In this article, we are going to learn about different types of cement in India, their contents, and their applications in different types of construction work.
As we know cement is the main constituent of concrete which act as a binder. Cement is made from lime, silica, alumina, magnesia, iron oxide, calcium sulphate, alkaline, etc.
By changing the percentages of this constituent of cement the properties of cement like setting time, strength gaining process, colour, resistance against chemical attack, etc. also changes and different types of cement are formed. So it is important to learn the different types of cement in India and choose the right cement for construction.
Table of Contents
15 Different Types of Cement In India
1) Ordinary Portland cement (OPC)
2) Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC)
3) Rapid Hardening Cement –
4) Extra Rapid Hardening Cement-
5) Low Heat Portland Cement-
6) Quick Setting Cement-
7) Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement-
8) High Alumina Cement-
9) Blast Furnace Slag Cement-
10) White Cement-
11) Coloured Cement-
12) Hydrophobic Cement-
13) Air Entraining Cement-
14) Expansive Cement –
15) Waterproofing Portland cement
1) Ordinary Portland Cement
Ordinary portland cement (OPC) is the most commonly used cement worldwide. It is also known as basic Portland cement. It has good strength against cracking and dry shrinkage.
Ordinary Portland cement is available in three grades-
33 grade
43 grade
53 grade
Where the number denotes the strength of the cement after 28 days.
For example, 33 grade OPC has a strength of 33 MPa at 28 days.
Ordinary portland cement (OPC) is used for all types of construction except where a chemical attack is possible.
2) Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC)
Portland Pozzolana Cement is manufactured by grinding 10-25% of pozzolanic material with ordinary portland cement clinkers. Pozzolanic materials include fly ash and Calcinated clay.
PPC is found to have-
- High tensile strength
- High water tightness
- Higher resistance against the attack of chlorides and sulphates.
- It is low-heat cement.
It takes more time for strength gain as compared to ordinary portland cement (OPC). Hence, it can be used where ordinary portland cement is used Except where early strength is required.
3) Rapid Hardening Cement
As the name suggests rapid hardening cement is gaining strength quickly as compared to OPC.
Rapid hardening cement is manufactured by increasing the C3S (Tri-calcium silicate) percentage and lowering the C2S (Di-calcium silicate) percentage in the content of cement.
The strength of Rapid hardening cement at 3 days is same of 7 days strength of ordinary Portland cement (OPC).
Rapid hardening cement is used where high early strength is required like high-traffic road construction.
4) Extra Rapid Hardening Cement
Extra rapid hardening cement is a modified version of rapid hardening cement. This is manufactured by adding 2% of calcium chloride with rapid hardening cement.
When Extra rapid hardening cement is mixed with water it releases a huge amount of heat for a short period of time. Hence, extra rapid hardening cement is preferred to be used in cold-weather constructions.
One or two day’s strength of extra rapid hardening cement is 25% more than rapid hardening cement.
It is used for high-traffic road construction. It is also used where the formwork needs to remove early.
5) Low Heat Portland Cement
Low heat portland cement has less lime content than OPC. This type of cement is manufactured by lowering the C3S content and increasing the C2S content.
This type of cement produced less heat of hydration and is used in mass concreting work like gravity dams, large raft slabs, etc.
Low-heat portland cement offers 20% lesser heat of hydration than OPC
6) Quick Setting Cement
As the name suggests quick setting cement is set faster than ordinary portland cement (OPC).
This type of cement is manufactured by adding aluminium sulphate and reducing the gypsum amount in cement content.
Quick-setting cement is used for construction where quick setting in a short time period is required like underwater constructions.
7) Sulphate Resisting Portland cement
This type of cement has good resistance against sulphate attack on concrete. This type of cement is manufactured by lowering tricalcium aluminate (C3A) below 5% in cement content.
This type of cement is used where concrete is subjected to sulphate attack such as the construction of a foundation where soil or groundwater has 0.2% to 0.3% g/l sulphate salts respectively.
8) High Alumina Cement
This type of cement is manufactured by adding high alumina to the cement content. Alumina content should be a minimum 32% and the ratio of alumina to lime should be between 0.85 to 1.30.
This type of cement has high ultimate strength and high resistance against acid and high temperature.
It is used for marine construction, chemical plants, sewer construction and structure which are subjected to high temperatures like workshops, and furnaces.
9) Blast Furnace Slag Cement
Blast furnace slag cement is manufactured by replacing a portion of Portland cement clinkers with blast furnace slag. Hence, it is cheaper than Ordinary portland cement (OPC).
What is blast furnace slag?
Blast furnace slag is the by-product in iron production in blast furnace.
Blast furnace slag cement possesses lower permeability and high durability.
This type of cement is used for construction which requires low heat of hydration. It is also used for mass concreting works like the construction of dams.
10) White Cement
White cement is manufactured by lowering the content of iron oxide in ordinary portland cement.
This type of cement has the same properties as ordinary portland cement. This type of cement is costly and is used for architectural purposes like terrazzo surfaces and decorative work.
11) Coloured Cement
Coloured cement is manufactured by adding 5-10% of pigments to ordinary portland cement content.
It is also called as colcrete.
This type of cement is used for decorative works.
12) Hydrophobic Cement
Hydrophobic cement is manufactured by adding water-repellent film substances such as oleic acid and stearic acid with ordinary portland cement clinkers.
These acids form a layer around cement particles to protect them from the hydration process during transportation or the long storage of cement. This layer breaks when cement is mixed with aggregates.
This type of cement is used in construction under wet climate conditions.
Hydrophobic cement is more expensive than OPC.
13) Air Entraining Cement
This type of cement is produced by adding air-entraining agents such as resins, glues, and sodium salts to ordinary portland cement clinkers.
This type of cement is used for sulphate resistance, deicer-scaling resistance, resistance to alkali-silica reactivity and to improved workability.
14) Expansive Cement
OPC shrinks during the setting of concrete and also after the setting process concrete made up of OPC shrinks for a long period of time. But expansive cement shows the property of increasing in volume after the setting of cement which reduces the shrinkage losses.
Expansive cement is further classified as –
- K Type Expansive Cement
- M Type Expansive Cement
- S Type Expansive Cement
15) Waterproofing Portland cement
This type of cement is manufactured by grinding water-repellent materials with Portland cement clinkers
Waterproof Portland cement is used for the construction of foundations, basements, water tanks, swimming pools, etc.
Watch the video for a better understanding of the different types of cement in India.
FAQs on Different Types of cement in India –
What is I.R.S T-40 Cement?
As we learn different types of cement in India which are commonly used in construction. But I.R.S T-40 cement is a special type of cement which is used by the Indian railway for manufacturing concrete sleepers.
This type of cement is produced by fine grinding the cement clinkers and increasing the proportion of C3S in order to attain early strength.
What is the difference between 33 grade, 43 grade and 53 grade?
Actually these are the types of OPC according to compressive strength of cement at the age of 28 days. 33, 43 and 53 are the numbers that show the compressive strength of OPC at 28 days.
Which cement is best for concrete?
As we discussed above, different types of cement in India are available which are used according to requirements on construction sites. For regular building construction works OPC 43 grade is suitable for plain concrete and OPC 53 grade is good for reinforced cement concrete.
What is MPa in cement grade?
MPa means mega-pascals which is used to measure compressive strength.
MPa = N/mm2
Which cement is used for house construction in India?
Ordinary portland cement(OPC) and Pozzolana portland cement(PPC) are the most commonly used for construction in India.
thanks now i have idia to using cement .when im not read this site all cement use general i dont think have equal cement to all construction buillders.
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