Types of Cement and Their Common Uses in Construction

Cement is a coarse, grey powder consisting of calcium carbonate and clay. Concrete and plasters can be made by combining water, grit, or pebbles. Cement is just a component of concrete and not the finished article, but it is a crucial component of household and business architectural projects. It is essential since it maintains the concrete mixture and gives it strength by binding it.

Cement: composition

When cement substances are immersed in water, a mechanism causes hydration, creating tiny granules or a gel-like condition with an enormous surface expanse. It further causes setting and hardening. The following elements are combined chemically under controlled propositions to make cement:

• Calcium
• Silicon
• Aluminium
• Iron
• Limestone
• Shells
• Chalk
• Marl combined with shale
• Clay
• Slate
• Blast furnace slag
• Silica sand
• Iron ore

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Types of cement and their uses

Ordinary portland cement 

One of the most influential and popular forms of cement in the building sector is OPC. It is a type of cement widely used worldwide as a fundamental component of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-speciality grout. In the early stages, it is more potent than PPC. The tensile capacity of the cement, which is evaluated after 28 days, determines the grade of the adhesive. Ordinary portland cement can be divided primarily into three categories.

Uses

• Pavements, sidewalks, reinforced concrete buildings, bridges, railings, tanks, and reservoirs are all constructed using it.
• OPC is a top-notch building substance that strengthens structural parts because of its solid binding capabilities.
• The majority of concrete masonry units use it.

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Air entraining cement

When the clinker is being ground, local air-entraining agents, such as resins, glues, sodium salts of sulphates, etc., are added to create air-entraining cement. For resistance to freeze-thaw, air-entraining concrete is primarily used. This cement is particularly well suited to enhancing concrete’s frost resistance and workability with less water and cement.

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Uses

• During mixing, air-entraining admixtures help concrete produce a system of microscopic air bubbles.
• They give the water the necessary room to expand, preventing the concrete from rupturing. 
• They improve workability, resistance to scaling brought on by deicing agents, and freeze-thaw resistance of concrete. 
• In the case of a freeze event, the air spaces serve as pressure relief locations.

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High alumina cement

During the OPC production process, bauxite, chalk, and lime are combined with clinker and calcined to produce high alumina cement. HAC has a solid ability to withstand fire and entirely withstand acid and sulphate attacks. An adhesive must contain at least 32% of its total weight in alumina and maintain a weight-to-lime ratio of 0.85 to 1.30 to qualify as high alumina cement.

Uses

• Refractory concrete is used most frequently in durable high-temperature structures like workshops, furnaces, boilers, kilns, chimneys, and foundries.
• It can be utilised to build a storage yard or a chemical facility.
• Underwater construction employs high alumina cement.

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Portland pozzolana cement (PPC)

Pozzolans are substances, either natural or artificial, that have reactive forms of silica. When finely divided, it combines with the calcium hydroxide created by hydrating cement to produce different cementation materials. It is an integrated cement made by synthesising OPC cement in a particular ratio with pozzolanic ingredients. OPC clinker, gypsum, and pozzolanic ingredients such as fly ash, volcanic ash, calcined clay, and silica fumes are all components of PPC cement.

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Uses

• PPC is frequently used in the construction of dams, maritime structures, and hydraulic structures.
• Additionally, it is utilised in pre- and post-tensioned concrete members.
• It is utilised in decorative and artistic systems because it provides a better surface polish.
• Additionally, it is employed in the production of precast sewage pipes.

Low-heat cement

Low-heat cement has a reduced hydration rate and consumes less water during mixing and setting processes. It is specifically formulated to reduce the hydration heat of concrete. This form of cement is created from the same components as portland cement but with slightly different proportions: it contains less tricalcium illuminate (5% less) and more dicalcium silicate (approximately 46% more).

Uses

• Chemical industries frequently use it for floors and surfaces because of its excellent chemical corrosion resistance.
• It is utilised in mass concrete constructions where the risk of thermal cracking is reduced by controlling the pace of temperature rise and the highest temperature obtained.
• This cement is utilised in dams, the feet of wind turbines, as well as massive footings and raft slabs of concrete because of its great strength and resistance to wear and breakage.

Oil-well cement

Oil-well cement is a special cement used to fill in the gaps between steel casing and sedimentary rock strata in oil wells that have been dug to look for oil. This cement stops sulphur fumes, dissolved salts in water, and oil or gas from escaping the oil well. It offers a top-notch casing, ensuring the wellbore’s long-term durability. Oil-well cement is given all its qualities by combining cement compound composition with delaying agents such as starches, cellulose materials, or acids.

