NRMCA e-news

NRMCA's celebration of the 100th anniversary of ready mixed concrete in the U.S. concludes its May offerings with the histories of two of the Association's newer Producer and Associate members - see below for their respective Web site links. This week's industry milestone: In February, 1914, the first National Concrete Road Conference was convened in Chicago. Organized as an academic conference, attendees discussed everything from expanding the use of concrete for roads to what types of aggregate should be used.

Bama Concrete Products Co. - This Producer member began in 1950 when Bama Concrete was founded by Howard and Joan Davis. The first wooden structure plant was used to fill a 1947, three yard mixer truck. Web site link. (Please note that this Web site is under construction.)

An NRMCA member since 2010.

ABC Polymer - ABC Polymer Industries has been manufacturing concrete fibers since the mid-1990s under the name Alabama Bag Company and its roots date back to 1964 in a company called Allied Flexible Products. ABC Polymer Industries continues today to be a producer of a wide range of extruded polypropylene products, as well as a distributor of bulk bags and other industrial packaging products. Read more.

An NRMCA Associate Member since 2009.

So-called living concrete could provide a solution to several vexing construction and environmental problems in one versatile building material. The product, developed at Spain's Structural Technology Group of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, consists of a low-pH, moisture-retaining concrete that supports mosses, lichen and algae. The plant life produces oxygen while extracting atmospheric carbon dioxide under a porous outer layer, all of which together produce a high insulating factor.

Around the world, engineers are busy working out ways to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete, which accounts for somewhere between 3 and 7 percent of global carbon emissions. A Nova Scotia startup named CarbonCure is injecting waste carbon dioxide into the concrete-mixing process, which by nature takes CO2 and sequesters it as calcium carbonate.

The News Links section this week concludes with the third of a trifecta of research-oriented articles. A new concrete material made from biobased construction materials such as high-lignin residue yielded a stronger product with fewer carbon emissions, according to Kyle Riding, an assistant professor of civil engineering at Kansas State University. Concrete use worldwide totals 7 billion cubic meters per year, and using biobased technology to create stronger concrete on a commercial level is possible because "the technology is known," Riding said. 

A new Web page has been unveiled on NRMCA.org aimed at professors. NRMCA recognizes the need for educating students on the proper way to design and construct buildings and pavements with concrete materials. NRMCA is offering several courses and Webinars free of charge to professors. Along with the opportunity to attend the courses free of charge, the professors will also be provided with the PowerPoint presentations and notes used for each presentation.

"We are hoping that our industry professionals will share this new Web page with their contacts in the educational field. Along with our presentation slides and notes, the Web site provides numerous links to industry references, guides and specifications and is a great resource for them to have," said Amanda Hult, NRMCA’s director of pavement structures.

The prime message at this show was real estate fundamentals are seeing improvement: demand catching up with supply; retail sales higher than 2007; overall rents higher than previous quarter; and 155,000 construction jobs added in the past year. These improvements have spurred interests of investors, primarily commercial mortgage backed securities. One area of massive expansion reported is in outlet mall facilities. NRMCA will post a list of outlet mall facilities being planned in our members-only area later this week. These facilities are being planned throughout the United States and offer great opportunity for large parking lots. Now is the time to establish concrete as a bid option in these jobs through NRMCA’s Full-Loop promotion efforts.

The Science Museum of Virginia recently implemented its RainKeepers Project, an urban retrofitting, demonstration, monitoring, training and certification program. The intent of the $1.5 million project was to improve a combined 1.75 acres of land while reinforcing the Museum’s commitment to expanding eco-friendly practices onsite and within the community. As part of that endeavor, the Museum recently incorporated pervious concrete into its interactive display, reports NRMCA Senior Director, National Resources Phil Kresge.

Thanks to the combined efforts of NRMCA members John Lockett of Roanoke Cement and James Wallis, Powhatan Ready Mix, the Museum selected pervious concrete over porous asphalt and permeable paver alternatives. Lockett and Wallis stressed the importance of pervious concrete’s environmental advantages and its durability, particularly under heavy loads in hot temperatures. They also provided museum officials with pervious concrete sample kits to give them a first-hand look at how well the product works. As a result of their efforts, the museum also replaced half an acre of an existing asphalt parking lot with pervious concrete.

