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Investigation on Different Cement Brands Commonly Used in Bangladesh

Conference Paper · January 2012

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Third International Conference on Construction In Developing Countries (ICCIDC–III)
“Advancing and Integrating Construction Education, Research & Practice”
July 4-6,2012Bangkok, Thailand

Investigation of Differente Cement Brands Commonly Used in Bangladesh

Tarek Uddin Mohammed
(University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka, Bangladesh, tarek@uap-bd.edu)

Prottoy Hasan
(University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka, Bangladesh, hasan_ce@uap-bd.edu)

B. K. M. Ashraful Islam
(Bangladsh Water Development Board, Dhaka, Bangladesh, sajib.civil@gmail.com)

Ariful Hasnat
(University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka, Bangladesh, arifulhasnat@gmail.com)

Saika Sharkia
(University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka, Bangladesh, ssharkia@uap-bd.edu)

Abstract
The quality of cement is one of the important factors related to the strength and durability of concrete. In
Bangladesh, there are more than 60 cement companies those are producing cements with different
composition and supplying to the market with different brand names. However, no comparative study has
been made to check the quality of the cement brands available in the market. As a part of a research
project on sustainable development of concrete construction works in Bangladesh, this study has been
planned. For investigation, cement bags were collected from thirty different companies with different
brand names. The composition of the cement has been recorded from the cement bags. Each of the
cement samples (collected as bags from market) has been tested in the laboratory for bulk unit weight,
normal consistency, initial setting time, final setting time, bleeding, fineness, and compressive strength at
3 days, 7 days, 14 days, and 28 days as per ASTM standards.Test results indicate that a cement brand
with a longer final setting time and more bleeding gives less compressive strength at 28 days. A linear
correlation is found between the 28-day compressive strength and final setting time of cement. By using
this correlation, it will be possible to determine the compressive strength of cement at 28 days by quick
determination of final setting time in the laboratory. Correlations between strength of cement with time
are developed for different cements that can be also be used for predicting 28-day strength from the result
of early strength of cement, such as 3-day or 7-day.

Keywords
Bleeding, Cement, Compressive strength, Fineness, Setting time.

1. INTRODUCTION

Concrete construction works in Bangladesh is rapidly increasing due to the necessity of development of
significant number of infrastructures as well as booming of real estate business not only in the capital city,
Dhaka but also in other major cities, such as Chittagong, Sylhet, Cox-Bazar, Comilla, etc. Due to a huge
demand of cement for making concrete structures, more than 60 national and international cement
companies are producing cement and supplying it to the market with different brand names. The per

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capita per year cement consumption was 22 kg in 1999 but it is increased to 65 kg in 2009 (Banikbarta,
2011). It is expected that it will be increased by several times in the near future. At this critical stage of
huge construction works in Bangladesh, it is necessary to take steps for ensuring sustainable construction
works in Bangladesh so that the structures which are constructed today will be durable for a long service
life and thereby will reduce the demand of ingredients for making concrete in future. This strategy will
ensure availability of concrete ingredients for making homes and other structures for future generations to
come. Based on this background, an integrated research project has been taken for sustainable
construction works in Bangladesh. This integrated research project covers various vital issues related to
the sustainable construction works, such as (i) common causes of deterioration of concrete structures in
Bangladesh, (ii) common problems at construction sites that cause early deterioration of concrete
structures in Bangladesh, (iii) mechanical properties of concrete made with different aggregates available
in Bangladesh, (iv) investigation on different cement brands available in the market in Bangladesh, (v)
recycling of demolished concrete as coarse aggregate for new construction works, (vi) recycling of
demolished concrete as fine aggregate for new construction works and making blocks. Some of the results
of these studies are summarized in various reports (Mohammed, 2007, Mohammed et al., 2011, Rashid et
al., 2005, Siddiqui et al., 2005,Hasan et al., 2006, Miah et al., 2006). In this report only the results related
to the cement brands are summarized.

2. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS

A total of 30 cement bags of different brands were collected from various local dealers. After collection,
each cement bag was kept in an air-tight plastic bag to prevent unwanted hydration with the moisture
present in air. Ingredients of cement printed on the collected cement bags were recorded. No further test
was conducted to re-check the composition of cement printed on the cement bags. Immediately after
collection of the cement bags from the market, cement samples were tested in the laboratory for normal
consistency (ASTM C187), initial and final setting time (ASTM C191), compressive stregth (ASTM
C109), fineness of cement (ASTM C184), bleeding (ASTM C 243) and bulk unit weight (ASTM C 128).
For testing compressive stregth, instead of Ottawa sand, standard graded locally available sand was used.
Compressive stregth of cement was tested at the age of 3, 7, 14, and 28 days.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Classification of Cement

According to BDS EN 197-1 : 2003, cements are mainly classified into five categories according to their
composition, namely CEM I, CEM II, CEM III, CEM IV, and CEM V. CEM II cement is sub-divided
into different groups depending on the contents of mineral admixture and limestone powder as indicated
in Table 1. CEM I is the ordinary portland cement (OPC). Composition of CEM IV and CEM V cements
are not shown as these cements are rarely found in the market. Based on the ingredients of cement
collected from the cement bags, it is found that the collected cement bags belong to CEM I and CEM II
only. CEM III, CEM IV, and CEM V cements are absent in the samples. Out of the thirty cement bags
collected from the market, two samples fall in the group of CEM I (Sample No. 1 and 2), 15 samples fall
in the group of CEM II/A-M (indicated as Sample No. 3 to 17), 9 samples fall in the group of CEM II/B-
M (Sample No. 18 to 26), 3 samples fall in the group of CEM II/A-S (Sample No. 27 to 29), and one
sample fall in the group of CEM II/A-L (Sample No. 30). It indicates that CEM I and CEM II cements are
commonly used for constructionh works. Among the blended cements, CEM II/A-M, i.e., cement with
less amount of mineal admixture is commonly available in the market compared to CEM II/B-M.

3.2 Normal Consistency, Setting Time, Fineness and Bleeding

The variation of normal consistency of cement is shown in Figure 1(a). All cements satisfy the ASTM
requirement of the limit of normal consistency of cement (ASTM C187). It can also be seen that for the

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brands of blended cement, the normal consistency is lower. It indicates that for a certain degree of
softness of these cements, less amount of water will be required. The initial and final setting time of
cement are shown in Figure 1(b) and Figure 1(c) respectively. The results indicate that the initial setting
time of blended cement is higher than the initial setting time of OPC cement. Final setting time of the
cement is also found slightly higher than the OPC cement. The fineness and bleeding of cement are
shown in Figure 2(a) and Figure 2(b) respectively.

Table 1: Classification of Cement as Per BDS EN 197-1

Type of Portland Cement

Composition (%)
CEM I CEM II/A-M CEM II/B-M CEM II/A-S CEM II/A-L
Clinker 95-100 80-94 65-79 80-94 80-94
Blast-furnace Slag - 6-20 -
Silica Fume - - -
Pozzolana - - -
6-20 21-35
Fly Ash - - -
Burnt Shale - - -
Limestone - - 6-20
Additional Constituents 0-5 0-5 0-5 0-5 0-5

Figure 1: (a) Normal Consistency of Cement (Top), (b) Initial Setting Time of Cement (Middle), (c)
Final Setting Time of Cement (Bottom)

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3.3 Compressive Strength of Cement

The variation of compressive strength of cement mortar made with different brands of cement is shown in
Figure 2(c). It can be seen that compressive of cement is increased with age irrespective of the type of
cement. OPC cement (CEM I) shows relatively higher strength compared to the other cements (CEM
II/A-M, CEM II/B-M, CEM II/A-S, CEM II/A-L). At the early age, the strength of mortar specimen is
lower for other cements compared to OPC cement. But this difference of strength is reduced with time.
The difference of strength is high with the increase of mineral contents in cement. It is expected that the
strength of blended cement will increase with time further and will compete with the strength of OPC
cement and exceed the strength of OPC cement in the long run. The data of compressive strength at 51
and 91 days were not recorded.

