There are various types of cement tests that can be performed in order to determine the quality of the cement. Testing materials before use in construction is an important step. The cement testing methods used to know cement's physical properties, such as specific gravity, setting time, fineness, consistency, strength, etc., are explained briefly in this post.
What are the different tests of cement?
- Fineness Test of Cement
- Standard Consistency Test of Cement
- Test for Initial and Final Setting Time of Cement
- Compressive Strength Test of Cement
- Heat of Hydration Test of Cement
- Soundness Test of Cement
- Specific Gravity Test of Cement
- Chemical Composition Test of Cement
What is the fineness test of cement?
It is a test of cement to measure the particle size of the cement in % value. All the constituents of cement are ground to a certain fineness and it is tested through a 90µm IS Sieve. While carrying out the test not more than 10% of cement should be retained on the sieve.
Another method is the Air permeability test of cement for determining the fineness of the cement. In this method, 1 gram of cement should cover not less than 2250 sq. cm of area. We'll learn about both methods for the fineness test of cement in detail in another post.
What is the standard consistency test of cement?
It is a test of cement that is conducted to determine the required quantity of water to produce a cement paste of standard consistency. The test is important because that fixes the quantity of water mixed in cement in each test for determining the initial setting time of cement, final setting time of cement, soundness of cement, and compressive strength of cement.
What is the soundness test of cement?
The test to determine the ability of the cement to retain its volume during the process of setting and hardening is known as the soundness test of cement. That means the cement should be at minimum volume change after it gets hardened. The test is mainly conducted to identify the excess amount of lime in cement.
What is the setting time test of cement?
It is the test of cement that determines the initial setting time of cement and final setting time of cement. After standard consistency of cement is determined, initial and final setting time of cement can be conducted. This test gives an idea about how fast cement starts loosing plasticity and how much time cement takes to completely lose the plasticity and gain some strength to resist load on it.
What is compressive strength test of cement?
It is the test of cement that determines the strength of cement mortar and grade of cement. It can also be conducted only after the standard consistency of cement is determined.