Critical mixing parameters for good control of cement slurry quality

The cement mixing procedure can be split into a mechanical process that includes the wetting of the powder and the deflocculation and homogenization of the resulting suspension and a physicochemical process that includes the dissolution of some cement phases, the formation of supersaturated solutions, and the precipitation of cement hydrates. The mechanical process has been validated by inert suspensions of silica and barite and by cement slurries of various reactivities and physical characteristics (particle size distribution). The physicochemical process has been investigated systematically by looking at the precipitation kinetics, inert suspensions, and finally cement slurries. The relevant mixing parameters has been found to be the residence time of the slurry in the mixer and the rotational speed.