CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS (CE203)

Dr. Thainswemong Choudhury

Assistant Professor
(School of Civil and Environmental
Engineering)
[email protected]

SCHOOL OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING (SCEnE)

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MANDI
KAMAND, MANDI, HP– 175005, India
 Module-3(a)
Cement Concrete and Asphalt

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Concrete
Components of Concrete

• Concrete, a composite man-made material, is the most widely used building material in the construction industry.

• It consists of a rationally chosen mixture of binding material such as lime or cement, well graded fine and coarse
aggregates, water and admixtures (to produce concrete with special properties).

• In a concrete mix, cement and water form a paste or matrix which in addition to filling the voids of the fine aggregate,
coats the surface of fine and coarse aggregates and binds them together.

• Freshly mixed concrete before set is known as wet or green concrete whereas after setting and hardening it is known as
set or hardened concrete.
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Components of Concrete - Cement
Cement

• It is an artificial building material which imparts binding properties in construction.

• Developed around 1824-25 by Joseph Aspedian of Yorkshine (U.K).
• Cement broadly consist of – Calcareous Compounds and Argillaceous Compounds

CALCAREOUS COMPOUNDS ARGILLACEOUS COMPOUNDS

[compounds having Ca , Mg] [compounds having Si, Al, Oxides]

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Cement
Cement Composition

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Cement
Different constituents of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)

• Lime [CaO] (60-65%)

• Silica[SiO2] (17-25%)

• Alumina [Al2O3] (3-8%)

• Iron oxides [Fe203] (0.5-6%)

• Magnesia [MgO] (0.5-4%)

• Alkali [Na20,K20,TiO2,P2O5] (0.5-1.3%)

❑ When all the ingredients of cement as mentioned are integrated and burnt ,they fuse with each other and form
cement clinkers and lead to the formation of complex chemical compounds termed as “BOGUE COMPOUNDS”
which actual are responsible for the properties of cement.

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Cement
The following BOGUE COMPOUNDS are formed during clinkering process :
• ALITE
➢ Tricalcium silicate [3CaO·SiO2] or [C3S]
➢ 40%of cement
• BELITE
➢ Dicalcium Silicate [2CaO·SiO2] or [C2S]
➢ 32% OF CEMENT
• CELITE
➢ Tricalcium Aluminate [3CaO·Al2O3] or [C3A]
➢ 10.5%of cement
• FELITE
➢ Tetracalcium Alumino Ferrite [4CaO·Al2O3·Fe2O3] or [C4AF]
➢ 9%of cement

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Cement - Constituents of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
Lime [CaO] (60-65%)
• It imparts strength and soundness to the cement.
• If it is in excess it makes the cement unsound, cause it to expand and finally disintegrate.
• If it is in deficiency , it reduces and cause the cement to set quickly.
Cao +H20 slaking Ca(OH)2 + Heat

Silica[SiO2] (17-25%)
• It also imparts strength to the concrete
• If it is in excess , strength of concrete is increased but it also increase the setting time of cement.

Alumina [Al2O3] (3-8%)

• It imparts quick setting property to the cement .
• It acts as a flux and helps in reducing the clinkering temperature.
• If it is in excess it weakens the cement.

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Cement - Constituents of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
Iron oxides[Fe203] (0.5-6%)
• It gives colour and helps in fusion of different ingredients.

Magnesia [MgO] (0.5-4%)

• Imparts colour and hardness to the cement.
• If it is in excess it causes cracks and makes the cement unsound.
Efflorescence

Alkali [Na20, K20, TiO2, P2O5] (0.5-1.3%)

• Alkali in cement leads to efflorescence thereby causes the development strains over the surface of structure in
which it is used for construction.
• Alkali undergoes expansive reactions with aggregate, thereby leads to its disintegration.
• Alkali also accelerate the settling time of cement paste.

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Cement - Bogue Compounds
Bogue Compounds

TRICALCIUM ALUMINATE [3CaO·Al2O3] [C3A] (10.5%of cement) (CELITE)

• It rapidly reacts with water and is responsible for flash set of finely grounded clinker.

• The rapidity of action is regulated by the addition of 2-3% of gypsum at the time of grinding cement.

• Tricalcium aluminate is responsible for the initial set, high heat of hydration and has greater tendency to volume
changes causing cracking.

• Raising the C3A content reduces the setting time, weakens resistance to sulphate attack and lowers the ultimate
strength, heat of hydration and contraction during air hardening.

• The heat of hydration of 865 J/g.

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Cement - Bogue Compounds
Bogue Compounds

TRICALCIUM SILICATE [3CaO·SiO2] [C3S] (40%of cement) (ALITE)

• It is supposed to be the best cementing material and is well burnt cement.

• It renders the clinker easier to grind, increases resistance to freezing and thawing, hydrates rapidly generating high heat and
develops an early hardness and strength.

• Raising of C3S content beyond the specified limits increases the heat of hydration and solubility of cement in water.

• The hydrolysis of C3S is mainly responsible for 7 day strength and hardness.

• The rate of hydrolysis of C3S and the character of gel developed are the main causes of the hardness and early strength of
cement paste

• The heat of hydration is 500J/g.

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Cement - Bogue Compounds
Bogue Compounds

DICALCIUM SILICATE [2CaO·SiO2] [C2S] (32% OF CEMENT) (BELITE)

• It hydrates and hardens slowly and takes long time to add to the strength (after a year or more)..

