Rationale

In the United States, traditional cement specifications have primarily focused on prescriptive tests, as outlined in ASTM C150. While performance-based specifications have emerged in recent years, they have yet to gain widespread adoption. As noted by our colleagues Sutter and Hooton in a recent publication, “By definition, a prescriptive specification has a limited scope and focuses on key characteristics of a narrow range of materials. The result is that prescriptive specifications often provide barriers to the use of alternative, more sustainable material combinations, and as we work to attain specific sustainability goals, prescriptive specifications often are counter-productive to achieving those goals.” Given the cement industry’s shift toward sustainability and the decreasing availability of traditional Portland cement types specified in ASTM C150, expanding ASTM C1157 (Standard Performance Specification for Hydraulic Cement) to incorporate more sustainable cement types is a logical step forward. I propose adding a new cement type to ASTM C1157: Very Early Strength (VES) cement. Currently, the set time of this cement prevents it from being classified as a High Early (HE) cement type. Incorporating VES into C1157 would expand the specification to include more sustainable materials. To illustrate the need for this change. Consider an alternative cement with 25% lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) compared to traditional portland cement, which is currently excluded from existing infrastructure (FWHA, FAA) and green initiatives. Integrating this alternative cement would greatly benefit users aiming to achieve their sustainability targets. It would be a disservice to the industry not to accommodate these newer technologies within the scope of C1157, given their environmental advantages. Additionally, these materials can be qualified with the existing ASTM methods already specified in C1157.