goutham

• May 20th, 2016

 

OPC is the acronym commonly used in reference to Portland Cement (or Ordinary Portland Cement, which explains the "O" in the acronym). It is the most common cement type used worldwide. OPC is the basic component used for concrete, mortars, stucco, and other common construction essentials that require cement in the mixture. It is designated as a type of hydraulic cement, which means that it is a type of cement that doesn’t only harden as a reaction to being mixed with water, but also becomes water-resistant once it cures. It is produced through pulverizing Portland cement clinkers, which consists of hydraulic calcium silicates, producing a fine powder. The Portland cement clinkers are initially created through heating a mixture of raw materials, the most important being limestone. Secondary materials include a source of aluminosilicate (often clay, but could also be impure limestone). Other common secondary materials are shale, sand, iron ore, bauxite, fly ash, and slag. These are then heated at around 1450 Degree C, which is the standard temperature used for producing most cements in this day and age. When water is mixed with OPC, it takes some hours to settle and gradually hardens and increases in durability. This process can vary depending on what the mixture is and what the desired result is.

Ordinary Portland Cement is the most prevalent because of the readily available raw materials in the area where it is produced. This is also why OPC is an ideal option for cement needs throughout the world today as the costs of producing it is very low without compromising quality. Being a low-cost cement product leads to OPC being widely used in the production of concrete, which is the most popular material used for construction in the world for roads, houses, buildings, dams, and the like. OPC is also used for mortars and in making grouts.

In relation to this, PPC refers to a form of Portland Cement which is Portland Pozzolana Cement. PPC is produced when pozzuolans are used in the mixture. A pozzuolana is a cement extender improving the strength and durability of the cement or even reducing the costs of producing concrete. The term came from the root word "pozzuolana" which is a form of volcanic ash. The introduction of pozzuolana into a hydraulic cement like OPC, or any similar material, leads to a pozzuolanic reaction. This, in turn, leads to a cementitious material that uses less cement but has the same or even greater material durability than without this addition. A pozzuolanic material by itself has few, if any, cementitious properties by itself, but adding it into a cement mixture will result in the above-mentioned results (provided the cement has a greater volume in relation to the pozzuolanic material added). PPC may take a longer time to settle than OPC, but it will eventually produce similar results given time. Though volcanic ash is the first form of pozzuolana used, this now includes natural and artificial siliceous or siliceous, aluminous materials such as clay, slag, silica fume, fly ash, and shale. Note that some of these are effectively "waste" materials from other processes but are ideal to produce PPC. With the production of PPC, the use of overall OPC is greatly reduced in the mixture (by close to 50 per cent) to produce the same results.

Knowing about the differences and the relationship between OPC and PPC is certainly useful, particularly for those in the construction industry. Determining which of the two is best suited for the needs and costs of a project can be very important in ensuring a successful endeavor.

Dandapani

• Aug 31st, 2016

 

Which is better of Masonry works (Plastering & Block Works) Cement. OPC or PPC

S.viswanath.R

• Sep 5th, 2016

 

OPC has a grade from 43 to 53. But PPC has now grade because its grade will incres year by year if PPC cement used fly ash of 0.3 mu microns