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Cement Basics
Concrete Technology Home > Cement Basics > Cement types

Types of Cement
Types of Portland Cement
Portland cements are hydraulic cements composed primarily of hydraulic calcium silicates. ASTM C150, Standard Specification for Portland Cement, recognizes ten types of portland cement: Type I and Type IA* General purpose cements suitable for all uses where the special properties of other types are not required. Type II and Type IIA* Type II cements contain no more than 8% tricalcium aluminate (C A) for moderate sulfate resistance.
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Type II(MH) and Type II(MH)A* Type II(MH) cements have both a moderate heat of hydration characteristic, based on a requirement that the sum of C S+4.75 C A <100%, and moderate sulfate
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resistance properties, based on a maximum C A content of 8%.

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Type III and Type IIIA* Chemically and physically similar to Type I cements except they are ground finer to produce higher early strengths.

Type IV 3 Used in massive concrete structures where the rate and amount of heat generated from of Type II cement and the compressive strength requirements of Type I cements. hydration must be minimized. It develops strength slower than other cement types. Type V Contains no more than 5% C A for high sulfate resistance.
3 *Air-entraining cements

What's a Type I/II cement? Portland cements that meet Type II requirements also must meet all of the requirements of Type I cements, except those for compressive strength. Type I/II cements meet both the C A requirements

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Types of Blended Cements

Blended hydraulic cements are produced by intimately and uniformly intergrinding or blending two or more types of fine materials. The primary materials are portland cement, slag cements, fly ash, silica fume, calcined clay, other pozzolans, hydrated lime, and pre-blended combinations of these materials. ASTM C595, Specification for Blended Hydraulic Cements, recognizes three classes of blended cement: Type IS (X) -Portland blast furnace slag cement Type IP (X) -Portland-pozzolan cement Type IT(AX)(BY) Ternary blended cement The letters X and Y stands for the percentage of supplementary cementitious material (SCM) included in the blended cement, and A and B are the Types of SCMs, either S for slag or P for pozzolan. Type IS(X), can include up to 95% slag cement. Type IP(X) can include up to 40% pozzolans. As an example for ternary cements, Type IT(S25)(P15) contains 25% slag and 15% pozzolans.

Types of Hydraulic Cement

All portland and blended cements are hydraulic cements. Hydraulic cement is merely a broader term. ASTM C1157, Performance Specification for Hydraulic Cements, is a performance specification that includes portland cement, modified portland cement, and blended cements. ASTM C1157 recognizes six types of hydraulic cements: Type Type Type Type Type Type GU-general use HE-high early strength MS-moderate sulfate resistance HS-high sulfate resistance MH-moderate heat of hydration LH-low heat of hydration

This information was excerpted from PCA's Portland, Blended, and Other Hydraulic Cements, a 32-page publication covering numerous cement types and their physical properties.

Other resources for information on portland cement production and technology: Cement Specification Emphasizes Performance
ASTM C1157, which now includes both blended and portland cements, moves away from requirements on chemical composition

Portland Cement Characteristics-2004 Results of a survey of cement manufacturers which compiles data on cement characteristics in 2004. Portland Cement Characteristics-1998 Results of a survey on cement properties in 1998.

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