Ordinary Portland Cement Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is the most important type of cement.

The OPC was classified into three grades, namely 33 grade, 43 grade and53 grade depending upon the strength of the cement at 28 days when tested as per IS 40311988. If the 28 days strength is not less than 33N/mm2, it is called 33 grade ce ment, if the strength is not less than 43N/mm2, it is called 43 grade cement, an d if the strength is not less than 53 N/mm2, it is called 53 grade cement. But the actual strength obtained by these cements at the factory are much higher than the specifications. The manufacture of OPC is decreasing all over the world in view of the popularit y of blended cement on account of lower energy consumption, environmental pollut ion, economic and other technical reasons. In the years to come the use of OPC may still come down, but all the same the OP C will remain as an important type for general construction. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC): OPC, popularly known as grey cement, has 95% clinker and 5% of gypsum and other materials. It accounts for 70% of the total consumption. White cement is a variation of OPC and is used for decorative purposes like rend ering of walls, flooring etc. It contains a very low proportion of iron oxide.

Rapid Hardening Cement This cement is similar to ordinary Portland cement. As the name indicates it dev elops strength rapidly and as such it may be more appropriate to call it as high early strength cement. Rapid hardening cement which develops higher rate of development of strength sho uld not be confused with quick-setting cement which only sets quickly. Rapid hardening cement develops at the age of three days, the same strength as t hat is expected of ordinary Portland cement at seven days. The rapid rate of development of strength is attributed to the higher fineness o f grinding and higher C3S and lower C2S content. The higher fineness of cement particles expose greater surface area for action o f water and also higher proportion of C3S results in quicker hydration. Therefore, rapid hardening cement should not be used in mass concrete constructi on. Uses: In pre-fabricated concrete construction. Where formwork is required to be removed early for reuse. Road repair works. In cold weather concrete where the rapid rate of development of strength reduces the vulnerability of concrete to the frost damage.

Extra Rapid Hardening Cement Extra rapid hardening cement is obtained by intergrinding calcium chloride with rapid hardening Portland cement. The normal addition of calcium chloride should not exceed 2 percent by weight of

the rapid hardening cement. It is necessary that the concrete made by using extra rapid hardening cement sho uld be transported, placed and compacted and finished within about 20 minutes. It is also necessary that this cement should not be stored for more than a month . Extra rapid hardening cement accelerates the setting and hardening process. A large quantity of heat is evolved in a very short time after placing. The acceleration of setting, hardening and evolution of this large quantity of h eat in the early period of hydration makes the cement very suitable for concreti ng in cold weather. The strength of extra rapid hardening cement is about 25 per cent higher than th at of rapid hardening cement at one or two days and 10 20 per cent higher at 7 day s. The gain of strength will disappear with age and at 90 days the strength of extr a rapid hardening cement or the ordinary portland cement may be nearly the same. There is small amount of initial corrosion of reinforcement when extra rapid har dening cement is used, but in general, this effect does not appear to be progres sive and as such there is no harm in using extra rapid hardening cement in reinf orced concrete work. However, its use in prestress concrete construction is proh ibited.

Sulphate Resisting Cement Ordinary Portland cement is susceptible to the attack of sulphates, in particula r to the action of magnesium sulphate. Sulphates react both with the free calciu m hydroxide in set cement to form calcium sulphate and with hydrate of calcium a luminate to form calcium sulphoaluminate, the volume of which is approximately 2 27% of the volume of the original aluminates. Their expansion within the frame work of hardened cement paste results in cracks and subsequent disruption. Solid sulphate do not attack the cement compound. Sulphates in solution permeate into hardened concrete and attack calcium hydroxide, hydrated calcium aluminate and even hydrated silicates. The above is known as sulphate attack. Sulphate attack is greatly accelerated if accompanied by alternate wetting and drying which normally takes place in marin e structures in the zone of tidal variations. To remedy the sulphate attack, the use of cement with low C3A content is found t o be effective. Such cement with low C3A and comparatively low C4AF content is k nown as Sulphate Resisting Cement. In other words, this cement has a high silica te content. The specification generally limits the C3A content to 5 per cent. Tetracalcium Alumino Ferrite (C3AF) varies in Normal Portland Cement between to 6 to 12%. Since it is often not feasible to reduce the Al2O3 content of the raw material, Fe2O3 may be added to the mix so that the C4AF content increases at th e expense of C3A. IS code limits the total content of C4AF and C3A, as follows. 2C3A + C4AF should not exceed 25% Uses : Concrete to be used in marine condition; Concrete to be used in foundation and basement, where soil is infested with sulp hates; Concrete used for fabrication of pipes which are likely to be buried in marshy r egion or sulphate bearing soils; Concrete to be used in the construction of sewage treatment works.

Quick Setting Cement This cement as the name indicates sets very early. The early setting property is brought out by reducing the gypsum content at the time of clinker grinding. This cement is required to be mixed, placed and compacted very early. It is used mostly in under water construction where pumping is involved. Use of quick setting cement in such conditions reduces the pumping time and make s it economical. Quick setting cement may also find its use in some typical grou ting operations.

Low Heat Cement It is well known that hydration of cement is anexothermic action which produces large quantity of heat during hydration. Formation of cracks in large bodyof concrete due to heat of hydration has focuss ed the attention of the concrete technologists to produce a kind of cement which produces less heat or the same amount of heat, at a low rate during the hydrati on process. Cement having this property was developed in U.S.A. during 1930 fo r use in mass concrete construction, such as dams, where temperature rise by the heat of hydr ation can become excessively large. A low-heat evolution is achieved by reducing the contents of C3S and C3A which a re the compounds evolving the maximum heat of hydration and increasing C2S. A reduction of temperature will retard the chemical action of hardening and so f urther restrict the rate of evolution of heat. The rate of evolution of heat wil l, therefore, be less and evolution of heat will extend over a longer period. The specific surface of low heat cement as found out by air-permeability method is not less than 3200 sq. cm/gm. The 7 days strength of low heat cement is not l ess than 16 MPa in contrast to 22 MPa in the case of ordinary Portland cement. O ther properties, such as setting time and soundness are same as that of ordinary Portland cement.

Portland Pozzolana Cement The history of pozzolanic material goes back to Roman s time. The descriptions and details of pozzolanic material will be dealt separately under the chapter Admixt ures . Portland Pozzolana cement (PPC) is manufactured by the intergrinding of OPC clin ker with 10 to 25 per cent of pozzolanic material (as per the latest amendment, it is 15 to 35%). A pozzolanic material is essentially a silicious or aluminous material which whi le in itself possessing no cementitious properties, which will, in finely divide d form and in the presence of water, react with calcium hydroxide, liberated in the hydration process, at ordinary temperature, to form compounds possessing cem entitious properties. The pozzolanic materials generally used for manufacture of PPC are calcined clay or fly ash. The pozzolanic action is shown below:

Calcium hydroxide + Pozzolana + water ----> C S H (gel) Portland pozzolana cement produces less heat of hydration and offers greater res istance to the attack of aggressive waters than ordinary Portland cement. Moreov er, it reduces the leaching of calcium hydroxide when used in hydraulic structur es. It is particularly useful in marine and hydraulic construction and other mas s concrete constructions. Uses: For hydraulic structures; For mass concrete structures like dam, bridge piers and thick foundation; For marine structures; For sewers and sewage disposal works.

Portland Pozolona Cement (PPC): PPC has 80% clinker, 15% pozolona and 5% gypsum and accounts for 18% of the tota l cement consumption. Pozolona has siliceous and aluminous materials that do not possess cementing pro perties but develop these properties in the presence of water. It is cheaply manufactured because it uses flyash/burnt clay/coal waste as the m ain ingredient. It has a lower heat of hydration, which helps in preventing cracks where large v olumes are being cast.

Coloured Cement For manufacturing various colored cements, either white cement or grey Portland cement is used as a base. The use of white cement as a base is costly. With the use of grey cement, only r ed or brown cement can be produced. Coloured cement consists of Portland cement with 5-10% of pigment. The pigment cannot be satisfactorily distributed throughout the cement by mixing , and hence, it is usual to grind the cement & pigment together. Chromium oxide green colour Cobalt blue colour Iron oxide brown colour The raw materials used for white cement are: High purity limestone (96% CaCO3 & less than 0.07% iron oxide) China clay (0.72-0.8% of iron oxide, silica sand, fluorspar as flux and selenite as retarder) Grey colour of OPC is due to the iron oxide present.

Air-Entraining Cement Air-Entraining Cement is made by mixing a small amount of an air-entraining agen

t with ordinary Portland cement clinker at the time of grinding. The following types of air-entraining agents could be used: Alkali salts of wood resins. Synthetic detergents of the alkyl-aryl sulphonate type. Calcium lignosulphate derived from the sulphite process in paper making. Calcium salts of glues and other proteins obtained in the treatment of animal hi des. These agents in powder, or in liquid forms are added to the extent of 0.025 0.1 pe r cent by weight of cement clinker. There are other additives including animal a nd vegetable fats, oil and their acids could be used. Wetting agents, aluminium powder, hydrogen peroxide could also be used. Air-entr aining cement will produce at the time of mixing, tough, tiny, discrete non-coal esceing air bubbles in the body of the concrete which will modify the properties of plastic concrete with respect to workability, segregation and bleeding. It w ill modify the properties of hardened concrete with respect to its resistance to frost action. Airentraining agent can also be added at the time of mixing ordin ary Portland cement with rest of the ingredients.

White Cement: Basically, it is OPC: clinker using fuel oil (instead of coal) and with iron oxi de content below 0.4% to ensure whiteness. Special cooling technique is used. It is used to enhance aesthetic value, in til es and for flooring. White cement is much more expensive than grey cement.