Complete Guide on 18 Types of Cement with Names & Pictures

Overview of Types of Cement

Cement is a crucial binding substance used in construction, enabling materials to adhere, harden, and form durable structures. While cement is rarely used by itself, it plays a key role in holding sand and gravel together to create concrete or fine aggregate for mortar in masonry. Concrete, made by mixing cement with sand and gravel, is the most commonly used material globally, second only to water in terms of consumption. Typically, construction-grade cement is inorganic and primarily composed of lime or calcium silicate. It is classified into two types: hydraulic and non-hydraulic. Hydraulic cement can set and harden in wet conditions, while non-hydraulic cement is less commonly used and requires dry conditions for setting.

Types of Cement Pictures

Different Types of Cement

Types of Cement

Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)

Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is a fundamental construction material created by grinding high-quality Portland cement clinker with gypsum. It’s widely used in various applications.

To make concrete, plaster, or mortar, mix OPC with water and aggregates. Pozzolana and slag can be used to make blended cement.

OPC consists mainly of lime, about 67% of its composition. It contains tri and dicalcium silicates, tricalcium aluminate, tetra calcium alumino ferrite, and gypsum as calcium sulfate.

The heat of hydration is an important component that influences temperature, setting rate, strength, and durability.

OPC is adaptable for broad application, although it may not be appropriate for particular cases. Understanding its makeup allows you to make more educated building selections.

Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC)

Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) is a blended cement composed of three major ingredients: pozzolanic minerals, gypsum, and clinker.

It is created by heating a mixture of limestone and clay to high temperatures, often between 800 and 1,000 degrees Celsius. After heating, the slurry is mixed with gypsum and pozzolanic ingredients to form PPC.

One of the primary advantages of PPC is that it increases concrete density and reduces permeability. It implies that water and other liquids have a tougher time seeping through.

This feature, along with its ability to withstand interactions with alkaline substances, makes PPC a popular material for maritime buildings.

Rapid Hardening Cement

Rapid Hardening Cement (RHC) is a good Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) type. It gets stronger faster due to its high limestone and shale content. This unique composition makes it a top choice in construction projects requiring fast strength gain.

RHC also produces more heat and shrinks less than OPC. It’s great for areas exposed to water, like road pavements, and is used in cold regions for making precast slabs, posts, and more.

RHC’s quicker strength comes from finer particles. It releases heat faster, protecting against frost damage. It hardens rapidly, allowing early removal of formworks.

In simple terms, RHC is a fast and sturdy cement, perfect for quick construction in various conditions.

Extra Rapid Hardening Cement

Extra Rapid Hardening Cement (ERHC) sets and hardens much faster than regular cement. It’s made by grinding ordinary cement with more calcium chloride. It makes it set quickly and become strong early on.

ERHC is about 25% stronger than rapid-hardening cement in the first 2 days and 10-20% stronger in 7 days. It’s perfect for projects that must be finished fast, like driveways, paths, and repairs.

It sets in just 30 minutes, so it’s great for fixing things like fence posts, railings, and manholes and repairing floors and walls.

To get the best results with ERHC, you need to use it right after mixing and not mix it for too long. It is because it sets so quickly, and following the instructions will give you the best outcome.

Quick Setting Cement

Fast-setting cement is similar to traditional Portland cement but stands out for its rapid setting time, hardening in just 20 to 40 minutes without compromising strength.

Unlike standard cement, it remains robust despite its quick hardening. It achieves high mechanical resistance shortly after mixing. However, it requires special handling as its hardening begins immediately upon preparation.

Quick-setting cement has numerous major applications:

1. Sealing cracks and damage to concrete flooring.
2. Its fast-setting quality makes it ideal for repairing pipes and drains in humid situations.
3. Quick and secure billboards, traffic signs, and metal anchors installation.
4. Used as masonry material to connect blocks and bricks, cover floors, and install doors and windows.

Low Heat Cement

Low-heat cement (LHC) is a hydraulic binding substance that combines Portland cement, gypsum, and other additives. It has a tiny quantity of tricalcium aluminate and a high concentration of dicalcium silicate.

LHC is designed to have a reduced heat of hydration in concrete, making it ideal for big concrete pours where temperature increases and maximum temperature must be controlled.

It is ecologically beneficial, encouraging energy efficiency and lowering carbon emissions. LHC made up of chosen cement clinker, gypsum, and powdered granulated blast furnace slag, meets AS 3972, Special Purpose Type LH requirements.

Sulfate-Resistant Cement

Sulfate-resistant cement (SRC) is a special type of cement that makes concrete stronger and more durable, especially in tough environments. It’s great for buildings exposed to soil, groundwater, or seawater with high sulfate levels.

SRC is important because it protects concrete from damage caused by sulfates. These sulfates can make concrete crack, break apart, and weaken its structure.

SRC is made by adjusting the cement’s chemicals to reduce C3A. This C3A stuff causes crystals to form in concrete, leading to cracks and weakening.

You can use SRC in many places, like foundations, tunnels, sewage systems, coastal buildings, bridges, and water storage tanks. It helps them last longer and stay strong.

White Cement

White cement is a specific form of Portland cement distinguished by its dazzling look. It’s created from high-quality chalk or limestone with minimal coloring content, which means it has less than 0.15% Fe2O3.

