Portland Cement
By definition —
a hydraulic cement
produced by pulverizing
clinker consisting
essentially of hydraulic
calcium silicates, usually
containing one or more of
the forms of calcium
sulfateas an interground
addition
Source: PCA, 2003
Raw Materials Necessary for
Portland Cement Manufacture
Must Provide the Following
Calcium
Silica
Alumina
Iron
Traditional Manufacture of
Portland Cement
1. Stone is first reduced to 125 mm (5 in.)
size, then to 20 mm (3/4 in.), and stored.
Source: PCA, 2003
2.Raw materials are ground to powder and blended.
or
2. Raw materials are ground, mixed with water to form slurry,
and blended.
Source: PCA, 2003
3.Burning changes raw mix chemically into cement clinker.
Source: PCA, 2003
Source: Mindess, Young, and Darwin, 2004
Source: Mindess, Young, & Darwin, 2004
3.Burning changes raw mix chemically into clinker. Note
four stage preheater, flash furnaces, and shorter kiln.
Source: PCA, 2003
Pyro-
Processing
Source: PCA, 2003
4. Clinker is ground with gypsum into portland cement and
shipped.
Source: PCA, 2003
Clinker Gypsum
Source: PCA, 2003
Grinding
Clinker is ground with
gypsum (calcium sulfate) to
produce portland cement
Fine grinding is necessary
for high early strength
–85-95% -325 mesh (45
microns)
–~ 7 trillion particles per
pound
Gypsum absorbs water and
prevents setting of C
3A
during shipment
Source: van Oss and Padovani, 2002
Process of Clinker Production
Source: PCA, 2003
Source: PCA, 2003
Source: PCA, 2003
Source: Taylor, 1997
Source: MacLaren and White, 2003
Source: MacLaren and White, 2003
Clinker Phases
Alite or3CaO•SiO
2orC
3S
–Hydrates & hardens quickly
–High early strength
–Higher heat of hydration
(setting)
Belite or2CaO• SiO
2orC
2S
–Hydrates & hardens slower
than alite
–Gives off less heat
–High late strength (> 7 days)
Modern cements are
manufactured to be higher in
alite for early strength
Clinker Phases
Aluminate or3CaO• Al
2O
3
orC
3A
–Very high heat of hydration
–Some contribution to early
strength
–Low C
3A for sulfate
resistance
Ferriteor4CaO• Al
2O
3 •
Fe
2O
3orC
4AF
–Little contribution to strength
–Lowers clinkering
temperature
–Controls the color of cement
Microscopic Images of Clinker
Microscopic Images of Clinker
Alite
Microscopic Images of Clinker
Belite
Microscopic Images of Clinker
Aluminate
Microscopic Images of Clinker
Ferrite
Types of Portland Cement
INormal
IIModerate sulfate resistance
IIIHigh early strength
IVLow heat of hydration
VHigh sulfate resistance
ASTM C150 (AASHTO M 85)