12 Different Types Of Cement

Cement

It is a binder which is widely used in construction for its property of setting up, hardening and binding the materials with each other.

In this articles we are going to learn Different types of cements.

Ordinary Portland Cement ( OPC)

The most widely used type of cement in construction industry, got its name from the physical property it shows of the colour of portland stone.

• Ordinary portland cement (OPC), comes in three types which are OPC Grade 33, 43 & 53. For now Grade 33 has been stopped and is not available in the market. 

These grades are are determined on the basis of :- A cement mortar is taken with a cement ratio of 1:3, having a cube size of 7.07 cm consisting of a surface area of 50 sq.cm . Testing the compressive strength of the cube after 28 days, it should not give compressive strength of less than 33 N/mm2 for Grade 33 so as same for Grade 43 & 53.

• These Ordinary Portland Cement shows satisfactory resistance to dry shrinkage and the crackings.
• They tends to show less resistance to the chemical attacks in ordinary portland cements, therefore it should now be used in the area of soil or with water containing sulphates.
• In Sieve method test, they should not remain more than 10% of the quantity.
• To know more about OPC you can Click Here

Pozzolona Cement (PPC)

• They are the integrated mixture of Ordinary Portland cement and Pozzolona's. The ratio consist of 70% of OPC and 30% of PPC. The integration or mix is achieved by uniformly blending of both the materials with addition of gypsum etc. 
• Pozzolona's are generally siliceous materials which contains clay upto 80% .
• Different Pozzolona materials are Fly Ash, Volcanic Ash, GGBS etc.
• PPC's are widely used in hydraulic structures such as weirs, dams etc.
• In sieve method test it should not remain 5% of the total quantity.

Rapid Hardening Portlant Cement.

Rapid hardening cement is widely used in the areas where early strength of concrete is required. The requirements can vary on the use of it such as repairing works, cold weather concreting where due to cold weather setting of concrete is hard to achieve or on the places where we have to remove the Formwork early.

• They have capacity to achieve same strength of concrete in 3 Days compared to the 7 Days of concrete by ordinary portland cement (OPC) with the same w/c ratio.
• They have high % of C₃S ( tri-calcium silicate) which have property of hydrating with water rapidly, making water react with cement faster and hardening. And have Low % of  (di-calcium silicate) C₂S .
• Rapid Hardening cements are not been used in mass concreting due to the excess heat of hydration of the cement because of the excess amount of tri-calcium silicate. The excess heat will result in generating cracks inside the concrete, making the concrete weak.

Sulphate Resistant Cement

The sulphate resistance cement is used in the areas where there are high chance of getting suphate attack, or the areas having high content of sulphate such as in soil, which may degrade the concrete lowering its durability.

To attain the resistance to sulphate we limit the quantity of tri-calcium silicate to less than 5% and 2C₃A + C₄AF to less than 25%. since

Calcium sulphates + tri-calcicum aluminate = Cause detoriation to concrete

They are majorly used in 

• Marine conditions, Culverts, Canals etc
• Sewage treatment works as sewer pipes etc
• Basements and foundations.

Low Heat Portland Cement

These are widely used for the areas in mass concreting or very hot areas, due to its property of generating low heat of hydration. The low heat of hydration is achieved by lowering the amount of tri-calcium silicate and tr-calcium aluminate. They have high amount of Di-calcium silicate which helps in achieving resistance to sulpher attacks.

Due to its low heat of hydration and more setting time, they are widely used in

• Mass concreting
• Dams.
• High temperature weather areas.

High Alumina Cement

They are rapid hardening cement which are prepared by a mix of bauxite and lime, been grinded with clinkers. They have high amount of alumina content of about 35% to 40% which leads in creating high compressive and ultimate strength of the concrete as compared to ordinary portland cement (OPC).

This Concrete is used in areas as

• Chemical plants and Sea water.
• High temperature areas like Chimneys, Kilns, Furnaces etc.

Blast Furnace Slag Cement

These blast furnace slag cements are mixture of the portland cement and around 60% of the slag. The slag includes GGBS,  Fly ash etc. Due to the mix of slag in cement, it makes the cement cheaper and economical. The cement generates less heat of hydration resulting to be useful in mass concreting and shows alot similiar properties to the ordinary portland cement.

• They are useful in mass concreting.
• Alkalines are present in this cement due to which efflorescence is observed.

Hydrophobic Cement

In the process of grinding clinkers, the water repellent chemicals are added to the OPC making it Hydrophobic cement. The cement shows the property of repelling water, therefore they are unaffected in monsoon seasons whereas they are even unaffected for the transportation of cement in rainy days.

The cement possess high strength.

They are mostly used in the areas's such as

• Dams
• Water retaining structures.

Coloured Cement

The cement is prepared by adding colour pigments. Before the application of cement to the ground or the work area, 5-15% of colour pigments are added to the cement which makes the cement coloured and this coloured cement is also known as 'Colocrete'. The cement is widely used for decorative purposes such as finishing of floors, outer or external surfaces etc.

White Cement

The Low amount of iron oxide in ordinary cement helps in maintain the white colour. Lime stone and china clay are used as main raw materials in this cement. They possess the same property as OPC but are considerably expensive compared to portland cement. 

• Used of interior and exterior decorative.
• Can be used in Gardens , Swimming pools, flooring etc.

Waterproof Portland Cement

The cement is manufactured by the mix of clinkers with small percentage of Calcium, aluminium etc at the time of grinding and than been mixed with ordinary or rapid hardening cement. The cement is widely been used in the area where there can be effect of water such as tanks, Pools, Reservoirs etc.

EXPANSIVE CEMENT

The cement is manufactured by a combination mix of sulphoaluminate and stablizers of about 15%  to the ordinary cement. The cement tends to show expansion property in which even after getting set, the cement dose not shrink but shows a slight expansion nature. They are majorly used in grouting, anchoring bolts, pre-stressed ducts etc.