Alite (C3S) and belite (C2S) are the major constituents of portland cement clinker. As its grinding requires a considerable amount of energy and therefore has a significant carbon footprint, it is important to better understand the physical origin of clinker fracture at different length scales. As reported by W.Wilson in the Letter of April 2013, micro scratch tests confirmed that belite exhibits higher fracture toughness than alite at the microscopic scale. However, this shift does not arise from their elastic properties as both of the crystals are characterized by similar Young moduli.

PDF : Making the grinding of cement clinker more efficient