The 6" pervious concrete pavement was placed by NRMCA Certified Pervious Concrete Craftsman Richard Hite of R. Hite Concrete Construction, Lenaxa, VA. The pavement was placed over a subbase of Solite lightweight aggregate. The high absorption of the aggregate subbase adds to the storage capacity of the detention layer. Sophisticated instrumentation within the matrix of the pervious concrete and subbase will allow the museum to measure first flush activity as well as other water quality benchmarks.

To further engage visitors, the museum is completing an interactive exhibit to help the public understand these new techniques in mitigating stormwater flows and how they can do its part by modifying living behaviors. Featuring replicas of each of the museum’s project initiatives, videos, interactive panels and artifacts, the RainKeepers exhibit endeavors to bring awareness to visitors and encourage them to aid in efforts to make the James River and Chesapeake Bay cleaner for wildlife and humans.

Ed Bartels, P.E., PLS, the assistant engineer for Johnson County, IA, has written an article appearing in the May 2013 edition of Roads & Bridges magazine that testifies to his county’s success using PCC overlays for road reconstruction that they first explored after the big run-up of oil prices in 2008. With severe funding challenges at that time, concrete overlays were considered because they "appeared to offer a number of benefits in terms of economy, sustainability and cost volatility." With numerous successful projects now in place, Bartels concludes that "PCC overlays provide a cost-effective and time-tested method for maintaining our county roads network."

Mark your calendars for the final NRMCA promotion-focused Webinar scheduled for May: ACI 330 R-08 – The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design. Click on the link below to learn more and then to register online.

• Friday, May 31 - ACI 330 R-08 – The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

Please join us on Monday, June 3, at 11 a.m. Eastern time for a free Webinar to discuss the status and capabilities of the Virtual Cement & Concrete Testing Lab (VCCTL) developed by the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), in cooperation and with funding from the cement and concrete industries and other stakeholders. The webinar will cover the VCCTL technology and specifically how it is being applied by companies in the cement and concrete industries. Dr. Jeff Bullard (NIST) will present an overview of the VCCTL software and its interface. Case studies, highlighting the successful use of VCCTL in industrial settings, will then be presented by Dr. Wilasa Vichit-Vadakan (SCG) and by Mr. Jon Belkowitz (Intelligent Concrete).

NRMCA Producer member Titan America became the leading sustainable concrete producer by certifying four plants in Virginia under the NRMCA Certified Sustainable Concrete Plant program. To certify, plant personnel use a document titled Sustainable Concrete Plant Guidelines that rates a plant’s level of sustainability within different credit categories, with the objective of reducing carbon footprint, energy consumption, water use and waste; increasing recycled content; and improving human health and social conditions. Plants can achieve between 0 and 100 points depending on how many sustainability credits are achieved and their level of performance within each credit. After a third-party audit, plants can obtain an NRMCA Sustainable Concrete Plant Certification. The following Titan plants received Bronze level certification:

• Bryan Park Ready Mix Concrete Plant, Richmond

• Clear Brook Ready Mix Concrete Plant, Clear Brook

• Suffolk Ready Mix Concrete Plant, Suffolk

• Stafford Ready Mix Concrete Plant, Falmouth

NRMCA has launched International Concrete Sustainability Conference Online as a way to extend the reach of its popular conference of the same name. This new delivery method offers unique distance learning opportunities on the latest advances, technical knowledge, continuing research, tools and solutions for sustainable concrete manufacturing and construction. This series of free monthly Webinars features world renowned speakers who presented at the International Concrete Sustainability Conference. Upcoming topics include:

 

• Thursday, July 18 - noon to 1 p.m. Eastern time. Jacob Sobstyl, researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Urban Physics: City Texture Matters, Jacob Michael Sobstyl, Mohammad Javad Abdolhosseini Qomi, Benoit Coasne, Roland Pellenq and Franz-Josef Ulm.

