THE RIFT VALLEY NATIONAL POLYTECHNIC

HIGHER DIPLOMA IN CONSTRUCTION

BUILDING & CIVIL ENGINEERING OPTION
CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY
TOPIC 1: CEMENT
COURSE LECTURER: ROSE

INTRODUCTION

Cement is a material with adhesive and cohesive properties that enable it to bond fragments into
a compact mass.
Cement is a mixture of calcareous, siliceous, argillaceous, and other substances. Cement is used
as a binding material in mortar, concrete, etc.

CONSTITUENTS OF CEMENT

Portland cement is produced by fusing together calcareous materials (such as limestone) and
argillaceous materials (such as clay) at extremely high temperatures. This process alters the raw
chemical elements into a set of distinct, complex mineral compounds.

To fully understand the composition of Portland cement, we look at it in two ways: its raw
chemical oxides (what goes into the kiln) and its main mineral compounds (what is actually
formed after burning, which dictates how the cement behaves).

MAIN MINERAL/CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS

When the raw materials fuse in the kiln, they combine to form four primary crystalline phases.
These are known as Bogue's Compounds.

I) Tricalcium Silicate (3CaO. SiO2 or C3S)

Proportion: 40% to 60 % of cement.

This is the most crucial compound for engineering performance. It hydrates rapidly and
contributes to the early strength of concrete (within the first 7 days). It also contributes to the
initial setting of the paste.

ii) Dicalcium Silicate (2CaO. SiO2 or C2S)

Proportion: 15% – 30% of cement.

C2S hydrates very slowly. It contributes very little to strength during the first week, but it is
entirely responsible for the long-term progressive strength gain of concrete (after 28 days and up
to years). It also generates very little heat during hydration.
iii) Tricalcium Aluminate (3CaO. Al2O3 or C3A)

Proportion: 6% – 12% of cement.

C3A reacts instantly with water, causing rapid stiffening known as "flash set" if left uncontrolled
(which is why gypsum is added). It generates a massive amount of heat of hydration very early
on. It contributes minimally to strength and is the compound most vulnerable to sulfate attack.

iv) Tetracalcium Aluminoferrite (4CaO. Al2O3. Fe2O3 or C4AF)

Proportion: 6% – 10% of cement.

C4AF acts primarily as a flux during manufacturing, lowering the required clinkering
temperature in the kiln. It hydrates relatively quickly but contributes very little to the concrete's
mechanical strength. It is primarily responsible for giving Portland cement its characteristic grey
color.

RAW CHEMICAL OXIDES

If you break Portland cement down to its elemental oxide components in a laboratory, you will
find the following proportions. Managing the balance of these oxides is critical; even minor
deviations alter the ratios of the Bogue's compounds described above.

Oxide Chemical Chemical Formula Typical Percentage Primary Function

Name /Effect
Lime CaO 60% - 67% Primary binding
element. Excess lime
causes the cement to
expand and become
unsound; deficient
lime reduces strength.
Silica SiO2 17%-25% Forms the silicates
(C3S and C2S) that
provide strength.
Excess silica slows
down the setting time
Alumina Al2O3 3%-8% Imparts quick-setting
properties and lowers
clinkering
temperature. Excess
alumina reduces
overall strength.
Iron Oxide Fe2O3 0.5% – 6% Provides color,
hardness, and assists
in the chemical
 fusion of other
ingredients.
Magnesia MgO 0.1% - 4% Provides hardness
and color. If it
exceeds 5%, it causes
delayed expansion
and cracking
(unsoundness).
Sulfur trioxide SO3 1%- 3% Derived from the raw
materials and the
gypsum added during
grinding to control
setting time.

TYPES OF CEMENT

1. Ordinary Portland Cement

The main form of cement used in construction worldwide today is the hydraulic cement called
Portland cement.

Portland cement is a type of hydraulic cement made by heating a limestone and clay mixture in a
kiln and then pulverizing the resulting material.

It is a fine, grey or white powder that is made by grinding Portland cement clinker, a limited
amount of calcium sulfate, which controls the set time, with other minor constituents.

OPC exhibits a steady, predictable strength gain. It achieves a significant portion of its design
strength at 7 days, reaching its standard characteristic strength at 28 days. This is driven by the
balanced hydration of Tricalcium Silicate (C3S) for early strength and Dicalcium Silicate (C2S)
for later-age strength.

It typically develops about 10% to 20% of its strength in 1 day, roughly 65% to 70% at 7 days,
and reaches its standard designated characteristic strength at 28 days.

OPC contains a relatively high amount of Tricalcium Aluminate (C3A), typically between 8%
and 12%. When exposed to external sulfates (found in groundwater or soils), C3A reacts to form
ettringite, an expansive compound that causes internal cracking and spalling. It also contains
Calcium Hydroxide (Ca(OH)2), a byproduct of hydration that is easily leached out by soft water
or attacked by acids.

Portland cement is the most common type of cement in many parts of the world.
 2. High Alumina Cement

High alumina cement is obtained by melting a mixture of bauxite and lime, then grinding the
resulting clinker. It is rapid hardening cement with initial and final setting time of about 3.5 and
5 hours, respectively.

HAC gains strength exceptionally fast due to the hydration of Monocalcium Aluminate (CA). It
can achieve more strength in 24 hours than OPC achieves in 28 days.

While it hardens incredibly fast, its long-term strength can retrogress (decrease) over time due to
a crystalline phase change known as conversion, especially if exposed to warm, moist conditions.

The compressive strength of this cement is very high, and it is more workable than Ordinary
Portland cement. It is used in works where concrete is subjected to high temperatures, frost, and
acidic action.

HAC does not produce Calcium Hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) during hydration, removing the primary
target for acid attack. Furthermore, it contains no C3A, making it virtually immune to typical
sulfate expansion. It performs exceptionally well in seawater, acidic soils, and industrial
wastewater environments.

3. Low Heat Cement

The formation of cracks in large concrete bodies due to the heat of hydration has focused
attention on concrete that produces less heat at a lower rate during hydration.

A low-heat evolution is achieved by reducing the contents of C3S and C3A, which are the
compounds that release the most heat of hydration, and by increasing C2S.

LHC is deliberately formulated with lower percentages of C3S and Tricalcium Aluminate (C3A),
and a higher percentage of C2S. Because C2S. Hydrates much slower, the early strength (at 3 and
7 days) is considerably lower than OPC. However, its long-term strength (90 days and beyond)
eventually matches or even exceeds that of OPC.

Because the C3A content is strictly limited (usually below 5%) to reduce the heat of hydration,
LHPC inherently possesses excellent resistance to sulfate attack. Its slower hydration also creates
a dense, less permeable microstructure over time, reducing the ingress of aggressive chemical
agents
 4. Portland Pozzolana Cement

Portland Pozzolana cement (PPC) is manufactured by the inter grinding of OPC clinker with 10
to 25 per cent of pozzolanic material,

A pozzolanic material is essentially a siliceous or aluminous material which while in itself

possesses no cementitious properties.

The pozzolanic materials generally used for manufacture of PPC are calcined clay or fly ash.

In PPC, costly clinker is replaced by cheaper pozzolanic material, hence economical.

Soluble calcium hydroxide is converted into insoluble cementitious products resulting in

improvement of permeability, hence it offers, all-round durability characteristics, particularly in
hydraulic structures and marine construction.

5. Rapid Hardening Cement

As the name indicates it develops strength rapidly and as such it may be more appropriate to call
it as high early strength cement.

The strength achieved by rapid hardening cement in 3 days is equivalent to the strength achieved
by Ordinary Portland cement in 7 days

The hardening property is enhanced with the addition of 56% of Tricalciun silicate

Uses;

 It gains strength in the early days and the formwork can be removed earlier as compared
to other types of cement
 It requires a short period of curing
 Rapid hardening cement is used in areas like road pavement so that traffic can be opened
early.
 It is also used in manufacturing precast slabs, posts, electric poles, concreting in cold
countries

6. Sulphate Resisting Cement

To remedy the sulphate attack, the use of cement with low Tricalcium aluminate (C3A) content is
found to be effective.

