How To Check Quality Of Cement | 07 Important Steps For Testing Of Cement
Are you a Civil Engineer? Then must read this article till the end because it is based on tips for testing of cement on-site.
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Today! We are going to discuss some important but quick tips regarding how to check the quality of cement on-site. Actually, cement is one of the most important elements for building construction and its quality really matters for making durable structures.
Every engineer or supervisor should have known the basics of material testing because it is really important to achieve the desired strength of the structure. Below are some quick tips for testing cement which you can perform on-site without any equipment, Shocked? Let’s get discuss one by one:
Testing Of Cement | How To Check Good Quality Of Cement
To check the standard of good quality cement we’d like to pass some easy physical tests on-site which are described below:
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DATE OF PACKING
First of all, check the manufacturing or packing date of cement because the strength of cement decreases with time. As per standard, cement should be consumed within 90 days from the date it’s packed. The share of strength loss of cement is given within the below table.
- 3 months – 20 to 30%
- 6 months – 30 to 40%
- 12 months – 40 to 50%
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CEMENT COLOR
Color is another important factor in describing the quality of cement. Good quality cement should have grey to greenish color shade.
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CHECK FOR LUMPS
Checking for lumps in cement is the easiest step for testing of cement on-site. Actually, lumps are formed due to the absorption of moisture content from the atmosphere.
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RUBBING TEST
While checking for lumps in cement, make sure it feels smooth while rubbing between fingers. A bad quality cement will give you a rough feeling which means it is mixed with sand.
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TEMPERATURE TEST
Freshly packed cement will be warm in temperature.
But, a good quality stocked cement should give you cool feeling otherwise it gives you warm feeling due to excessive hydration reaction.
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FLOAT TEST
Another important and quick process for testing cement is the float test.
Take some quantity of cement in hand and throw it in water. A good quality cement will float in water for 10 to 20 seconds approx. before it sinks.
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SETTING TEST
As per civil engineering knowledge, a good quality cement will not show any cracks when a cement water paste is soaked in water for 24 hours.
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STRENGTH TEST
Prepare a cement block of 1-inch x 1 inch and 8 inches long. Now submerge it in water for 7 days. Now place it on supports 6 inches apart and cargo it with 34 kg weight. Block made up of good cement won’t show any signs of failure.
