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The Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory has available Calibration Standards for use with X-ray Fluorescence equipment in the chemical analysis of hydraulic cement. There are a total of eight portland cement samples available. The standards are vacuum sealed to prevent moisture uptake. These same cements were used in the Portland Cement Proficiency Sample Program and the data collected during this program was used in establishing certificate values for these standards.
Each standard consists of a 30 gram sample placed in a glass vial sealed in a plastic pouch. It is anticipated that the shelf life for an unopened sample is approximately five years. As with other cement samples open vials should be placed in a desiccator. The price for the new standards is $80.00 each.
In selecting these cements as calibration standards, CCRL identified cements that would supplement the current existing standards. The component percentages of these cements were specially selected for their uniqueness from other cements currently being used in calibrating XRF. For your convenience the certificate values for the most common components for both cements are listed below.
| SiO2 | Al2O3 | Fe2O3 | CaO | MgO | SO3 | LOI | Na2O | K2O | TiO2 | P2O5 | |
| Calibration Standard 167 | 19.29 | 5.92 | 2.44 | 61.64 | 3.11 | 4.39 | 0.84 | 0.355 | 1.068 | 0.24 | 0.240 |
| Calibration Standard 168 | 19.91 | 5.11 | 2.14 | 62.28 | 3.88 | 3.48 | 0.86 | 0.226 | 1.227 | 0.20 | 0.191 |
| Calibration Standard 169 | 22.07 | 3.17 | 3.7 | 63.47 | 2.00 | 2.15 | 2.3 | 0.201 | 0.429 | 0.23 | 0.135 |
| Calibration Standard 170 | 21.71 | 3.77 | 2.48 | 64.32 | 1.44 | 2.75 | 2.78 | 0.092 | 0.628 | 0.17 | 0.074 |
| Calibration Standard 171 | 21.29 | 4.16 | 4.53 | 63.6 | 2.06 | 2.24 | 1.02 | 0.065 | 0.700 | 0.22 | 0.064 |
| Calibration Standard 172 | 19.3 | 4.66 | 2.93 | 61.78 | 4.74 | 3.21 | 2.09 | 0.267 | 0.935 | 0.26 | 0.111 |
| Calibration Standard 173 | 20.01 | 4.49 | 2.62 | 62.45 | 3.03 | 4.10 | 2.02 | 0.309 | 0.447 | 0.27 | 0.192 |
| Calibration Standard 174 | 20.75 | 3.71 | 3.62 | 62.43 | 4.83 | 2.64 | 1.14 | 0.189 | 0.430 | 0.21 | 0.067 |
Currently many laboratories are using the SRMs for both calibration and qualification standards. Purchase of these standards for calibration needs will help to extend the life of the NIST SRM cement standards, which are only required for use in the qualification testing of operators and XRF test methods in ASTM C114.
To purchase these calibration standards or for additional information about the standards please contact Robin Haupt at (301) 975-6704 or e-mail rhaupt@nist.gov.
CCRL Calibration Standard – Portland 167 CCRL Calibration Standard – Portland 168
CCRL Calibration Standard – Portland 169 CCRL Calibration Standard – Portland 170
CCRL Calibration Standard – Portland 171 CCRL Calibration Standard – Portland 172
CCRL Calibration Standard – Portland 173 CCRL Calibration Standard – Portland 174