Portland Cement Essay, Research Paper

PORTLAND CEMENT

Chemical composition.

Portland Cement is made up of four main compounds: tricalcium silicate (3CaOSiO2), dicalcium silicate (2CaOSiO2), tricalcium aluminate (3CaOAl2O3), and a tetra-calcium aluminoferrite (4CaO Al2O3Fe2O3). In an abbreviated notation differing from the normal atomic symbols, these compounds are designated as C3S, C2S, C3A, and C4AF, where C stands for calcium oxide (lime), S for silica, A for alumina, and F for iron oxide. Small amounts of uncombined lime and magnesia also are present, along with alkalies and minor amounts of other elements

Hydration.

The most important hydraulic constituents are the calcium silicates, C2S and C3S. Upon mixing with water, the calcium silicates react with water molecules to form calcium silicate hydrate (3CaO 2SiO23H2O) and calcium hydroxide (Ca [OH] 2). These compounds are given the shorthand notations C-S-H (represented by the average formula C3S2H3) and CH, and the Hydration reaction can be crudely represented by the following reactions:

2C3S + 6H = C3S2H3 + 3CH

2C2S + 4H = C3S2H3 + CH

During the initial stage of hydration, the parent compounds dissolve, and the dissolution of their chemical bonds generates a significant amount of heat. Then, for reasons that are not fully understood, hydration comes to a stop. This quiescent, or dormant, period is extremely important in the placement of concrete. Without a dormant period there would be no cement trucks, pouring would have to be done immediately upon mixing.

Following the dormant period (which can last several hours), the cement begins to harden, as CH and C-S-H are produced. This is the cementitious material that binds cement and concrete together. As hydration proceeds, water and cement are continuously consumed. Fortunately, the C-S-H and CH products occupy almost the same volume as the original cement and water; volume is approximately conserved, and shrinkage is manageable.

Although the formulas above treat C-S-H as a specific stoichiometry, with the formula C3S2H3, it does not at all form an ordered structure of uniform composition. C-S-H is actually an amorphous gel with a highly variable stoichiometry. The ratio of C to S, for example, can range from 1:1 to 2:1, depending on mix design and curing conditions.

Structural properties.

The strength developed by portland cement depends on its composition and the fineness to which it is ground. The C3S is mainly responsible for the strength developed in the first week of hardening and the C2S for the subsequent increase in strength. The alumina and iron compounds that are present only in lesser amounts make little direct contribution to strength. Set cement and concrete can suffer deterioration from attack by some natural or artificial chemical agents. The alumina compound is the most vulnerable to chemical attack in soils containing sulfate salts or in seawater, while the iron compound and the two calcium silicates are more resistant. Calcium hydroxide released during the hydration of the calcium silicates is also vulnerable to attack. Because cement liberates heat when it hydrates, concrete placed in large masses, as in dams, can cause the temperature inside the mass to rise as much as 40 C (70 F) above the outside temperature. Subsequent cooling can be a cause of cracking. The highest heat of hydration is shown by C3A, followed in descending order by C3S, C4AF, and C2S.

Types of Portland cement.

Five types of portland cement are standardized in the United States by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM): I. Ordinary, II. Modified. III. High early strength, IV. Low heat, and V. sulfate-resistant. In other countries Type II is omitted, and Type III is called rapid-hardening. Type V is known in some European countries as Ferrari cement.

ASTM type and name Characteristics Applications

I. Ordinary No special requirements General construction (e.g. sidewalks)

II. Modified Moderate sulfate resistance, moderate heat hydration Draining systems, sea walls, floor slabs, foundations

III. High early strength Higher strength soon after pouring Cold weather constructions

IV. Low Heat Low heat hydration Massive structures (e.g. dam)

V. Sulfate resistant High sulfate resistance Foundations in high sulfate soils

Manufacture of Cement

There are four stages in the manufacture of portland cement: (1) crushing and grinding the raw materials, (2) blending the materials in the correct proportions, (3) burning the prepared mix in a kiln, and (4) grinding the burned product, known as “clinker,” together with some 5 percent of gypsum (to control the time of set of the cement). The three processes of manufacture are known as the wet, dry, and semidry processes and are so termed when the raw materials are ground wet and fed to the kiln as a slurry, ground dry and fed as a dry powder, or ground dry and then moistened to form nodules that are fed to the kiln.

