Certification of SRM 46H

Published

January 1, 2008

Author(s)

Chiara F. Ferraris, William F. Guthrie, Max A. Peltz, Robin K. Haupt

Abstract

The standard reference material (SRM) for fineness of cement, SRM 114, is an integral part of the calibration material routinely used in the cement industry to qualify cements. Since 1934, NIST has provided SRM 114 for cement fineness testing and it will continue to do so as long as the cement industry requires it. Different lots of SRM 114 are designated by a unique letter suffix to the SRM number, e.g., 114a, 114b, …. ,114q. A certificate that gives the values obtained using the standard tests ASTM C204 (Blaine), C115 (Wagner), and C 430 (45 μm sieve residue) for cement fineness and the particle size distribution by laser diffraction (LD) is included with each lot of the material. In 2005, NIST issued the SRM 114q and it was immediately clear that the cement selected was too fine to be easily usable in standard test ASTM C 430 (45 μm sieve residue) test method. The value for SRM 114q was about 10 times smaller than that of the SRM 114p. As a result, when the sieve used is only slightly larger than 45 μm, the residue measured can be zero, a value which cannot be used for sieve calibration. To respond to the industry demand to have an SRM viable for C 430 (45 μm sieve residue), Staff from NIST and the Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory (CCRL) identified a cement that would have a residue in the range of 6 % to 10 %. This cement was then packaged in small vials, and the values obtained by ASTM C 430 test were determined at NIST using calibrated sieves. This new SRM is labeled SRM 46h. The purpose of this report is to provide a detailed description of the process used to package and certify SRM 46h. All measurements used for the certifications are provided along with descriptions of the statistical analyses. To accelerate the development of SRM 46h, the chemical analysis, the density, the Blaine value, and the particle size distribution (PSD) are tabulated but should not be considered certified values. This SRM is complementary to SRM 114q and not a replacement.

Citation

Special Publication (NIST SP) - 260-169

Report Number

260-169

NIST Pub Series

Special Publication (NIST SP)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

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DOI Link

Citation

Ferraris, C. , Guthrie, W. , Peltz, M. and Haupt, R. (2008), Certification of SRM 46H, Special Publication (NIST SP), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.260-169 (Accessed May 5, 2024)