Go back to Part I Chapter 3 Sec. (8b) Go back to Table of Contents
Next: Table of Contents
Chiara F. Ferraris
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Vincent A. Hackley
Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Ana Ivelisse Aviles
Information Technology Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Charles E. Buchanan, Jr.
Roan Industries, Inc.
Bakersville, NC (USA)
A distribution of sizes or particle size distribution (PSD) is an essential property of cement powder. The only standard method to measure the PSD of cement, namely ASTM C115 [1] is limited in scope; this standard only describes a method for determining "fineness" with a lower size detection limit of 7.5 µm. As there is no standard procedure covering the whole range of cement PSD, the implementation of different measurement methods varies widely within the industry. A first report [2] was prepared to examine the methods used in the cement industry. The high variability of the data led to the necessity for further research.
ASTM committee C01.25.01 sponsored a second round-robin test to measure the PSD of cement. The aim of the current report is to analyze the data generated during that test and to summarize the various approaches available to measure the PSD of cement. The analysis of the data is conducted in two parts. In the first part, an attempt is made to establish a reference distribution using a standard cement powder (SRM 114p), improving the results already obtained from the first round-robin. This is followed by examination of the parameters and methodology used by the participants in order to initiate discussion on developing a standard test method for cement PSD to be submitted for ASTM consideration. The report provides all raw data collected during the round-robin tests, and the results of a statistical analysis of the collected data.