Cement and Concrete
Cement och betong

VBM020F, 8 credits

Valid from: Spring 2016
Decided by: FN3 /PT
Date of establishment: 2016-02-18

General Information

Division: Building Materials
Course type: Third-cycle course
Teaching language: English

Aim

The course gives an overview of the cement and concrete field, as well as an introduction to present hot research topics, from the raw materials for cement production to degradation mechanisms of concrete.

Goals

Knowledge and Understanding

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• be able to give an account of:
• 1. The basics of cement production.
• 2. The chemistry of Portland cement.
• 3. Different types of Portland cement based products.
• 4. The basic chemistry of Portland cement hydration.
• 5. The most common degradation mechanisms of concrete.
• 6. The development of physical properties during hydration.
• 7. Alternative cement and supplementary cementitious materials.
• 8. The chemistry of calcium aluminate cements.
• 9. Admixtures and their mode of action.
• 10. Properties of aggregates.

Competences and Skills

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• show that he/she can:
• 1. Use the cement chemist's abbreviated nomenclature.
• 2. Discuss the different types of cements based on the divisions in the European and North American standards.
• 3. Discuss both clinker production and cement hydration using ternary phase diagrams.
• 4. Discuss hydration kinetics using the results from kalorimetric measurements.
• 5. Discuss how different factors influence the properties of concrete, for example durability.
• 6. Discuss development trends within the cement and concrete fields.

Judgement and Approach

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• show that he/she understands:
• 1. The complexity of the cement manufacturing process.
• 2. The complexity of the cement hydration process.
• 3. The driving forces for technical development within the cement and concrete industry.
• 4. The environmental impact of cement and concrete production.
• 5. The usefulness of concrete, in relation to other materials.
• 6. Durability aspects in discussions of environmental impact.

Course Contents

The course follows Lea's Chemistry of Cement and Concrete: 1. Historical cements 2. Portland cement 3. Cement components 4. Specifications 5. Production 6. Hydration 7. Resistance to destructive agencies 8. Physical properties 9. Low-energy cements 10. Possolana 11. Slag-cements 12. Microsilica 13. Calcium Aluminate Cements 14. Special cements 15. Cement admixtures 16. Concrete aggregates

Course Literature

Hewlett, P.: Lea's Chemistry of Cement and Concrete. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008. ISBN 9780750662567.
Lea's Chemistry of Cement and Concrete is the main literature (1000 pages), but we will also discuss the research state-of-the-art with the help of about 15 scientific papers.

Instruction Details

Types of instruction: Seminars, exercises, self-study literature review. The course is built around eight seminars of 4 h. Before each seminar the participants shall read two chapters in Lea's book and two papers. Before each seminar the participants will get two types of exercises: 1. Prepare a detailed short (5 min) presentation of a part of what we have read. 2. Exercises that shall be answered in written form and handed to the course leader at the seminar.

Examination Details

Examination formats: Oral exam, seminars given by participants. For a pass the participant shall have taken part in at least 6 of 8 seminars, solved all exercises, and passed the oral exam.
Grading scale: Failed, pass
Examiner:

Admission Details

Admission requirements: All PhD-students are welcome to participate.
Assumed prior knowledge: The participants may need to fresh up their basic chemistry (we will supply material for this on request).
Selection criteria: The participants are admitted to the course in the order they apply for the course.

Further Information

The 4 h course seminars will be after lunch the second Wednesday in the following months: February, March, April, May, September, October, November, December in 2016.

Course Occasion Information

Contact and Other Information

Course coordinators: