Cement: Fineness Test

Cement: Fineness Test

The degree of fineness of cement is the measure of the mean size of the grains in it. There are three methods for testing fineness: the sieve method-using 90 micron (9 No.) sieve, the air permeability method- Nurse and Blains method and the sedimentation method- Wagner turbidimeter method. The last two methods measure the surface area, whereas the first measures grain size. Since cement grains are finer than 90 micron, the sieve analysis method does not represent true mean size of cement grains. Also, the tiny cement grains tend to conglomerate into lumps resulting in distortion in the final grain size distribution curves. Considering these demerits, fineness is generally expressed in terms of specific area, which is the total surface area of the particles in unit weight of material.

Conditions Affecting Fineness: The chemical composition and the degree of calcination influence the hardness of the clinker and consequently the fineness to which the cement is ground. Clinker, high in iron or silica, is apt to be hard and difficult to grind. The same is true with a hard-burned clinker. Fineness is also influenced by the time of grinding and the character of the pulverizing machinery. It has been found that cement becomes finer with age provided it does not absorb too much moisture. This is probably due to the decrepitation of the coarser grains resulting from the hydration of the embedded lime particles.

Importance: Finer the cement, more is the strength since surface area for hydration will be large. With increase in fineness, the early development of strength is enhanced but the ultimate strength is not affected. An increase in the fineness of the cement increases the cohesiveness of the concrete mix and thus reduces the amount of water which separates to the top of a lift (bleeding), particularly while compacting with vibrators. However, if the cement is ground beyond a certain limit, its cementative properties are affected due to the prehydration by atmospheric moisture. Finer cement reacts more strongly in alkali reactive aggregate. Also, the water requirement and workability will be more leading to higher drying shrinkage and cracking.