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Preface

This is the third edition of the CSA A3000, Cementitious materials compendium. It supersedes the previous editions published in 2003 and 1998.

The objective of the first edition of the CSA A3000 compendium was to consolidate the test methods that existed separately within each of the component Standards - A5, A8, A23.5, A362, and A363 - by eliminating redundancies and sometimes inconsistent guidance that existed between otherwise similar test methods within the five cementitious materials Standards and inserting them into a new series of Standards: the A456 series of test methods.

The objective of the second edition of the CSA A3000 compendium was to complete substantially this consolidation, creating the CSA A3000 series of Standards. The A5, A23.5, and A362 Standards were merged into the single Standard: A3001, Cementitious Materials for Use in Concrete, with A363, Cementitious Hydraulic Slag, being withdrawn. A3002, Masonry and Mortar Cement, superseded A8, and the test method Standards A456.1 through A456.3 were superseded by A3003, A3004, and A3005 respectively. All definitions and reference publications in this CSA A3000 series of Standards have been listed in A3001.

The A3001 Standard contains the following changes:

• the introductory Clause 0 has been removed in its entirety;

• a new class of cements known as portland-limestone cements has been introduced. These cements are not for use in sulphate environments;

• specific directions for reporting of alkali have been incorporated;

• the requirements for silica fume have been modified. A new class of silica fume known as SFI has been incorporated;

• the first note to Table 2 has been modified; and

• Annex D has been removed from A3001 and has been replaced by a new Standard Practice E1, contained in A3004.

The A3002 Standard contains the following changes:

• the 28 day maximum strength requirements have been moved to a new Annex A; and

• minor adjustments in strength requirements have been made at the early ages.

The A3003 Standard contains the following changes:

• an initial qualification of operator clause has been added; and

• the test method for determination of alkali has been modified to clarify to the user that the hydrochloric acid digestion method is not applicable to all cementitious materials.

The A3004 Standard contains the following changes:

• the precision and accuracy statements of many of the tests have been expanded and more closely parallel the wording and detail used in ASTM;

• Test Method A3004-A2 has been modified to allow alternate methods of test;

• Test Method A3004-C7 has been modified with respect to the standard or reference cement to be used in the testing;

• Test Method A3004-D1 for the determination of clay content in limestone for use in portlandlimestone cements has been added;

• Test Method A3004-D2 for the determination of total organic carbon content in limestone for use in portland-limestone cements has been added; and

• Standard Practice A3004-E1 for the evaluation of alternate supplementary cementing materials has been added as a replacement for the discontinued Annex D of A3001.

The A3005 Standard contains the following changes:

• a table has been added listing common sieve sizes (Table 6);

• in Figure 8, missing mass requirements have been added to the Gillmore needles.

CSA gratefully acknowledges the following funding stakeholders and the industry association for their contribution to the development of A3000: Lafarge North America, Ciment Québec Inc., St. Lawrence Cement Inc., ESSROC, Italcementi Group, St. Marys Cement Inc., Lehigh Heidelberg Cement Group, and Cement Association of Canada.

These Standards were prepared by the Technical Committee on Hydraulic Cement and Supplementary Cementing Materials, under the jurisdiction of the Strategic Steering Committee on Concrete and Related Products, and have been formally approved by the Technical Committee. They will be submitted to the Standards Council of Canada for approval as National Standards of Canada.