Uses;

 Concrete to be used in marine condition

 in foundation and basement
  where soil is infested with sulphates
 construction of sewage treatment works)

7. Portland Slag Cement

Portland slag cement is obtained by mixing Portland cement clinker, gypsum and granulated
blast furnace slag. It has a reduced heat of hydration, and reduced permeability

8. Quick Setting Cement

The early setting property is brought out by reducing the gypsum content at the time of clinker
grinding, It is used mostly in under water construction where pumping is involved.

9. White and Coloured Portland Cement

It is manufactured from pure white chalk and clay free from iron oxide. The grey colour of
cement is due to iron oxide, so the iron oxide is reduced and limited to 1 percent. Coloured
cements are made by adding 5 to 10 percent colouring pigments before grinding. These cements
have the same properties as OPC and are non-staining because of the low amount of soluble
alkalis. Sodium aluminum fluoride is added during burning, which acts as a catalyst in place of
iron.

Manufacture of Concrete

Most Important raw materials required in the manufacture of cement are; Limestone, clay,
gypsum, fuel and water (in the wet process)

 Limestone

They are sedimentary, calcium carbonate rocks ( CaCO3). Most commonly, they contain a small
amount of magnesium carbonate. Besides, usual impurities in limestone are those of iron oxides,
silica and alkalis.

All limestone therefore are not suitable for the manufacture of cement. It is essential that
limestone selected for manufacture of cement should not contain;

 Magnesium carbonate (more than 5%)

 Free silica (even in small proportion)
 Iron sulphide (more than 3 %)
  Clay rocks

These are also sedimentary rocks made of hydrated silicates of aluminate. Like limestone, they
also contain some impurities as iron oxides, free silica, alkalis, and magnesia. It is essential that
those clays which are to be used for manufacturing of cement do not contain these imourities
beyond the permissible limits.

Some limestone are rich in the clayey matter to the extent of 30%. They are called cement rocks
because they canbe used as a single raw material for the cement manufacturing process.

 Gypsum

It is generally used in very small amounts (about 2% by weight) to the burnt cement (called
clinker) after it is taken out from the kiln and before it is sent for grinding

Gypsum is a sedimentary rock having a composition of calcium sulfate (CaSO4. 2H2O). It is

added for imparting a retarding effect in the setting of [Link] gypsum the cement would
set within minutes of adding water into it making it difficult to work with the cement.

Adding of gypsum at the manufacturing time, increases the initial time to desirable limits.

Cement can be manufactured either by dry process or wet process

The main difference between these two methods of manufacturing cement is that thee dry
process, calcareous and argillaceous raw materials are fed into the burning kiln in a perfectly dry
state in the dry process and in the wet process these materials are fed into the kiln when mixed
with water (slurry)

a) DRY PROCESS

Crushing and storage

Calcareous materials (like limestone) and argillaceous materials (like shale or clay) are blasted
from the quarry. They pass through heavy-duty jaw or impact crushers, reducing massive
boulders to stones smaller than 50 mm. The crushed materials are stored in separate stockpiles.

Proportioning and fine grinding

The materials are pulled from stockpiles in precise proportions (typically around 75% limestone
and 25% clay/shale). This mix is fed into a vertical roller mill or a ball mill.

Hot exhaust gases salvaged from the rotary kiln are blown into the mill during grinding. This
simultaneously grinds the mix into an incredibly fine powder and flash-dries it, ensuring the
moisture content drops under 1%. The resulting powder is called raw meal.
Pneumatic Blending

Because the material is dry, getting a perfectly uniform chemical distribution requires
fluidization. The raw meal is pumped into blending silos where high-pressure compressed air is
introduced from the bottom. This air causes the powder to behave like a boiling liquid,
thoroughly mixing it to achieve a uniform chemical composition. It is then stored in the raw meal
silo.

