7 Different Types of Cement in India

About to build your dream home but you’re unable to figure out which type of cement to opt for?

Well, we don’t blame you. Looking at the different types of cement available in the market could make your head dizzy just trying to figure out which one is best suited for your construction.

Cement being the widely used essential in today’s architectural world, as it is used mostly for mortar, plaster, concrete, etc. Its strength is generally classified based on grades. These grades are the basic indicators of compression strength whose measurement is given in terms of Mega-Pascal (Mpa) after 28 days of setting. Along with this, they are given Indian Standard codes to make it easier for Civil engineers for its implementations

To save you the hassle and confusion, we have curetted types of cements widely used in India today and its applicability.

Different Types of Cement in India for Construction

• Ordinary Portland Cement 33 Grade

• Ordinary Portland Cement 43 Grade

• Ordinary Portland Cement 53 Grade

• Portland Slag Cement (PSC)

• Coloured Cement: White

• Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC)

• Hydrophobic Portland Cement

Let's explore these different types of cement in India in detail!

Beginning with the Ordinary Portland Cement, in comparison to the other cement available, is THE most commonly used cement in the world. It is made with raw argillaceous, calcareous materials and gypsum materials. According to Indian Standards, it is classified into three grades, OPC 33 Grade, OPC 43 Grade, OPC 53 Grade cements.

1. Ordinary Portland Cement 33 Grade

Typically implemented for the general civil construction purposes like plastering, flooring and masonry and is used up to M20 grade concrete. This type of cement features low compressive strength and low heat hydration which ensures lesser cracking. Yet, this type of cement is less available in the markets. It is given the Indian Standard code of 269. Ordinary Portland Cement is used in the plain cement concrete(PCC) making.

2. Ordinary Portland Cement 43 Grade

Similar to the OPC 33-grade cement they are also used for general civil purposes, like plastering, flooring up to M 30 concrete grades. This type of cement attains the minimum compression strengths at 43 Mega-Pascal at 28 days. Among the different types of cement available, this is largely available in the market due to its immense application in the construction industry even though it's gradually being replaced by the blended form cement. The Ordinary Portland Cement is given the Indian Standard code of 8112.

3. Ordinary Portland Cement 53 Grade

This type of cement is used with a higher concrete grade than M30 for both general purposes and for building bridges, roads, multi-storied building works, etc. They attain the minimum compression strength of 53 Mega-Pascal at 28 days of curing. They are also widely used in the reinforced cement concrete, is a complex material where the concrete with relatively low tensile strength and ductility are included with reinforcement to have higher strength and ductility. Application is also observed in cement grouts, instant plugging mortars which generally require higher strength. It is given the Indian Standard code of 12269

4. Portland Slag Cement (PSC)

The Portland Slag is the type of cement which when exposed to rough types of environments like the wastewater treatment or marine applications it does not crack therefore preferred over, Ordinary Portland Cements. With its high strength, it serves best for high rise structures or long-lasting services such as roads or bridges. Its features perform perfectly along with Portland cement in increasing strength, therefore reducing the permeability and improving resistance to various chemical reactions such as chloride and sulphate attacks or even simple corrosions. Unlike different types of cement, this is only available in certain markets. This cement is given the Indian Standard code of 455.

5. Coloured Cement: White

Although the Coloured type of cement is more expensive in comparison to the Ordinary Portland Cement, it has its benefits and implementations. Made from raw materials such as iron oxide and manganese oxide Widely used for interior and exterior architectural beauty enhancements such as the terrazzo tiles, ornamental concrete products like idols and non-structural, flooring and special effects. As the name suggests it is white in colour and the chemical composition and physical properties of this white cement is also able to meet the specifications of Ordinary Portland cement. The coloured cement is given the Indian Standard code as 8042.

6. Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC)

The Portland Pozzolana is known for its fineness, a high degree of impermeability and for being a good corrosion resistor making the concrete dense therefore the structure becomes long-lasting. Due to this high impermeable quality and long term strength of more than 90 days, in adverse soil conditions, this type of cement is used in place of ordinary Portland cement. Therefore used for the construction of marine structsures, mass concrete structures like bridge footings under aggressive conditions, hydraulic structures like dams and retaining walls or even for basic masonry mortar and plastering works. The Portland Pozzolana Cement i also easily available in markets. This cement is given the Indian Standard code as 1489 P-2.

7. Hydrophobic Portland Cement

The Hydrophobic Portland cement is not that easily available due to the abundance in the availability of different types of cement in the market and is comparatively more expensive than the Ordinary Portland Cement yet, they are best to be used in harsh cold weather conditions as they are manufactured keeping in mind the requirements in the areas of high rainfall to improve its lifeline. Giving it a chemical coating during manufacturing makes it’s a good water repellent as the name suggests and therefore it isn’t affected due to high humidity making it possible to be stored for long durations, hence this cement is used in the construction of spillways, dams and other underwater constructions. This cement is given the Indian Standard code as 8043.

Types of Cement in India - Bonus:

Quick Setting Cement

Quick Setting Cement or QSC is yet another type of cement in India, known for its rapid compressive strength and short Waiting On Cement(WOC) time. Quick Setting Cement(QSC) is produced by finely grinding the normal cement after adding a small percent of aluminium sulphate to it. Quick Setting Cement uses this small percent of aluminium sulphate to reduce the amount of gypsum, thereby greatly reducing the retarder for the setting action of the cement. This quick setting factor of QSC makes it one of the ideal types of cement in India for construction purposes.

Well folks, thats all about the major types of cement used in India. We hope that you like the blog and do share your thoughts in the comment section.

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