All Technical Presentations Now Available: NCC Spring Meeting

• DOTs’ meeting:
  o Prioritizing future technical products desired under the TPF-5(313)
  o Refreshing the CP Road Map to ensure alignment with and technical value for the DOTs as national research and technology needs are identified
• The full NCC meeting began with a morning session on Performance Engineered Mixtures (PEM). The goal of the PEM effort is to advance how concrete mixtures are specified, designed, and field-controlled based on engineering properties that directly relate to performance in the field. Advancements in testing technologies now make it possible to engineer concrete mixtures for durable performance in pavements and structural applications and to field-verify the concrete to ensure the desired performance. Meeting participants also heard updates by FHWA on integration of this effort with the PAVE SPEC effort and were given an opportunity to comment on the draft standard of practice that is under development.
• • Summary of the TTCC states’ bridge surveys. Updates on high performance concrete bridge experiences given by Caltrans, Louisiana TRC, and Washington DOT
  • The investigation and mitigation of bridge deck cracking and shared recommended practices
  • A promising new bridge deck curing material made out of recycled paper
  • Presentation on the Illinois Tollway work using internal curing for bridges to mitigate deck cracking and improve durability of the decks
  • Panel discussion on the implementation issues related to High Performance Concrete (HPC)
  • Introduction to shotcrete applications, followed by project experience in Ohio
  • Development of self- powered sensors for concrete
  • Development of non- proprietary UHPC
  • The Jeremiah Morrow Bridge Project—the tallest bridge in Ohio
  • An Ohio DOT-led technical tour Thursday morning included a site visit to the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge—a balanced cantilever cast-in-place post-tensioned structure due to be completed later this year. A special feature of the design is to allow for the expansion of an additional lane in each direction in the future to address growing capacity needs.

This particular NCC meeting was preceded by a special 125th Anniversary Commemoration of the oldest concrete street in America in Bellefontaine, Ohio. This optional activity, organized by the Task Force on Preservation of Historical Concrete Pavement Artifacts, was well attended. Participants enjoyed an overview of the history and technical advancements in concrete paving in the United States, followed by a site visit.

The Fall 2016 meeting of the NCC will be held in conjunction with the 11th International Conference on Concrete Pavements (11th ICCP) in San Antonio, Texas, on August 29 – September 1, 2016. The 2017 NCC meetings will be held in Utah in the spring and in Minnesota in the fall.