Preheating and Precalcination

Before entering the main kiln, the dry raw meal enters a vertical tower containing a series of
cyclone preheaters. The powder drops down through the cyclones while hot exhaust gas (300
degrees celcius to 800 degrees celcius) from the kiln flows upward. As the raw meal swirls
through this counter-current flow, it instantly heats up. Modern plants include a precalciner
burner at the base of this tower, which achieves up to 90% of the calcination the chemical
breakdown of limestone into lime and carbon dioxide before the material even touches the kiln:

Kiln burning

The hot, partially calcined meal enters the elevated end of the slightly inclined Rotary Kiln. As
the kiln slowly rotates, the material slides down toward the burning zone at the lower end, where
a pulverized-coal or gas burner produces temperatures of 1400 to 1450 degrees Celcius. At this
extreme temperature, the materials undergo partial fusion (sintering). The lime ($\text{CaO}$),
silica ($\text{SiO}_2$), alumina ($\text{Al}_2\text{O}_3$), and iron oxide
($\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3$) chemically recombine to form clinker—hard, grey nodules about the
size of marbles, primarily composed of calcium silicates.

Clinker Cooling and Storage

The red-hot clinker exits the kiln and lands on a grate cooler, where blasts of cold air rapidly
drop its temperature. This rapid cooling locks in the correct mineral crystalline structures (alite
and belite) necessary for high cement strength. The heated air from the clinker is recycled into
the kiln and preheater towers as combustion air to save energy.

Final Grinding

The cooled clinker is transferred to a cement ball mill or vertical roller mill. It is ground into an
ultra-fine powder along with a small amount (2% to 3%) of gypsum (CaSO4. H2O). The gypsum
acts as a retarding agent, preventing the cement from setting fast when mixed with water later on.
The finished product is now Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), ready to be pumped to storage
silos and packed.
b) WET PROCESS

Quarrying and Wash Milling

Harder limestone is crushed in conventional jaw crushers. However, soft materials like
clay are fed directly into a wash mill. Inside the wash mill, heavy revolving arms with
grates stir the clay with water, washing away organic impurities and breaking the clay
down into a fine, fluid mud.

Slurry Grinding
The crushed limestone and the clay mud are metered together in exact proportions and
fed into a wet ball mill. Water is continuously pumped into the mill. The tumbling action
of steel balls grinds the minerals down, intimately blending them into a smooth, thick
liquid called raw slurry.

Homogenization and Correction

The raw slurry is pumped into large, circular concrete slurry basins. To keep the heavy
solids from settling to the bottom, the liquid is constantly agitated using mechanical
rotating arms and compressed air. Chemists sample the basins and adjust the mix
("correcting" it) until the chemical profile matches strict requirements.

Kiln Burning
The corrected slurry is pumped directly into the upper, elevated end of a massive, slightly
inclined Rotary Kiln. Because the feed is liquid, wet-process kilns are exceptionally long
(often up to 150 to 200 meters) to handle the required heat transfer stages:

The Chain Zone (Drying): Large steel chains hang inside the upper section of the kiln. As
the kiln rotates, the hot exhaust gases heat these chains. The wet slurry coats the hot
 chains, which dramatically increases the surface area for evaporation, flash-boiling the
water away and breaking up the drying mud into small chunks.

The Calcining Zone: The dried chunks slide further down the kiln where temperatures
reach 900 degrees Celsius driving off carbon dioxide (CO2) from the limestone.

The Clinkering Zone: At the lowest, hottest end 1400 to $1450 degrees Celsius, partial
fusion occurs, chemically locking the minerals into marble-sized nodules called clinker.

Cooling and Finish Grinding

The white-hot clinker drops out of the kiln onto a grate cooler where air blasts rapidly
stabilize its crystalline structure. Once cooled, the clinker is fed into a final finish ball
mill, where it is interground with 2% to 3% gypsum to control the setting time, yielding
finished Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC).

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CEMENT

 Setting and Hardening
 Soundness
 Fineness
 Strength
 Heat of Hydration
 Loss of ignition
 Clinker-free lime

Setting and Hardening

Setting is used to describe the stiffening of the cement paste. It refers to changes of cement paste
from a fluid to a rigid state. Setting differs from hardening of cement

Hardening refers to the gain of strength of a set cement paste although during setting, the cement
paste acquires some strength.

It includes two processes initial set and final set stages

Initial setting time;

It indicates the beginning of the setting process when the cement paste starts losing its plasticity.