Uses

• When drilling oil wells, when high temperatures and pressures are present, it is utilised to cement the work.
• It provides the casing with support and corrosion protection.
• It separates the well’s water, gas, and oil-producing regions.

White cement

Among other things, cement is used to fix marble tile, roofing, and flooring. Additionally, the product combines various substrates to create wall skirting and floor sheathing. It is used to decorate the interior and outside of things like face slabs and ornamental concrete goods. Although white, its chemical makeup is identical to ordinary portland cement. The primary usage of white material is to improve the structure’s outside decoration and decorative value.

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Uses

• It is used to sheath walls, floors, and roofs and restore marble tiles.
• They are frequently employed to create cast stones with attractive appearances.
• Precast parts and components are also produced using a lot of white cement.
• White concrete is made for premium infrastructure ventures and ornamental work. It is done using white supplementary cementitious materials and white agglomerates.

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Expansive cement

A form of cement called expansive cement dries with no change in volume. Additionally, this kind of cement does not contract as it dries. The modest contraction when new concrete dries for the first time is partially mitigated by the expansion that occurs when expanding and non-shrinking blocks of cement hydrate. It creates a paste when combined with water that develops in volume after setting more than portland-cement paste does. Sulfoaluminate clinker is often mixed with portland cement and stabiliser.

Uses

• It is generally utilised to reduce cracking by drying shrinkage in concrete pavement and slab structures and in unique situations like stopping water leaks.
• Compressibility considerably affects durability, this cement is utilised to grout rebars, machinery underpinnings, and shear wall ducting.
• It is employed in the building of water-retentive buildings as well as in the restoration of damaged concrete surfaces.

Hydraulic cement

The IL, IS, IP, and IT forms of hydraulic cement are prime examples of hydrophobic types of cement. They are used in underwater and waterproofing structural applications because they are impervious to water and are set up quickly. The specialised admixtures are applied to concrete constructions to block and seal water or fluid leaks. It hardens after mixing with water and is also quite strong and resistant to rust and corrosion—hydraulic cement struggles in cooler climates.

Uses

• It is perfect for interior and exterior applications to block water seepage through flaws and cracks in masonry, concrete dams, and pool structures.
• It may fill and smooth over cracks in floors and basements and is utilised on a lesser scale for house, building, and structural repairs.
• To “glue” together masonry materials like brick, stone, or concrete blocks, hydraulic cement alone is typically employed as mortar.

Rapid hardening cement

Compared to regular cement, concrete made with special-purpose adhesive develops its strength more quickly. When OPC has a higher concentration of finely ground tri-calcium silicate (C3S), it builds strength more rapidly than OPC. Rapid hardening cement is the name given to this kind of OPC. It has a 30-minute initial setting time and a 600-minute final setting time. RHPC’s better early performance is primarily made possible by increased product fineness.

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Uses

• Because it provides high strength, rapid hardening cement is typically utilised where a speedy building is required, such as pavement construction.
• Road pavements, for example, use rapid-hardening cement to enable early traffic opening.
• Because the quick generation of heat during hydration prevents the concrete from freezing, it is utilised for cold weather concreting.
• In colder regions, it also produces precast concrete slabs, posts, and electric poles.

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Quick setting cement

Quick-setting cement, which sets more quickly than OPC but maintains the same strength, is also offered by cement providers in Malaysia. The amount of gypsum in this formula is decreased. The cement setting time is sped up by grinding the cement clinkers with aluminium sulphate. It is one of the cement types utilised in specific building situations, such as those with flowing water, where the first setting takes place in 5 minutes, and the complete environment occurs in 30 minutes.

Uses

• This cement is employed in the rapid setting for constructions that require a quick background, such as underwater structures and in chilly and rainy climates.
• For mining and tunnelling, it is used for anchoring or rock bolting.
• It is necessary for repairing concrete with a quick setting cement. Perfect for fixing cracked edges on concrete curbs and steps.
• Quick-setting cement is necessary to fasten rock bolts in the tunnel and all underground activities.

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FAQs

Which type of cement is ideal for quick construction?

For projects that must be completed quickly and where the contractor must attain initial strength quickly, OPC 53 Grade cement is employed. Compared to 43-grade cement, 53-grade OPC sets up more quickly.

How do blended blocks of cement work?

Different fine materials are grounded or blended to create blended hydraulic cement. It is combined with additional cementitious elements added at the concrete factory.

What exactly does setting time entail?

After mixing, the chemical reaction between the water and cement continues, stiffening the paste as it solidifies. The setting time refers to the initial stage of hardening.