International Journal of Civil and Structural Engineering Research ISSN 2348-7607 (Online) Vol. 7, Issue 1, pp: (1-7), Month: April 2019 - September 2019, Available at: www.researchpublish.com
Analysis of Chemical Composition of Different Brands of Portland cement Used in Libya Magdi Almabrok1, Naser Bin Khashin2 1, 2
Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Petroleum, University of Benghazi
Abstract: The chemical composition of cement has crucial impact on the performance of resulted concrete or mortar. Different brands of Portland cement are used in Libya by local contractors for various construction works without prior knowledge of their performances. In this study four different brands of Portland cement from Libyan market were analysed with X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer for their chemical constituents and compared with ASTM standard specifications. The results showed that there were no significant differences between chemical composition values specified in ASTM C150 standard and that of commercial Portland cements examined in this study. All the studied cements were found to be good for any construction works be it concrete or mortar formation especially where no particular properties are required. Keywords: Cement brand, chemical composition, mineral composition, Libyan market.
I. INTRODUCTION The Cement is one of the most traditional construction materials in almost every part of the word. The understanding of the behaviour of cement can lead to design of high performance concrete and mortar for making solid and long life structure [1]. Portland cement derives its setting and hardening when mixed with water from chemical reaction called hydration. A typical Portland cement clinker is produced by mixing limestone, clay, sand and iron oxide and heating them at elevated temperatures in rotary kilns were converted to major and minor oxides form [2]. The major oxides include CaO, SiO2, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 whereas the minor oxides also include MgO, SO3, and some alkali oxides (K2O and Na2O) [3]. Various properties of cement are considerably influenced by oxide compositions. Thus, during the proportioning of raw materials, the content of each oxide must be in the right quantity [4]. During burning (At 900 to 1450ºC) and blending of raw materials, the chemical reactions take place and four principal compounds which are normally referred to as minerals are resulted. These include tricalcium silicate (C3S), dicalcium silicate (C2S),tricalcium aluminate(C3A), tetracalcium luminoferrite (C4AF) (Fig.1). Silicates play the key role in gaining the strength compared to other components. C3S easily reacts with water, results in more heat of hydration and responsible for early strength development, whereas, C2S react slowly, produces less heat of hydration and responsible for later strength development [5].
Fig 1: Mineral compositions of the cement clinker
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