Final Setting Time;

It is the time elapsed between the moment water is added to the cement and the time when the
cement completely lost its plasticity and can resist certain definite pressure.
Tested using the Vicat’s Apparatus

Test Procedure:

1) Mix 650g of cement with a measured quantity of water to produce a plastic (mouldable)
paste.
2) Take the cement paste, form a ball and toss it six times from one hand to another (placed
150mm apart).
3) Press the ball into a Vicat ring through the larger end.
4) Remove excess material at the larger end by single slash of a hand.
5) Slice the smaller end by sharp edge of a trowel and smooth the top part without pressing
the paste.
6) Put the paste under Vicat apparatus, bring the plunger (10mm dia.) in contact with the
sample and record the initial reading.
7) Release the plunger immediately and record the reading.
8) Repeat the test with varying percentages of water until a penetration of about 10mm
(9mm – 11mm) is obtained. Record that percentage as the moisture content for normal
consistency.
9) Mix another 650g of cement at normal consistency (with the moisture content obtained in
step 8).
10) Follow step 2) to 5) above.
11) Put the paste under Vicat apparatus, bring the needle (1mm dia.) in contact with the
surface of the paste, penetrate the paste immediately and record the reading.
12) Continue to make penetration after every 15 minutes until a penetration less than 25mm
is obtained
13) Draw a graph of time against penetrations, interpolate the time corresponding with
penetration of 25mm and record it as the initial setting time.
14) Continue with the penetration process after every 15 minutes until no visible penetration
occurs on the surface of the sample; record the interval of time from mixing up to when
the needle fails to penetrate the sample and report it as the final setting time.

Soundness

When referring to Portland cement, "soundness" refers to the ability of a hardened cement paste
to retain its volume after setting without delayed expansion.

This expansion is caused by excessive amounts of free lime (CaO) or magnesia (MgO),

Most Portland cement specifications limit magnesia content and expansion.

The cement paste should not undergo large changes in volume after it has set, however, when
excessive amounts of free CaO or MgO are present in the cement, these oxides can slowly
hydrate and cause expansion of the hardened cement paste.
Soundness is defined as the volume stability of the cement paste.

Tested using the Le Chatelier apparatus

Fineness

Cement fineness is a fundamental physical property that describes the particle size distribution of
the cement powder after the clinker has been interground with gypsum.

It is one of the most frequently tested quality control parameters because it directly influences
how fast the cement reacts with water.

The chemical reaction between cement and water (hydration) can only occur at the interface
where the water meets the solid cement particle.

Coarse Cement: Larger particles have a smaller surface-area-to-mass ratio. Water takes a long
time to penetrate deep into the core of a large particle, leaving some unhydrated material trapped
inside.

Fine Cement: Grinding the cement finer breaks it into millions of tiny particles, vastly increasing
the total specific surface area. This exposes much more of Bogue's compounds (C3S and C3A) to
water simultaneously.

Increasing the fineness of cement yields several distinct structural and fresh-state advantages, but
it comes with critical engineering trade-offs.

Adv

i) Accelerated Hardening (Early Strength): Sweeping increases in surface area speed up

the hydration rate. Fine cement develops early strength (1 to 7 days) much faster than
coarse cement, making it highly desirable for rapid-hardening cements, early
formwork removal, or cold-weather concreting.
ii) Reduced Bleeding and Segregation: Fine particles hold onto water more effectively
through surface tension. This prevents water from separating and rising to the top
surface (bleeding) and keeps the sand and aggregates uniformly suspended (reducing
segregation).
iii) Improved Workability and Cohesion: Concrete mixes made with fine cement tend to
be more cohesive, cohesive, and easier to pump or place smoothly.

Disdv

i) Elevated Heat of Hydration: Because the chemical reactions occur rapidly all at once,
the heat of hydration is released in an intense, sudden spike. As established with mass
concrete pours, this drastically increases the risk of thermal cracking.
 ii) Increased Shrinkage and Cracking: Fine cement requires more water to coat its vast
surface area if workability is maintained without admixtures. This high water
demand, paired with rapid early chemical reactions, leads to higher drying shrinkage
and subsequent hairline cracking.
iii) Susceptibility to Pre-Hydration (Air-Setting): Fine cement highly attracts moisture. If
stored in humid conditions, it absorbs atmospheric water vapor much faster than
coarse cement, increasing the Loss on Ignition (LOI) parameter and ruining shelf life.

