Testing Of Portland Cement:

To know the quality of a Portland cement, it should be tested before its use is recommended for any important engineering work. Care should be taken to collect the sample of cement. In sequence to make a representative sample, it is desirable to collect the sample from at least 12 different bags or barrels or containers or from 12 different positions in a heap if the cement is loose. The quantity of cement so collected is intimately mixed and the final sample of cement weighing at least 5 kg is prepared. It is then stored in air-tight container till the tests are started.

The properties of concrete mainly depend upon the quantity of cement used. To know the quality of Portland cement it should be tested before its use for any important engineering work. Testing of cement could be completed through two ways.

(a)        Field testing, and

(b)       Laboratory testing.