The History of Portland Cement
Portland cement was developed in England in the 19th century as a material to make concrete. The full name is Portland limestone cement because it resembled the stone quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, (England). The material was patented by Joseph Aspdin from Leeds in 1824, who cooked a mixture of finely ground limestone and clay in his kitchen stove and ground the resultant clinker to a powder. He called it Portland cement because when it hardened it looked like the stone quarried for making the harbor at Portland.
The invention of portland cement led to a large increase in buildings made from concrete, which is still a popular building material today. It opened up the possibility of constructing more durable buildings, bridges and roads which could be built with less skilled labor than was needed to cut, lay and shape stones. Portland cement is used for mortars (a mixture of sand, cement and water that sets hard), grouts (a mixture of cement and water used to fill gaps) and concrete (a mixture of sand, gravel, aggregate or broken stone, water and cement that sets hard).
The History Of Portland Cement
An informative short history of Portland Cement
Portland cement today, as in Aspdin’s day, is a pre-determined and carefully measured chemical combination of calcium, silica, iron and aluminium, blasted from limestone and clay quarries, crushed, sorted and proportioned to yield the correct chemical formula.
The chemical formula for Portland Cement was finally established in 1845 by Joseph Aspdin at his factory in Leeds, England. He called it ‘Portland Cement’ because it resembled a stone quarried on the Isle of Portland. The name stuck even though later chemical analyses showed that the cement did not resemble the original stone.
Portland cement is the common name for a type of hydraulic cement, the most common type used in building today. It is made by heating a mixture of limestone and clay until it almost fuses, then grinding it to a fine powder which hardens on contact with water. The name “Portland” came from the fact that when mixed with water and cured, it resembled Portland stone.
The first successful hydraulic cement was patented in 1796 by James Parker of Rotherham, England. In 1824 Joseph Aspdin invented a method of making what he called Portland cement that is similar to our modern product. Around 1840 Isaac Johnson further improved the process by introducing rotating kilns.
In 1866 William Aspdin discovered that heating finely ground limestone with clay and grinding the resulting clinker into a fine powder resulted in a product superior to ordinary Portland cement. This was the birth of modern Portland cement, which remains unchanged to this day.
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the early 19th century by Joseph Aspdin, and usually originates from limestone. It is a fine powder produced by heating materials in a kiln to form what is called clinker, grinding the clinker, and adding small amounts of other materials. Several types of Portland cement are available. The most common, called ordinary Portland cement (OPC), is grey, but white Portland cement is also available. Its name is derived from its similarity to Portland stone, a type of building stone quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England.
The European Standard EN 197-1 uses the following definition:
Portland cement clinker is a hydraulic material which shall consist of at least two-thirds by mass of calcium silicates (3 CaO · SiO2 and 2 CaO · SiO2), the remainder consisting of aluminium- and iron-containing clinker phases and other compounds. The ratio of CaO to SiO2 shall not be less than 2.0. The magnesium oxide content (Mg
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the mid 19th century, and usually originates from limestone. It is a fine powder, produced by heating limestone and clay minerals in a kiln to form clinker, grinding the clinker, and adding 2 to 3 percent of gypsum. Several types of Portland cement are available. The most common, called ordinary Portland cement (OPC), is grey, but white Portland cement is also available; it is made from raw materials containing little or no iron or manganese, which would otherwise give the dried cement a brownish color. Other cements include ultra-high-early strength varieties that set very quickly after mixing; rapid hardening cements that accelerate hydration; sulfate resistant cements that resist attack from sulfates in water or soil; low heat cements for large structures (to reduce heat of hydration); high alumina cements for resistance to chemical attack; colored cements for decorative applications; expansive cements for counteracting shrinkage and cracking; fast-setting cement for quick strength gains at early
Portland cement is a substance used in the creation of concrete. It’s a fine powder made from a mixture of elements that are found in natural materials such as limestone, clay, sand and/or shale. When mixed with water, it can be used to bind materials together to create concrete.
Concrete is one of the most widely used building materials worldwide due to its numerous advantages over other traditional building materials. Concrete is relatively inexpensive when compared to alternatives such as wood and asphalt, but perhaps the most important advantage of concrete is its durability.
In many cases, concrete can last for hundreds of years without needing major repairs or maintenance. This makes it an extremely cost-effective material for use in both residential and commercial construction projects. In addition, concrete has high fire resistance ratings and does not burn or ignite easily.