Characterization data of reference cement CEM III/A 42.5N used for priority program DFG SPP 2005 "Opus Fluidum Futurum - Rheology of reactive, multiscale, multiphase construction materials".

Two types of cements were selected as the reference cement in the priority program 2005 of the German Research Foundation (DFG SPP 2005). A thorough characterization of CEM I 42.5 R has been made in a recent publication [1]. In this paper, the characterization data of the other reference cement CEM III/A 42.5 N are presented from the aspects of chemical and mineralogical compositions as well as physical and chemical properties. The characterization data of the slag, which is the second main constituent of this specific cement besides the clinker, are presented independently. For all data received, the mean values and the corresponding errors were calculated. The data shall be used for the ongoing research within the priority program. Also, researchers from outside this priority program can benefit from these data if the same materials are used.

which is the second main constituent of this specific cement besides the clinker, are presented independently. For all data received, the mean values and the corresponding errors were calculated. The data shall be used for the ongoing research within the priority program. Also, researchers from outside this priority program can benefit from these data if the same materials are used.
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.
( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ) Specifications Firstly a thorough characterization of CEM III/A 42.5 N sample was made by in total 10 research groups. Afterwards, the data were collected and compared in this paper. Furthermore, the mean values and the corresponding errors were calculated based on the collective data. Data source location Seven universities, one research institute, and one company as shown in Table 1 Data accessibility The data are included in this article

Value of the data
• The data are useful because a thorough characterization of the CEM III/A 42.5 N sample was conducted, which is the basis for further research in the DFG SPP 2005 priority program. • All research groups involved in the DFG SPP 2005 priority program can use these data for their research work and cite this paper instead of publishing the data several times in every individual paper. The researchers outside the priority program can also use these data if the same materials are used. • The comparison between the future characterization date on this cement and the data shown here can be made to check the aging degree of this cement during storage. • The data have a statistical significance because, in total, ten research groups from seven universities, one research institute and one company, were involved in collecting data on the CEM III/A 42.5 N sample using renown standard procedures. • For all properties, the mean values and the corresponding errors were calculated based on the collected data from the test results.

Data
The affiliations and the corresponding abbreviations of the participants are listed in Table 1 . The SEM pictures of CEM III/A 42.5 N sample with different magnifications are shown in Fig. 1 .  [2] . Up to five groups were involved in the oxide composition characterization. The data are shown in Fig. 2 . As described in [1] , the data marked as (1) to (3) were provided by one research group. They measured the materials from one single batch but different bags. In Fig. 2 (b), SO 3 * means the value obtained by X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) and SO 3 * * indicates the value captured by the wet chemistry method. The same meaning of * * applies for any other data shown in Fig. 2 . Unless otherwise stated, the oxide composition shown in Fig. 2 is measured based on XRF analysis.
The meanings of the legend in the figures are also clarified in [1] . IQR means the interquartile range, namely the range between 25th and 75th percentiles. The error bar shows the range within 1.5 times of the IQR. The median line indicates the 50th percentile. The mean value is calculated based on data from all samples within the 1.5 IQR range and does not include outliers. Table 2 shows the phase contents of CEM III/A 42.5 N based on the data from two different groups (#1 and #2) through the method of powder-XRD combined with the quantification of the patterns according to the Rietveld refinement method [3] . Group #2 used additionally the external G-factor method [4] for an absolute quantification of all crystaline phases and the slag. For quantification of the slag the PONKCS method [5] was applied.

Physical properties
The true density of the CEM III/A 42.5 N was measured by Helium pycnometer method according to standard EN 1097-7: 2008 [6] . Four different groups were involved in the characterization and the data are shown in Fig. 3 .    The specific surface area of the CEM III/A 42.5 N was measured by the Blaine method, according to EN 196-6: 2018 [7] . Five different groups measured the particle size by the Blaine method and the data are shown in Fig. 4 .
The specific surface area of the CEM III/A 42.5 N was as well measured by the BET method, according to ISO 9277: 2010 [8] . Four different groups were involved in BET measurement and the data are shown in Fig. 5 . The numbers in brackets indicate the values from the same sample but different pre-treatment methods that were conducted by the same group. Laser diffraction was applied to measure the particle size distribution (PSD) of the cement by eight different groups according to the method described in ISO 13320: 2009 [9] . Seven different groups conducted the particle size measurement and then the average distribution line was calculated, as shown in Fig. 6 . The shadow areas below and above this average line indicate the scope of the testing results. The characterized particle size distributions (d(0.1), d(0.5) and d(0.9)) are shown in Fig. 7 .

Characterization data of other properties
Water demand, initial and final setting time, were measured by seven and five different groups respectively according to EN 196-3: 2016 [10] . Flexural and compressive strength were measured by up to four different groups according to EN 196-1: 2016 [11] . The data are shown in Figs. 8-10 .    The cement hydration with a water to cement ratio of 0.434 at the temperature of 20 °C was monitored by three different groups according to EN 196-11: 2018 [12] . The data are shown in Fig. 11 . The shadow areas below and above the average line indicate the scope of the test results.

Characterization data of slag
Slag is the second main constituent of CEM III. Hence the characterization of slag was conducted independently. Table 3 shows the data of the two groups who measured the composition by XRF and the LOI of slag. The phase contents and the selected physical properties of the slag are shown in Tables 4 and 5 , which were contributed by one single group. In Group #2, the phase contents were determined by combining Rietveld refinement [3] with the external G-factor method [4] and are therefor absolute values.  The particle size distribution (PSD) of the ground slag was measured by the laser diffraction method. The data are shown in Fig. 12 . The characterized particle size distribution of the slag (d(0.1), d(0.5) and d(0.9)) is shown in Fig. 13 .

Experimental design, materials, and methods
For the characterizations of the CEM III/A 42.5 N, EN 196-2: 2013 was applied for the assessment of the oxide composition, insoluble residue, and loss on ignition. Density was measured