Construction and Building Materials 37 (2012) 548555

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Construction and Building Materials

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Statistical research on phase formation and modication of alite polymorphs

in cement clinker with SO3 and MgO
Xuerun Li a, Hong Huang a,b, Jie Xu a, Suhua Ma a, Xiaodong Shen a,
a
b

State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Technology, Nanjing 210009, China
Lafarge A & C Technical Service (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Beijing 100027, China

h i g h l i g h t s
" Design of experiments (DoE) was adjusted in the cement clinker chemistry.
" Combination effects come from the interactions of SO3 with MgO and temperature, which can demonstrate in the contour plot.
" MgO favors the formation of M3 type alite while SO3 stabilizes M1.
" Temperature and sintering time have little effect on the crystal modications of alite.
" The amount of C4AF is increased with likewise increasing SO3 content.

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 19 April 2012
Received in revised form 22 June 2012
Accepted 22 July 2012
Available online 7 September 2012
Keywords:
Design of experiments
Formation of alite
Interaction
Alite polymorphism
Cement clinker

a b s t r a c t
The design of experiments (DoE) was adjusted in cement clinker chemistry, with alite polymorphisms in
the clinker taken into account. The additions of SO3, MgO, as well as two other factors, sintering temperature and time, were included to study clinker formation and alite polymorphisms. XRD quantitative
analyses and thermal analysis (DSCTG) were used to collect quantitative data from the samples and
to investigate the clinkerization of the raw meal. The central composition design was used to design
the experiments and the response surface methodology was used to evaluate the results. The addition
of SO3 inhibited the formation of alite in the clinker, while MgO compensated for any negative effects
caused by the SO3. A contour plot interpreted the combination effects of these four factors. The amount
of C4AF was then increased with a likewise increasing SO3 content. MgO favored the formation of M3 type
alites, while SO3 stabilized the M1. Alite modication, which is related to hydration properties, could be
helpful for efcient use of high MgO content calcite in cement production.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
MgO and SO3 are the most frequently existing minor components in industrial clinkers [13]. MgO can lower the melting temperature and increase the quantity of the liquid phase during the
clinkers sintering process [1,4], while the addition of SO3 leads
to the stabilization of belite and lime at clinkering temperatures,
thus decreasing the C3S content [1]. The added combination of
MgO and SO3 can be helpful in the production of high SO3 content
clinkers [1]; additionally, the MgO to SO3 weight ratio can also
modify alite polymorphs in the clinker. Maki [3,5] investigated several industrial clinkers with varied MgO to SO3 weight ratios and
found that high ratios promoted M3 formation while low weight
ratios favored M1 formation. Emanuelsons [6,7] work concluded
that, according to the XRD pattern, a high SO3 content in Portland
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 25 83587234.
E-mail address: xdshen@njut.edu.cn (X. Shen).
0950-0618/$ - see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.07.099

cement clinker with MgO (34 wt.%) yielded more M1 type alites
while a low content resulted in M3 type alites.
Studies [4,8] have shown that the highest limit of the incorporated amounts of MgO in the clinker minerals is about
2 wt.%. The clinkers with relatively high amounts of MgO sintered under a higher temperatures could cause MgO to enter
into the liquid; during the consequent cooling process, much
of the MgO remains in the aluminate and ferrite phases, but
small amounts of MgO can separate as small periclase crystals
[9]. Lorke [10] has tried to decrease the periclase content in
clinkers by increasing the coarse raw mixed content, which
can yield alite enriched with MgO.
The SO3 dosage in a clinker has a strong preference for belite,
which can decrease the liquids viscosity and surface tension. The
polymorphic forms of C3S and M1 are predominant in the constituent phase. It was recorded [11] that the threshold of SO3 for the
formation of C3S is 2.5 wt.%. The SO3 dosage can also impact the
C3A and C4AF contents [5,11].

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X. Li et al. / Construction and Building Materials 37 (2012) 548555

Table 1
Chemical compositions of the blank samples and the phase contents calculated by
Bogue method (wt.%).
SiO2

Al2O3

Fe2O3

CaO

KHa

SM

IM

C3S

C2S

C3A

C4AF

23.4

5.57

3.1

67.93

0.88

2.2

1.4

53.6

21.8

8.21

12.41

Notes: KH = (CaO1.65Al2O30.35Fe2O3)/(2.8SiO2) is the lime saturation factor,

SM = SiO2/(Fe2O3 + Al2O3) is silica modulus and IM = Al2O3/Fe2O3 is iron modulus.

