CAN/CSA-A23.1-04/CAN/CSA-A23.2-04

Preface

This is the tenth edition of the combined CSA Standards A23.1, Concrete materials and methods of concrete construction, and A23.2, Methods of test and standard practices for concrete. These Standards are part of the CSA A23 series on concrete and reinforced concrete and supersede the previous editions published in 2000, 1994, 1990, 1977, 1973, 1967, 1960, 1942, and 1929. CSA A23.2 was previously titled Methods of Test for Concrete.

Significant changes from the previous edition include the following:

(a) The technical content of the Standard is now grouped in the following subject areas:

(i) materials and concrete properties — Clause 4;

(ii) production and delivery — Clause 5;

(iii) formwork, reinforcement, and prestressing — Clause 6;

(iv) placing, finishing, and curing concrete — Clause 7; and

(v) concrete with special performance or material requirements — Clause 8.

(b) All tables have been moved to the back of the Standard.

(c) The Standard now provides the user with two alternatives for specifying and ordering concrete, either performance or prescriptive criteria. The “common” alternative has been removed. The roles of the owner, contractor, and supplier are defined.

(d) A new Annex J on selecting the performance alternative when ordering concrete using Table 5 is provided.

(e) In the definitions (Clause 3), five new admixture types have been added under “Admixture”: “Chemical”, “Corrosion-inhibiting”, “Lithium-based”, “Shrinkage-reducing”, and “Viscosity-modifying”. Definitions for “Fines” and “Mineral filler” have also been added.

(f) The type designation and nomenclature for hydraulic and blended cement have changed to align with the changes made in CSA A3001. These new designations, involving letters rather than numbers, and associated nomenclature denote the intended use of the hydraulic cement in the final product (see CSA A3001, Annex C, for more details).

(g) Requirements for mix water have been modified to reflect changes in the industry and to address user concerns with water quality.

(h) A number of minor changes have been made to the requirements for aggregates, including the addition of limits for flat and elongated particles, in Table 12. The Micro-Deval tests and the unconfined freeze-thaw tests have become standard requirements, and the MgSO4 soundness loss test is retained as an alternative requirement in Table 12. Reference to mineral fillers has been added; mineral fillers may be utilized in the production of special performance concretes such as self-consolidating concrete (SCC).

(i) A new exposure class, C-XL (extended service life concrete), has been introduced in this Standard, with special curing requirements.

(j) Use of chloride ion penetrability as a criterion for concrete durability has been introduced to the Standard, for C-XL and C-1 exposure classes, based on the ASTM C 1202 test.

(k) The agricultural class of concrete has been brought into this Standard (see Tables 1 and 2) and classified with two different curing regimes.

(l) A new clause on self-consolidating concrete (SCC), including test methods for evaluating workability characteristics of SCC, has been added. SCC offers many advantages in placing concrete, especially in heavily reinforced structures, architectural concrete, and structures where proper consolidation by vibration is difficult.

(m) A new clause for concrete made with a high volume of supplementary cementing material (HVSCM) sets out levels of cement replacement and special handling and curing requirements.

(n) A new Annex K on high volume supplementary cementing materials is provided.

(o) Some test methods have been revised so that, over time, all will include clear scope and precision and bias statements.

(p) A new test method for petrographic examination of aggregate is provided (A23.2-15A).

(q) Extensive changes have been made to standard practices A23.2-27A and A23.2-28A.

CSA Standards A23.1 and A23.2 are intended to provide a document that is complete and self-contained for use in the field.

The Technical Committee includes representatives from most geographical areas of Canada and from all sectors of the industry: concrete producers, specifying and regulatory authorities, materials consultants, researchers, and teachers. The Technical Committee intends to review and update the Standards on a continuing basis and to maintain a close liaison with the CSA Technical Committee on Design of Concrete Structures.

These Standards were prepared by the Technical Committee on Concrete Materials and Construction, under the jurisdiction of the Strategic Steering Committee on Concrete and Related Products, and have been formally approved by the Technical Committee.

This Standard has been developed in compliance with Standards Council of Canada requirements for National Standards of Canada. It has been published as a National Standard of Canada by CSA Group.

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A23.1-04 - Concrete materials and methods of concrete construction

Scope

1.1 General

This Standard provides the requirements for materials and methods of construction for cast-in-place concrete and concrete precast in the field.

Notes:

(1) Requirements for the design of concrete structures are provided in CSA A23.3 and CAN/CSA-S6. Design of some specialty concrete products is described in separate CSA Standards.

(2) Methods of test for concrete are provided in CSA A23.2.

(3) Design provisions governing the fire resistance of reinforced concrete structures are set out in the National Building Code of Canada.

1.2 Precast concrete

Requirements for the plant production of precast concrete are set out in CAN/CSA-A23.4.

1.3 Precasting of concrete in the field

1.3.1

At the option of the owner, precasting of concrete in the field or in a temporary plant is governed by this Standard or by CAN/CSA-A23.4, except as limited by Clauses 1.3.2, 1.3.3, and 1.3.4 of this Standard.

Note: Guidelines for such a choice are provided in CAN/CSA-A23.4.

1.3.2

Precast products that may be produced in accordance with this Standard include conventionally reinforced elements of structures such as tilt-up walls, stair flights, landings, balcony slabs, lintels, and sills. Products requiring prestressing or post-tensioning are produced in accordance with CAN/CSA-A23.4. Note: For references to tilt-up construction, see PCA PA163 and ACI 551R.

1.3.3

If tolerances equivalent to the requirements of CAN/CSA-A23.4 are desired, then CAN/CSA-A23.4 is specified for all precasting operations.

1.3.4

The requirements of CAN/CSA-A23.4 are applicable to pretensioned concrete and precast concrete used in segmental construction.

1.3.5

In addition to the requirements of this Standard, the requirements of CAN/CSA-A23.4 are applicable to precast concrete.

1.4

Parking garages For parking garages, the additional requirements of CAN/CSA-S413 are applicable.

1.5 Residential concrete

For residential concrete, the requirements of CAN/CSA-A438 apply.

1.6 Approval for equivalents

This Standard does not specifically cover the use of proprietary materials or methods of construction. They may be permitted by the owner under a separate specification, provided that the quality of the resulting construction meets the minimum requirements of this Standard.

1.7 Terminology

In CSA Standards, shall is used to express a requirement, i.e., a provision that the user is obliged to satisfy in order to comply with the standard; should is used to express a recommendation or that which is advised but not required; and may is used to express an option or that which is permissible within the limits of the standard. Notes accompanying clauses do not include requirements or alternative requirements; the purpose of a note accompanying a clause is to separate from the text explanatory or informative material. Notes to tables and figures are considered part of the table or figure and may be written as requirements. Annexes are designated normative (mandatory) or informative (non-mandatory) to define their application.

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A23.2-04- Methods of test and standard practices for concrete

Scope

1.1 General

This Standard covers the principal methods of test for hardened and freshly mixed concrete and for concrete materials, as specified in CSA A23.1 and CAN/CSA-A23.4.

1.2 Safety and health practices

This Standard does not purport to address the safety problems associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this Standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.3 Metric conversion

This Standard is presented in metric units in accordance with CAN/CSA-Z234.1.

Note: The ASTM Standards that are referenced herein are often based on the imperial system, with soft metric equivalents.

Where ASTM Standards are referenced, the appropriate metric units in the ASTM Standards should be used wherever possible. When the ASTM Standards refer to other ASTM Standards for which there are equivalent CSA Standards, the latter Standards should be used to ensure a continuity in such things as sieve sizes, metric units, and other particular differences between the Standards.

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