Crushing and Grinding

All except soft materials are first crushed, often in two stages, and then ground, usually in a rotating, cylindrical ball, or tube mills containing a charge of steel grinding balls. This grinding is done wet or dry, depending on the process in use, but for dry grinding the raw materials first may need to be dried in cylindrical, rotary dryers.

Soft materials are broken down by vigorous stirring with water in wash mills, producing a fine slurry, which is passed through screens to remove oversize particles.

Blending

A first approximation of the chemical composition required for a particular cement is obtained by selective quarrying and control of the raw material fed to the crushing and grinding plant. Finer control is obtained by drawing material from two or more batches containing raw mixes of slightly different composition. In the dry process these mixes are stored in silos; slurry tanks are used in the wet process. Thorough mixing of the dry materials in the silos is ensured by agitation and vigorous circulation induced by compressed air. In the wet process the slurry tanks are stirred by mechanical means or compressed air or both. The slurry, which contains 35 to 45 percent water, is sometimes filtered, reducing the water content to 20 to 30 percent, and the filter cake is then fed to the kiln. This reduces the fuel consumption for burning.

Burning

The earliest kilns in which cement was burned in batches were bottle kilns, followed by chamber kilns and then by continuous shaft kilns. The shaft kiln in a modernized form is still used in some countries, but the dominant means of burning is the rotary kiln. These kilns–up to 200 metres (660 feet) long and six metres in diameter in wet process plants but shorter for the dry process–consist of a steel, cylindrical shell lined with refractory materials. They rotate slowly on an axis that is inclined a few degrees to the horizontal. The raw material feed, introduced at the upper end, moves slowly down the kiln to the lower, or firing, end. The fuel for firing may be pulverized coal, oil, or natural gas injected through a pipe. The temperature at the firing end ranges from about 1,350 to 1,550 C (2,460 to 2,820 F), depending on the raw materials being burned. Some form of heat exchanger is commonly incorporated at the back end of the kiln to increase heat transfer to the incoming raw materials and so reduce the heat lost in the waste gases. The burned product emerges from the kiln as small nodules of clinker. These pass into coolers, where the heat is transferred to incoming air and the product cooled. The clinker may be immediately ground to cement or stored in stockpiles for later use.

In the semidry process the raw materials, in the form of nodules containing 10 to 15 percent water, are fed onto a traveling chain grate before passing to the shorter rotary kiln. Hot gases coming from the kiln are sucked through the raw nodules on the grate, preheating the nodules.

Dust emission from cement kilns can be a serious nuisance. In populated areas it is usual and often compulsory to fit cyclone arrestors, bag-filter systems, or electrostatic dust precipitators between the kiln exit and the chimney stack.

Modern cement plants are equipped with elaborate instrumentation for control of the burning process. Raw materials in some plants are sampled automatically, and a computer calculates and controls the raw mix composition. The largest rotary kilns have outputs exceeding 5,000 tons per day.

Grinding

The clinker and the required amount of gypsum are ground to a fine powder in horizontal mills similar to those used for grinding the raw materials. The material may pass straight through the mill (open-circuit grinding), or coarser material may be separated from the ground product and returned to the mill for further grinding (closed-circuit grinding). Sometimes a small amount of a grinding aid is added to the feed material. For air-entraining cements the addition of an air-entraining agent is similarly made.

Finished cement is pumped pneumatically to storage silos from which it is drawn for packing in paper bags or for dispatch in bulk containers.