The particle size distribution of cement is critical in determining the strength and curing qualities of concrete. The compressive strength and curing speed of cement increases with fineness, or specific surface area. Where two cements have identical surface areas, the cement with the narrower particle size distribution will have a higher compressive strength. Typically 60–70% of the particle size distribution of cement should be in the range 3–30μm. Particles larger than about 50μm are not capable of full hydration even after long curing periods. If there are too many particles smaller than 2μm, the cement will set exothermally and crack. Energy expended in the grinding process is considerable and actually amounts to 1% of the world’s energy consumption. Fast and accurate measurement of the particle size of cements can help to reduce energy consumption and achieve savings in production.
Sieving and Blaine surface area determination have been used to assess the fineness of cement. Both of these techniques suffer from low reproducibility and are slow. Laser diffraction provides a rapid, reproducible means of measuring the whole particle size distribution yielding both size-by-size classification as well as average diameters and surface area.
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