Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)

Ordinary Portland cement (simply called ordinary

cement) refers to the hydraulic binding

material ground by mixing Portland cement clinker, 6% ~ 15% blended materials, and
appropriate amount of gypsum.
Utilization

In projects, the varieties of cement should be selected reasonably based on the specific
environment. As for the property of cement, OPC is the basic one. Cement is used as a
binder with appropriate amount of sand, stone crush, lime and admixtures in;
  Mortar – For brick/block/stone masonry and repairs
 Plaster – For rendering of exterior/interior walls
 Concrete –
 For columns, beams, roof slabs and foundations

Setting Time

The initial setting time of ordinary cement should not be earlier than 45 min, and final
setting time should not be later than 10 h.

Strength Achievement

Following is the percentage cement strength in days;

Days Percentage Strength
1 14-16%
3 35-40%
7 65-70%
14 85-90%
28 95-99%
Dealing with Cement

Before Use – Storage

There should be a specific place for cement storage at the construction site and the
storeroom should be dry.
Cement in bags should be stored on the backing plate 30cm higher above the floor and
30cm away from the surrounding walls with a stacking height below 10 bags;
in the storage of cement, the one which is stored first should be used first, and cement
should not be stored for a long time.
The storage period generally should be less than 3 months and the cement stored for
over 6 months can be used only through test.
During Placement – Mortar/Concrete

Cement once mixed with water starts its chemical reaction and its setting time starts.
Following steps are necessary while using mortar or concrete mix;

1. Higher water content increases workability but decreases strength,

2. hence appropriate water to cement ratio should be maintained to get best
results.
3.
4. Water should be mixed in a mix quantity that can be easily utilized during first 30
minutes after addition of water.
5.
6. Proper mixing is required for best workability and strength achievement. Therefore
manual mixing must be avoided and mechanical mixing should be done using
bucket mixers and batching plants.
7.
8. Surplus material should be cleaned immediately before final setting so that actual
structure is not disturbed afterwards.
9.
10. Proper water tight form work and use of vibrator for reinforced concrete is a must.
11.
12. Admixtures can be used to add value addition like plasticity, high strength,
delaying setting time etc.
 13.

After Setting – Curing

Curing is the most important thing to be done for achieving strength in cement.
After placement of cement mortar and concrete, if the moisture of the environment is
very dry, the water in the cement will evaporate, leading to insufficient hydration and
ceasing of the hardening.
Serious cracks will happen sometimes. Curing can be done in following ways;

1. Ponding or spraying of water.

2.
3. Pouring water over set concrete and wrapping polythene sheet all around.
4. Covering whole concrete element with damped jute bags.
 5.
6. Applying curing chemical.

Curing must be done for at least seven days after final setting.
Reference:

Ch-4 - Cement, Editor(s): Haimei Zhang,

In Woodhead Publishing Series in Civil and Structural Engineering, Building Materials in
Civil Engineering, Woodhead Publishing, 2011,
Pages 46-423, ISBN 9781845699550, https://doi.org/10.1533/9781845699567.46