Cement

Cement
Cement is a bonding agent which is generally used to bind:
 Bricks
 Tiles
 Marbles
 Stones
 Concrete Blocks
 Etc
Generally cement is used in two forms:
1) Mortar: A mixture of
Cement, Fine aggregate (generally sand), water (all in specific proportions).
2) Concrete: A mixture of
Cement, Fine aggregate (generally sand), Coarse aggregate (usually crushed stone), water (all in specific portions).
. Concrete is used for structural purposes, where the load has to be resisted.
History of cementing materials:
                                                      Around 2000 years before, the usage of cementing materials was started. We used (i) Clay (ii) Lime (and now) (iii) Cement
Portland Cement:
                              In 1824, first effort was made in producing the type of cement, with which we are familiar today. The inventor Joseph Aspiden produced a powder, made from a calcined mixture of lime stone and clay. He called it Portland Cement, because when it hardened, it produced a material resembling stones from quarries near Portland in England.
                              Modern Portland cement is made from materials which contain proper proportions of
. Lime         . Silica           . Alumina             . Iron
With miner amounts of
. Magnesia (MgO)           . Sulphur Trioxide (SO3)
                              The table below, indicates the range of oxide composition, usually used in normal/ordinary Portland cement

Oxide ingredient Range
Lime (CaO) 60-66%
Silica (SiO2) 19-25%
Alumina (Al2O3) 3-8%
Iron (Fe2O3) 1-5%
Magnesia (MgO) 0-5%
Sulphur Trioxide (SO3) 1-3%
All the above components undergo some chemical combination during the process of burning and fusion.
Portland Cement is a hydraulic cement i.e. it reacts with water to produce a substance that durable resists the effect of water and continuous to gain strength as long as the moisture is present. Compared with hydraulic limes, the strength gain is...