In a recent review, Noirfontaine [12] applied the CALPHAD

methodology in commercial databases to calculate the systems
including Fe2O3, MgO, SO3, P2O5 and alkalis, which provide more
information on understanding the system with MgO and SO3. Marchi [13] applied an in situ High Temperature X-ray Powder Diffraction to inuence the SO3 and MgO in ordinary Portland
clinker formations, yielding a much more fundamental understanding of the system.
High MgO (presented as dolomite) content calcites are abundant in China. The MgO content in these clinkers is usually
3 wt.%, but in some areas is as high as 5 wt.%. The alites in such
clinkers were exhibited mainly as M3 types [13]; however, M1
type alites performed better than M3 types, and the transformation
of M3 to M1 modications might provide an increase in the compressive strength either by doping [14] or by annealing [15]. The
modication of alites in high MgO content clinkers could be helpful
for the improving cement properties.
Much work has been done regarding the inuence of MgO and
SO3 contents in clinkerization; however, little information has
been published concerning the interaction of MgO and SO3. Furthermore, much of the pioneer work in alite modication relates
to the investigation of the industrial clinker with MgO and SO3 contents [2,3,6,7,12,14] and the tricalcium silicate systems [1519].
Herein, using the design of experiment (DoE), we investigate
MgO, SO3, temperatures, and sintering times, as well as the interaction of these four factors during clinker sintering. This effort is
also to demonstrate the impact of MgO and SO3 on alite polymorphisms. However, the clinkers mechanical properties are scheduled for another paper.

2. Experiment
2.1. Sample preparations
The cement clinker was synthesized with analytical reagent grades of CaCO3,
SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3 MgO and CaSO42H2O. The MgO was added directly to the samples, while the additional CaO taken from gypsum was considered in the total
CaO content. For a blank sample, the parameters are shown in Table 1.
The prepared raw meals were homogenized in a ball meal bottle with water and
agate balls for 12 h. Then the liquid meal was dried and pressed into discs for the
sintering process.
Clinkers were sintered in a resistance furnace, the temperature of which was
calibrated with Ferro PTCR-MTH testing rings (Ferro Electronic material systems,
5 C). Samples were placed in Pt crucibles, heated at a rate of 10 C/min, calcinations at 1000 C for 30 min, then up to sintering temperatures (1450 C, 1500 C,
and 1550 C respectively) and held for a required time (30 min, 75 min and
120 min). The sintered clinkers were then cooled with forced air.

Table 3
Design matrix of factors and the phase composition of clinkers.
Run No.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

Factors

Phase compositions (%)

C3S

C2S

C4AF

C3A

f-CaO

0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
1

0
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
1

0
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
1

0
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
1

51.5
49.8
32.4
53.6
56.9
50.2
49.3
16.9
57.7
47.6
51.1
56.8
50.8
46.4
57.6
54.6
54.6
47.3
55.5
40
48.8
54.9
36.4
54.7
56.9
54.6
44.9
55.9
3.2
55.8
56.9

28.3
27.1
41.1
25.5
23.9
29.7
28
52.4
23.5
31.4
29.7
23.7
29.9
31.7
24.2
23
25.6
32.4
22.6
34.8
28.7
22.8
35.3
22.6
22.8
27.2
32.1
26
61.6
27.1
23.5

14.1
11.3
11.1
12.4
13.7
14.1
11
12.2
11.8
14.1
13.3
14.7
13.6
13.1
13.7
10.2
14.6
13.5
9.9
13.4
13.3
9.8
10.5
8.4
12.6
13.7
13.5
13.6
10.5
13.1
12.2

2.9
7
10.4
4.5
3.4
3.1
10.5
11.2
3.5
3.5
2.9
2.9
2.8
4.9
2.4
11.7
2.8
3.1
11.4
6.4
4.9
11.7
13.7
12.2
5.1
2.2
5.6
2.6
13
2.2
4.3

