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Cement

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

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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; i.e., 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 will be the material described in detail here.

Characteristics

Portland cement is produced through thermal treatment...

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References

  • ASTM International (2016) ASTM C150/C150M-16e1 – standard specification for Portland cement. ASTM International, West Conshohocken

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  • European Committee for Standardization (2011) EN 197-1 – cement, part 1: composition, specifications and conformity criteria for common cements. European Committee for Standardization, Brussels

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  • Hewlett PC (ed) (1998) Lea’s chemistry of cement and concrete, 4th edn. Elsevier, Amsterdam

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  • Lothenbach B, Winnefeld F (2006) Thermodynamic modelling of the hydration of Portland cement. Cem Concr Res 36:209–226

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  • Richardson IG (1999) The nature of C-S-H in hardened cements. Cem Concr Res 29:1131–1147

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK

    John L. Provis

Authors
  1. John L. Provis
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Correspondence to John L. Provis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Kanata, Ontario, Canada

    Peter T. Bobrowsky

  2. London, United Kingdom

    Brian Marker

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Provis, J.L. (2017). Cement. In: Bobrowsky, P., Marker, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_47-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_47-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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