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Here I have explained about why kerosene is used in the specific gravity of cement.
Why Kerosene is Used in Specific Gravity of Cement Test?
Kerosene
is used to determine the specific gravity of cement because when water is used
while experimenting (testing), it starts to react with the cement and forms
calcium oxide (CaO). This affects the experiment but kerosene does not react with
cement and does not affect the experiment. This is why we are using the value 0.79 (specific gravity of kerosene) in our calculation (specific gravity of
water is 1).
Specific
gravity of a material is a dimensionless quantity.
When water is added to the cement then the hardening of the cement starts. Once the
cement hydrated with water, it becomes useless.
What is Specific Gravity of Cement?
Specific
gravity of a material is defined as the ratio between weight of a given volume
of material and weight of an equal volume of water. Therefore, specific gravity
of cement is the ratio of weight of a given volume of cement with weight of an
equal volume of water at a specified temperature.
What is The Value of Specific Gravity of Kerosene?
Kerosene, also called naphtha, is a commonly
used petroleum fuel. It is used to calculate specific gravity of cement instead
of water. The value of specific gravity of kerosene or naphtha is 0.79.
The
kerosene or naphtha, used in the specific gravity test, should be completely
free from water.
Why We Determine The Specific Gravity of Cement?
Specific gravity of cement is one of the
factor, which is used in determination of the density of the cement. Moreover,
density of the cement and other materials is one of the vital parameter, which
determines the design of the concrete. This is why the specific gravity test of
cement is so important.
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