Cement, in general, adhesive substances of all kinds, but, in a narrower sense, the binding

materials used in building and civil engineering construction. Cements of this kind are finely
ground powders that, when mixed with water, set to a hard mass. Setting and hardening result
from hydration, which is a chemical combination of the cement compounds with water that
yields submicroscopic crystals or a gel-like material with a high surface area. Because of their
hydrating properties, constructional cements, which will even set and harden under water, are
often called hydraulic cements. The most important of these is Portland cement.

The origin of hydraulic cements goes back to ancient Greece and Rome. The materials used were
lime and a volcanic ash that slowly reacted with it in the presence of water to form a hard mass.
This formed the cementing material of the Roman mortars and concretes of 2,000 years ago and
of subsequent construction work in Western Europe. Volcanic ash mined near what is now the
city of Pozzuoli, Italy, was particularly rich in essential aluminosilicate minerals, giving rise to
the classic pozzolana cement of the Roman era. To this day the
term pozzolana, or pozzolan, refers either to the cement itself or to any finely divided
aluminosilicate that reacts with lime in water to form cement. (The term cement, meanwhile,
derives from the Latin word caementum, which meant stone chippings such as were used in
Roman mortar—not the binding material itself.)
Portland cement is a successor to a hydraulic lime that was first developed by John Smeaton in
1756 when he was called in to erect the Eddystone Lighthouse off the coast of Plymouth, Devon,
England. The next development, taking place about 1800 in England and France, was a material
obtained by burning nodules of clayey limestone. Soon afterward in the United States, a similar
material was obtained by burning a naturally occurring substance called ―cement rock.‖ These
materials belong to a class known as natural cement, allied to portland cement but more lightly
burned and not of controlled composition.
The invention of portland cement usually is attributed to Joseph Aspdin of Leeds, Yorkshire,
England, who in 1824 took out a patent for a material that was produced from
a synthetic mixture of limestone and clay. He called the product ―portland cement‖ because of a
fancied resemblance of the material, when set, to portland stone, a limestone used for building in
England. Aspdin’s product may well have been too lightly burned to be a true portland cement,
and the real prototype was perhaps that produced by Isaac Charles Johnson in southeastern
England about 1850. The manufacture of portland cement rapidly spread to other European
countries and North America. During the 20th century, cement manufacture spread worldwide.
By the early 21st century, China and India had become the world leaders in cement production,
followed by the United States, Brazil, Turkey, and Iran.

Raw Materials
Composition
Portland cement consists essentially of compounds of lime (calcium oxide, CaO) mixed
with silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2) and alumina (aluminum oxide, Al2O3). The lime is obtained
from a calcareous (lime-containing) raw material, and the other oxides are derived from an
argillaceous (clayey) material. Additional raw materials such as silica sand, iron oxide (Fe2O3),
and bauxite—containing hydrated aluminum, Al(OH)3—may be used in smaller quantities to get
the desired composition.
The commonest calcareous raw materials are limestone and chalk, but others, such as coral or
shell deposits, also are used. Clays, shales, slates, and estuarine muds are the common
argillaceous raw materials. Marl, a compact calcareous clay, and cement rock contain both the
calcareous and argillaceous components in proportions that sometimes approximate
cement compositions. Another raw material is blast-furnace slag, which consists mainly of lime,
silica, and alumina and is mixed with a calcareous material of high lime content. Kaolin, a white
clay that contains little iron oxide, is used as the argillaceous component for white portland
cement. Industrial wastes, such as fly ash and calcium carbonate from chemical manufacture, are
other possible raw materials, but their use is small compared with that of the natural materials.

The magnesia (magnesium oxide, MgO) content of raw materials must be low because the
permissible limit in portland cement is 4 to 5 percent. Other impurities in raw materials that must
be strictly limited are fluorine compounds, phosphates, metal oxides and sulfides, and excessive
alkalies.

Another essential raw material is gypsum, some 5 percent of which is added to the burned
cement clinker during grinding to control the setting time of the cement. Portland cement also
can be made in a combined process with sulfuric acid using calcium sulfate or anhydrite in place
of calcium carbonate. The sulfur dioxide produced in the flue gases on burning is converted to
sulfuric acid by normal processes.

