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Calcareous Cement: Their Nature and Uses, with Some

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Calcareous Cement: Their Nature and Uses, with Some •a^^-^ko 1v- MMX. i-" J, < ,v.- ^^fe* jir^MVin ?2f /" CALCAREOUS CEMENTS THEIR NATURE AND USES. STANDARD WORKS FOR ENGINEERS. By W. J. MACQUORN RANKINE, C.E., LL.D., F.R.S., Late Keg. Prof, of Civil Engineering in tlie University of Glasgow. Ill Crown 8vo, Cloth. Thoroughly Revised by W. J. Miliab, C.E., Sec. to the Inst, of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland. I.—APPLIED MECHANICS. Focrteenth Editio;?. 12s. 6d. IL—CIVIL ENGINEERING. Ninetee.nth Edition. IBs. Ill —THE STEAM ENGINE AND OTHER PRIME MOVERS. Thirtebxth Editioh. 12s. 6d. IV.—MACHINERY AND MILLWORK. Sevk.vth Edition. 12s. 6d. v.—USEFUL RULES FOR ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS, ELECTRICIANS, &c. Seventh Edition-. 10s. Cd. VI.—A MECHANICAL TEXT-BOOK: A Simple Introduction to the Study of Mechanics. Fourth Edition. 9s. VII.—PROFESSOR RANKINE'S MISCELLANEOUS SCIENTIFIC PAPERS. With Memoir by Professor Tait, M.A., and Fine Portrait on Steel. Royal 8vo, Handsome Cloth. 31s. 6d. HYDRAULIC POWER AND HYDRAULIC MACHINERY. For the Use of Practical Engineers and Students. By Henry Robinson, M.Inst.C.E., F.G.S., Professor of Civil Engineering, King's College, London. SECOKD EDITION. With 69 Lithographic Plates. Large 8vo. 34s. " A book of 6BEAT professional usefulness. "-Iron. MEASUREMENT CONVERSIONS (Eng-lish and Fpench). 43 Graphic TaVtles or Diagrams. Showing at a glance the Mutual Convei-sion of Measurements m Different Units of Lengths, Areas, Volumes, Weights, Stresses, Densities, Quantities of Work, Horse Powers, temperatures, &c. For the Use of Engineers, Surveyors, Architects, and Contractors. By R. H. Smith, A.M.I.C.E., M.I.M.E., M.I.E.E., &c.. Prof, of Civil and Mech. Engineering, Mason Science College, Birmingham. 4to. Pi"ice 7s. Od. GAS, OIL, AND AIR ENGINES: A Ppaetieal Text-Book on Internal Combustion Motors without Boilers. By Bryan Donkin, M.Inst.C.E. Large 8vo. Handsome Cloth. With 136 Illustrations. 2l8. "The BEST BOOK now published on Gas, Oil, and Air Engines."— Tft* Engineer. LONDON : CHARLES GRIFFIN & CO., LTD. ; EXETER STREET, STRAIO). CALCAREOUS CEMENTS: THEIR NATURE AND USES, WITH SOME OBSERVATIONS UPON CEMENT TESTING. BY GILBERT E: REDGRAVE, ASSOCIATE OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENOINEEKS ; TELFOKD GOLD MEDALLIST; AND OFFICIKR DE LA LEGION D'HONNEUK. "MiXh ©iagramg. , ^^^' f LONDON: CHARLES GRIFFIN AND COMPANY, LIMITED; EXETER STREET, STRAND. 1895. {All Rights reserved.'^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/calcareouscementOOredguoft PBEFACE. The marked improvements effected in recent years in the use of limes and cements date back undoubtedly to the close of the last century. They may be ascribed, partly to the great advance made about that time in chemical and scientific knowledge, and the accurate habits of thought and practical research induced by the spread of that knowledge, partly, also, to the rapid growth of engineering skill, which characterised that period. In both of these directions our own countrymen yielded important services, and, so far as limes and cements are concei'ned, while the " ingenious " Dr. Brindley Higgins was about 1780 laying the foundations of a proper study of the chemistry of the subject, Smeaton had already, as early as 1756, observed the notable fact that the hydraulicity of limes was due to the presence in them of clay. The records of the English Patent Office do not, however, disclose any great activity in these branches of invention until thirty or forty years later, and considerable progress appears to have been made in the manufacture of artificial limes abroad, before the subject attracted serious attention in England. The discovery by Parker of the valuable cement made from the septaria of the London clay, patented by him in 1796, was doubtless an invention of the utmost importance, as I shall attempt to show, when dealing with the subject from the historical point of view. Little injustice will probably be done to those who have turned their attention to these materials, if we state that — PREFACE. from the times of the Romans until Smeaton's discovery say for a period of close upon two thousand years—no substantial advance was made in the employment of limes and cements. It has, in fact, been reserved for the latter half of the nineteenth century to demonstrate the superiority of artificial cements over the best descriptions of natural cements and admixtures of fat or pure limes with other substances imparting to them cementitious properties. Notwithstandino; the excellence of the cements now being placed upon the market, and the amount of attention which the manufacture and employment of cements have recently received, we have still much to learn respecting the chemistry of cement action, and concerning the problems involved