• It imparts resistance to chemical attack.

• Raising of C2S content renders clinker harder to grind, reduces early strength, decreases resistance to freezing and
thawing at early ages and decreases heat of hydration.

• The hydrolysis of C2S proceeds slowly.

• At early ages, less than a month, C2S has little influence on strength and hardness.

• After one year, its contribution to the strength and hardness is proportionately almost equal to C3S.

• The heat of hydration is 260 J/g

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Cement - Bogue Compounds
Bogue Compounds

TETRACALCIUM ALUMINO FERRITE [4CaO·Al2O3·Fe2O3] [C4AF] (9%of cement) (FELITE)

• It is responsible for flash set but generates less heat.

• It has poorest cementing value.

• Raising the C4AF content reduces the strength slightly.

• The heat of hydration is 420 J/g.

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Hydration of Cement
• The chemical reaction between cement and water is known as hydration of cement.

• The reaction takes place between the active components of cement (C4AF, C3A, C3S and C2S) and water.

• The factors responsible for the physical properties of concrete are

➢ the extent of hydration of cement and

➢ the resultant microstructure of the hydrated cement.

• When the cement comes in contact with water, the hydration products start depositing on the outer periphery of the

nucleus of hydrated cement.

• This reaction proceeds slowly for 2-5 hours and is called induction or dormant period.

• As the hydration proceeds, the deposit of hydration products on the original cement grain makes the diffusion of

water to unhydrated nucleus more and more difficult, consequently reducing the rate of hydration with time.

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Hydration of Cement
Hydration of Cement - Formation of Calcium Silicate Hydrate Hydration of Cement- Formation of Calcium Sulfoaluminate

Hydration of Cement- Formation of Calcium Alumino Hydrate

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Hydration of Cement - Process

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Rate of Heat Evolution during Hydration

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Rate of Hydration
• The reaction of compound C3A with water is very fast and is responsible for flash setting of cement (stiffening without strength
development) and thus it will prevent the hydration of C3S and C2S.

• Calcium Sulphate (CaSO4) present in the clinker dissolves immediately in water and forms insoluble calcium sulphoaluminate.

• The amount of CaSO4 is adjusted to leave a little excess of C3A to hydrate directly . This membrane in the process breaks because of the
pressure of the compounds formed during hydration and then again C3A becomes active in the reaction

• The hardening of C3S can be said to be catalyzed by C3A and C3S becomes solely responsible for gain of strength up to 28 days by
growth and interlocking of C-S-H gel. The increase in strength at later age is due to hydration of C2S.

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Water Requirement for Hydration

• About an average 23 per cent (24 % C3S, 21% C2S) of water by weight of cement is required for complete hydration of
Portland cement.

• This water combines chemically with the cement compounds and is known as “bound water”.

• Some quantity of water, about 15 percent by weight of cement, is required to fill the cement gel pores and is known as
“gel water”.

• Therefore, a total of 38 per cent of water by weight of cement is required to complete the chemical reaction.

• If excess water is present, it will lead to capillary cavities.

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Manufacturing of Cement
• Calcareous and Argillaceous raw materials are used in the manufacture of Portland Cement.

• It is done in the following sequence of operation:

1. Mixing of raw materials

2. Burning

3. Grinding

• Cement can be manufactured either by

➢ dry process or

➢ wet process.

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Manufacturing of Cement - Dry Process
Dry Process

• The dry process is adopted when the raw materials are quite
hard. The process is slow and the product is costly.
• Limestone and clay are ground to fine powder separately and
are mixed.
• Water is added to make a thick paste. The cakes of this paste,
which contain about 14 per cent of moisture, are dried and are
charged into rotary kiln.
• The product obtained after calcination in rotary kiln is called
clinker.
• The clinker is cooled rapidly to preserve the metastable
compounds and their solid solutions dispersion of one solid in
another which are made as the clinker is heated.
• Clinker is then cooled and ground in tube mills.
Flow diagram of dry process

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Manufacturing of Cement - Dry Process
Dry Process - Flow diagram of dry process

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Manufacturing of Cement - Wet Process
Wet Process
• The operations in the wet process of cement manufacture
are mixing, burning and grinding.
• The crushed raw materials are fed into ball mill and a little
water is added.
• On operating the ball mill, the steel balls in it pulverize the
raw materials which form a slurry with water.
• This slurry is passed to silos (storage tanks), where the
proportioning of the compounds is adjusted to ensure
desired chemical composition.
• The corrected slurry having about 40 per cent moisture
content, is then fed into rotary kiln . where it loses moisture
and forms into lumps or nodules.
• These are finally burned at 1500-1600°C. The nodules
change to clinker at this temperature.
• Clinker is cooled and then ground in tube mills. While
grinding the clinker, about 3 per cent gypsum is added. The
cement is then stored in silos from where it is supplied. Flow diagram of wet process

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Manufacturing of Cement - Wet Process
Wet Process - Flow diagram of wet process

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Manufacturing of Cement – Comparison between Dry and Wet Process
Comparison between Dry and Wet Process

• The chief advantages of the wet process are the low cost of excavating and grinding raw materials, the accurate

control of composition and homogeneity of the slurry, and the economical utilization of fuel through the elimination of

separated drying operations.

• On the other hand the longer kilns, essential in the wet process, cost more and are less responsive to a variable clinker

demand than the short kilns which can be used in the dry process.

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