Which four main compounds make up portland cement?

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Portland cement is composed of four primary compounds. In chemical notation, these are:

  • Tricalcium silicate (3CaO·SiO2), often abbreviated as C3S1
  • Dicalcium silicate (2CaO·SiO2), abbreviated as C2S12
  • Tricalcium aluminate (3CaO·Al2O3), abbreviated as C3A13
  • Tetracalcium aluminoferrite (4CaO·Al2O3Fe2O3), abbreviated as C4AF1

In these abbreviations, C represents calcium oxide, S represents silica, A represents alumina, and F represents iron oxide. In addition to these main compounds, the final product may contain small amounts of uncombined lime, magnesia, and other minor elements.1