Cement is a fine powdered material which is used in construction as a binding material.
Due to its binding property it is extremely responsible for strength and durability of structure. Therefore, it is important to use best quality cement to maintain structure quality. To identify whether cement is fit to use in construction, various laboratory tests are carried out to determine its quality and performance.
In this article, various cement tests shall be discussed which are performed in laboratory to determine its performance.
Cement tests are as follows :
1. Fineness Test [IS : 4031 – Part 1 & 2] :
i) This test is carried out to check proper grinding of cement.
ii) It is performed either by sieve test or by permeability apparatus.
2. Consistency Test [IS : 4031 – Part 4] :
i) This test is performed to determine the percentage of water required for preparing cement pastes.
ii) Standard Consistency is a technical term used for finding out initial setting time, final setting time, soundness of cement and strength.
iii) It is determined using Vicat Apparatus.
3. Setting Time Test [IS : 4031 – Part 5] :
i) This test is performed to make distinction between normal setting and quick setting types of cement and also to detect deterioration due to storage.
ii) It is determined using Vicat Apparatus.
4. Compressive Strength Test [IS : 4031 – Part 6, 7 & 8] :
i) This test is performed to determine the compressive strength of cement.
ii) It is determined by making 3 cubes of cement-sand mortar and tested under Compression Testing Machine.
Compressive strength parameters :
a) At end of 3 days ≥ 11.5 N/mm2
b) At end of 7 days ≥ 17.5 N/mm2
5. Soundness Test [IS : 4031 – Part 3] :
i) This test is performed to detect the presence of free lime in cement (i.e. to check whether cement undergoes any appreciable change in volume).
ii) It is determined using Le-chatelier’s Apparatus.
iii) If expansion is > 10 mm, then it is unsound.
6. Tensile Strength :
i) This test is formerly used to have an indirect indication of compressive strength of cement. It is generally used for the rapid hardening cement.
Tensile Strength parameter :
a) At end of 3 days ≥ 2 N/mm2
b) At end of 7 days ≥ 2.5 N/mm2
7. Heat of Hydration [IS : 4031 – Part 9] :
This test is carried out over a few days by Vacuum Flask method or over a longer period in an adiabatic calorimeter.
8. Chemical Composition Test :
This test is performed to determine the chemical composition in a cement.
Tags : cement test, laboratory test of cement, fineness test of cement.
