube in accordance with EN 206-
1.
 fck,cube = 1.25*fck
The mean compressive strength of concrete at 28 days, fcm, is specified as follows;
 fcm = fck + 8Mpa.
The compressive strength of concrete at a time t, fck(t), is specified as follows;
 fck(t) = fcm(t) – 8Mpa. For 3 < t < 28 days
 fck(t) = fck. For t > or = 28 days
The compressive strength of concrete at an age t depends on the type of cement, temperature and
curing conditions. For a mean temperature of 20 degrees centigrade and curing in accordance
with EN 12390, the mean compressive strength of concrete at various ages fcm(t) is specified as
follows;
  fcm(t) = βcc(t)*fcm
 βcc(t) = exp(s(1-(28/t)1/2 ))
Where:
 fcm(t) is the mean compressive strength of concrete at an age t day
 fcm is the mean compressive strength of concrete at 28 days
 βcc(t) is a coefficient which depends on the age t days of the concrete
 t is the age of the concrete in days
 s is a coefficient which depends on the type of cement:
= 0.2 for cement of strength class CEM 42.5R, 52.5N and 52.5R
= 0.25 for cement of strength class CEM 32.5R and 42.5N
= 0.38 for cement of strength class CEM 32.5N

Quality Control Trends followed by Ethiopian Cement Manufacturers

The manufacture of Portland cement involves complex chemical reactions, and all stages of
production require close monitoring and control. Plant chemists and chemical engineers of the
manufacturers analyze the raw materials from the quarry, the blending of materials, and the
finished products using online automated analytical controls.
Moreover, cement product is regularly sampled and tested by consultants and contractors hired
by the cement manufacturers. Tests include both chemical analysis and physical tests such as
strength, fineness, and setting behavior. Tests on cement are done for quality control and to
verify that the cement meets the requirements of Ethiopian standard. The cement manufacturer is
able to supply these data on request in the form of a mill-test report that serves as a manufacturer
certification that the cement meets the requirements of the standard. Requests for this data can
be made when required by the project specifications and through the permission of the project
manager.
This study focuses on investigating and comparing the conformity to Ethiopian standards of the
top six cement manufacturers in the country using secondary data rather than the formal mil-test
report.
 2. Materials and Methods
The Cements used in this research are PPC and OPC products of the top six cement
manufacturers in Ethiopia. These are; Dangote (Installed plant capacity of 2.5MT/year), Derba
(Installed plant capacity of 2.3MT/year), Mugher (Installed plant capacity of 1.6MT/year),
Habesha (Installed plant capacity of 1.4MT/year), Messebo (Installed plant capacity of
1.3MT/year) and National (Installed plant capacity of 1.2MT/year). PPC and OPC comprises
more than 99% of cements types produced in the country of which 81.1% is PPC (MOI, 2016).
This study investigates weather or not the cement strength classes of the above selected cement
products and brands indicated on their products data sheet complies to specified Ethiopian
standard & early cement strength class requirements. Correspondingly, the compressive strength
of concrete produced using these cement brands is assessed if it confirms to standard and early
strength requirements specified on EBCS. Furthermore, the results of selected cement brands and
products are compared to each other to prompt further quality investigations on those found with
inferior quality.
The ideal way to conduct this investigation will be to collect primary sources of data. The firs
data required is latest mill-test report from manufacturers. Subsequently, conduct ingredients &
aggregate tests to prepare ingredients that qualify standards specified to carryout cement mortar
and concrete compressive strength tests. Afterwards, early and nominal compressive strength test
of the cement products and different grades of concrete made using them is conducted using the
same standard laboratory conditions and ingredient proportions.
Data Collection
In order to test the significance of the study with minimal cost and resource, we used a less
reliable way of data collection and analysis the results of which may lead us to raise critical
questions to necessitate such research. The data used in this study is collected from secondary
sources such as product data sheets from company profiles for strength classes of their products,
cement mortar test results and concrete test results (trial batch, mix-design & the usual spot
samples) from local contractors such as Flintstone Engineering S.C. & Dugda Construction PLC,
consultants such as MH Engineering & Zias Design International PLC and Testing agencies like
Zeha Ethiopia Engineering PLC. In addition to this, concrete test results of the selected cement
brands conducted using the same concrete ingredients, proportions and laboratory conditions are
collected from published research papers comparing the subject cement products of this study.
Data Analysis
Step 1: Missing data are interpolated from test results conducted under similar laboratory
conditions.
Step 2: Early and standard Compressive strengths of C-25 grade concrete made by using the
different cement products selected for this study are checked against standard specified on
EBCS.
Step 3: Early and standard compressive Cement mortar test results for the selected brands found
from these secondary sources of data are checked whether or not they comply to the standard
specified strength class requirements.
Step 4: The results of the different brands are compared to each other.