2.4
2.5
5
1.9
0.7
1.7
1.1
7.3
0.5
3.3
2
1.2
2.1
1.4
1.4
0.5
1.5
2.6
0.5
2.4
0.8
0.6
4
1.2
0.8
1.3
1.6
1.1
10.1
1.1
0.7

2.2. Characterization
2.2.1. X-ray diffraction (XRD)
All samples were nely grounded in order to perform the powder diffraction
measurements. XRD data was collected on a Thermosher ARL 9900 series X-ray
workstation using Co Ka radiation (k = 0.1788996 nm) running in reection geometry (h/2h) at room temperature. The data was collected from 8 to 80 (2h) during
15 min with a step size of 0.02; more detailed XRD patterns were performed for a
range of 3541 and 6062 at a rate of 0.5/min. The X-ray tube worked at 40 kV
and 40 mA. The quantitative analysis was performed with the Reference Intensity
Ratio (RIR) method using Visual Crystal software supplied by Thermosher.
2.2.2. Differential thermal analysis
The Netzsch STA 449c thermal analyzer obtained differential thermal measurements. The DSC curves were obtained at a heating rate of 20 C/min in simulated air.

3. Design of experiments (DoE)

The design of experiments (DoE) is widely used in engineering,
especially for biochemical and pharmaceutical areas, in order to
extract complex information statistically. Researchers in the
metallic material elds also employ such a methodology in alloy
[20] and surface [21] topics, and it was recently employed in cement research. Huang et al. [2224] used DoE in their research

Table 2
Factors and factor levels adopted.
Notation

M
S
T
t

Factor

MgO content (%)

SO3 content (%)
Temperature (C)
Time (min)

Low level

Intermediate level

High level

Coded

Actual

Coded

Actual

Coded

Actual

1
1
1
1

0
0
1450
30

0
0
0
0

2
1.5
1500
75

1
1
1
1

4
3
1550
120

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X. Li et al. / Construction and Building Materials 37 (2012) 548555

Table 4
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the CCD models for phase composition of clinkers.
Terms

C3S

MgO
SO3
Temperature
Time
MgO  SO3
MgO  temperature
MgO  time
SO3  temperature
SO3  time
Temperature  time
Regression
Linear
Interaction

C2S

C4AF

C3A

f-CaO

3.337
5.69
2.968
1.895
2.788
1.707
0.43
2.203
1.219
0.243

0.003
0
0.008
0.073
0.011
0.103
0.672
0.039
0.237
0.81
0
0
0.035

3.483
7.483
3.71
2.059
3.814
2.153
0.764
2.88
1.643
0.016

0.002
0
0.001
0.053
0.001
0.044
0.454
0.009
0.116
0.987
0
0
0.002

3.16
1.963
0.598
0.393
0.179
0.007
0.645
0.486
0.138
0.75

0.005
0.064
0.556
0.698
0.86
0.995
0.526
0.632
0.891
0.462
0.19
0.023
0.969

4.011
0.015
0.52
0.649
0.269
0.04
0.338
0.041
0.031
0.327

0.001
0.988
0.609
0.524
0.79
0.969
0.739
0.967
0.975
0.747
0.148
0.013
0.999

4.206
5.519
3.909
3.166
4.751
2.195
0.875
2.461
1.43
0.295

0
0
0.001
0.005
0
0.04
0.392
0.023
0.168
0.771
0
0
0.001

Table 5
The optimized analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the CCD models for phases in clinker.
Terms

MgO
SO3
Temperature
MgO  SO3
SO3  temperature
R2 (%)

