CementTes

t
CementTes t
s ar
eperf
ormedtoknow the 
str
ength 
and 
char
acter
ist
ic
proper
ties ofcement
.Vari
ousTestoncementisknownnowadaystocheck
the 
qualit
yofcement .

Toknowt he 
properti
esofcement  
suchas 
specif
icgravit
y,st
rengt
h,
fi
neness
,consist
ency, et
c.vari
ous 
Cement Tes
tingMet hods
 areused.
Test
ingofmat er
ial
sisessenti
albef
oreuseinconstr
uctionwork.

Tes
tonCement
Thef
oll
owi
ngt
estoncementi
nthel
abor
ator
y,

1.Fi
nenes s TestofCement
2.Consistency TestofCement
3.Sett
ingTi me TestofCement
4.Soundnes s
 TestofCement
5.HeatofHydr ati
on Test
6.Specif
icGr avit
yTes tofCement
7.Tensil
eSt rength Test
8.Chemi calCompos i
ti
on Tes
t

1
. 
Finenes
sonCement
The f
inenessofcement  
isameas ur
eofcementpart
icl
esi
zeandisdenot
ed
astermsofthes peci
fi
csur f
aceareaof 
cement
. 
The 
Test 
isdonebysi
evi
ng
cements amplethrough 
s t
andardISsi
eve.
 

Thewei
ghtcementparti
clewhoses
izegr
eatert
han 90mi
crons 
is
det
ermi
nedandthepercentageoft
heret
ainedpar
ticl
ear
ecalcul
ated.
Thi
s
i
sknownasthe 
Finenes
sofcement.

Appar
atus
 Fi
nenes
sTes
t
Appar
atus
 90µm I
SSieve
 WeightBalance 
havingacapaci
tyof1
0mgt
o100g
 Nylonorpurebri
stl
ebr us
h
I
SCode

Det
erminingthe f
inenessofcement
 byus
inga90µm I
Ssi
evei
sdoneas
per
 I
S 4031(Part1)–1996.

Res
ult
 

The s
tandardvalueoffi
nenes
sofcement
 shoul
dhavef
inenes
sles
s
than 
10% orfi
nenessshoul
dnotbemorethan 
10%asperIS
Recommendat i
ons.

ReadMor
e: 
WhatI
sFi
nenes
sofCement|Fi
nenes
sTes
tofCement

2.St
andar
dCons
ist
encyTes
t
The 
standar
dconsis
tencyofcement
 pas
tei
sdefi
nedast he 
per
centageof
wateraddedIn300gm wei
ghtofcementwhichwil
lper
mi taVi
catplunger
havi
ng50mm l engt
hand1 0mm di
ametert
openet
rat
eincementpas
tet
o
adepthof33-
35mm f r
om t
hetopofthemol
d

Vi
catAppar
atus
Appar
atus

 Vi
catappar atus
 Balance
 GaugingTr owel
 StopWat ch, etc.
I
SCode

Consi
stencyTes
tofCementI
SCodes–
 I
S:551
3-1
976, 
IS:4031(Par
t4)–
1988

Res
ult
Thest
andar
dcons
ist
encyofcement
 pas
tegener
all
yvar
iesbet
ween 
25-
35%.

3.I
nit
ialandFi
nalSet
tingTi
meOfCement
 Tes
t
I
nit
ialSetti
ngTime givesanideaabouthow fastcementcanst
artlos
ing
i
ts 
plasti
cit
y andthe 
finals
etti
ngtimeofcement  
givesani
deaabouthow
muchTi mecementt akestolosei
tsful
lpl
ast
icit
yandgai nsomestr
ength
t
o resi
stpressure.

I
nit
ialSett
ingTimeofCement:
 I
tist
he t
imeel
aps
ed bet
weent
hemoments
t
hatthe waterisaddedt
othecement,t
othet
imethatt
hepas
te 
star
ts
l
osi
ngi t
splast
icit
y.

FinalSetti
ngTimeofCement :
 I
t 
ist he 
ti
meel apsed betweenthemoment
the waterisaddedtothecement andt hetimewhen  cementpastelos
esits
plasti
cit
y complet
elyandhasattaineds uf
fi
cientfi
rmnes st
oresi
stcert
ain
defini
tepr es
sure.
 

I
nit
ialAndFi
nalSet
tingTi
meofCementTes
t
I
SCode
AsPer
  
IS:4031(Par
t5)–1
988.
  
Theini
ti
alandfi
nalsett
ingt
imeofcementi
s
cal
cul
atedusingtheVI
CATapparat
usconfor
mingto I
S:551
3–1976.