Extraction and processing

Raw materials employed in the manufacture of cement are extracted by quarrying in the case of
hard rocks such as limestones, slates, and some shales, with the aid of blasting when necessary.
Some deposits are mined by underground methods. Softer rocks such as chalk and clay can be
dug directly by excavators.
The excavated materials are transported to the crushing plant by trucks, railway freight cars,
conveyor belts, or ropeways. They also can be transported in a wet state or slurry by pipeline. In
regions where limestones of sufficiently high lime content are not available, some process of
beneficiation can be used. Froth flotation will remove excess silica or alumina and so upgrade
the limestone, but it is a costly process and is used only when unavoidable.
Manufacture Of Cement
There are four stages in the manufacture of portland cement: (1) crushing and grinding the raw
materials, (2) blending the materials in the correct proportions, (3) burning the prepared mix in
a kiln, and (4) grinding the burned product, known as ―clinker,‖ together with some 5 percent
of gypsum (to control the time of set of the cement). The three processes of manufacture are
known as the wet, dry, and semidry processes and are so termed when the raw materials are
ground wet and fed to the kiln as slurry, ground dry and fed as a dry powder, or ground dry and
then moistened to form nodules that are fed to the kiln.
Crushing and grinding
All except soft materials are first crushed, often in two stages, and then ground, usually in a
rotating, cylindrical ball, or tube mills containing a charge of steel grinding balls. This grinding
is done wet or dry, depending on the process in use, but for dry grinding the raw materials first
may need to be dried in cylindrical, rotary dryers.
Soft materials are broken down by vigorous stirring with water in wash mills, producing
fine slurry, which is passed through screens to remove oversize particles.
Blending
A first approximation of the chemical composition required for particular cement is obtained by
selective quarrying and control of the raw material fed to the crushing and grinding plant. Finer
control is obtained by drawing material from two or more batches containing raw mixes of
slightly different composition. In the dry process these mixes are stored in silos; slurry tanks are
used in the wet process. Thorough mixing of the dry materials in the silos is ensured by agitation
and vigorous circulation induced by compressed air. In the wet process the slurry tanks are
stirred by mechanical means or compressed air or both. The slurry, which contains 35 to 45
percent water, is sometimes filtered, reducing the water content to 20 to 30 percent, and the filter
cake is then fed to the kiln. This reduces the fuel consumption for burning.
Burning
The earliest kilns in which cement was burned in batches were bottle kilns, followed by chamber
kilns and then by continuous shaft kilns. The shaft kiln in a modernized form is still used in some
countries, but the dominant means of burning is the rotary kiln. These kilns—up to 200 metres
(660 feet) long and six metres in diameter in wet process plants but shorter for the dry process—
consist of a steel, cylindrical shell lined with refractory materials. They rotate slowly on an axis
that is inclined a few degrees to the horizontal. The raw material feed, introduced at the upper
end, moves slowly down the kiln to the lower, or firing, end. The fuel for firing may be
pulverized coal, oil, or natural gas injected through a pipe. The temperature at the firing end
ranges from about 1,350 to 1,550 °C (2,460 to 2,820 °F), depending on the raw materials being
burned. Some form of heat exchanger is commonly incorporated at the back end of the kiln to
increase heat transfer to the incoming raw materials and so reduce the heat lost in the waste
gases. The burned product emerges from the kiln as small nodules of clinker. These pass into
coolers, where the heat is transferred to incoming air and the product cooled. The clinker may be
immediately ground to cement or stored in stockpiles for later use.

In the semidry process the raw materials, in the form of nodules containing 10 to 15 percent
water, are fed onto a traveling chain grate before passing to the shorter rotary kiln. Hot gases
coming from the kiln are sucked through the raw nodules on the grate, preheating the nodules.

Dust emission from cement kilns can be a serious nuisance. In populated areas it is usual and
often compulsory to fit cyclone arrestors, bag-filter systems, or electrostatic dust precipitators
between the kiln exit and the chimney stack.

