Rapid Set Proprietor Supports Broader, University-Level Cement Curriculum

The newly formed CTS Research Alliance will muster educational leaders to test and expand knowledge of calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) rapid-hardening and

The newly formed CTS Research Alliance will muster educational leaders to test and expand knowledge of calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) rapid-hardening and expansive cements. Cypress, Calif.-based CTS Cement Mfg., proprietor of Rapid Set and other packaged or bulk powder formulations for performance concrete, notes that current university curriculum centers on traditional portland cement chemistry.

Toward an initial goal of curriculum development, University of California at Los Angeles Adjunct Professor Eric Bescher and University of Oklahoma Assistant Professor Chris Ramsever have prepared a CSA-based cement tutorial professors can use to complement current studies. The focus of cement science fundamentals is almost exclusively on century-old portland cement technology, Bescher contends. We saw a gap between what students were taught and what people in the field were learning through experience, he adds. We wanted to fill that gap [and designed the tutorial] as an introductory course on CSA cements, including laboratory experiments.