Comparative Study of the Compressive Strength of Concrete made from Different Brands of Cements in Ghana

Abstract

There is an on-going debate about the strength and durability of the different brands of cements used for construction in Ghana. This has raised doubts on the quality and performance of the strength of the different brands of cements. Concrete is a composite material made of aggregates such as sand and stone that are mixed uniformly in the required proportion together with water for it to achieve the desired strength in its development. Cement is an important ingredient that binds together other building materials by a combination of chemical processes known as setting. Among the various physical properties of cement, compressive strength is the most vital property which gives an overall assessment of quality of concrete as the strength of concrete shows the ability of the structure to withstand various loads during it lifelong performance after construction. This research investigated the compressive strength of six different brands of 32.5R and 42.5R cements used for construction works in Ghana, namely, CIMAF cement, DIAMOND cement, GHACEM cement, SOL cement, SUPACEM cement and DANGOTE cement. Among the 32.5R brands, GHACEM cement developed the highest 28th day compressive strength of 30.96 N/mm2 and CIMAF cement the lowest strength of 25.89 N/mm2. In the 42.5R group, DANGOTE had the highest 28th compressive strength of 37.19N/mm2 while SOL produced the lowest with 31.11N/mm2.