NRMCA e-news
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
NEWS LINKS
Arecent research project by the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center (National CP Tech Center) at Iowa State University investigated the use of pervious concrete as a surface-wearing course in cold-weather climates. This project is one of the largest and most comprehensive studies to date on pervious concrete. The research objective was to investigate optimal pervious concrete mix designs for wearing-course applications while addressing the issues of noise and skid resistance. The research has led to the conclusion that well-designed pervious concrete mixes can achieve strength, permeability and freeze-thaw resistance to allow use in cold-weather climates. Source: A February 6 posting on Roads & Bridges magazine. Read more. NRMCA Producer member Essroc recently received notice for its commitment to environmental excellence when it had 13 of its plants receive NRMCA Green-Star certification. The certification takes into account an environmental policy with measurable goals and benchmarking, a program for continual improvement, demonstration of adequate management commitment, an outreach program to the local community and a third-party auditing system. Source: A February 24 article in The State Journal of Charleston, WV, which was included in the March 1 news roundup of ACI's Concrete SmartBrief e-newsletter. Read more. Photocatalytic concrete — a material laced with nano-sized particles of titanium dioxide — has been valued over the past decade for two being self-cleaning and "eating" smog particles by converting them to less harmful chemicals under the effect of direct sunlight. A recent trial application by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is designed to see just how effectively the material might perform alongside roads in the province’s climate. Source: Daily Construction News and Commercial Record for February 23. Read more. You go Spartans - Michigan State University is using more than 6,000 tons of recycled concrete for a variety of on-campus construction projects. By using the remnants of the old concrete, the university is not only saving thousands of dollars in construction costs, but also helping save the environment, as much of that concrete could have eventually found its way to a landfill. The old concrete was put through a grinder, much like a wood chipper, any metal in the concrete was removed through the use of a magnetic conveyer belt, and what was left was ready for use. Source: MSU news release for February 24. Read more. PROMOTIONS
The AGC (Associated General Contractors) of Connecticut held its 65th Annual Meeting in February along with its "Build CT" Awards which featured for the first time a concrete award co-sponsored by the Connecticut Ready Mixed Concrete Association (CRMCA) and the Connecticut Concrete Promotion Council (CCPC). Recipient of this year’s Specialty Contracting Award for Concrete went to Manafort Brothers, Inc. for its participation on the Yale University, Morse & Ezra Stiles Colleges renovation. Several NRMCA members played pivotal roles in the success of this project and were included in the award, reported NRMCA Northeast Senior National Resource Director Doug O'Neill who attended the event. The L. Suzio Concrete Company supplied the concrete and Lafarge cement and BASF chemicals were used within the concrete. "This is another great example of how concrete can be the solution for many challenging design concepts. And it offers promoters further evidence that we could be talking about so many more aspects of the versatility of concrete," O'Neill said. CCPC Executive Director Jim Langlois added "The CRMCA and CCPC are extremely proud to co-sponsor this award and to demonstrate the partnerships available with our friends from CT AGC." For more information, contact Doug O'Neill at doneill@nrmca.org. NRMCA's national resource directors have one Webinar scheduled through the end of next week, so be sure to click on the link for more information or contact NRMCA's Jessica Walgenbach at jwalgenbach@nrmca.org.
