Types of cement and its uses
OPC (Ordinary Portland Cement)
PPC (Portland Pozzolona Cement)
PSC (Portland Slag Cement)
SRC (Super Rapid Hardening Cement)
HSRA (High Strength Rapid Hardening Cement)
White Cement
Low Heat Cement
High Alumina Cement.
Cement is a material that is used in construction. It is used as an adhesive or binder for masonry and concrete. The use of cement can be traced back to the Roman era but it was the Egyptians who used it in constructing the great pyramids.
Cement, when combined with sand, gravel and water, becomes concrete. Cement has a tendency to harden over time therefore making it very difficult to move or remove if set too soon. However, this property makes cement ideal for use as a glue or binder.
The main ingredients of cement are lime, silica and alumina which are found naturally on earth crust. These ingredients are then mixed together with small rocks and then heated up at a temperature of about 1500 degree Celsius to form clinkers. The clinkers are then ground into fine powder which is known as cement.
With rapid advancement in construction industry, the demand for cement has accelerated rapidly. Cement is a binding material that is used to bind other building materials together. There are several types of cement available in the market. Types of cement include ordinary Portland cement, pozzolona Portland cement and white Portland cement.
Portland cement was invented by Joseph Aspdin who called it as Portland Cement because of its resemblance to limestone found on Isle of Portland. This type of cement is one of the most common types of cement. It was first produced in 1824 and since then this cement has been extensively used by builders. This type of cement is made by mixing limestone, clay and iron ore together and then heating it at high temperature so that it forms pellets or clinkers which are ground together with gypsum to form fine powder.
OPC is available in three grades depending upon its strength. OPC 43 grade is used for RCC works, OPC 53 grade is used for plastering works and OPC 33 grade is used for general concrete works such as flooring, brickwork etc.
What is cement?
Cement is a fine powder that is made from limestone, clay, gypsum, and other materials. It will harden after mixing with water and can be used to bind other building materials together. It is also used in the production of mortar. The mixture of cement, sand, stone and water is known as concrete.
Concrete is one of the most used substances on earth and has a wide range of applications including roads, bridges, buildings, damns etc. It is a very important building material that is used in almost all types of construction projects be it a residential or commercial project. In fact, it can be said that almost all major forms of construction today cannot survive without the use of cement.
Cement is a key component of concrete, which is the most widely used construction material in the world. Concrete is a mixture of water, aggregates (gravels, sand), and cement. It’s a very versatile material that can be cast into any shape, used for paving surfaces, driveways, foundations and footings, as well as walls and slabs.
Concrete is also an integral part of many structures like dams and bridges. Cement is made by heating limestone with clay or shale to about 1400 °C at a kiln. It’s ground finely to form a powdery substance called ‘raw meal’. This raw meal is then put into a rotary kiln where it’s heated to temperatures between 1350-1550 °C using fuel like coal or natural gas.
The chemical composition of cement generally includes calcium oxide, silica and alumina. The different types of cements that are suitable for different applications include:
Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
Cement is a grey coloured inorganic powdery substance made by calcining lime and clay. It has excellent hydraulic binding properties and results in a very strong solid when mixed with sand, gravel, water and set. It is used in the construction of buildings, bridges, dams etc. Cement is a key ingredient for various construction materials like concrete, mortar etc.
Cement is manufactured through a closely controlled chemical combination of calcium, silicon, aluminium, iron and other ingredients. The most common way to manufacture Portland cement is through a dry method. A ball mill with rotating drum grinds the raw material into powdery form. The powdered cement is then conveyed to silos where it awaits shipment or packing into bags for retail sale.
The two basic types of cement production processes are the wet process and the dry process which are named after the manner in which the raw mix is introduced into the kiln. In the wet process the mix is introduced into the kiln as a slurry with 20-40% moisture.
The dry process requires much less fuel as the materials are already in a dry state whereas in the wet process additional energy is required to remove moisture from the raw materials. Therefore you may have an idea that producing cement through the dry process is more economical than
OPC stands for Ordinary Portland Cement. It is the most commonly used cement across the world, and it is used in ready-mix concrete, precast concrete, brick/block work, concrete masonry, paving stones and mortar. It has a high strength and durability which makes it an excellent binding material.
OPC is available in 3 grades depending on its compressive strength at 28 days:
OPC 33 grade – compressive strength at 28 days should not be less than 33 N/mm2
OPC 43 grade – compressive strength at 28 days should not be less than 43 N/mm2
OPC 53 grade – compressive strength at 28 days should not be less than 53 N/mm2