The Bogue calculation helps cement chemists to allocate the four main oxides in Portland cement clinker to the four main phases present following the pyroprocess in the cement kiln. While not perfect, it remains an effective guide to the potential relative properties of such clinkers.
The Bogue calculation is a means of allocating the four main oxides in Portland cement clinker to the four main phases present after firing in a cement kiln. The calculation is based on the assumption that the phases are present as pure tricalcium silicate, dicalcium silicate, tricalcium aluminate and tetra-calcium alumino-ferrite and that the reactions in the kiln are allowed to progress to equilibrium. In practice neither of these assumptions is true. The value of the Bogue calculation remains a way of assessing the potential compound composition of a kiln feed and also a guide to the relative properties to be expected of clinkers, but a closer knowledge of the actual quantities of the constituents remains a desirable check on the quality of a clinker.