March 15 – ACI 330 R-08 – The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design - When designing, constructing or proposing a concrete parking lot, there is just one standard that should be followed: ACI 330R-08 – "Guide for the Design and Construction of Concrete Parking Lots." The webinar discusses the basis of the design guide, gives an overview of the sections of the guide and most importantly compares and reviews other commonly used design procedures to that of ACI 330 R-08. Upon participating, an attendee should feel confident that the best option for designing, constructing and testing of a concrete parking lot is encompassed within ACI 330R-08. ENGINEERING
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) maintains an online reference center on alkali-silica reactivity (ASR) developed under the FHWA ASR Development and Deployment Program. This online resource has been updated to provide engineers and practitioners with the most current and pertinent information related to ASR in an easily accessible format. There are currently over 300 references posted to the reference center, spanning a large variety of subject areas, including ASR mechanisms, test methods, laboratory research, and detection and mitigation strategies. The reference center also contains a large number of case studies from around the world, including select field trial summaries that document ASR treatment methods, test results and treatment efficacy. In addition, an extensive collection of state Department of Transportations' (DOT) specifications related to ASR has been compiled; as more states adopt measures to address ASR, the reference center will be updated accordingly. Additional specifications, guidance documents and test methods published by international agencies committed to raising ASR awareness, such as the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures (RILEM, from the name in French), have been included as well. Issues of a quarterly newsletter Reactive Solutions, published by the Transtec Group, are also posted on this Web site. Click here to access the ASR Reference Center. The 14th International Conference on Alkali-Aggregate Reaction (ICAAR) is scheduled for May 20-25 in Austin, TX, marking the first time since 1978 that it is being held in the United States. This conference was first organized in Denmark in 1974 and has grown tremendously, evolving into a quadrennial conference that hosts over 200 attendees from all over the world. Initially focusing on the mere identification of deleterious alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR), ICAAR has broadened to include highly detailed analysis, merging civil and structural engineering with materials characterization, physics, chemistry, applied mineralogy and computer modeling. Session topics include mechanisms of AAR, prevention/mitigation methods, case studies, and repair and rehabilitation. For more information regarding registration, important dates and lodging, please visit the official Web site. The International Conference on Long-Life Concrete Pavement-2012 is scheduled for September 18-21 in in Seattle. The conference is organized by the Federal Highway Administration in partnership with the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center. NRMCA is a co-sponsor for this conference. The conference program will consist of about 40 peer-reviewed papers/presentations on best practices related to long-life concrete pavements (LLCPs), Implementable design, concrete materials, construction, and rehabilitation techniques that result in long-lasting concrete pavements. The program will also include two forums of invited presentations from U.S. highway agencies, a mini-symposium on paving concrete durability, and a poster program targeted at research in progress. The tentative technical program and more information is available here. As part of a funded research project on increased fly ash utilization in hydraulic cement concrete, NRMCA is conducting a survey to better understand SCM use. SCM can consist of fly ash meeting ASTMC618/AASHTO M295, slag cement meeting C989 and silica fume meeting C1240. This survey only pertains to SCM used in all concrete supplied by a ready mixed concrete producer. It does not cover SCM use in non concrete applications. The data will be kept confidential and only the overall nationwide survey results will be shared with all survey participants and other researchers. The completed survey should be e-mailed to Karthik Obla at kobla@nrmca.org no later than Thursday, March 15. The survey form can be downloaded here. 
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
To read government affairs-related stories that relate to the ready mixed concrete industry for the week of February 27 - March 2, please click here. EDUCATION &TRAINING
NRMCA is is offering its one-day course, Handling Concrete Specifications, Low Strength Problems and Mixture Submittals, intended for concrete producers, contractors, engineers and testing labs on Wednesday, May 23, in Nashua, NH. Dealing with concrete specifications, troubleshooting low strength problems and ensuring proper mixture submittals can be expensive and time consuming. This one-day course will get into code and specification requirements (ACI 318, 301, ASTM C94) governing ready mixed concrete, including the new ACI Building Code 318-08 exposure categories. It will suggest specification revisions for all-around benefits in performance and cost based on a specification guideline document. The guideline document is the result of review of numerous concrete specifications (Section 03300) belonging to large owners and has been reviewed and supported by the NRMCA Research Engineering and Standards Committee. The course will cover the analysis of strength test results to identify causes for low strength problems and provide guidance to track compliance with specification requirements. Non-destructive testing techniques like the Rebound Hammer, core testing, evaluating core test results for acceptance and assignment of responsibility will be discussed. The course also provides necessary details required for an efficient concrete mixture submittal following the ACI 318 Flowchart for Selection of Concrete Mixtures. Course instructors are Luke Snell, P.E., FACI, FASCE, Western Technologies and an NRMCA staff engineer. Producers, contractors, engineers and testing labs will find the discussions on investigating low strength problems and specifications very helpful to address issues that impact partnering, project cost and schedule. Upon successful completion of the course, attendees will earn 8 professional development hours, a certificate of completion and credits toward NRMCA’s STEPS program. For more information, including staff contact and registration options, click here. PRODUCTS & SERVICES
NRMCA's March Internet Spotlight, good through Tuesday, April 3, is the Highway Safety for Ready Mixed Concrete Drivers (Safety Binder). This CD-based PowerPoint presentation and instructor notes are designed to teach mixer drivers the importance of safety in highway work zones. Order online today and receive 20% off. Regular member price is $75, Internet Special $60, plus shipping. Please use Discount Code ISMARCH12 to receive the online discount. CALENDAR
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. March 15, Free Webinar |
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