Quality of Building Construction Materials (Cement) in Developing Countries

The aim of the project reported in this paper is to determine the quality of cement used in building construction operations in a typical developing country, Bangladesh. Comparison is made to the strength required in the standard ASTM specifications. Cement is the basic binding material in concrete, and the quality of concrete is dependent upon the quality of the cement used. In developing countries such as Bangladesh, the quality of construction materials, including cement, may not conform to international standards because of poor quality control, governmental corruption, and problems associated with transportation and storage. Investigations involving cement mortar show that 26.67% of test results satisfied standard compressive strength for 3 days, 6.67% of test results satisfied standard compressive strength for 7 days, and no test results satisfied standard compressive strength for 28 days. The aforementioned data indicate that there is a distinct problem with the quality of cement in a typical developing country such as Bangladesh. The results of this study may alert contractors and engineers to concerns about the quality of cement and assist local governments to take the necessary action to control the quality of this important construction material.