When I was working on site there no such situation occurred that cement is expired or not been used till due date, because all activities are going as per planning, so not excess cement was remaining on site.

Though you want check some basic things to be considered like colour of cement. While packaging colour is greenish grey, if colour has been changed then possibility of quality of cement maybe compromised.

Second thing Moisture content. If due to some reason storage of cement been done on site over a long period then it may happen that it will absorb moisture from air at night probably which may lead to triggering the water cement reaction and formation of lumps take place. In this case cement may not be use for concreting operations.

By visual inspection you can check.

Presence of lumps in the cement is the primary indication that storage of cement bag is not proper, and such bags should not be used.

Invariably the date of production is marked on the cement bags with the batch number.

Storage of bags is a serious issue and not more than 10 bags should be stacked vertically otherwise warehouse set or lumping of cement will be observed.

Proper air circulation is must between stacks.

Expiry depends on storage and moisture level. If solid lumps have formed and bag is hardened on surface then it is not safe to use.

Principle of "First-in-First-out" should be followed at Cement Storage sheds. Since date of manufacture is specified in cement bags, care should be taken to stack them accordingly.

The date code printed on the cement bag is the indicator for date of production/ dispatch.

If the cement is supplied in bulk (loose), then check for the invoices/ delivery certificates. Further check the cement for any physical impairment such as lumps, discolor etc.

Any cement older than 3 months shall be tested before using and older than 6 months shall be rejected.

You can check the cement activity by compressive strength and its compliance with the declared class.

Dear

Presence of lumps is the first indicator of poor storage, then both chemical composition determination and physical properties such as setting time and compressive strength determination are the second indicaror of sutability to use the cement.

Just put your hand in the dry cement and see if its cold.If not then the cement is partially set (expired).Secondarily you can check for lumps.

its simple just put your hand into the cement, if you feel cold or cooler to your hand then it can be used otherwise its degraded with time. Moreover, you can take little amount of cement in finger and thumb i.e., pinch and rub it if it feels smooth then okay. one thing more you can take sieve of 2micron and sieve some amount of cement out of which 70-80 % should be passing.

You can also use express testers of cement activity, based on the principle of pH meter

Binders based on portland cements (PC) may not react with liquid water only, but also with all active gaseous compounds of/in the air, such as humidity (water), Carbon Dioxide etc..Since cement bags are not gas-tight, the storage time of all cements are limited ("cement aging"), depending on the type of cement, quality of packaging and specific storage conditions (e.g. compaction, climate). In general, the date of production is one minor indication only. The "expiration of a cement" is a very relative definition, depending on the final usage/application. Mainly cements are utilized according to their compressive strength. Therefore, the best (and only) indication of the "expiration of a cement" is the measurement of the compressive strength. Fineness, small soft lumps, pH and "feelings" with dry or wet hands/fingers are not very characteritic indicators for the expiration of

cementitious binders.

Firstly you can check the printed date on the bag.

Secondly its physical condition, if cement bag is exposed to the moisturizing environment it will get hard as rock.

Thirdly, you can check its fineness by naked hand, if it feels fine its good and the coarser are expired.

Color of cement does not show the expiry date because color depend upon the quarry materials and burning mechanism etc.

Unqualified comments: The objective is to employ desired "specifications" into a "subject" of interest. Variability in "specifications" could assume/be accommodated for tolerances. When standards from one type of "facility" to another render incoherent, in house testing (several quick methods could be contrived/ tried) given desired "specifications" conforming to the desired/plausible solution/project. Sort of your own QC given range of requirements, regardless of method of production or packing, dating etc.

While working on the site, the quality of cement is related to the timing of manufacturing of cement.First of all you can check the Date of manufacturing which is written on the cement bag.Secondly by looking at the colour of cement at site, it it grey..it is good for use.U can perform various field tests also.Insert your hand in cement bag, if it is cool then cement is freshly manufactured.

We can check by printed date if it is available or by its physical condition I.e by lumps available, by touching, or by checking strength etc...

There are 2 primary ways for inspection of cement at site-

1. Check for the presence of cement lumps.

2. Insert your hand inside the bag and try to feel the temperature. If it feels hot, the cement within already came in contact with moisture and started reacting.

Also you can check the manufacturing date, though it matters less if the cement is already exposed to moisture.

I believe you're referring to bagged cement used on site. Normally, cement manufacturers will declare a shelf life of 6 - 12 months for their bagged cement given that they're kept well protected from moisture ingress (e.g. wrapped up or covered by polythene sheets or canvas) on lifted floor (e.g. on pallets). If no production or expiry date is printed on the bag, what you need to do is just to slap on the cement bag with your hand to feel if there's any hardened lumps inside. As long as there's no lump formed inside the bag, the cement should still be usable.

first of all see the date printed on the date, if there is no date you can visualized that the cement tend to be accumulated in physical situation

If it is packed in bags the week of production and year will be there in the bag. As cement batch is refered to weeks production. If it is bulk supply check the Delivery challan and the manufacturer test report for week of production. Normally cement during bulk supply batch report willnot be available to know the strength . Insist the manufacture to send chemical test report along with supply and full test report on testing the sample for compression. As bulk storage when cement is received in bulker check the same for audultration if any. Ensure allthe lids are sealed and the seal is open at site before discharge to silo for storage. when bags is used at site ensure the first lot received is used first and not the latest.

In all cases when cement is received take a sample cement make a small cake with water to make a paste, make a small round ball. keep them and observe them for any cracking. Take some cement in pan and fry the same in hot plate and allow it to cool check with cement which is unfried. there should not be any colour change if any colour change or cracking of cake or ball noticed then the cement need to the investigated before use for adultration.

The cement should be uniform in color. Good quality cement should have gray color with greenish shade.