in the ecomomical production of these materials. On the subject of testing cements we are, be it confessed, lamentably deficient, as compared with many of our con- tinental neighbours, and in this direction, more especially as regards the introduction of some uniform and generally accepted system of testing, there is much still to be accom- plished in England. It has seemed to me, therefore, that a brief account of the history of the employment of cement in the past, which has received but little attention from previous writers, together with a description of the various processes of the manufacture, might be of use at the present time. I have also collected some of the opinions of experts on the testing of cement, and I have appended a full translation of the German Rules for Testing, which, I think, have not pre- viously been published in this country. These rules would appear to possess peculiar interest at the present time, in consequence of the controversy which has arisen among English manufacturers, even while this work is passing through the press, concerning the nature of Portland cement. The question of the legality or otherwise of the PREFACE. mixture with the cement, during the process of grinding, of less valuable ingredients was fought out in Germany more than twelve years ago, and after careful consideration and many experiments, it was decided both by manufacturers and engineers to adopt such a definition of "Portland cement" as to exclude all such admixtures, except two per cent, of plaster of Paris, employed for a special purpose. With the reasons for this use of plaster I have dealt fully in the ensuing pages, and the question w^hether Kentish ragstone or any other variety of unburnt material, or slag, should be employed by the manufacturer, would seem properly to come within the provisions of the Adulteration Acts, when we have such an extension of these Acts, as is, I believe, contemplated. I cannot claim to have dealt with the subject exhaustively, but I have endeavoured to represent the present aspect of the cement question impartially, not only from the point of view of the manufacturer, but also from that of the cement user, in both of which directions I have had the advantage of a practical acquaintance with the facts to which I refer. The leading works on limes and cements, both in this country and abroad, have been freely consulted and laid under contribution, and I have endeavoured in all cases to acknowledge my obligations to the writers whose opinions I have quoted. I have availed myself extensively of the Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, which contain some of the most valuable essays on Portland cement in existence, and I have here to tender my special thanks to my colleague, Mr. Charles Spackman, F.C.S., who has prepared the greater part of the Chapter on Grinding Machinery, and the original and important Chapter on the Chemical Analysis of Cements and Cement Materials. Many other manufacturers have likewise aided me largely with facts and figures, and I wish also to record my TUl PREFACE. indebtedness to Mr. I. C. Johnson for much valuable information. I trust that this account of what has been achieved in the past, and this brief record of the present state of our knowledge of limes and cements may be useful to those who may come after, and to all engaged in this branch of industry. I regard the present time as, in many respects, a very critical period in the history of the cement trade. Our own country, the original seat of the manufacture, has been distanced in certain directions in consequence of the superior scientific skill [and the energy of foreign rivals. The supremacy we have so long enjoyed has undoubtedly been to some extent wrested from us by the products of Continental industry and enterprise, and in the absence of some united action and some intelligent leading, our manu- facturers are threatened with a competition which they are not adequately armed to encounter. It would be idle on my part to deny that I dread times of even greater depression than those we have hitherto experienced in this important industry, and I am convinced that nothing but the formation of a powerful confederation of cement producers and cement users, such as exists in many of the most enlightened countries abroad, will extri- cate us from the difficulties by which we are surrounded. I tnist that it may be possible to induce the Institution of Civil Engineers or some influential Corporation to under- take these duties, and to free us from the dangers which I have attempted to indicate. GILBERT R. REDGRAVE. The Elms, Westgate Road, Beckenham, Kent. December, 1894. — CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Intpoduetion. PAGE Antiquity of use of Lime—Definition of Limes and Cements—Slaking Quicklime—Chemistry of Limes and Cements— Action of Carbonic Acid— Silica and Alumina—Calcination of Limes—Hydration Influence of Alkalies, .
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