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Cement Strength

This document discusses factors that can affect the variability of cement strength over 28 days and provides recommendations to control them. Key factors include sampling and testing procedures, clinker quality and consistency, gypsum and mineral filler addition rates and quality, cement fineness and particle size distribution, mill exit temperature, and grinding aid usage. Maintaining tight control over these factors through regular monitoring and testing can help minimize cement strength variability.

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Syed Kazam Raza
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115 views

Cement Strength

This document discusses factors that can affect the variability of cement strength over 28 days and provides recommendations to control them. Key factors include sampling and testing procedures, clinker quality and consistency, gypsum and mineral filler addition rates and quality, cement fineness and particle size distribution, mill exit temperature, and grinding aid usage. Maintaining tight control over these factors through regular monitoring and testing can help minimize cement strength variability.

Uploaded by

Syed Kazam Raza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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28-DAY STRENGTH

To control cement strength variability, the main items to look at are;-

1. Sampling.
2. Testing.
3. Clinker quality (proportion of main clinker minerals and their reactivity,  free lime, LOI, alkali sulphate, use of
AFRs and physical state eg. weathering, hardness).
4. Gypsum addition/quality.
5. Limestone or other mineral filler addition/quality.
6. Cement fineness/ particle size distribution.
7. Mill exit temperature (gypsum dehydration).
8. Grinding aid usage.

1. Sampling.
Samples should preferably be taken from the despatch silo(s) by automatic sampler. Manual sampling can
introduce variability due to human error, or due to inadequacies in the manual sampling location or variability in
the procedure.

2. Testing.
Strength testing variability should be minimised and measured by regular testing of a bulk cement reference
sample. Preferably this bulk sample should also be tested by other cement laboratories as well. Of course such a
bulk cement sample needs to be very well mixed and once homogenised it must be representatively split into 20kg
samples kept in airtight buckets. The bulk sample only needs to be sufficient to last for 6-12 months, or whatever
you determine is the acceptable lifetime of the sample based on long-term testing results ( ie acceptable range of
testing parameter drift) Cement physical testing is often highly operator dependent, so an experienced, consistent
operator is always preferred.

3. Clinker Quality.
Clinker quality variability (both chemical and physical) can significantly affect cement strength variability, 
particularly the following parameters;-

(a)  Proportion of main clinker minerals, C3S, C2S, C3A and C4AF.

The proportion of C3S has a strong effect on early strength (0-28d) while the proportion of C2S mostly affects late
strength development (>28d).  C3A controls setting time but does not have a large influence on strengths. C4AF
has little or no affect on strength. The variability of the quantities of these minerals should be minimised by
controlling the variability of kiln feed chemistry (LSF, SR, AR), coal quality (ash content, specific energy and ash
chemistry) and kiln operation (ie. free lime control).

(b)  Reactivity of the clinker minerals.


Reactivity refers to the speed of hydration of the major clinker minerals, which can be influenced by;-

 degree of burning (mineral crystal size and reduced mineral reactivity due to over-burning.)
 presence of trace elements incorporated within the minerals' crystal matrix (eg, Fluoride, sulphur, alkalis)
Reactivity variations can be minimised by controlling the amount of trace elements present in the raw
materials/fuels and waste materials and controlling the burning zone temperature and burning zone residence
time (kiln rotational speed and feed rate)

(c)  Free Lime.

Free lime is a measure of burning degree, which in turn determines the quantity of clinker minerals produced and
their crystal sizes and reactivity. So, control of clinker free lime between 1% and 2% will reduce the variability in
cement performance caused by inconsistent burning..

(d)  Weathered Clinker.


The use of weathered clinker (stored outside exposed to the weather) should be avoided because part of its clinker
minerals will have become pre-hydrated over time, losing some of their reactivity. This will introduce significant
variability in cement strengths unless costly and elaborate steps are taken to control the amount of weathered
clinker used depending on its quality (LOI) and adjusting the milled cement fineness and/or limestone filler content
accordingly.

4. Gypsum addition/quality.
Gypsum addition rate should be controlled by hourly measurement of the SO3 content of the cement. Cement SO3
should be controlled to better than +/- 0.3%.  Gypsum quality should also be controlled because large, sudden
changes in gypsum quality will increase SO3 variability, by the time it is noticed in the SO3 testing. And the
problem rectified.

5. Limestone or other mineral filler addition/quality.


Limestone addition rate should be controlled by hourly measurement of the LOI content of the cement. Cement
LOI should be controlled to better than +/- 0.5%.  Limestone quality should also be controlled because large,
sudden changes in CaCO3 content will increase LOI variability by the time it is noticed in the LOI testing. And the
problem rectified. Variations in limestone content affect the clinker mineral content and hence contribute to
cement strength variability.

6. Cement fineness/ particle size distribution.


Cement fineness affects not only strengths but also setting times and workability (eg bleed).  Controlling the
cement fineness and particle size distribution (PSD) will reduce cement strength variability significantly. Fineness
can be determined by +45um (or +32um) sieve residue test or by surface area determination (or both). Sieve
residue should be controlled to better than +/- 1% while surface area should be controlled to +/- 20 m2/kg.   Some
plants also regularly measure their cement PSD and react to changes in this parameter (eg adjust ball charge,
separator/mill internals maintenance etc)

7. Mill exit temperature (gypsum dehydration).


The heat generated in the cement mill will normally partly dehydrate the gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O) to hemihydrate
(CaSO4.0.5H2O) and anhydrite (CaSO4) which are both more soluble than gypsum and therefore allow better
control of cement setting time.  The degree of gypsum dehydration that occurs in the mill is dependant of the mill
exit (gas) temperature (ideally 110-120 deg C)  Since fresh silo clinker is generally 90-110 deg C and heat is
generated in the mill by friction, the mill exit temperature is usually controlled by using internal water sprays.
However if cold clinker is used, the mill exit temperature may not be hot enough to suitably dehydrate the
gypsum, resulting in 'flash set'. Flash set can also interfere with the hydration of C3S and C2S which will also
increase cement strength variability.

8. Grinding aid usage.


Use of grinding aids may influence production rate, PSD and/or cement hydration properties (so called enhancing
grind aids). Therefore if grinding aids are used their usage rate must be carefully measured and controlled to
prevent introducing a variability in cement performance .

 MgO will appear as the mineral periclase. If the particle size of this periclase is large, this could result in an
increase of the expansion of the cement, causing unsoundness

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