Cement Quality
The quality of Portland cement is defined by Malaysian Standard MS 522, which is loosely based on the British standard BS 12. This is however now superseded by EN 196, which is the European Union standard. These standards specify a series of test for which the cement will have to conform to. The most common being :
a) fineness - blaine method
b) chemical composition
c) strength - mortar / concrete cubes
d) setting time - vicat method
e) soundness - Le'Chatelier method
A typical chemical composition of clinker and cement is provided below.
| Item |
Clinker (%) |
Cement (%) |
| Oxide Composition |
|
|
| SiO2 |
21.66 |
21.28 |
| Al2O3 |
5.80 |
5.60 |
| Fe2O3 |
3.68 |
3.36 |
| CaO |
65.19 |
64.64 |
| MgO |
2.86 |
2.06 |
| SO3 |
0.20 |
2.14 |
| Total Alkalis |
0.07 |
0.05 |
| Insoluble Residue |
0.10 |
0.22 |
| Loss on Ignition |
0.27 |
0.64 |
| Modulus |
|
|
| Lime Saturation Factor |
0.93 |
0.92 |
| Silica Modulus |
2.28 |
2.38 |
|