3. Results and Discussions

The results of the comparisons made on the compressive strengths test results of the selected
brands and products collected from secondary resources against standard specifications and to
each other both for concrete and cement mortar are summarized in tables 3 and 4 below.
Table 3: Results of compressive strength of C-25 concrete tests for the selected brands and
products compared against standards and to each other.
Table 4: Results of compressive strength of cement mortar tests for the selected brands and
products compared against standards and to each other.

Major findings from analysis summarized in table 3 are:

 Both early and standard compressive strength test results for C-25 concrete made using
Derba PPC, Habesha PPC, Derba OPC and Habesha OPC Complies to specified
requirements on EBCS.
 Standard/28th day compressive strength test results for C-25 concrete made using
Dangote PPC, Dangote OPC, Mugher OPC and Messebo OPC Complies to specified
requirements on EBCS.
 Both early and standard compressive strength test results of C-25 concrete made using
Mugher PPC, Messebo PPC, National PPC and OPC do not comply to specified
requirements on EBCS.
 Comparing the standard 28th day compressive strength test results for C-25 concrete
made using the selected brands and products in descending order is as follows:
1. Habesha OPC (40.14Mpa)
2. Derba OPC (37.1Mpa)
3. Habesha PPC (35.42MPa)
4. Messebo OPC (33.58Mpa)
5. Derba PPC (32.73MPa)
6. Mugher OPC (31.06MPa)
7. Dangote OPC (28.42MPa)
 8. Dangote PPC (27.86MPa)
9. Messebo PPC (24.48MPa)
10. Mugher PPC (23.61 Mpa)
11. Natioanl OPC (23.3Mpa)
12. Natioanl PPC (21.52 Mpa)
Major findings from analysis summarized in table 4 are:
 Compressive strength test results of cement mortar made using Habesha PPC complies to
both early and 28th day strength requirements specified on EN 197-1.
 Compressive strength test results of cement mortar made using Dangote PPC and Derba
PPC complies to early strength but not 28 th day strength requirements specified on EN
197-1.
 Compressive strength test results of cement mortar made using Mugher PPC, Messebo
PPC and National PPC brands do not comply to both early and 28 th day strength
requirements specified on EN 197-1.
 Compressive strength test results of cement mortar made using all of the six OPC brands
do not comply to both early and 28th day strength requirements specified on EN 197-1.
 Comparing the standard 28th day compressive strength test results for cement mortar
made using the selected brands and products in descending order is as follows:
1. Habesha OPC (37.55Mpa)
2. Derba OPC (34.71Mpa)
3. Habesha PPC (33.13MPa)
4. Messebo OPC (31.42Mpa)
5. Derba PPC (30.62MPa)
6. Mugher OPC (29.06MPa)
7. Dangote OPC (26.58MPa)
8. Dangote PPC (26.06MPa)
9. Messebo PPC (22.9MPa)
10. Mugher PPC (22.09Mpa)
11. Natioanl OPC (21.79Mpa)
12. Natioanl PPC (20.13Mpa)

4. Conclusions and Recommendations

Keeping in mind that we used a less reliable secondary sources of data rather than the theoretical
primary sources to conduct this research, we can draw the following conclusions from the results
and findings of the analysis made:
 Habesha PPC is the only cement product which complies to its specified cement strength
class 32.5N requirements.
 The rest of the selected brands and products are inferior in quality when compared to
their specified cement strength classes 32.5N, 32.5R, and 42.5R requirements.
  OPC and PPC products of Dangote and National Cements are almost similar in strength
qualities even though their specifications on the company’s product data sheet shows
strength class of 42.5R for OPC and 32.5R for PPC.
 The fact that all of the six cement brands and products except Habesha PPC are inferior
to standard cement strength requirements makes it irrelevant to compare them to each
other. However, just for informative purposes, we can conclude from both analyses made
on tables 3 and 4 that Habesha OPC has the highest compressive strength quality and
National OPC and PPC have the lowest quality.
Using the above conclusions drawn on this study leads to the following recommendations:
 Re-conduct the study using the theoretical (ideal) way indicated in Materials and
Methods section of this study.
 If the results and findings of the investigation made using the theoretical way shows
inferior quality products and brands, the study can be used to take necessary
measurements to confront manufacturers and create awareness to the public users about
the quality of the cement products.