Modern cement plants are equipped with elaborate instrumentation for control of the burning
process. Raw materials in some plants are sampled automatically, and a computer calculates and
controls the raw mix composition. The largest rotary kilns have outputs exceeding 5,000 tons per
day.
Grinding
The clinker and the required amount of gypsum are ground to a fine powder in horizontal mills
similar to those used for grinding the raw materials. The material may pass straight through the
mill (open-circuit grinding), or coarser material may be separated from the ground product and
returned to the mill for further grinding (closed-circuit grinding). Sometimes a small amount of a
grinding aid is added to the feed material. For air-entraining cements (discussed in the following
section) the addition of an air-entraining agent is similarly made.
Finished cement is pumped pneumatically to storage silos from which it is drawn for packing in
paper bags or for dispatch in bulk containers.
The Major Cements: Composition and Properties
Portland cement
Chemical composition
Portland cement is made up of four main compounds: tricalcium silicate (3CaO ·
SiO2), dicalcium silicate (2CaO · SiO2), tricalcium aluminate (3CaO · Al2O3), and a tetra-
calcium aluminoferrite (4CaO · Al2O3Fe2O3). In an abbreviated notation differing from the
normal atomic symbols, these compounds are designated as C3S, C2S, C3A, and C4AF, where C
stands for calcium oxide (lime), S for silica, A for alumina, and F for iron oxide. Small amounts
of uncombined lime and magnesia also are present, along with alkalies and minor amounts of
other elements.
Hydration
The most important hydraulic constituents are the calcium silicates, C2S and C3S. Upon mixing
with water, the calcium silicates react with water molecules to form calcium silicate hydrate
(3CaO · 2SiO2 · 3H2O) and calcium hydroxide (Ca[OH]2). These compounds are given the
shorthand notations C–S–H (represented by the average formula C3S2H3) and CH, and the
hydration reaction can be crudely represented by the following reactions:2C3S + 6H = C3S2H3 +
3CH2C2S + 4H = C3S2H3 + CHDuring the initial stage of hydration, the parent compounds
dissolve, and the dissolution of their chemical bonds generates a significant amount of heat.
Then, for reasons that are not fully understood, hydration comes to a stop. This quiescent, or
dormant, period is extremely important in the placement of concrete. Without a dormant period
there would be no cement trucks; pouring would have to be done immediately upon mixing.

Following the dormant period (which can last several hours), the cement begins to harden, as CH
and C–S–H are produced. This is the cementitious material that binds cement and concrete
together. As hydration proceeds, water and cement are continuously consumed. Fortunately, the
C–S–H and CH products occupy almost the same volume as the original cement and water;
volume is approximately conserved, and shrinkage is manageable.

Although the formulas above treat C–S–H as a specific stoichiometry, with the formula C3S2H3,
it does not at all form an ordered structure of uniform composition. C–S–H is actually
an amorphous gel with a highly variable stoichiometry. The ratio of C to S, for example, can
range from 1:1 to 2:1, depending on mix design and curing conditions.
Structural properties
The strength developed by portland cement depends on its composition and the fineness to which
it is ground. The C3S is mainly responsible for the strength developed in the first week of
hardening and the C2S for the subsequent increase in strength. The alumina and iron compounds
that are present only in lesser amounts make little direct contribution to strength.
Set cement and concrete can suffer deterioration from attack by some natural or artificial
chemical agents. The alumina compound is the most vulnerable to chemical attack in soils
containing sulfate salts or in seawater, while the iron compound and the two calcium silicates are
more resistant. Calcium hydroxide released during the hydration of the calcium silicates is also
vulnerable to attack. Because cement liberates heat when it hydrates, concrete placed in large
masses, as in dams, can cause the temperature inside the mass to rise as much as 40 °C (70 °F)
above the outside temperature. Subsequent cooling can be a cause of cracking. The highest heat
of hydration is shown by C3A, followed in descending order by C3S, C4AF, and C2S.
Types of Portland cement
Five types of portland cement are standardized in the United States by the American Society for
Testing and Materials (ASTM): ordinary (Type I), modified (Type II), high-early-strength (Type
III), low-heat (Type IV), and sulfate-resistant (Type V). In other countries Type II is omitted,
and Type III is called rapid-hardening. Type V is known in some European countries as Ferrari
cement.
There also are various other special types of portland cement. Coloured cements are made by
grinding 5 to 10 percent of suitable pigments with white or ordinary gray portland cement. Air-
entraining cements are made by the addition on grinding of a small amount, about 0.05 percent,
of an organic agent that causes the entrainment of very fine air bubbles in a concrete. This
increases the resistance of the concrete to freeze-thaw damage in cold climates. The air-
entraining agent can alternatively be added as a separate ingredient to the mix when making the
concrete.
Low-alkali cements are Portland cements with a total content of alkalies not above 0.6 percent.
These are used in concrete made with certain types of aggregates that contain a form of silica
that reacts with alkalies to cause an expansion that can disrupt a concrete.
Masonry cements are used primarily for mortar. They consist of a mixture of portland cement
and ground limestone or other filler together with an air-entraining agent or a water-repellent
additive. Waterproof cement is the name given to a Portland cement to which a water-repellent
agent has been added. Hydrophobic cement is obtained by grinding Portland cement clinker with
a film-forming substance such as oleic acid in order to reduce the rate of deterioration when the
cement is stored under unfavorable conditions.
Oil-well cements are used for cementing work in the drilling of oil wells where they are subject
to high temperatures and pressures. They usually consist of portland or pozzolanic cement (see
below) with special organic retarders to prevent the cement from setting too quickly.

Slag cements
The granulated slag made by the rapid chilling of suitable molten slags from blast furnaces forms
the basis of another group of constructional cements. A mixture of portland cement and
granulated slag, containing up to 65 percent slag, is known in the English-speaking countries as
portland blast-furnace (slag) cement. The German Eisenportlandzement and
Hochofenzement contain up to 40 and 85 percent slag, respectively. Mixtures in other
proportions are found in French-speaking countries under such names as ciment portland de fer,
ciment métallurgique mixte, ciment de haut fourneau, and ciment de liatier au clinker. Properties
of these slag cements are broadly similar to those of portland cement, but they have a lower lime
content and a higher silica and alumina content. Those with the higher slag content have an
increased resistance to chemical attack.
Another type of slag-containing cement is a supersulfated cement consisting of granulated slag
mixed with 10 to 15 percent hard-burned gypsum or anhydrite (natural anhydrous calcium
sulfate) and a few percent of portland cement. The strength properties of supersulfated cement
are similar to those of portland cement, but it has an increased resistance to many forms of
chemical attack. Pozzolanic cements are mixtures of portland cement and a pozzolanic material
that may be either natural or artificial. The natural pozzolanas are mainly materials of volcanic
origin but include some diatomaceous earths. Artificial materials include fly ash, burned clays,
and shales. Pozzolanas are materials that, though not cementitious in themselves, contain silica
(and alumina) in a reactive form able to combine with lime in the presence of water to
form compounds with cementitious properties. Mixtures of lime and pozzolana still find some
application but largely have been superseded by the modern pozzolanic cement. Hydration of the
portland cement fraction releases the lime required to combine with the pozzolana.
High-alumina cement
High-alumina cement is rapid-hardening cement made by fusing at 1,500 to 1,600 °C (2,730 to
2,910 °F) a mixture of bauxite and limestone in a reverberatory or electric furnace or in a
rotary kiln. It also can be made by sintering at about 1,250 °C (2,280 °F). Suitable bauxites
contain 50 to 60 percent alumina, up to 25 percent iron oxide, not more than 5 percent silica, and
10 to 30 percent water of hydration. The limestone must contain only small amounts of silica and
magnesia. The cement contains 35 to 40 percent lime, 40 to 50 percent alumina, up to 15 percent
iron oxides, and preferably not more than about 6 percent silica. The principal
cementing compound is calcium aluminate (CaO · Al2O3).

High-alumina cement gains a high proportion of its ultimate strength within 24 hours and has a
high resistance to chemical attack. It also can be used in refractory linings for furnaces. A white
form of the cement, containing minimal proportions of iron oxide and silica, has outstanding
refractory properties.

