No matter where you are in the urban landscape, you are never more than a few feet from cement. Cement forms the basis of virtually the entire worlds infrastructure. It is an impressively cheap binder that enables a wide variety of building materials. Despite its ubiquity, it is a surprisingly complex mixture of a balance of ingredients such as lime, silica, alumina and more. Knowing what is in your cement is a fundamental check of its quality and strength.
Starting on September 29, LECO launched a 4-part webinar series for an in-depth exploration of cement and other associated building materials.
First, Lloyd Allen, Ph.D., LECO’s Director of the Technical Services Laboratory, will discuss sulfur and carbon determination in cement and raw materials.
Jeffery Gast, LECO’s Lead Analytical Chemist, will continue on Wednesday, October 6, exploring moisture and LOI (Loss on Ignition) testing for cement, fly ash, gypsum, and lime using thermogravimetric analyses.
On Wednesday, October 13, Fred Schultz, LECO Applications Chemist, will discuss how carbon and nitrogen determination in adhesives, laminates, and cement fiber board will contribute to the quality and durability of those products.
And Steve Reilly, LECO’s Metallurgist, will finish up the series on Wednesday, October 20, with a discussion on how to prepare and microscopically examine cement clinkers to monitor the cement-making process.