Tested using the Blaine Air Permeability test

Strength

Cement paste strength is typically defined in three; compressive, tensile and flexural.

Strength can be affected by a number of items including: water cement ratio, cement-fine
aggregate ratio, type and grading of fine aggregate, curing conditions, size and shape of
specimen, loading conditions and age,

Tested using the compressive strength test

Heat of Hydration
When water is added to cement, the reaction that takes place is called hydration.

Hydration generates heat, which can affect the quality of the cement and also be beneficial in
maintaining curing temperature during cold weather.

On the other hand, when heat generation is high, especially in large structures, it may cause
undesired stress.

The heat of hydration is affected most by C3S and C3A present in cement, and also by water-
cement ratio, fineness and curing temperature.

Loss of Ignition

Loss on Ignition measures the percentage weight loss of a cement sample when it is heated
(ignited) to a very high temperature—typically between 900°C and 1000°C—in a laboratory
furnace.

The weight loss that occurs during this test represents the drove-off volatile components,
specifically;

Prehydration (Moisture)- Water (H2O) absorbed by the cement from the atmosphere during
storage or grinding.
Carbonation; Carbon dioxide (CO2) absorbed by the cement when lime reacts with atmospheric
gases, converting back into calcium carbonate (CaCO3).

A high LOI value is a clear sign that the cement has been exposed to moisture and air for too
long, leading to pre-hydration. Pre-hydrated cement loses its binding efficiency, resulting in a
lower rate of hardening and reduced final compressive strength. It also helps verify if excessive
amounts of raw limestone fillers or gypsum have been interground with the clinker beyond
allowable standard limits.

Most international standards (like EN 197-1 or ASTM C150) strictly limit LOI to less than 3.0%
to 5.0% depending on the specific cement type.

Clinker- Free Lime

Clinker Free Lime represents the amount of uncombined Calcium Oxide (CaO) remaining in the
clinker after the burning process in the rotary kiln is complete.

During processing, lime (CaO) is supposed to chemically react completely with silica, alumina,
and iron oxide to form the Bogue's compounds C3S, C2S, etc.). If the kiln temperature is too low,
the retention time is too short, or the raw mix is poorly blended, a portion of the lime remains
uncombined—this is called "free lime."

Free lime is highly unstable when mixed with water. It hydrates to form Calcium Hydroxide
(Ca(OH)2). Crucially, this reaction happens very slowly and is accompanied by a significant
volume expansion (roughly 90% volumetric increase).

If a cement has high free lime, the expansion will occur after the concrete has already set and
hardened. This delayed internal expansion causes severe cracking, warping, and disintegration of
the structure—a phenomenon known as unsoundness.

Plant operators use free lime as an immediate gauge of kiln performance.

 Too high (> 2.0%): Indicates under-burning (insufficient heat or time).

 Too low (< 0.5%): Indicates over-burning, which wastes thermal energy and produces a
hard, dense clinker that is incredibly difficult and expensive to grind into fine powder.
USES OF CEMENT

Cement concrete is a major building material in the world which is widely using because of its
marvelous structural properties.

The ingredients of cement concrete are cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and water
respectively.

In general, ordinary Portland cement is used to prepare concrete. But for special cases or based
on different circumstances many types of cements like rapid hardening cement, high alumina
cement etc. are used

To Prepare Cement Mortar

Cement mortar is like a paste which is prepared by adding certain quantity of water to cement
and sand mixture.

We know Cement has good binding properties, while there are other binding materials are also
available, but cement is mostly used because of its high strength and water resisting properties.

It is used to create a strong bond between bricks, stones in masonry. Plastering is done by cement
mortar which gives smooth finish to the structure.

Cement molds of different shapes can be made using cement mortar.

It is also used to seal the joints of brickwork and stone work or cracks.

Generally, the cement sand ratio in a mortar is in between 1:2 to 1:6, the ratio of cement and
sand mix is decided based on the importance of work

Soil Stabilization

Soils can be stabilized by the addition of cement or lime.

Such stabilization processes improve the various engineering properties of the stabilized soil and
generate an improved construction material.

Increase in soil strength, durability stiffness, and reduction in soil plasticity and
swelling/shrinkage potential are the benefit of soil stabilization