Expanding and nonshrinking cements

Expanding and nonshrinking cements expand slightly on hydration, thus offsetting the small
contraction that occurs when fresh concrete dries for the first time. Expanding cements were first
produced in France about 1945. The American type is a mixture of portland cement and an
expansive agent made by clinkering a mix of chalk, bauxite, and gypsum.
Gypsum plasters
Gypsum plasters are used for plastering, the manufacture of plaster boards and slabs, and in one
form of floor-surfacing material. These gypsum cements are mainly produced by heating natural
gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate, CaSO4 · 2H2O) and dehydrating it to give calcium sulfate
hemihydrate (CaSO4 · 1/2H2O) or anhydrous (water-free) calcium sulfate. Gypsum
and anhydrite obtained as by-products in chemical manufacture also are used as raw materials.
The hemihydrate, known as plaster of Paris, sets within a few minutes on mixing with water; for
building purposes a retarding agent, normally keratin, a protein, is added. The anhydrous calcium
sulfate plasters are slower-setting, and often another sulfate salt is added in small amounts as an
accelerator. Flooring plaster, originally known by its German title of Estrich Gips, is of the
anhydrous type.
Cement Testing
Various tests to which cements must conform are laid down in national cement specifications to
control the fineness, soundness, setting time, and strength of the cement. These tests are
described in turn below.
Fineness
Fineness was long controlled by sieve tests, but more sophisticated methods are now largely
used. The most common method used both for control of the grinding process and for testing the
finished cement, measures the surface area per unit weight of the cement by a determination of
the rate of passage of air through a bed of the cement. Other methods depend on measuring the
particle size distribution by the rate of sedimentation of the cement in kerosene or by elutriation
(separation) in an airstream.
Soundness
After it has set, cement must not undergo any appreciable expansion, which could disrupt
a mortar or concrete. This property of soundness is tested by subjecting the set cement to boiling
in water or to high-pressure steam. Unsoundness can arise from the presence in the cement of too
much free magnesia or hard-burned free lime.
Setting time
The setting and hardening of cement is a continuous process, but two points are distinguished for
test purposes. The initial setting time is the interval between the mixing of the cement with water
and the time when the mix has lost plasticity, stiffening to a certain degree. It marks roughly the
end of the period when the wet mix can be molded into shape. The final setting time is the point
at which the set cement has acquired a sufficient firmness to resist a certain defined pressure.
Most specifications require an initial minimum setting time at ordinary temperatures of about 45
minutes and a final setting time no more than 10 to 12 hours.
Strength
The tests that measure the rate at which cement develops strength are usually made on
a mortar commonly composed of one part cement to three parts sand, by weight, mixed with a
defined quantity of water. Tensile tests on briquettes, shaped like a figure eight thickened at the
centre, were formerly used but have been replaced or supplemented by compressive tests on
cubical specimens or transverse tests on prisms. The American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM) specification requires tensile tests on a 1:3 cement-sand mortar and
compressive tests on a 1:2.75 mortar. The British Standards Institution (BSI) gives
as alternatives a compressive test on a 1:3 mortar or on a concrete specimen. An international
method issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) requires a transverse
test on a 1:3 cement-sand mortar prism, followed by a compressive test on the two halves of the
prism that remain after it has been broken in bending. Many European countries have adopted
this method. In all these tests the size grading of the sand, and usually its source, is specified.
In the testing of most cement, a minimum strength at 3 and 7 days and sometimes 28 days is
specified, but for rapid-hardening portland cement a test at 1 day also is sometimes required. For
high-alumina cement, tests are required at 1 and 3 days.
Strength requirements laid down in different countries are not directly comparable because of the
differences in test methods. In actual construction, to check the strength of concrete, compressive
tests is made on cylinders or cubes made from the concrete being placed.
Dam: Weaknesses of concrete
The chief constituent of concrete, cement shrinks as it hardens, and it also releases heat as part of
the chemical reactions that occur within the cement during the process of hydration (or
hardening). Because of the massive quantities of concrete used in a large dam, shrinkage caused
by cooling can
Brick and tile: Nonclay brick and tile
Following the introduction of portland cement in the 19th century, a growing number of products
have appeared that resemble clay products in size and intended use. In some countries the
production of them, if reduced to brick equivalents, exceeds that of clay products. A brief review
of these products, the
Masonry
Romans recognized the value of cement, which they made from pozzolanic tuff, a volcanic ash.
Mixed with water, lime, and stone fragments, the cement was expanded into concrete. Walls of
this concrete, faced with various stone or fired-clay materials, were more economical and faster
to erect than walls made of

Types of Cement and their Uses in Concrete Construction

There are various types of cement used in concrete construction. Each type of cement has its own
properties, uses and advantages based on composition materials used during its manufacture.
Types of Cement and their Uses
1. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
2. Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC)
3. Rapid Hardening Cement
4. Quick setting cement
5. Low Heat Cement
6. Sulphates resisting cement
7. Blast Furnace Slag Cement
8. High Alumina Cement
9. White Cement
10. Coloured cement
11. Air Entraining Cement
12. Expansive cement
13. Hydrographic cement

1. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)

Ordinary Portland cement is the most widely used type of cement which is suitable for all
general concrete construction. It is most widely produced and used type of cement around the
world with annual global production of around 3.8 million cubic meters per year. This cement is
suitable for all type of concrete construction.
2. Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC)
Portland pozzolana cement is prepared by grinding pozzolanic clinker with Portland cement. It is
also produced by adding pozzolana with the addition of gypsum or calcium sulfate or by
intimately and uniformly blending portland cement and fine pozzolana.
This cement has high resistance to various chemical attacks on concrete compared with ordinary
portland cement and thus it is widely used. It is used in marine structures, sewage works, sewage
works and for laying concrete under water such as bridges, piers, dams and mass concrete works
etc.
3. Rapid Hardening Cement
Rapid hardening cement attains high strength in early days it is used in concrete where
formworks are removed at an early stage and is similar to ordinary portland cement (OPC). This
cement has increased lime content and contains higher c3s content and finer grinding which
gives greater strength development than OPC at an early stage.

The strength of rapid hardening cement at the 3 days is similar to 7 days strength of OPC with
the same water-cement ratio. Thus, advantage of this cement is that formwork can be removed
earlier which increases the rate of construction and decreases cost of construction by saving
formwork cost.
Rapid hardening cement is used in prefabricated concrete construction, road works, etc.

4. Quick setting cement

The difference between the quick setting cement and rapid hardening cement is that quick setting
cement sets earlier while rate of gain of strength is similar to Ordinary Portland Cement, while
rapid hardening cement gains strength quickly. Formworks in both cases can be removed earlier.
Quick setting cement is used where works is to be completed in very short period and for
concreting in static or running water.

5. Low Heat Cement

Low heat cement is prepared by maintaining the percentage of tricalcium aluminate below 6% by
increasing the proportion of C2S. This makes the concrete to produce low heat of hydration and
thus is used in mass concrete construction like gravity dams, as the low heat of hydration
prevents the cracking of concrete due to heat.
This cement has increased power against sulphates and is less reactive and initial setting time is
greater than OPC.

6. Sulphates Resisting Cement

Sulfate resisting cement is used to reduce the risk of sulphate attack on concrete and thus is used
in construction of foundations where soil has high sulphate content. This cement has reduced
contents of C3A and C4AF.
Sulfate resisting cement is used in construction exposed to severe sulphate action by water and
soil in places like canals linings, culverts, retaining walls, siphons etc.

7. Blast Furnace Slag Cement

Blast furnace slag cement is obtained by grinding the clinkers with about 60% slag and
resembles more or less in properties of Portland cement. It can be used for works economic
considerations is predominant.

8. High Alumina Cement

High alumina cement is obtained by melting mixture of bauxite and lime and grinding with the
clinker. It is a rapid hardening cement with initial and final setting time of about 3.5 and 5 hours
respectively.
The compressive strength of this cement is very high and more workable than ordinary portland
cement and is used in works where concrete is subjected to high temperatures, frost, and acidic
action.

9. White Cement
It is prepared from raw materials free from Iron oxide and is a type of ordinary portland cement
which is white in color. It is costlier and is used for architectural purposes such as precast curtain
wall and facing panels, terrazzo surface etc. and for interior and exterior decorative work like
external renderings of buildings, facing slabs, floorings, ornamental concrete products, paths of
gardens, swimming pools etc.

10. Colored cement

It is produced by mixing 5- 10% mineral pigments with ordinary cement. They are widely used
for decorative works in floors.
11. Air Entraining Cement
Air entraining cement is produced by adding indigenous air entraining agents such as resins,
glues, sodium salts of sulphates etc. during the grinding of clinker.
This type of cement is especially suited to improve the workability with smaller water cement
ratio and to improve frost resistance of concrete.

12. Expansive Cement

Expansive cement expands slightly with time and does not shrink during and after the time of
hardening. This cement is mainly used for grouting anchor bolts and prestressed concrete ducts.

13. Hydrographic cement

Hydrographic cement is prepared by mixing water repelling chemicals and has high workability
and strength. It has the property of repelling water and is unaffected during monsoon or rains.
Hydrophobic cement is mainly used for the construction of water structures such dams, water
tanks, spillways, water retaining structures etc.