APPLICATION OF DIFFERENTIAL THERMAL ANALYSIS IN CEMENT RESEARCH

Abstract

Differential thermal analysis (DTA) has recently attained increasing importance as a research tool in cement chemistry. DTA is normally used in identifying various materials but could also be employed to follow reactions by heating the reactants gradually to elevated temperatures. Use of sensitive equipment and proper calibration facilitate quantitative estimation of materials. Certain poorly crystallized compounds not easily identifiable by x-ray diffraction give characteristic thermal peaks. This review presents the application of DTA to portland cement. Other cements are included to illustrate the importance of DTA to an understanding of the chemistry of cement in general and also of the potentialities of the method itself.