C3S

C2S

C4AF

C3A

3.14
5.354
2.793
2.624
2.073

0.004
0
0.01
0.015
0.049
69.70
63.60

3.071
6.598
3.271
3.363
2.54

0.005
0
0.003
0.002
0.018
76.50
71.80

3.583
2.225

0.001
0.034

4.715

R2adj (%)
Linear
Interaction

0
0.01

0
0.001

on cement additives, and Senff et al. [25] used DoE in their investigation of belite sulfoaluminate cement. Basma [26] used a mixture design based on DoE on the mechanical properties of
cement blended with slag. Moseson [27] used a mixture design
to investigate alkali-activated cement. A great deal of work [28
31] has been done in concrete research based on the DoE. All these
works certify the feasibility of such a statistical method in cement
and concrete research.
In this paper, a statistical method of DoE based on response surface methodology (RSM) has been adopted to study cement clinker
mineral compositions. By using such a method, it is possible to
study the effects of main and mixed (interaction) independent
variables on the formation of the clinker phases. The empirical
model of each phase can be tted with a group of well-designed
experiments.
3.1. Central composite design (CCD) of DoE
The central composite design (CCD) is used for the RSM; more
details are available in Refs. [20,21,24]. Two kinds of factors are
considered: (a) additives, and (b) sintering controls; all factors, factor levels and codes are shown in Table 2. The design matrix of the
CCD model and the corresponding clinker phase composition statistical data are given in Table 3.
4. Results and discussions
An analysis of variance (ANOVA) is performed to determine the
signicant and insignicant parameters as well as the validity of
the full models [32], as shown in Table 4. Statistical signicance
is determined by the p-value of ANOVA. Terms with a p-value less
than 0.05 are considered signicant. The effectiveness of a term is

38.85
34.48
0.001

fCaO
p
0

43.39
41.44
0

3.241
4.252
3.012
3.661

0.003
0
0.006
0.001
66.26
61.07
0
0.001

determined by the absolute t value. The bigger the absolute t value,

the more effective the term is.
It is clear for different responses (i.e. the phases of the clinker),
the statistical signicance of each terms varied. For the C3S content, the p-value is 0.073, which means sintering time is considered
insignicant in this model, while other factors, such as MgO, SO3
and temperature are signicant for all these p-values less than
0.05.
All insignicant factors and the interaction of factors are neglected in the reduced model; a simplication of the model yielded
more accurate results. The ANOVA of the resulting reduced clinker
phase models are shown in Table 5. It reveals that the reduced
model is improved as the p-values are all below the critical value
of 0.05.
Regarding the clinkerization process of raw meals for the silicate phases (C3S, C2S) and the f-CaO, four factors are all considered
signicant to the responses. In the intermediate phase, i.e. C3A and
C4AF, the MgO and SO3 content are signicant factors. For all the
responses, sintering time is an insignicant factor determined by
the ANOVA (Table 4). The p-values of the sintering times for most
of the phases are far more than the critical value 0.05, except for
the f-CaO content. Nevertheless, it is documented [1] that the sintering time could affect the phase composition of the clinker, and
from a physical chemistry perspective, reaction times should be
an important factor when considering chemical reactions. However, in our experiment, the sintering time is not considered significant for any responses except f-CaO, which is due to the majority
of sintering times not existing in the characteristic range for solid
reactions.
Combination effects come from the interactions of SO3 with
MgO and temperature (MgO  SO3 and SO3  temperature), which
are interpreted in Table 5.

X. Li et al. / Construction and Building Materials 37 (2012) 548555

551

Fig. 1. Effectiveness of the factors for the C3S content in clinker.

Fig. 2. XRD patterns of samples sintered at 1450 C, for 30 min.

Fig. 3. C3S content contour plot of the addition of SO3 and MgO.

Table 6
Phase composition (%) of samples sintered at 1450 C, for 30 min.
Doping

Mineral composition

MgO

SO3

C3S

C2S

C4AF

C3A

f-CaO

0
0
4
4

0
3
0
3

54.65
3.21
49.84
40.03

22.64
61.57
27.09
34.83

8.42
10.51
11.29
13.39

12.15
12.98
6.96
6.44

1.19
10.1
2.53
2.35

4.1. Silicate phases

For responses regarding silicate phases and f-CaO content, the
most signicant factor is the SO3 addition (Fig. 1, judged by the
absolute t value), of which the cumulative percentage accounts
for 33.5%. The XRD patterns of the MgO and SO3 doped samples
are shown in Fig. 2.
SO3 brings negative effects on the formation of clinker phases
[11]. The t value of SO3 is negative (Table 5), which means the addition of SO3 decreases the C3S content, consequently increasing the
f-CaO content in the clinker (Fig. 1 and Table 5). This is proven
using the XRD pattern of the selected samples shown in Fig. 2
and the phase compositions listed in Table 6. The sample with

