The various cementing materials are classified as follows.
a) Argillaceous cementing materials
b) Calcareous cementing materials
c) Carbonaceous cementing materials
Argillaceous Materials
Clays are the most common argillaceous materials. It is the clays were, probably the fust cementing materials to be used in the construction field. Kaolin is the base of all clays. You would notice that clay with the right quantity of water could be worked to form a thin film. This thin film binds the surrounding grains. Some of the common. Examples where clay acts as a cementing material are
a) as binder in water, bound macadam in roads,
b) in dried clay products,
c) for compactness and strength as exhibited by clay coated foundry sand, and
d) for fire clay for binding fue bricks in construction of furnaces.
Let us now move on to calcareous cementing materials. Some of these materials are:
i) Lime
ii) Gypsum plaster
iii) Cement
In the subsequent sections, we shall discuss these materials in detail.