This data sheet demonstrates that the M1 and M3 polymorphs in clinker can be quantified individually using the Rietveld method. The repeatability of the method is such that it allows accurate process control of cement production.
The main component in industrial clinkers for the cement production is alite with the ideal composition Ca3SiO5, also written as C3S in the short cement notation. This compound can occur in crystallographic polymorphs. Their formation depends mainly on the burning conditions (temperature, burning time, cooling rates) and minor or trace elements in the crystal structure, introduced by the raw material and fuels. Most relevant in clinkers are two monoclinic polymorphs of alite, the M1 and M3 forms. In recent years the quantification of these two polymorphs has become of more interest because of publications claiming differences in the reactivity of synthetic M1 and M3 alite.
