Chemical Composition of RAW Materials | Construction Materials Part II

• The three basic constituents of hydraulic cement are lime, silica-alumina & iron oxide. 
• The relative proportions of these oxide compositions are responsible for influencing the various properties of cement. 
• An increase in lime content beyond a certain value makes it difficult to combine completely with other compounds. 
• Consequently, free lime will exist in the clinker & will result in any unsound cement. An increase in silica content at the expense of alumina & ferric oxide makes the cement difficult to fuse & form clinker. 
• The approximate limits of chemical composition in cement are given below: 

Introduction to Cement || Civil Door

• Cement is a material which has cohesive & adhesive properties in the presence of moisture.
• Cement is a product consumed by the pulverizing clinker formed by calcination of the raw-materials primarily consisting of Lime (CaO), Silicate (SiO₂), Alumina (Al₂O₃) & the Iron oxide (Fe₂O₃).
• Cement was invented by the British scientist Joseph Aspdin in 1824, he named it Portland cement because of the hardened concrete made out of the cement aggregates & water in definite proportion resembled by the natural stones occurring at Portland in England.

Introduction to Construction Materials || Civil Door

The all engineering structures or infrastructures are composed of suitable materials. These materials are known as the engineering materials or construction materials or also known as building materials. This is compulsory for the Civil Engineers to become conversant with the properties of such materials to build a structure.

Here, we are going to learn about various constructions materials for being familiar with such materials and their properties.