 

• Thursday, August 15 - noon to 1 p.m. Eastern time. Liv Haselbach, PhD, associate professor, Washington State University. Quasi-Steady-State Equilibrium Estimation of Concrete Pavement CO2 Sequestration, Liv Haselbach, Robby Borden and Mylene Gueneron.

• Thursday, September 19, noon to 1 p.m. Eastern time. Lisa Bradley, PhD, vice president and senior toxicologist/risk assessor, AECOM. Coal Ash Material Safety - A Health Risk-Based Evaluation of USGS Coal Ash Data from Five US Power Plants, Lisa Bradley.

 

Future topics and dates will be announced soon.

Media articles on Congress, transportation infrastructure, regulation, taxes and other subjects, each of which relate to the ready mixed concrete industry, are updated each week by NRMCA's Government Affairs staff. To access the most recent compilation of articles for the Week of May 20 - 24, please click here.

NRMCA's Technology in Practice series covers brief technical topics in the popular "What?, Why? And How?" format and are developed as educational topics for ready mixed concrete industry technical personnel. The topics are selected and developed by the NRMCA Research, Engineering and Standards (RES) Committee. NRMCA has released two more topics in the series:

TIP 9 – Density of Structural Lightweight Concrete – discusses the relationship between oven-dry density, equilibrium density and fresh bulk density of lightweight concrete. The density of lightweight concrete is critical when used for design load on structural members, fire rating of building assemblies and overall mass of a structure in seismic conditions. The TIP discusses procedures used in ASTM C567 to calculate or measure the density of lightweight concrete in different moisture conditions and to develop information required in project submittals.

TIP 10 – Mixing Water Quality for Concrete – addresses the process of qualifying non-potable sources of water, such as well water or mixer wash water, for use as mixing water in concrete. It discusses the details of ASTM C1602, Specification for Mixing Water and the testing requirements to qualify non-potable sources of water for use in concrete.

May 31, Webinar

ACI 330 R-08 – The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

June 3-5, Chicago

Concrete Durability Course

Email: Karen Bean, 888-84-NRMCA, x1168

 

June 3, Webinar (Part I)

Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

June 3, Free Webinar

NIST Virtual Cement and Concrete Testing Lab

Email: Julie Garbini, 240-485-1150

 

June 6, Free Webinar

Design Assistance Webinar for State Affiliates, Paving Associations

Email: Amanda Hult

 

June 10, Webinar (Part II)

Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

June 11, Webinar

Concrete Overlays for Streets and Local Roads and Parking Lots

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

June 19, Free Webinar

Environmental Product Declarations

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

June 25, Webinar

Controlling Moisture in Concrete Slabs

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

July 8-11, Online Course

Design of Concrete Pavements

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

July 15–19, Skokie, IL

2013 Professors Workshop: Teaching Buildings, Bridges, Materials, and Pavements

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

July 18, Free Webinar

Urban Physics: City Texture Matters

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

August 11-15, Montreal

ISARC 2013: 30th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, Mining & Petroleum Industries

Email: Chantal Murphy, 514-939-2710, ext. 1309

 

August 12-15 Online Course

Pervious Concrete: A Stormwater Solution

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

August 13-16, Silver Spring, MD 

Plant Manager Certification Course

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

August 15, Free Webinar

Quasi-Steady-State Equilibrium Estimation of Concrete Pavement CO2 Sequestration

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

August 27, Webinar 

Concrete Pavement Jointing Plans

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

August 30, Webinar

ACI 330 R-08 – The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

September 19, Free Webinar

Coal Ash Material Safety—A Health Risk-Based Evaluation of USGS Coal Ash Data from Five US Power Plants

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

September 22-24, Las Vegas

Concrete Works & Board of Directors' Meeting

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

November 8, Webinar

ACI 330 R-08 – The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

November 19-21, Silver Spring, MD

The Effective RMC Supervisor Course

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

October 1-4, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP I: Introduction to Concrete Fundamentals—Concrete 101

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

December 3-5, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP II: Customer Business Knowledge

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

December 4-6, Orlando, FL

Environmental Professional Certification Course

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

December 10-13, Orlando, FL 

Plant Manager Certification Course

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154