Our modern civilization is quite literally built upon cement. Binding agents made from burnt lime are not a new invention however: In ancient Rome, “caementum” (“quarry stone”, “stone chips”) was used to build structures like the Pantheon. Today, building materials made from cement are used in buildings, roads, bridges, dams etc. Cement production is a heat-intensive process and causes thermal expansion in duct systems. To compensate this, Indian cement producer Ramco Cement needed fabric expansion joints with a diameter of several meters for two of their plants. On the basis of a close collaboration, EagleBurgmann was able to design components that increase the efficiency of the plant in the long run.
In 2019, India was the world’s second biggest cement producer with an annual production of 320 million tonnes. As in every cement plant, the approximately 250 facilities in India rely on expansion joints to cancel out the thermal expansion of the duct system. In a plant with a production capacity of 3.000 tonnes per day (tpd), some 150 expansion joints are needed.
Cement is the binding agent that gives strength to common building materials such as concrete and mortar. By adding different kinds of rock, it can be processed to various materials with distinct properties. Mixing cement with water and sand produces mortar, further adding gravel makes for concrete.