NRMCA Announces Concrete Durability Course in Portland, OR

The next NRMCA Concrete Durability Course will be offered on May 14-16 at the Embassy Suites Portland (OR) Downtown. The course is taught by Michael Thomas, University of New Brunswick; Kevin Folliard, University of Texas at Austin and NRMCA Engineering Staff. The course provides a fundamental understanding of the nature of cement and concrete as they relate to durability of concrete. Topics will cover cracking, alkali aggregate reactions, sulfate attack, corrosion of reinforcing steel, freeze-thaw durability and other aspects. A group exercise will be facilitated to familiarize attendees with the ConcreteWorks software used for mass concrete and service life prediction. The course also discusses the durability provisions in the Building Code - ACI 318-14 and how specifications can be structured to address durability.

Comprehensive reference material is provided as course notes that is an excellent resource to concrete producers and associated technical personnel. Those with the NRMCA Level 3 Certification obtain the NRMCA Concrete Technologist Level 4 Certification when passing the exam offered with the course. It is not essential to have attended the NRMCA Technical Short Course to attend the Durability Course. The course provides required learning units toward the technical track of the NRMCA STEPS certification program.

Persons interested in attending this course are encouraged to register as soon as possible. Details of the hotel contract are being finalized. Registrants will be informed about the contracted room rate when finalized. Questions can be directed to Karen Bean at kbean@nrmca.org.