What is Cement???

Cement is a fine, soft, powdery-

type substance.
It is a factory made product
which mainly contains
CaO(60-67%), SiO2(17-25%),
Al2O3(3-8%), Fe2O3(0.5-6%)
When cement is mixed with
water, it can bind sand and
gravel into a hard, solid mass
called concrete.
 Purpose of Cement..

Cement plays a key, but often unnoticed, role in our lives. Cement is
mainly used as a binder in concrete, which is a basic material for all
types of construction, including housing, roads, schools, hospitals,
dams and ports, as well as for decorative applications
 Tests of Cement...

Field Tests
Field tests on cements are carried to know the quality of cement
supplied at site. It gives some idea about cement quality based on colour,
touch and feel and other tests.
Laboratory Tests
Laboratory tests are required to confirm the Indian Standard
Specifications. Tests are- Fineness test, Setting time tests, Soundness
tests, Heat of hydration tests and Chemical composition tests.
Field Tests of Cement

IS Code
Manufacturing
date
Manufacturer

Type of
Cement
Cement
grade
 Continued...

Open the bag and

take a good look at
the cement. There
should not be any
visible lumps.
The colour of the
cement should
normally in greenish
grey.
 Continued...

Thrust your hand into

the cement bag. It must
be giving you a cool
feeling.

It feels smooth when

rubbed it in between
fingers.
 Continued...

Take another handful sample

of cement and throw it
in the bucket full of water.
Particles of cement should
float a while before sinking
down.
 Continued...

A thick paste of cement with water is made on a piece of glass plate and
it is kept under water for 24 hours. It should set and not crack.

A block of cement 25 mm 25 mm and 200 mm long is prepared and it

is immersed for 7 days in water. It is then placed on supports 15cm
apart and it is loaded with a weight of about 34 kg. The block should
not show signs of failure.
 Sieve Test for Fineness..

Fineness of cement is
measured by sieving it on
standard sieve. The
proportion of cement of
which the grain sizes are
larger than the specified
mesh size is thus
determined. Standard size
of the sieve for the test is
90m. IS Sieve
 Soundness Test...

In the soundness test a

specimen of hardened
cement paste is boiled
for a fixed time so that
any tendency to
expand is speeded up
and can be detected.
Soundness means the
ability to resist volume
expansion.

Le Chatelier's apparatus
Properties Obtained from Field Tests..

Chemical Compounds

Air content availability

Moisture Absorption

Fineness & Soundness of Cement

Compressive Strength. Etc.

 Advantages of Field Tests...

Can be conducted by site engineers or labours in convenient

locations.

Significantly very lower costing in comparison to lab Tests.

Performed under real world conditions.

Tests are time saving than lab tests.

 Disadvantages of Field Tests..

Limited parameters can be monitored.

It may not be as reliable and accurate as lab tests.

The percentage of error cant be visible.

The results can be different in different weather condition and

person.
 Conclusion..

It is not possible to check all the engineering

qualities of cement on site but there some field test
which gives us a rough idea of quality of cement.
While on site we can perform these field tests to
judge the quality of cement. Also in household
purposes. Thats why field tests are very important.