3.0% SO3 (far more than the threshold of 2.5% [11]) and without
MgO, yields a 10.1% f-CaO content when sintered at 1450 C for
30 min. This is primarily because SO3 can stabilize C2S, thus retarding the formation of C3S [1,11].
MgO contributes to the formation of C3S in the clinker [2,3,11],
since the t value of MgO is 3.14, which is ranged as second in all
signicant terms. The level of SO3 determines the effects of MgO,
which explains the interaction between SO3 and MgO. When the
SO3 addition is set at a low level, such as 0%, the variation of the
C3S content is not sensitive to the increasing dosage of MgO. On
the contrary, MgO signicantly improves the C3S content, compensating the negative effects of SO3 (Fig. 3). This is because the role of
MgO in the sintering process is to lower the viscosity of the liquid,
and then promote the formation of the clinker phases [1].
Temperature is also a positive factor for C3S formation, because
the elevated temperature can yield a greater amount of C3S. However, for samples with SO3, the temperature modies the C3S content. The interaction between temperature and SO3 content can
also be explained as an SO3MgO interaction wherein the enhanced temperature compensates the negative effects of SO3 at
high dosage levels (Fig. 4).

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X. Li et al. / Construction and Building Materials 37 (2012) 548555

Fig. 4. C3S content contour plot of the addition of SO3 and temperature.

Fig. 6. The contour plot of C4AF content versus addition of SO3 and MgO.

Fig. 7. DSCTG curves of blank sample.

Fig. 5. f-CaO content contour plot of the addition of SO3 and MgO.

For the f-CaO phase, the interaction between SO3 and MgO is
signicant (Table 5); the less f-CaO is presented, the more silicates
are formed. Such an interaction is in agreement with the combination effects of SO3 and MgO on C3S content (see Fig. 5).
According to ANOVA, the empirical models of phase compositions can be derived as shown:

C3 S 26:44 0:307  MgO  84:98  SO3 0:020

 Temperature 1:596  MgO  SO3 0:050  SO3
 Temperature;
C2 S 40:661 0:267  MgO 65:437  SO3  0:012
 Temperature  1:283  MgO  SO3  0:039  SO3

Fig. 8. DSC curves for samples with various MgO and SO3 content.

 Temperature;
4.2. Intermediate phases

f  CaO 28:238 0:098  MgO 1:659  SO3  0:018

 Temperature  0:396  MgO  SO3 :

For the intermediate phases of C4AF and C3A, the dosages of

MgO and SO3 act independently on the formation of the phases

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X. Li et al. / Construction and Building Materials 37 (2012) 548555

Table 7
Detailed information of the DSC curves (content wt.%, peaks C).
MgO content

0
0
4
2

SO3 content

0
3
0
1.5

Peak No.
Dehydration of anhydrite

Decarbonation

Clinkering

130

124

820
820
820
813

1255

1309

1367
1379
1346
1352

1395
1419

1437

Fig. 9. Characteristic windows of blank clinker sintered at different temperature

and holding time.

Fig. 10. Characteristic windows of MgO and SO3 doped samples sintered at
different temperature and holding time.

(Table 5), which agrees with previous ndings [5,11]. The tted
equations are as follows:

C4 AF 10:687 0:551  MgO 0:457  SO3 ;

C3 A 9:398  1:658  MgO:
MgO dominates the C3A formation; however, the increase of
MgO will reduce the amount of C3A. The combination of MgO
and SO3 added at high dosage levels yield a large quantity of
C4AF (Fig. 6). From a mineralogical view, MgO and SO3 go into
the interstitial phase at the melting state; during the cooling process most of them remain in the interstitial phases [9], like C4AF
and C3A. The results are in agreement with previous research work,
such as Makis ndings [5,11], which states that C4AF content increases with increasing SO3 content.
In systems with MgO and SO3, much attention must be paid to
the variation of interstitial phases. However, the quantitative analysis techniques used in this paper didnt provide satisfactory results for the interstitial phase. Therefore more details
surrounding the interaction should be demonstrated with more
accurate quantitative data in regards to the interstitial phases.
4.3. Thermal analysis of raw meals
The effects of the MgO and SO3 added to the sintering of the
clinkers are studied using thermal analysis, as shown in Figs. 7
and 8. The details of the DSC curves are given in Table 7. Peak
No. 1 is the dehydration of CaSO42H2O; such peaks are only present in samples with CaSO42H2O. Peak No. 2 is the decarbonation of
the raw meal. Peak No. 5 is considered to be the formation of C3S;
the addition of SO3 into the samples shifted this peak toward higher temperatures. Especially in the sample with SO3 alone, the peak
C3S formation is as high as 1379 C. The remaining peaks do not
give much valuable information regarding clinker sintering,