Figure 2: (a) Fineness of Cement (Top), (b) Bleeding of Cement (Middle), (c) Variation of
Compressive Strength with Age (Bottom)

The variations of initial setting time and final setting time with compressive strength of cement mortar are
shown in Figure 3(a) and Figure 3(b). It is found that there is a tendency of having lower level of strength
for the cement with longer setting time (both initial and final). Correlations between the setting time and
compressive strength of cement mortar can be used to predict the strength of cement from the setting time
data that can be quickly determined in the laboratory.The variation of average compressive strength of
cement mortar with age up to 28 days is shown in Figure 4. It is found that the compressive strength of
mortar specimens is increased with time. The rate of increase in strength is higher for CEM I cement as

557
expected due to the faster rate of hydration of cement particles. CEM II/A-S and CEM II/A-L cements
shows faster strength development compared to CEM II/A-M and CEM II/B-M cements. At the early age,
CEM II/B-M cement brand shows relatively lower strength than CEM II/A-M due to the more content of
mineral admixtures, however, no significant different is observed at 28 days. Correlations between the
compressive strength and age of the cement mortar are proposed and can be used to predict strength at 28
days from early age data.

Figure 3: Variation of Compressive Strength with (a) Initial Setting Time (Left), (b) Final Setting
Time (Right)

Figure 4: Variation of Normalized Compressive Strength with Age

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 4. CONCLUSIONS

In Bangladesh, due to the huge construction works, the demand of cement is increased. To meet the
demand of cement, many cement companies are producing cement. In this study, cement bags from thirty
different cement companies were collected and tested in the laboratory. The following conclusions are
made based on the scope of this study:

1. Most of the cement brands satisfy ASTM specifications,

2. At 28 days, compared to CEM I cement, CEM II/A-M and CEM II/B-M show 30% lower
strength, and CEM II/A-S and CEM II/A-L show 20% lower strength,
3. Cement brands with more setting time (both initial and final) show lower strength. Relationships
between the setting time and compressive strength of mortar are proposed and can be used to
predict the compressive strength of cement from the data of setting time.
4. Relationships between the compressive strength and age of the mortar specimens are proposed
that can be used to predict 28 days strength from the available strength data at the earlier age.

5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The data accumulated in this report have been accumulated from several undergraduate thesis papers. The
authors acknowledge the efforts of the students to gather the laboratory and field data related to this study.
This study was conducted with the financial supports from the University of Asia Pacific (UAP), Dhaka,
Bangladesh under a project on Sustainable Development of Construction Works in Bangladesh.

6. REFERENCES

Banikbarta Desk. “Trend of Cement production in Bangladesh.”Banikbarta (Dhaka), 30 July, 2011.

Http://www.bonikbarta.com/2011-07-30/news/subcategory/33.html.
Hasan et al. (2006). “Investigation on Factors Related to Sustainable Development of Concrete
Technology in Bangladesh-Part III”, B.Sc. thesis, University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Miah et al. (2006). “Investigation on Factors Related to Sustainable Development of Concrete
Technology in Bangladesh-Part IV”, B.Sc. thesis, University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Mohammed, T.U. (2007). “Bangladesh – Sustainable Development of Concrete Technology”,
Proceedings of the CBM-CI – International Workshop, Editor: S. Ahmed, Karachi, Pakistan, pp. 249-
267.
Mohammed, T.U., Hasnat, A., and Awal, M.A. (2011). “Recycling of Demolished Concrete ”,Technical
Report Presented in ICCMC Meeting, Hong Kong.
Rashid et al. (2005). “Investigation on Factors Related to Sustainable Development of Concrete
Technology in Bangladesh-Part I”, B.Sc. thesis, University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Siddiqui et al. (2005). “Investigation on Factors Related to Sustainable Development of Concrete
Technology in Bangladesh-Part II”, B.Sc. thesis, University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

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