542

TIIHORY OF AKCIIITECTTTRE. Book II.

til in wliijh it absorlis more moisture. It answers well enough in dry situations. Vicat
formed a factitious Koinan cement ; but its efficacy was doubtful, though it had, for want
of a better substitute, been much employed at Paris.
,
1864. Portlaucl cement, the latest (about IS-tS) of all these cements, is made from
limestone and clay. The mud of the river Medway, corresponding to the argillo-
calcareous stone of Roman cement, is mixed with chalk and ashes from former makings,
and calcined at a heat amounting almost to that of vitrification. A larger quantity of
sand may be mixed with it than with Roman cement, to which it is> superior in colour
and hardness of setting. The heaviest, considered the best in quality, weighs 110 lbs.
to 112 lbs. per striked bushel.
18046. The distinguishing peculiarities which should render Portland cement a perraa-
ment substitute for Boman cement have been explained by a London manufacturer of both
materials {Builder, 1
863, p. 761).
It may be condensed into the statement
:
That the stone
from which Eoman cement is made, though composed of lime and the silicate of alumina,
yet the proportion of the latter preponderates t) such an extent as to prevent a perfect
amalgamation of the ingredients in burning. The result is a cement loose in its texture,
because containing inert foreign matter, which is retentive of moisture, and consequently
attackable by frost and vegetable growth. In Portland cement the case is otherwise. The
dose of lime to clay is in the ascertained correct proportion of two to one, and with this
condition there is the power thoroughly to combuie the ingredients by bui-ning, and thus
to give a density and compactness to the product which, in enabling it to resist water, frost,
and other decomposing agencies, are the elements of its durability and of its superiority
to the natural cements. Carelessness, or want of proper knowledge in its manufacture
;
an
improper mixture of the ingredients
;
an imperfect calcination
;
its bad manipulation
;
and
unfair handling when used as a cement, are all likely to result in disastrous effects on being
used. When employed as a mortar or as a concrete, it has seldom been known to fail.
1864(7. It is usual for the manufacturer to grind the cement after burning it. It i3
then placed in well-closed casks, which should not exceed 6 cvvt. each, when the cement
may be preserved for some time
;
but by contact with the atmosphere it is said to absirb
humidity and carbonic acid, and thus becomes deteriorated. It should be ground very
fine. For the sieve in sifting it, the French engineers required 185 meshes to the square
of 4 inches on a side. One-third of the volume of the cement for the quantity of water
is the best proportion, and the more that the cement is beaten up, the harder it becomes.
The best cement will harden in about five or six minutes, and under water in about an
hour; when mixed with sand it takes aklittle longer. When mixed with se.i-water, and
used in sea-water with a large quantity of sand, it may take even twenty-four hours
before setting. (See pars. 18626, c, and d.)
1864;^. The resistance to rupture of pure cement after 20 days' exposure to the air is
about 54 lbs. per inch square
;
if sand be added in the proportion of
i
to 1 of cement, it
falls to 37 lbs. ; and if it be in equal proportions, it falls to 27 lbs. The permanent load in
any large works should never be more than one-sixth of that required to produce rupture:
and if small materials be employed, only one-fifteenth should be calculated upon.
1864e. In testing Porcland cement, the Admiralty, at the Chatham Dockyard extension
works, f-pecified that samples would be taken from about one sack in ten, and gauged in
moulds, which, when set, would be placed in water and tested at the end of seven clear
days. Each must bear without breaking a weight of 650 lbs. upon the test- block of 1^ inches
square in section. In 1878 the Metropolitan Board of Works required the cement to be
of the best quality, ground so fine that it will pass through a sieve of fifty meshes to the
lineal inch. It must have a specific gravity of not less than 3'1, and weigh as delivered
114 lbs. or more to the imperial striked bushel. AVhen brought upon the works it is to
he put into dry sheds or buildings, which the contractor is to provide for the purpose,
having wooden floors and all necessary subdivisions. The cement is to be emptied out
upon this floor, every fifty bu'hel< being kept separate, and is not to be used until it has
been tested by samples taken out of every tenth sack. The samples to be gauged neat
in moulds, put into water 24 hours after the briquettes have been made, and remain till
tested, to bear without breaking a weight of 400 lbs. per square inch 7 d lys, and 600 lbs.
28 days after they have been made. The first to bo considered as preliminary, and the
second as decisive. Mr. John Grant's, C.E., specification is of a more extended character,
and includes the quality of sand. The briquettes with three of sand to bear a weight of
150 lbs. per square inch after 28 days.
1804/^. With cement at 112 lbs. per bushel, ,i cubic foot weighs 87'13 lbs., a cubic yard
2,352-6 lbs., and a ton occupies a space of
25'7 cubic feet.
1864^. With this cement, the ordinary proportions for walls may be 1 to 12 of gravel for
common, and 1 to 6 of slag and saudfor facing, concrete. A cubic yard of concrete takes
about Ig yard, or
31^
cubic f-^et, of loose gravel, exclusive of the cement, as made in a
gauge or measuring-box. One-twelfth of 31^
cubic feet, or a little more than
2|
feetcube,
goes to each sauge, and is easily calculated and prepared
;
or 218 11)S. by weight, if the
Cement weighs 112 lbs per bushel. For maki-^g good solid concrete, there should be