Fig. 11. Characteristic windows of MgO doped samples sintered at different

temperature and holding time.

although they conrm the uctuation of the sintering process to

some extent.
DSC curves reveal that the addition of SO3 shifted the C2S formation peak toward higher temperatures, while the addition of
MgO lowered the formation temperature. This means the addition
of SO3 is harmful to clinker burnability, while the MgO favors it,
which is in agreement with the DoE analysis.
4.4. Alite crystal modication
Alite crystal modications are also taken into consideration. In
such a system, the M type of alite is the dominant polymorph
[33]. The M1 and M3 modications can be distinguished by the
characteristic windows of XRD patterns, including the 3233 (Cu

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X. Li et al. / Construction and Building Materials 37 (2012) 548555

alite polymorphisms. The cases in which the M3 and M1 alites

coexist are the existing phases, and it is difcult to draw a mathematical relation between the MgO to SO3 weight ratio and the alite
polymorph. Temperature and sintering time have little effect on
alite crystal modications. The modication of alites could be helpful for the efcient use of high MgO content calcites in cement
production.
Acknowledgements

Fig. 12. Characteristic windows of clinker with different doping amounts, all the
samples were sintered at 1500 C for 75 min.

The author gives thanks to the supports of the National Basic

Research Program of China (2009CB623100). Thanks also to Mr.
Yinlong Si of Nanjing University of Techology and Thermosher
for the free use of the ARL 9900 series XRD work station. A Project
Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu
Higher Education Institutions (PAPD) should also be appreciated.
References

Ka) and 5152 (Cu Ka) window documented in Taylors book [1],
as well as another characteristic window (about 37, Cu Ka) mentioned by Courtial [34].
4.4.1. Sintering
The sintering process does not affect the crystal modications of
alite in the clinkers. All samples presented similar characteristic
patterns (Fig. 9). The alite in the blank samples obtained during different sintering processes is an M type (the XRD patterns are not
typical M1 or M3 type). For samples doped with MgO and SO3,
the sintering process alters the alite modications (Fig. 10). For
samples doped only with MgO, the higher sintering temperature
could vary the crystal structures to some extent; at high sintering
temperatures, the sintering time could also provide an obvious impact on the crystal structure (Fig. 11). Samples doped only with SO3
hinder C3S formation, so the alite crystal modications are not discussed here.
4.4.2. MgO and SO3 doping
The addition of MgO and SO3 can cause changes in alite modications. MgO alone typically yields M3 type alites in the clinker
[1,3,11,33]; the characteristic patterns [33,34] of M3 at 61 and
38 (Co Ka) appear markedly (see Fig. 12).
There are no signicant differences among various dosages of
SO3. It can be seen that the addition of SO3 in the samples with
MgO results in the transformation of M3 to M1. A typical M1 type
alite could be certied by the disappearance of the shoulder peak
at about 38 and the modication of the double peak at about
61, according to Maki [1,33] and Courtial [34], shown in Fig. 12.
This evidence reveals the transformation of M3 to M1 type of alite.
There are no differences among the SO3 amounts or the alite
modications in the MgO absent clinkers. Only the M1 alite was
obtained when SO3 was added.
5. Conclusion
Results show that additions of SO3 hinder the formation of alite
in clinkers; such an effect is lessened by the addition of MgO. MgO
itself contributes to the formation of C3S by decreasing the clinkers
formation temperature. The combination effects come from interactions of SO3 with MgO and varying temperatures, which can be
demonstrated in the contour plot. The empirical models derived
from DoE are obtained. SO3 and MgO impact the interstitial phase
content, and C4AF increased as increasing SO3 content was added.
MgO can stabilize M3 type alites, while the addition of SO3 stabilizes M1 type alites. The sintering protocols have little impact on

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