Sulfate resistances of different types of Turkish Portland cements by selecting the appropriate test methods

The sulfate resistance of 5 different types of Turkish portland cements were compared using ASTM C 452 and ASTM C 1012 standards. All of the cements, except for sulfate resisting cement, were prepared from the same clinker. As it was expected, ASTM C 452 test was found to be insufficient for determining the sulfate resistance of blended cements. ASTM C 1012 test is more realistic than C 452. It was observed that the addition of some mineral admixtures in small amounts to an ordinary portland cement having a moderate sulfate resistance (<8% C3A content) may have negligible or even adverse effect on its sulfate resistance. This may be arisen from the applied test conditions.