CEMENT
AND IT’S ROLE IN CONCRETE
Cement is the most important engineering
(Gypsum) which govern the properties of the
material, which is used in most of the civil
cement concrete.
engineering works all around the world. Every
Civil Engineer has to understand the nature of
cement to make a good cement concrete
which is the backbone of almost all the civil
engineering works. Every civil engineer is
taught about the cement in their academic
curriculum and it is one of the most widely
used research topics all around the world.
Cement has only two desirable qualities in
general i.e. a cement paste is formed when
water is added to it, and this paste sticks with
the other materials which are mixed with it.
The second quality is that the cement paste
starts drying or sets after some time and
becomes a solid mass with a specific strength
in the shape of the mould in which the paste
Cement is manufactured mainly from CaO,
was placed. The above two general qualities
SiO2, Al2O3, MgO, Fe2O3 and Alkalis as raw
depend upon the qualities of the main
materials, in different percentages to make
components of the cement.
different types of cements available in the
market, e.g. OPC Cement, PPC Cement, High
Alumina Cement, etc. The main components
of the cement after manufacturing are C3S
(Tricalcium Silicate), C2S (Dicalcium Silicate),
C3 A
(Tricalcium
(Tetracalcium
Aluminate),
alumina-ferrite)
and
C4AF
CaSO4
Formation of cement components
To understand the properties of these main
components, we have to start from their origin.
When the raw materials are fed to heat at
1400 to 1450ºC, the raw materials start
melting and react with each other to form the