CIV 111 – Materials Technology

Course Assessment
Course work 50%
• tests/quizzes 30%
• 1 Assignment 05%
• Labs ( > 8) 15%
 
Final Exam (1 paper) 50%
(50 multiple choice questions)
• Students must pass course work and exam
independently to pass the course. Students that
fail the course work will not be allowed to write
the final exam.
 Lecture 1 - Portland Cement

Learning objectives

• Composition and manufacture of

Portland Cement
• Hydration Process
• Setting and hardening of cement
 What is Cement ?

• Cement is a powder material with adhesive

and cohesive properties, which consist of
calcium oxide (usually limestone or chalk),
silica (from clay or sand), alumina (from
bauxite ore), iron oxide (from iron ore) and
other elements in small amounts, and is used
as a binding agent in concrete.
 Cement
• The most common type of cement used today is
Portland cement.

• The primary constituents of the raw materials

are:

• Lime (CaO)
• Silica (SiO2)
• Alumina (Al2O3) 
 CEMENT COMPOSITION
Lime is derived from limestone or chalk;
silica and alumina from clay, shale or
bauxite. Most raw materials contain small
amounts of iron oxide, magnesia, sulfur
trioxide, alkalis and carbon dioxide. Lime
and silica make up about 60% and 20%
of the ingredients in raw materials
respectively, and iron oxide and
alumina account for about 10%.
Chemical Composition of cement
Cement Compound
• Tricalcium silicate 3CaO. SiO2 C3S

• Dicalcium silicate 2CaO. SiO2 C2S

• Tricalcium aluminate 3CaO. Al2O3 C3A

• Tetracalcium aluminoferrite 4CaO. Al2O3. Fe2O3

C4AF
Manufacturing Process of Portland cement

The main raw materials for the manufacturing

of Portland cement are grouped as:

• Calcareous Material - usually limestone,

chalk or marl.

• Argillaceous Material (silica) – such as

clay or shale.
 methods of manufacturing of Portland
cement.
• There are two methods of producing
cement. WET and DRY:
• In both processes, the raw materials
are homogenized by crushing, grinding,
and blending so that approximately
80% of the raw materials pass a No.
200 sieve
 The Dry Process

• The dry raw materials are crushed in correct

proportion and then pass into the ball mill. The
powder called raw meal is then blended and
burn in a kiln to a temperature between 1400
and 1500 degrees to form clinker. The clinker
is cooled, mixed with gypsum (to prevent flash
setting) and ground in the ball mill to the
required fineness. The cement is then stored in
silos for packaging and distribution.
 The Dry Process

• Manufacture of Portland cement- the dry

process
 The Wet Process
• The raw materials are crushed and mixed with
water in washing mills to form a slurry, which is
then further blended to obtain a uniform mixture.
The slurry is then stored in tanks and here
samples are usually taken to check the chemical
composition. From the slurry tanks, it is then
moved to the kiln for drying. From here on the
process is the same as in the dry process.
 The wet process

• Manufacture of Portland cement- the wet

process
 What is Hydration ?

• Hydration is the chemical reaction that occurs

when cement is mixed with water. This reaction
is exothermic (i.e. heat is given off) and
produces various compounds which result in the
setting and hardening of the cement. During the
hydration process the cement reacts with water
in two ways, the first process is hydration and
the second is hydrolysis. However, hydration is
usually used to refer to both processes.
 HEAT OF HYDRATION
The heat of hydration is the heat
generated when water and portland cement
react.  Heat of hydration is most influenced
by the proportion of C3S and C3A in the
cement, but is also influenced by water-
cement ratio, fineness and curing
temperature.  As each one of these factors
is increased, heat of hydration increases. 
 Tricalcium silicate (C3S).

•   Hydrates and hardens rapidly and is

largely responsible for initial set and early
strength. 

• Portland cements with higher percentages

of C3S will exhibit higher early strength.
 Dicalcium silicate (C2S). 
• Hydrates and hardens slowly and is
largely responsible for strength increases
beyond one week.
 Tricalcium aluminate (C3A).

•   Hydrates and hardens the quickest. 

Liberates a large amount of heat almost
immediately and contributes somewhat to
early strength.
•   Gypsum is added to portland cement to
retard C3A hydration.  Without gypsum, C3A
hydration would cause portland cement to
set almost immediately after adding water.
 Tricalcium aluminoferrate
(C4AF). 
 
• Hydrates rapidly but contributes very little
to strength. 
• Its use allows lower kiln temperatures in
portland cement manufacturing. 
• Most portland cement color effects are
due to C4AF.
• Tricalcium silicate + Water--->Calcium
silicate hydrate+Calcium hydroxide +
heat

• 2 Ca3SiO5 + 7 H2O ---> 3 CaO.2SiO2.4H2O

+ 3 Ca(OH)2 + 173.6kJ
• Dicalcium silicate + Water--->Calcium
silicate hydrate + Calcium hydroxide
+heat

• 2 Ca2SiO4 + 5 H2O---> 3 CaO.2SiO2.4H2O

+ Ca(OH)2 + 58.6 kJ
 Setting of Cement
• When cement is mixed with water, the cement
paste will start to stiffen and it becomes
unworkable (the cement paste will move from an
elastic state to a plastic state). This is referred to
as the setting of cement. The beginning and
ending of setting is called the initial set and final
set respectively.
• The time it takes for the cement paste to set is
called the setting time. Initial Setting time should
be at least 45 minutes and final setting time
should not be greater than 10 hours.
 RATE OF SETTING
• Is a measure of the rate of release of
heat of hydration.
• The compound gypsum, which is
added to clinker when it is ground,
retards setting and prevents flash set,
which is accompanied by an
appreciable liberation of heat.
 Rate of Setting
• Fineness of cement, chemical composition
of cement, and storage conditions, the
amount of water and ambient temperature
affect the rate of setting. The finer the
cement, the faster the rate of setting and
also the hydration. Increase in the
amounts of tricalcium aluminate and
tricalcium silicates also decrease setting
times.
 Hardening of Cement

• Hardening isthe gradual gain in

strength of the set cement paste.

• It is a process which continues,

albeit at decreasing rate, over
periods of days, months and years.
 FLASH SET
• The rapid development of permanent
rigidity of the cement paste-along with high
heat.
• The rapid development of rigidity without
the evolution of heat is called FALSE SET.
• It is a premature stiffening of the paste,
and is attributed to unstable gypsum in the
cement.
• Fresh cement can be reworked after false
set without the addition of extra water.
 Hardening of Cement

• Flash Set or Quick Set – is similar to false set

however, a greater amount of heat evolved and
is caused by the reaction of aluminates. The mix
cannot regain plasticity with additional mixing
without water. The possibility of quick set can be
avoided by heating the water or aggregate so
that the final mix temperature would be below
38°c and mixing the aggregate and water before
adding the cement.
• Soundness of cement - when the cement
paste is set it is important that it does
not go through large volume change.
• Cements, that exhibit this expansion,
are considered unsound, and is
undesirable in concrete since it will
lead to cracking, disruption and
ultimately failure of the structure.