How important is cement testing?
We all know that cement is the one of the basic block to build or construct houses. But have you ever wondered that how this is actually processed and decided before it is used to construct or build any structures. The cement which is used needs to go through several tests.
It is very crucial in the construction field. It is a building material that is created by a chemical process which involves a lot of chemical elements. The testing is important because every structure that is being built have special needs and requirements. Therefore, various series of tests are one to the cement which is being used for construction.
Here are all the tests it needs to go:
~ Compressive strength: It is an important property which has to be put to test. You crush the cube of the hard cement- sand mortar in a machine called compression machine. You need proper molds, a humidity cabinet and the compression machine. The highest stress you apply to a cube to cause a fracture is the compressive strength.
~ Tensile strength: Their structures are less tensile than other structures. Reason? Because of external factors like temperature and dynamic loading. The tensile strength is proportional to the compressive strength. The higher the compressive strength, higher the tensile strength. These two tests of this testing are done because every construction official knows it and it is quite inexpensive too.
~ Fineness: Now, when the cubes are finally processed into fine grains, they need to be processed into a particular size distribution. This is because even the particle size distribution has a great influence on the quality. The smaller the particle size, the greater is its surface area. So when it is cooled by water, it reacts with it and quickly settles and hardens. Now the test is done by measuring the degree of air permeability of specific surface areas of the cement powder.
~ Consistency, setting time and flow: The consistency of the particular is tested by estimating the amount of water needed to make a paste of normal consistency. It is defined as the percentage water requirement of the cement paste. It is done by VIcat needle test. This test is also useful to know the initial and final setting times. The setting time should be very short so that the construction activity can move at a faster pace. Flow test is something that is included in the hydraulic type specifications. It is used to test the water content that provides a specified flow level.
~ Expansion and soundness: Soundness means the ability to retain the volume of a hardened paste after setting. It should not delay destructive expansion. That should be sound so that it will not undergo any cracks in future. This test is also the most important test of all the tests. Fly ash on the other side is a byproduct of coal fired power generation. It is similar to cement. It is often used in concrete as a partial replacement for cement. The expansion test can be done by the length comparator method.
So these are the tests which are done before the cement is used in building material. For this type of testing’s, you need to have good civil engineering equipments to help you ease out the process. So make sure you select those contractors and engineers who prefer quality and good testing equipment.