Raw materials and manufacturing procedures determine the whiteness and undertone, with metal oxides such as iron and manganese playing an important impact.

Adding pigments improves white cement’s capacity to generate crisp, brilliant colors, particularly light pastels. Its dazzling appearance is ideal for precast pieces such as panels, exteriors, columns, and moldings.

White cement is recognized for its long-lasting, water-resistant, and strong adhesive characteristics. Furthermore, it has a finer grind than gray Portland cement, which allows it to hydrate and set faster.

Colored Cement

Colored cement is a form of concrete that contains 5-10% colors combined with white or gray Portland cement. These pigments are available in liquid, granular, and powdered forms, mainly in earth-tone hues.

Colored cement has distinct characteristics, including a longer initial setting time (3.5 hours) and a shorter final setting time (5 hours) than white cement. It also shows improved resistance to high temperatures.

Staining, dyeing, and intrinsic coloration are all options for adding color to concrete. Integral coloring includes mixing colors directly into the cement, contributing to a 3.5-hour setting time and increasing heat resistance.

In brief, colored cement combines coloring, extended setting periods, and increased heat resistance, making it suitable for ornamental and useful applications.

High Alumina Cement (HAC)

High alumina cement (HAC), calcium aluminate cement (CAC), is a specialized material used in various industries. It’s made by grinding alumina and lime and then firing the blend at high temperatures.

Unlike regular cement, which uses calcium silicates, HAC is mostly calcium aluminates. It sets quickly, reaching high strength—about 40 N/Sq mm daily and 50 N/Sq mm in three days.

It’s used in water pipes, sewage systems, and industrial structures. Unlike regular cement’s light grey, HAC is dark, but color alone isn’t a reliable way to identify it.

Blast Furnace Slag Cement (BFSC)

Blast furnace slag cement (PBFSC) mixes blast furnace slag and Portland cement clinker. The slag comes from making pig iron in blast furnaces. It’s cooled, dried, and ground into a fine powder.

PBFSC is great for ready-mix concrete, especially in tough environments like marine areas. It stands up to sulfates and chlorides. Perfect for underground and water-contact structures.

It doesn’t generate much heat when it sets, so it’s good for preventing cracks from temperature changes. Plus, it’s cheaper than regular cement.

Oil Well Cement

Oil well cement, also known as plugging cement, is crucial for sealing and cementing wells in the oil and gas industry. It’s designed for drilling challenges and handling high temperatures and pressures.

Made from Portland or pozzolanic cement with special additives, Oil Well Cement (OWC) ensures a controlled setting, preventing early hardening. It is crucial in deep wells with demanding conditions.

OWC is slow-setting and resilient, standing up to extremely good environments. Its main use is sealing the space between the casing and borehole walls, ensuring oil and gas wells’ overall integrity and efficiency.

Masonry Cement

Masonry cement, designed for mortar, mixes Portland cement with ground limestone, adding air-entraining or water-repellent agents. This special blend improves mortar features like ease of use, setting time, and water retention.

It also boosts frost resistance after drying. Companies often make masonry cement by blending Portland cement with lime or other elements, ensuring ample air in a kiln. An eco-friendly approach involves using fly ash from power plants in its production.

Air Entering Cement

Air entrainment in concrete is adding microscopic air bubbles (0.0004 to 0.04 inches in diameter) into the mixture. It is executed by adding a small amount of a surface-active ingredient to the concrete mixture, which functions similarly to soap.

The compound lowers the tension between water and solids. The resultant spherical air bubbles help avoid pressure buildup caused by the formation of ice crystals in concrete.

Hydrographic Cement

Hydrographic cement, commonly known as hydrophobic cement, is a distinct form of Portland cement. It sets and hardens even underwater due to water-repelling compounds and film-forming ingredients like oleic acid.

This cement is well-considered for its simplicity of application and strength. Its most notable attribute is water repellency, which makes it perfect for projects such as dams, water tanks, tunnels, and retaining walls, guarding against weather damage.

It is frequently employed in building water-related structures, drainage systems, and water treatment facilities.

Portland Limestone Cement

Portland-Limestone Cement (PLC), also known as Type 1L cement. It is a special blend of Portland cement and fine limestone (5-15%). Its performance is similar to the standard concrete.

However, limestone content helps to meet all traditional requirements for workability, measurements, and performance while reducing the carbon footprint by around 10%.

PLC is widely used in construction, especially in mortar for masonry, concrete block production, plaster, render, grout, and floor screed.

Apart from technical excellence, its innovative formula contributes significantly to environmental sustainability by reducing carbon emissions.

Waterproof Cement

Waterproof cement is a specific form of Portland cement with a water-repellent ingredient that makes it resistant to water damage. You can use this cement to construct water treatment facilities, parking lots, and roofs.

It is made by combining cement with certain water-resistant additives. It prevents water from entering structures and causing damage. It also prevents moisture and paint flaking.

If it is properly maintained, waterproofed concrete can survive for 25 to 50 years. However, it might not be easy to ensure that you apply adequate waterproofing. Usually, you must ensure it’s at least 60 mils thick, which can be tricky.