Appar
atus

 Balance 
 VicatApparatus 
 StopWat ch
 GaugingorMi xi
ngTr
owel
 GlassPlat
e
 EnamelTr ay
Resul
t

Asperstandar
ds,t
heini
ti
alsett
ingt
imeofcements
houldbel
essthan 
30
minforOPCcement .
Whereas,i
tshoul
dnotbemorethan 
600minforOPC
cement.

ReadMor
e: 
Ini
ti
alandFinalSet
tingTi
meofCementTes
t|I
nit
ialSet
ting
Ti
meofCement|FinalSet
tingTi
meofCement

4.Soundnes
sTes
tofCement
 
The 
soundnes
sofcement 
indi
catest
he 
stabi
li
tyofanycement
 dur
ing
the 
vol
umechange i
ntheproces
sof 
set
tingandhardeni
ng.

I
ncas ethevol umechangeincementis unst
ableaftersetti
ng 
and
hardening,theconcr
eteel
ementwi l
lcrack,whichcan aff
ectthequal
ityof
thestr
uct ur
e orevencaus
es er
iousaccident
s,knownas  poordi
mensional
stabi
li
ty.
 Soundnes
s
Tes
tAppar
atus(
Le-
Chat
eli
er)
Appar
atus

1.Le-Chatel
iermol
d
2.Cement
3.Glasssheets
4.Mixingpan
5.Trowel
6.Wight
I
SCode

I
SCodef
ors
oundnes
stes
tofcementi
s 
IS:
 4031
-Par
t3-
1988

Res
ult

Thesoundnes
s calcul
ated 
L1–L2 
fort
hetypesofcementOr
dinar
yorOPC,
Rapi
d,LowHeat ,PPC,andHighal
umina 
cementshoul
dnotExceeds
 10mm.

5.HeatOfHydr
ati
onTes
t
Duringthe 
Curi
ngofConcrete,
 Hydr
o-thermalReact
ion 
takesplace,
res
ul t
ingi
ntheproduct
ionofheatbecauseof 
chemicalr
eactions.Ther
ise
ofheatinconcr
etecoul
dbeashi ghas 50C.
o
Henceinordertor
educesuchheat,
 l
ow heatcementisused.
Thet
esti
s
car
riedoutusi
nga cal
ori
meter
 usi
ngthe pr
inci
pleofheatgai
n.

Cal
ori
met
er
Appar
atus

Calor
imeter,ins
ulat
edwoodcas e,
 t
her
momet erplushol
der,
 vacuum j
ar
withstopper,gl
assfunnel
,st
irr
ingpaddle,andchuck 
aretheapparat
us
requi
redforthetest
.

I
SCode

I
S4031
-1968 
isr
ecommendedf
ort
est
ingt
heheatofhydr
ati
onof
 Cement
. 

Res
ult
I
thasbeenStandardis
edthatt
helow heatcements
houldnotgeneratethe
heatof
 65Calor
ies
 pergr
am ofcementin 
7days 
and 75Cal
ori
es pergram
fort
hedurat
ionof 
28days.

 
6.Speci
fi
cGr
avi
tyTes
tOnCement
 
The speci
fi
cgravi
tyofcement i
sdefi
nedasthe 
mas sofcement
 of
speci
fi
edvolumetot he 
massofwateroft
hes amevolumeofcement.
 I
t
canalsobedefi
ned asthedensi
tyofcementtothedensi
tyofwaterf
or
thesamevolume.

Speci
fi
cGr
avi
tyTes
tAppar
atus
Appar
atus

1.LeChater
li
er”sf
lask
2.Weighi
ngbalance
3.Ker
osene 
(fr
eefrom wat
er)
.
I
SCode

I
S code 
for
 Speci
fi
cGr
avi
ty 
Tes
tis
 IS2720-Par
t3

Res
ult
s
The 
Specif
icGravit
yofCement 
is
 1440kg/
m3.Aroundthisval
ue,the
Speci
fi
cGr avi
tyofCementi
sConsider
edtobe 
standar
d andsuit
ablefor
const
ruct
ion.

ReadMor
e: 
Speci
fi
cGr
avi
tyofCement|Speci
fi
cGr
avi
tyTes
tonCement

7.Tens
ileSt
rengt
hTes
t
The Tens
ileStr
engthofCement 
ist
hemaximum l
oadt
hatcementinits
hardeneds t
atecanwit
hstandwi
thoutf
ract
urewhent
ensi
onisappli
ed.

I
tisnecessarytotestthe t
ens i
lestrength 
ofcement
or 
concrete 
because concrete s
tructuresarehi
ghlyprone
to 
tensi
le 
cracki
ng duet ovarious ki
ndsofload appli
ed.Ascompar
es
to 
Compr essi
veStrength Tensil
es tr
engthisverylow.

Tes
ting
Machi
ne
Appar
atus

 Tes t
ingMachi
ne
 Tampi ngRod
 Co ncret
eMould
 Trowel
I
SCode

IS:
4562000 
givest
hef
ormul
aforcal
cul
ati
ngt
het
ens
il
est
rengt
hof
concr
ete.

Res
ult

TheTens
il
eSt
rengt
hofCementi
sbet
ween 
3-5MPa 
i.
e 300–700ps
i.

8.
 Chemi
calCompos
iti
on 
Tes
t
The component spresentin 
cement f
orformingcementast hecomplete
productsar e 
li
meorl imestone,si
li
ca(SiO2),alumina(Al
2O2),magnesi
a
(MgO) , 
etc.Amongwhi chmos ti
mportant 
ofthe raw mater
ial
s r
equi
redfor
maki ng cement areli
mes t
one,cl
ay,andmar l
.
 Fl
amePhot
omet
er
Appar
atus

Fl
amePhotometer and 
ELEFl
amePhot
omet
er 
aret
hei
nst
rument
sus
edt
o
know t
hecons
tit
utesofCement.

I
SCode

IS269-
1998 i
srecommendedf
orkeepi
ngacheckont
hechemi
cal
composit
ionofcement
.

Res
ult

Agoodcements
houl
dhavet
hecons
tit
uti
onofcomponent
sasperl
is
ted,

 Li
meorLi mestone– 62% 
(Hi
ghest
)
 Si
li
ca( Si
O2)– 
22%
 Al
umi na(Al
2O2)–  
7.5%
 Magnes i
a(MgO)–  
2.5%
 OtherComonent s–remai
ning 
6%
FAQs
Tes
tsf
orCement

Tocheckt hequal i
tyofcementsomeoft
hef
oll
owi
ngt
est
sar
eper
for
med
oncement ,
1.Fineness 
Tes tofCement
2.Cons i
stency TestofCement
3.Setti
ngTi me Tes tofCement
4.Soundnes s TestofCement
5.TheHeatofHydr ati
on 
Test
6.Specifi
cGr avityTes tofCement
7.Tensil
eStrengt h Test
8.Chemi calCompos i
ti
on Tes
t

How t
hequal
it
yofcementi
stes
ted?

Thequalit
y ofCement i
stestedbyper for
mingvari
ouslabtest
saswellas
on-
sit
echecks .I
nthesetest
spr oper
tiesofcementaretes
ted,andt
her es
ult
i
sanalyzed.Dependingonther esul
ti
ngqual i
tyofcementcanbeesti
mated.

Whatt
est
sar
edonef
orcementi
nlabor
ator
y?

Testdone oncementi nthe 
laborator
y are–Fineness
 TestofCement,
Consi
stency TestofCement,Setti
ngTime TestofCement,Soundness
 Test
ofCement ,TheHeatofHydr ati
on Tes
t,Speci
ficGravi
tyTestofCement,
Tensi
leStrength Tes
t,ChemicalCompos i
ti
on 
Tes t
.

Whatar
ethe5t
ypesofcement
?

Dif
ferent  
TypesofCement  
areusedint
heconst
ruct
ionofvar
ious
st
ructur es.I
nwhi chmaj ort
ypesofcementar
e,
1.
Or dinaryPor tl
and  Cement (
OPC)
2.PortlandPozzol ana  Cement 
(PPC)
3.HighAl umi na 
Cement
4.RapidHar dening Cement
5.Low Heat  
Cement
6.Quicks etti
ng cement
7.Sulf
at esRes i
sting Cement
8.BlastFur naceSl ag Cement
Whi
cht
esti
sdonet
ocheckt
hepr
opergr
indi
ngofcement
?

Thefi
nenes sTest 
isdonetomeas ur
eparti
cles
izeandpr opergr
indi
ngof
cement,whicharedenot edinter
msofthespecif
ics
ur f
acearea
of 
cement. 
The Fi
nenes sTestofCement
 i
sdonebys ievi
ngcements ampl
e
thr
ough st
andar dISsieve.
 

Labor
ator
yTes
tofCement

Thefollowingt es t
sar econduct
edoncementi
nthel
abor
ator
y,
1.Fi
nenes s 
Tes tofCement
2.Consistency TestofCement
3.Sett
ingTi me Tes tofCement
4.Soundnes s TestofCement
5.TheHeatofHydr ati
on 
Test
6.Specifi
cGr avityTes tofCement
7.
TensileStrengt h Test
8.Chemi calCompos i
ti
on Tes
t

CementTes
tingMet
hods

Thefoll
owi ngar emet hodsofcementt
est
ing,
1.Fi
nenes s 
Tes tofCement
2.Consistency TestofCement
3.Sett
ingTi me TestofCement
4.Soundnes s TestofCement
5.TheHeatofHydr at
ion Tes
t
6.Specifi
cGr avityTestofCement
7.
TensileStrengt h 
Test
8.Chemi calCompos i
ti
on Test