The specific gravity is generally referred to as the ratio based on the weight of a given volume of substance material and weight of an equal volume of water at fixed temperature. This applies also to Portland cement.
The Portland cement has a specific gravity value of 3.1 to 3.15 g/cc . This value determines that cement is 3.1 to 3.15 times heavier than water of same volume, and it will sink and dissolve in the water because of its specific gravity.
There are many pores in cement and when it is hydrated with water, the value may go up to 3.19 g/cc, when the specific gravity of cement reaches 3.19, the cement goes under a chemical reaction and the pores are filled. This process is called the hydration process of cement.
Specific Gravity values of different types of cement
Portland Cement 3.1 to 3.15 g/cc
Portland Pozzolana Cement 2.90 g/cc
Equipment Required for Cement Specific Gravity Test
The following equipment is required to carry out the cement specific gravity test.
- Lecharterlier Flask ( 250 ml)
- Weighing balance (accuracy 0.1 g)
- Kerosene ( without water)
- Portland cement
Test Procedure:
The specific gravity test has four procedures to determine the specific gravity of ordinary Portland cement as under;
- Make sure the flask is dried properly before the test procedure, now the weight of the empty flask and denoted as W1.
- Second step will be to fill the flask until the weight reaches the 50g, the flask should be closed properly with a stopper. This will be denoted as W2.
- Now add kerosene and fill the flask until the top, shake the flask and make sure there are no bubbles, weigh the flask with cement and kerosene in it. It will be denoted as W3.
- In the fourth step, empty the bottle and fill it with kerosene, and weigh the flask bottle, it will be indicated as W4.
