Definition
In the broad sense, a material which can bind other materials together into a hardened, cohesive mass. Cements in general may be organic or inorganic, including various plasters and glues, but the most important classes of cements used worldwide are those which are hydraulic; that is, harden through addition of water to form a water-insoluble final product. The dominant hydraulic cement used worldwide is Portland cement (Hewlett 1998), which consists primarily of hydraulic calcium silicates in addition to calcium sulfate, aluminate, and aluminoferrite phases (ASTM International 2016). Alternatives to Portland cement in some applications include gypsum or lime (particularly as plasters), geopolymers, calcium aluminate or sulfoaluminate cements, and magnesia-based cements. However, considering the current domination of cement usage by Portland cement, this is the material described in detail here.
Characteristics
Portland cement is produced through thermal treatment...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
ASTM International (2016) ASTM C150/C150M-16e1 – standard specification for Portland cement. ASTM International, West Conshohocken
European Committee for Standardization (2011) EN 197-1 – cement, part 1: composition, specifications and conformity criteria for common cements. European Committee for Standardization, Brussels
Hewlett PC (ed) (1998) Lea’s chemistry of cement and concrete, 4th edn. Elsevier, Amsterdam
Lothenbach B, Winnefeld F (2006) Thermodynamic modelling of the hydration of Portland cement. Cem Concr Res 36:209–226
Richardson IG (1999) The nature of C-S-H in hardened cements. Cem Concr Res 29:1131–1147
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Provis, J.L. (2018). Cement. In: Bobrowsky, P.T., Marker, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73568-9_47
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73568-9_47
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73566-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-73568-9
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences