Comparative Analysis of the Chemical Compositions of Afghani Ghori and Various Pakistani Cement Brands Used in Afghanistan

Abstract

Abstract:
Cement is widely used in construction works. In Afghanistan, despite Ghori Portland
cement several other Pakistani imported cement brands are used in a vast extent. Therefore, it
is required that the cement properties shall meet the standard properties established by the
codes. In this study, the Ghori-1 and imported cement brands are compared in terms of
chemical constituents and compounds. The chemical composition of Ghori cement was
analyzed by conducting XRF/XRD tests and the chemical composition of imported cements
were collected from the published research articles. The C3S, C2S, C3A, and C4AF compound
composition was calculated through the chemical analysis of cement using Bogue's equation.
It was found that in Ghori cement, the Al2O3 and SO3 contents exceed the specified limits. The
higher amount of SO3 leads to expansion of sulfates in cement. Moreover, based on the
comparison of four main compounds (C3S, C2S, C3A, and C4AF), it was found that the Ghori1 cement exhibit lower amount of C3S and higher amount of C2S which produces the least
strength compared to the other cement brands. Some deviations were found in chemical
composition of Ghori cement and do not meet the standard values established by the codes
which are due to low quality control during the cement production process. Based on the
comparison of different brands considering the chemical compositions, the Cherat and
Bestway cements met the recommended values given by the standards. The Ghori cement need
further quality control during the production process to ensure the codes specified quality.